No copyright infringement intended.
Author's ramblings:
Normally when I feel the urge to write something, I just get it down on paper and never feel the need to release it or show it to anyone. Whenever a strange idea pops into my head, like "wouldn't it be cool if…" it bounces around in there until I get it down on paper. But honestly, you'd have to be on a whole cocktail of strange drugs to come up with the idea for this fic. Its setting is based on the world of one of the greatest heavy metal albums ever, Opeth's Blackwater Park (hence the title).
I haven't sat down and watched Sailor Moon for about twelve years. And yet, the more I listen to this album a story idea started to grow. What if the Sailor Senshi had to enter this mysterious world? What would happen? I have no idea where it came from, but the urge to put this thing online is just too much to resist.
This is basically an alternate story of how Sailor Saturn came to join the Senshi. She was the only Outer Senshi I was really intrigued by. Her dark personality seemed to fit the idea for this fic. To find her, the Senshi must enter this dark, heavy metal realm and search for her. So here it is—a finance major's attempt at merging two worlds: Sailor Moon and Opeth. I hope you enjoy this dark journey as much as I enjoyed writing it. See you at the end of the fic!
MetaIisLife
PROLOGUE
"What exactly are you suggesting, Rei?" Makoto asked suspiciously.
"I don't know, Makoto. What am I suggesting?" an aggravated Rei Hino glared with hands on her hips. They were standing in one of Hikawa Jinja's Temple's many rooms.
Makoto's eyes narrowed dangerously; she was several inches taller than the miko and took advantage of it, taking a step closer.
"Don't think you're the only one who's angry that Sailor Mercury is gone," the thunder Senshi said quietly. "We're the Sailor Senshi. We're too smart to play the blame game."
The Senshi of fire stared at the tall brunette. "There were six of us fighting the youma, Makoto. How couldn't any one of us have gotten to her in time? Why couldn't someone have—"
"Don't." Makoto interrupted. "Ami fell in battle defending those she loved from purest evil. We don't need her memory tarnished by you running the guilt trip on all of us."
"It just feels so screwed up," Rei said tiredly. "We were all supposed to live together in a kingdom on the moon in the future, remember? Now that's in jeopardy, and all because we all had our backs turned. It's frustrating."
"If the future's in jeopardy, how come everything hasn't gone to shit?" Makoto asked. "How come your fire readings have been silent?"
Rei was silent. She had no idea. The Sailor Senshi were terribly shorthanded without the kind, gentle, blue-haired Senshi of Water. Anytime they needed a quick analysis of some situation, or help with their homework during their real lives, or anything else, they always felt a strong sense of deprivation that their usual go-to genius was no longer with them. The Moon Kingdom couldn't have a team made up entirely of people like Minako, Rei, or even Usagi. The whole had been greater than the sum of its parts; like a machine with one of its parts suddenly removed, it malfunctioned terribly. It was truly a deep sense of loss and a dark time for the Senshi.
The enemy youma, seemingly encouraged by the indication that the Senshi were in fact mortal, had been stepping up their attacks upon innocent civilians; although they had fought back and destroyed many, there was a deep sense of uncertainty about the point of it all. Only their Moon Princess' unbridled optimism and confidence had kept the team going. It was as if Usagi had bucked the entire group upon her back and was attempting to carry them all towards their destiny herself.
But where were they supposed to go from here? It was impossible to say. The constant fighting was taking a toll on the girls, and not one of them was unaffected.
Mars grimaced. "I'm worried about Matt."
"Since when have we had to worry about him?" Makoto asked.
"I don't know; maybe since it was his girlfriend was the one that got killed during that battle, Captain Obvious," Mars snapped. "If our advisor has a problem, we have a problem."
"The guy is only human," Makoto scolded. "Feeling sad about seeing your girlfriend get run through is pretty normal, don't you think?"
"Advisor" was probably the best way the Senshi could describe Matt Sneider's role with them. He had no special powers; he wasn't in the original vision of the Moon Kingdom; he only had a handful of guns that he knew how to shoot very well. With a tendency to be flippant and something of a hothead when he came in, Matt had slowly blossomed into a more loving individual after being accepted into the team.
His slow embrace of the Senshi's struggle for love and justice reached a high point when he and Ami's love began to deepen. Even though his appearance had seemed unusual and unexpected, Matt soon came to care just as much about their ultimate mission as the others. Even though he had nothing to personally gain from it, he fought alongside them anyway. His and Ami's courtship had been a real gem. The Senshi had always relied unapologetically on the power of love and friendship to help them through their battles.
Even though love was without question their greatest strength, it was also their greatest weakness.
Without that gem, Matt Sneider's path, unclear to begin with, was now even more so. It seemed that just as he was on the cusp of finding his place in the grand scheme of things, it had been cruelly ripped from him. The other Senshi could relate.
"Guys? You'd better come and see this." The two senshi turned to look at the solemn individual who had just spoken.
Matt Sneider was American, with a blond head, brown eyes, and an aggressive streak that he tended to take out on his work. His normally quick, sarcastic banter had been replaced by moody cynicism, and the other Senshi honestly couldn't blame him. Nevertheless, his tired speech gave a display of urgency.
"You'd better come and see this."
Rei and Makoto followed him to the inner court of Hikawa Jinja temple to join the surviving members of the senshi, Tuxedo Kamen, and Luna and Artemis. What they saw made them freeze.
Standing in the middle of the courtyard was a massive field of black energy, about three times as tall as Makoto and ten times as wide. Purple lightning crackled around it in a display of constant motion; it was as if it was inviting them to take a step in. The innermost traces of the field were deepest black, the color of deep space, and it spiraled slowly in an almost hypnotic dance—like a piece of midnight hurled into their midst.
"It looks like that optical illusion at the amusement park," Usagi Tsukino observed. "Except…a lot more creepy."
"You said it, meatball head," replied Mamoru, staring with morbid fascination at the storm.
"How the hell did this get here?" Rei demanded, striding up to the group.
"How should we know? It wasn't here one moment; it was here the next," Minako Aino told her.
"What is it?" asked Makoto.
"I think it's some kind of portal," said Luna. "I wonder where it leads? Hopefully not to the Negaverse."
The silence begged for one of them to wonder aloud that if Sailor Mercury was still alive, she would probably have an answer with her computer in about five minutes. But alas, the silence remained.
"No," said Rei finally. "They have no such power. This is a holy place, and the youma have never been able to penetrate it. The portal must lead somewhere else."
"Wherever it leads, it'll probably be dangerous either way," Mamoru said.
"Well, we aren't going to gain anything by just gawking at it all night," Minako announced. "What are we going to do about it? Do nothing? That would be unwise."
"Wait to see if something comes through it?" asked Artemis.
"Not an option," Minako countered.
"We go through it."
The group turned its focus onto Usagi, who had just spoken in a tone that meant no disagreement.
"Are you crazy? How do you know this?" asked Mamoru.
"I just know," she said softly after a pause. The future Moon Princess stared into the void, her face dark.
"But we don't know what's in there!" Makoto protested. "And what if it's a trap? Who's going to get us out?"
"Unless the vision is true…" Artemis muttered, causing everyone to turn and look at him in confusion. "Uh…Luna, maybe you'd better tell them."
"We were told by…various authorities that there may be another Sailor Senshi," Luna said importantly. Amid gasps and looks of excitement, the feline continued, "She is mysterious; she wasn't reborn on this earth like the rest of you. She was reborn…elsewhere. In case the future is threatened, destiny will do anything it can to make itself happen the way it is meant to be. It creates new entities that must decide for themselves whether to help the future Moon Kingdom, effectively leaving it up to humans' free will. Nothing is written in stone, unfortunately, but sometimes things come along to give us a little push. I believe this new Senshi is one way that we can still turn the tables in this war."
"That's all we know?" Rei asked incredulously. "Who is she? What's her planet? What are her powers? And if she's supposed to help us, why should we have to go through a portal full of dark energy to get to her?"
"None of you expected much from me when I got my orders to help you. You gave me a chance." The silent Matt had spoken for the first time. He glanced around at his friends. "I don't know exactly what's on the other end of that portal either. But if it leads us to the new Senshi, I'm willing to take that risk." Usagi looked back at him and smiled.
"Right," the Moon Princess said with a curt nod. "Matt, you and Makoto are coming with me. The rest of you are staying here to hold back any more youma in case they attack while we're gone. I will not risk having us all stuck in another dimension while leaving Tokyo undefended." The natural leader shone through in her commanding blue eyes. "I don't want anyone coming after us. We will not return until we have that new Senshi with us. I'll do whatever it takes to protect humanity, and if it means walking through a creepy portal, so be it."
Two transformation sequences took place, enveloping Usagi and Makoto in pink and green light. They emerged as their powerful alter egos. Matt grabbed his long black trenchcoat and checked his guns, carefully strapping his favorite shotgun across his back.
"Hold down the fort, you three," said Sailor Moon. "We'll be back soon." Pausing to blow Tuxedo Kamen a kiss, she turned and followed Matt and Sailor Jupiter into the unknown.