The Black Wind will come

and blacken the night.

It will steal the Light of the Moon

and destroy the Hope

long ago created.

-excerpt from the Book of Prophecy

dating 1113 C.T.

The booming sounds of destruction echoed in the hallway. The shadows all seemed darker than they should have been and the red hue of distant fire made the blood on the walls seem even more horrific.

Crystal Tokyo was burning.

Sailor Neptune leaned against the delicate crystal wall, trying her best to maintain her composure. Her dark blue hair was matted with blood and her once pristine sailor outfit was tattered and burned. She clutched to her Deep Aqua Mirror as if it were the last bit of reality she possessed.

How did I get here? she thought to herself, Why can't I remember anything?

Even as she looked into her mirror, she gained little of the clarity it once provided her. The top corner of the mirror was cracked and the entire surface was clouded and vague. If only she could look harder, stare deeper, she might make sense of the dark shapes moving beneath its surface and maybe understand what had brought her to this place.

Where are the other scouts? Michuru thought to herself. I feel as though we should all be here for this.

Her mind clawed at the reality of her situation but seemed unable to grasp it. She remembered someone screaming and then explosions. Someone had attacked the Crystal Palace, that much was obvious, but why had Michuru ended up in the hallway so badly hurt? Surely the attack would not have been so deep in the Tower.

I have to find the others, she thought to herself. But who would she find. She tried to remember who she was with when it had happened. Was Haruka with her? Surely. They hardly spent a minute apart. So why was he not with her now?

Just as she began to get to her feet, her legs hardly able to support her own weight even with the help of the wall, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Neptune!" the voice called, "Run!"

The figure of a slender woman appeared down the hall. She was moving so fast that her long brown braid trailed behind her. Star Maker?

The figure running toward her was close now and she recognized her as Sailor Star Maker. What were the Starlights doing at the Crystal Palace?

"I need to know what has happened," Michuru managed to get out. Her throat was so dry and the air was heavy with the smell of smoke. She coughed.

"You need to run," said Star Maker. The force of her voice propelled Neptune into movement she did not think she was capable of. She knew that Taiki was slowing her pace so that Neptune could keep up but she did not think she would hold out very long.

"We need to find Star Healer and see to your wounds," Taiki said. She was not breathing heavily but there was thick perspiration on her forehead, "The attack came from within. I don't know who is still alive."

Alive? Why did that seem to stun Neptune so deeply? It was like a punch to the stomach as a vague memory tried to float to the surface of Michuru's mind. She had been with Neo Queen Serenity. And there were others there.

"Cover!" Star Maker threw her body into Michuru and slammed them both hard into the wall. Neptune's shoulder made a disturbing popping sound and then her ears popped and wind buffeted her face. Tiny shards of stone hit the wall around her and Michuru could hear Taiki moan in pain.

When she was finally able to look around her after the dust had cleared, the once long hallway now provided an open view to the destruction of Crystal Tokyo. What ever had hit the wall of the palace where she was had completely destroyed it. How had she survived? Outside the walls, fires burned and people screamed. As far as the eye could see, the city of Crystal Tokyo, the Light and Hope of the Galaxy, was being razed to the ground. Michuru could feel other blasts shaking the tower's foundation. She felt Taiki move.

"What has happened?" she asked her fellow scout. Star Maker took her weight off of Michuru and gingerly leaned back into the wall. Neptune tried her best to ignore the blood that smeared the wall against Star Maker's back.

"Do you not remember?" Star Maker asked. She seemed stunned at Neptune. "You were so close. You were there!" She was now yelling and seemed very upset at Neptune.

"Remember what?" Neptune was now crying. Why was she crying? Why did she feel like she had lost something very dear to her, "Why can't I remember what you are talking about?"

The sound of another explosion violently shook the tower. Neptune's eyes blurred with tears and dust hardly registered as a large chuck of the floor near the ledge gave way and fell down hundreds of feet to the ground. The wind continued to blow harshly at the two injured soldiers.

"Neo Queen Serenity is dead," Star Maker said. Her voice was barely audible but the words seemed to scream inside Neptune's head, "Crystal Tokyo is lost. King Endymion has ordered the evacuation of the planet."

The words fell harshly upon a stunned Neptune. Her entire body was now numb the pain, numb to the world. The words could not be true. She had to be lying. But why? Why would her mind seem to hear these words and know they were true but not believe them?

Neptune did not know how long she sat there looking at Star Maker but at some point, the fellow scout had gotten to her feet and offered her a hand up. She took it and rose to her feet. Star Maker had lost so much blood. How was she still standing?

"We have to keep moving," Taiki said solidly. The words seemed to provide a place for Michuru to stand, a way for her to cope. If she kept moving, maybe something would change. Maybe something would be different. Maybe something would not be this.

"I remember men and women in black and silver," Michuru said as they walked slowly down the hall. The wreckage seem less severe as they made their way around to the north side of the tall palace. There was still smoke and sounds of explosions, but the walls remained intact, "They were making a petition to Neo Queen Serenity."

"The Priests of the Moon?" Taiki asked her as they took a break. They had just been running not long ago. Now walking required frequent breaks. How much time had passed? Neptune felt like every second was an hour long and also that she did not have enough time to accomplish anything.

"I believe so," Michuru clutched at her head, which seemed to be caked in dry blood now. Or had the blood merely mixed with so much dust and debris that it felt dry.

The Priests of the Moon were men and women who dedicated their lives to the furthering of Neo Queen Serenity's will. They were the modern day religious leaders and often times the moral compass of the people. After Neo Queen Serenity took the throne and prosperity and good flourished, the duties of the Sailor Scouts became much too narrow for them to do it all. They eventually created the Priests of the Moon to go about as diplomats and civil servants so that the Scouts could focus on their duties to protect the Queen and train the next generation of guardian soldiers.

"Is that all you remember?" Taiki asked. She seemed to be taking this conversation very seriously, "Who else was there?"

"I cannot remember," Michuru said. Her desperate attempts to delve further into her memories were failing. She remembered the men and women in black and silver, the Priests of the Moon. She then remembered horrible pain and explosions, deep booming explosions that separated her from the others. Had someone pushed her out of the way or thrown her free of the blasts? Haruka?

"We have to go to the Throne Room," Michuru was suddenly filled with determination "Now!"