Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mars. Sailor Jupiter. Sailor Venus. Each has sworn to stand at the side of their beloved Princess and defend her… or die trying... Anime canon. Written for the Inner Senshi's 30th Anniversary.

Rated: T - Tragedy/Friendship - Words: 3,334 - Ami M./Amy/Sailor Mercury, Makoto K./Lita/Sailor Jupiter, Minako A./Mina/Sailor Venus, Rei H./Raye/Sailor Mars

A/N: Alright look… figuring out WHEN to release an anniversary fic for the Inners was driving me nuts. Should I do it for Mina's first appearance cos she is the first Inner we meet? Or should I do it for Ami's because she is the first Inner we meet in Sailor Moon, or maybe Makoto's because she is the last Inner introduced, blah blah blah. Ultimately I settled on now because the Inners ae so integral to Sailor Moon over all, especially the Dark Kingdom arc, that the weird limbo time between the two official anniversaries seemed appropriate. The same will be true of the very next fic I drop too.

There are two versions of this fic.

The first version is almost entirely set in Silver Millennium era until the end where we jump to Crystal Tokyo. The second features all the SilMil scenes intercut with scenes from an actual episode of the anime.

I leave it to each reader to decide which version they want to read and in what order, but please let me know your personal preference!

Many thanks to SinJazz for betaing this fic! You can find her on Ao3 and Instagram under the same name.

/users/SinJazz

sinjazz1327/

Sailor Venus leaned against an alabaster pillar and folded her arms.

She hadn't been waiting for long when Sailor Mars joined her. Despite her high heels and marble beneath their feet, there was little noise in her steps; and there was even less warmth behind her greeting. A similar silence and sombreness accompanied Mercury and Jupiter a few minutes later.

Venus hadn't instructed the others to use discretion, but, given the circumstances, they'd all apparently thought it wise. Of course, it was far from the first time they had held meetings in secret like this, where it was just the four of them. But to do so at such short notice, in such a secluded part of the palace (and during a masquerade no less) was highly unusual.

Venus moved away from the pillar and began to address the others.

"It won't be long before our absences are noticed, so let's cut to the chase. We need to decide what to do about Serenity and the Earth prince."

Makoto felt broken. But it wasn't because of the pain that wracked her body. It was because she knew she was the strongest of the five of them and yet she was the first to fall. She had no doubt that the other three would protect Usagi. But she had been hoping to protect them.

The broken feeling persisted even as the rest of her body grew numb.

"Endymion."

Venus raised an eyebrow at Mars.

"His name is Endymion. For goodness sake, we don't need to worry about formality now."

Venus' lips formed into a thin line, but Mars didn't even flinch.

"Perhaps, if we sat Serenity down and explained the problems they'd cause she would see reason," offered Mercury. "My research hasn't brought up any precedent for this sort of thing. The diplomatic implications are incredibly complicated, even if it didn't lead to any hostilities…"

Ami was incredibly intelligent. Maybe that was why, in her last moments, she was all too aware of the irony of the situation.

The irony of the water Senshi dying amidst snow and ice.

The irony of her death coming from intense heat.

The irony of her attacker never suspecting the weakest fighter, the proverbial bookworm, of simply smashing the illusion casting jewel on her forehead.

She tried to smile, but lacked the strength to even do that.

Venus sighed in exacerbation. "Mercury, Serenity is in love. She wouldn't be persuaded by 'diplomatic implications'."

"Even if she could understand what the phrase meant," muttered Mars.

"What if I laid out how impractical it is?" Implored Mercury. "Prince Endymion's lifespan is so much shorter than hers, they could never have a future together."

"... Unless the Silver Crystal extended his lifespan..."

All eyes snapped to Jupiter.

"I don't know if the crystal could even do that," pondered Mercury.

"And even if it could, Serenity doesn't possess it," added Mars.

"I know but..." Jupiter seemed to struggle for the words, hesitant to continue.

Mars' eyes widened. "You're not suggesting Serenity would steal the crystal, are you?"

"No!" Jupiter almost stamped her foot to emphasize the point. Venus was grateful for her restraint as the noise (and shattered marble) would have given them all away. "But perhaps… Perhaps the Queen might..."

She stopped upon seeing Venus' shaking head.

Throughout her career as a Senshi, Minako had seen far more grotesque Youma than the one now before her. This one was sort of beautiful in fact, resembling pictures of pixies Minako had seen as a little girl. At least, until its beauty was replaced by far more bestial features. The deceptive nature of its appearance coupled with its actions made Mina despise the creature. In its own way it was the most hideous of all the Youma she had ever faced.

That made it all the easier to extend her finger to its face and unleash every ounce of her remaining life force upon it.

As the light left her body, Minako had just enough sensation left to feel the gnarled branches ensnare her, suspending her body in a cold parody of a lover's embrace.

"The Queen loves her daughter, but she will not break tradition for her. She will not gift immortality upon an Earthling just to make the Princess happy."

"That's even presuming she would be happy," chimed in Mercury. "She's happy now, but I've not looked into Prince Endymion too thoroughly. By all reports, he seems upstanding enough, capable of maintaining good relations with the rest of the Silver Millennium. But beyond his leadership qualities we know little about him."

Jupiter nodded. "Even in the short term, he is her first love. Should he break her heart too badly it could dampen the rest of her life."

Mars rolled her eyes. "As always, you are being over protective."

"You say that," responded Jupiter, "But what if things end badly between them and she spends the next hundred years falling for others unworthy of her, merely because they remind her of him?"

Mercury lightly patted her friend's shoulder. "I think perhaps you are taking things too far there."

Privately, Venus, as the Senshi of love, understood what Jupiter was saying, but it wasn't relevant at that moment. She decided to lead the conversation elsewhere.

"Mars, you know the ways of war better than any of us. Do you foresee conflict arising from this?"

Rei's own inner flame was fading fast.

Through the narrow slits in her eyes, she could only just about see the Youma. Her hearing wasn't working properly either; there was just too much blood pumping through her ears. But she didn't need to rely solely on sight or sound. Her sixth sense clued her into what was happening.

This creature was preparing to attack. Rei knew her body was shattered beyond repair. Even so, she was not going to fail.

Rei wasn't sure where the strength came from, nor did she care. She simply channeled every last bit of it into her arm, grabbing a hold of the unsuspecting creature.

Through her efforts, her inner flame was almost extinguished.

Almost.

Mars narrowed her eyes. "It's not impossible, but it is also far from a guarantee."

"It's also not strictly speaking within our purview."

"What do you mean, Mercury?" Asked Venus.

Now the water Senshi seemed hesitant to press on. "I know what I said earlier, about diplomatic relations and all that. But… well… strictly speaking our primary duty is to protect the Princess, not the well-being of the whole kingdom."

Jupiter narrowed her eyes for a moment but then nodded. "She's right. The Princess is the heart of the kingdom. Should the Silver Millennium fall, she would be integral in restoring it. In effect protecting her long-term protects the whole Solar System."

"I hate to agree," said Mars, "but they're right. And besides… I love Serenity. Forget my duties. I'd lay down my life for her no matter what."

Mercury straightened up and spoke gently. "As would I."

"We all would," added Jupiter solemnly before turning to Venus, "Wouldn't we?"

A steely strength flowed through Venus. "No doubt."

One by one, she locked eyes with her comrades, and saw her own determination reflected back at her.

Without a word, they moved closer together and stretched out their right arms, placing their hands atop of one another's.

"We might not have an answer to this problem tonight. But no matter what may come, we will do whatever it takes to protect her."

"We won't stop until her last enemy is vanquished."

"We will be by her side for eternity."

"Or at least until our dying breaths."

"To the end."

"To the end."

"To the end."

"To the end."

A/N: I considered releasing this on the anniversary of episode 45's broadcast in Japan. But since that would fall in 2023, I decided to put it here, between the release and publication anniversaries of Sailor Moon Chapter 1.

I was going to treat that gap as the place to publish just anything in this anthology that was about Sailor Moon more broadly but my plans changed. However, since the Inner Senshi are so integral to the overall story, and to the Dark Kingdom arc specifically, I figured this would be the best place to honour Usagi's best friends.

BTW, episode 45 is one of my all time favourite episodes of the show, so I couldn't resist paying tribute to it, lol