Title: The price of treasure
Author: Ree
Theme: Silver Millennium - In Vino Veritas
Genre:general
Version: Anime/Mange - Silver Millennium
Rating: G

Most of these characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I'm just delving into their skeletons in the closets.

The price of treasure

The wine settled into the bottom of the cup, dark red glistening against cut crystal. 'The color of her eyes, the color of the stone in her staff.'' Selenity closed her eyes trying not to remember the last time she saw those eyes looking at her. She didn't succeed.

"My Queen, please follow me." The dark hand gestured a gentle command. The long, dim corridor seemed to twist about forever before they finally stopped at a solid stone wall.

Pluto tapped the wall with her staff, the garnet chiming softly. The wall dissolved revealing a softly lit chamber. "There is a treasure, a weapon greater than any in the galaxy in this room."

Selenity slipped in, trying to see what the green haired senshi was talking about. Her eyes searched the empty room. "There is nothing here." Looking at the woman she had come to trust, she let her confusion show.

Pluto smiled.

Selenity swirled the wine gently in her cup, watching the light play on its surface. 'She smiled. I should have know it then. I should have stopped her. I... I...' Closing her eyes, she knew that she couldn't have, because at the time she hadn't known.

"They are here, waiting. Waiting for you to come. Waiting for you to need them." Pluto's smile reflected the happiness in her voice.

"Who?" Selenity looked back at the senshi in the doorway.

"The others." The smile reached her eyes. "Remember the book."

"The other senshi, like you." Selenity searched the room once again, not seeing anything. "Where are they?"

"They are still on their home planets. They don't realize who they are yet. You need to give them their henshin sticks. That is what is in this room." Pluto raised her staff and gently set it back down on the stone floor. "Time Stop."

The world froze. Selenity stared at the senshi. "What... What are you doing?"

Pluto blinked, her face showing the strain. "Stopping time." She gestured towards the middle of the room. "There they are." In the center of the room was a large chest, a darkness peeling off of it. "Hurry, pull it out of here. I won't be able to last much longer, and when time starts again they'll be gone."

Selenity grabbed the handle of the chest and pulled. The chest resisted her, attempting to drag her into the darkness that was still partially covering it. Pulling with all her might, she felt the darkness let go. The chest slid easily out of the room.

"Pluto, it is out. You can stop now."

Pluto's smile grew wider. "Thank you for everything. Good bye, Selenity."

Selenity's eyes widened. "Good bye? Why?"

Selenity glanced at the golden chest shoved in the corner of her office. Looking back at the wine, she felt Pluto's smiling eyes looking at her. 'Stopping time...The greatest taboo. That is what she said. But she was happy... happy to die. I...I will find out all the taboos... and I will never make it so that one of them has to be broken for the protection of the others.' Sipping the dark wine, she silently bid farewell to her friend.