Disclaimer: Fate and Saint Seiya Lost Canvas series do not belong to me. They belong to TYPE-MOON and Masami Kurumada (though it was drawn by Shiori Teshirogi, the world is basically Kurumada's) respectively. I take no profit in the making of this fan fiction, but still hope for some feed backs from the reviewer. Okay? I think it's clear enough. :)

Prelude: Ending One's Life

Pisces Albafica gritted his teeth as he watched how Minos was able to blow his last offensive and defensive means. The Griffon managed to use his technique once and he practically wiped off all of his demon rose garden, scattering the peddles across the borders of the city. What annoyed him the most, however, was that smug smirk.

Griffon Minos practically looked down at him. The very fact that this devil was toying with his body itself was enough for him to glare in anger; the urge to kill this man was so strong that Albafica was willing to sacrifice his limb in the process, just to gain control again, over his body.

Anything except being a toy for this sick Underworld Judge.

Minos' amused face is very apparent. "I see you're ready to break yourself. Interesting."

Albafica could see the playful gleam in the eyes of his enemy and smirked haughtily in reply. That smirk was not only to show his superiority, but also due to the abrupt disappearance of cosmo from Minos' men. Perhaps the leader was too preoccupied with the prey before him that he did not understand it sooner? Albafica, again, quirked him a satisfying smirk.

"Bloody roses," he started, "once thrown at the enemy, the white petals will change color from white to red—the color of its target's blood. Surely you realized that by now that your men is already gone, eh, Griffon Minos?"

But Griffon Minos just laughed, while Albafica gritted his teeth. "You laugh over their deaths?"

Minos stopped laughing, then looked down again with that maniacal gaze of his. "Excuse me, really. But I just thought that you're worth destroying!"

His cosmo quickly built up and was transferred through his puppeteer's string; Cosmic Marionettion required its master to be readily fueled by power, should he wish to still control his enemy movements. By the time he was stopping the force, he already had Albafica twisted his own leg. He stopped however, just to see red mist forming all around him; Albafica's next attack will be Crimson Thorn.

It's not really that threatening, at least for the Griffon. Said specter simply blocked the random bloody needles with his own wing, isolating himself from such contacts—and the stroke again, with his fingers. A simple gesture of his fingers made the gold saint of Pisces writhed silently, and he began wondering how this beautiful man will scream due to the terrors of his technique.

"I still can't believe that something so beautiful has this much of fighting spirit," he said, amused at how persistent Albafica was, "But still, you're not strong enough!"

There goes on simple movement of his own finger; Albafica could feel part of his joints in his body cracked loudly, but still held back his scream.

"You don't have the power to go your own way—" again, that finger moved, and Albafica yelped silently, trying to fight the pain.

"—the power to show your desires—" and then another simple gesture.

"—and the power to destroy other people!" He finalized, glaring maniacally at the gold saint who tried to resist. An almost-broken toy, staring at him with such rebellious eyes; what kind of entertainment would Minos get from such toy? Hence, as he clenched his fist, Griffon Minos watched how he broke his toy by two, twisting the torso of his enemy.

What lied before Minos by then was the broken body of Albafica the Pisces Saint. He fell, and failed to protect Rodorio.

'I don't want this to be the end...'

Albafica could not feel his limb; in fact, he could not even feel anything—not even the blood which should be in his pharynx or even his twisted arm due to Griffon Minos' attack. He felt like floating between space and time, recalling his duties, once again, as the saint of Athena and how he failed to fulfill it. The empty feeling, while it gave him the comfort that he needed, was no match to the guilty feeling of abandoning his friends, by yielding to death.

But that's it. One person can only have one life. If his flame of life went out because of a specter, than it is as it should be; saints should die in battlefield, while protecting their loved ones in the process. The very image of a decimated Rodorio quickly corrupted that idea.

'I don't accept this,'he screamed again, mentally, hoping someone would answer his plea for second chance. 'I cannot accept this!'

But no one replied. Albafica still lied floating in the middle of darkness. He could feel a weak tug on his back; his hunch told him that the time he accepted the invitation is the time of his permanent death. For the first time in his currently non-existent being in this plane, Albafica refused to die. He had left too many people defenseless; he could not die without ensuring their safety first!

And then, there was Athena...

Albafica gritted his teeth, feeling the tug on his backbone grew stronger and stronger.

"..."

And somehow, he recalled his past events; how he managed to avoid other people due to his firm belief that his blood will do harm more than good. He recalled of bowing in front of Athena, and said goddess softly smiled at him as a reply, even after showing his distant nature. A gentle, soft-hearted smile; a smile so pure that made him wanting to believe that maybe... maybe she's the goddess that understand his need to be left alone. As her vivid picture vanished, one by one, memories washed over his being as if trying to make him forget that he's in the brink of death.

The tug on his back hurt more than ever.

"...Please, hear my prayers..." he whispered, even when he knew that no one was there, "Just to protect those people... just to make sure that they're safe... I'll exchange anything... so please..."

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps, there was still something which heard his silent prayers. Darkness of the vacant room was dispelled, and what he saw in that was more of an indescribable being, away from his sense and understanding. That being was alive and communicated through mental link: "be ours, and we shall grant your wish."

"I..."

Albafica did not exactly remember what he uttered.

Shun Amamiya quickly raced through the corridors of his school, silently cursing under his breath for his own tardiness. School may hardly start in 6.30 AM, but the very fact that he was supposed to be on early cleaning duty that time, the teen could not help but cursed under his breath; why did he have to accompany his older brother throughout the night just to play video games?

He decided that blaming is older brother would not help him solve anything and finally stepped in to his classroom. "Morning, sorry I'm late!"

The first person which registered in his mind was his dark-green-haired friend, Shiryu, who was holding a bucket of water on his right and a mop on his left hand. He was trying to greet Shun, yes, but finally only quirked a smile an nodded; waving his hand then meant swinging his mop around. Shun quickly put his bag on his usual seat and promptly pick the class' mop. By then, Shiryu was already mopping the front part of the class.

"Let me guess," Shiryu started as Shun walked past him, "Ikki forced you to play again until drop?"

That triggered a smile on Shun's face, actually, "you could say so."

Shiryu snickered as he started mopping the floor between seatings, "well, that's just plainly predictable."

Shun chuckled and continued his work. He never noticed Shiryu's concerned gaze on his back, painted with worry over his friend's condition. Who couldn't notice the obvious black circles under his friend's eyes, anyway?

Shun and his friends had been going for a lunch routine on the rooftop of their school since the day they applied at Fuyuki High. Just like their usual lunches before, they managed to get on top of the roof, trying to savor the bento which they prepared beforehand—except for Seiya, who proclaimed that he had no time to prepare one and decided to buy it at the nearest supermarket. It was a nice, quiet lunch, at least until Shun decided to unravel his worry; unsaid worries which Shiryu had already noticed before.

"I got another nightmare last night."

It's amazing how three heads quickly turned to the one who spouts those words. Then again, if those words came from Shun, no one could ignore it. The team, which basically consists of Shiryu, Hyoga—a blond Siberian who happens to inherit Japanese ancestry through his father—, and Seiya—childhood friend of Shun who manages to find himself lost in Fuyuki city last year. However, the first person who practically voiced his concern was Seiya, as he quickly stopped chewing his food and then eyed him intensely.

"Again, Shun?" he asked, and Shun half-heartedly nodded. "It's just nightmare, right? It's not like it's a premonition or something."

"Seiya..." Hyoga silently warned, and Seiya simply shrugged. "But he's right. Surely, it's just... well, nightmare. It's still unlikely to come true, Shun."

"I would not be so worried if the nightmares were different..." Shun groaned. "But the dream... they've been the same for three nights straight!"

"Which clearly explain those circles under your eyes," Shiryu quickly pointed. Shun shifted uncomfortably as his friend pointed the obvious. To add it all, Hyoga and Seiya just had to stare at him worriedly. The next minute, Seiya just had to ask the simplest thing—but perhaps most irresponsible one—which he could ask.

"You never told us about your dream, anyway Shun."

Shun stared back. "Surely you've heard that your nightmare will come true if you tell someone else, Seiya..."

Seiya snorted in response, "I never thought of you as a believer in petty rumors. Come on, Shun! I had nightmares, I told it to all of you, and what? I'm still a living piece!"

"That's because you had nightmares of crabs and winged ponies" Hyoga rolled his eyes nonchalantly before those facts got to Seiya's head. "We all know the latter do not exist."

"Hey!"

The latter smirked victoriously, "I know it for a fact, Seiya."

Shun just smiled awkwardly and his friend's bickering, and then gazed at his bento uncomfortably. Part of him wanted to tell all of them, really, but the very fact that his dream included his friends and his own brother... now he wondered if it's such a good idea.

"So," Shiryu's word quickly made Shun jumped to the reality once more with a yelp. Shiryu raised an eyebrow at Shun's reaction, of course; was the latter teen really in a deep trance or what? "Not ready to tell us the story, yet?"

Shun gave a small smile to his friends—a complete, final decision, "not now. Sorry guys."

Of course, he was expecting another bickering to start between Hyoga and Seiya (they were always the ones who lighten the team's mood). But no; Seiya perhaps noticed Shun's unwillingness to share his problem and decided to drop the matters.

For now, he would rather keep those vision to himself.

"Ikki, you're not fully recovered yet, so stop playing!"

Sometimes, he thought that Ikki, his own blood brother, is very impossible to the point of madness. When one should be dropping dead right on his own bed due to severe influenza, Ikki somehow managed to move himself in front of TV, grabbing several video games on the process, and was then playing Tokken 6 on their owned Plug Station2 by the time Shun got home.

To top it all, Shun was supposed to take care of his sick brother. How, pray do tell, could he when his brother basically ignored every sound suggestion that he has offered?

"I will! After I finished Heihachiky—OH MAAAN!"

Shun sighed and went straight to the kitchen. The apartment where they lived was basically rent by their parents, who were working out of country as far as he remembered. The rooms itself were not that fancy; the Amamiya never took pride in their material possession. Why rent bigger apartment if the children will not make use of it more throughly?

He expected to see major dirty dishes all over the place by the time he entered the kitchen. However, he was more amazed that the room was practically spotless.Dirty dishes were nowhere in sight, no speck of dust under the table, and even a stain of curry-leftovers from last night meal. Gone and clean... except for the thrashes though. But Shun still sighed.

"Brother, I thought I told you before! I'll handle the chores so that you may rest!" he shouted from the room, earning a smirk from Ikki.

"Can't have you do all the work, Shun. Really now."

And just that. Ikki was back to his Plug Station2,apparently having changed the game after being defeated by COM after god-knows-how-much-times. Shun sweat-dropped and partially gave up on encouraging his brother to take some rest. Besides, games should let his brother loosen up a little bit in this quiet room. Noting that in mind, he started extracting their weekly thrashes which were already neatly packed, again thanks to Ikki.

Just then, he smelled a sweet fragrance.

"Huh?" he instinctively muttered and looked at the window just to make sure. His eyes caught glimpse of red petals. "Roses?"

But the kitchen windows were thoroughly sealed. How could some rose petals floated inside the room? And more importantly, why did he not notice the book which was lying right on the kitchen table before? The eerily black book cover was decorated with silver linings and donned with pentagram logo on the front and back side of the book.

Shun eyed the book dressed in black leather with suspicions; Ikki was not a book person and Shun was also positive that he never had this kind of book before in his arsenal. Then whose book is it?

After deciding that leaving the book all alone was not a wise choice, Shun grabbed it as he went outside to dispose their weekly garbage. He was tempted to read the content while walking, but his gut feeling told him that it's not the brightest idea to follow. Hence, after disposing what he had in front of the apartment, Shun quickly went to the garage and opened the book and read the content.

What amazed him was that he could understand the content thoroughly, as though he had read that book a long time ago. By the time his hand flipped over the pages and reached the last, Shun felt the need to execute the order of this book—the very thing that must be done.

"...I just hope it did not bring much problem, though..."

It was easy to fulfill the requested ingredients to meet the book's guidance. What he basically needed are a pair of chalks and two bunches of red roses. Aside from the basic ingredients, it's required for him to shed some drops of his blood (which is why he's bringing his swiz-knife as well) and read incantation typed in the book.

What would they do? Shun had no idea. But he still went for it anyway, as if it was natural... as if it was meant to be.

Shun sighed as he picked one of the chalk and start drawing on the ground according to the book's illustration. It was basically 4 simple patterns combined into one design: a pentagram, an octagon, an inside triangle, and an outer ring to conceive everything inside. The runes which was supposed to be written in the inside of the 'magic circle' was a different story altogether. Shun managed to write the first runes of the outer rim, before knowing that he should be writing it on the inside of the rim.

After struggling to make a single 'magic circle' for almost an hour, Shun sighed in relief. The circle is finished, the deed is done; all that is available for now is to see whether his work will be successful. By then, part of his mind thought this as ridiculous.

But something tells me that I must do this...

Sighing once again, Shun held the book in front of himself, feeling anxious by the passing seconds. He even read the passage of ritual several times before trying to chant the mantra, only to back down and read it again to make sure that there will be no mistake on his part. Finally, he opened his mouth, ready to speak.

"Heed my words, my will creates your body, your sword creates my destiny—" he pulled out his knife, cut his finger, and let his blood dripped on the semen floor of the garage. Shun was so stunned to see his circle began to glow eerily red that he stopped chanting. Only after his finger stopped bleeding did he continue with his incantation.

"—if you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!"

Shun felt part of his energy is slowly being drained from his reserve. But really, could he stop then? He gritted his teeth. Rose petals start to swirl around him, strengthening the supernatural ambiance.

"I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in this world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world—" Shun took a deep breath to ensure his intonation, silently hoping that he's not doing something foolish. 'but I guess it's too late for that...'

"—you, Seven Heavens, shrouded by the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of inhibition!"

There was a big flash and a powerful gust of wind that knocked Shun back. His book was thrown out of nowhere. Red petals flying all over his view, clouding his sense. But one thing he's very sure then: he's not alone. Standing before him was a tall—beautiful, if he might add—man with long blue hair, clad in golden armor and white manteau. His right hand evidently held a red rose.

"I ask you, are you the one who summon me?"

Shun could feel his heart stop for a moment when that baritone voice echoed in the garage.

"I am Albafica of Pisces, loyal saint of Athena," he said calmly and bowed politely, "This rose is yours to command, master."

Shun fainted.

*~To be Continued~*

Author's Note: I think I am going crazy if I ever cross Fate and SSLC series altogether, but hey, who can blame the plot bunnies, anyway? Because I am not really that expert in making a whole gigantic plot about SSLC and Fate in their respective side, I just think, "hey, it may be fun to put both series together!". And it did. Whew, here's chapter 1 for you then. But don't bother hoping on FSN character like Rin or Shirou, because they'll not be here in this fiction. Basically, this story itself is an AU version of SSLC and FSN altogether; just different story with similar background. Just because of this nature, I had trouble deciding on what category should I put this story in: crossover or still Saint Seiya. I mean, basically, this story will revolve purely on Saint Seiya's characters, with Fate's worldly characteristic, so I cannot really put my finger in this.

Oh, and in this story, the team (except Ikki) is on their first highschool year. Yeah, I still put Shiryu and Hyoga in the first year as well, even though both of them are one year older than Shun and Seiya, just for convenience sake :3