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 feedbacks from the reviewer.

Chapter I: Seemingly Normal

It was his official summon and he had to face a fainted master? Pisces Albafica sighed at how things turned to be. Even though he had all the necessary information of this world, handling a fainted master is not really the most general thing to do. Surely, the master expected him when he read the book, right?

Albafica groaned again when the scenario of his master summoning him without information of the game entered his mind.

"Worrying about it will not help anyone," he sighed again and observed his surroundings and was not stunned by how the architecture of the building in the slightest. He was summoned as a servant not without adequate information about current world situation. Although, he must admit that he was impressed with how advanced the architecture of the building.

Noticing that they're underground—or more specifically, in the basement—the blue-haired man carried his newly-found master bridal-style. He was about to leap out the building to bring his master away from the damp place, when he noticed the black book decked in black leather and pentacle logo. He frowned and quickly put it on top of Shun's folded hand.

"You will have to guard that book very closely by your side, Master," he softly spoke, "If we ever want to win this war, that is."

Shun's form, of course, did not response nor make signs on the man's comment. By the time a cold gust of wind blew, Albafica was already leaping outside the building, knocking on the door several times, lying the body of his master in front of the door, and then disappearing in flickers of light after the residence opened the door.

There was a panic scream soon after, followed by a cursing Ikki.

The first thing he felt were gentle and soft caresses on his hair when he regained his awareness. However, by the time he opened his eyes, he could only see traces of flickering blue-red light over his head, which his brain identified just as a hallucination. Slowly, he got up from his own bed, wandering how the heck had he even gone back to his room once more.

"...Hmm...," he thought carefully, eyes still bleary, but he could not really put out why. "I remembered of going down to the basement, making some sort of magic circle or sorts..."

Shun tried to recall more but to no avail; his memories seemed to fade after he chanted certain spells from a familiar book. Wait, the book; quickly, he scanned his own room to see if the book was still present. Shun did not have to search further than a meter because said book was actually lying next to his resting pillow, safe and unharmed. He frowned, again.

"...I really thought I left the book in the garage... Hm... Did Ikki bring it—"

"Shun! You're awake!"

His words stopped mid-sentence as the door to his room squeaked open, slowly. The very first thing that he saw was a blur of blue—what he heard, a worried voice. The next thing he knew, Ikki was already standing in front of him, touching his own forehead to test his temperature.

"Feeling fine now? You're not feeling sick, are you?" He asked. Shun, unable to verbally response—because he never really had the chance to see his own brother this worried—, nodded. Again, Ikki frowned at the reaction. "Don't tell you've lost your voice, Shun..."

Certainly, Ikki was dead worried.

"O-of course not, brother!" Shun quickly cut off whatever assumption that was coming next. "Just... a little tired, that's all."

Somewhere in his heart, Shun believed it was not all, but Ikki accepted his reasons anyway without further questioning his own health. He nodded, "good, at least you're back."

"What happened... yesterday?"

Shun's confused look did not make the older brother feel better; if the one who's being tended to forgot why he passed out, then who's the one dropping Shun in front of the apartment and caused a fiasco in the neighborhood? Surely, the younger brother would not remember the culprit. Ikki sighed, "that's what I want to ask you when you regain consciousness. Do you remember anything at all, Shun? At least, who did this to you?"

Shun shook his head; partial lies.

Ikki groaned and then scratched, "great, now how could we track the person who had actually kidnapped you yesterday!"

Whoa, wait, kidnapped? Shun's mind was now reeling in. "Brother, really," he pleaded, "if I were kidnapped, I wouldn't be here..."

Ikki only gave him a straight stare and spoke again, "Alright, perhaps you were not necessarily kidnapped. You were lying in front of apartment entrance door. Whoever dropped you there was nice enough to ring the bell and left you out cold outside," he replied tonelessly, but still slightly filled with anger.

Shun blinked, "actually, brother... I am pretty sure that I passed out in the garage. Perhaps someone in the neighborhood noticed my absence and decided to move me on the entrance?"

Ikki made a look and pinched the bridge of his eyebrows. How could his brother land on such conclusion anyway? If the neighbors are that concerned, they would not even left Shun without properly meeting the apartment caretaker! Sometimes, Ikki could not comprehend how his brother could have positive detriments to everybody. "Your reasoning does not make any sense."

Shun shrugged sheepishly on his own bed. His sight quickly laid on the book next to his pillow and brought it to his side. "Ikki, did you..." he paused for a moment. He was sure that the book is in the garage the night he passed out, so either Ikki fetched it or it came out into his room on its own. The latter seemed impossible. "...did you fetch this book from the garage?"

Ikki made a face and crossed both of his hands. "No. You were holding it tightly when we found you in the entrance. It's yours, isn't it?"

"No, it's not..."

Ikki raised an eyebrow. "...well, if it's not yours, I suggest you keep it until we found the owner," he finalized as he walked away from his little brother, fetching dirty laundry nest to his bed. "Oh, I almost forgot. Those three friends of yours came today, actually. If it's not for your condition, I would have let them see you."

"They did?" Shun blinked. His eyes quickly darted at a small clock on top of his mini television. He groaned; it was already past two in the afternoon which means he skipped school. That also explained why his stomach growled loudly then. Shun blushed a bit, and his brother only smiled slightly.

"They did. I'll go get something to eat. You'd better wait patiently, Shun. And what I mean, don't even move from this room."

Again, said younger brother could only smile sheepishly as his older brother closed the door. Shun could hear his brothers footsteps faded away, added by the sound of a closing door. His brother was searching bento for the both of them then. Just realizing such fact made him feel down; usually, it was either him or his brother who made lunch. If his brother took measures to buy ready-to-eat bento, then he was too busy worrying himself. All this guilt made him want to move out of the room.

It's not like he was not well and any form. A bit fatigue, yes, but that just did not justify him to stay still inside his own room. Fatigue aside, Shun was still sure that his brother had not finished house chores, part of it because of him worrying over his well-being. Should that really be what happened... well, he had more reasons to patch up work, right?

"I wouldn't suggest you to tire yourself out, master. My summoning should have knocked you out cold.. at least until tomorrow."

Shun could not help but yelped, of course, as he peeped at his left side and saw an unrecognizable man with long blue hair, clad in golden armor. In short, the man he saw then was simply the real version on his dream. His eyes widened, "you! Who—how—"

The man did not smile. In stead, he bowed deeply and still managed to make a firm expression. "I really hoped you sleep well, master. Just to let you know and remember once more, I am Albafica of Pisces, Caster class in this game."

His head was spinning once more. Caster? Game? Pisces? He never summoned someone for anything unnecessary such as a game! "But I did not summon you—" Shun did not continue his words as realization dawned upon him: the magic circle, incantation, and the book. Why did he not realize it sooner!

"Wait... you mean, you..." his mouth was still uttering words he could not explained; his mind was racing. "...came from the magic circle?"

At least, by the time he finished his sentence, Shun quickly remembered what really happened last night: the swirling red petals, the cold stagnant air in the garage, and also... the rich tenor voice which had asked his confirmation on being a master or not. Standing before him was the same man which he had seen last night and, perhaps, was the same man who had dropped him in front of the apartment entrance.

"...it's as you said, master," he nodded. Somewhere alone that line, Albafica's gaze deformed from humbleness to haughtiness. "To prepare for the upcoming game, we servants heed your call, the summoner. Surely, you are aware of the details, given your ability to—"

"Wait, wait, waaaaait!" Shun quickly exclaimed as his mind tried to follow the man's words, "please Sir, I don't really understand what you're talking about! Game? Servants? Summoner? Look, I know you're lost, but certainly, there should be something which you can remember onto? Then maybe, I could help you..."

Simply put, Shun did not believe a single word that came from this man. Later, he would probably regret his decision. As Albafica stared at the figure of his so-called master, he sighed heavily.

"...what am I going to do..."

"...I can't believe I'm stuck with a summoner who didn't even look at the game rules..."

"Hey!" Shun blushed at the comment—and couldn't help it. Well, he's partially in fault anyway for belittling the consequences that may ensue later on. "I just can not help it! I thought it was a cookbook!"

"Yeah. And then you drew a magic circle because you think it's a cookbook? Honestly, I think it's not even logical," Albafica cut off again. "Please read the book more throughly, master, just to make sure that you understand."

Shun couldn't help but blush deeper and, as his 'servant' demanded, read the book once more—the same book which he use as reference to make the magic circle. The first page, frankly titled as 'drawing magic circle for beginners' was written on bold, but still in the same letter size with body of the text. That alone made him somewhat relief; at least he could blame the book for not providing a more decent letter size, because he would not even start to follow the instructions if he had not missed the title. Shun sighed; there's nothing he could do except for following this problem, wherever it's going.

The next page, he noticed, was about the rules of the game. His eyebrow rose. "So basically, this book is called the book of summon and is used by the user to control their flow of his inner energy—the cosmo. It served as some sort of manual during Khronos Game..."

"Also," he continued again, and his eyes did not sit still inside its socket, "the book is a valid proof for the participant of the game and could not be used by other than the original owner. The book also hold supremacy over the life of servant and fed on the user's cosmo to sustain the form of the servant..."

He stopped. "...I think I missed something important, like..." he eyed Albafica briefly, forehead shriveled. "What the heck is Khronos Game. This book did not even describe it!"

Albafica sighed, "It was assumed that anyone who held this book will have at least bare knowledge on Khronos Game. I can't believe I'm stuck with an amateur—"

By then, Shun already closed the book and tossed it off on his bed. He glared, simply annoyed by how this man acted before him. Couldn't Albafica just be done with his grovelling and accepted the fact that he's stuck with Shun, as much as Shun's stuck with him?

"Look, I really wanted to help you in this, but complaining would not even get us anywhere!" Shun finally said and crossed his limbs. "So, unless you start talking, I wouldn't be able to see how important this game to you!"

There was a brief silent after Shun's bold exclamation—a very blatant move, even for him. Both exchange hard looks, not wanting to admit or yield to the other's reasoning, out of pride of course. The silent was deafening, at least until Albafica sighed again.

"You make a good point," he started and cleared his throat, "staying like this would not help anyone—not even me or you. The more you are informed, seeing you as my current master, the better for us. What do you want to ask?"

Shun nodded in agreement and relief. He was not really sure that his last straw would yield better result than this. "About this Khronos Game. What is this?"

"Khronos Game..." he stared at the book absentmindedly, trying to recall something important. However, the blank look on his face indicated him to be lost as well. "Do you know Khronos, the god of time?"

He could see Shun shaking his head. Albafica stared at him as if he was an alien from another planet. "Khronos is one of the protogenoi—great gods—in the Greek mythology. Never mix it up with the king of Titans, Cronus, though. He guarded time and constantly watched over this world—history and future. So far, do you follow me?"

Shun was practically being a good boy and paid attention to what his 'servant' said. Albafica nodded. "For his entertainment, Khronos organized this game. Of course, it's not without a prize." he raised his hand and flicked some strands of his blue hair which covered his vision. "In the game is practically a battle royal of servants—poor souls of holy warriors who could not rest and made negotiations with the god of time himself. Servants are later called by the summoners who have the power to call out to their inner power—the cosmo."

"...god, I don't know what to believe—you here, or your story—"

"You would deny me? I am quite the living proof of this game!"

The screeching intonation made Shun squirmed silently. His worry, however, doubled as Albafica's stare hardened and focused... to something more concrete outside of the room. Suddenly, he quickly sought outside the room from the window, as if trying to determine something invisible. This perturbed Shun, who was still halfheartedly believe what he was told.

"He's here."

"Who's here?"

There was traces of worry in the eyes of the older man as he looked at Shun. "Another servant."

A tall and proud man, standing right on the electrical pole just to observe another servant... Saber felt it to be very humiliating. There he was, standing where his master ought him to be, doing nothing, while his prey was still in sight and oblivious with his surrounding. Sometimes, he wondered whether the bearer of that gold cloth was even the real thing—an opponent who could bring him an honorary fight.

The servant, Saber, scowled. His acquaintance could do better than this.

"What are you trying to orchestrate, really..." he whispered to no one, particularly annoyed. Again, he continued to observe these two characters who happened to be participants of the game as well, bored to death. His hand ached for action, but it's nothing compared to the wait which he had to experience in the timeless limbo created by Khronos, specially-made for the servants.

Oh, and look here, the servant just actually realized his present. Saber scowled, knowing the armor which that servant wore but no recognizing the wearer. Then, the best conclusion is that this person is from another timeline—like how Khronos would want this game to be. Battle Royal of seven holy warriors from various timelines.

The other servant had decided to bring himself outside, along with the green-haired teen. Saber was not amused; but then again, that could be the best and worst thing to do. Servants could not afford to leave the master's side after all.

He was rather surprised when the person seemed to recognize him, though. Then again, what he wore right then was particularly known to those clad in such golden armor.

"Capricorn El Cid, you also entered?" He started, and Saber only lifted an eyebrow. "I never expected you to be one full of life's regret."

Saber scowled, but not because of Albafica's comment. "Enough chatter. You were a Pisces saint, I presume. But I do not recognize you as part of our line, hence... you're not from my timeline," he said matter-of-factly as he lifted his right hand. Albafica quickly stepped in, protecting his master behind his back. In his right hand, a stem of black rose materialized, ready to be thrown; ready to eat anything in its way.

"I see that Khronos wiped your memories clean, Capricorn," Albafica smirked. "I was looking forward for a heart-wrenching reunion... but no, Khronos did not make this game just for out convenience."

"Deluded fish," he stated back, earning an annoyed look from the blue-haired former saint, "who are we to know of god's judgement? You're here because you made a deal with the god of time. All of us are. You'd better be prepared of what that entailed."

Albafica managed a snort—a haughty one that made Shun squirmed behind him uncomfortably. "Capricorns. Always the rigid ones," Albafica groaned, pointing his black rose to the other servant. "You better be ready, El Cid." The single stalk of black rose flew quickly towards its designated target, but only to be scattered by an invisible force. Shun's eyes widened, because he was sure that Saber just swayed his right arm to the rose (what can a single rose do, anyway?). It did not even touch the black rose at the slightest.

Albafica chuckled. "I see your Excalibur did not lose its sharpness."

Saber smirked, "What is a blade if it's not constantly honed?" He continued, staring at his enemy—the gaze so fierce that it may split his enemy in two if it was the holy sword. "And I will make sure to drill my name in your head, Pisces. It's Shura of Capricorn."

[To Be Continued]

A/N: No, it's not El Cid. And yes, Capricorns tend to be so uptight in the series, which I completely and utterly agreed (being a capricorn myself, LOL). And no, this Khronos which is used in the plot is not the Titan who married to Rhea and gave birth to the first 6 Olympians, no. I was surprised to know that both is different gods altogether, so yeah. And yeah, as far as it could be, this story borrows grail system of Fate series to some extent.