FALLEN

Shiryu burst through the doors of Libra temple and looked around uneasy. He wouldn't be here. Of course not! But he stepped forward and felt for his cosmo just to be sure.

"He's not here!" Shiryu turned to face Seiya and Shun who had just run up behind him.

They could feel his relief and smiled.

"Of course he wouldn't be Shiryu. He cares too much about you." Seiya replied. "This is good for another reason too. Another temple we can pass right through. Who knows how much time we have left."

Shun stopped behind them both thinking. Now he had to be worried about Ikki and Hyoga.

They can both take care of themselves.

But I'm still worried.

Shun was following Shiryu and Seiya forward through the temple, which was rather dark and difficult to navigate through, when he bumped right into Seiya's back.

"Oww...Why'd you stop? I thought we were in a hur..." Shun stopped rubbing his head and looked at where the others were looking.

Looks like...a giant ice cube. Shun cocked his head confused. It looked kind of too...perfect here. And there was something inside...

Seiya and Shiryu had stepped forward and were gaping down at the figure inside the ice cube.

"It's...Hyoga."

Shun stepped forward too, his mind already in denial. It was not! No one could just...who...why would someone do this to someone? Because it couldn't 't be...

It was an ice coffin and he was inside. Shun's knees collapsed and he fell, upper body against the ice. His skin...it wasn't tanned anymore...not even pale. It was hued blue. His eyes were shut, lashes against his cheeks. Shun ran his fingers over the ice covering his face. And every perfect lock of hair was frozen in place...forever. Shun shook his head and shivered. No. Just until they got him out.

"Hyoga..."

"Is he alive?" Seiya whispered from over Shun.

"Of course he's alive!" Shun looked up at him, eyes sparkling with tears. "We just have to get him out."

"Move aside Shun." Shun scrambled away from the coffin and watched as Shiryu placed the arm with his shield above it. He shut his eyes as Shiryu brought his hand down and prayed.

CHINK!

When he looked barely a chip was gone.

Shiryu had wandered away from the cube with Hyoga in it. It was disheartening to watch Shun standing there, tears flowing soundlessly as he tried desperately to break that ice.

CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK.

He'd been beating that chain into the ice for at least a half-hour now. Shiryu and Seiya had been helping but they'd given up. The little chips they made weren't even causing cracks so they'd know the ice was weakening. But Shun...Shiryu sighed and paced around the temple darkness.

CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK.

If only they had something stronger. Like a giant hammer or an axe...Shiryu looked up as Seiya came towards him.

"I can't...I can't tell him he has to stop." He looked back at Shun and Shiryu looked too. Shun looked like he was getting tired now. He had sunk to his knees and had stopped crying but hadn't given up on the chains yet.

CHINK. CHINK. CHINK. CHINK.

Seiya flinched listening to that sound. It meant a friend was dying or dead. But he still had to think about Athena foremost.

Shiryu turned away from Shun and walked into a dark corner of the temple slowly. He'd felt something.

He couldn't give up yet.

Shun felt tired but he couldn't give up yet.

THWACK.

He slammed the chains down onto the ice as hard as he could. His heart beat wildly and he fought not to think about the friend inside. Just about breaking the ice.

THWACK.

Was it so much to ask for that little time with Hyoga he hadn't got back at the mansion? He'd just wanted to talk to Hyoga honestly about how he felt. He'd wanted to hold him and touch him and kiss him. He'd wanted Hyoga to do that back to him. Shun shuddered. He'd just wanted to tell him he loved him.

THWACK.

"Shun."

He ignored the voice. No you can't make me stop...please don't make me stop.

THWACK.

Seiya caught his friend's hands. "I'm sorry."

"You can't just leave him here!?" green eyes pleaded helplessly.

Seiya looked away from Shun's eyes. "We'll come back. Maybe Athena could...do something for him."

"We can't leave..." Shun's voice broke.

"We have to!" Seiya's voice was firm. "Our first duty...is to Athena. We swore to protect her...at the price of our lives." He dropped Shun's hands and walked away.

Shun reached out to the ice. He couldn't even...touch him one last time.

"Mind your hand." Shun looked up at Shiryu's voice and gasped at the sight of him over the coffin with a sword.

Libra cloth sword. He shut his eyes and prayed one last time.

A/N: It has been requested i skip all the bloody fight scenes, since i'm boring so many, so i will...the story will be done in...two or three chapters.