all disclaimers apply. Song lyrics from "Questions" by INXS and is repesctive property of theirs and their associates. From their album, "Welcome to Wherever You Are", 1992

author's note: this is just a quick one-shot that came to me as I listend to a particular song and ideas came flowing into my head. I wrote this in less than twenty minutes and it's meant to be random in pattern and style for a reason. It's not obvious, but relevent if you think about it. It's not the happiest of stories, but ah, I gotta do some serious or sad ones once in a while. For my "happy" fics, check out "Aww, Craps" or "When Good Kitties Go Bad". The latter of which I just updated today!

Songfic...Flight of Undead

How do you know when it's time for you to go
How can you stop when you don't know how to start

The pharaoh laid helpless on the cold stone floor. His power was gone. His palace and kingdom were destroyed. His kaa was slipping away. Every last ounce of his life's energy was used in defeating the massive, dark, evil. So much lost to save. So much gone wrong. So much betrayal and hurt. With no idea where it all began and only one idea on how it should end, the young king did the only thing he could do...sacarfice his own life for the slim hope that the innocent people of his world could live on. He would give his own life in the name of darkness so that light may claim victory. Each breath became more difficult. He could hear sobs around him, but could no longer see the faces who wept. Barely sixteen years old, the young king passed away, but not to the afterlife. Destiny had another path for the young king to take. His Millenium Puzzle glowed one last time. It captured its owner's soul before splitting into its separate pieces. The other six Millenium Items glowed in response to the Puzzle. They tore away at the pharaoh's memories, each taking a portion for itself. Then it was over. Silence. Nothing more could be done. Darkness defeated or sealed, the living did not know for certain. All that was known was that their couragous young pharaoh no longer existed. A proper burial was the least they could do for such a young hero whose life was unfairly cut short in order to save them...his people. Shimon, once priest and Millenium Item holder for the father, now gathered the lifeless, limp body of the son. The priestess, Isis, trying to clear her line of sight from her tears, gathered the pieces of the Millenium Puzzle. The priest, Seto, was no where to be found. He had mysteriously disappeared during the raging heat of battle. There was no one else left. The young king's horse whinnied in concern for his owner upon seeing his lifeless body. Shimon calmed the horse and placed the dead king upon him for one final ride. A ride through the village and back to the remnants of the palace. An empty throne would eerily greet them. This young king would never sit upon it again. A kingdom in shambles and without a king, doomed. Yet no one seemed to care at the moment. It was a time of mourning and grief.

How can you go back when you don't know why you're here

Locked in a viscious Duel Monsters battle with Marik for the title of Battle City champion and to be the one and only holder of all three Egyptian God Cards, Yami pressed hard, utilizing every gaming skill he knew. An ancient pharaoh, now thrust 3000 years into the future to awaken without memories of one's past, Yami had a single minded goal. Apparently he had awakened to save the world once again. He did not know why. He did not know from whom. He did not even know how. Why now? Why here? Who am I? Why me? If I'm from the past, how did I get here? These questions raced through his mind like a daily prayer to the gods. He told no one of that, not even his light, Yugi Moto...the one whose body he shared in order to express himself or his actions. Nobody needed to know how uncertain the once king was. King's weren't supposed to reveal their inner emotions to others anyway...at least that's what he felt was proper. His current goal was to get the memories of his past back. He had to go back...to the past he couldn't remember. Again, many of the same questions plagued his mind like a festering wound. One step closer, only to end up taking two steps back. So many obstacles in the way. So many hardships being endured. All in the name of a need to get back some memories? Yami was beginning to doubt his reason for being. But again, all was kept to himself.

How can you see when your eyes begin to fade

Battle City won. Marik defeated. Yami had obtained all the God Cards and all seven Millenium Items. Marik revealed the ancient scriptures carved upon his own back in the name of the pharaoh. Returning to a table stone that revealed a great duel of his past life, Yami flashed the three deadly God Cards to it. In recognition, the tablet lit into blinding light. Yami could feel his essence being pulled. He closed his eyes and allowed the power to take him to where it was he was being sent.

How will you hear when you've heard it all before
How do you do all the things you want to do
How much can you take when you've taken all you can
Modern day Seto. To Yami, he was a strange enigma. The CEO of Kaiba Corp and only sixteen years old. Orphaned with his younger brother at a young age, this teen took what he needed and wanted. He bettered his life for himself and his younger brother, but he paid an awful price. He had become cold and ruthless. He was driven by his hunger for power and status though mostly in Duel Monsters rather than life itself. He denied his roots to his past life. He refused to accept a chosen destiny. He believe solely in creating his own destiny, his own path. Yami knew too little of his past life to convince the arrogant teen that history was repeating itself. Worse yet, he couldn't convince Seto that he was a key player in this issue. Seto would have to learn the hard way...on his own.
How can you act when you've never seen the script
How can you choose when you don't know which is right
How far can you go if you've been there before

Yami awoke in the garb of his former self...a pharaoh, in ancient Egypt. His skin, no longer like his light's, but rather the dark tones of an ancient Egyptian. The room he was in, the people who were present, the events that played out...things of his past...of his memories he could not remember. His past life was playing out in real time.He was sent 3000 years into the past, or so he thought. But, without the memories of his past, how was he going to live this life? Bits and pieces seemed familiar and then totally strange in an instant. Would history change if he made a wrong decision? Would his life change if he changed it now? He was a helpless player in this cruel game of reenactment of his past life. All he could do is live it by the seat of his pants...or skirt for that matter. He had no idea what was going on or what was going to occur. He'd simply have to 'wing it' and see where this 'life' took him. What a cruel game this was!

How can you shine if you've never seen the sun

Tomb robber extrodinaire...Bakura. Doomed to live a life of strife and revenge, he sought only one thing...to ruin the pharaoh and his kingdom. They had to pay for the atrocities he had witnessed as an innocent boy. Darkness claimed him as he watched those he knew be slaughtered and boiled. All in the name of their king. All for some strange power...a dark, evil power that could control the world. He would get this power for himself. He would turn it upon those who did this. He would show the young pharaoh that he had met his match. Excelling and mastering the Shadow Games, this commoner acquired a deadly kaa beast. It had no match...not even the Egyptian gods themselves! The King of Thieves would destroy all that was! Defiling the late king's tomb, he dragged his mummified corpse to the palace and show the young king he meant business and was to be taken seriously. Riches didn't matter to him. He only took them to upset and rile the royalty and the priests within the palace. The corpse of the young pharaoh's father...now that will have an effect. The pharaoh will accept his challenge to a duel. He had little choice in the matter. Darkness and revenge would prevail. To Bakura, this young pharaoh had seen his last sunrise.

How does a child become a man without a child
How can you heal someone who doesn't want to heal...

The high priest, Seto...strongest of duelists except for the king himself. Just a few years older than the young pharaoh, he was next in line to rule as king himself though he did not know or actively seek this. He was first cousin to the pharaoh. His father and the young king's father were brothers. The young priest did not know this either. He grew up with a tale of his father dying in battle or something of the sort. He didn't care. He was driven by power. He sought strong kaa and would crush any in his path. He served the king only to serve himself. But the fragile friendship of king and high priest was the only friendship either of them had time for. Too much had to be done and their occupations kept them from socializing beyond one another.

Both high priest and pharaoh were very young...striving to prove themselves and become men. Thrust into such high status positions at such young ages while dealing with the throes of adolescence wasn't the easiest task to master. One thing was for certain though...the kingdom was unstable. The young pharaoh was occupied with matters other than thinking about the somewhat distant future of his kingdom. He had yet to marry or produce an heir to the throne. It was an oversight that would have deadly consequences. It was a reckless mistake of youth. If he had been crowned at an older age, it would have been one of his top priorities. But barely in his mid-teens, the young pharaoh thought himself invincible. He had many years left to contemplate such matters. Such is the price inexperienced youth pays in life. Underestimated the power of fate and pay the price.

As the young pharaoh laid dying upon the floor, he thought about his high priest. He had thought him to be a trusted and loyal friend. Instead, he betrayed his friendship to the pharaoh. If he had stood by his side, as a team, they would have defeated the looming darkness with their lives intact. But the priest succumbed to the darkness and betrayed him. The young pharaoh would die with a heavy heart. He did everything for his people and his friends, including Seto. He gave them kindness, wealth, protection, happiness. And this was his repayment. Some of his final memories would be of a friend turned enemy. Of love turning to hatred. Of hope becoming despair. As the light of his life flickered to a close, so did his kingdom and all he and his father had strived for. The people would live on. The villages would rebuild. A new ruler would arise. But how would they remember the short reign of a young couragous king who gave everything and took nothing for himself? Would they remember all he had done for them? The goodness? Or would they remember the darkness, death, and strife that resulted in a need to save them from something they knew nothing about? Would the young pharaoh be remembered for dabbling in powers of darkness and evil thus making him evil by default? It didn't matter...death was going to claim him. He could do nothing about it now. All he could hope for was a few of his court were still kind and loyal enough to give him a proper burial and defend the goodness that he really was.

Yami's eyes thrust open and his body jutted upright. Where was he? As his eyes readjusted, he was greeted by the kind, innocent eyes of his light.

"Aibou."

"Yami! I was so scared! I didn't know if you were going to be able to come back! I'm so glad you did! Do you have your memories? What happened? Are you okay? Wha---"

Yami cut off his light's words by placing a finger on his light's mouth. "In due time Yugi. I am in the present right? This isn't a dream?"

Yugi nodded affirmative. Tears were still streaming down his face.

"Let me take over for a moment. You are all present correct?"

Yugi nodded again and the two concentrated. With a brief glow of the Puzzle, Yami took over as the consciousness of Yugi's body. He was greeted by many other pairs of eyes...many of which also had tears of joy. "Well, I'm back. Did I miss anything?"

The others were speechless in their joy of the return of the spirit of the ancient king. They swarmed in and hugged the spirit, or rather Yugi's body, but the meaning was clear. True friends who honestly cared about him. A tear scampered down his own face. Yami, with memories of past and present now intact, couldn't be more happier than with true friends. He did indeed have a reason for being in the present though more questions still remained, but at least he knew what had to be done...in due time. But, for now, being in the company of friends was worth more than life itself for the ancient king who could lay his past life and death at rest and hope again, that when all was accomplished here, that he would rest in peace with the knowledge of kind, caring friends warming his heart. He would not leave the world lonely again.