INCONCIEVABLE
Number I
Something Lost and Gained
Domino, Japan. July. School was out long ago, the children had gone home. Work was finished as well, at least for most. The lights of the city skyscrapers remained on, the colorful evening skyline naturally dominated by the monstrous building that was home to the world's youngest billionaire. Other buildings did their best, illuminating reds and purples and - in the case of the French embassy - the national colors. It was Bastille Day.
The streets and sidewalks were not crowded as 9:30 came, but there were still people milling about. Parents looking for a quite-fix meal for their children, vendors hawking their goods, and the occasional gawker who stopped to watch the three-story-high DBN television screen with it's stories on Bush and China and the rumored resignation of the prime minister. In other words, it was much like any night.
Yet along the streets the figure walked, dressed from head to toe in black, hair curled up into a black hat. The black clothing and especially the wool coat were atypical of the hot weather, and the large trundle bag incurred some amused stares. Fashion or even social acceptance, however, were low on the figure's list of priorities.
Carrier. She needed a new carrier, and quickly. But she was running low on her supply. The supply was everything, and she could not waste anymore on those who could not do what she needed them to do. Once it was gone, it was gone; she had to pick carefully now who would be next.
With that, the figure continued to walk, her eyes looking left and right underneath dark sunglasses, hoping to finally find what she was looking for. The one person that would finally give birth to her dreams of glory and justice.
Of revenge.
------------
"Other me, there you are. You're finally up! You won't believe what happened today after school!" Black sneakers connected briskly onto the concrete sidewalk. "There was a car accident!"
"...A car accident?" Hands wiped half-awake eyes. "That doesn't sound like something to be cheerful about, partner."
"Oh, no, it was actually pretty funny!" Yugi Motou was grinning as he grasped his backpack. "The back of this truck opened and cans of soft drink flew out and hit the front of the principal's car as they were driving! The principal's card was completely ruined."
"And that was a good thing?"
"Well...no," Yugi kept smiling. "But the driver stopped and asked what he could do to repair the damages...and the principal said he had to give every student in his school a free drink! So I have some mango and grapefruit soda in my backpack that I'll have when I study tonight!"
"...I guess it was a good thing, then."
At this, Yugi turned and gave a toothy grin towards the figure next to him. To almost everyone else, had they looked at that moment they would have seen the small but formidable card duelist - the official King of Games and recent Champion of Battle City - talking to nothing but the wall. But in truth there was someone there, someone who had been with Yugi for some time, someone who shared both body and mind with the boy, if not soul.
"Aaah, partner," Yami no Yugi - the 'other' Yugi that aided in Yugi's fights, the nameless ancient pharaoh - gave a yawn. "Sorry if I seem tired. I spent all night doing some card exercises."
"Card exercises?"
"I was just trying out some various strategies with the Gods," Yami nodded. "To see how well I could do in a duel with and without them now that they're in my deck. I lost track of time, though, so if you were feeling tired at all today..."
"Oh...no, not at all!" Yugi laughed. "I didn't notice a thing."
"You're certain...?"
As Yugi talked, he didn't notice the shadows slowly coming up behind him. They kept their distance, just enough to deflect any impression that they were following the boy. Yami, however, turned around to yawn again, and he caught one of the shadows in the corner of his eye.
Huh? Who...
"Of course I'm certain!" Yugi seemed unaware of the danger. "Actually, speaking of cards, I got some new ones before you woke up, so we can add them to the de-"
"Partner." The pharoah's voice abruptly lowered, his mouth set in a frown. "Don't speak so rashly. Start talking to me through the soul rooms, right now."
"Wh..." Yugi stopped speaking at the tone of his friend's voice, and within seconds his voice echoed on the inside of his mind, the the eye on the Millennium Puzzle around his neck pulsing softly with light. "Other me? What's wrong?"
"I think we're being followed. Don't do anything abrupt, and don't look behind you." Yugi bit his lip as the spirit spoke. "Keep walking until I can figure out what to do."
Yugi immediately obeyed, and he continued walking with a quickened pace for several blocks, hoping that his other self would perhaps end up being wrong. For his part, Yami brought his hand on Yugi's tensed shoulder and turned his head around every couple of feet as they walked, hoping, also, that he was wrong.
The shadows did not disappear at all; in fact, the number of them increased. Soon there were five boys, all who looked to be college-age, following Yugi, all of them keeping enough distance to allow people to pass them as they walked, making their congregation on the sidewalk seem harmless enough.
Yami's hand clenched onto Yugi's arm.
"Turn here, partner."
"G-"
"Stay calm. If you need me to, I'll take over."
"I..." Yugi closed his eyes. "All right."
"Hey."
The boy had turned into a dark alley, perfect for the five to follow him in without any distractions. In Yugi's mind, of course, he was doing all he can to keep his knees from knocking together at the situation. Why did his other self have to pick this area of all places, where anything could happen without witnesses at that time of night? Couldn't he have stopped at a brightly-lit area, where people could see what was happening, just in case...?
As Yugi began to fret over what was going to happen and why, the light within the Puzzle's eye brightened, illuminating the alleyway even as the figures entered the alleyway. Each of them smiled at the sigh of the boy's shaking back.
"Motoh Yugi?"
"...Yes."
Outwardly, the manner of the boy's voice, and his shaking posture, suddenly changed at the question, becoming straighter, more menacing. As he answered the eyes turned and narrowed as he surveyed the five boys who were finally stepping towards him, finally making their intentions clear. All of them looked quite capable of doing damage if they decided to fight him, and a fight looked inevitable to Yami. There was little time to acclimate to taking control of the body; there was nothing but ill-will written on the would-be attackers' faces.
"King of Games," one of them smiled as he reached a hand out - by his movements, he seemed to be the ringleader of the bunch. "Can I have an autograph?"
"...No." Yami's response was blunt. "I don't give out autographs."
"Can we see your God Cards, then?" There was a snicker. "We heard they were really cool. Can we?"
"Yeah, we can hardly wait to see them, right?"
"We've all been waiting since Battle City ended..."
"...Is that why you followed me for fifteen minutes?" Yami's eyes narrowed further. "You'll be disappointed. I'm afraid I don't carry such valuable cards with me so casually, so you'll just have to wait even longer to see them."
"Other me?"
"I'll be careful." Yami felt sweat begin to form on his brow as he spoke to Yugi through their soul rooms. "Be warned, I may have to use my powers if it gets out of hand."
"But other me-"
"Don't worry," Yami smiled to himself as he watched Yugi's spirit dissipate into the Puzzle, seeing his eyes fill with worry. "I should be fine."
"Oh, how upsetting," A second one shrugged as they begn to move in closer. "Celebrities. They're so rude to their fans. How are we ever going to get over it?"
"Heheh..." The third one wiped his nose. "I can think of a few ways we can cheer ourselves up. Why not play a card game with Mr. Superiority?"
"Card game?" The others chuckled as the ringleader touched Yami's shoulder. "I can think of other things we caAAAAAUGH!!"
The boy was suddenly on the ground back-first, groaning, and his friends were gasping at the sight. Yami, for his part, looked down at the boy with complete disinterest and annoyance. It was quite pathetic that they even thought he would be so stupid as to carry the Egyptian Gods on him to school - or anywhere, for that matter, that did not involve the mission to recover his memories. Of course, they had no need to know about the mission, but that was besides the point.
"Petty thieves," he mumbled as he looked up at the other four. "Clearly you don't know what you're doing or who you're dealing with."
"Why you-"
"Little bastard-"
"Punk-"
"GET HIM!!"
A small little smirk came onto the pharaoh's face as he brought his arm across his chest; on his head the eye of Wadjat began to form. It wouldn't have been an impossible task to get all four of them at once with a mind crush; it would obviously be harder to do than if it had been one person. Nevertheless, it appeared all of the thugs needed a little attitude adjustment, and Yami was more than happy to provide it.
What he wasn't counting on was for the ringleader to recover so quickly.
"Min-UGH!"
The kick, such as it was, went right into the back of Yami's shin, and he instantly fell towards the ground, the eye of Wadjat flickering briefly before disappearing. He didn't even touch it before a hard kick to his stomach sent him flying back up, right into the arms of one of the thugs.
"O-other me!?" From within Yami's mind, he could hear Yugi panicking. "What happened!? What...!?"
"Oh yeah, we don't know what we're doing!" Two of the remaining thugs helped the ringleader up while the other punched his fist into his hand. "That's what you think-!"
A fist hit Yami square in the chest, causing him to gasp out in pain and also rendering him almost helpless to escape. After the ringleader regained his composure, he gave the boy a roundhouse kick to his side, up towards his armpit. Pain shot through Yami as he sputtered and convulsed from the impact. But he didn't fall; the tight grip of his chortling keeper ensured he stayed upright, lest he preferred breaking his shoulder and collar bones trying to escape.
"Sh...shit...stupid..."
"YEAH!" Immediately the four thugs were on him, each taking turns punching and kicking him with ferocity in his torso, his face, his legs. "Shit is right!"
"Think you can just attack our leader and get away with it!?"
"Stop, stop, I want to get him there!"
"Hahaha!"
"Other me!!" Yugi's spirit reformed and gasped as he saw the thugs punch and kick his other self. "No!! I have to make them stop, I have to-"
"Partner!!" Outwardly, Yami was gasping for air from the beating as a trickle of blood ran down his mouth; inwardly, he was trying to do his best to stay conscious for Yugi's sake. "Don't...d-don't switch with me!"
"But-"
"DON'T! It's too-"
Yami's thoughts abruptly cut off with one well-placed punch to the jaw; spit and blood flew out of his mouth. Before he could regain himself, he was punched again near his left eye, and he immediately fell limp in the thugs' arms.
"OTHER ME!!"
"Too easy." The leader of the thugs went directly for his deck pouch. "Hey, you guys, check his schoolbag! Quickly before someone sees!"
"Other me!! NO!!" Yugi frantically pulled on Yami's hand, but the pharaoh gave no response. He then tried to pull on the arms of the thug searching his left pocket to no avail. "You monsters! Let him go! Let him go now!!"
"...Shit!" There was a curse from the schoolbag searcher. "Nothing here, just these damn books!"
"Just loose change in here..." Those searching the pockets fingered the money that was there. "Shit, none of this stuff is what we promised to sell!"
"No cards..." Exasperated, the ringleader flung the cards to the ground. "Buyer's going to be pissed off. How're we going to explain this to him? He specifically said he wanted those god cards."
"Wait...what about this?"
Fingers touched the Millennium Puzzle, which glinted in the faint alley light. At this, Yugi felt himself get a shiver, and his body began to shake in fear at the sight. They couldn't take that, could they? They wouldn't...
"Buyer isn't going to want this!" The ringleader rolled his eyes. "Buyer specifically said get the god cards so she could use them for tournament play. If we don't give her what she wants, our contract...!"
"...But wait, look!" The boy who fingered the Puzzle held it up. "This is gold. Pure gold. This thing had got to be at least ten kilos! And it looks like it could be important."
"Hey, man, he's got a point!" At this, the one holding Yami up spoke. "Ten kilos of gold? That's got to be worth way more than the 9 million our buyer promised us for the cards!(1)"
"What!?" Yugi gasped, then began to shout as loud as he could, shaking his other self violently. "Other me! Wake up!! Please!! WAKE UP!!"
There was no response; Yami had been knocked out. Attempting to switch out of the body didn't work, either; Yami was unable to activate the process in his state and neither spirit had been taken out of the body to force a switch. Even retreating into the Puzzle and banging on the pharaoh's soul door produced nothing for Yugi,.
"...I don't know. We've got the contract with the buyer, and if we do that we lose out on any perks we got beforehand."
"Come on, boss!" The ringleader looked at his partners, all of them with pleading eyes. "We can still null the contract anyway, right? This is our ticket! It's not like there aren't other people after those cards, but this..."
"WAKE UP!!" Yugi's eyes began to fill with desperate tears as he banged harder on his partner's door. "PLEASE!! I'VE GOT TO STOP THEM!!"
"...Ok, fine!" Part exasperation, part curiosity as to the potential financial benefits of pilfering the artifact caused the ringleader to cave in. "Just get it off of him, and hurry! Before someone really does see us!"
"Right!"
"DO IT!!"
With a rough yank, the group ripped the chain off of the unconscious duelist's body. With their prize in hand, the thug holding the pharoah let him drop, and he fell to the ground like a rag doll.
"OTHER M--T--GO-----..."
Yugi's voice and body, like radio static, clung on for a few more seconds even after the Puzzle was taken. However, as soon as it left the vicinity of his body, the spirit vanished, as did Yugi's soul room, leaving nothing but blackness where is had been.
...part...ner...
Yami's eyes fluttered open briefly to see figures running away from him as he lay bruised and bleeding. He thought he'd heard someone scream, someone he knew, but the pain was too great for him to know exactly who had scream; with the last of his strength he tried to get to his soul room door to try and tell Yugi he would be okay, that they did their attack for nothing.
...par...
He fell and lay still inches from the door, and in the outside world everything became black.
----------
She saw what happened. At least, saw the end of it. She had almost bumped into one of the offenders as they fled, a large gold item slung around on of their necks.
She shrugged them off as they fled, confident that they would not be caught. Stopping petty robbery was not of any interest to her, nor was upholding the law in any way at this point. On the contrary, such incidences, such crimes always had a positive effect on her, for it created opportunity
She bowed her head down as she walked into the alleyway, surveying the scene. The victim was a schoolboy, his bags and books scattered everywhere, but that did not interest her. Also on the ground were game cards, but that did not interest her either. Instead she went directly to the unconscious body and checked his pulse, then checked to see if he responded to her touch in any way. He did not.
Perfect.
Without wasting any time she rolled him over, pulled off his school jacket and lifted his shirt up nodding in approval. He was bruised a bit, but it only would have mattered if she was injecting something into his veins. As it was, any spot in his abdomen would do. And he was clearly physically fit, so he would have no problems taking it...
Flicking open her purse, she took out an alcohol pad and quickly rubbed it over a patch of skin barely an inch below the right side of his navel. Then she took out her favorite instrument of them all - the eight-inch-long needle, it's pinpoint covered by a single plastic cap. Inside the syringe was a thick yellow liquid, which almost looked like pig fat. She didn't stop her procedure to admire it, as she once did; there was little time for her to relish what was about to happen.
With a single, forceful movement, she jammed the needle into the boy's stomach, knowing from experience how far in to go before she accidentally hit a vital organ. The body flopped a little at the needle's entrance, but the figure held on easily; she was used to the reflex by now. It was always a release for her, always made her insides react, knowing she had control and that in the state they were in her patients - her specimens - could not resist. She could not help but give out a breathy chuckle knowing she would get away with it again.
She didn't stop until the syringe was empty, then she yanked it out again, causing a trickle of blood to come out of the raw mark she'd made. Satisfied, perhaps also spent, the figure used her thumb to smear as much blood and alcohol off the area as she could before pulling the boy's shirt back down and hurrying away from the scene. The syringe and the swab returned to a purse pocket, undetected by those walking past her. The figure slipped into the Domino night, noticed only by the occasional stare toward her unseasonal dress.
It was done. What had been planted inside the boy, she knew, would do the rest on its own from there on out. It would find a place to settle and start its work, it always did. And the body would not reject it. Could not, no matter what. It was truly a triumph of modern science. Her triumph. She was behind it all. And soon enough the world would know. She was sure of it.
Now all she had to do was wait and watch what happened.
Footnotes:
1. The actual amount offered to the thugs for all three god cards was about 8.7 million yen, which is approximately $75,000/$25,000 per god card. I estimated that the Puzzle was about ten kilos, or 22 pounds heavy. Using that weight and multiplying with the gold standard per ounce, the Puzzle "costs" (though technically you can't put a price on an ancient artifact) $260,480, or approximately 30.5 million yen - more than three times the return for the thieves. Sources: Yahoo!Finance and the good old metric conversion formula (2.2 pounds 1 kilo, of course).
