INCONCIEVABLE

Number IV

The New Figure

So it began.

She knew it would be successful - it always was. That this newest subject was young posed some problems of its own that older patients lacked - still-immature organs, potentially disgusting eating habits, parental units asking embarrassing questions, and so on and so forth. Overall, however, she had the feeling that she'd finally picked someone capable of carrying out her dream to it's ultimate realization - no, not just someone, the right one.

Even so, there was always that fright that nothing would come of it; that somehow, the host body would not accept what was given them, would reject it somehow and the effort would be a failure. Memories of the past were key to that old fear, a past marked by frustration and anger. A past which was rendered utterly meaningless for the figure as the years passed, and yet at the same time served as the catalyst and motivator for her current quest.

Then of course, there was the phase after, when the real test occurred. The previous vessel she'd been watching had failed; officially the breakdown had occurred last night, but she had expected it for some time. She'd felt some sadness that her dream would not be realized - through that particular avenue. But that was as far as her remorse went.

In the very beginning of her turn with the project, with every success, she would go and congratulate the subjects on the success of the first phase of the experiment, and wish them the best, promise to check in on them personally. She'd even come to their homes for tea of cake if they invited her. With every failure, she was there to console, a shoulder to cry on. But that was before she decided to rebel - now she was far past the point of seeing her subjects as real people with lives of their own outside of her project. Now they were all merely vessels, containers with numbers assigned to them, all pieces of the larger picture that slowly emerged. Every success and failure was merely a small part of the larger statistics, information filed away onto computers, notebooks, napkins.

Also in the past was celebrating the occasion, though in this case the figure allowed herself to go out to a restaurant, a nice expensive Italian restaurant, that allowed her to use her laptop as she ate. Even now she couldn't rest. She had to keep watching, make sure everything was going well. Taking her eyes away could mean missing something important.

Excellent. She gave a smile as her food was set down in front of her. The smell of alfredo filled her nostrils as she confirmed the schematics. They were positive in every way, even better than she expected.Absolutely….excellent.

Test Number 43 was up and running. All was well in the world.

---------

Another month passed, and most of the bruises continued to heal; little seemed to change in Yami's Yugiless existance. Searching for the Puzzle yielded no clue as to its whereabouts, no sign of where the thieves may have taken it. Nothing appeared on the Internet or in the newspapers, and he couldn't rely on the Millennium Items since they were well-hidden from him by Sugoroku. It was as if it had never existed, and the longer the Puzzle was gone, the more unsettling it became for Yami.

Aside from the puzzle, though, Yami himself still felt sluggish. He simply couldn't understand what was going on, why he was so tired all the time. He changed his sleeping habits and tried eating more green vegetables (which, to his surprise, tasted a lot better than he remembered); he even asked Honda to make more of his chili, to which the surprised (and understandably worried) Honda happily complied, as it had so many vegetables in it. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to sleep all the time, sometimes practically falling asleep the moment he walked through the door.

What was worse was the vomiting, which also didn't seem to be going away. In fact, the nausea that always preceded the inevitable seemed to start happening at very random times of the day, nothing like the flu as Yugi's grandfather came to think. Many times it was at the most inconvenient moments, such as during a mid-term math test where he almost didn't make it to the toilet because the sensei didn't believe him. There was simply no rhyme or reason, it merely happened.

So whenever the strange symptoms came up, he went back to that one terrible reason, and eventually, he accepted it as gospel.

I wonder... Yami mused worriedly one particular night as he started to change into pajamas. What will happen now?...The longer this goes on, the worse it's going to get, I know. I've got to figure out how to get the Puzzle back.

It seemed logical to him. Yugi and the Puzzle had disappeared just before the onset of the strange problems he was having. Over a month had gone by - meanwhile before then Yami hardly ever possessed Yugi's body for more than a day. Perhaps his body was reacting to that...perhaps it was reacting to the fact that Yami was not the true spirit of the body, that he was just a substitute, and so it was forcing him to compensate. The longer he was separated from Yugi, Yami feared, the worse the symptoms would get.

But he wasn't ready to tell anyone just yet of his suspicions - after that first week of sickness, Yami had been lucky that most of the more humiliating episodes - mainly the vomiting - had occurred when his friends had not been in class due to lunchtime, different classrooms or their simply being absent. He had to make sure he was right about the Puzzle and his body, confirm his fears. After all, it was mainly his burden to bear, and he knew his friends would flip out if they found out he'd been sick for a month and counting. There was also the promise he'd made to Sugoroku, which definitely hampered any search for the Puzzle. He would have to bide his time.

...Yes...my burden.Yami nodded as he began to pull his night pants up. I can't let the others worry needlessly. To do that...I don't know if partner would forgive me.

The pharoah bent over to get his night shirt, but he paused for a moment mid-bend, and frowned. Something was off. Straightening back up he adjusted the waist of the pants, then the legs, trying to figured out if he was wearing it wrong. He even checked to make sure the tag was in the back, but ultimately, the result was the same.

Hmph. I've gained weight. Noticing, then feeling, the small bulge in his midsection for the first time, the pharoah bit his lip in annoyance as he picked up his shirt and walked out of the room. That figures. I'll have to ask Honda to stop making that damn chili for me. It's far too addicting...

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, tossing the shirt onto the sink. Too much, he just had too much on his mind. The Puzzle, Yugi, the strange problems, of course he was going to gain weight eating the way he did, and it was going to show in his pants. Yet he had also been eating the vegetables, in fact, tons of them, and did that make people gain weight...? Yami rubbed his head in frustration at the question as he turned on the light.

And nearly screamed at the sight he saw in the vanity mirror on the door.

"Wh-"

He managed to clamp his hands over his mouth before it could all get out, but it did not diminish the horror at what he saw. His torso, his i chest /i was...it...

Oh gods...oh gods...

One of Yami's shaking hands slowly went down toward one of his nipples, which looked dark red, almost purple, and began to feel around it. He was hoping he was wrong, hoping he was just hallucinating at what he was seeing. Hoping he was just dreaming...

...no...

His eyes could deceive him, but his hands could not - the area around there was painful to touch, but worse, definitely bigger than he remembered. Not by much, but both sides were more swollen outward, more rounded, like-

no, No, NO, NO!!

Yami almost ripped the light socket out of the wall as he turned it off, and he immediately flung the door open and ran back to his room as fast as he could. His bedroom door slammed behind him; he didn't care whether his grandfather noticed or not. Instead he immediately flung himself down onto the bed, huddling into a fetal position as he violently shook.

I...I... His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he felt his chest again, completely horrified at the realization. I...have...b-breasts

A soft breeze came through the overhead window, but Yami did not notice that it was even open. He was too out of it to realize it. Nor did he see the figure slowly making his way towards him, thumping his free hand on a syringe.

This can't be...this can't be...Even, even if this is because of….Why...WHY-

A hand suddenly clasped over his face, and on instinct Yami's arms flew away from his chest and towards the hand in order to get it off. Almost immediately he felt a sharp pain stab his neck, and though he fought the sudden onset of dizziness, tried to keep his eyes open, within seconds whatever had been injected to him did its work, and he fell forward on the bed, his entire body still, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"Hmmmm." A pair of glasses glinted in the night. "Have a good sleep. You'll need it."

Picking the unconscious boy up and hoisting him on his back, the figure quietly swiped a pair of jeans and a black shirt from the dresser. The figure then climbed out of the window, shutting it tightly before climbing down the side of the building via the waterspout. Several seconds later, the sound of screeching tires echoed through the street as a black van flew into the night.

"Yugi! Yugi!" A minute later, the door to Yugi's bedroom swung open, and Yugi's grandfather stepped in. "What's going on? Why are you slammi-Yugi?! YUGI!!!"

The dresser drawer was still open, but other than that, Yugi had vanished.

-----------

Cold...it's cold...

Partner...

The table underneath Yami jolted slightly from the bumps in the road, and Yami winced from the recoil as he opened his eyes. It was very dimly-lit, wherever he was; very small and stuffy. As his eyesight became used to the darkness, he found himself looking up at metal rivets, lined with leather roofing. He was in some kind of a car; for what reason, he didn't know. Kaiba, perhaps...

"Gooooooooood morning." The figure sitting right next to him caused him to bolt up, his eyes wide. "I see you had a nice little nap. How's my Japanese?"

"Wh-what!?" The pharoah nearly jumped off the table and slammed the man's head into it, but he was waylaid by another jolt which caused him to fall back onto his behind. He noticed at this point that he'd been changed out of his night clothing and into jeans and a grey shirt. "Where the hell am I!? Who are you!? What-"

"Heey! Calm down,caaalm!" The figure - male, American, grey hair and large, rounded glasses - brought a finger to his lips. "No need to lose your temper, no need to stress. Stress is bad for the baby, you know."

"...Baby?" Anger gave way to confusion. "What baby?"

"That one. What other one am I talking about?"

With that, the man pointed to Yami's midsection before swiveling away towards a computer monitor. With the flick of a switch, it turned, and as if it were a cue, the van they were came to a stop.

"...Heheh...baby...sure." This guy had a very weird sense of humor, and it was irritating Yami more than he thought it would. "You think I'm pregnant, how cute. But I'll play along."

"You certainly will, my friend!" Swiveling back towards Yami, the man flashed a smile. "Because you have no choice in the matter. Dr. Mark Carroll, at your service. Whether it's wanted or not. Sorry, not shaking your hand, I'm not that kind of doctor. And you are...?"

"Pissed off," Yami's response came out bluntly. "Because you basically kidnapped me from my room in the middle of the night. Do you work with Kaiba or something...?"

"Kaiba? I don't think I know what you mean. I hate toys." Suddenly, the man took out a giant bottle of water. "Here. Drink this."

"Wh-No!" Yami felt his face flush angrily. "Tell me who you're working for!"

"Not Kaiba. It's just water."

"And why should I be drinking it?"

"Because!" At this, the man waved theatrically to the monitor. "I can't do an ultrasound properly unless you have a full bladder."

"Ultrasound?" Ultrasound, of course, connected to the supposed 'baby'. "Look, I'm not pregnant, all right? I'm a man."

"So?"

"So..." The American seemed so cheerful when he said that. "You are making no sense whatsoever. Men don't get pregnant! That should be obvious!"

"Look. Just drink the water." Carroll smiled. "Humor me. Come on, I'm an American, I need all the funny I can get right now. You know, moral superiority and the Christian Front and all that bullshit we spout on television. Right? Right. C'mon."

Yami begrudgingly looked at the bottle, then at the doctor, then back at the bottle, before finally popping it open. It was clear that this man was crazy, thinking that Yami of all people could be pregnant. A man, never mind a man who'd never even had sex (Yugi, of course, made Yami promise to go crazy when he was in control, not that Yami would have ever actually gone crazy like that) didn't get pregnant, and certainly couldn't get others pregnant either. Indeed, Yami was considering whether a penalty game was even appropriate for the doctor, as he seemed deluded enough as it was. There was no need to make it worse.

He was a little over half way done with the bottle when it was yanked out of his hands.

"Ok, that's enough." The doctor took several sips of the water before tossing it aside. "Waste not, want not, and I can see you don't want anymore."

"I didn't want any tobegin with."

"Too bad." The man smirked. "You have to do what I tell you. I'm like Tony Danza. I'm the Boss. Not that you've actually ever watched that show, actually. Maybe instead think of me like the prime minster, only taller, cooler, bigger eyes and infinitely more intelligent. Do you know who your prime minister is?"

"Do you?"

"Nope!" Carroll admitted it as if it were a badge of honor. "I'm American. I don't need to know such trivial and pointless crap."

"Ha," Yami mumbled. "Charming."

"I try to be," the doctor said cheerfully. "Now lift your shirt up."

This got an immediate glare of apprehension as a reaction from the nameless pharoah. Carroll, of course, held his expression, indicating he could care less about the angry daggers forming in the boy's eyes.

"I beg your pardon."

"Lift your shirt up," the man shrugged as he took out a transducer connected to the computer alongside him. "I didn't make you drink all that water for nothing. Got to get a good look at the baby, yeah?"

"For the last time, I'm not pregnant." The eye of Wadjat very briefly flickered on Yugi's forehead. "That is impossible. Completely. And utterly. Impossible."

"And you know this...how? Because you're a man? Because everyone says it's not possible?" Carroll looked at Yami with amusement. "So what? Just because orthodox medicine says it is impossible, does not mean it is impossible. So tell me, have you been throwing up a little lately? Maybe having a 'prolonged' stomach bug?"

"Throwing up does not mean-"

"Have you?"

"...Yes," Yami gritted his teeth. "But not always at morning, thank you."

"Aha, common misconception. 'I don't throw up at morning, I can't be pregnant'. Oh well. Popular culture wins this round." The doctor rolled his eyes ever so slightly. "But perhaps you've noticed yourself maybe getting sick over certain odors you normally don't get sick over?"

"Anzu changed her perfume, that one ti-"

"Changed eating habits? Aversion to certain foods, maybe a sudden liking to others?"

"Like..." Yami remembered Honda's chili and winced. "But what doe-"

"Sudden headaches? Sleeping more? Weight gain? Nausea? Constipation?" The doctor looked at Yami's chest and chuckled. "Swollen and painful breasts, maybe?"

"Will you shut up!" Instantly Yami's arms immediately covered himself, and he have a growl of disapproval at the mention. "There is nothing wrong there!"

"Touchy, huh? Trust me, you don't look like someone who should even have a cup size. But your reaction says it all. If you could tell something was wrong, I could tell something was wrong. Doctor, remember?" Carroll tugged at Yami's shirt. "But enough yammering about. If you want to prove me wrong, you're going to have to trust me. And if I'm right...well, then you really don't have a choice. Shall I?"

Yami kept glaring at the doctor - because deep down, he knew the doctor was right, and hehated that the doctor was right. Worse was the moments he'd experienced in the past month - sleeping in class without reason, the stomach bug, his eating, the weight gain. And yes, the damn swelling in his chest, even if it was minimal, had frightened him and took him off-guard. In a way, it did sound like pregnancy.

Yet for Yami it was perhaps all easily explainable in another way, somehow, even his chest. It had to be separation from Yugi and the Puzzle, and his prolonged sojourn in Yugi's body, causing everything. He'd already come to that conclusion. Even if it wasn't from being separated from the Puzzle, there was simply no plausible way he could be pregnant, but if he humored the doctor he'd eventually be let go. Hehad to be let go.

Yes, he thought to himself grudgingly as he slowly lifted his shirt up, revealing the small stomach bulge underneath. Sure, I'll humor you, fool. This man is insane. His ideas are impossible...I could actually be in agreement with Kaiba on something for once...yes, think like Kaiba...

"Hmmhmm." The second Yami lifted his shirt up he was suddenly inundated by cold on his stomach, and he shivered and hissed violently. "Ohoho, sorry, gel's cold. Well, nothing you can do about it except hope you don't go on the table. Aaaand..."

With that, Carroll brought the transducer onto Yami's navel, and pressed it down hard, making the nameless pharoah growl in annoyance as the ultrasound screen lit up and pulsed with sound. This man clearly had no bedside manners. What he wouldn't give to at least be able to kick this man in the head, or perhaps call the cops on him, or even impose a penalty game on him somehow-

His chain of thought was stopped by the odd sucking sound that came from the computer a mere minute after the doctor began. Blinking, he wondered why the computer had suddenly started making that sound, and he turned to look at it, confused.

And his face turned as white as a sheet when he saw the reason.

"What...have we here...?" The transducer was stopped right over the a faded bruise on Yugi's stomach. "Dare I think it's...a heartbeat? The suspense kills me! If that's a heartbeat, then...ta-da!"

One single twist of the transducer revealed it, and in an instant all of Yami's defenses crashed and burned. There is was, barely a centimeter big, band looked more like a seahorse than anything, but it was there.

And it was moving.

"Well, what do you know!" Dr. Carroll cheerfully looked at Yami, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the scenario that just presented itself. "Congratulations, you're going to have a baby!"