How did the other 96 stand this!? How did he live in these conditions!

Dark Mist was thrown in a dark cell immediately after his capture. He was bound by the waist, ankles, and wrists; he could barely move! He wasn't gagged though, but being like this alone was enough to drive someone insane. If they were kept here long enough.

He'd been here for over an hour. For the first thirty minutes, he cried out for help, for someone to let him go, that there had been a misunderstanding, until his voice was hoarse. When he realized that no help was coming, he stayed quiet, worrying about Astral.

If he closed his eyes, he could see the life of the other 96 in this cage...

The 96 child cried and cried, begging to see his brother. The other Prisoners paid him no mind. Galaxy was the only one who tried to console him.

Black Mist was never more desperate to see his brother in his short life! With this crushing loneliness, which was momentarily broken when a Prisoner would speak to him, he was willing to see even the brother he always fought with!

"Pipe down in there!" a guard shouted, banging on the metal door. "It's night; you should be asleep instead of crying!!"

Out of fear of that guard coming in to shut him up himself, Black Mist quieted his sobs to hiccuping whimpers. Eventually, the footsteps went away.

~.~.~

Sleeping and waking and sleeping and waking and sleeping and waking...

How many Cycles went by?

What day was it?

Black Mist thought about this. He wondered how much time passed outside of this stupid cell of his. His body was bigger; surely, a lot of time passed. He snorted.

No use wondering over something he didn't know.

The door opened, revealing the silhouette of someone very, very, familiar. He didn't care.

Black Mist lunged as far as he could go, snapping and biting as the tentacles, which seemed to have a mind of their own, rushed toward the person. Before they could reach their target, he suddenly felt an immense wave of drowsiness.

Dark Mist opened his eyes when he heard voices outside. He listened intently to see if it was anyone he knew

~.~.~

The person led Astral to the staff at the headquarters, who were surprised to see "Agent 12" back so soon. Just like the person, they all just assumed that the Light Forces mistakenly took too much of his memory and quickly sent him back. They couldn't do it themselves since they had to watch over the other Agents.

"Good thing your memory is backed up," said one of the staff, leading Astral past a large, prison like building.

As they passed by a specific door, he felt Dark Mist's presence in there. Astral tried jerking in that direction, desperate to be back with him, but the man held on with an iron grip.

"Whoa, careful! You probably sensed your brother's energy in there. The guards said that he came back by himself and didn't put up much of a fight when they caught him. Not to worry, though. Once we get your memory back in you, you'll be able to see him as usual."

"No!! I need to see him now!!" Astral once again tugged and then yanked his arm free. He made a beeline to the cell he felt Dark Mist's presence in and tried to pry it open.

Meanwhile, the man quickly called for the guards to subdue him, and it was swiftly done.

~.~.~

When he next woke up, Astral was strapped to a chair with some sort of helmet clamped onto his head and face, flattening his arched hair into his face. When he realized that he was in potential danger, he struggled to release himself from the fetters, but they were made up of some sort of powerful alloy; there was no use even trying to escape. He could also senses Dark stirring again, feeling his distress.

"Relax, 12," a woman said. "We will begin uploading your memories shortly, so please stay still."

"I'm not Agent 12!" Astral blurted out. "I'm A-" He started screaming in pain as unfamiliar and foreign memories were shoved into his mind, mixing dangerously with his own.

Astral once again had a fight with Black Mist; they didn't even go near each other. Astral was already home; Black Mist was probably causing trouble somewhere.

~.~.~

"I might be a Dark Number..."

~.~.~

He watched on as the four Agents injected poor little Black Mist with a sedative, threw him over one's shoulder, and exited. Astral was nearly in tears when they passed by him.

How could I betray his trust!? I went and snitched! He was right; I'm nothing but a no good snitch!

~.~.~

Astral opened the cell door. A staff member kept his finger on the sleeping gas button in case something happened. But maybe it wouldn't happen this time.

Such wishful thinking.

The monster that was now his brother attacked as usual, but this time, many tentacles shot to him as well. Astral braced himself for the impact, never taking his eyes off of the writhing form in front of him, but as usual, Black Mist fell limp. The tentacles withered away.

"Why is he reacting like this!?" the woman shouted over the screams. "This never happened before!"

"There must be something wrong with the machine," the man beside her calmly stated and turned it off. Less then 10% of Agent 12's memories were uploaded when the machine was turned off. Astral relaxed, gasping and trying to catch his breath.

"You think so?"

"Well, what else would cause that?"

"Mmm...you're right. Let's just take him to his chamber."

Together, the man and woman picked him up and carried him to somewhere unfamiliar.