The next day, Sonic, Amy, Silver, Knuckles, Tails, and I go to Shadow's house, where we hear Shadow's angry shouts. In response, Black Mist laughs. We enter to find Black Mist holding one of Shadow's chaos emeralds.

"Give that back!" Shadow demands.

"But I wanna see what this gem can do," Black Mist replies. He holds the green gem in front of him and inspects it. "Such a dazzling luster. Where do you get these?"

"You sound like Rouge," Knuckles growls.

Black Mist shrugs. "Whan can I say? It's shiny." He chuckles.

Shadow growls. "You're such a pain in the ass!"

Black Mist suddenly gets serious. "By the way, how do you people plan on getting past the guards. From what 96 told me, the metal things are reinforced to withstand attacks from us, excluding Astral and me."

"We're working on it," Tails says. "We don't know what those robots are made of yet, but it seems like something powerful like that magician can break through."

"Yeah," Amy adds. "I wonder if my hammer can break through."

Black Mist makes his duel disk appear, and he places the card down again. "Number 96, appear before me for a new task."

The Number Monster appears and looks to Black Mist. "Yes, master?"

"I need you to take a sample of those robot things. You know, the things made out of metal? We need a sample of those."

"Yes, master." The beast melts into the shadows again.

Black Mist grins triumphantly. "There. Now, you'll have something to study."

I nod. "You are smarter than I thought, Black Mist."

"Never underestimate your enemies, Astral."

A few minutes later, the beast arrives with an entire robot wrapped in a tendril. "I got a whole one. It no longer works."

"Good." Black Mist takes the card away, and the beast disappears, dropping the metal thing.

"Wow, this is great!" Tails comments. "Now we can study this thing in many ways!" He smiles.

"Think Wave might be willing to help?" Sonic asks.

"Who in Astral World is Wave?" Black Mist and I ask at the exact moment. We glance at each other, glaring.

"Jinx," I hiss with a smirk.

Black Mist growls and crosses his arms with a huff.

"Wave is an engineer like Tails," Amy explains. "She's one of the Babylon Rogues, a group of racers."

"They're really good," Sonic adds with a competitive grin. "I totally beat Jet the first time."

Black Mist scowls and shows me some sign language. It's pretty much the only way he can communicate since he is jinxed.

"He says that it's no big deal," I translate. I look over to him again. "That Black Mist can beat that son of a bitch easily."

Sonic shrugs. "Okay, when next they come, you should race them."

Black Mist smirks competitively and signs again.

"Challenge accepted," I say.

"Guys, shouldn't we get back to the matter at hand?" Silver asks. "Where can we find the Babylon Rogues?"

Sonic grins. "Leave it to me. I'll find them." With that, Sonic speeds off.

"He'll find them," Shadow comments. "He has his ways."

"Yeah, my Sonic will find them no matter what!" Amy exclaims.

Black Mist makes a gagging gesture, and I elbow him in the ribs. Amy catches that gesture, and angry fire comes to her eyes.

"What was that!?" she demands, raising her hammer up to strike Black Mist. Something about her seems to send shivers down my spine, and even Black Mist is intimidated.

He starts waving his hands in a helpless gesture, unable to apologize since he is jinxed. Amy, who is unsatisfied by this gesture, brings the hammer down. Panicking, Black Mist dodges in time and floats high above Amy.

"Get back here!" she hollers. "I'll crush you!" She somehow manages to chase Black Mist even when he flies upward. It is surprisingly amusing.

Black Mist catches me trying to hide my laughter, and he shows me a sign I needn't translate for anyone. Can you guess? Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, and I burst out laughing when Amy takes a swing at Black Mist with her hammer, making Black Mist almost scream.

A few minutes later, Sonic comes back with three birds on hovering boards in tow. Much to Black Mist's great relief, Amy sees Sonic and rushes up to him, practically crushing him with her hugs.

"Sonic!" Amy exclaims. "You found them!"

Black Mist floats down next to me and places his hand on his chest, catching his breath.

"So, what's this about Eggman upgrading his robots?" the green one asks.

"Astral, Black Mist, this is Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross," Sonic says, gesturing to each of the birds.

Black Mist sighs with relief. "Finally!"