It was an unsubstantiated tip, but it was all Rouge had.
Fortunately, she trusted the source.
The underground base seemed innocuous enough—as innocuous a decade-long abandoned base could be, of course—the spy frowned at the lack of security. She tapped at her mini-visor computing system and flipped through Eggman's previous base schematics to figure out what she was working with; whatever the place held, it didn't seem important enough to keep it in running condition.
Predictably, Rouge effortlessly found her way inside.
"Anything yet, Agent Rouge?" the Commander's voice was cordial, but there was also a curious tinge to it. She found that adorable.
"Come on, Commander, you and I both know how big the Doctor likes to make his bases," she flirtatiously replied as she activated her holo-wing backpack.
"I know." She could hear the smile in his reply. "What about your intel?"
"She hasn't been wrong yet," she murmured, letting her tone slide into a more business-like manner as she silently rounded the corner. "I swear, sir, you have to recruit her some—wait."
"You found it?"
"Yeah. I'll call you back," the GUN operative confirmed before severing comms and resting her gaze on a state-of-the-art E-2000, who, of course, was the only thing between her and the objective. It would take a bit for her targeting system to assess the Badnik's data entirely, but she wasn't in any rush. She settled into a fighting stance.
E-2000 dashed towards her at breakneck speed, but the spy was able to climb and flip over her opponent. It slammed against the wall behind her, taking the opportunity; Rouge pulled her gun out of its holster. Her mini-visor rapidly blinked as it finally finished the opponent analysis and read:
CONTROL PANEL LOCATED
She aimed for the knee joints, hindering the robot further, before lifting off into the air to land on the robot's shoulders. She kicked the plate on the back of its head and peeled it off to reveal the interface.
"Honestly, why do you guys always have one of these?" she casually mused to herself as she pressed the self-destruct button.
In a dramatic display, Rouge kicked off E-2000 and swan dived into the hole leading to the lower-level bunker, with the fiery explosion following not soon after.
The room was curiously tiny.
In the center, however, was Shadow encased in a stasis capsule.
Rouge's breath hitched at the sight before her. She quickly examined the monitors, which were surprisingly still in excellent working condition, displaying healthy vital signs against all odds. Despite everything—falling from space, through the planet's atmosphere—Shadow was alive.
A smile played on her lips as she entered the proper sequence to release her old friend. Then suddenly, as she inputted the last keystroke, a bright red light enveloped the room.
"Initiating Sequence: Sealing Project Shadow," droned the E-Series android while drawing two Gatling guns.
In a flash, Rouge was on the ground. Shadow stood in front of her, protecting her from the rain of bullets directed towards the chamber's console.
"Stay here," he ordered softly.
"Shadow, wait!" she shouted as explosions surrounded them, but he was already in the fray.
"Must eradicate all Eggman robots!"
The android narrowly missed each shot taken towards the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow maneuvered with such swiftness—as if the descent three years ago never happened. He closed the distance between himself and his opponent and managed to land a sharp jab.
"Okay, that's enough," Rouge sighed as she pressed a button on her gloved wrist to unleash a piercing frequency around the immediate area, causing the other two to clutch their heads. "Use your words, boys."
"I'm not a robot," Shadow said plainly to no one when the spy finally stopped the noise and shook his head to rid himself of the ringing in his ears.
"I am E-123 Omega, the final incarnation of Doctor Eggman's E-Series," the android replied matter-of-factly, no longer interested in the fight. "You are Shadow of Project Shadow. My directive was to contain said experiment."
"You mean you've been alone in this tiny room just watching him for the last three years?" Rouge asked, genuinely concerned for the poor android.
"Affirmative. I am the final and best creation of the E-Series," Omega calmly nodded, ignoring her uneasiness. "Logically, however unfortunate for myself, that directive fell onto me."
Shadow remained quiet, observing the others as if trying to put together a puzzle.
"What about you, Shadow? How did you survive that fall?" there was a scar over his left eyebrow, Rouge noticed. "Of course, you are the best at healing out of everyone I know, but I'm still surprised you made it out almost unscathed." She motioned towards the scar that oddly hadn't healed.
"I..." he began, furrowing his brows in confusion. "I don't remember what happened."
Rouge frowned at the news, and Shadow began to pace.
"You don't remember me, or Knuckles, or even Sonic?" she asked, bewildered that his memory issues returned with a vengeance.
"I remember Gerald Robotnik, the Space Colony ARK, and Maria, but..." he sighed, defeated. "I don't remember much of anything else."
"Although inferior, the Eggman Armada managed to recover you from the ocean after the events of the Final Hazard attack," Omega helpfully provided. "You were in critical condition, but the Doctor was able to restore your body. Your mind, however, appears to require time to proceed furth—"
"Wait! Hold that thought, handsome," Rouge interrupted as she pulled out a small book with a pen from the inside pocket of her jacket with a grin. "Here, Shadow, maybe having something to jot your memories down as they come could help."
Carefully, Shadow accepted the book with an odd expression and mumbled a "thanks" under his breath. He flipped to the first page, which had a marked-off shopping list and not much of anything else. With the rest of the journal empty, he began to write the most immediate things he could remember.
"I could also provide media footage of these events if needed," Omega offered, of which Shadow obliged.
Rouge, seemingly satisfied, turned away from the conversation to finally report back to the Commander, covering the successful mission.