...Silence...

"W-wait...?! That's was literally it??? There's nothing else caught on camera?" The red echidna growled in annoyance. Tails and Amy groaned while the two agents stood there with pondering thoughts. Shadow took a step forward to fill the silence.

"Tails, Knuckles came here and found that tracking device, right?"

The fox in question rose his head and nodded a yes, "Then how come you didn't tell him to check the computer when you had the chance?" Asked Shadow.

"Dunno. It wasn't exactly functioning when he first came here. I couldn't figure out why."

"Well, this thing is definitely up and running now," Rouge said, pointing at the computer with her thumb. "Is that all you have to say?"

"Yeah..."

Amy pinched herself between her eyes in frustration, the slim chance of finding Sonic has now become nothing but a dead lead, "Jeez... I... I need a breather, I gotta step outside for a while..." Was all she could say before walking off, slowly as a throbbing pain in her heart starts to make her sob quietly.

Watching the pink hedgehog leave the base prompted Shadow to remember about Rouge's actions previously, which was, of course, her running off even though she was instructed to rest until she's fully recovered.

Tails began to feel uneasy now that their back to a dead-end, but he looked back at the giant computer in front of them, "Maybe... Maybe if I recover the data storage in this thing, I can at least find out what Sonic found in here that was so important." He deduced, but quickly, Shadow noted that's Tails' voice seemed desperate like he was clinging on to more lingering possibilities.

But pushing that observation aside, Shadow considered that notion and proceeded to help Tails rummage through all the tangled wires inside of the computer. As they continue to search, Rouge decides to pay attention to any cameras nearby, seeing as to how the last minute when Sonic was attacked, the camera broke.

Immediately after positioning herself on the spot where Sonic was standing, she looked up and saw a busted up security camera. Smiling, she flew up and took a short look at the barely functioning device. Rouge knew that it might be pretty pointless to bring the camera since they already have the footage, she noticed scratch marks on the right side.

Her eyes squinted curiously, as she slid her gloved hands on the marks. But before she can brainstorm any further, she was disturbed by Tails laughing with delight. It didn't bother her though, she's already checked out the camera anyway, so she flew back down in front of Shadow and Tails, her eyes already looking at a cartridge that the fox got out of the computer.

"This is great! Hopefully, this is still functioning well." Tails mused, which reminded Shadow something important.

"That reminds me, while I was at that underwater base, I managed to snag the motherboard of the main computer there."

The young fox cheered after hearing such good news from Shadow as they decided to return to the lab, but Knuckles preferred to go off and look for Sonic. The four exited the base and saw Amy there with a look of dread, so Tail told her about what happened before she left, this gave Amy a push to keep going and have hope.

Knuckles left already in a hurry and Tails informed the G.U.N. agents that they'll be heading back to the lab to analyze the data storage and motherboard for more clues and info. Unfortunately for him, however, Shadow is getting impatient. "I don't care if I'm being rude, but me and Rouge aren't gonna sit idly by while you and Rose work on those."

"I guess..." Tails dropped a sweat.

Amy, though, had an idea for Shadow and Rouge. "I may have an idea of where you guys can check out."

Shadow crossed his arms. "We're listening."

"I've thought about this for a while, but there were eyewitnesses about the one who's been wreaking havoc, supposedly they flew so high up in the sky. Don't you think that's a little off?"

"If you put it that way, it does sound off," Rouge replied. "But it might be possible that there's something up there in the sky, why else would that thing fly up there for?"

Shadow tried to think it over for a few seconds, and soon turned back towards Amy. " Got it, I'll leave as soon as possible."

But the words used by the black hedgehog hit his partner's nerves before she whipped her head, shooting daggers at him, "What do you mean by that?? Are you suggesting that I'm staying behind???" The white bat retorted, a hint of annoyance visible on her face.

"You heard me, Rouge. Your body is still weak, you're staying with Rose and Tails until you're fully recovered." Shadow spat back, arms crossed and eyes closed, possibly avoiding Rouge's gaze.

"Shadow's right, Rouge. Right now, you might even suffer from muscle paralysis while in battle." Tails defended, Shadow did have a point after all and it was hard to counter.

Rouge, however, thought otherwise, "Like hell I'm backing off! There's no way that I'm not just gonna leave you running off on your own while I'm sitting on the sidelines!!" The white bat exclaimed, the feeling of rage consuming her that gave her the want of punching Shadow in the face.

The black hedgehog clicked his tongue, angered that Rouge is not getting his point at all and would rather hurt herself more, "We're not talking about this anymore." Was all he can say to her before jumping on his motorbike and rode off, leaving Rouge there, dumbfounded and enraged.

"Why I oughta-" Rouge suddenly felt a surge of pain coursing through her body, forcing the bat to collapse hardly in the rocky floor, Amy reacted fast and tried to carry Rouge towards the Tornado with Tails helping out. They placed Rouge gently inside then took off, both with a discomfort on their faces.

But as the two remained silent, Rouge fought back her groans since she can still feel a big sting in her legs reaching up to her chest, the only thing that she can move right now was her head, turning it towards Amy and Tail who are sitting in the first two seats. Her eyes began to drop down in utter exhaustion, she couldn't believe that just a single argument with Shadow would push her to her limits.

Rouge's face scrunched into a look of wrath, but not because Shadow ditched her, but because he had a reason why. She didn't really have a reason for doing so, but she is curious. What is she to Shadow exactly? Is she a tool, is an ally, heck, why is she even accompanying this guy so willingly???

Overall, all she could do was guess and lie down as Shadow is off doing all the work, leaving her in an injured state which pissed her off. She needed to go with him though since it is a mission for the two of them, after all. But deep down her raging thoughts about the ebony hedgehog, was really a desire to be with him.

She never felt these types of things before, even though the way she dresses and acts seemed to imply the opposite. Rouge couldn't take it anymore, she has to know why! Why she's doing all of this, why she's working in the government, more importantly, why she is so damn attached to her sorry excuse for a partner???

All of these assumptions filling her head start to get to her, making her feel drowsy from the headache she suddenly had. However, before she can fully fall asleep, as her eyes began to fall down, she spoke in her weakened state,

"Do you want my help...or not...?" She fell asleep.

The wind brushed on his quills softly as he turned his head towards the direction of the breeze. The black hedgehog looked off in the distance, strangely not driving off to his next destination. He just stood there, with the same familiar scowl he wore. Shadow closed his eyes, remembering Rouge yelling at him once again.

He's been playing this over and over again in his head, it was off for him to overthink such a thing, he did the right thing anyway so why bother having the need to go and get her? Shadow began to think back, to when he and Rouge had that intimate moment while she was on bed. His eyes began to stare down the ground, now that he thought about it, it was quite rude since she was just recovering from an injury.

Wanting to focus on the mission, he tried to brush Rouge off until he gets news of her back in perfect shape. With that in mind, Shadow hopped back in his motorbike and rode off to the nearest G.U.N. base.