A moment passes while Shadow is left alone. He sighs. He hears something slowly approaching him, stomping behind a wall. Shadow turns his head towards it. He hears a weapon being charged, and then firing.

Shadow turns his head away from the blast, coughing from the dust. He looks back at it, gasping in surprise.

"Omega…?"

Omega walks up towards him. He looks at a console nearby and types on it. The cuffs unlock from Shadow's wrists and ankles. He drops on the floor, rubbing on his wrists. He looks up at Omega.

"Rouge told me you'd be here." Omega says.

Shadow looks down and chuckles.

"Always full of surprises, that bat." Shadow mutters to himself.

"We must hurry and find Eggman. Rouge notified G.U.N. and is heading to the Master Emerald."

Shadow pauses for a moment. He then looks up at Omega and nods.

"Alright, let's go find him."

Rouge enters the room where the Master Emerald is being held. She walks towards the console and pauses.

"Now how do I stop this thing from working…?" She mutters to herself.

She ponders for a second before smiling. She types on the console and looks up at the emerald. It slowly stopped spinning, before emitting a brighter light. Rouge looks at it in concern. She slowly backs away from it as the ground begins to shake.

Shadow and Omega turn a corner and immediately spot Eggman.

"Eggman!" Omega shouts. Eggman turns around and stares at them in shock.

"Omega? Is that..." He looks at Shadow. "Shadow, you're…"

Omega aims his arm at him, turning it into a cannon. "Prepare to be destroyed."

The ground suddenly shakes around them. The three stumble around, trying to keep their balance. Shadow briefly looks up and notices the ceiling cracking above Eggman. He quickly looks at him, shocked at what's about to happen.

"Doctor!" He yelled.

Shadow ran towards him, shoving him to safety. The ceiling crashes down above him, burying him in debris.

Rouge ran quickly, dodging the collapsing ceiling, searching for her teammates. The tremor soon died out. She turns around a corner. Her expression turns to horror. Omega slowly dragged Shadow out of the debris, his body lying still.

Rouge rushes next to him, checking for his pulse. She looks at him in fear.

"No…no…"

Omega briefly scans for signs of life.

"No pulse detected."

Rouge looks at Omega, her eyes pleading for help. Omega shakes his head. "Medical procedures were not programmed into me."

Rouge stares back at Shadow, her eyes filled with concern.

Eggman looks at them. He pauses, thinking of what to do. He gives a brief sigh. He slowly walks up towards Shadow and kneels close next to him.

"Step back." He commanded.

Rouge looks at him for a moment before stepping back. Eggman places two hands on Shadow's chest and pushes on it. Again. Again.

It continued like this for a while. Rouge looks at Eggman, expressing sorrow.

"Eggman, it's…"

"No." He snaps back at her. "He's not dead yet. He's not dead."

He began pushing heavily, trying desperately to revive him.

"It's over." Rouge pleads.

"No, it's not!" He yells back. "It's not over, it's…"

Eggman's eyes slowly waters. He thought of his grandfather, how he dedicated his life to science. Shadow was his last creation, the only link left to him.

"Wake up, Shadow."

He began beating Shadow's chest in desperation.

"Wake up!"

He began striking angrily.

"Please...!"

He strikes him as hard as he could. Shadow's eyes shot open, his heart beating lively again. He gasps heavily for air, struggling to breathe. Rouge looks at him, joy erupting within her. She kneels over next to him and rests her hand on his head.

"Shadow, you…"

She growls at him.

"...you nearly gave me a heart attack, you jerk!"

Shadow looks at her for a while, breathing heavily.

"What…"

Rouge closes her eyes, sighing. "The ceiling collapsed on top of you and you fell unconscious. We thought you were dead, but…" Rouge looks up at Eggman. "Eggman saved you."

Shadow turns his head to Eggman.

"Doctor…" He wheezed.

"Don't try to speak," Eggman responded, "your ribs might be broken for all I know."

Shadow looks down, panting. A beeping rings on Rouge's wristwatch.

"Rouge? This is the G.U.N. Commander. We're raiding the base now. Have you found Eggman?"

Rouge pauses for a while. Shadow turns his head to her.

"Let him go." He says.

Omega aims his arm at Eggman. "I will not allow this."

"Omega!" Shadow snaps, coughing. "The doctor saved my life."

"Rouge?" The Commander asks.

Rouge looks at Omega, who looks down to Shadow. He knew he wouldn't forgive him if Omega didn't do so. Omega looks back at Eggman, lowering his weapon.

"Next time, I will not hesitate to destroy you."

Rouge sighs in relief. "This is Rouge. We found the Master Emerald; no Eggman in sight."

Eggman looks over to Shadow. "Stay safe, okay?"

Shadow nods. Eggman slowly stands up.

"I'm sorry. It was fun being with you guys and gals, but I'm afraid I have to go."

He slowly turns around and leaves.