A/N: I forgot to post a warning for this story last chapter. Smart, eh? Just needed to get this out before too many people get into the story and then see what I have in store later on and they aren’t ready for it.

WARNING: This fic, according to the fanfiction . net rating system, is rated M for mature. No spoilers, but it is rated that for a reason. KEEP THIS IN MIND. There will be some sexual themes later on.

–

After getting introduced to Tails (“Oh, he’s adorable!”), Sonia turned an angry gaze onto her blue-quilled brother.

“Sonic Hedgehog, what the hell were you thinking?! Going off alone like that without telling anybody?! You could have been hurt, or captured, or even killed!”

Sonic’s ears folded back but he tried to retain a smug attitude. “But I wasn’t, was I? And can we please refrain from saying that C-word?”

“Dammit Sonic, how many times do I have to tell you? Let us know when you are going out! You had me worried sick!”

Sonic soon grew annoyed of his sister’s lectures and schemed a way to make her stop. He put an arm over her shoulder and began to whisper. “Listen Sonia, can you yell at me later? Manic said you had something to show us. And anyway...you shouldn’t say that kind of stuff around Tails. He’s just a kid.”

Sonia immediately felt guilty about Tails. Both peered over at the kit and were relieved to see Manic had covered Tails’ ears.

“He didn’t hear a word.” Manic grinned, and by the look on Tails’ face, he was telling the truth. Manic removed his hands and Tails looked at him confused.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, little dude. Everything’s fine.” He turned to Sonia. “C’mon sis, tell us what you found out.”

“Oh right.” The violet hedgehog went to her computer. “I sent out another spy bug. It was in a safe place this time.” The screen showed Robotnik’s chamber with the man himself talking to his two henchmen, Sleet and Dingo.

“Chaos Emeralds, Sleet. We need them to acquire Project Shadow.” This was followed by an evil chuckle. “And luckily, I know where one is.”

“Izzat the one on Angel Island?” Dingo actually had the courage to ask. Or maybe he was too stupid to know he would get screamed at.

“No you fool! Energy readings have picked up another one! You two are to retrieve the Chaos Emerald and then Project Shadow. Is this understood?!”

“Yes sir!”

“Good. Now let me tell you where the emerald is...”

Sonic leaned over and whispered to Sonia. “Hey sis, is this live?”

Sonia nodded. “Yeah. I’m hearing this for the first time too.”

“Shh! Listen!” Manic shushed them.

“The Chaos Emerald is located in the upmost peninsula. In fact, someone familiar is in possession of it.”

“Who?” Sleet stared.

“That blasted Oracle, that’s who!”

The hedgehog triplets gasped. That certainly didn’t sound good.

“I want you two to find that emerald at any cost! You know where the Oracle is, so go!” Sleet and Dingo began to scramble around and soon dashed out of the room.

Sonia turned the spy bug off. “Guys, we have to go help the Oracle.”

“Hold on.” All eyes turned to Sonic. “The Oracle can take care of himself for now. First off, I wanna know what’s got Robotnik so worked up. Something about a ‘Project Shadow’?”

“I’ve never heard of it...” Sonia said while pondering. Manic shook his head, saying he’d never heard of it either.

“I have.” The three hedgehogs turned to look at Tails, all looking a little surprised. “Granted I haven’t heard much. I only saw a little bit when I hacked into Robotnik’s computer.”

“What’d you see, Tails?” Sonic pressed.

“Like I said, not much. It said something about a “Space Colony ARK” and Project Shadow being it’s greatest work. It also said that the creator was someone called Professor Gerald Robotnik.”

“Robotnik?!” The triplets exclaimed at the same time.

“So the creator of this “Project Shadow” is related to Robotnik?”

“I think so,” Tails nodded. “But that’s all I found out?”

Manic piped in, curious about something. “Wait a sec, what’s a Space Colony ARK?”

“I’ve read about it somewhere...” Tails began to think. “From what I remember, the Space Colony ARK was a research laboratory in space. There were rumors that it was building some huge secret weapon that could either save the world or destroy it. My guess is that it’s this Project Shadow that Robotnik is looking for. But the ARK got shut down years ago. Nobody lives there anymore.”

They all nodded. “That’s good enough for now.” Manic ran to the door. “We’ll find out more later. Right now, we gotta find the Oracle.”

“Right!”

–

“Move it, you idiot, move!” Sleet nearly screamed at Dingo. He had turned the dimwitted canine into a snowmobile.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Sleet!”

“Ugh, you are so useless! Dr. Robotnik will have our heads if you don’t hurry up!”

“Okay, okay!” Dingo pushed his gears to the max.

Sleet grinned as he saw the cave that led to the Oracle and the Chaos Emerald come into sight. “Okay Dingo, stop!”

Dingo did just that and Sleet jumped off. “Can you change me back to normal now, Sleet?”

“In a minute,” Sleet mumbled, not really paying attention. He opened up his pack and took out a communicator. “We’ve reached the Oracle’s cave. Send in the SWATbots.”

Not even a minute passed before at least a thousand SWATbots marched over the hills and over to the two henchmen. “Dr. Robotnik spared no expense this time, Dingo,” Sleet explained at Dingo’s shocked look. “He wants to be sure that the Chaos Emerald is secure.”

“I’ll say...” The smarter canine rolled his eyes and turned Dingo back to normal.

The SWATbots came to a halt in front of the duo. “Alright,” Sleet commanded. “Your goal is to find the Chaos Emerald at any cost. Freeze anything in sight, especially the Oracle. If you see him, don’t hesitate to do anything to get rid of him. I don’t care what you have to do, just get that emerald!” All of the SWATbots gave a salute and marched into the cave.

Chaos and destruction ensued, but it went unnoticed by the cave’s lone owner. The Oracle of Delphius had chosen that precise moment to meditate. It was a deep meditation that was not easily broken. Because of this, he had also failed to see the lone SWATbot stick its head through the glowing waterfall that led to his chambers.

The SWATbot saw the Oracle in his deep meditation and immedietly called for backup. Soon after, ten SWATbots made their way into the mystical chambers and began to fire their freeze rays, destroying everything in sight.

The Oracle snapped out of his trance. “What the-” His protest was cut short as the robot shot out a freeze ray and the Oracle was frozen solid.

“Commander Sleet,” The SWATbot said into its communicator. “The Oracle has been eliminated.”

“Excellent!” came the response. “Now concentrate on finding the Chaos Emerald, but don’t hesitate to destroy anything that you find.”

“Affirmative.” It began to scan around the area and its sensors soon picked up a high energy surge. Using a regular laser, it annihilated everything in sight. In the center, the SWATbot found the purple Chaos Emerald.

“Objective complete. Awaiting further instructions.”

“Make sure nothing is left of that place! Once you are finished destroying everything, gather up the rest of the SWATbots and come back to the ship.”

“Understood.” Making sure nothing was left, the robots soon exited the now ruined chambers.

Minutes passed, and the Oracle was still frozen. A young boy fearfully whimpered in his hiding place. “Please let him be okay, please let him be okay...”