Chao Down

Chapter 1: Tasty Treats

"Wha do you mean it's not against the law? It has to be! It's cruel and unusual! I've been raising chao my whole life!" I stammer as I look across the desk at the officer.

"I'm sorry Miss, but chao are not considered equals to us. If somebody wants to open a restaurant where you can eat Chao for dinner, that's their business. If you don't like it, organize a protest or something." He responds while scribbling on some paperwork, not even giving me the common courtesy of looking up as he replies.

"But it's immoral! Chao can feel pain!" I try to counter.

"Look kid, what do you want me to say? It's a free market economy. If customers don't like the restaurant, I'm sure it'll shut down in a couple of months. Besides, aren't you the girl that runs the dojo over on Canal Street? How do I know you're not just mad because you've got a little competition in the chao industry?"

I take a controlled, deep breath as I walk around the side of the desk to stand beside the officer.

"You look like you gotta a little anger management problem th—"

His smart-alecky remark is cut off as I slap him across the face.

"For your information, it's a training center, flower garden, and dojo. But more importantly, I would never approve of someone eating a chao!"

I spin around, my black summer dress whirling with me.

Everyone in the room stares at me as I head toward the door.

"Don't just stand there!" The wounded pride bearing sergeant barks while holding his hand against his cheek. "Somebody arrest her for assaulting a police officer!"

One of the young deputies sprints over to me and grabs my wrist.

"Sorry Miss Cream, but he's right."

"Whatever…" I huff as he lightly yanks my arms behind my back and locks a set of cuffs into place.

"The SSPD? What could they possibly want?" I feel a little uneasy as I see the name and number flash on my phone.

"He-hello?" I answer somewhat sheepishly.

"Tails? Ummm….hi."

I can't decide whether to laugh or cringe at the thought of Cream calling me from the police station.

"Cream, are you okay? What's going on?"

"I'm fine Tails."

"What about your mom? Is Chee—?"

"Everybody's fine. I just…need some help. I may or may not have assaulted a police officer. It's a trumped up charge." She tells me somewhat flippantly.

"Why might you or might you not have done that?" I ask nervously.

"You'll never believe it! Some freak is opening up a shop where people can order chao for dinner! And the police aren't going to shut it down."

"Why won't they?"

"They said it's not against the law."

"Wha? How is that possible?" I respond.

"I don't know, but I want to find out who's running the place."

"Yeah, this is suspicious. You want me to meet you at your apartment?"

"Umm….about that. I was actually kinda hoping you could bail me out." Cream squeaks.

"N-n-no problem. How much is it?"

"A thousand."

"Wow Cream. You're like a hardened criminal. How are you going to tell your mom?"

"Oh n-n-no! Mom can never know about this. It was hard enough to get her to let me rent my own apartment. If she found out about this, she'd make me move back in with her no questions asked!"

I stifle a laugh at her response.

"Ok Cream. No prob. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Can I get a receipt for that?" Tails asks the receptionist.

"Sure." She gives him one of those obnoxiously fake smiles as she hands him a small piece of paper.

The sergeant I tapped on the cheek stands alertly beside me and unlocks the cuffs.

I reflexively rub my wrists, enjoying my newfound freedom.

"I won't press charges if you apologize." He tells me simply.

"Sorry…" I sneer as I narrow my eyes at him.

He glares back at me.

"And I don't want you snooping around that place, you understand?" He adds, looking at both of us sternly, but his eyes are almost shielded by the round brim of his dark blue hat. "Like it or not, that's someone's property and you got no right to go trespassin'."

"I think you mean 'you don't have any right to go trespassing.' I snap at him as we walk toward the door.

"Just keep talkin' missy!"

"Ah ah ah! Freedom of speech there cowboy!" I turn and pull down my eyelid and stick my tongue out at him.

"Cut it out Cream, let's go!"

"Whoa!" I'm practically yanked out the door as Tails drags me down the mostly empty sidewalk.

"You don't want them to arrest you again, do you?" He asks seriously as we stop at a crosswalk.

"If anyone should've been arrested, he should have been. For harassment or something." I counter.

Tails reaches up and presses the button to the let the traffic signal know we're here.

I look down and see Tails feet slowly moving back and forth. His mostly white shoes with black and red accents lightly tap the pavement as he steps around.

"Where is this place at? And how'd you hear about it?" He asks me as the light turns green.

"It's about a block down the street from my place. Tikal sent me a text and stopped by to tell me all about it this morning."

I hastily sift through photos on my phone until I find the ones I'm looking for.

I hand it to Tails.

"It looks like they're pretty much done with construction." He comments. "When's it supposed to open?"

"I dunno."

"And Chao Down is the name of the place?" He asks with a squeamish look on his face.

"That's what I thought."

"You think Eggman's behind this?" Tails ventures a guess.

"He could be, but since when does he try to run legitimate businesses?" I counter.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's go see if anybody's home."

We make the short trip to the West side of Station Square.

The Chao Down building's exterior is entirely glass windows with black paneling. A simple black sign with light blue block letters with the restaurant's name reaches just above the roof.

The two of us put our heads up to one of the doors and shield our eyes so we can get a better look inside.

As I glance around inside, I see gleaming, speckled marble floors, leather booths, and tables.

Dim lighting gives the restaurant an exclusive aura.

"Whoa!" I let out a shout.

I was so distracted while looking around that I didn't notice an arm gently push open the door from the inside.

"M-M-Marine?" I hear Tails stutter.

"Oooiii! Didn't anyone ever tell ya not to spy on a bloke!" She laughs loudly as she rips Tails into a hug. "How's it goin' mate?"

They embrace lightly, but Marine quickly pulls away before even properly finishing the hug.

"And who's this cute little wallaby then?" The green skirt clad raccoon adds as she releases Tails and turns to me.

"Oh, this is Cre—."

"Well she'll be apples! So this is the infamous Cream Tails is always goin' on and on about!" Marine short circuits Tails introduction.

"He likes you this one does." Marine pretends she's whispering to me but is talking loud enough for people across the street to hear. "You should'a 'eard what he had to say while he was helpin' us back on the island. He missed you like a koala misses eucalyptus in the winter. I tell you, it was piti—"

The rest of Marine's sentence is garbled as Tails wraps one hand around her mouth and tries to restrain her.

"Owww!" Tails yelps as he quickly retracts his hand from her mouth, examining his fingers for teeth marks.

"What's the big idea? I was gonna tell her how you said you wished Cream was 'ere and that you thought she was the prett—."

"Marine, be quiet about that! We want to know why you're opening this shop!" Tails shouts over the rest of her sentence. "Are you really planning on selling chao for customers to eat?"

Marine looks at us like we're the crazy ones.

She flicks her bangs out of her eyes and blinks at us a couple of times, as if she's trying to calculate if we're really serious about the question we just asked her or not.

"Of course mate! Chao are tasty little buggers! I never had one til' I moved 'ere to Station Square!"

"But Marine, chao are sacred creatures. Guardians of the chaos emeralds!" I shout.

'Fine job of doin' that they did, didn't they?" Marine remarks, staring at me fiercely. "The chaos emeralds caused a lot of problems in my world and yours from what I hear."

Tails looks at her with soft, concerned eyes.

"Is that what this is? You're just taking out your anger on defenseless little chao?" I bark.

"I'm not mad at the chao! I told you already! They taste delicious! A little sweet barbeque sauce, some salt and red pepper, bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes…yumminess to the extreme mate!"

I turn my face away in disgust.

"Look, there're a couple of potential investors coming by tomorrow night to sample the cuisine, but I've got some in the oven right now. Trying to perfect the recipe." Marine says genuinely. "Have an open mind. Try a bite."

"You're sick!" I spout, narrowing my eyes at her.

"What's your favorite food there, then?" Marine asks me genuinely, still keeping a step between us.

Tails fidgets nervously as I stand by his side.

"Ice cream," I reply coolly.

"What else do you like?"

"Well….salads and…chicken with alfredo sauce pizza from Midori's is the best! And turkey sandwiches and hamb—."

"Ah-ha!" Marine points at me loudly. "So you like chicken and turkey and beef?"

"So?" I retort, trying to hide the fact that I know where Marine is going to take this argument .

"What about the poor birds and cows that the meat comes from? Aren't their lives just as important as a chao's?"

"That's different." I cross my arms defiantly, refusing to look Marine in the eye.

"Oh, so you're the only one that gets to choose what's saaaacred and what's not?" Marine waves her hands in the air as if she's casting a spell.

"That's not it at all." I try to mount a defense. "But chao are like dogs or cats. I mean, it's just not right to eat them. Cheese is my friend for crying out loud!"

I know I have a pitiful look on my face as I look at Marine pleadingly.

"Where are you getting these chao that you're cooking anyway?" Tails asks suddenly.

"In the fields out beyond the Mystic Ruins. There's tons of them out there. But I'm thinking the different varieties from different regions might have different tastes. That's one of the topics I'm planning on discussing with my investors."

I continue in my useless effort to try and stare Marine into submission.

"Who are these investors, if you don't mind me asking?" Tails continues as he nervously scratches the back of his head.

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh foxy. A good businesswoman doesn't divulge her clients identities so easily." Marine jokingly wags her finger in shame at him. "I don't know how well the public is going to receive our offering. So in case it is unpopular, I don't want their reputation to be ruined by their association with the restaurant."

"What?" I snap, a little lost by Marine's long reply.

"It's a secret ya silly dingo!" Marine almost good-naturedly jokes with me.

Can she not tell I'm really ticked? I think in surprise.

"Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind?" I ask sincerely.

"No, Cream. There's not. The first commercials are set to air Thursday night. Grand opening is this Friday if all goes according to plan."

I can feel tears welling up in my eyes as I stare back at her, trying to figure out why in the world she is so intent on doing this.

"But yes, to answer you a little better, it does bother me that chao can't do anything but try and persuade people to use the emeralds' positive energy for good." Marine continues, now looking toward the ground as she talks.

Tails frowns a little at this comment.

"It's not that simple Marine. The chao aren't able to physically fight like that. The echidna clan that Tikal was a part of were supposed to play a role in the actual defending of the Master Emerald and The Chaos Emeralds." I tell her. "Now, that's kind of mine and Sonic's responsibility." He tells her before giving her a quick wink.

"I know mate. I'm not blaming it on the chao. That's not what I mean at all. But ever since I decided to come back with you guys to Station Square, I've been having a tough time trying to make it on my own. This could be my chance to be a real success!"

Marine waves us into the kitchen thru a set of swinging double doors.

I go inside but wait by the door with arms crossed as Tails follows behind her.

Marine grabs a pristine white rag from the counter by a chef that's slicing lettuce and carrots, folds it in half and opens one of the black, double-decker ovens.

She and Tails wince a little at the heat radiating out.

"Don't they look delicious? And how about that smell? So sweet and moist!" Marine gently sniffs the air over the pan.

Something about this isn't right. I continue to think as I wait sullenly by the door. I have to find out who these investors are and why Marine is fronting for them.

"I'm leaving Tails. You gonna stick around?" I ask him plainly as I preemptively push open one of the swinging doors.

"Maybe for a little bit. I'll catch up with you later." He looks at me with wavering eyes.

"Suit yourself." I mumble as I storm out of the restaurant.

"Take a look at 'em." Marine waves her hand over the baking pan, ushering some of the aroma toward my crinkling nose.

I would certainly never admit it to Cream, but the smell is making my mouth water.

Whoever prepared them for baking did an amazing job. It's not anything at all like I feared. I had in my mind an image of chao just cooked whole with a frown on their face and a spiky emo ball above their head, but that's not the case at all.

The chao have been cleaned and cut into small steaks and strips. Each gleams with the gentle red barbeque and red pepper glaze Marine told us about earlier. If I hadn't known better, I wouldn't know this was chao at all.

Marine takes a small knife with a black handle and lifts one of the steaks onto a serving tray. She deftly uses a nearby fork and cuts off a small piece.

"Here ya go Tailsy! Try it!" She grins as she holds the fork out to me.

"I guess it's going to be up to me to find a way to shut this place down." I think seriously.

I get lost in my thoughts as I meander down the sidewalk.

"What can I do to stop this? Maybe if I gather all seven of the chaos emeralds I could turn into….nahhh I don't have enough time for that." I shake the idea from my head.

"Maybe Sonic could help me?" I think optimistically as I open the door to the greenhouse of the flower garden. "Then again, he might be close enough to Marine that he won't stand up to her either. Just like Tails."

I feel hot as I aimlessly wander down the simple dirt path that curves through the garden.

The late afternoon sun seeps in around me in tangerine tinted hues.

I need an ally. Somebody that knows how to get some inside information. My mind races as I start to formulate a plan.

It's time for Super Stealth Spy Cream to get to work!

End Chapter 1

Author's Note: Let me know what you think of the premise of this one. If it's too strange of an idea that's not worth continuing, just let me know. I'm going to try to keep all scenes in first person (even if it means changing characters several times in the same chapter). I hope this won't be too confusing and will make it more interesting for the readers. And thanks for any feedback! It's always greatly appreciated.

Coming up next time: What can Cream do to stop chao from being sold for dinner? Who are Marine's mysterious investors? And what did Tails think of the barbequed chao? Find out next time!