In the casino car, it looked as though somebody had been enjoying the various games on display, judging by all the chips stacked up and cards laid out, not to mention all the drinking glasses. However, it was clear that this wouldn't be an easy endeavor for Ten…
(Oh no, not her again! Take a deep breath, OK? Think about what Caroline would want.)
Tails, however, wasn't so taken by Rouge:
"Rouge, there you are! We have a lot to say to you! We've visited every train car so far, and everyone's said they've seen you wandering about. It's high time you told us why!"
Rouge put a hand up to her mouth. "My my, talk about a warm welcome. Quick to the point, aren't you, darling? And I see you've brought the handsome microwave master with you?"
(She thinks I'm handsome?) thought Ten. (Crap, she definitely wants my body!) "Tails is right; people have brought you up a lot. Care to explain?"
Rouge gasped and began sweating a little.
"Do tell them, Rouge," said Blaze. "We'll need the assistance."
Tails raised an eyebrow. "Blaze…?"
Rouge smiled. "All right, I've been hunting for a treasure rumored to be stored here on the train."
(Funny, no one gave me any intel about treasure.) thought Ten.
"Since I'm part business tycoon, part purveyor of fine collectibles, I knew I had to find it," said Rouge.
"Tell them what it is, Rouge," said Blaze.
Rouge stroked her chin. "All right, well…it's a Fabergé Chao egg."
(Fabergé Chao eggs…I've heard of them before, but I always thought they were myths.) thought Ten.
Tails dropped his jaw. "Wow, that does sound extravagant. But please, don't tell me you accepted Amy's birthday invite just to get your hands on that egg."
Rouge giggled. "A woman can have multiple goals! I gave Amy her birthday present already, so everything's well taken care of."
"She ensnared me into the hunt immediately," said Blaze. "I stayed here while she searched the train cars for clues. I deduced that the Fabergé Chao egg is here, in this train car, locked in a safe."
(So it must be real, then.) thought Ten.
Tails stroked his chin. "And what did you manage to find, Rouge?"
"Oh, well, why don't you both take a look?" Rouge pulled out a set of blueprints from her cleavage. "I found the train's blueprints with the safe code written right on it! The score of a lifetime!"
Ten did his best not to stare at Rouge's chest.
Tails dropped his jaw. "The train's blueprints…? Please Rouge, let us see that!"
Rouge blew a kiss at Tails. "Uh uh uh, finder's keepers, sweetheart!"
Blaze crossed her arms. "There's a problem. We require your assistance."
"What kind of problem?" asked Tails.
Rouge crossed her arms. "The elevator behind the security guard leads us right to the room holding the Fabergé Chao egg, but we can't get anywhere without the guard's keycard. We need a plan to get that card to use the elevator, and our chance of success grows with everyone's help."
Ten crossed his arms. "Well, you can forget about getting my help. I was hired to be a waiter, not a two-bit thief."
Rouge frowned and extended her hands forwards, palms up. "Aw, come on! This is a Fabergé Chao egg we're talking about here! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Forget it, Rouge."
"Please, if you care about my feelings, just do this one teeny-tiny favor for me!"
"Rouge, I said 'no' and I mean 'no'. I'm not gonna change my mind on this. You can find some other dupe to assist you in your ill-gotten scheme."
Rouge smiled. "I'll give you a hug if you say 'yes'!"
(Oh no, she knows my weakness!) thought Ten. (Guess there's only one way outta this…) "All right, I accept."
"Good boy!"
Rouge gave Ten a big hug, which he returned without question. Despite his distaste for her criminal nature, he found that he just couldn't hate her when she had her arms wrapped around him. He could sense that beneath that sexy, flirty, devious exterior that she was a kind, motherly woman who genuinely cared about people's feelings and wanted them to be happy. Plus, she was so soft, warm and cuddly…granted, not in the same way as Kelsea or Caroline, but an absolute joy to have in his arms, nevertheless. How could he possibly hate her? Eventually, she let go, but not without gazing lovingly into his eyes. As for Tails, he gave a suspicious look to Blaze:
"Blaze, you don't have a problem with this?"
Blaze smiled and pulled out her fan. "I see no issues here. Sounds like a fine business venture.
(Hmmm…her lore card must be influencing her decisions here.) thought Ten. (That, or breaking the rules is refreshing for a princess like her. From what limited intel we have, I know that Blaze was alone for much of her life until she met Sonic.)
Tails scratched his cheek with his index finger. "Well, I suppose if Ben and Blaze are in, then let's get that Fabergé Chao Egg!"
Rouge blew a kiss to Tails. "That's the ticket! Happy to have you both on the team! Now, we must plan."
"I'm way ahead of you on that, Rouge," said Ten.
Rouge put a hand on her hip. "Oh, are we? Do tell me more."
"OK, so here's how this is gonna work: Blaze, you distract the guard."
"And how shall I accomplish that?" asked Blaze.
"See that claw machine over there?" Ten pointed to a claw machine game.
"What about it?"
"Call the guard over and pretend it's stuck."
Tails gave a thumbs up. "That'll work great as a distraction!"
"Indeed!" Rouge gave a thumbs up as well. "I'm liking this plan already!"
"Rouge, while the guard is distracted, you use your five-finger skills and pick his pocket," said Ten.
Rouge put her hand up to her mouth and smirked. "I'll snatch the access key no problem. That Chao in uniform won't notice a thing!" She chuckled.
Tails smiled. "Excellent! We can count on you, Rouge!" His smile faded fast, to be replaced by a serious frown. "Try not to take anything else from them, if you can help it."
Rouge blew a kiss to Tails. "No promises, sweetie!"
"Having done that, we need to get Blaze out of the situation," said Ten. "Tails, once Rouge picks the guard's pocket, tell him there's a drink without a coaster."
Tails dropped his jaw. "Absolutely vile. I can think of nothing worse."
Blaze frowned. "Despicable. I would never allow such a thing in my kingdom. The guard will go running immediately; I'm sure of it."
"With the guard distracted, we all head for the elevator," said Ten.
Rouge frowned and sweated. "But there's one more security measure we didn't account for!"
Ten furrowed his brow. "Which is…?"
"What do we do about the mechanical arms attacking from the ceiling?"
"Nobody told me about those, but I had an idea about that: Tails, can you program them to not attack us?"
Tails stroked his chin. "I should be able to disengage them, but I'll need some time."
"And in the meantime, what do we do?" said Rouge.
"Let's just pretend there's nothing wrong," said Ten.
"Brilliant!" Rouge gave a thumbs up. "Are you sure you're not secretly a master thief?"
Ten nodded. "I'm sure."
"Darlings, I'm happy to say that this plan is perfect! If everyone's ready, then it's time to execute!"
"I'm ready," said Blaze. "Let's begin."
"Alright, let's go!" Tails pounded the bottom of his fist against the palm of his hand.
As per Ten's command, Blaze approached the security guard, a Chao with a brown moustache who was wearing sunglasses.
"Excuse me, sir, but the claw machine appears to have suffered a malfunction. Could you please take a look at it?"
"Chao!"
The security guard went over with Blaze to the claw machine, while Rouge stealthily swooped in and picked the guard's pocket, taking his keycard. While the guard was inspecting the claw machine, Tails came over.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but someone left their drink and there's no coaster!"
"Chao chao!"
With the guard's attention turned away, Blaze, Ten, Tails and Rouge made a beeline for the elevator. Once Rouge got them in, they headed upwards, and true to Rouge's prediction, a bunch of mechanical arms came down and grabbed them.
"I've got this!"
Tails pulled out Miles Electric and started punching in a bunch of commands, while Rouge and Ten did their best to dissuade the arms:
"Would you mind letting us go?" asked Rouge.
"Yeah, this is just a routine maintenance check," said Ten. "Nothing to see here."
The arms tightened a bit before Tails' hacking kicked in, and the four were released just as the elevator arrived at the upper vault level. Here, the walls were lined with safes, and there were tables with gold bars, but what the crew was really looking for was a huge safe in the center of the room. Rouge smiled and pointed to herself:
"I knew the plan would go off without a hitch!"
"We couldn't have made it this far without you both," said Blaze. "You have my gratitude."
Tails smiled. "Our planning beforehand was very thorough, I must admit! And it was executed to perfection!
Rouge gave a dismissive hand flap. "Enough chatter, now we claim our real prize! I have the safe code right here on these blueprints. Let's claim our Fabergé Chao Egg!" She giggled. "This looks to be the safe with our treasure!"
"Then enter the code on the blueprints and find out, Rouge," said Blaze.
"On it, sweetheart!"
Rouge put in the code on the safe's dial and then attempted to open the door. Fortunately, not only was the code correct, but there was indeed a Fabergé Chao Egg inside, much to her delight:
"It's here! Come to Mommy!"
Tails began sweating. "All right, before anyone sees us, let's get out of he…"
"Hold on, kiddo, we can't be so hasty. You truly think that's all there is to this egg? No further secrets whatsoever?"
Blaze put a hand on her hip. "Rouge, do enlighten us further. What are you hiding?"
Rouge raised her index finger. "Only three of these eggs were ever made, each hiding their own individual secret. No one knows the secret because anyone who's opened one of these has never lived to tell the tale!"
Tails scratched his head. "You can open the egg?"
"You sure can! And all of you will bear witness to its secret!"
Blaze frowned nervously. "Rouge, I don't know if you should…"
"All you need to do is twist it!"
Rouge twisted the upper and lower halves of the egg, only for it to start ticking, much to everyone's consternation:
"Uh-oh," said Rouge.
Tails began sweating. "Rouge…has no one lived to tell the egg's secret…because each egg is a bomb?"
"I think you're on to something, kiddo! It sure sounds like a bomb!"
"We must dispose of that egg…NOW." said Blaze.
Rouge frowned and put her fists on her hips. "DISPOSE of it!? After all our hard work…!"
Blaze glared at Rouge. "ROUGE…"
Rouge grumbled and crossed her arms. "Fine. But what do we do? Where do I put this thing?"
"Isn't it obvious? We put the egg back in the safe."
"OK, fine! It's going back in…"
Rouge put the egg back in the safe. Unfortunately for her…
"Blaze, it won't budge! It's staying open!"
"Try twisting the dial!" said Tails.
Rouge put her fists on her hips. "I obviously am! This door must have a weird relocking mechanism!"
Tails scratched his head. "But there are no other buttons or dials, so how are you supposed to…"
"We don't have time to trifle with this," said Blaze. "Think of something else."
"Why don't you try twisting the egg back?" said Tails.
Rouge gave a thumbs up. "Great idea!"
Rouge twisted the egg back. Unfortunately for her, it was still ticking, and no matter how far back she twisted it, it kept ticking.. She slapped her forehead.
"Stop! Stop! That's clearly not working!" said Blaze. "Let's think of something else."
"Why don't we just let the egg finish ticking?" said Ten.
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" shouted Rouge. "Do you wanna get us all blown up!?"
"We need to dispose of the bomb," said Blaze. "That is our goal."
"Believe me, we won't get blown up," said Ten.
Tails dropped is jaw. "Wait, Ben's right!"
Rouge put her fists on her hips. "Fox Boy, don't tell me you agree with this lunatic!"
"You see, Espio said something interesting when we quizzed him about the train's manual:"
"The robotic arms can also detect weapons or explosives being brought onto the train, ensuring passenger safety."
"Those robot arms that attacked us in the elevator seem to have a lot of functions here on the train."
"So, if the egg really were a bomb, the robotic arms would've detected it and confiscated it," said Ten. "The only other person onboard the train who would know about it is the conductor, and he wouldn't have allowed it, either."
Rouge gave a distrustful look, while Tails smiled.
"OK, we'll wait," said Blaze.
Rouge sighed. "Fine, I believe you, but if we get blown up, I'm kicking all of your asses in the afterlife!"
Ten nodded. "Deal."
Shortly thereafter, the egg stopped ticking, and true to Tails and Ten's word, it didn't explode. Rather, it opened to reveal its secret, much to Rouge's delight:
"Well hello! You two really were on to something!"
"Phew." Tails wiped off his brow.
Blaze smiled. "My my. Well, that's one way to get the heart racing. I am completely relieved."
"And look what's inside!"
Rouge pulled out a jeweled Chao charm.
"Wow, look at that sparkle!" said Tails. "And it's so heavy, too!"
"So this is the final secret to the Fabergé Chao Egg!" said Rouge. "It's perfect! It's exquisite! It's revolutionary!"
(Just like Rouge to be so drawn to jewels.) thought Ten.
Blaze crossed her arms. "But you said no one lived to tell the Fabergé Chao Egg's secret. I wonder why if the egg wasn't a bomb."
Rouge raised her index finger. "Because they weren't as tough as us! I don't know; who cares!? What a precious treasure! A beauty to behold!"
"Or maybe they died naturally of old age and took the secret with them," said Ten.
"Maybe," said Tails." As much fun as this has been, though, we should get outta here before we're spotted."
"Good call," said Blaze. "Let's go."
Tails, Ten, Rouge and Blaze headed out of the elevator upon reaching the casino.
(No one seems to suspect anything, not even the guard.) thought Ten. (Hopefully, the brass doesn't find out about this…)
"Thank you both for your assistance," said Blaze. "That hunt was exactly the thrill I was seeking."
Tails smiled. "Stealing was…strangely fun?" His look turned serious. "But I'd prefer never to do it again. Now Rouge…"
Rouge didn't respond.
"Rouge…?"
(She seems to be completely absorbed with that Chao jewel.) thought Ten.
"Wha…?" Rouge shook her head. "What is it, darling?"
"About those blueprints…" said Tails. "Now that you're done with them, maybe we could take a look?"
Rouge frowned. "While I appreciate your assistance, it's as I said: finders keepers. I'll need them a little longer in case I missed any other treasures. But I promise I'll let you take a peek later! I don't wanna sound ungrateful, but I'm sure you get it, sweetie." She blew another kiss at Tails.
(Get this: I'm gonna make the sweetest…NO! Ten, get your head back in the game!)
"We have no further questions for either of you," said Ten. "We'll get out of your way."
"Before you go, Shadow gave Rouge and I one of these." Blaze produced a Yale key. "He passed through earlier. Allow me to unlock the door so that you may progress further."
Blaze unlocked the door to the next car.
"Still, I wonder why people have been mentioning you, Rouge…" Tails stroked his chin. "On the other hand, I have plenty of suspicion about Shadow, too."
Rouge stroked her chin. "He's unpredictable, that one. Good luck to you both."
Blaze smiled. "Both of you stay safe. Thank you again."
Tails gave a thumbs up. "Will do! Let's head out, Ben!"
Tails and Ten were heading out when Ten felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, and…
"You did great back there," said Rouge. "How's about I give you a kiss for your trouble?"
"Thanks, but no thanks." Ten brushed Rouge's hand away. "See you later, Rouge."
"If you insist, honey. Ta ta!"
Rouge gave a flirty wave and wink to Ten, who tried not to think about doing her doggy style.
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.
