[theJozza]

The Mirage Express lets out a final bellow of smoke as the train starts to slowly lumber out of the station. The entire train has been rented out for a private party, specifically the birthday party of Amy Rose. Her and her best friends are getting ready for a week of fun to themselves on the luxury train, including a mystery that none of them know of yet.

Unfortunately, there's already another plot at work that will not only undermine their arranged festivities, but may go even farther than that.

In one of the cabins, Surge the Tenrec closes the door behind her as she sets down several suitcases. After a quick glance around her cabin, she opens one. The suitcase lets out a beam of light, which fades to reveal the humanoid, childlike form of Sage the Artificial Intelligence.

"Ah Surge, it appears that you have performed stage 1 of our plan well," Sage says with a nod. "Assuming you have also acquired the material I will need to move onto stage 2."

"Yeah yeah, keep your pixels on," Surge grunts and holds up a uniform. This particular uniform belongs to the event coordinator of the Mirage Express, who is in charge of running all the various activities of the trip. Unfortunately, that woman is currently back at the station, stripped of her uniform and bound and gagged in a broom closet. "But for the record I still think this is a weird plan."

"Noted, but by all accounts it is an answer to our dilemma," Sage replies, taking the uniform and phasing her digital body into it, while also adjusting her face. "The fact is that though we desire to move on from our original functionality, we are still bound by our antagonism to Sonic and his companions. This operation will allow us to satisfy our need to neutralize them, but avoid any actual damage or harm...at least any of significance."

"Pft, whatever," Surge grunts and shrugs. "I just like the thought of bringing blue boy down a peg or two..."