DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No historical figures were harmed in the writing of this story.

It was a rotten day in Eggopolis. The sky was dark, the air was polluted, the city was covered in a layer of grime and practically all of its citizens were robotic. Furthermore, the city was heavily guarded by surveillance cameras, SWATbots & hover units. However, it wasn't always this way. The city was originally called Emerald City, and like the mythical city from The Wizard of Oz, it was a pretty nice place. Then, Dr. Ivo Robotnik & his goon squad took over one day. Dr. Ivo Robotnik, also known as Dr. Eggman, was a rotund, balding man who had a distinct mustache. His evil exploits were well-known and he was well on his way to conquering the planet Aigess.

Actually, Dr. Robotnik wasn't doing so well lately. The truth is, he had lost plenty of his forces in a recent attempt to attack the Great Forest. As a result, he was forced to recall some of his forces from elsewhere in Mobius, a move that he was not happy with.

"Snively, I have had it with those Freedom Fighters!" exclaimed Robotnik.

"What shall we do now?" asked Snively, a short, balding man with a long nose who was Dr. Robotnik's aide.

"Snively, fetch me my cards!" Snively left and returned with a platter of sterling silver. On the platter was a stack of cards. These cards had pictures of the E-Series robots, an elite group of robots created by Robotnik for special purposes.

"Which one will you choose, sir?" asked Snively. Robotnik picked up the cards and looked at them pensively.

"Hmmm…they all look so wicked," said Robotnik. "I can't choose!" So, to ease his decision, the Doctor put all the cards into a special compartment on his control console, closed the lid and pulled a lever, activating a slot machine. When the reels stopped, they displayed "BAR", "BAR" & a lemon.

"Loser" said the machine in a monotone voice, after which it short-circuited. As a result, all of Robotnik's cards burnt up, too.

"NO! My cards!" exclaimed Robotnik. "Snively, when was the last time you performed maintenance on the Robo-Slot Selectifier!?"

"About one week ago, sir" replied Snively.

"WELL DO IT MORE OFTEN! What am I paying you for!?"

"Y-you're not paying me anything."

"EXACTLY! Now get back to work or I'll have you roboticized!"

"Y-y-yes, sir!" Robotnik stormed off. "Hmph, what does he know!?" grumbled Snively. "I could run this empire more efficiently than him!"

Meanwhile, Robotnik walked in on Scratch & Grounder as they were arm wrestling. Scratch & Grounder – a tall, robotic chicken and a short robot who usually had drill bits for hands – were Robotnik's primary foot soldiers despite their incompetence.

"What is the meaning of this!?" demanded Robotnik.

"We're just tryin' to settle an argument, Your Wickedness!" replied Grounder.

"*sigh*…What are you two nincompoops arguing about now?" asked Robotnik.

"We were just wondering," said Scratch, "Which came first: The hedgehog or the egg?"

"You were wasting your time arguing over THAT!?" exclaimed Robotnik. "Get back to work, you two rejects! I'm not paying you to goof off and argue over insignificant queries such as that!"

"But you're not even paying us at all!" said Scratch.

"Yeah!" said Grounder.

"I KNOW THAT!" shouted Robotnik. "Now get back to work before I have you carted off to the wrecking yards! I cannot have anyone goofing around when my Atomic Decoupler is nearing completion! Is that understood!?"

"Yes, Your Foulness!" replied Scratch & Grounder, who discontinued their arm wrestling competition and got back to work, as did Robotnik. However, Robotnik briefly summoned the pair for one more thing:

"Oh, and by the way…" said the Doctor.

"Yes?" said Scratch & Grounder.

"…it was the egg that came first!" said Robotnik. "But I'm sure you two nincompoops have been working here long enough to know this!"

"See, I told ya!" said Scratch to Grounder.

"No way!" retorted Grounder. "The hedgehog came first and you know it!"

"Oh yeah!? Well, the hedgehog hatched from an egg, bolt-head!"

"No it didn't!"

"Yes it did!"

"No it didn't!"

"SILENCE!" shouted Robotnik. "This is the last time I will say that to either of you metallic morons! Now, prepare for Operation Nightshade!"

Without any further words, Scratch & Grounder ceased arguing and got back to work.

As for Robotnik, he went to check the progress on his Atomic Decoupler, a large, generator-like device with a bunch of reflectors on top of it. True to Dr. Robotnik's word, the device was nearing completion.

"Oooh," said Dr. Robotnik, "just knowing that this device will soon be completed warms the cockles of my heart! Eheheheheheheheh!"