Penny scanned the battle from her spot in Tails' plane, watching their every move. Eggman's mobile shot a grenade at Amy, who quickly hammered it away with a "FORE!"

Penny let out a startled yelp as Tails quickly rolled the plane away. "WHOA! A LITTLE WARNING NEXT TIME, TAILS!"

Tails quickly straightened himself and turned to Penny. "Sorry, Penny." He turned to Amy and yelled down at her. "Hey, watch it, Amy! Geez, try aiming for the bad guy!"

"Sorry..." Amy winced. She quickly saw another grenade coming for her, and once again she swatted it at Tails' plane, which he quickly dodged. Penny let out a yelp, clinging to the plane.

"Oh, come on!" Tails grumbled in annoyance. Hearing whimpering, he turned his attention to the human girl. "Just hang in there, Penny!"

"I'm trying." Penny moaned, clinging to the seat.

In the mobile, Eggman growled at Orbot and Cubot. "Faster, you bumbling bolt buckets! What are you waiting for?"

"You didn't say the magic word?" Cubot asked nervously.

Eggman stared at them. "Pawnshop."

Orbot sighed. "We were thinking "please", but pawnshop gets the job done!" He placed another grenade in the canon, and fired it at the gang. Sonic quickly grabbed it and tossed it at the Egg Tank, destroying it with a single kick and a smash. One of the debris nearly knocked Tails and Penny out of the sky, and Tails quickly straightened his plane while Penny nearly threw up over the side of the ship.

Tails glared down at the gang. " Seriously?"

Sonic grinned. "Booyah! And Sonic takes the Egg Tank."

Orbot glanced at Eggman. "Perhaps you should consider grenades that explode on impact instead of ones that can be thrown back before they blow up."

Eggman glared at Orbot. "You're saying this is MY fault?!"

Orbot quickly shook his head. "No, no. I would never say that. Regardless of how true it is."

Eggman glared at the robots. "You imcompetent ingrates! You can find your own way back to the lair."

Eggman hopped into his mobile and flew off, leaving Orbot and Cubot behind.

Penny sighed, shaking her head at both Orbot and Cubot, feeling sorry for them. A while later, when Penny was shopping for art supplies, the human girl noticed that Orbot and Cubot were still here, hijacking in a corner of the open market, their thumbs raised. She quickly hid behind some crates, waiting to see when she could pop in and help if necessary.

She watched as a Gogoba leader peddling a cart on a bike rolled up, and Orbot glanced at him hopefully. "Might we grab a ride to our evil employer's lair?"

The Gogoba leader smiled at them. "Of course, but this wagon isn't exactly water-resistant. It'll probably just sink to the bottom of the ocean and me along with it."

"On second thought, we'll find another ride." Orbot said, quickly waving the Gogoba off, who peddled away.

Penny continued to quietly watch as Soar flew up, and Cubot grinned at him. "Hey, Soar the Eagle. Any chance you could fly us over to Eggman?"

Soar grinned at them. "I could give you a ride... Or I could give you something even more valuable: The motivation to do it yourself." He closed his eyes and acted like he was meditating. "Close your eyes, and imagine you're back at the lair and a ride will manifest itself."

Penny let out a moan of annoyance, slapping her head as she watched both Orbot and Cubot meditate like the lying Eagle, and Soar quickly turned on his jet pack and flew off, leaving them behind. A second later, Leroy rolled up in his cart and right through a mud puddle, splashing mud on them.

Having quite enough, the human girl hauled her art supplies and walked over to Orbot and Cubot. "Hey, guys," she said, not knowing how to start this up.

"Hey!" Cubot said with a grin, still meditating. Orbot quickly slapped him. Cubot flailed around before noticing the human girl, and quickly straightened his pose. "Hey, Penny!"

Penny giggled slightly, and then took a deep breath and glanced at the robots. "I can't believe Eggman just abandoned you. Why do you put up with his abuse?"

Cubot glanced at the human girl with wide eyes. " Ah, he's not so bad. Sure he gets upset sometimes, but deep down, he really cares."

"He just has a funny way of showing it." Orbot added quickly.

"Okay..." Penny raised her eyes at them, and noticed Sonic riding in his Blue Force One cart up to them. Sonic stopped and smirked at the human girl. "Hey, babe."

Penny blushed fiercely. "Sonic, don't call me that in front of these two!"

"I liked it!" Cubot said, and Orbot quickly placed a hand over the cube-shaped robot's mouth.

"Okay, let's just forget about it. Sonic, I need a favor to ask you."

"What is it, Princess?"

"How about giving these poor guys a lift in Blue Force One?"

Sonic stared at them, his eyes half lidded. "Sorry, Princess. There's a reason it's called "Blue Force One" and not "Blue Force Three"."

Penny let out a groan of annoyance as Sonic sped off, leaving them in the dust. She sighed, brushing the dust off and glancing down at the bots. "Well, I'm sorry, seems like we'll have to get you home the old fashioned way."

It took a while, but Penny managed to help Orbot and Cubot build a raft to float home. After some heartfelt goodbyes and polite thank yous for the human girl's assistance, Orbot and Cubot both voyaged home on their raft.

When they got to the lair, they were greeted by a pretty annoyed Eggman. " Where the heck have you two been?"

Orbot raised his finger. "Uh..."

Eggman sighed. " Doesn't matter. I need you to go to the village and get me about a hundred decorative rocks for my garden."

Orbot and Cubot both sighed.

Penny wasn't expecting to see Orbot and Cubot so suddenly, so she was equally surprised to see the robots she had just helped an hour ago haul about a hundred rocks in a sack right in front of her.

"I thought I just helped you guys get back home," Penny said, raising her brows. Amy, who was also with her, frowned at the robots. "Oh, this is pathetic! You need to stand up to Eggman! And if he continues to treat you this way, you should go on strike!"

Orbot glanced at the girls. " We would, but it's not a good time right now."

Cubot nodded in agreement, hoisting the bag over his shoulder. " He really needs these rocks. Of course Rock Transport Bot might have been a better choice for this assignment. But, Eggman's the evil genius, not us."

Penny and Amy both sighed as they watched Orbot and Cubot haul the rocks.

Orbot and Cubot both sighed in relief as they hauled the rocks to Eggman's lair. Cubot grinned, rolling up to their boss. "Hey doc, we got those rocks you asked for."

Eggman glared at them. " Rocks? That was like so eighteen hours ago. Get with the times, Cubizzle."

Orbot glanced at Eggman in shock. "But... we carried them all the way here."

"And now you'll carry them all the way back and return them! Lazy good-for-nothings." Eggman grumbled, turning away.

Cubot glared at him. " We've been hauling grenades and rocks all day. We need a break pronto."

"You two can take a break... In the garbage compactor!"

Now that was a final straw. Orbot glared at Eggman. "That's the straw that broke the robot's back! We're going on strike!"

Pretty soon, Orbot and Cubot were parading outside of Eggman's lair, chanting and holding up signs. "Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed! Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed!"

Eggman opened up the door and glared at his robots. "What's going on out here? I'm trying to watch my stories!"

" We're on strike!" Cubot responded, curling his free hand in a fist.

"You two nincombots won't last a day out here." Eggman grumbled. At that, both robots returned to their chant. "Hey, hey! What do you say? Eggman's treating us very poorly!"

Cubot paused for a second to glance at Orbot. "Oh I wish Rhyme Bot was here."

Eggman shook his head at the robots and turned back inside. He walked to his counsel, watching the strike on his big screen. He frowned. "Stupid robots! Don't they know they need me more than I need them?"

He banged his fist on the table, and his coffee cup fell to the ground with a smash. Eggman narrowed his eyes. " Orbot! Cubot! Clean up this mess!"

He sighed when he realized they weren't there. "Oh, right. Heh. No problem, I have plenty of other robots."

He called one of his next trusted robots, Burnbot. The giant robot tried to pick up the trash, but failed.

Eggman glared at Burnbot in annoyance. " You useless hunk of metal! What good is a destruction robot if it can't do light housework?"

Completely irritated, Burnbot threw the apron he was wearing onto the ground and soon joined Orbot and Cubot outside. "Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed!"

They turned to Eggman, who was watching outside and grabbed two horns, quickly blowing them.

"Is that all you got?" Eggman sneered.

He immediately wished he didn't say that when Burnbot grabbed a larger horn and blew in it, causing fire to shoot out of the whole. Eggman let out a goat scream and quickly dove for the safety of his evil lair.

The next robot he tried was Ballot Stuffer Bot. " Ballot Stuffer Bot, clean this up!"

However that plot failed and Ballot Stuffer Bot shot piles of paper to the mess, making more of a mess.

Eggman seethed in anger. "Ballot stuffing is your answer to everything! Get a new thing you one trick pony!"

And just like that, Ballot Bot joined the strike. "Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed! Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed!"

Ballot Bot shot a slip of paper at Eggman, who picked it up to see the strike logo on it.

His next attempt was Fireboat. "Firebot, clean!"

Firebot accidentally torched the mess with his flames, making Eggman even more furious. "What's so hard about cleaning up this mess?!" The doctor leaned down and scooped the mess in his hands and walked over to the trash can, and then dropped the chunks. He turned to Firebot with a glare. "See how easy that was? Now you try, you flaming piece of..."

And that was it for Firebot. The robot angrily stomped off to join the strike, which grew larger with each second. "Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed! Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed! Androids! Annoyed! We're not fairly employed!"

Eggman glared at them. "I don't need any of you. I can run my lair without minions!" He turned around, his eyes wide with panic. "I can't run my lair without minions, I gotta break this strike, and I know just how to do it."

He snickered, an idea coming to mind.

Penny raised her eyes as she and Sonic watched Eggman give a speech. "At Eggman Industries, employees work in a creatively challenging environment, while gaining access to our many amenities. For example, the rumpus room, where you have ample room... to... rumpus, in."

The villagers groaned and walked away.

Eggman quickly added, "Did I mention I offer ludicrously high salaries?" He dug in his pocket ad held a few cash in his hands. Wolfie, Mike, and Fastidious turned to him, excitement in their expressions.

"All that Wonga? Count me in!" Wolfie grinned, pumping his fists.

"I like Wonga." Mike said.

"Actually, I'm a little short on Wonga this month." Fastidious muttered.

"I know why you three pudding heads have fixated on that one term for money, but you're hired!" Eggman said, grinning at his new employees.

Penny and Sonic, who were watching nearby, stared as Eggman led Fastidious, Mike, and Wolfie downtown to the lair.

"Where's Eggman taking them?" Penny asked anxiously.

Sonic frowned. "We gotta stop him. Let's roll." He paused, expecting the scenery to change like a film. When nothing happened, he blinked and noticed Penny staring at him in amusement, close to giggles.

He chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders. "So...that way?"

"Yup." Penny said, giggling as they walked off.

Eggman led his new employees through a crowd of angry robots, booing at them and throwing rotten vegetables. When they made it safely inside the lair, Eggman turned to them and pointed to the mess on the ground. "OK minions, clean that up!"

Wolfie, Mike, and Fastidious saluted, and quickly cleaned up the mess, much to Eggman's delight. The doctor grinned.

Penny and Sonic made it to the lair, and Penny was and wasn't surprised to see that Orbot and Cubot took Amy's advice and started a strike, along with other robots. Orbot and Cubot were chanting, "Hey, hey. Whaddya say? Rhyme Bot joined our strike today! Hey, hey. Whaddya say? Rhyme Bot joined our strike today!"

"Time for some true blue heroing." Sonic grumbled, getting into a fighting stance. Penny quickly grabbed his arm, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Sonic, no! You can't cause a pickathon. We'll be betraying these poor robot souls and undermining their fight!"

Sonic stared at his human charge with a frown. " But we have to rescue those villagers!"

The door opened right at that moment, and the noise died down as Eggman walked forward with his employees.

"Mike..." Penny's eyes widened at the sight of one of her close friends in the village.

Eggman glared at the robots. "Step aside, you bums. I'm taking my new workers for some ice cream to celebrate a job well done."

"You never took us for ice cream." Cubot whined.

"You never earned it." Eggman told them with a sneer.

Sonic glanced at them in confusion. "Wait. So these guys are workers, not prisoners?" Sonic dashed up to Mike and put both hands on the ox's shoulders. "Mike, are you really working for Eggman? Blink twice if you're in danger."

Mike just stared at him, not blinking at all.

"Wow you-you really don't blink, do you?" Sonic stuttered. "Well, alright. If everyone's happy then I guess there's no need for a rescue. You ready to go, Pen?"

"Sorry, Sonic, but I think I'll stay and help these robots out." The human girl said, kneeling in between Orbot and Cubot and wrapping her arms around them.

Sonic sighed. "Suit yourself. Just try to be home before night."

"I'll try." Penny said, smiling at Sonic. "Go get 'em, blue boy!"

Sonic smirked and zoomed off, leaving Penny alone with the bots. She sighed. "Alright, then..."

"What can I do you for?" The ice cream vender asked.

Fastidious frowned. "I can't make up my mind. Should I toss a coin or play "eeny meeny miny moe"? Or should I do a bind taste test?"

Eggman glared at them. "You don't have to do any of those things. Just destroy the cart and steal all the ice cream you want."

Fastidious glanced blankly at Eggman. " Actually, it would make more sense to steal the ice cream first and then destroy the cart."

"Why destroy the cart if we already have ice cream?" Mike asked in confusion.

Eggman moaned in annoyance. " You call yourself evil minions?! At least the robots do what I say! Usually."

Orbot sighed, glancing down at the ground. Cubot shared the same distressed look. "Aw... This is hopeless."

"C'mon, guys. If I remember correctly, Amy told me not to panic during these situations. So I strongly suggest that you don't panic." Penny told them comfortingly.

At that, Cubot began screaming and flailed around.

"I said DON'T panic! Please, Cubot, calm down!" Penny pleaded, trying to calm the robot down. She put both hands on his shoulders, and when he calmed down he glanced at her. " Sorry. I misunderstood the instructions."

"Hey, it's okay. You're just stressed. I understand completely." Penny said with a soft smile. Orbot, who was standing beside her, groaned. "Face it. We've been replaced. It's the scrap heap for us."

"Just as she says not to panic, Amy would also tell us to not give up." Penny said. "You just need to hold on."

" I have a better idea. Let's practice our groveling." Cubot grinned.

Orbot nodded eagerly. "How this?" He clasped his hands together in a praying mode. "Oh, Dr. Eggman, your mastery of villainous acts is surpassed only by the gloriousness of your moustache. The hair of which has never clogged the drain."

Penny winced. "This is going to be a long day..."

Back at the island, Eggman was still trying to urge his new villains to be villains by attacking the ice cream guy and his cart. "I said attack that guy! Burn his cart to the ground!"

"Or free ice cream if you don't attack." Vendor suggested, sweating nervously.

Eggman stared at him. "No. T-that doesn't work. It's not evil enough."

"Well, it is extortion."

"Technically, it's not extortion because you're offering. I'm not demanding. I guess it could be bribery, but that's evil on you. Not on me."

"I vote we take the bribe." Mike suggested, causing Eggman to glare at him. "Vote? You don't get to vote! It's one of the basic principles of the leader-minion relationship."

"HEY, EGGHEAD!"

At the sound of that voice, Eggman turned to see Sonic standing there and jumped, quickly gathering himself together, staring at his new minions with his finger raised. "Gah, it's Sonic! Minions, attack!"

Wolfie shook his head stubbornly. "No way! He'll totally kick our butts."

"Yeah I would. I-I mean, not that I would, but I could." Sonic stuttered.

Silence.

Eggman glared at his minions. "You're the worst minions I've ever had, and believe you me, the bar is pretty low. Now attack!"

The villagers turned to Sonic, who was giving them a stern look. That caused them to scream and run away. Smirking at his success, Sonic turned to Eggman.

"Heh. They're new." Eggman stuttered, and then he too ran off screaming.

Penny groaned as she checked her watch. "Now when's he coming back..."

"Possibly any second now." Cubot told her.

The sound of a mobile popped up, and Orbot, Penny, and Cubot glanced up. Penny grinned at the sight of Eggman and turned to the robots. "Okay, guys, remember what we've practiced. Don't be afraid, be strong and stand up for yourselves, you have every right to, no matter what Eggman says or does to ya!"

Orbot turned to the rest of the robots. "Everybody ready to fall at his feet and ask for a merciful forgiveness?"

The robots all cheered and showed signs that they were agreeing.

"I'm in."

Penny sighed. "Fine, there's that way too."

Eggman landed in front of the robots, and slumped out of his mobile, glancing at the robots. "I don't know what I was thinking. Please come back. All is forgiven!"

The human girl frowned, raising a hand in front of Eggman and stepping in front of Orbot and Cubot. "Not so fast, Eggman. These robots are prepared to keep striking for months if they have to."

Eggman glanced at the robots. "What do I gotta do to get you to come back to work?"

Orbot hummed thoughtfully. "Well, lets see... We want casual Fridays, paid maternity leave..."

"And we get to choose the radio station every other Tuesday." Cubot added.

"Every third Tuesday and you've got yourself a deal." Eggman said with a grin.

Penny frowned. "Now hold up a second, Eggface. They also want regular tune-ups, high grade motor oil, use of the Eggmobile for cross-water errands, and you have to treat them in a respectful manner."

Orbot frowned at the human girl, much to your surprise. "Now let's not be unreasonable. We're willing to scratch the final demand if you agree to everything else."

"Done and done!" Eggman said. He and the robots took a few moments smiling at each other before the doctor barked at them, scaring Penny. "Now get inside your digital dunces! You've wasted enough of my time."

Penny quickly recovered herself and waved goodbye at Orbot and Cubot and the rest of her bots, and was about to turn back when she realized she was surrounded by water. She quickly turned to the door and started banging on it. "Wait! How do I get back home?"

A raft similar to the one she made to help Orbot and Cubot landed at her feet, and the human girl sighed in disappointment. "Man, Sonic's going to be worried..."

Having a small idea pop in hear head, she walked over to a part of the island and called a certain someone's name.

"Shadow!"

Instantly, the ebony black hedgehog appeared, his arms crossed. "There you are. Sonic was looking for you."

Penny's eyes widened in soft surprise. "He was?"

"Even I started feeling a bit concerned why you were gone so late, so I decided to locate you." The hedgehog said. "I guess you need some teleportation?"

"Please." Penny said. She let out a surprised squeak as Shadow picked her up in his arms, and in a bright flash, she found herself standing on solid ground in front of Sonic's shack. She glanced around for Shadow, and saw the dark hedgehog in the trees, giving her a farewell gesture with his hand, before teleporting out of sight.

Penny smiled.

Hearing feet patter up to her, she turned to see Sonic standing there. "Hey, Sonic."

"There you are." Sonic smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I was starting to worry."

"I'm fine." Penny said as they walked into the shack. "The strike went pretty well more than I thought it would be. Though I suspect Orbot and Cubot will be getting more harsh remarks in the future..."

Sonic smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I think they'll be fine."

"I hope so..." Penny sighed, glancing towards the direction of Eggman's lair, and secretly hoping that Orbot and Cubot and the rest of the bots were being better treated.

Man, what a day.

Next Chapter: No Robots Allowed