It was the first pleasant dream he'd had in a while.

No Bulborbs, no Pikmin deaths, no life-threatening situations. Olimar couldn't remember the last time he'd had a dream like that.

But then again, that was to be expected. Whenever he felt like his life was about to get better, it inevitably took a turn for the worse. His job that he hated, along with the boss that he detested, had kept him away from his family a lot more than was necessary. It seemed like forever since he got to spend time with his family, and when he came back, it was like a hole in his chest had been filled, and a huge weight off his shoulders had been lifted. No more leadership. No more battles. No more death.

His wife was sympathetic, but she didn't understand. No one did. That was because he didn't tell them about what happened. He was afraid, afraid of bringing up the dark and sinister memories of his past. The guilt that pierced his heart whenever a Pikmin died under his command. The fear he felt for Louie when he left him behind. And the fear of those dreams, where he saw himself...dying of oxygen poisoning.

Olimar shivered at the memory. He constantly tried to remind himself that he was no longer stranded on the Pikmin planet, that he was home on Hocotate where he was safe. However, that fear never went away, and it even made him afraid to go to sleep at night.

Tonight was an exception though. A calm and refreshing field was where he found himself when he slipped away into the world of dreams. The stars in the transparent atmosphere of Hocotate were even more wonderous and beautiful, and he felt better than he had felt in a long time. Staring up at the crimson moon of his home planet, he felt at one with the star-strewn sky.

A fluttering sound caught his attention, and he swiveled around to see an Unmarked Spectralid land on the ground beside him. Its body was a pale blue, and its wings were covered in an ever-changing rainbow pattern. But...this one seemed different from the others that he had seen. It seemed...sentient.

Suddenly, the Spectralid flew up towards the center of the field, and its wings grew to an enormous size. It's body began to change, becoming less insect and looking more humanoid. It's eyes seemed to drill right into Olimar's soul, and seemed to possess no sympathy or compassion whatsoever. With a flash of its wings, which began to glow brighter with the sudden increase in power, it unleashed an immense energy wave...and everything went black.

"Get up."

Ears twitching at the sudden noise, the Hocotation pushed himself to his feet and looked around. He tried to locate the source of the noise, but he was the only one there. The once-peaceful landscape of his dream had disappeared, and replaced with a swirling purple void of darkness.

"This dream is starting to unnerve me..."

"My apologies, Captain. Would you prefer the landscape you were in before?"

With the sound of fingers snapping, the indigo-colored vortex was replaced once more by the calming landscape. However, this was more unsettling than before, as now he was sure that there was someone else here. Even though it seemed to be a dream, it definitely seemed that there was an unknown power interfering.

"What is this phenomenon? Who does that voice belong to?"

"I'm terribly sorry. I merely wish to speak with you. Here, I'll reveal myself to you, so we can communicate better."

As soon as the sentence finished, an unusual form took shape. It was a massive, floating hand, pale white, and seemingly not attached to anything in sight. Olimar blinked, this was definitely getting stranger and stranger, even for him.

"What, or who are you?"

"I am known by many names, but most refer to me as the Master Hand," the being replied, "And I have a reason for coming into contact with you.

"By...talking to me within my subconscious?"

"Ah, so you think you are still dreaming. That was not a dream, but a vision."

Olimar's mind instantly jumped back to the moment with the rainbow-winged Spectralid. Those eyes...they seemed to emit such malevolence. But...from my experience with Spectralids on the Pikmin planet, they are peaceful creatures. What does this mean?

"That being that was in the vision, is a force of pure destruction and evil. I fought and imprisoned him eons ago, but I knew it would only hold him off, and not permanently destroy him. He is slowly regaining his power, and even now, there is only a matter of time before he will strike."

"I...I think I know where you're going with this. You want me to help, don't you? But...you don't understand, I can't leave. I have a family to take care of, and I'm sure that you have much more skills than me when it comes to battle. Besides, you were able to defeat him before, weren't you?"

"Captain, I don't think you grasp what our enemy is capable of. Yes, I was able to defeat him before, but I not only have a fraction of the power I once possessed, but he, even weakened surpasses my strength. Not to mention, when, not if, he breaks free, do you know what he will do?"

"With all due respect, how am I supposed to know-"

"He will consume the entire universe."

This took Olimar aback. Of all the answers he expected, he didn't see this as a possibility. A being that can absorb the universe? How is this even possible?!

"Ah, my apologies, my statement is slightly incorrect. To be specific, he will absorb my universe once he has regained enough strength, and with the resulting surge of power, he will break free and not only drain all other worlds from existence, but convert them into pure energy to devour. So as you can see, not even the family that you wish to protect will be safe."

The space captain backed away, the sheer magnitude of the hand's speech sinking into his mind. "You...this can't be happening! You're lying, is this your idea of a threat? What do you want from me?"

"I'm not forcing the decision on you, I'm just informing you of the situation at hand. He is at his weakest while he's imprisoned, so now is the time to strike. If you wish to contribute your skills to this task, I shall transport you to my dimension. However, if not, I shall simply try to recruit as many as I can before he finds me. The choice is yours."

Olimar stopped to think. This being doesn't seem hostile, can I trust him? Master Hand isn't forcing me to go against my will, and is leaving the decision up to me. He said that he would recruit others...so at least I won't be doing this alone. But...can I really contribute much? Wouldn't the outcome stay the same whether or not I went? If I stay, then I can at least spend time with my family before this demon destroys everything. But if I go...

"I am having doubts about this... I just don't see how I would be able to make a difference..."

"I didn't come here looking for sheer power, because if that was the case, I would look elsewhere. However...I can see you contributing something...different. I know of your history, and I know that you've surpassed near impossible odds in the past. I don't know what the outcome of this will be, but I will say without any hesitation that it is possible for you to make a difference."

Still unsure, he hesitantly stepped towards the floating hand. As soon as he slowly but surely nodded yes, the gigantic hand snapped his fingers. Instantly, Olimar was garbed in his familiar space suit, complete with all the upgrades he gathered from the caves he explored. A mass of glowing energy began to appear behind Master Hand, and when it finally subsided, it took the form of what seemed to be an ordinary red door. But to Olimar, it was huge, even bigger than his ship, the S. S. Dolphin. All he could do was stare at Master Hand, wondering if the being actually expected him to open a door that colossal.

"This is the portal that will transport you to my world. You must be on your guard, for he is sending his forces to transfer power to him as we speak. However, like I said before, you will not be doing this alone. Others will help you, so do your best to meet up with them," Master Hand paused, seeing Olimar start to say something," and yes, your size is an issue... My apologies."

Snapping his fingers once more, the space captain felt himself growing rapidly in height and weight. It wasn't painful, but the vast difference in size felt very strange to him. In mere seconds, the door that once seemed impossible to open now looked like an everyday task. Slowly walking towards the portal, Olimar stopped to look at Master Hand. He still had so many questions for him! But he somehow knew that there wouldn't be enough time to answer them all. I suppose that once again, I'll have to figure things out for myself. But...I won't be alone this time, I'll have others to help guide me. Taking a deep breath, Olimar pulled on the door's handles and stepped through.

Master Hand exited out of the vision as soon as Olimar left, but to his horror, he was faced with Tabuu's forces already waging their attack in the pocket dimension he called home. Crazy Hand was putting up a fight as best he could, but whenever an enemy fell, twenty more replaced it. Without a word, the insane hand's counterpart warped to his location, and wiped out all the monsters attacking Crazy.

"About freaking time! Geez, these guys keep on coming! And I thought that those mortals down there had it tough!"

Firing a laser blast at a nearby foe, Master Hand pushed Crazy to the side. "I'll take it from here. You on the other hand, need to finish working on the prototype Smash Ball. Be prepared to make more than one, if necessary. Understood?"

Laughing hysterically, Crazy's fingers twirled around in circles in his unique fashion. "On the other hand?!" God, your puns are so damn funny! I knew you had a sense of humor!"

"Get MOVING!"

"Alright, fine," the chaotic being snapped, warping out as soon as he finished speaking. Master Hand began wiping out as many of the creatures as he could. I know that I won't be able to keep this up forever, but if they were somehow able to find this secluded dimension, I won't be able to flee anywhere, and neither will Crazy. I'll fight off as many as I can.. but I know that there is no escaping my fate. With that, Master Hand continued fighting a battle he knew very well he couldn't win.

Haven't worked on this for a while, but anyways, here's the first official chapter of SBC! (The first chapter that was posted, I just consider the prologue.)