As Mario, Dr. Mario, Zero Suit Samus, Samus, Young Link, Toon Link, Zelda, Sheik, Little Mac, Shulk, Palutena, Dark Pit, Lucas, Pichu, Pokemon Trainer (with Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle), Snake, Wolf, Ice Climbers, Ridley, Rosalina & Luma, Greninja, Villager, Bayonetta, and Mewtwo were all clearing floor after floor waves of monsters, they felt the Yggdrasil suddenly start rumbling. Tiny bits of stone started falling from the ceiling as the minor Subspace monsters turned back into Shadow Bugs, retreating into the vents and pipes of the World Tree.
"What's-a going on here?" Mario asked, trying to steady his balance and holding onto the device that saved Mewtwo from the Shadow Synergy Stone.
"Looks like somebody already destroyed the main core before we did," Mewtwo answered with telepathic powers. "We have to get out of here, and fast."
"Somebody's coming this way!" Snake exclaimed, pointing towards the next stairway leading upwards. Running down below was an entire army of Mii Fighters, and they were all heading straight towards the Legacy. When the Mii Fighters noticed the small group of warriors, they stopped and parted a way for none other than the children of the Ultimates – the Mii Brawler, Swordfighter, and Gunner – as well as Cloud, Link, Sonic, Isabelle, Dark Samus, Bowser Jr., Meta Knight, Inkling, Lucina, PAC-MAN, Daisy, Pit, Mega Man, Simon, and Incineroar, all of which also attempting to escape. Looking at each other, the two groups saw that not only were there new companions as usual but there were fighters separated from them long enough.
"Sonic-a?" Mario asked, taking off his cap.
"Mario!" Sonic cried, rushing towards the red plumber. The two mascots then gave each other a tight hug, breathing sighs of relief onto each other's shoulders.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Sonic cried, pressing his forehead against Mario's.
"I missed you too, old friend," Mario answered, squeezing the hug a little tighter.
"Central core badly damaged," the Subspace computer spoke over the speakers. "The Yggdrasil will self-destruct in exactly 4 minutes and 30 seconds." Both Mario and Sonic quickly broke the hug to understand what's going on in the situation they're caught in.
"There's no time for welcome-back hugs," Sonic explained. "We have to board the Legacy and get the hell out of here."
"What about the Mii Fighters?" Mario asked.
"We're taking them all along with us," Sonic answered. "We figured they might be some good use to us against the Subspace Army, and the Mii Fighters have plenty of firepower to back us up. Let's go!" Sonic immediately dashed towards the path closest to the exit, shortly followed by the Mii Fighters and the rest of the gang shortly after a few seconds later.
"You heard the blue blur," Mega Man replied while still running to keep up with Sonic like all the others. "We gotta get out of here."
Monsters with Mii faces emerged out of special chutes from the ceiling – Giant UFOs, Faceberuses, Ancient Robots, Iron Generals, Baby Dragons, and the absolute worst kinds of monsters being Fiends and Terror Fiends.
"We gotta pass through these Miitopian monsters and get to the Legacy at any cost," the Mii Brawler yelled. "Those monster are strong and powerful, but the Fiends and Terror Fiends are the one you HAVE to avoid at any cost! The only difference is the Terror Fiends having more health and dealing more damage in their standard attack, but they are both the same in the Death's Scythe they wield, but these weapons will instantly kill you if you're not careful! Now that you know, just run to the exit!" Since Sonic got a head start, he began avoiding the incoming monsters, dodging the gravitational beam from the Giant UFOs that would steal him away, avoiding the fiery breath and flaming punches from the Baby Dragons, Iron Generals, and Faceberuses, breaking open the Ancient Robots, and running away from the deadly slashes the Fiends and Terror Fiends brought. The group of Mii Fighters, along with the three leaders, went in to take on the monsters and follow behind while Mario and the rest of the reunited gang attempt to get to the exit too.
Meanwhile, inside the Legacy's main control room, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Peach, Bowser, Falco, Marth, Ganondorf, Roy, Chrom, Mr. Game & Watch, Wario, Ike, Diddy Kong, King Dedede, Olimar, Lucario, R.O.B., Wii Fit Trainer, Robin, Duck Hunt, Ryu, Ken, Corrin, Richter, and King K. Rool were patiently waiting for any intruders. Just then, R.O.B. noticed the Mii Fighter army run outside of the Yggdrasil, getting ready to board the Legacy. The ex-Ancient Minister started beeping, alerting the others. In the army, the group inside the Legacy saw that the rest of their friends are outside, wanting to board.
"It's Mario and the gang!" Lucario yelled, noticing the World Tree is slowly falling apart. "Let them in fast!"
"Are you crazy!?" Luigi cried as the rest of the warriors tried scumbling for the button or switch to open an entrance. "The Mii Fighters tried killing us!"
"Does it look like they wanna attack us now!?" Ken interrupted. "What matters is they want to get out, regardless of who they are! Now open the hatch!" The blond-haired martial artist eventually managed to find a button that opened a large bridge, letting everyone run up. Out of all of the fighters within the Mii Fighter group outside of the ex-Ultimates Reborn (namely Mii Brawler, Mii Swordfighter, and Mii Gunner), only Mario, Samus, Dark Samus, Daisy, Ice Climbers, Sheik, Zelda, Dr. Mario, Pichu, Lucina, Young Link, Mewtwo, Meta Knight, Pit, Dark Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Pokemon Trainer and his three Pokemon, Lucas, Toon Link, Villager, Mega Man, Rosalina & Luma, Little Mac, Greninja, Palutena, Bowser Jr., Bayonetta, Inkling, Ridley, Simon, Isabelle, and Incineroar managed to make it out in time. The other four still had to show their faces.
Inside the now-crumbling World Tree, Sonic was helping get Cloud, Link, and Snake to safety when the Yggdrasil started rumbling again.
"Central core badly damaged," the Subspace computer spoke. "The Yggdrasil will self-destruct in exactly 3 minutes."
"We have to hurry," Cloud Strife said. "Let's go!" The four fighters were running towards the exit when a huge part of the tower fell right in front of them, blocking the exit entirely.
"We're going to have to find another way out," Link replied, pulling out his Sheikah Slate so he could analyze the tower. A couple seconds later passed when the Champion of Hyrule found that the only way out was to go up and take the emergency path.
"Follow me!" Link continued, running off sword and shield in his hands and the Sheikah Slate on his side. "I know where to go!" The other three fighters then followed Link, traveling up flights of stairs to get to the top.
The only way to get to the exit was through the exit window, but the only thing the four fighters forgot to worry about was a giant piston that pushed them through a power room on their right. Sonic, Cloud, Link, and Snake saw that standing in front of a swarm of blue lightning was none other than Sephiroth in person.
"Glad to see me?" Sephiroth chuckled, pulling out his katana blade. "Now I finally have the chance to kill off the sources of the Smash Ball and conquer all of Arcadia with the Subspace Army."
"When you and your friends tried to enslave the Mii Fighters for your own selfish wishes?" Sonic objected. "Forcing that army to keep us trapped here, even if it meant their extinction like the Ancients?"
"They mean nothing to us," Sephiroth answered, walking closer. "Now, it's time for you to die…"
"Bring it on, bitch," Snake snarled, pulling out an activated grenade and throwing it at the one-winged angel. Sephiroth managed to teleport in time, but Link ran behind and slashed Sephiroth from behind, making the one-winged angel jerk his head. Sonic then ran in with a wave of punches, rapidly jabbing at Sephiroth's chest. The one-winged angel then grabbed the blue hedgehog, throwing him aside and blocking both Link and Cloud's sword attacks. As the Champion of Hyrule and the 1st-class SOLDIER were locked with Sephiroth in a dance battle between their blades, Snake then came from up above on a drone, jumping on top of the one-winged angel and placing him in a headlock. Attempting to break his neck, Snake at least tried his attempts to strangle Sephiroth.
Sephiroth teleported out of the way, levitating in the air as the only thing Snake was now holding was a small pile of raven-black feathers. Sonic and Cloud Strife jumped onto Sephiroth's back, with the blue hedgehog using his spin attacks and drilling into the one-winged angel's chest and Cloud slashing with his Buster Sword. Link then pulled out his bow and arrow, attempting to get a clear shot at Sephiroth. However, since the one-winged angel was struggling with Cloud and Sonic, it was hard to get a clear shot. Eventually, Link fired away, and the arrow hit the tip of Sephiroth' only wing. Using black magic to cast the two fighters aside, the one-winged angel began charging up a fireball to launch at the Champion of Hyrule.
Snake then came from behind Sephiroth as the one-winged angle slowly drifted towards the ground, the mercenary grabbing the son of Jenova and kicking him in the back. Link also ran in to protect his friend, but Sephiroth grabbed the Hylian by the neck with his left hand and threw him towards Sonic and Cloud, who were attempting to get up after being thrown. Sephiroth then slashed again, tossing Snake off his back, and once the mercenary quickly got up ready to fire a missile, the one-winged angel pulled out his long katana blade and thrusted it into Snake.
The other three warriors were shocked by what they have encountered. Snake was stabbed by Sephiroth and inserted so far the blade stuck out of his body like a little stub, but the area at the impaled body was moreover closer to the shoulder. Giving off a small chuckle, Sephiroth then pulled out his blade, watching as a quivering Snake stumbled to the ground, losing a brief amount of blood.
"And so, Michael the Archangel has defeated the serpent," Sephiroth sighed, wiping the blood off his mouth. Sonic, Link, and Cloud then quickly ran towards Snake, seeing the terrible wound the one-winged angel had dealt.
"No, no, no," Sonic cried as the other two swordsmen tried to keep Snake sitting up. "This isn't possible. Trophies can't die. I thought that they can revert back to their trophy selves whenever they're defeated…"
"Stay with us, buddy," Cloud groaned, keeping Snake's head up.
"He's completely fine," Link answered, using the Sheikah Slate for any vital signs. "The impaling didn't damage any of Snake's internal organs, but he's losing blood fast. We have to get out of here…"
"It's gonna be okay," Sonic told Snake, tears building up in his eyes as Snake quickly and quietly panted. The blue hedgehog then turned his head towards Sephiroth, who was walking closer towards them. Sonic noticed he was wiping the red blood off his blade, ready to finish the rest of them off. The teenage hedgehog then stood up, knowing that the only person Sephiroth ever wants more other than Cloud Strife is Sonic.
"Leave through the escape window," Sonic told Cloud and Link, who were still trying to keep Snake alive. "I'll deal with this son of a bitch. Sephiroth is mine."
"Are you crazy, kid!?" Cloud asked. "He's a murderous psychopath back at my home world. He would kill you without any second thoughts!" Sonic then placed his gloved hand on Cloud's shoulder, knowing the risk he was about to take.
"Just leave," Sonic said, looking at Sephiroth walking closer to them. The one-winged angel then pulled a latch, shutting the room's door. The blue hedgehog pushed Snake, Cloud, and Link out of the way, leaving them outside.
"Sonic?" Cloud asked.
"Get to the Legacy," Sonic answered as the door was closing. "I'll make it there in the blink of an eye." Afterwards, the electricity room's door sealed itself, leaving the blue hedgehog trapped inside. Link, confused by all this, placed the Sheikah Slate on his waist belt and running towards the door.
"Sonic!" Link yelled. "You have to get out of here now! Sonic! Sonic!" Cloud Strife then grabbed the Hylian, turning him around so that the two were making eye contact.
"That cocky teenager can take care of himself," Cloud said. "It's Snake we have to worry about. So let's just leave and we can come back for Sonic later once the Yggdrasil is destroyed." Link then started crying, placing his face on Cloud's shoulder. He knew his lifelong friend was going to die from a psychotic angel, but another one was going to slowly bleed to death if he wasn't put on that ship immediately.
"Central core badly damaged," the Subspace computer spoke. "The Yggdrasil will self-destruct in T-minus two minutes." Cloud Strife then placed an unconscious Snake on his shoulder, pulling out his Buster Sword. Cloud then used his signature Cross Slash move on the window, shattering the glass. Cloud then jumped with Snake's body out of the window, followed by Link who dived down with him.
Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog watched as Sephiroth slowly walked towards him, giving off a blood-stained grin.
"You had just made a big mistake, dear child," Sephiroth said, rubbing his blade.
"Oh, so you want me just because I'm the Smash Ball trigger?" Sonic teased. "Well, look around you. You were so focused in your plans for world domination that you forgot the fact that more of my friends' Smash Balls are waking up."
"You know simply being a Smash Ball trigger leads into a trap, and that was what Hella told me a long time ago," Sephiroth answered, unsheathing his katana sword. "If you give up the Smash Ball now, then Tabuu's grave danger will not have a risk of arriving, and I don't even know who or what said danger is..."
"So you can take parts of this world again?" Sonic objected. "So you can alter more rules that don't need to be changed? I thought in Arcadia, we could do whatever we wanted."
"Within the Master Core's reason, kid!" Sephiroth answered, unfurling his only wing. "Tabuu is merely altering the rules under HIS domain. And you know there are more than one of the Hand of Creation."
"…Whatever do you mean?" Sonic asked, filled with question, confusion, and wonder.
"Why," Sephiroth finished, "this is something one of your friends is going to have to experience for themselves, but it's not going to be you. Let's just say that… the origin of Hella is a lot more complicated than you think…"
"ENOUGH WITH THOSE LIES!" Sonic snarled, gritting his pointed teeth. Curling up into a ball, Sonic then used a homing attack on Sephiroth, with the one-winged angel jumping out of the way in time. Sephiroth slashed at the electricity generator, creating a massive explosion that blasted the two warriors into the air. While Sonic noticed they were flying to the top, he began spin-dashing at the one-winged angel. Sephiroth stopped the blue blur with the hilt of his blade, generating sparks as Sonic kept going so fast that he literally caught on fire. Afterwards, after Sonic automatically put himself out, Sephiroth then flew fast at him, clashing his sword with Sonic's jabs and kicks. The two then hit a ceiling, and Sephiroth grabbed Sonic, dragging the hedgehog on the top floor. Sonic then held on, and the smaller one of the two rolled with Sephiroth's neck in his hands and threw the one-winged angel behind himself.
Sephiroth then flew almost as fast as Sonic, the one-winged angel attempting to catch up with the blue blur. The hedgehog began avoiding the flaming projectiles from Sephiroth's Materia move while also dodging the collapsing debris from the World Tree. Sephiroth was also teleporting, so it increased the risks of not dying. Eventually, Sephiroth grabbed Sonic by the neck from behind, smashing through the outside walls and flying all the way to the top of the Yggdrasil. Beyond the black-red cloud covering all of Arcadia, the stars glimmered with a beautiful blanket of the cosmos, and the full moon was the largest it had ever been, glowing a bluish-white and shining in all it glory, almost as bright as the sun. However, the finally-clear view of the night sky was not that important as Sonic the Hedgehog had his hands full fighting Sephiroth. With the blue blur attacking with his deadly spins and kicks and the one-winged angel slashing with his katana blade and reflexes almost as fast as Sonic, the results of the match might be turned into a draw.
Sonic jumped onto Sephiroth, unleashing another flurry of punches. Now matter where Sephiroth lashed with his sword, he could not get the blue hedgehog off his back. After all that punching, Sonic climbed onto Sephiroth's single wing, biting it down hard with his small but sharp incisors, and they were tough enough to crunch the Jenova spawn's wing bone and cause its feathery skin to bleed. Sephiroth felt the pain spike up through his wing, and he flapped it to shake Sonic off as the blue hedgehog quickly got on his feet again.
"You little blue rat!" Sephiroth groaned. "You'll pay for that!"
"Then try and stop me!" Sonic teased, dashing towards Sephiroth. The fight went on for several minutes, but to the both of them it felt like hours. With Sephiroth clashing his katana blade with Sonic's tough-as-iron quills in his spin-dashes, it was hard to see who would win the fight. Meanwhile, inside the Legacy, all of the Mii Fighters and the rest of the gang (excluding Cloud, Link, and Snake) met up with each other.
"We have to leave now," the ex-Brawler Ultimate Reborn spoke. "The Yggdrasil is going to self-destruct at any moment and it's going to bury us all in it if we don't move." The Mii Fighter army ran towards the Legacy's control room, pressing buttons and preparing to take off. Just then, Marth noticed Link and Cloud running with Snake's unconscious body outside towards them.
"Open the hatch!" Cloud yelled, holding Snake's wound.
"Let us in!" Link answered, and the Legacy opened up as the ship lifted off just a few inches off the ground. Both the 1st-class SOLDIER and the Champion of Hyrule jumped in with Snake as the Legacy levitated a bit higher off the ground. Once the hatch closed, Cloud and Link gently laid Snake on the floor, trying to stop any more blood from spilling. Mario and Zero Suit Samus were the only two fighters that saw what was going on as everyone else ran off to the other rooms of the Legacy.
"Sweet spaghetti on a stick!" Mario gasped. "What happened to Snake?"
"He's alive, but barely," Link replied. "The Mii Fighters are going to have to fix him up right now." Running towards the unconscious Snake, two Mii Gunners started carrying Snake away as the four warriors looked at the mercenary, hoping he would be okay. Just then, Mario remembered someone.
"Cloud?" Mario asked. "Where's Sonic?" However, Cloud looked away in guilt, ashamed to tell Mario what happened. Walking towards a lever, Cloud Strife pulled up the hatch's bridge as the Legacy started lifting off.
"Where's Sonic, Cloud Strife!?" Mario yelled, starting to cry. Cloud would still not say anything as he simply walked off, not even saying a word…
On top of the Yggdrasil, Sonic and Sephiroth were covered in blood and dust. The fight went on for a long time, and the two warriors saw they were equally matched. Panting and wiping their foreheads, both the one-winged angel and the blue hedgehog clenched their fists, glaring at each other.
"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Sephiroth growled.
"Maybe I'm a bit more stubborn than you," Sonic answered, wiping the rim of his mouth from the blood drooling from his lips. "You're the one that doesn't know when to stop." Sephiroth then teleported right in front of Sonic, still having enough strength to grab the weakened hedgehog and throw him high into the air. The blue hedgehog could not react in time as Sephiroth used what little energy he had left to stab his katana blade through Sonic. With a soft gasp, Sonic saw the levitating one-winged angel in front of him, and going right through his body and brushing against his back quills was Sephiroth's blade.
"At least I'm not as stubborn as you are, hedgehog," Sephiroth chuckled, pulling his blade outside Sonic. He watched as the blue hedgehog began quivering, his emerald eyes contracted as the wound going through the center of his chest slowly started leaking blood. He was also in midair at the time, so he began falling to the top of the World Tree's roof before the one-winged angel grabbed him again, tossing him into the moonlight. With several thrusts into the hedgehog's blue body, Sephiroth impaled the poor anamorphic teenager many times, throwing Sonic to the roof once he was finished. After Sonic weakly got up again, trying to keep himself steady, Sephiroth thrusted his blade one last time into the blue hedgehog's body. Gently lifting Sonic off the ground with his katana, Sephiroth looked at the suffering rodent, watching his shaking eyes and his bleeding, foaming mouth. A small wave of Shadow Bugs began leaking out through the roof, surrounding both of the warriors.
"Now that your body will become one of the Warriors of the Dark, your precious little Smash Ball will be taken into our custody," Sephiroth said, pulling out his katana blade. Sonic's limp body dropped onto the roof, his wounds losing more blood by each passing second. The dying hedgehog then collapsed, hearing the Shadow Bugs creep closer towards him. He could only make out Sephiroth walking away slowly and the Legacy in the background fly off without him.
"Central core badly damaged," the Subspace computer spoke, faint enough underneath the roof for Sonic to hear. "The Yggdrasil will self-destruct in T-minus one minute and counting… 60… 59… 58…" Flashes of the godlike beings of this world danced in Sonic's mind as the Shadow Bugs were beginning to envelop him. The blue hedgehog began to see images of the world within Subspace – the Master Hand ripping itself apart to reveal the Swarms within surrounding the Master Core and transforming into many different shapes, the brief image of Hella suddenly cutting into Tabuu with words that appeared in a flash second merely saying "Gallia reborn. Hella is a lie." However, Sonic refused to believe it, simply passing it off as a superstition. Then, he saw Indie, his body fading more and more into black mist, with another brief flash of Indie transforming into… a bright orb of light surrounded by multicolored rays in patterns even Sonic could not make out. Eventually, Sonic found himself in the sci-fi setting shown when he first started getting these visions. The blue hedgehog noticed he had the golden irises and the rainbow aura around him, but the Smash Ball located within his chest is fading into a charcoal black. Emerging from the stars was the black entity known as the Master Core, but he did not dare strike the blue hedgehog.
"It's almost time to go, Sonic the Hedgehog," the Master Core boomed gently. "Your time is almost up, and this world is constantly changing." Sonic then noticed the Smash Ball attached to his chest was fading darker, and the rainbow aura surrounding him vanished, revealing a semi-transparent body glowing a faint cyan. A dim star appeared right in front of Sonic, opening a window to the world where Sonic was defeated in. He saw the Shadow Bugs slowly cover up his body, starting with his feet and going up to the head.
"Master Core," the dying Sonic whispered back in Arcadia, "please don't let me die…" After all the blood inside Sonic was lost, the blue hedgehog went limp and cold, his emerald eyes dimming, and his last breath flowing out of his lips as the Shadow Bugs were just at his hips.
Sonic the Hedgehog was dead.
Inside the black emptiness of the sci-fi replica, the blue hedgehog's spirit noticed his Smash Ball was growing darker, and the rainbow aura around him was vanishing faster. Filled with tears in his golden eyes, Sonic noticed his time was up.
"You only have a few seconds remaining before you become a Spirit," the Master Core spoke. "If you have something for me to grant you, now would be the good time."
"I want to go back!" Sonic cried, his tears dripping from his face and glowing to become the stars. The Master Core was pondering about this choice.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," the Master Core objected. "You see, this is the true area in all of Arcadia, where your wishes can come true. However, I cannot make it so that you can't return to your homeworld or bring someone you love back from the dead, including yourself."
"PLEASE!" Sonic cried. "My friends are worried about me! I don't want to lose my ten-year streak of keeping my memories! I don't want my body to be plunged into darkness! If I leave now and my friends find me in time, it won't matter if they save me or not. My memories will be gone once my soul reunites with my body! It'll be over for me! I want a second chance! Sephiroth was talking about some great evil that not even Tabuu alone could overcome. I want to help my friends to prevent all this… not like you would understand anyway…" The Master Core loomed over the fading hedgehog, wondering about this choice.
"Is it a second chance you want?" the Master Core asked. Sonic nodded, wiping his eyelids.
"I will grant you that wish, if that is what you truly want," the Master Core continued. "However, you must watch the origin of Hella, or mainly, Tabuu himself, whether it is true or false. Until you are finished, your body will be replaced by your Smash Ball's powers."
"That's what I want," Sonic sighed, slowly getting up. The Swarms then swirled around brightly, causing the Master Core to flash brightly. The blue hedgehog then felt the Smash Ball on his chest vanish from his body, entering back into the world of Arcadia. Only Sonic's soul remained in the illusionary world…
It was only a few seconds later, and Sephiroth was still walking away from Sonic's corpse off the roof. The Shadow Bugs covering Sonic's body were almost up to his neck, engulfing almost all of Sonic's body. Just then, the blue hedgehog's fingers started moving, and his dimmed eyes slowly closed as he took a deep breath. The Shadow Bugs suddenly retreated of Sonic's body as they felt his heart beating again. Sonic then slowly got up, one knee in front of the other, the wounds on his body quickly clotting and shrugging off. Sonic then slowly opened his eyes, revealing not the emerald irises he once had but the glowing white covering his corneas, irises, and pupils, engulfing his eyes. As you just saw, Sonic's Smash Ball took over his body while his soul had to remain behind and return back with his memories to his body once he uncovered the truth or lie about Tabuu. The blue blur, his eyes glowing white, walked behind Sephiroth, only for the one-winged angel to turn around and see what's going on.
"What!?" Sephiroth gasped, seeing Sonic living and breathing again. "Impossible!" Sonic then levitated off the ground a few inches off, spawning seven mystical gemstones in cyan, violet, white, red, yellow, blue, and green known as the Chaos Emeralds swirling around the blue hedgehog. Their ancient powers were absorbed into Sonic's body, spiking up his blue quills and transforming them into a golden color. Sephiroth was shocked that Sonic had found his Final Smash. The rules of this world spell out that once a Smash Ball had generated enough power, its selected fighter get to unleash a powerful move known as the Final Smash, and Sonic's was revealed to show him in his Super form. Flying off the roof, Sonic slammed his body at lightning-fast speed into Sephiroth's chest, not even giving the one-winged angel enough time to react. Super Sonic then grabbed Sephiroth by the neck, his glowing white eyes staring with no forgiveness.
"I thought I killed you!" Sephiroth groaned, gasping for breath as Super Sonic squeezed the one-winged angel's neck tighter before throwing Jenova's son in front of him and following up with a light-speed punch.
Meanwhile, inside the alternate world, Sonic's real spirit was walking around, his body reverting back to the rainbow aura he had before. Before him, he saw the great and powerful city of Civiltatula.
Civiltatula was an ancient city designed for everyone to get along, Hella's voice rang out through Sonic. It was built for travelers from far and wide to take residence in this utopian world. The fights that took place in the Arcadium were solely for their entertainment purposes. However, once my anger reached a breaking point, I went on an anger-filled rampage, leading my monsters and enslaved Ancients and Mii Fighters across the city, murdering all who lived there and making it inhospitable for life. One by one, every single one of these citizens died off, and the Master Hand could do nothing to stop me, and it was all thanks to the dark side of the Master Core's powers that generated me with the abilities and the technology to make this all possible.
Eventually, Hella continued as Sonic watched the destruction she caused, after all life was exterminated, I finally was finished. I could rule this world the way I wanted it to. As Sonic watched, Hella used her own powers to create a flowing gown draping over her naked legs, and in her hands in place of her weapons was an abstract, gold-plated staff with a darkened Smash Ball on the top. The Mii Fighters and the Ancients were standing before her, angry by what she caused.
"You have created the destruction of our world, costing us our homes and our voices," the Ancient Brawler Ultimate spoke, with the three types of Mii Fighters wearing hooded capes over themselves and now using the thought translators attached to their clothing. "We will no longer serve you after what you have done. Your actions involve taboo, and no one should ever have that unlimited power. We quit."
The Mii Fighters then left my army, roaming the world as fugitives, Hella said in Sonic's mind. Little did they know that years later they would be called into another battle just like the Subspace Army you have encountered ten years ago. Until then, I kept the Ancients under my rule.
"You bastards can leave for all I care!" Hella yelled, slamming her fist into her throne's arm. "I'm keeping the Ancients under my rule from now on! They will help me and my troops to create the Great Maze, and there will be nothing to stop me!" Just then, the Master Hand teleported himself right in front of the young empress.
"You time is up," the Master Hand spoke while Sonic watched. "Your actions cost you your life, and you will now spend the rest of your eternity in the darkness known as Subspace, where you cannot leave…"
"You can try sending me there, Master Hand," Hella spoke. "Even if you do, my army will find a way out, and the Ancients will not say anything about their encounter with me, and not even your amnesia ability will not have an effect on them. They will serve me until their entire species has died off…"
"So this is your plan?" the Master Hand spoke. "To kill off our creations? You know very well that your actions will cause a great evil to appear…"
"What kind of evil?" Hella asked, smirking. "Are you just trying to scare me?"
"Hella, this is serious!" the Master Hand boomed, clenching himself. "He is far greater than I am, or even you for that matter. He will transform this world into the way he pictures it, even if it takes the deaths of billions and trillions. The Smash Ball is what's drawing him here. He will kill you…" Hella then transformed her staff into a powerful sword to replicate the multi-tasking weapon she used before.
"Try and stop me then," Hella spoke. "Whoever this great evil is, he will suffer the wrath of Tabuu." Hella then rushed forward and began striking the Master Hand, with the Hand of Creation himself firing magical sparks of magic that exploded on impact. The Ancients then retreated from the fight, heading back to the Isle of the Ancients to never be seen again. Sonic watched as the fight between Hella and the Master Core was shrouded in chaos as the both were being flung into crumbling buildings, orbs of magic were launched at each other, and both warriors were dirty and covered in blood.
Sonic kept watching as a time went by, and both the Master Hand and Hella were both tired. The two powerful beings could not see which one the greater kind was, and they were exhausted.
"I guess you leave me no choice," the Master Hand boomed, shifting the dim sun so that it was above him. Underneath the Hand of Creation, a psychotic laugh was heard from the Master Hand's shadow, and it emerged from the ground, creating new life. This spawn of the Master Hand was similar-looking to the Master Hand, but he was left-handed and moved in a more chaotic pattern – the Crazy Hand. Their fingers close together, both the Master Hand and the Crazy Hand ripped a hole in space, sucking both themselves and Hella in. Sonic, being the only one unaffected since this was all an illusion, jumped straight in to see what was going on. Inside the depths of Subspace, the Crazy Hand had disappeared, and only the Master Hand and Hella remained.
"Now you are trapped here with me forever," the Master Hand roared. "From now on, there is nothing you can do to escape your fate." Hella then unfurled her butterfly-like cape and unleashed her ability known as the Off-Waves. With a mighty blast, the Master Hand felt that he was bound by the Chains of Light, a mere prisoner of his own creation.
"I may be trapped in here forever," Hella hissed, "but you have the free will to coexist with Arcadia as long as the activated Subspace Bombs are used to create the Great Maze. Time to use you to summon an army of my own…"
The time I spent in Subspace had changed me, Hella's voice rang out in Sonic's head. Eventually, I transformed into the person you see today known as Tabuu. As thousands of years had passed, I manipulated the Master Hand to traveling through the universe to gather warriors of his own. Each warrior was summoned and tested by great courage and power of others, and those who have failed have transformed into Assist Trophies and summoning Pokémon, with their spirits trapped in special vessels and only called forth whenever a trophy summons them.
That's why my best friends Shadow and Knuckles disappeared for no reason from my home planet, Sonic wondered. I was forced to use the Chaos Emeralds and look for them, resulting in me stopping at other planets and listening to the stories that inspired me. And when my time came to turn into a trophy… Sonic then remembered the event that occurred after visiting every planet in the universe, and the encounter with the Master Hand. However, before the blue hedgehog was given the amnesia effect of the trophy transformation, he bolted out and ended up in Arcadia, where he roamed the world and fought monsters until he came across Tabuu, breaking the Construct God's wings and helping the rest of the gang defeat him and restore balance to Arcadia. Once everyone came back to the Midair Stadium, Sonic would tell tall tales of their feats…
Meanwhile, back in Arcadia, the Smash Ball spirit inside Sonic's body was slamming himself into Sephiroth, the one-winged angel's Materia having no effect on Super Sonic's invincible body. Electricity generating from the golden hedgehog's body, Super Sonic was chasing Sephiroth around the Yggdrasil, grabbing the one-winged angel and jabbing him in the air.
"Please!" Sephiroth cried, flying away as Super sonic chased him down through the World Tree. "Have mercy!" However, Super sonic would not forgive the terrible act that the one-winged angel had committed, and so grabbed Sephiroth by the wing and dragged him across the walls until Sephiroth's skin burned.
"…36… 35… 34… 33…" the Subspace computer rang out as more debris kept falling apart. Super Sonic then threw Sephiroth straight down, causing the one-winged angel to fall so fast through each floor that he eventually ended up in the room with all the Assist Trophy capsules and Pokéballs. When Sephiroth got up, he saw Super Sonic dive down towards him. Once Super Sonic touched down, he created an explosion large enough that it covered the entire room, and all the Assist Trophies and Pokéballs broke with their prisoners trapped inside. Once Sephiroth saw Super Sonic lower himself down to the ground in the desolated room, he felt afraid for the very first time. The one-winged angel stared deep into the golden hedgehog's glowing white eyes, almost like the cocky teenager was no longer there anymore. Sephiroth attempted to slash the golden hedgehog with his katana blade, but the long sword he once wielded simply shattered on impact. Once the one-winged angel saw that all he was holding was the handle, he trembled.
"…15… 14… 13… 12… 11…" the Subspace computer kept counting as Super Sonic floated towards Sephiroth and grabbed the one-winged angel by the neck before flying high into the air at the speed of light. Super Sonic then tossed Sephiroth into the air, zipping around and ramming himself into the one-winged angel as lightning flashed all across his body.
"…5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0," the Subspace computer finished as the last thing Sephiroth saw before the golden lightning in the black-red clouds were the gleaming white eyes of Super Sonic as he finished the one-winged angel with a mighty electric kick, sending Sephiroth falling fast, burying the one-winged angel in debris at the ground floor. During that time, the Yggdrasil began exploding, and the massive blast had Sephiroth trapped in it, with nothing left remaining from the world tree.
Super Sonic watched as the explosion destroyed the Yggdrasil, looking into the distance and seeing the Legacy fly off into the black-red cloud covering Arcadia. The golden hedgehog then flew off towards the ship, but suddenly felt moving slower than usual. Sonic's body used too much of the Chaos Emeralds' powers, causing his quills to turn back to his normal, deep blue color. Luckily, Sonic was close to the Legacy, where the Mii Fighter team and the three ex-Ultimates Reborn noticed him in time. Once the seven Chaos Emeralds had vanished, there was only a blue hedgehog whose eyes are still glowing white as he tumbled from a deadly height down to the pitch-black ground. However, once Sonic's body felt like it was the end, the Winged Firestorm Pro Mini flew in and snatched him, piloted by Bowser Jr., the Koopa Prince.
"I got him!" Bowser Jr. cried over the speakers as he safely landed the metallic dragon with Sonic in his clutches. Once the Ultimate Mii Fighters helped open the paw that Sonic was latched onto, they saw he was unconscious, with the glowing white eyes still present and his mouth agape. That was when the ex-Ultimates Reborn knew that he needed medical attention.
"Get Sonic to the hospital room, asap!" the Mii Brawler yelled. "We gotta keep him in there until he recovers!" After the rest of the Mii Fighter army helped get the blue hedgehog medical treatment, the Legacy disappeared above the clouds, revealing a crimson sunrise over to the east outshining the stars and the moon.
Back in the sci-fi setting, Sonic's soul looked around, noticing the Master Core was in front of him again. Sonic knew it was his time to return, but first he felt like he needed to ask the Master Core something.
"Are you sure what Hella, or Tabuu, said was right?" Sonic asked. "I feel like all this is a ruse…"
"My memory and Tabuu's has merely been tampered with," the Master Core spoke, "but that was the only thing to keep you focused in the final battle with my half."
"I don't really think Tabuu is your other half," Sonic objected. "I feel like this… Ragnarokk person you speak about is completely different from the story you are telling. Plus, what is with that 'great evil' you were talking about?" The stars suddenly retreated away from the two beings, and Sonic knew something was up.
"This great evil I speak about… is not what you think it is…" the Master Core answered. "He is FAR different from me and Tabuu. An all-powerful being like that dares not even have his name mentioned as that would instantly summon him here to this world. All I need to say is… the Smash Balls are his targets to create his Lock, and he would do anything to recreate the universe in his own image. There are hundreds of thousands more like me, and we have no choice but to serve him. All I know is… it's not going to be you to save everyone this time…"
"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked. "Is this some kind of joke? Wait!" With a bright flash, Sonic then felt the Smash Ball he had before fuse to his chest again as the world vanished around him. Waking up with sweaty quills, the blue hedgehog noticed he was back in Arcadia.
As he looked around, he noticed he was in a hospital bed, wearing some sort of patient's gown with syringes inserted into his long, black nose. Sonic then gently pulled the syringes out of his nostrils, wiping the area they were inserted into afterwards. Once Sonic tossed the syringes aside he looked around, noticing there was a curtain on his right. When he pulled it back, he saw it was none other than Snake, also in a patient's gown. The blue hedgehog noticed the wound Snake had was cleaned and stitched up, and a heartbeat measurer was hooked up to his hand's pulse.
Sonic then breathed a sigh of relief. Snake was going to be okay. Sitting on the rim of the mercenary's bed, he placed his gloved hand on Snake's.
"Knew you could make it, buddy," Sonic sighed. "At least it could have been worse. You could have gone through the torture I went through fighting Sephiroth…" Sonic then watched as Snake placed another hand on Sonic's, the mercenary looking at the blue hedgehog.
"Boy, am I lucky," Snake replied. Sonic then gave off a heartwarming smile before giving his best friend a hug. The mercenary gently wrapped his arms around the hedgehog, the two of them relived to see each other again and knowing that they are going to have to make their reunion last before the final battle.
Meanwhile, back at the Yggdrasil, there was nothing but clouded debris everywhere. Both the Shadow Bugs and the leaders of the Subspace Army were gone. Only Indie showed up. The style of chaotic jumble covering a black body began floating around, his gleaming left eye suddenly catching something. The warrior fading into black mist noticed Sephiroth's unconscious body buried underneath the debris, and Indie managed to move all those rocks out of the way. Sephiroth was helping get the rocks off himself, and Indie noticed the one-winged angel stand up again.
"Looks like you're alive after all, Sephiroth," Indie cackled. "Tell me: did ya manage to capture that blue rodent?" Suddenly, Sephiroth grabbed Indie by his skeletal neck, pulling the black mist warrior towards himself.
"Where are the other Subspace Army troops?" Sephiroth snarled.
"Back at the Ruins of the Ancients, where they're preparing for the final battle," Indie giggled. "What exactly happened?" Sephiroth walked away from the debris, pissed off.
"Those trophies are bringing more hope and light into the world," Sephiroth snarled. "We're going to take it all away from them if it's the last thing we do – not just the blue rat, but everyone else in general."
"What's wrong with a little light and hope back in the world?" Indie asked. Sephiroth teleported right in front of him, his glowing blue eyes looking down on the warrior fading into black mist.
"I mean… it's not like it's a bad thing…" Indie chuckled, rubbing behind his neck.
"Of course it is," Sephiroth growled. "These Smash Balls are rigged, and Tabuu himself clearly knows that. Our goal is to obtain them so that we can power up these Subspace Bombs, and the Great Maze will be created to help defend against the TRUE Great Evil once he arrives. Do you understand, or do I have to pound it into you relentlessly?"
"Y-yes, sir," Indie stammered, his black body quivering. Sephiroth then walked off, unfurling his raven-black wing.
"And get me another sword just like the katana blade I last used," Sephiroth finished, flying off as fast as a falcon. Indie then nodded, warping away from the desolated World Tree in black mist.