As the black-red cloud got darker above the woods, a light shower of Shadow Bugs started raining from above. A blue blur started speeding through the deep forest, the blur belonging to none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

Mario, where are you? Sonic thought, the air blowing through his blue quills. I need to know about all of this. I need just a sign…

Once Sonic got the chance to stop when he saw an opening of light from within the forest, he couldn't believe his eyes. He saw half of the mountainside was demolished, making a nasty scar on the land. As the blue hedgehog zoomed downward to check it out, he noticed all the trees were black and sooty, every one of them turned upright. There was still signs of small fires and smoke, so Sonic knew the attack was just recent. As he looked out into the black-red twilight, he saw the Winged Firestorms flying off in the direction he was running towards, dropping Shadow Bugs through their latches.

As Sonic was walking through the desolation, he stopped when he noticed he almost stepped on a budding flower. The sprout was emerging out of the ashes, small and only had a couple leaves on its stem, its white flower just ready to bloom. Sonic knelt down to take a closer look, observing the small plant.

"Don't worry," Sonic told himself. "We'll make this end soon. I'm sure of it. You'll grow up to be the first and the most beautiful flower to ever survive the Subspace Apocalypse." The blue hedgehog closed his eyes, the sprout delicately held in his hands, and he shed a small tear which landed on the bud. After Sonic got up, he walked off to the southeast, with the flower just blossoming right behind him when he wasn't looking. It glowed with a faint rainbow aura, almost as if it was a sign of things to come in the near future.


As Sonic was still running through the burned forest, he saw the Shadow Bugs from earlier slowly crawling towards him. The entities clumped together, forming some sorts of monsters Sonic had never seen before. These monsters looked nothing of what he saw in his past encounters.

These kinds of monsters had long, red, tentacle-like arms with fused guns at the ends, they were supported by crimson cones with the tips inverted downward and fading into a wisp, and their faces were stretched all over their bodies, their smiles showing jagged teeth and eyes asymmetrical and uneven. Everytime they spun around, they shot deadly bullets in all directions. Eggrobos and other Badniks flew in with other Subspace Army creatures, all having one thing in common: kill Sonic.

"Let's see," Sonic muttered. "These new creatures… Howzabout I call you guys, uhhh… Triggergoplas? How you like that?" The Triggergoplas growled in giggles as they were spinning like tops for momentum, teaming up with the other creatures and robots.

Once the monsters moved in towards Sonic, the blue hedgehog zipped out of the way immediately and ended up behind them in a fraction of a second.

"Hey, fellas," Sonic said. "You're gonna have to be faster than sound to step up to my level." The monsters were caught off guard as the blue hedgehog spindashed in the form of a spiky ball, his quills so sharp they cut through the metallic skin of the Triggergoplas, leaving their peculiar bodies gushing with oil. Once Sonic got back on his feet, he was surrounded by a series of Badniks. All the blue hedgehog really did was smirk, and he picked up speed again, grabbing the robots and tossing them high into the air. Before they even started falling, Sonic jumped up and started flailing madly with his multiple punches and kicks. Once he finished beating the enemies, Sonic eventually threw both of his fists downward, creating a small explosion from the demolished bots. The minor members of the Subspace Army started running towards him but were eventually distracted by his super-fast speed and jabbing punches.

Once Sonic defeated all the robots and monsters, he wiped his forehead, panting, "That's the best you can do, huh? Pathetic." However, just when he was about to take a step faster into running southeast, he felt a shot of pain pass through his body. There was no blood on his furry skin, but Sonic was feeling the pain travel up to his head, giving him a nasty ache.

"W-what… is t-this- IT HURTS!" Sonic groaned, the pain in his head worsening. His emerald eyes started to show a gleam, flashing around in a full circle before splitting and forming into a cross off-center. Once the glare was finished, Sonic's eyes started generating a series of sparks, every one of them spreading around and causing them to give off a powerful glow. The pain overwhelmed him, and Sonic's emerald eyes were now glowing white with the blue hedgehog slightly levitating off the ground.


When Sonic regained full conscious, the blue hedgehog saw that everything was black. As he looked around, he felt like he was in a ballet of stars – each glittering entity dancing around like they were all filled with life. Sonic's eyes were watering with mixed emotions as galaxies and nebulae moved around gracefully. The blue hedgehog eventually came across a star half the size of his body. It was bright, but it was reflective enough to help him see himself with a new look, probably made from the headache. As Sonic observed his new form, he noticed he had golden irises and was giving off a rainbow hue, flowing like fire.

What is this place…? Sonic thought, his bright golden eyes filled with wonder. What is this form I'm in? The fire doesn't seem to hurt me… Am I transported somewhere different…?

As Sonic was looking at his new body, he felt something on his chest. There, he saw a strange gemstone shaped like a circle stuck to him, different multi-colored lights flashing around like water, and there was a black cross off-center.

Wow! What is that stone? Sonic thought again, observing how he was speaking without his lips moving. Strange how I can talk, and my mouth doesn't open once. Oh, well. I guess I should ask someone where I am…

As Sonic in his new form was walking around this new universe, he suddenly saw someone lying down on the unnatural ground. Filled with curiosity, the blue hedgehog walked towards the person, trying to make out the form. As he got closer, he saw the person was a girl, probably an adolescent at best. The girl looked like she was wearing a uniform, tainted and dirty with aged blood stains, some crumbling off. The uniform was all in many different shades of black, the fabric of her legs flowing twice the length of her body and thick boots right at the bottom. The uniform also wrapped around her chest, leaving her bare arms exposed and forming a big hood at the back of her neck. Her bare arms were protected by two spiny guards, each one on her naked shoulders, and her gloves infused with brass knuckles went up to her elbows. From what Sonic could figure out from her was she was a multitasker, for as he looked at the weapon laying next to her, he noticed it was a huge sword almost as long as the fabric trailing behind her legs, and it was covered with a series of guns each filled with different types of ammunition. The girl's hair was dark gray mixed fading to a rainbow again at the ends. Her face was covered with scars, she sported faint, dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were small and thin.

Excuse me, miss? Sonic tried to ask her. Are you okay? However, just when Sonic tried touching her to wake her up, he felt himself clip right through her like a ghost. Sonic looked a little worried about what's happening, but he suddenly freaked out and ran a safe distance with a scared scream when he saw the tattoo on her left upper arm. It was the symbol just like of the Subspace Army – a hollow circle with a line at the middle slashing horizontally and stopping halfway.

Is she a member of the Subspace Army? Sonic asked himself. I have to know about this…

Just then, the girl slowly sat up, her golden eyes gently opening. She couldn't either see or hear Sonic as she got up and started looking around.

"Hello?" the girl asked, her sweet voice echoing throughout the vast area. Sonic tried answering, but to no avail.

I wonder what's she's doing here… Sonic thought. I guess I should follow her and see where she ends up at…

Just then, thoughts started ringing out in Sonic's head, almost as if he's actually hearing the girl talk about her life story.

Darkness, the girl began, her thoughts flowing through the blue hedgehog. I woke up in the darkness, no memory of who I was. Ever. All I knew was that I was all alone…

Am I hearing this like it's from… a memory? Sonic wondered. What is going on here? I have to know. Somehow, this probably can connect to my answers…

As Sonic followed the girl, he noticed it was like she was playing through a story. The girl was walking around, unfamiliar with her environment, admiring the dancing cosmos.

I was looking around, filled with joy and sadness at the same time, the girl's voice rang out in Sonic's head again. It felt like I can just make a new world and start from there.

Suddenly, I heard a strange voice. The girl turned around in shock when she saw something Sonic had never seen before. The strange thing looked like a new form of entity flying around, but was completely different from the Shadow Bugs, each particle in a smaller shape and black all over. The clustered swarm of particles were surrounding a strange, glowing object obstructed from everyone's view, and it was just floating like a cloud.

"Hella…" the cloud spoke, its manly voice booming out so loud it gave the dancing stars a little scare as they jerked away slightly.

That was the name HE gave me, the girl's voice rang again. Hella…

Hella, huh? Sonic thought. I want to know more about this girl. Maybe she has something in common with the Subspace Army…

"Greetings, Hella…" the cloud spoke to the girl. "Do not be afraid. You are now in the depths of my domain from now on."

"Who… who are you?" Hella asked, her voice throbbing.

"I am… the Master Core…" the cloud answered.

Master Core? Sonic asked himself. It sounds awfully similar to Master Hand, but what do I know? It's just a memory… that I'm somehow participating in…

"Master… Core?" Hella asked again.

"Yes," the Master Core answered. "And you have just become one of my many servants… in the land of Arcadia."

"Ar… cadia?" Hella asked again.

"It is otherwise known in the common tongue as the Land of Imagination," the Master Core answered. "A land with neverending possibilities, no limitations, and a world where the greatest of your dreams come true…"

I was easily tempted by the Master Core's offer, Hella's voice spoke again, with Sonic hearing every word. Little did I know that by entering in his land I learned a little about a life-changing experience…

Sonic's eyes started glowing white again, and the blue hedgehog felt himself being carried into the air.

Nononononono, WAIT! Sonic cried. I need to know more about this! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!?


The moment Sonic opened his eyes again, he sat up in shock. His heart was quivering fast, and he was panting hard. As Sonic looked around, he noticed he was in a new area of the large forest, confused in which direction he was in. The blue hedgehog then noticed his eyes were back to their normal emerald color, his body lost the glowing rainbow fire effect, and the strange gem fused to his chest disappeared.

"Was it all a dream…?" Sonic asked. "No… no, it can't be… Hella… Master Core… what is it that ties them together… I have to find out who this Hella person is… She's the only clue I have so far…"

When Sonic the Hedgehog got up again, he didn't know which direction was southeast, so he started running around, lost in the deep woods. Every second, he ran meters of where he last ended up, and he had no idea which way was out. When Sonic got up to the top of the trees, he saw he was so far off he couldn't even find the burnt area of the forest, only the Winged Firestorms still in the direction he was going.

"I guess that's my only way of heading southeast," Sonic said to himself before jumping onto the ground. Just then, he heard the rustling of the branches and the birds flying off. When Sonic heard the noises, he felt eager and prepared for who he was about to witness. Once the blue hedgehog heard another branch snap, he dashed towards that direction, only to come to an opening and clash into a familiar face.

"HEY! Watch where you're going!" Meta Knight cried. "…Sonic? Is it… you?"

"Yeah, of course it's me," Sonic answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I predicted that the monsters will come and capture my friends, so my plan was to distract the troops and let my companions finish the mission," Meta Knight answered. "How did you get over here?"

"Well, it's a long story," Sonic lamented. "Basically, my eyes started giving off a strange glare when I was down in the burned area of the forest, they started glowing white, and I think I was having some sort of… vision… before ending up here? Could it probably be because I'm the only one unaffected by the trophy transformation after years of visiting each and every land I know?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Meta Knight objected. "What did that glare, by chance, look like?"

Sonic looked around, grabbing a small, dry twig lying on the ground. The blue hedgehog tried to remember the feeling of the glare in his eyes from before, but it was practically hard for him. Instead, he tried to remember the emblem shown on the strange gem. So, he drew a small circle, making a cross with its center to its lower right.

"Is that what the symbol looked like?" Sonic asked again. Meta Knight closely observed it, taking a long look at what Sonic drew in the ground.

"Of course…" Meta Knight mumbled. "I never thought this day would come…"

"What?" Sonic asked. "What is it? What are you talking about?"

"When you were having that vision," Meta Knight asked, "there was a high possibility there was a strange gem fused to your chest, and it looked precisely like that symbol you drew. Am I correct?"

"Yeah," Sonic answered. "It looked exactly like that. Why?"

"My spiny friend," Meta Knight spoke. "you have just been affected by a Smash Ball."

"Smash Ball!?" Sonic exclaimed. "But I thought those were an urban legend! Could... this be some effect given to me all because I'm not a trophy?"

"Seems to me that way," Meta Knight replied. "I always knew one of us will ever have the chance to get a vision, explaining how it all began, the war between light and darkness, order and chaos, peace and freedom."

"What you're trying to say is… after we get out of here, we'll find out about what I experienced in that vision?"

"Definitely," Meta Knight answered. "Now, come on. These woods are full of Tabuu's spies, and we need to get out of here before- What the-!?"

Before the two fighters could even walk out of the area, a wild Clubberskull emerged out from the bushes, growling with an ear-piercing roar.

"A Clubberskull," Meta Knight said. "It probably heard us talking about the Smash Ball and wants to kill us before we can give out any proof. Be very careful, Sonic. It's by far the most dangerous and most powerful of all the enemies in the Subspace Army and any other army it belongs to."

"Danger's my middle name, Meta," Sonic answered. "It's probably heavy, so that makes that thing rather slow to catch up. I can knock this thing out faster than you can say ''Sonic Speed!'" The blue hedgehog started spindashing, but the monster's one small eye glared with malice as it swung its huge arms faster than Sonic. As they hit the blue hedgehog like giant clubs, Sonic was rammed right into a bush with Meta Knight, the two of them climbing out and brushing off the loose twigs, leaves, and berries.

"I warned you," Meta Knight groaned. "How you feeling, buddy?"

Sonic coughed, rubbing the bruises all over his aching body, "I think I have a nasty percussion…"

As the Clubberskull crawled closer, cornering the two fighters, it was about to swing its massive arms again before it felt bullets pierce its tough flesh. The one-eyed, human heart-shaped monster looked it its left to see Bayonetta, Dark Pit, and Palutena running towards the beast.

"Finally some help came," Meta Knight said. "What took you so long?"

"We had to find our way through the dark, scary woods," Bayonetta answered. The Umbra Witch then pointed at the Clubberskull, shaking its meaty skin.

"What is that thing?" Bayonetta asked.

"A Clubberskull," Dark Pit answered.

"Yeah, basically that," Sonic too replied. "Apparently, they're one of the most powerful, if not, THE most powerful, monsters of the Subspace Army. Despite its heavy weight, it's super-fast, so be extremely careful…"

As the Clubberskull rushed towards the fighters, they all jumped out of the way, ending up behind the monster and catching it off its guard as they flew in with punches and kicks. However, the flesh was super thick and no matter what the fighters threw at him, it barely made a dent. But that "barely" just might be their one chance in victory.

"We're going to have to need a distraction," Meta Knight groaned. "The rest of us will have to keep it focused on us."

"Already on it!" Sonic exclaimed. The blue hedgehog dashed towards the Clubberskull, moving so fast that not even the monster's arms could catch him. Eventually, the beast felt Sonic start to claw through its tough flesh, and it couldn't even feel a thing because it was so tough. The Clubberskull then saw Bayonetta, Dark Pit, Palutena, and Meta Knight ready their weapons, and it started crawling towards them. Since it was moving so fast, Sonic had a hard time hanging on but grabbed on its stringy bands of tissue and continued drilling with his spindashes.

The fighters tried dodging out of the Clubberskull's path, Meta Knight teleporting to and fro, Palutena, Dark Pit, and Bayonetta firing their only projectiles at the monster. Meanwhile, Sonic was drilling deeper into its thick skin, eventually cutting through all the layers and reaching to the center. The monster had the other fighters cornered by its huge arms, ready to crush them hard into the ground. Just then, the Clubberskull froze in its stance. Meta Knight, Dark Pit, Palutena, and Bayonetta saw its only eye beginning to bulge, and Sonic emerged from its socket spindashing, leaving light-yellow juice at where the monster's eye used to be. As the beast's body fell down stone-cold, the blue hedgehog landed on his feet, shaking off whatever mucus he had on his quills.

"Looks like we proved that thing who's the fastest thing alive around here, right?" Sonic cheered. The Clubberskull's dead body was then carried off by a small cluster of Shadow Bugs, carrying the corpse off into the woods as the fighters watched it disappear into the depth of the luscious green.

"So sorry to intrude on you two cuties," Bayonetta said.

"It's nothing," Sonic replied. "From what I can gather from my travels and rumors, you must be Bayonetta, Palutena, and Dark Pit, am I correct?"

"I guess it's an honor to meet you, Mr. Sonic," Palutena answered.

"You've probably heard of Meta Knight, the Galaxia Warrior," Sonic then said, holding Meta Knight close to him. "Is that correct?"

"I'm sure we've all studied about him and his doings," Pittoo answered. "What are you two doing around here?"

"When I bumped into him," Meta Knight replied, "I heard him talk about receiving a vision because he is the only one unaffected by the amnesia effect by a trophy transformation. It could be the work of... a Smash Ball…"

"Smash Ball?" Palutena asked. "I've never heard of it before."

"Whatever it is," Meta Knight said, "we have to find out how it works, and fast. The Subspace Army can spawn out of nowhere and capture one of us, like Charizard and Lucas."

"Well," Sonic replied. "Let's just reunite with the Falcon Flyer Group in the southeast and wait for the Wolfen Assault Group to catch up. But before we do that… can I tell you what I saw in the vision?"

The fighters all sat down, and Sonic took a silent, deep breath before resting his legs as well.

"I saw… a girl," Sonic said. "She was just lying down, in a strange world filled with cosmos. She looked like a brave fighter, and she had a mark on her left upper arm which resembled closely like the Subspace Army symbol. She had no idea who she was or where she came from, just wandering around in the darkness. Then, a strange figure who called himself the Master Core appeared behind her and gave her the name Hella, told her she was in the land of Arcadia, a world beyond her dreams. The last thing I heard before I woke up was that she was about to experience a life-changing crisis…"

"Hella, huh?" Bayonetta replied. "Maybe she has something in connection with the Subspace Army, maybe even solving why this is happening…"

"We better hurry and team up with our friends," Sonic answered. "Any moment now, more monsters like that Clubberskull from before might appear out of nowhere."

"That Smash Ball is waking up," Meta Knight replied, "The one that was untouched by the magic of the Hands shall be the one to bring the others into the light…" Eventually, Sonic ran off to the southeast, but slow enough for Meta Knight, Palutena, Dark Pit, and Bayonetta to catch up, following the Winged Firestorms flying off farther southeast towards a large desert.