The journey you may take is often never planned fully. You can prepare yourself for what to expect, but you won’t know the outcome until you get there. 

This was the journey that Dia Nova, an explorer in search of a new source of energy to save her dying planet, had one day found herself barreling towards in her ship. 

Crash landing onto an unknown world, Dia climbs out and finds that despite coming out of it no worse for wear, her ship was not so lucky. Any damage sustained while passing through the atmosphere, all the scratches, holes, and burns, would have been significantly worsened by the impact itself. It wasn’t flying ten feet, let alone back home.

Of course this would happen to her.

Dia holds her head for a moment, screaming internally before looking back up at the sight and letting out a deep sigh.

“It’s ok. Everything’s gonna be ok.” she states calmly, as if trying to convince herself the situation isn’t really as bad as it looks.

“I’ll just… look for the energy source I came here for, and I’ll figure out the ship later! Yeah, that’s it, it will be… just fine.”

Dia begins searching for materials, eventually stumbling across a series of fluorescent rocks stacked up outside of a vibrant cave. As she gets closer, she realizes the source of the glow is not coming from the rocks themselves, but the colorful materials embedded in them. Could this be what she was looking for?

Reaching for the nearest stone, she is surprised by the sight of a tall bipedal being looming over her, its dark grey outfit covered in a bright, neon red. Is this one of the native inhabitants? Dia then notices a machine that looks like a drill to the left of the alien. They must be mining for this stuff, that would explain the pile.

Dia turns back to the creature to see an unnerving grin form on its mustached face. At the same time, a second alien wearing a purple suit appears from the cave holding some sort of recording device, settling to the smiling one’s right. Despite this strangeness, they seem similar enough to her, maybe they can even help with her ship! As the two reach their hands out, Dia attempts to strike up a conversation.

Out of nowhere, a dark figure riding a motorcycle leaps onto the scene, snatching Dia up and distancing her from the two spectacled individuals before dropping her back onto the ground.

The figure gets off the bike and stands in between her and the two aliens, allowing Dia to finally get a good view of him. He’s about the same height, with black, white, and red boots, a matching bodysuit, and a headset attached to a prominent set of sharp black and red quills pointing back at her.

Quills? They’re… a hedgehog, like her! What’s going on?

Before she has a chance to process, the hedgehog charges an attack aimed at the two creatures. Both laugh in response, get into a pair of ships, and fly off.

As they do, the black hedgehog turns towards Dia, finally giving her a clear view of his face. She had to admit, she might call him handsome if not for the visible scowl and daggers coming from his eyes.

“What are you doing? Do you know what you almost caused?!?” The angry hedgehog points straight at Dia’s face, causing her to lose her breath for a moment.

“I-I’m sorry. I-I was just looking for material to fix my ship.” Dia stutters.

The hedgehog’s expression is unchanged, “Why are you here, and why did it look like you were about to help the Doctor?”

“W-w-who?” Dia’s voice wavers, she hadn’t felt this intimidated in a very long time.

Suddenly a neon blur crosses her eye line, stopping next to the black hedgehog to reveal a blue hedgehog in a similarly-styled outfit. The two looked pretty similar, could they be related?

“Now Shadow, be nice, it sounds like the girl gave you her answer. You can stop interrogating her now.”

“Sonic, you can’t blindly trust everyone.”

“Well you never trust anyone!”

Shadow scoffs and walks off to investigate the remains of the site now that the two tall beings are gone.

“Pardon my pal Shadow over there, he’s normally more angsty than angry. Name’s Sonic the Hedgehog, what’s yours?” The blue hedgehog says, shaking Dia’s hand. 

“Dia. Dia Nova.”

Immediately her wrist bracelets begin to glow. Sonic’s eyes widen. 

“Whoa, can you harness chaos energy?” Sonic says with a look of curiosity.

“I don’t even know what that is. I don’t even know what planet I’m on..” Dia’s ears turn down.

Sonic then turns to a returning Shadow with his hand now on his hip. “Wow Shadow, we had an alien visitor and the first thing you did was start peppering them with questions? Typical.”

Shadow immediately rolls his eyes. “Well this visitor was about to touch pure chaos energy and potentially help the Doctor. Someone needed to intervene fast, and I clearly got to the scene faster than you.”

“That’s because you’re using a light bike, that’s cheating!”

“Well if the problems we have around here ever require a slow response, I’ll make sure to call you!”

“Um, excuse me!” Dia interrupts. “Are you two actually hedgehogs?” 

Two seem taken aback by this “Uhhhh, yeah?” Sonic responds. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I’ve never met any other hedgehogs outside of my homeworld, are you guys from there?” Dia states.

“We were both born here, are you telling me there is an alien planet out there with millions of other hedgehogs on it?” Sonic asks.

“Used to be. I’m currently trying to find a source to heal it. Everyone left is currently hiding and trying their best just to survive.”

Sonic turns and crosses his arms.

“Well, for now you should come and grab a bite to eat. Where did your ship crash? I’ll have Shadow haul it in.” 

“I didn’t agree to that. I’m calling Knuckles and Tails. Clearly your friends are going to be more willing to help. I’m going to make sure that patch of chaos energy is closed up.”

The moody black hedgehog gets onto his bike and leaves without saying another word.

“Good luuuuck!” Sonic calls out sarcastically before turning back to Dia.

“You guys are very kind here. You barely know me and you’re already willing to help.”

“Of course! That’s what we do here on Neo-Mobius.” 

“Neo-Mobius, huh?” Dia questions, tapping on one of her plethora of wrist gadgets and bringing up a holographic map of the star system. “It’s not on any of the charts, how is that possible?”

Sonic shrugs “Maybe we don’t get good coverage out here, I don’t really make many interplanetary calls myself.”

She sighs. “At least I have someone to show me around.”

Sonic chuckles. “Only if you’re hungry! Do you trust me enough to come get a bite to eat at my favorite spot?”

For the first time since she got here, Dia takes a moment to collect herself. Can I trust this guy? He seems nice enough. However, her thought process is interrupted by the sight of Sonic pacing back and forth. He doesn’t seem to be the patient type.

“I guess it wouldn’t hur-!”

Before she can finish her sentence, Dia finds herself in Sonic’s arms, “Alright, let’s go!” he shouts, hauling her at a blistering speed to the nearby mega city.

The sight upon entering the city is nothing short of spectacular. Skyscrapers lined top-to-bottom with the similar glowing energy as what she saw with the stones, streets appear grooved with the same material, even the outfits the people are wearing have the energy flowing through them. It was also beautiful… and strangely… welcoming for some reason.

They enter a little shop called Spin Dash Diner, and there they meet a pink-colored hedgehog and a little cream-colored rabbit. The rabbit is sitting in a booth coloring while the pink hedgehog prepares to chew into the blue hedgehog. 

“How dare you leave me to manage a child while running the shop, you promised Cream you were going to mentor her today!” She places her hands on her hips.

“Sorry Amy, it’s just that I overheard the disturbance Shadow was talking about over the headset and I had to check and make sure we weren’t under attack,” Sonic explains. “Buuuut, I happened to find a lonely space explorer out there trying to repair her ship. She actually ran into Eggman, but Shadow was able to scare him away with his personality.” He says, gesturing at the anxious ruby hedgehog.

“From SPACE?!? Really?!? Well then you must be exhausted after everything that’s happened. Please, take a seat with Cream over there while I fix you up something to eat. Hopefully you’re a fan of chili dogs!” Amy scurries into the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later with the meal in hand.

Dia instinctively leans away as the plate is placed in front of her. The look, the texture, the smell. She can’t fathom the thought that anyone would ever willingly eat something like this. Despite a desire to be polite, Dia is unable to hide her visible distaste.

Sonic chimes in. “If you’re not gonna eat that, I’ll take it.”

“SONIC! Give her a chance to try it. Trust me it’s not as bad as it looks, I make a mean chili! By the way, my name is Amy Rose, welcome to my diner!”

Although still a bit shaken from the recent events and encounters since her arrival, the explorer returns the favor, “My name’s Dia Nova,” nervously biting into the strange food.

Instantly, Dia lights up, literally. Her wrists begin to glow once again as the familiar sensation of home fills her body. It’s one of the best things she’s ever tasted!

As the blissful moment fades and Dia comes back to reality, she is met with the sight of Sonic grinning at her. “Told ya,” he chuckles.

“Sonic, did you see that? That looked like chaos energy, did you know she could do that?”

“Yeah, pretty interesting huh?” Sonic leans back in the booth, eyeing Dia. “I’m curious about it myself.”

“Maybe we should ask Tails or even Tikal might know. What about one of the Princesses?”

“I think Blaze and Sally have more important things on their plate than talking to Dia about her glowing arms.”

“You don’t know that. Here, I can send a message out for us to meet.”

Dia intervenes, “It’s ok! I prefer not to get a lot of people involved. Besides, you barely know me. Why are you guys all being so kind?”

Amy slides into the booth.

“Alright, how much info did your tour guide over here give you about how our world works?”

“He… just mentioned something about chaos energy like you did, and then brought me here.”

Amy turns and looks at Sonic. “Figures your appetite won out over your common sense.” Amy huffs.

“LOOK I DID A LOT BETTER THAN SHADOW!” He retorts.

“You shouldn’t speak so meanly about Mr. Shadow all the time, he’s our friend,” Cream chimes in.

Sonic pats her on the head. “Don’t worry Cream, I’m just joking. You may not know this, but I’m actually his favorite guy! By the way, don’t I owe you some one-on-one mentorship time? Why don’t you tag along while I explain how all this chaos energy stuff works to Ms. Nova over here?”

“Hold on, I can explain this faster. Besides, you’re going to get distracted somehow, I can feel it.” Amy gestures at the seat next to Cream, but Sonic doesn’t take her up on the offer. He instead paces back and forth across the diner, just like he did earlier.

Amy sighs and points out the windows of the diner.

“Dia, do you see the buildings and roads? We use this material called chaos energy to bind everything together. It controls our gravity, our powers, our businesses, and even our emotions. It’s powerful, but has to be kept in balance. When that balance is lost, it can trigger an eruption of negative energy that has led to many terrible events in our history. We haven’t had an event like that in a long time, but we’re cautious. That’s why we’re so kind to each other. Since emotions are part of the balance, the happier we are together, the better we live together. Right Sonic?”

Sonic turns and bows to the three girls. “Of course, my dearest rose. Living happily together with you is my greatest dream.” he declares with the bluster of a performer on stage.

Amy sighs again, though Dia notices her cheeks seem a bit flushed this time.

“Why don’t I just take you to Tails.”

As the two leave, Sonic runs off with Cream to go continue their mentorship. “Have fun!” he shouts as the two disappear around the corner. “Tell Tails I said hi!”

Along their walk Dia remembers something that Amy had mentioned earlier about the others they could talk to.

“So there’s princesses here?” She looks around for a castle. 

“Technically. They come from kingdoms in other parts of Neo-Mobius, but they’re currently here to do research.”

“That’s so cool.”

“People come from all over Neo-Mobius to visit and live here, so much so in fact, that we’re known for being the world’s most harmonious city.”

“That’s incredible!” Dia marveled. “Thank you for being the best tour guide I’ve had so far.”

Amy laughs “When the bar is set that low, there’s nowhere to go but up.”

Through Amy’s radio comes the crackle of a familiar voice, “I heard that.”

Without missing a beat, Amy changes the frequency to one less active. Although she tries not to show it, the pink hedgehog clearly derives some amusement from the act, unable to hold back a mild smirk as she continues the conversation.

“That actually reminds me, we need to get you a headset of your own!” she says pointing at the gadget on her head. Amy guides Dia to a workshop, and as they enter, they find a green bird wearing goggles loudly complaining to a yellow fox with two tails. Dia finds it hard to be surprised at this point. 

“I thought you said my gear was going to be ready today!” the bird squawks.

The two-tailed fox crosses his arms. “I said I would get to it today. Besides, this is the third time this month you’ve come in here with a damaged board, what happened now?”

“Three words. Big. Metal. Robot.”

“I don’t believe you.” 

“GAHHHH NEITHER DID WAVE! SHE KEEPS SENDING ME TO YOU BECAUSE SHE THINKS I’M LYING, BUT I’M NO LIAR!”

“But you are a cheater.”

“ONCEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”

“A bomb is still a bomb.”

“I SAID I WAS SORRY, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!”

“Did you mean it?”

The argument continues on, with neither the bird nor fox seemingly aware of their new audience. Despite the awkwardness, Amy doesn’t interrupt, instead crossing her arms in silence as the two boys go back and forth for several minutes. From the expression on her face, Dia assumes that this must happen regularly.

Eventually, the bird gives up and storms out of the room, brushing past them as if he was somehow still unaware of their presence.

“Long week, huh?” 

“It’s about to be. While Jet was over here hassling me about his board, Knuckles hauled over a busted-up spaceship that seemed to have crashed outside the city. I’ve never seen material like this before…”

“It’s burstmite. It’s made from lava rocks and it’s light but durable and um…” Dia chimes in.

Tails looks at her surprised. “This is your ship? What happened?”

“I crash-landed and the atmosphere wiped everything out.”

“That’s crazy it survived!!! An alien ship huh? You’re like a scientific breakthrough that came down from the stars. Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Tails! It’s nice to meet you! Shadow called me and Knuckles brought this over, he’s probably still around here somewhere.”

As if on cue, a tall, bulky cyborg strolls in from the back area of the shop, his ordinary right eye matching his robotic left one in quickly locking in on the unfamiliar face.

“Hey guys, who’s the new girl?”

“Oh, Knuckles, this is the person whose ship you brought in!”

“Wow, all in one piece, huh? You must be made of some pretty hardy stuff! You also part robot?”

“Thanks but um – no. I- I’m just looking for a way to get home.”

“No worries, we’ll help you out.” Knuckles says with a comforting smile.

There it was again. Her wrists began to glow as that warm feeling returned. She looked up at the cyborg echidna to find that he was studying them closely.

“You know… my people used to say that the chaos energy is what binds us together. It has an energy source, but we’ve never quite understood what it is. Generally, we let our suits do most of the work, so it’s unique to see you produce that energy on your own. I hope you’re able to find the answer soon so you can share it with us.”

With that he places his mit over Dia’s hand and gives her…

…a stick?

“Huh? What’s this?”

“It’s a Light Stick. Legend has it that our ancestors used them to chant back in the day. It would feed energy to their warriors or those that they looked to for protection. Maybe you have what it takes to awaken its power again.”

Dia waves it around, but nothing happens, maybe it was just an old story…

Dia then hears something that stops her cold.

The radio in Tails’s workshop begins to play a song that sounds just like… it can’t be, right? It has to just be a coincidence? No, it definitely isn’t. Her heart races.

“I know this song, I’ve heard it before. How do you guys know about this?”

Amy shrugs. “We’ve just always heard it.”

“This is crazy. I remember hearing this song as a child, and one day it disappeared. I felt so alone having no one remember where it came from on my home planet, and now of all places I find it here?”

“Maybe telling you more about our planet’s history will help you. Considering how similar you look to us, it’s possible your kind explored more of the galaxy.” Tails says.

Their conversation is interrupted as the lights in the shop begin to rapidly flicker. “Someone’s messing with the chaos energy.” Knuckles growls. The others run outside to see what’s going on. Moments later, a green and black tenrec runs in, followed by a short blue fox. Dia watches as they rummage around the shop, it appears like they’re looking for something. Are these some other friends of theirs?

“HEY! GET OUT OF HERE SURGE!” Amy yells out.

“Shut your face, Pinky. We just need to borrow a few things.” Surge sneers as she makes a break for the exit. Unfortunately for her, Knuckles is in the doorway, grabbing her as she collides with him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Knuckles shakes the stolen piece off Surge, only for the blue fox to swoop in and snatch it out Knuckles’s hands. Surge takes the opportunity to free herself from the echidna’s grasp. “Nice work, Kit, now let’s get out of here!”

The two take off faster than lightning. Tails sighs, “I hope they didn’t just steal a piece I need to fix the ship.”

Dia pats Tails on the shoulder. “It’ll be ok! I’m starting to feel better now that I know I’m in good company.” As she smiles, the light stick begins to glow. It also starts to chime as if signaling for something. Dia walks outside.

Knuckles follows her, looking closely at the stick.

“It’s trying to find-”

“The other pieces~” a voice states from above them. Dia looks up to find a mischievous-looking bat girl descending to the ground in front of them.

“Hey there~ Nice to meet someone new. The name’s Rouge. Do you mind if I take a look at th-”

“DON’T let her touch that, she’s a thief.”

“Awwww, but I promise, I’ve changed. Honest. Remember, you have to be nice to me so all of your precious chaos energy works how it’s supposed to.”

“In your dreams, bat girl. We all know why you’re here.”

She puts her hands up. “Fine you got me, I do love my shiny objects. I overheard everything. I gotta get in on this Chaos Lightstick business.”

Dia clutches the stick, the glow it once had flickering off.

“Oh no!” Dia starts to wave it around, desperately hoping to activate it again.

“Don’t worry, Dia, it’ll come back.” Amy assures, placing her hand on Dia’s.

Dia looks at it worried. Just as she was possibly going to get some answers, it breaks! 

Amy attempts to change the subject, “So where does the name Dia Nova come from?”

“Oh! I-It comes from the name Diana, like the goddess, it means ‘Hunter.’ My dad was one, and he told me that from the moment he looked into my eyes as a baby, he saw the hunter’s spirit. He always knew me well.”

A gust of wind whips by the group. 

“Wow Amy, you didn’t say you were having a council meeting, where was my invite?” Sonic chuckles and the energy from everyone’s suits glows warmly. The light stick powers on again.

Dia holds it close. From the stick, a beam of light shines, providing a direction to follow.

Sonic rubs his nose. “Would ya look at that, you might be able to help solve a puzzle we didn’t even know existed!”

Sonic reaches out. “How about it, want to go on a little adventure?”

Dia smiles and takes his hand, “Sounds like fun!”

“Alright, then let’s find the light sticks!”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The group pulls several things out of Tails’s garage, including 2 lightcycles similar to the one Shadow had. Amy also gives Dia the headset she promised her.

Sonic turns to Dia, “Ever ridden a Chaos Cycle?”

“Sort of…”

“Well these babies will help us find the remaining sticks faster, all we need is for you to guide us.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

And so the search began, though It didn’t take long before it became a race to each location. The competition was fierce, but Dia could tell that none of them could’ve been happier in that moment. It made her smile, which helped unlock more light sticks. 

Before they knew it, all 7 had been collected. The group settled down in a clearing.

“Wow. We’re already that much closer to getting answers. It’s almost too good to be true!” Dia cheers.

“Because you fell for my trap.”

Dia turns around to see a familiar face. It’s him, the man from earlier.

Dr. Eggman.

“Hey Egghead, mind if you leave us and our planet alone?” Sonic yelled out.

“Not everything about chaos energy is meant for you animals to use, its power can be harnessed and used to shape the universe! Neo-Mobius is just another step in my master plan. From here I’ll build my empire!”

Dia’s heart sinks as several robots fly out of his ship.

Dia runs over to Sonic, he can protect her until this is all over. 

THUNK! In a split-second, Dia finds herself knocked to the ground.

Standing before her was a… clone of Sonic… yet somehow entirely metallic.

“Dia! Look out!” Sonic shouts as the steel facsimile lunges at her.

“Shadow! Silver! Back me up!” Sonic calls out, running to help her as the two hedgehogs track closely behind him.

The two knock Metal Sonic back as the real Sonic himself picks Dia up on his bike, she grips him tightly. 

“Go Metal Sonic! Destroy those pesky hedgehogs and claim the chaos energy!”

Metal disappears from Shadow and Silver’s sight, reappearing in front of Sonic and Dia. 

“Sonic, his energy readings are off the charts, we can’t take it head on!” Tails shouts over the headset.

Dia starts to hear a quiet hum in her ears, and looks down to see the light sticks glowing intensely. The song grows louder and louder. It’s like they’re speaking to her, asking her to join. 

“I see it! I see it now…it’s always been inside of me!” Dia sings, leaping off the bike while Sonic distracts Metal.

Together, her new friends begin to wave the other sticks along to her song. The waves of light and motion surround Dia. Her own light stick evolves into a staff. 

The Metal Sonic charges her. In one swing, Dia demolishes it.

“Oh, so we’re a huntress now, are we? Then get a load of this!”

Suddenly, hordes of Badniks appear over the horizon, heading straight for her.

Dia’s rings begin to glow brighter than ever as she performs a series of counter-attacks against the encroaching swarm. The waves of bots seem endless, but the more her new friends’ chants continue, the stronger she feels herself become. She was going to protect them no matter what.

Soon, it is not just her rings that are glowing, but her entire body. A golden light envelops her in a dazzling and radiant display before dissipating to reveal an incredible transformation:

Super Nova.

She glares at Eggman. A cosmos destroyer. A new enemy. If what he said was true, maybe he was the one responsible for what happened to her home. She had to stop him. 

She rears back and releases a powerful strike from her staff, the energy tears through the large ship, destroying it.

Eggman retreats, flying off in a one-seater pod that his henchman holds onto from the side. 

Super Nova then drives the staff into the ground in front of her, falling down to her knees as her powers fade.

“You did great, kid!”

“We knew you could do it!”

“I hope that’s the last we see of him…” Dia pants as she holds on to the staff.

“It won’t be, but don’t worry, we’ll be here to stop him when comes back. Count on it.” Sonic proclaims with a wink and thumbs up.

Suddenly the ground rumbles and the staff evolves into a bright pillar of chaos energy.

That day marked the start of the first established chaos pillar in the galaxy. Dia Nova, while not having found what she was looking for, instead discovered an inspiring group of friends that gave her the hope she needed. She wasn’t alone on this journey.

As Tails finished the repairs on her ship, Sonic explained that she would have to take the Light Sticks with her off-planet in order to keep Eggman from using them to tamper with Neo-Mobius’s chaos energy.

However, when Shadow and Silver arrive, they bring the news that it may be too late..

To be continued…