I hope I didn't make Mario look different to how he should. Sorry, SlashBandicoot43 if I did.

Sonic and co. owned by Sega

Strike, Aqua, Axel and Sally owned by me

Other OCs owned by respective authors

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Tournament of the Stars

Chapter 10: Round of Evil

Last time, Omega and Emily managed to defeat Tails and Amy. Everyone was getting excited about the next couple of fights, not knowing how they would end.

"Our next fighter is a master gunman and expert of psychological warfare, it's Alexander the Snake!"

The serpent walked on, smirking at the crowd who booed him. He didn't care what they thought. All he cared about was freaking out whoever was unlucky enough to fight him.

"And his opponent, a saviour from the future who has psychic powers, it's Silver the Hedgehog!"

The crowd let out a huge cheer as the white hedgehog walked on. He waved to Blaze and his friends as he stood opposite Alexander.

"Ssssooooo, you are my opponent. Sssshouldn't be too hard" he hissed.

Silver glared at the snake. "Don't underestimate me. I'll make sure you lose this."

With that, Silver dived for the snake, punching him across the face. Enraged, Alexander grabbed him and threw him away. As silver crashed into the ground, he mocked.

"Ha, you're weak. You don't stand a chance against the likes of…"

He was so busy talking, Silver had enough time to charge up a ball of green energy in his hand and throw it at the snake. The collision threw the snake up into the air, whilst kicking up the dust. As he fell back down, Silver held him in midair, before throwing him into the wall. Alexander quickly got back up, pulling out a rifle fro his cloak. He aimed and fired at silver. But the hedgehog smirked as he stopped the bullet in mid-air. Shocked, Alexander continued to fire but Silver stopped everyone. Getting fed up, the brown serpent ran at Silver and the two began to exchange punches. Alexander managed to nail a few but blocked all of Silver's.

The psychic hedgehog jumped back and put his hand to the floor, sending out an electric shock, in hopes of paralysing Alexander. But the snake was smart. He jumped to avoid it and brought his heel onto Silver's head, who was unable to defend himself. As Silver held his head, the snake grabbed him by the throat and began to hiss in his ear.

"You're good, I'll give you that much. But you made a big misssstake. You crossed my path. Do you know what I do? I make people kill themselves through fear. I bring as much pain to the world as I can."

Silver snarled at the snake while he continued speaking, with an evil smirk on his face. His voice then became a whisper.

"I saw you waving to your friends, especially the cat. Once this tournament's over, I'll have great pleasure in killing her, and I'll laugh as you mourn over her" he sneered.

Silver became enraged and broke himself free of Alexander's grip. His fur developed a green outline as he sped towards the snake. But, he managed to avoid Silver's attack, turning round and pulling another gun out of his coat. He fired and the bullet got Silver in the back. The hedgehog cried in pain as it drove into him. He collapsed, writhing in pain as Alexander crouched down to him.

"I forgot to mention. I take advantage of people'ssss weaknessssses. And yours was no different" he hissed before walking off.

"Silver can no longer fight, Alexander wins!"

There was no cheer. All that happened was a creepy silence. As medics came for Silver, Blaze rushed after them, wanting to make sure he was OK.

Mario realised that Sally's fight was up next and told Damien to pay attention.

"You've really taken to that girl, Mario" he said.

"Well, we're good friends. Plus, I want to see how she fares" the hedgehog replied.

The commentator began to speak. "Ladies and gents, we've received word that our next contender isn't here yet so we'll introduce their opponent. She's the princess of Southern Island, it's Sally the Hedgehog!"

Mario joined Sonic and co. in the cheers as the young hedgehog walked on. She waved to the crowd whilst wondering where her opponent was. Then, she saw someone walking towards her. She couldn't tell who it was due to the black cloak they were wearing. They also seemed to be emitting a presence that made her shiver.

In the crowd, Shadow noticed it too. He recognized it but couldn't remember where.

The figure then spoke. "This is my opponent? Hah, this should be easy!"

"Hey, don't think I can't take you on! I've been practicing so you'd better be careful" Sally exclaimed. "Also what's with the cloak?"

"Oh, I'm just using it for dramatic effect. But since you really want to know who I am…"

The figure threw his cloak off, resulting in a gasp from the crowd and a look of sheer horror on Sonic and co's faces, especially Shadow.

Sally was just confused. "Who are you?"

The figure smirked, or at least he would if he had a mouth. "I'm Mephiles. Mephiles the Dark. And this is will be your resting place!"

Mephiles fired a purple laser out of his hand that Sally barely managed to dodge. It grazed her side, tearing her dress and drawing blood. Now, she was petrified, especially when she saw the demon summon an array of purple orbs.

Upon seeing Mephiles, Sonic and Shadow immediately jumped over the side and were about to fight Mephiles when a group of bouncers came out of nowhere and blocked them off.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but there is to be no interference during the fights" one of them said.

"I'm not gonna let that beast hurt my sister! Now, get out of my way!" Sonic yelled but they wouldn't move. The two hedgehogs tried breaking past them but they were tougher than they looked and wouldn't budge. As they tried fighting, a scream was heard.

Sally was thrown into the air, covered with cuts with blood dripping from her mouth. She landed with a crash, throwing dust into the air. Mephiles ran at her as she got up, before kicking her in the face. She stumbled back but Mephiles followed it up with several punches. She tried in vain to fight against him but she had already suffered several bruises. She was beginning to lose consciousness due to the pain she was getting. Mephiles decided to end it by creating several little demons that jumped at Sally. They clung to her like flies as she tried to shake them off. They were resistant and began to cover her up. Once they had nearly covered her completely, they exploded. One alone wasn't a lot but with the number that was covering her, it was enough to rocket her up into the air once more.

Mephiles watched as she slammed back into the ground. Feeling quite pleased with his work, he began to walk off but he heard running and saw Sonic, Shadow, Mario and several of Sonic's friends running towards him.

"Guess I'd better make myself scarce. Don't worry, we'll meet again!" he laughed as he vanished in a flash of purple.

Sonic ran to his sister before turning to the medics. "She's gonna live, right?" he asked.

"It's hard to say. We'll make sure she gets the best treatment" one of them said as they carried her away.

Shadow clenched his fists. "That Mephiles. I'll make sure he pays!" he yelled.

Mario stared at Sally's body as she was carted off. Damien saw his friend and approached him. "Mario, are you going to be OK?" he asked, with concern.

Mario didn't answer. Instead, he ran off. As he ran, he did one thing he had never done for years. He let out his emotions. He found himself a quiet spot, made sure he was alone and broke down into quiet sobs.

"I couldn't protect her. Why didn't I try? Was I really so confident that she'd do fine? I'm a fool. I should never befriended her. So, why did I?" he asked himself.

It didn't take long for him to get himself an answer. He couldn't believe it and he couldn't admit it either. He just sat there, alone, like how he was before.