I'm back at school so it's likely updates will be less frequent. In the meantime, enjoy the last chapter of Round 1!

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Tournament of the Stars

Chapter 20

Last time, Gale and Wave were brutally beaten by the mysterious Starbright and Havoc respectively. Starbright was also revealed to be working with Mephiles. Now, the final two fights were approaching.

"Our next fighter is the son of Rodrigo and from Babylon Garden, it's Cesare the Crow!"

A number of people cheered, which angered Jet. He knew of Rodrigo and these people didn't. He glared at Cesare as he walked on, carrying his sword. Cesare saw the hawk and sent a hateful glare back.

"And his opponent, another echidna, this one a pirate and a stickler for rum, it's Wrist the Echidna!"

Knuckles let out a cheer for his father as Wrist entered, cracking his own knuckles as he made his way to the centre of the arena.

"I hope your father does OK" Shade said, her eyes focused on Cesare. Something about him freaked her out.

Knuckles didn't notice this. "He'll be fine. If I know my dad, he'll whip this guy's ass in a matter of minutes."

Shade nodded but still had her doubts.

Back in the arena, Wrist was looking the crow over.

"You're my opponent? You seem a bit of a prissy" he insulted but Cesare took it like a man.

"Don't underestimate me, echidna. I'm one of the finest swordsmen ever. And you will be the latest to fall to it. If you're anything like your ancestors, you'll be wiped out easily" Cesare retaliated.

Wrist became angered and threw a punch straight at Cesare, who didn't block it in time. He was sent through the air into the wall. As he picked himself off, he said "So, that's how it's going to be."

Cesare readied himself and lunged for Wrist who managed to halt Cesare in his tracks. The crow wasn't so easy to take down and he managed to squirm out of Wrist's grip. He slashed his sword, which nearly took the echidna's arm off. Wrist threw another punch but the crow was ready, ducking underneath and whipping out his leg, knocking Wrist over. The crowd jumped and aimed his sword straight down. He would've impaled Wrist if he hadn't rolled out of the way in time.

The echidna quickly got up and began to throw punches left and right. Cesare tried to dodge them but he wasn't fast enough and his face became a mess thanks to Wrist. While he was dazed, Wrist bashed his knuckles together and they were set alight. He thrust his palms out, sending a torrent of flames at Cesare, bigger than that of Knuckles'. The evil crow was sent flying back into the wall. Now, the crow was nearly bleeding and covered with burns but at the same time, he was planning something.

Wrist made another charge at him, planning to smash him into the wall but Cesare jumped, allowing the echidna to ram headfirst into the wall. The crow landed and lashed out his sword, cutting across the echidna's back. Wrist yelled out in pain but Cesare wasn't done. He planned to make sure Wrist couldn't make a comeback and slashed across the back of Wrists' legs. Wrist fell onto the floor in terrible agony, with his legs beginning to bleed. Cesare cruelly smiled and walked off.

"Cesare wins!" the commentator cried but the crowd booed due to Cesare cutting up Wrist's legs. Knuckles ran down to see his father.

"Dad! Are you OK?" he asked in concern.

"I'll be fine. Argh! It hurts like hell though!" Wrist complained. Medics came for him and helped him to the hospital wing. As Knuckles walked back, he saw Jet standing there.

"What do you want?" Knuckles asked, coldly.

"I just wanted to let you know that Cesare is my problem. If I fight him, I'll give him an extra hit from you" Jet replied, smirking at Knuckles.

At first he was taken aback but he returned the smile with a thumbs up. The two managed to get to their seats in time before the commentator spoke.

"Now, it's time for the final fight of Round 1! Our first opponent is a robotized echidna who's also a mercenary, it's Zero the Echidna!"

Zero trudged on, not really paying attention to the applause. He made sure he was functioning properly before getting ready for whoever he was up against.

"And his opponent, an expert archer, it's Amelia the White Wolf!"

Amelia received several cheers from the crowd, except for Tails who was still peeved at her for shooting his food with an arrow. As for the wolf herself, she was bowing to the crowd, enjoying the applause.

When it subsided, she turned to Zero, who was getting slightly agitated.

"Are we gonna fight or not? I want to get this over with!" he said.

Amelia smirked and pulled her bow and an arrow out. "OK, if you say so!"

She fired the arrow but it bounced off the echidna's robot plating. It was his turn to smirk and he smashed his fist into the floor, causing a miniature earthquake. Amelia stumbled, trying to keep her balance but the quake was a distraction so Zero could get an easy punch in. Amelia was knocked over a good distance and landed with a thud. Zero walked slowly towards her as she got up. Things were looking difficult for her. Her only weapons did nothing and Zero was incredibly strong. The echidna grinned as he threw another punch but Amelia was prepared.

She quickly jumped to the side and struck him with her bow but that did nothing. This angered Zero and he threw another punch but Amelia dodged it again. The wolf suddenly realised that Zero was quite slow so she quickly flipped back to gain some distance. She drew a funny looking arrow and aimed it at the echidna. Zero was wondering why she was attempting something that had already failed but when the arrow hit, it stayed on and began to freeze Zero's entire left arm. Shocked by this, Zero made another run for Amelia. She easily flipped over him but Zero wanted this. He swung his leg back out, nailing Amelia in the back. She was knocked onto the floor but before she could get back up, Zero put his foot on her.

"Looks like I win" he smirked.

"I wouldn't count on it" Amelia replied, pointing upwards. Zero looked and saw the sun shining down on him. It then dawned on him. He quickly looked at his frozen arm, only to realise the ice was melting and the water was seeping into his robotics. He turned to Amelia and said "Nice move" before he began to malfunction. He hopped all over the place, shaking violently before falling back, unconscious.

"Zero can no longer fight, making Amelia the winner!" the commentator yelled, resulting in the crowd letting out a huge cheer. Medics and mechanics came for Zero while Amelia left the arena.

"And that concludes Round 1! Now you're free to roam the park. Remember where you're staying in the hotels and we'll be seeing how our winners do in Round 2 tomorrow!"