Crap, I thought this chapter would be longer. Still, hope you enjoy and R&R!

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Tournament of the Stars

Chapter 25

Last time, Damien and Sonic triumphed over Elise and Knuckles respectively.

"Our next fight is Shadow VS Larcen!"

Both hedgehogs entered the arena looking serious. They didn't pay attention to the cheers they got. Larcen made a quick glance to Marisa but Shadow stared straight ahead.

The two said nothing as they stood opposite each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Eventually, they both struck. Shadow threw a punch while Larcen shot out his leg, both attacks blocking each other. They both jumped back and Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at Larcen who managed to dodge it. He drew his dagger, charged some power and lunged at the black hedgehog. But he dodged the attack and punched Larcen in the face, sending him to the other side of the arena.

Larcen pushed himself back up and saw Shadow skating towards him. He jumped over the black hedgehog but Shadow quickly smashed his fist up, knocking Larcen into the air. Shadow jumped after the dark blue hedgehog but Larcen managed to send Shadow into the ground by striking down with his heel. He landed and began to charge his dagger up again. Shadow got up, holding his head, and was oblivious to Larcen charging towards him. Larcen then struck out with his weapon but realised Shadow was gone.

Before he could realise it, Shadow appeared from behind, having used Chaos Control, and grabbed Larcen while his body turned red.

"Game over, Larcen! Chaos…" Shadow began but Larcen managed to elbow him in the gut, cancelling the attack. Shadow recoiled, giving Larcen the opening to strike out with his dagger. It sent Shadow sprawling across the floor. Before he could get back up, Larcen was already upon him, smashing his feet into the Ultimate Life Form's gut.

"Larcen wins!"

The crowd was in an uproar but Marisa somehow drowned them all out. Larcen smiled to his friend while Shadow got back up. He refused any medical treatment and took his seat.

As he sat down, he caught Rouge's eye. The look she gave him seemed to be mocking so he quickly looked away.

"Stupid bat" he mumbled. "At least I didn't resort to cheap jabs."

Sonic overheard this comment and became worried. It looked like Shadow and Rouge weren't going to forgive each other anytime soon.

"Our next fight is Aqua VS Cesare!"

Cesare came out with a look of confidence on his face. Aqua, meanwhile, was very nervous. She had seen what the guy did to Wrist and didn't like her odds. Jet, who was in the crowd, became worried for Aqua himself.

Cesare looked into the young hedgehog's eyes menacingly, causing her to look away.

"You know, if you give up now, I won't have to deal so much pain upon you" he sneered.

Aqua looked back up, determination in her eyes. "No way! I'm not surrendering! I'm gonna beat you, no matter what you do to me!"

Cesare shrugged. "Your funeral."

Suddenly, he lashed out with his sword, nearly going straight through Aqua if she hadn't swerved away quickly. The deranged crow began to repeatedly swipe his sword in Aqua's direction, hoping to impale her. She managed to dodge the hits, eventually stepping on the sword. Cesare tried pulling it up but Aqua had already roundhouse kicked him in the face. He realised his lip (or beak) was bleeding. Enraged he charged at her, but the water user had already formed a torrent of bubbles and sent them in his direction. She smirked, thinking they would blind him, but she was wrong.

Cesare, somehow, slashed through the bubbles and swept his sword across, cutting her shirt. She looked down and saw a faint cut. Taken aback, she couldn't defend herself from Cesare backhanding her. He kicked her to the floor and brought his sword down. Thankfully, she rolled out of the way, quickly getting up. She fumbled for a vial of water but she was so scared she couldn't grab one properly. By the time she did, Cesare had kicked her in the gut.

She fell to the floor again, and began to back away from the psychotic bird. She flipped back up to avoid his sword sticking into the ground. Cesare tried pulling it out but realised that it was stuck. Aqua, using this opportunity, pulled out all of her vials and combined the water to make a huge wave of water. Cesare seemed to display fear as she raised her hand and threw it down, sending the wave with it. It crashed into Cesare with such force that the walls seemed to shake. As the water came to a stop, the arena floor was soaked and Cesare lay on the floor unconscious. Aqua, surprised, jumped up with joy, the crowd cheering and whistling for her. Jet smirked with glee, as did Wave and Storm but he noticed something and his smile was replaced with shock.

"AQUA, LOOK OUT!" he yelled but it was too late. A sword was sent deep into the shoulder and she screamed in pain as blood began to seep out at a violent rate. Cesare stood over her, looking quite pleased.

"Rule number 1. Don't let your guard down. Next time, leave the fighting to real warriors" he told her as he removed his sword and walked off.

"Cesare wins!" the commentator cried but the crowd simply booed, but it couldn't be heard over Aqua's screams of pain.

Amy and Rouge, along with Jet ran down to help her. Medics got her onto a stretcher and took her to the medical wing as fast as they could. Amy and Rouge went with them but Jet stayed put. Clenching his fist, he knew that Cesare was REALLY going to pay for this!