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Sonic the Hedgehog:

Tournament of the Stars

Chapter 38

Last time, Emily triumphed over Shade whilst Marisa fought Starbright. At first, it seemed the masked warrior would win but an unknown figure helped and Marisa knocked off Starbright's helmet. With her identity revealed, she fled, with Shadow and the others in hot pursuit.

Starbright, now without her helmet, ran as fast as she could. She felt tired and worn out but she couldn't stop no matter what. She managed to find solitude in the amusement park (it wasn't called the Emerald Sky Park for nothing). She hid in the shadows under the Ferris wheel.

"Phew. Nobody should find me here" she said to herself.

"How wrong you are."

She gasped as she turned to see Mephiles. He looked really pissed off. "H-hi, Mephiles."

"Why are you not in the arena?" he asked, a hint of anger in his voice. Starbright struggled for an answer.

"I'll help you, shall I?" he said sarcastically. "You're not there because you either won or lost. And guessing by the fact that your helmet's off, I'd say you lost."

"Um, well, I'm sure there's some way we could…" she tried to say but Mephiles cut her off.

"You failed me Starbright and for that, I'm going to keep our little deal!" he threatened. Now fearing for her life, Starbright began to back away before turning tail and running. She came out of the shadows but Mephiles sent a purple orb into her back. She fell to the ground and the time demon grasped her by the neck as he dragged her up.

"Let's see how you cope with death this time!" Mephiles cried as he drew his claw back. He was about to strike when a black blur knocked into him, releasing his grip. As Starbright fell to the floor, she glanced at her saviour. Shadow was standing in front of her in a defensive stance.

"So, ready for Round 2 are you?" asked Mephiles.

"You bet. Let's end this!" Shadow roared, throwing a Chaos Spear at the demon but Mephiles effortlessly dodged it.

"You're losing your touch" he mocked, sending out a torrent of mini clones. Shadow began to throw punches left and right to keep them away but they were only a distraction. Mephiles rushed forward and shoulder barged into Shadow. He then grasped him by the neck and threw him behind him.

The black hedgehog flipped back up, only to receive a punch to the face from Mephiles. Shadow stumbled and was unable to defend himself from the kick to the stomach. Mephiles proceeded to beat the crap out of him, not hesitating at all, before jumping over him and smashing his foot into Shadow's back, knocking him towards Starbright.

"Shadow!" she screamed as he tried to push himself up but Mephiles had done quite a number on him. He was badly bruised and had a small cut above his right eye.

"It's time I ended this once and for all!" declared Mephiles, as he edged closer towards the damaged hedgehog. Suddenly, Starbright jumped in front of Shadow, her arms wide open.

"I'm not going to let you do that!" she cried.

Mephiles chuckled slightly. "How cute! Gerald would be proud." Shadow glanced upwards in shock at the mention of his creator. "I'll just kill you both right now!"

Starbright was clearly scared but she stood her ground as Mephiles began to charge up a powerful orb of darkness. "Shadow, I'm so sorry" she whispered.

Mephiles now held a purple orb that was probably twice his size. A smirk appeared in his eyes as he aimed it.

"Farewell, Shadow the Hedgehog! Oh, and you too, Starbright" he said.

Mephiles fired the orb, forcing Starbright to shut her eyes. But, suddenly, Silver jumped in front of her and caught the orb before throwing it back. Mephiles was hit by his own attack and was sent back. The rest of the heroes rushed up and helped Shadow up.

"Are you OK, Shadow?" asked Sonic.

"I'm fine" was the response.

Amy suddenly turned hostile towards Starbright. "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything" she responded.

"As if we're supposed to believe you" Amy accused.

The heroes then saw Mephiles stumble back up. "You will pay for that!" he said angrily.

"Sorry, Mephiles. But your plan ends here and I refuse to work for you again!" Starbright declared, pointing at the evil being. But Mephiles seemed to find this funny.

"Ha ha ha! So what? It's not as if Shadow will ever accept you again! You betrayed him! If Gerald was here, he'd be ashamed!" he roared.

"What's the professor got to do with this?" Shadow asked, confused.

"Oh, that's right. You don't know" Mephiles remembered. "I think it's time you learnt the truth." A sadistic look appeared in his eyes as he turned his gaze towards Starbright.

"The girl you see before you is someone who was supposed to be dead. I defied all logic and brought her back as how you see her now!" Mephiles explained.

"Stop that!" cried an annoyed Rouge. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me put it this way. She was once a young girl who wished to see this planet. But a rare disease kept her from this dream. She lived with her grandfather and her best friend until she was killed due to her involvement with Project: Shadow" Mephiles told them.

Shadow was the first to understand and soon, everyone else realised. Their eyes widened and the mouths were agape.

"You don't mean…" began Tails but Mephiles interrupted him.

"Yes. She is Professor Gerald's granddaughter, Eggman's cousin and Shadow's closest friend. She is Maria Robotnik!"

"LIAR!!!" cried Shadow. "That can't be true! It can't!" He refused to believe it but the look on Starbright's face confirmed this. "It… can't."

"It is Shadow. I'm so sorry" Starbright, now revealed to be Maria, sadly told him. Suddenly, Shadow blacked out.

The black hedgehog woke up to find himself in the medical ward. Sonic, Silver and Omega were all there as he opened his eyes.

"Hey, there Shadow. Glad to see you up" said Sonic.

"What happened?" Shadow asked, still slightly dazed.

"Well, after you fainted, Mephiles left" explained Silver. "We had to drag you back here."

"Where's Maria?" Shadow asked.

"She is currently with Rouge, Amy and Aqua outside" Omega told him. Without hesitation, Shadow jumped out of the bed and rushed out.

Outside, the three girls were all talking to each other when Shadow showed up.

"Oh, Shadow. You're up awfully quickly" stated Rouge.

"Since when did you care?" Shadow retorted, hostility clear in his voice. This prompted the bat to storm off. Shadow then turned his attention to Maria. She had changed her outfit to a blue and white skirt in a similar fashion to Amy's. She wore white gloves and blue boots to match. She also had blue sleeves.

"I can see who picked that outfit out" Shadow joked, glancing at Amy.

"Well, that old suit of hers just didn't suit her" Amy said. "Anyway, I think you two deserve some time alone. C'mon Aqua."

The two girls left, leaving Shadow and Maria alone. An awkward silence passed by before Maria wrapped her arms around Shadow.

"Oh, Shadow. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me" she sobbed as Shadow hugged her back.

"It's OK. Mephiles used you. It wasn't your fault" Shadow told her solemnly. He pulled back to get another look at her.

"I just can't believe you're alive. But how did…" he started but Maria interrupted him.

"Mephiles did this. I don't know how but it seems he can do anything" she explained.

"Tell me about it" said Shadow. Maria let out a slight giggle. This was the first time she had felt happy in a long time. Just by looking at her smile, Shadow could tell it was Maria.

"Listen; let's put this experience behind us. It's time you got to see the world you always wanted to see" said Shadow, prompting another smile from the blonde hedgehog. As they walked off hand in hand, Shadow failed to notice the small frown that appeared on her face.

Meanwhile, Chrono's small group were scouting the park. To the naked eye, it would seem they were taking a nice walk. But this was far from the truth. They were analysing the entire park for anything that looked out of place or odd.

"Ugh, we've been touring round this place for hours and still we've found nothing!" moaned Zero.

Havoc rolled his eyes. "Give it a rest, will ya? We've got to find out who's behind all this."

The two tanukis glanced back at their comrades bickering before Crisis stopped them. "What's that?" he asked, pointing towards a giant dome that had strange lines running across it and was coloured a very dark blue. The group of four became interested and marched forward.

There was a young man with flaming red hair who was sweeping outside the building. He was clearly a janitor of sorts.

"Excuse me" asked Chrono, feigning politeness, "But what is this building?"

"This isn't anything yet" the janitor explained. "It's currently in production but it will be the park's main attraction after the tournament's over."

"May we take a look?" Chrono asked but the janitor was quick to respond.

"Nobody is allowed inside. It's under lock and key" he answered.

Chrono thanked the man and the team left. "So, what do we think?" he asked the others as they walked away.

"I think it's obvious somebody doesn't want us in there" Crisis deduced.

"Then let's return to the hotel. We can form a strategy from there" Chrono told them. They readily agreed.

The scene shifts to that night. Nothing exciting had happened really. Shadow spent most of his time with Maria, telling her about what he did and how he and Sonic and the others stop Eggman's plans. They had decided to not let the doctor know. He'd freak out.

At the current time, Sonic was in the medical ward. He had just visited Shade who he had left with Knuckles and walked past Marisa. She was still badly hurt from her fight and Larcen hadn't left her side. Sonic thought now was the best time when there weren't many people about.

"Hey Larcen" Sonic called in a friendly tone.

The dark blue hedgehog gave him the death glare before saying "If you're here to gloat then get it over and done with."

"No, I'm not here to do that. I wanted to apologise for taking your necklace. Marisa told me how important it is to you" the blue hedgehog explained.

Larcen didn't answer so Sonic took in a breath and asked the question he'd been meaning to ask.

"So, Larcen. You and Marisa are good friends, right?" he asked.

"Of course. I found her all alone when she was 12" began Larcen. "I felt sorry for her so I let her tag along. We've been close friends ever since."

"How close?" asked Sonic.

Larcen raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Sonic gulped. "Well, I mean… Do you have certain… feelings for her?"

Larcen now got what Sonic was saying and threw a punch that Sonic was expecting so he ducked.

"You sick bastard!" he roared. "I would never…"

No. Listen pal" Sonic told him, suddenly confident. "I've seen you two and you clearly love her yet she doesn't know. Admit it!"

There was a slight pause before Larcen turned away, seemingly upset. "Fine. I admit it. I've always felt this way. But, it's wrong. I shouldn't love her."

Sonic began to feel sorry. "Hey, it's OK. There's nothing wrong with being in love."

"Have you failed to notice that we're different species?" Larcen asked, sarcastically.

Sonic thought about this then, something came to his mind. "Hey, I'll tell you a little secret. I was almost in the same position as you."

"You were in love with a human? Who was it?" Larcen asked. His question was answered when Elise walked in.

"Hello you two. I came to see if Marisa was OK" she told them.

"She's still asleep. I'll tell you came to see her, your Majesty" said Larcen. As Elise walked off, he noticed Sonic nodding his head towards her. Larcen was suddenly aghast.

"Wait. You and… the Princess?!" he gasped. Sonic nodded. "B-but, does she know?"

"Of course. And, she loved me too" Sonic told him, leaving him more dumbstruck. "But we agreed that it wouldn't work out, so we decided to stay friends. And I bet that Marisa holds some small feelings for you. I advise that you let her know sooner rather than later."

Sonic then proceeded to leave but Larcen stopped him. "Sonic." He turned to face him and Larcen held out his hand.

"Thanks."

Sonic smirked before shaking his hand. "Anytime."

In the hotel, Shadow and Maria were still talking. At the moment, they were in Shadow's room with the lights off as they gazed out at the stars.

"They're so beautiful" said Maria as she gazed at them.

"You always said the world was beautiful from up there" Shadow pointed out.

"Well, I think everything in this world is beautiful" Maria responded.

"Everything?" Shadow asked.

"Not just physically. Everyone has an inner beauty if you ask me" the blonde hedgehog said.

Shadow smiled slightly. "I always missed our talks on the ARK. It's truly a miracle you came back" he told her.

Maria blushed slightly, turning to face him. They stared at each other for what seemed like eons until they began to move closer to one another. They closed their eyes as the gap between their lips got closer and closer. They were almost touching when Maria pushed herself away.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this" she said, tears beginning to appear in her eyes.

"What?" Shadow was in disbelief. "Why?"

"Shadow. I'm not who you think I am" Maria said. "I'm… a clone."

Shadow's eyes widened. "A clone?"

Maria sadly nodded. "I'm not the real Maria. What Mephiles had done was combined Maria's blood with hedgehog DNA and made me. He taught me everything about Maria and you. So much so that I began to think and feel like her. And that's when I began to love you."

All this information was too much for Shadow. He shook his head. "So what if you're a clone? You're still Maria in my eyes."

Maria shook her head again. "No, Shadow. I am not and never will be her. Besides," she continued, with a slight smile on her face, "You don't really love me."

"What? I do, I…" Shadow started to say but Maria put a finger on his lips.

"I know what you're gonna say and I'm telling you that your love for me is in your head. Not your heart" she told him.

"Then what does my heart say?" asked Shadow.

"I've seen you and that bat girl. Rouge, is it?" Maria asked, causing Shadow to reel back slightly. "I know you broke up with her but deep down, you still care for her. And she feels the same about you."

Shadow looked ready to argue but what she said seemed to make sense. Now that he looked at her, she wasn't the Maria he knew. While he felt a twinge of sadness, he still managed a smile.

"You're like a guardian angel" he complimented.

"Thanks, Shadow" Maria replied, before getting off the bed and leaving. Before she closed the door, she said "Goodnight Shadow. And remember, listen to your heart."

She closed the door, leaving the black hedgehog alone with her last words. Shadow looked at the stars once more before letting out a stray tear.