Cf96: It's a matter of how you look at it; take it as you will. ;) And I've already written the final boss, and I actually might've used something like what you've suggested. I'd have to go back and check to be sure though.

SonicSonic54321:...you're about to find out. ;P (But it's Cosmic Fall)

Chapter 23: The Chosen One

~Birth of a Champion~

Cosmic Fall-

Vector and I most certainly exited the Sea Fox at the same time, but I guess we both weren't expecting the ground beneath us to completely give way the second we set foot upon it. Before I knew it, I was tumbling, a cosmic fall to the blue planet below…

And it looked just as nice as it had yesterday, aside from the blood red clouds that were beginning to amass rapidly across the globe…

I hadn't fallen for very long, because I'd managed to latch onto an unexpected zipline, finding myself whisked to and fro as I descended through the ARK.

For whatever reason, it looked a lot more unstable than it had been the day before, with complete passageways giving in to time and falling down as space debris. It was almost a little saddening to see.

"The ARK…my home…what's become of it?" I wondered under my breath. True, the life the researchers and all the people gave to the ARK was all but gone now, but now even the outside was breaking apart, and I wondered how much longer it would stand…

Certainly not too much longer, considering how brutally the Black Arms had treated it yesterday.

"Is this whole place collapsing? It's like the whole ARK is falling apart around me…"

Some of the debris that was farther away from me made it look like the ARK was raining shooting stars, at least, from my perspective. It would all probably burn up in the planet's atmosphere, like it never even existed…

"Ack, why am I wasting time thinking about that?" I huffed, shoving the thought away as I let go of the zipline. "I need to focus on not getting horribly lost…"

Of which I already was…

The ground beneath me caved again, becoming a freefalling platform amongst many others. I had to make my way up, otherwise I was on the express trip to burning up in the atmosphere. I ran to the edge of the slab of debris, leaping from platform to platform and trying to get to higher ground.

Also, as Tails had predicted, when Espio and Charmy had started disabling the defense systems, aliens started penetrating the premises, the first of which being a couple of Black Hawks. A pack of them swooped in like dive bombers in an attempt to attack me, but I jumped up, homing attacked into them, and landed on a different platform.

"At this rate, it'll take longer than fifteen minutes…and I don't even know where Vector went!"

However, the platform I was on eventually lined up with one of the entrances inside of the ARK, so I took the opportunity to stop falling and finally make some progress.

"This makes getting up tons easier…"

Things inexplicably started exploding around me, so I got moving, skating through the halls and dodging the hailing shrapnel everywhere. In the end, I wound up back outside, but I wasted no time in running up the broken passages ways in order to find another entrance.

Alien soldiers lined up and down the shattered paths, and I wondered what purposes they had for being here this time. I wasn't about to ask, though they were much more helpful to me when they were tumbling toward the planet. Black Titans, Black Hawks, Black Larvae…every type of alien was gathered here like there was a bonanza, but I abruptly ended all of their parties.

I've been around Sonic too long; I was starting to use his metaphors…

The tumbling platforms eventually ran under another zipline, which I jumped up and grabbed again. I didn't know where I was going to end up this time, but anywhere had to be better than freefalling with a bunch of aliens.

. . .

When the zipline came to an end, it whisked me back inside the ARK somewhere, in a narrow passageway that was scarcely lit by neon lamps. I rolled upon landing, then turned down the corner of the hall to find Vector fumbling with the door in front of him. As soon as he sensed my presence, he whirled around and gave me a hearty wave.

"Well, if it isn't Shadow! I was wondering where you went…"

I gave him a look.

"We fell at the same time, and in the same spot! How did you possibly get here before me?!"

"Oh, that's easy!" Vector exclaimed. "I ran into the boys when I was navigating all those crazy platforms, and we went into flight formation and they carried me here."

I'm amazed Charmy didn't end up dropping them right off the face of the ARK, especially in these conditions…

"Anyway, what are you trying to do here…?"

"Open this door!" Vector boomed, pounding his fists on it. "I've been at this for three minutes already…!"

"Allow me, then," I offered, gently pushing Vector out of the way. I then faced the door and turned red. "CHAOS BLAST!"

Vector yelped as negative Chaos Energy expelled from me, but I focused it so it was only aimed at the door. With a sickening snap and a whining of metal, I blasted the door right off its hinges…and effectively knocked it three rooms away. Vector poked his head into the doorway and whistled.

"Wow, no wonder your team whooped us back at the Power Plant…"

"Carrying on," I stated, interrupting his train of thought. "Which direction do we go from here?"

"Ah, let me see…" Vector trailed, fiddling with his communicator for a second. In a moment's time, a projected map of the ARK appeared, and he studied it carefully. "…oh, yeah! We go to the right! After that, it's a relatively straight forward path."

He turned to me and clenched his fist.

"We've got to get to the computer room! Once the Black Arms' army attacks, this whole place will fall! Their giants, heralded for their brute strength, are the core of their army!"

"Tell me something I don't know," I huffed, running forward. "The sooner we reach the room, the sooner Espio and Charmy can turn the defenses back on again."

Vector silently agreed and trudged after me, ducking into the narrow halls of the ARK. Mechanized alarms rang out, due to the presence of the aliens, but they were momentarily shut off, most likely due to Espio and Charmy. Vector smiled at that as he proceeded to beat up an alien that had ambushed him.

"That's my boys! Always doing a top notch job!"

"At least they're just keeping up their end of the plan," I commented, kicking the brute in the head and pushing it to a lower floor. A large group of its friends weren't too thrilled at that, and instantly started coming at me. I readied myself on the spot, but Vector stepped in front of me and smirked, as if he'd been waiting a lifetime for this moment.

"You just leave this to me," he said confidently, taking a deep breath and concentrating. I was about to ask what he was going to do, but I realized I already knew.

"YAAAAARGH!"

In a rather impressive pyromaniac display, Vector lurched fire and spewed flames in every direction, scorching the squad of aliens right on the spot. Even Espio hadn't figured out how the crocodile could do such a feat, but I was smart not to ask, especially seeing all the damage it could do.

When he was finished, Vector put his hand on his hips and grinned. "And that's why I'm a smash hit at barbeques!"

"Good job," I told him, heading into the area that they'd all been blocking.

Another zipline awaited us, and after taking a few moments to debate, we decided it was probably wiser for Vector to hang onto the handle while I hung onto Vector.

"It's weird, usually Charmy is the one doing the grabbing," Vector stated as we zipped off.

"Don't you think that's a little counterproductive?" I questioned, hanging tightly to his back. "I mean, you're the stronger one, so wouldn't it be wiser to-"

"GERONIMOOOO!" Vector whooped afterward, releasing the zipline and sending us falling. Naturally I was startled out of my mind, but Vector was acting like it was no big deal.

"AUGH, WHAT DID YOU JUST-"

And before I could finish, Vector had blown a bubble, and we floated down to safety on one of the platforms below. Once Vector was standing, I leapt off of him and started shaking my fists.

"Holy hell, what were you thinking?! You could've at least given me some forewarning!"

"If I did, I would've missed my opportunity!" Vector explained nervously, rubbing the back of his head. He then blinked and pointed behind me. "What the heck is this?! The passageway is floating and spinning!"

I looked behind me, and sure enough, the only way forward was by leaping across spinning platforms. Nothing new for me at this point, but it seemed that Vector was very concerned about it.

"We can make it, just stay calm," I stated, rushing forward to make the leap and timing it right. Vector notably gulped but followed after me, not quite as skilled at jumping but making it across anyway.

Together we pressed onward, leaping across gaps suspended high above the world, and being very careful not to fall.

"Argh, everything's falling apart out here! We have to hurry!" Vector called after nearly getting hit by some wayward debris. I grunted in reply, focusing on scanning the path ahead and picking our next destination.

"Over there!" I called, gesturing over to an opening in the distance. "Follow my lead!"

"I don't have much of a choice," Vector mumbled as he chased after me. Bounding across a few more platforms, I worked my way over to the opening by homing into a few Black Hawks. When I landed again, Vector was right behind me, although looking a bit dizzy.

"Get ready to grind, Vector," I yelled over my shoulder, jumping off the edge and freefalling for a few seconds. I sensed that Vector had hesitated, but he did find his nerve at the last second and did eventually jump.

When we alighted again, it was on a rail of sorts, of which I easily started grinding down. Vector was sluggishly behind me, as he wasn't as deft as I was at the sport, but he maintained his balance, and that's all I could ask for.

Eventually we reached the opening I had spotted, finding another zipline waiting for us. Vector grabbed it as I grabbed Vector, and he pushed off, taking us somewhere new once again.

"I certainly hope we're getting close…" he trailed, and I was very inclined to agree with him. "…it kind of looks like we have to go through the ARK's power plant!"

"Hopefully that means it's a shortcut," I murmured.

We were tossed into another hall, this one with doors that opened automatically.

And thank goodness they did; I didn't want to open them the same way I did the previous one…

As we navigated through the halls, I suddenly felt something nudge me. It was Vector, but I was wondering why he hadn't just asked for my attention.

"What?" I asked, not really feeling like answering a question.

"Er, uh, well, I'd heard that you had passed out not too long ago, and I was just wondering why it had happened," Vector stated truthfully. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I thought I'd ask."

"…I had another memory given to me by the Chaos Emeralds, specifically the blue one," I stated, surprised that Vector was actually inquiring about it. "After it was finished, I must have blacked out…"

Vector nodded. "I see…and what did you see this time?"

I glanced at him skeptically. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Simple curiosity," he shrugged. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"It was another flashback to my life on the ARK…one of Gerald's experiments had been set loose, and Maria was there, and some boy was there too…I barely remember him, but he had said some things about me that kind of struck a chord…"

Leave it to someone I hardly remembered to make me skeptical about myself again.

"He made me think…that I was a research experiment…gone horribly wrong," I explained, shaking my head. "In my vision, I thought he had only said those things because he hated me, but…now that I can think back on it, I fear that there may have been a kernel of truth in what he said."

I lowered my head and folded my arms.

"I always knew that I caused so much destruction…but maybe I should have never been created…"

Sometimes I wish I was never born at all…

"Hey, don't go there…yet!" Vector exclaimed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Things might not be what they seem! I mean, that was just one vision…you can't base an assumption on just that!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I deadpanned as we exited the area, finding ourselves outside again and faced with climbing up once more. Vector stepped in front of me, radiating with determination.

"You keep fighting. Even if circumstances aren't what you want them to be, you keep fighting for what you want, and what you believe…because if you don't, no one else is going to do it for you, and you might be forced to watch as everyone else passes you by…"

Wow, didn't think Vector had a philological bone in his body.

I pondered this before shaking my head. "I can't do that…not yet, at least. I…don't know what I'm supposed to fight for."

Vector blinked almost a little confused. "You mean…you're doing all of this without a reason?"

"I thought I had a reason!" I exclaimed, plopping to the ground and finding myself sighing. "I thought I was supposed to keep Black Doom's promise, but that was a lie; I thought I was supposed to take revenge against the humans, but that was wrong; I thought I was a Shadow Android, but I'm not…"

I hung my head.

"And I don't know what to do now. Even if I do get the seventh Chaos Emerald…what if I don't even get all my memories back?"

"That's some serious quitter talk."

The voice was different from Vector's- and I highly doubt anyone could ever copy such a sound as his voice- and in a moment's time, the air before me began to distort, with Espio emerging out of thin air, balancing on one leg and looking like he was deeply concentrating. He opened one of his eyes and looked down at me.

"Shadow…I'm well aware of the mistakes you've made lately, but you only made them because you thought what you were doing was right. It's what happens to the best of us- when what we think is best ends up being wrong, we just pick ourselves up and try again."

He stood on two legs now, holding out a hand to me. I accepted it, and he helped me up.

"…that's what you've been doing this whole time, right? Every time you realized you got in too deep, you turned around and tried again. And you've gone from wanting to destroy the world all the way around to saving it. You may not have your reasons yet, but when the time comes, you'll realize that you knew what it was all along."

I blinked, soaking in this new information while Vector gawked down at Espio.

"How long were you there?!"

"Long enough to hear Shadow almost give up on everything he worked for. Good thing I came in time…"

"Where's Charmy?!"

"Finishing up deactivating the defensive system. He also reinstalled the system on the outside so nothing else hostile can get in…after several repeated instructions on how to do so."

"Excellent work, boys!" cheered Vector, slapping Espio hard on the back and sending the chameleon to the ground. "Now we just need to find the computer room!"

"It's…ow…in the room up above," Espio winced, trying to ignore the pounding back pain and stand up again. "We can get there easily if you blow a bubble…Charmy's supposed to meet us there."

I stared down at Espio for a bit before glancing up at Vector. "Yeesh, I hope you didn't do any permanent damage."

"AHAHAH, Shadow, you DO have a sense of humor!" Vector cackled, aiming to swat at me next. I promptly ducked, and he was the one that went tumbling forward. Espio finally drove off the pain and got on his feet again.

"We don't have time for this…"

"My sentiments exactly," I grumbled in agreement. Vector jumped to his feet and rolled his eyes.

"You two are such killjoys," he huffed, popping a few pieces of gum in his mouth. "Fine- since you're in such a hurry…"

…forgetting the fact that the ARK is falling to pieces, maybe?

He blew a large magenta bubble, and when he started floating in midair, Espio and I latched onto him and let him be our elevator.

"…you guys do this often?" I asked Espio.

Espio's stare was so blank that it had less emotion than mine.

"Unfortunately. You have no idea the insane things we're drawn into…"

Vector mumbled as if he was dying to say something, but upon finding the entrance to the computer room Espio had been talking about, he drifted over to the nearest stable platform and popped his bubble. Espio and I released Vector and landed on our feet, and Vector landed flat on his snout, but that certainly didn't stop him.

"We found the computer rooooom!" he cheered, doing the most idiotic victory dance I ever had to be witness to. Espio just walked by with his head in his hand as I tried to avert my eyes.

When we stepped inside of the room, Charmy was indeed waiting for us, just as Espio had said. I was amazed that the room was still relatively intact, especially since Charmy was doing all sorts of crazy aerial tricks around the room.

"You guys made it!" he chirped, bounding around insanely. "And you even brought Shadow! HI SHADOW!"

Ooog.

"That was part of the plan, you obnoxious pipsqueak…" grumbled Espio, yanking Charmy out of the air as he trudged over to the supercomputer in the middle of the room. "Ah, yes…this is definitely what we were looking for."

"Ooh, think of how rich we'll be!" cried Vector, dollar signs in his eyes. Charmy wasted no time in joining in on his money-crazed stare, while Espio worked on booting up the machine.

Money certainly wasn't on my mind…just a bunch of questions that I muttered incoherently under my breath.

"Where am I from? Where am I going? What reasons do I exist?" I glanced at the Chaotix gathered around the computer, then I looked out the window, at the planet in the distance…

"Soon, the truth will be revealed…and the answers are just up ahead…"

…I hoped, anyway. Suffering in all this sorrow wasn't going to do me any favors. Now was the time to be strong, no matter what was up ahead for me to face…

Next time is the chapter many have been waiting for...Shadow and Espio (more or less willingly) find themselves inside the mainframe of the data Eggman tried so hard to keep secret...in the Mad Matrix!