Part of Amy would miss the Freedom Fighters. The years that she'd spent fighting alongside her friends, saving the world, and then doing it all over again were more meaningful than she could express. But, looking inward, she knew this was something...
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The highway stretched ahead as they sped toward the heart of Central City. The gleaming skyline slowly being overtaken by a web of overpasses, converging highways, and skyscrapers that rose like shimmering towers. As the road transitioned from highway to numbered streets, Shadow effortlessly wove through slower traffic, guiding them deeper into the city.
The streets buzzed with life, not the chaotic rush of daytime, but the steady hum of the night. Towering buildings glistened under the night sky, while the glow from late-night diners, tech stores, and rooftop bars spilled out onto the streets. Amy soaked it all in: the movement of the city, the way life here never really paused. She realized there were so many parts of Central City she hadn't explored. Her visits had always been for shopping or Freedom Fighter work, and it dawned on her how foreign city life really was to her.
Her gaze wandered to the massive holograms flashing across billboards, showcasing everything from the latest hoverboards, to sleek new apartment buildings. Interspersed among the ads were updates on the city's reconstruction, subtle reminders of the devastation from The Shattering that had once cast its shadow over Central City.
The Shattered World Crisis, The Shattering, as it came to be known, was a catastrophe born from the overwhelming energies of the Genesis Waves coursing through Mobius. The planet was plunged into chaos, battered by relentless seismic activity that shook the land. Amid this upheaval, leaders scrambled to assess the damages and formulate response plans, but ultimately it was an unstoppable act of nature. The planet fractured, splitting into multiple continents suspended over its exposed core.
In the early hours of the crisis, G.U.N. launched Operation: Triage in collaboration with the Freedom Fighters. Both organizations threw themselves into the fray, desperately working to prevent total collapse. In the end, it was their combined efforts that paved the way for Super Sonic and Light Gaia to ultimately restore Mobius, bringing the shattered pieces back into a unified world. Though remnants of the destruction still lingered, Central City stood as a beacon of progress. Half-finished buildings stood proudly beside fully restored structures and many others remained as symbols of a city that surpassed just surviving "the end of the world." Amy tightened her arms around Shadow, partly to steady herself as they wove through the streets but also as a silent thank-you for all he'd done back then. For a moment, she wondered if his role in the crisis had helped him earn the rank of Commander so quickly.
Finally, the wind's efforts that tossed her quills and tugged her clothes relented as the bike began to slow. Shadow guided them into an open street-side parking spot; apparently they'd reached their destination. Her body pressed against his as their inertia carried them forward against the tank of the bike as it stopped fully. Trying to orient herself with a recognizable landmark, she scanned their surroundings but didn't find anything. The shopping district was on the East side of the city and the remnants of a setting sun to her left told her they were very clearly on the more Western side. Looking over the street corner, she didn't see anything too ostentatious: a tax firm, a space for lease, an older looking hotel and a Chip&Ottle— a popular chain that'd opened post Shattering.
