Resurgence (Shadow x Reader)

The early morning air was frigid as Y/N navigated the empty streets, her car's headlights cutting through the darkness. The clock on her dashboard read 3:07 AM. Most of the world was still asleep, save for the occasional truck driver or night shift worker. She rubbed her hands together for warmth, humming softly to herself as she took another sip from her travel mug of coffee.

Opening the café alone wasn't exactly ideal, but she needed the hours. AEGIS had paid well—almost too well, considering how dangerous the work had been—but now, working two part-time jobs barely covered the cost of living. Still, she didn't regret leaving. She just wished she could stop thinking about it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught something in her peripheral vision.

A flicker.

Her breath hitched, and she instinctively glanced toward the sidewalk. At first, it looked normal—just an empty street, a few parked cars, and streetlights illuminating the pavement.

But then—

The entire billboard on the side of a building glitched out.

One moment, it was an ad for some local insurance company, the next—it was gone. The brick wall behind it flickered in and out like a corrupted file on a computer screen. Y/N's stomach dropped.

Not small. Not like the lamppost.

This was bigger. Much bigger.

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as she struggled to stay in her lane. Another car passed her in the opposite direction, its headlights flaring in her vision, and she swerved slightly before quickly correcting herself.

"Shit—" she gasped, her heart pounding against her ribs.

She forced her breathing to slow, muttering to herself in an attempt to calm down.

You're tired. You're overworked. You've seen weirder things before. It's fine. It's fine.

But it wasn't fine.

By the time she reached the café and parked, her hands were still trembling.

The morning rush came and went, providing Y/N with a much-needed distraction. Between pulling espresso shots, frothing milk, and chatting with regulars, she managed to keep her mind occupied. But every so often, when there was a lull in customers, her thoughts drifted back to what she had seen.

She tried to rationalize it. Maybe it was just some kind of optical illusion, or maybe the billboard was malfunctioning. But deep down, she knew better.

Something was wrong.

𖦹 ༘⋆𓇼ִ ࣪𖤐⋆｡

It was past noon when Tails strolled into the café, his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets, eyes bright despite the exhaustion lingering behind them. Y/N had always liked Tails—he was smart, endlessly curious, and had a way of making even the most complicated scientific concepts sound fun.

"Hey, Y/N," he greeted, hopping onto a barstool. "Got a second?"

"For you? Always," she grinned, pulling a rag over the counter before setting it aside. "What's up?"

Tails leaned forward, his expression lighting up. "I was actually thinking about something while I was in my workshop earlier—just working on a side project. I was looking at some recent data, and I started noticing these weird fluctuations in energy readings."

Y/N quirked a brow. "Fluctuations?"

"Yeah! Like, these little spikes in dimensional activity. Almost like..." he trailed off, searching for the right words. "Like something is pressing against the fabric of reality. But not breaking through. Yet."

Her blood ran cold.

She tried to keep her face neutral, but Tails was too observant for that.

"You okay?" he asked, tilting his head.

Y/N swallowed, wiping her suddenly clammy hands on her apron. "When you say dimensional anomalies, do you mean... like, structures flickering in and out of existence? Like reality is—glitching?"

Tails blinked. "Wait—you've noticed it too?"

Y/N hesitated for only a second before nodding. "Yeah," she admitted quietly. "A couple of times. It started with something small. A lamppost. But this morning—Tails, it was a billboard."

Tails frowned, his usual excitement fading into something more serious. "That's... not good."

"No kidding."

His tails flicked behind him as he mulled over her words. "If you're seeing it too, that means it's more than just an anomaly. It's something big. And potentially—" he hesitated.

Y/N leaned in. "Potentially what?"

Tails met her gaze, his voice dropping slightly. "Potentially otherworldly."

A shiver ran down her spine.

Y/N's fingers tightened around the edge of the counter. Otherworldly. The word made her stomach churn. It was the kind of term she had been trained to recognize, the kind of word AEGIS used when things went beyond scientific explanation.

Tails studied her carefully. "You seem... really shaken up about this."

She exhaled sharply, forcing a chuckle. "Guess I'm just not used to reality breaking apart on my morning commute."

He didn't look convinced, but he didn't press the issue. Instead, after a beat of silence, his expression brightened again. "You know," he said, shifting the conversation, "I actually came by to invite you to dinner with everyone tonight."

Y/N blinked. "Dinner?"

"Yeah! The whole group's getting together." He grinned. "Amy's making us dress up all fancy for no reason, and we're going to this incredibly average restaurant to pretend we're high society for a night."

That finally made her laugh. "Formal wear at a sub-par restaurant?"

"Exactly," Tails said, grinning. "So? You in?"

Y/N hesitated for only a moment before shaking off her nerves and nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd love to."

"Great!" Tails hopped off the barstool. "I'll let everyone know. And Y/N?"

She looked up.

His smile softened. "If you ever want to talk about this anomaly stuff more... I'm all ears."

Her throat tightened slightly, but she managed a nod. "Thanks, Tails."

With a final wave, he left the café, leaving Y/N standing there, still gripping the counter.

Reality was glitching. Tails had noticed it. And now, she knew for sure: it wasn't just in her head.

A/N. Sooo this is just gonna be a long spam of chapters. I started writing out this fic at the beginning of this month and I've got about 20 chappys in the arsenal lol just clearing them out so it's less stressful to see the drafts and I can finish writing the fic!! Will update at a normal pace after tonight