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Sonic the Hedgehog: Guardians
Prologue: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
The guardian remained in his seat, watching as the world burnt before his eyes.
In this place, beneath rock and stone, the fire had yet to reach him. That which spread across the world had not yet touched this place.
In time, maybe. In time, this place might also fall. In time, in truth…time was ticking away, as creatures of steel spread fire, leaving naught but ash and sorrow in their wake.
Upon one screen, the burning of a village. Upon another, giant ships bearing a madman's insignia, cutting through the sky. On the third, Metropolis itself – shining pillars of white, far removed from the darkness that emanated from them. On the fourth, grasslands turning to desert. On the fifth, an ocean tainted by oil. And on the sixth, and the seventh, and beyond, the same sights repeated over and over.
Let it not be said that the end of the world would not be televised.
He rubbed his eyes, fighting off the desire, if not the need, for sleep. Such sights haunted his waking hours more than his sleeping ones these days, for the latter was fleeting. The latter, dreams or no, was still escape from daytime's nightmare. Sleep's oblivion in all its darkness, was still kinder than what reality now offered.
What reality might offer forevermore.
He lay back and closed the gates of his mind, shutting off reality's intrusion. It might lay siege to the fortress named his mind, but for now, the walls held. For now, sleep.
Sleep.
Sleep…
…and relive older nightmare.
A/N
So, this started off as a oneshot, but became a multi-chapter. Can't really say what inspired the original idea without getting into spoilers at this point, but, we'll see.
Should forewarn you, this is a very atypical Sonic the Hedgehog story - as in, GUN-centric, and human-centric. This isn't a shield against criticism, but I fully admit that it's probably going to involve tonal whiplash.