Hey everyone!

So I didn't realize what a cliffhanger I left you all with until you guys started reviewing- I'm sorry haha!

SO NONE GET CONFUSED- this chapter is going back in time (remember how in the beginning this story flip-flopped and kept going back and forth in time?) so the events of this chapter happen before last chapter's battle. :)

Alrighty, go read and enjoy! And if you can, review!

DISCLAIMER: The Man in the Moon belongs to DreamWorks/William Joyce


Lyra- (Prior to the last chapter)

I could faintly hear a clock ticking. I awoke, though my eyes were still shut tight. For some reason, I didn't want to open them. I could feel myself lying on a flat surface, perhaps the floor, on something soft.

It was warm. Though my eyes were still closed, I sensed the warmth of sunlight on my skin,

It was peaceful. Comfortable. I felt drowsy and happy.

Weird combo. But it was true.

But my curiosity grew. After a few more minutes of enjoying my little sunbath, I allowed my eyes to flutter open, and I gently sat up. I was greeted by the sight of a shining polished room, with tall walls and a high ceiling that were bright and golden, giving the entire room a sunny warm feeling.

Sun. But that was odd- there were no windows in the entire room!

So how did I feel the sunlight?

Curiosity growing even more, I stood and stretched. That's when I noticed my clothes.

I wore a simple white dress that fell to my knees- it was actually quite pretty, albeit a little wrinkled. I ran a hand through my hair and looked around the room once more. It looked like a sitting room- no wait- an office- or was it a library? Actually, it was probably some weird combination of all three. A giant telescope sat in the corner right beside a huge majestic golden globe. It faced the only window in the room- a window so small I hadn't noticed it before, and too small to be the source of the sunny feeling. The more I stared at it, the more curious I became. Then my eyes wandered to the globe that stood beside it.

The globe tugged at something unknown in my memory, and suddenly all sorts of images came pouring into my head all at once.

I gasped and reached for something to steady myself- a wooden chair was closest- and shut my eyes tight, breathing hard, waiting for the images to end and the dizzy feeling to pass. It took a little while, but the memories finally subsided. I felt weak in the knees, and wanted nothing more than to collapse on a bed and crawl into a ball.

I remembered the Guardians... Michael... Jack...

But then I realized something. I... I had died. Hadn't I? So where was I now? And where had this dress come from? (Not that I didn't like it.)

I steadied myself and backed away from the chair, taking another good look around the room... wherever I was. Then I realized I was no longer alone.

"I'm sorry about that- I assure you the dizziness will wear off in a few minutes. You see, normally one isn't supposed to be able to remember anything, but with you I had to make... special allowances."

A man stood in the middle of the double-door entrance to the room, smiling warmly and with kindness. He had a certain twinkle in his eyes- eyes that were old and full of wisdom. But he was a tiny man who seemed in all other aspects quite young. His round face and the single golden curl atop his head gave him a young babyish appearance, and yet his golden suit and coat and his red bow tie were the clothes of an older man. Right away I could tell he was a puzzle. An intriguing one, nonetheless.

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously. "And where- where am I?" I asked, gesturing around me.

The man chuckled good-naturedly, walking into the room, his polished shoes making a click-clacking against the floors.

Cheerfully, he spoke."I am the Man in the Moon, but the others often call me Manny. I also sometimes go by Mim, but my real name is Tsar Lunar. You may call me whatever you like, or perhaps all of the above, but preferably not all at once. As for where you are- my child, you are on the moon. In my ship."

I stared at the tiny man in front of me.

"On the moon?" I deadpanned, not believing him for a second.

He grinned. "Take a look for yourself," he said, extending his hand to the giant telescope in the corner. He led me to the golden instrument and told me to look through the lens.

What I saw took my breath away. It was true. We actually were on the moon. I could see Earth below, a glowing blue and green sphere in the utter darkness of space.

"How did I get up here?"

"I brought you here."

"But I.. I died." A thought suddenly occurred to me. Nervously I eyed the golden man before me. "Manny... how can I possibly be here?" I held my breath as I waited for his response.

He gazed solemnly at the planet below us.

"I fear we have much to discuss," he said finally. Then he turned to face me. "Lyra, I am about to tell you things that may be very hard for you to hear. And unfortunately our time together is short. Therefore, I suggest," he continued, putting an arm around me and leading me out of the room, "that we find somewhere comfortable to sit and some tea to drink. I myself have always found a hot cup of tea to be the best thing to combat difficult thoughts, wouldn't you agree?"

I grinned nervously. I suspected I knew exactly what Tsar had to tell me, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive about it.

"Actually, do you have any hot chocolate?" I asked timidly.

He smiled good-naturedly. "I'm sure we'll be able to find some."

...

One cup of tea and hot chocolate later, we sat in large armchairs in front of an elegant golden fireplace in a large sitting room. For a spaceship on the moon, this place was a large as a castle. Maybe even bigger.

We'd talked about many things, and Tsar had been right in saying they wouldn't be easy to hear. I had guessed correctly about a great many of the things he had had to tell me, but what I had anticipated had barely even scratched the surface of the knowledge I now held in my mind.

According to Tsar, Light was a spirit from a time known as the Golden Ages. She had been a close friend of the Lunanoffs (Tsar's family), but she, like everyone else, had perished in the great war against Pitch during the Dark Ages. Tsar, who had been a baby at the time, had been the only survivor of the war. He told me how it had been prophesied that Light would return one day to defeat the darkness.

"And I've become the new Light?" I had asked Tsar uncertainly, to which he had put down his tea on the glass side-table and folded his hands on his lap.

"Perhaps." He had responded to me after a moment's thought. "But I'm afraid it is not quite that simple."

He then had proceeded to explain to me everything. I was not Light yet. Tsar had transformed me enough to be able to talk to me, (hence my awareness of sunlight when there was none) but I was not yet a full spirit.

Because becoming Light would have to be a choice only I could make. It would come with sacrifices. Tsar wanted it to be my own decision.

So now here we sat, in front of the fireplace. I anxiously weighed the consequences of both my options in my head, trying to decide on what I wanted.

"I'm taking a leap of faith," Tsar said as I thought. "Not with you, per say- you were my plan from the beginning- but with asking this of you at all. Kosmotis, or Pitch, as you know him, cannot be allowed to rule supreme, and it is still possible to stop him."

He paused, gathering his thoughts, before continuing.

"My child, this must be your decision. I will not force you, or pressure you, to do this. It is a lot for one person to handle and it won't be easy. But if anyone could do it, I believe you could." He smiled warmly at me, and I saw hope and wisdom in his eyes. "But if you choose not to do this," he continued, "I will not fight your decision. There is nothing stopping you from walking away."

I very much wanted to 'walk away'. Even if it meant... well dying. Becoming Light was not only a chance to save the world, but a chance to save myself as well.

But at what cost? Tsar had explained to me the prices I might have to pay.

Staring into the fire lost in thought, two faces floated into my mind. The two faces I longed most to protect, the two faces I knew I had to fight for. And so I sat in my chair, contemplating my choice, when deep down I knew my decision had already been made. A single choice, hadn't the book read?

"I'll do it," I finally told Tsar. I looked up into the face of the Man in the Moon. "A leap of faith you said, right?"

He raised an eyebrow, smiled, and nodded.

I stood up.

"I'm ready then," I told him.

"Do you understand what it is you have to do when you return to them?" He asked me, standing up as well.

I nodded, remembering that part of our conversation. I put on a brave face, or tried to anyway.

"I'm afraid I'll be leaving much of the tricky work to you, and I'm sorry." he told me, reaching up to place a hand on my shoulder. Although I was already short, I still managed to be taller than him.

I nodded again. "If everything is as you say, then there's nothing you can do anyway," I told him.

"Stay strong, my brave girl," he told me affectionately, taking a step away from me. "I'll be watching to find any and every way I can possibly help you, however unlikely the chances may be."

I nodded my head dutifully and stood up tall. I gave him the most confident smile I could muster, though my heart was beating faster than should have been possible.

"I'll stay in touch," I promised.

"Good," Tsar nodded. "And thank you Lyra."

Before I could respond, silver moonlight encased me where I stood. It quickly shimmered and turned golden. A burst of pure light exploded around me, and I awoke back at the Pole.

I was laying on something hard, cold, and wet.

I sat up on the velvet-covered platform and looked around. Everything around me was drenched in water. A few scattered chunks of ice lay on the floor, as if something had exploded.

I gingerly jumped off the platform, but something tumbled off of my lap.

Or rather, two somethings.

A long flowing white cloak sprinkled with gold dust lay crumpled on the soaked floor, and a very large thin golden ring had clattered against the stones. Realizing in an instant what they were, I gathered them into my hands and raced down the hall to my old room.

I ran inside and looked into the mirror on the wall. I still looked like me, except for my hair and my eyes.

My eyes.

They looked like the color had tried to change from brown to gold, but stopped halfway through their transformation. They were still brown, but now had bright golden streaks running through the irises. My hair color too, had considerably lightened in shade and seemed as if it too had tried to change to gold. But like my eyes, it had stopped before it could finish, resulting in only a few golden strands here and there.

I sighed. This was to be expected, as Tsar and I had discussed. I was reminded of the job I had to do.

Not wasting anymore I time, I ran to the wardrobe in the room that was filled with every possible piece of clothing imaginable, quickly finding something to wear other than my now-soaked dress.

I changed and re-braided my hair before fastening the cloak around my shoulders. It had belonged to the original Light, along with the golden circlet I held in my hands. I shakily placed it atop my head, and suddenly I felt the true power and purpose of the role I now had to play.

I was Light.

I was ready to end the war.

And I just couldn't wait to go punch Pitch in the face.


Okedokie, so see everybody next week!

Ps. To read about the war in the Golden Ages with Pitch and Tsar's family and what not, read William Joyce's books! They are excellent. (But Light is my own made up character.)

Guest Reviews:

Kat: Thanks for the review! I'm so glad everything is going really well! Hahaha and yes I do believe all this snow you and I are having is Jack's fault haha. Yes Lyra is Light. She is a spirit, but not an "official-by-the-book" Guardian, but she is a Guardian from the Golden Ages. Does that make sense? But also, it would appear that Manny's had her "chosen" as a spirit for quite some time now, he just hadn't planned to transform her this soon or in this way. And knows she died/sacrificed herself to save him. But now he's worried that she's working with Pitch and he doesn't know why or how. He also doesn't know why she stopped the battle to get Pitch out of harms way. Why did she do it? Wait tip next chapter to find out! Don't apologize for the questions! I love them, and they help me make sure that I'm getting the right points across and that the things I want to make sense do make sense, and the things that are supposed to be vague are vague. So thank you! And no worries about the long review... I gave you a long response haha. -iceprincess

Jodi: 3 reviews! Busy thinker yesterday were we? haha thank you sooo much! And yes, Lyra officially is Light. Your guesses and thoughts are really very good. Unfortunately I can't say much other than "I can't tell you if they are right or wrong." But I love how much you are thinking about it! However, there are a few things I CAN tell you! 1. "Fire ignite" was not the light transition. 2. Yes she does seem maybe a little more regal, and her clothes- well you know the reason for the cloak and crown thing, but the rest of her attire really is normal clothes. Maybe not jeans and a t-shirt but... then again the story isn't over... :) 3. I love to draw! Maybe even more than I love to write! The picture isn't finished yet and I don't know when it will be- Hopefully soon! Thanks! 4. Yes, this and the next chapter especially will give you more puzzle pieces. 5. Everything else you said were excellent guesses but I can't comment on them. Sorry!- iceprincess

-ByE!