Waiting in the Sky

Moon Champion hardly had a moment to check his visor before he abandoned his squishy friend in search of the old man he had seen in a dream. The old man's instructions were cryptic, but Moon Champion knew his way from another dream he had experienced.

"The visions of slumber have aligned in my favor, I know exactly where I must go!" remarked Moon Champion, as he propelled himself toward a large crater upon the Moon's surface.

He was reaching velocity never before accomplished by himself, his capabilities being pushed to the max. As he began reaching closer and closer to the ground, he could see a spot of green in the distance.

"A bubble of vibrancy in my grey humble abode, this must be the location of the man in robes!" shouted Moon Champion, before crashing into the spot.

Stumbling through his crash-site and finally gaining his bearings, Moon Champion finally had the ability to see his surroundings. Moon Champion was overwhelmed. Beautiful tall structures of brown and green stood before him, a layer of soft green blades carpeting the ground.

"Are these magnificent structures the fabled highlighters of humankind?" pondered Moon Champion aloud, before hearing the footsteps of another figure within the area.

"No, these happen to be oak and ash trees, though they are quite popular on Earth," said a weary old voice. Moon Champion turned around to see the old man, still in his robes, step out of a peculiar structure on the other side of the grove.

"Great old man in robes, plea-," Moon Champion shouted, before being interrupted by the elder.

"Please, my name is Nyperius, and I am not just an old man but a great wizard of the Moon!" exclaimed Nyperius. Moon Champion stepped back in shock.

"Please, I am quite bewildered at the moment, but you are Nyperius? The Nyperius?! Ancient wizard and Moon king?" questioned Moon Champion.

"Why yes, it's been a while since I've met a Moon warrior. That's why I let you in," told Nyperius, who sat down on a mossy stone, "Those other people over at their high-tech facility just don't seem to comprehend the Moon's history quite like us."

"But wait," said Moon Champion, "why have you called upon me to meet you at your base of operations? Most have never even gazed upon this land."

Nyperius gazed down at the ground before saying, "Please, join me in my home, there is much discussing to do." Nyperius stood up and walked back to his tiny establishment, and Moon Champion followed.

Nyperius and Moon Champion both sat down on stools within the house, and a cat soon entered the small house with a piece of meat in his hands.

Nyperius gladly accepted the meat, saying "I hope you don't mind Commodore Buckles staying with us," as Commodore Buckles curled up in a corner of the room.

"Not in the slightest," answered Moon Champion. Nyperius began to tell a story, and a cloud began to form above their heads.

"Near the facility where the Earthlings lay base, there exists a cavern, within it a face."

With the wave of Nyperius' hand, a cavern appeared within the cloud, with the cavern containing a swarm of flying objects, changing shape and orbiting the darkness inside.

"The face is ancient, a different time, and different space, and while those like it remain as patterns, the face is entering our place."

A figure suddenly appeared within the the confines of the cavern, tentacle-like appendages extended in and out from within.

"He changes all he touches, destroys all he can see, and with enough exposure, the Moon will be debris." The cloud suddenly extends out to a view of the whole Moon, subsequently disappearing in a flash. Moon Champion flinches a bit, his hands quivering.

"While Moon people remain in hiding, the Old Guard attempts an attack. Each and every member is absorbed into the black." The cloud reforms to show the Moon warriors from Moon Champion's dream charging into the cave, each one disintegrating and turning into nothingness.

"You're the only one left, you were the only one away, and although you've been gone for far too long, it's here where you will stay." The cloud forms into a sword, falling into Moon Champion's hands.

"This weapon is from ages past, a different universe, it can do most anything when worse comes to worse." Moon Champion raises the sword, revealing it to have the weight of a feather; yet, Moon Champion could sense great power from the sword, as if forged from the fabric of the universe.

"The guardian of our universe, one of previous seven, is growing old and tired, and ready to ascend to heaven. It's called upon multiple knights, some you have seen before, to care and defend their planets in case of cosmic war."

Moon Champion recalled his friend, C-C-C-P, circling the Earth, struggling in an invisible battle. He was Earth Champion, defending against the unseen menace of his planet, the monster of the cosmos.

"The knight calls upon you now, sir, the remaining Moon Champion, to defend the Moon against cosmic foes, as new Moon Guardian." Nyperius suddenly grabbed Moon Champion's arm.

"The time has come, to depart this land, and guard the evil cave. With your grand sword, you'll defend the Moon against an untimely grave. And though this may seem sudden, and you seem most unsteady, I have one last question: are you ready?"

"Yes I am," proclaimed Moon Champion.

In a split-second, the humble structure had been displaced by the sight of the grey Moon and black sky. Behind him he could sense a powerful force, like a giant hurricane was swarming over his head. He had the urge to look back, but Nyperius took his gaze.

"Remember," Nyperius said slowly, "don't look back. This is your fate." In a breath, Nyperius had disappeared, and Moon Champion was left alone, sword in hand.

Moon Champion had a chance to breathe, yet he was constantly on guard with the cavern at his back. Any moment and all hell could break loose. In a way, it was the worst fate to have. Stuck in a position of no return, on the edge of cosmic chaos, left to defend the world against a monster he couldn't even understand. Yet, Moon Champion felt satisfied.

He had long searched for a companion to do battle with Moon Monsters, yet he had never considered that he had to search within himself the courage to go back. The courage to fight the monsters directly. Though he was left in a constantly still position, and always facing away from the monster, he had, in a way, tamed the greatest Moon Monster of all.

Through it all, he had wondered where he came from, and why he was made. But in the end, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that he was a hero, and he had made the ultimate sacrifice to become Moon Guardian. The sacrifice of freedom, to allow the freedom of others.

Through the radio came the voice of a man, speaking in Russian, far away from the Moon. It said "You've done it, comrade, you've done it."

And Moon Guardian was content.