And now the monster reached out with one tentacle and grabbed a long green line of goo. It began grunting as it pulled the web, dragging the mice toward it.

Amber stepped from the shadows and shouted, "I wish—" just as second wall of snot flew into her.

The stuff hit her like a brick, knocking her back, leaving her dazed. She found herself pinned against the wall, green goop gluing her in place.

The stuff was so sticky that she couldn't move a muscle, couldn't even open her mouth. Through a gap, she eyed the shadow.

Now it evaporated like a mist, and the monster rose up on it hind legs, waving its tentacles. "I am the mighty Ratzilla!" it cried. "The time for your unmaking is here."

It waved its tentacles, and a bolt of blue light shot toward Amber.

A thought flashed through her head, a longing to be outside, away from this mess.

Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air, and a pop, and Amber found herself and all of the other pet shop mice rolling on the cement driveway outside.

She slammed into a dandelion, and white dandelion down floated all around her.

First a whoosh, then a mighty explosion. Fire and smoke issued from the back of the pet shop, and the door blew across the little parking lot.

The mighty Ratzilla stalked through the smoke, cruel and unstoppable.

He peered at all of the pet shop mice, his horrible eyes looking three directions at once. But it was very hard to see through all of those tentacles waving around its mouth. "Come," the creature shouted. "You cannot escape me!"

Ben and a pair of pet shop mice crouched by the wall, just beside where the door had been. Grasping his spear, Ben hopped toward the monster in a mighty leap, but Ratzilla whirled, caught Ben in all eight tentacles, and hurled him thirty feet through the air.

"Help!" Ben called.

"Leave us alone!" Amber cried. And suddenly Ratzilla went hurtling through the air, blasting up like a firework, and shooting into the stratosphere in a gorgeous display of scintillating purple sparks.

Amber had no idea where he went. She looked up, and he was just flying, flying, flying up toward the black clouds.

"And I wish you'd stay gone forever," she added.

Suddenly there was a flash as three bolts of lightning struck from three separate points on the horizon, streaking all across the sky to converge on the purple lights.

For a moment, Amber went blind from the display, and then the heavens grumbled, with displeasure.

Ben plopped on the ground beside Amber, and shook the stars out of his head. All of the mice began to cheer, and they converged on Amber, shouting, "Amber the Cat Killer. Amber the Brave!"

Their voices were a distant roaring in her ears. Amber peered up at the sky, and her eyes filled with tears. Her heart was nearly breaking.

"It's time," she told Ben. "It's time for me to turn you back into a human."

Ben looked up at her in surprise, unable to find his voice.

"But—" he began to say.

"No buts," Amber said, her decision final. "You've kept your part of the bargain, and did it heroically. You helped free the mice of the world, and now it's time to receive your reward."

"But, I didn't," Ben said. "I can't tell a lie. I didn't keep my part of the bargain."

Amber looked at him, unsure of what she was hearing. "What do you mean, you didn't keep your part of the bargain?"

"I mean that I didn't help free the mice of the world," Ben said. "I helped free the mice from your pet shop, but that's just one pet shop. There are thousands and thousands of pet shops in the world, with millions of mice in them that still need to be freed! Even if we found a pet shop a day, and freed all of the mice in it, we'd never get the job done. I've been thinking. You mice breed so fast, that no matter what we do, more mice will be born to cages than we can possibly free!"

Amber's mind did a little flip. She thought about that. How big is the world? she wondered. She really had no idea. Ben was telling her that it was far more vast than she had ever imagined. Could anyone possibly free all of the mice in it, unlock all of the cages?

And why was Ben telling her this? Then she understood. "Thank you, Ben, for being honest. That's noble of you. It's easy to be honest when there is nothing at stake, but it's harder to tell the truth when it could cost you dearly. Nevertheless, we made a deal. In my mind, I wanted your help in freeing the mice from the pet shop where I was born—nothing more. And so I free you."

Amber raised her paws in a magical gesture that just felt natural, and was about to turn Ben back into a human, when he stopped her. "Wait!" he said. "I want to say goodbye to Bushmaster."

He turned, looked through the crowd of mice that surrounded him and Amber. "Bushmaster," he called. "Bushmaster?"

But the vole was nowhere in sight.

Ben hopped away from the group, worry growing in his voice. Amber recalled the strange creature that had been following her through the pet shop. A kitten? A ferret?

"Bushmaster, where are you?" She wished that she could see him, and suddenly the door that had blown off of the pet shop earlier erupted into the air, flying hundreds of feet, then fluttered back to earth like a leaf blowing in a strong wind.

Beneath it lay Bushmaster, crushed. "Help!" Ben called, rushing to the vole. Amber was right behind him, hopping over weeds in the parking lot. There was little light in the sky, only the dim lights thrown by a single streetlamp. So it wasn't until Amber drew close that she could see how badly Bushmaster was hurt.

Dark blood pooled from his nose and ears. Bushmaster trembled, his tiny feet and paws kicking uselessly. His eyes stared upward, but he seemed to see nothing.

"He's dying," Ben cried. He turned to Amber, huge tears welling in his eyes. "Save him."

But Amber looked at the vole, and she knew that it was useless. Bushmaster wasn't dying, he was already dead. He must have been behind the door when Ratzilla blew it off of its hinges.

"He's already gone, I think," Amber said.

"Then bring him back," Ben said. "Bring him back from the dead."

The very thought startled Amber. Could she really do that with her powers? How vast were they?

"I wish I knew if he were alive," Amber said.

Suddenly, she could hear the little vole's heart beating in a flurry, but slowing. And she could see into him, as if his body were made of glass. And there at the center, deep, deep inside, she saw light, a tiny ember, throbbing and struggling to stay lit.

"Please," Ben said. "Heal him now. Even if it takes all of your power. Just do it!"

Amber looked up at Ben and realized the sacrifice he was offering to make, and her heart nearly broke at the thought. A noble mouse indeed! She had never seen such generosity before.

And Amber shouted, "Bushmaster the vole, I wish that you were alive and well."

Bushmaster kicked his feet wildly, and Amber could see the tiny light in him, ready to go out. The vole twisted his head to the side, and there was a cracking noise. His skull, which had seemed a bit lopsided, popped back into shape. There was movement beneath him, and the fur at his belly suddenly seemed to zip closed.

He kept kicking, moaning in pain, and suddenly leaped onto his feet and looked around groggily. His eyes brightened, and Amber could see into him perfectly. He flashed inside, and became a living light.

"I saw Him!" Bushmaster cried. "I saw Him! In the Endless Meadow!"

"Saw who?" Ben asked.

"The Master of Field and Fen, the Maker."

He spun toward Ben. "You should have seen it. There was darkness, and a mist, and a hole that led toward a great light. And when I got there, I saw wild peas growing in a riot, and sunflowers as tall as trees, fields that smelled so sweet that you wanted to even eat the dirt. And there were no hawks in the sky, or weasels in the holes. I saw mice and voles rushing about, playing in the open, totally free of fear. And then He came to me, in a great light, and . . . and . . ." Bushmaster turned to Ben and said, "and He told me, 'Your work is not yet finished. But, be true, and great shall be your reward.' And then I found myself being pulled backward, and I didn't want to leave, but before I knew it, I was back here."

Ben leaped forward, threw his arms around Bushmaster, and began to weep. "I'm so happy that you're alive."

The mice all began to cheer again, jumping for joy. Amber watched them all sadly, letting Ben have a moment to say good-bye, until one of the younger female mice said. "Whew, I'm glad that's over. Now what is there to eat around here?"

With that, Amber realized that she was hungry, too. It had been a long day, and she was ready for a bite of food and some sleep.

Ben looked around the weed-choked parking lot for something a mouse might eat. Then he seemed to get an idea, and smiled over at the young girl. "You hungry?" he asked. "What's your favorite food?"

"Mouse pellets."

"We won't find any mouse pellets outside the pet shop. Is there anything that you don't like to eat?"

"Mouse pellets," the young girl said.

Ben looked at her strangely, and Amber said, "She's never eaten anything but mouse pellets."

"You should try some root mold," Bushmaster offered. "Now that's good eatin'!"

"What do you like?" the young girl asked. She twisted side to side, and Amber realized that the girl had a crush on Ben. It was easy to see why. He was handsome, daring. He'd fought a cat and set her free. But the mouse, Peablossom was her name, was much too young for Ben.

"I like pizza," Ben said. "Ham with pineapple, and root beer to drink."

"Oh," Peablossom said in a daze. "Let's have that!"

Ben started to laugh, and then looked over at Amber, as if asking permission.