Fly to the Light By: Matt Plotecher Thanks to Jeff Pierce and Meghan Brunner for additional comments and suggestions. Please note that the following story is over 97,000 words, placing it in the "Hardback Novel" realm. Proceed at your own risk. -- Prologue -- Wind of fate has pried us loose Light of mercy hurts my eyes Is it worth the things you lose? Board the train and watch the sky I sing myself to sleep at night... I sing myself to sleep... "Another Song About the Rain" -- Cracker The cold wind swept across the snow covered mountainside, whipping fiercely down the desolate passes and trails. It veered, banked, and blew back up another trail, trying to catch a lone traveller before he made it into the sturdy tavern nearby. It billowed out tree branches as it closed the distance, shooting loose snow aside in the dark night. The single traveller paid no heed as the wind wrapped him in its coils, pulling his thick coat about and trying to snatch his black hat away. The traveller actually laughed at this, a sharp accent cutting through the enshrouding wind. "That the best ya can do, mate?!" The traveller laughed again, pulling free from the heat-sapping wind and stepping briskly to the door of the tavern. The wind howled in anguish as the door was pulled open and the traveller disappeared inside, now safe and warm. "Some wind out there, eh?" one of the patrons remarked, watching some leaves through the window as they were tossed about relentlessly. "Sometimes I swear that it's alive." "It very well may be, mate, with the way it's howlin' over losin' a fight," the traveller called out, pulling his coat off to reveal an old and weathered mouse sporting a thick, grey moustache, a bit of a cheese wheel in the stomach, and a large chin covered with stubble. He plucked his wide-brimmed black hat off, brushing the snow from it. The hat, and the vest and sweater he wore, seemed rather tattered, but tough, much like their wearer. The traveller sauntered up to the bar, nodding to the rat behind it. "Yer best cheese sauce if ya please, mate. And keep the bottle within easy reach, if ya know what I mean." He winked. The bartender smirked. "Sure thing." He pulled a bottle out and poured, giving the traveller an appraising look. "What are you doing in this part of the country, if you don't mind me asking. You don't look like one of the local types. What's your name?" "Cheddarhead Charlie's me name, and adventure's me game!" He took the glass, downing the sauce in one swig. He set the glass back down, signalling for a refill. "And yer right, mate, I'm not from around here. Australia's me homeland, as if ya couldn't have guessed by now." The bartender laughed as he poured another drink. "I had a hunch, yeah." "Still, every year, I like ta take a worldly jaunt, hoppin' from one corner of the world ta another. Interestin' thing is, it takes me about a year ta get around the world, so I only get a couple of weeks off between trips." The bartender nodded and he picked up another glass, polishing it. "So what brings you to Japan? Especially this high up in the mountains?" "Why?" Cheddarhead sounded incredulous. "Because it's there!" He laughed heartily at this. No one else did, though. "Okay, so that was a lame joke. Truth is, though, it's the truth. I've been ta the cities around here, and they're tightly-packed places, even if yer only five inches tall." "Ah, needed room to breathe, eh?" "Yeah, basically. 'Sides, I'm off ta visit me son in a few weeks, and he's livin' in the city too, so I thought I'd get some more wilderness in me blood while I had the chance." Cheddarhead downed another glass in one gulp, sighing deeply. "The city? Isn't he like his old dad?" the bartender asked as he refilled Cheddarhead's glass. "Doesn't he like the wilderness?" "Eh? Naw, it's not that. The boy's as tough as any wild beast, for sure, but he's also got the smarts ta know how ta use 'em. He's part of the Rescue Ranger gang, you know?" "Rescue Rangers?" The bartender shook his head. "No, I can't say I've ever heard of them." At another table, a sleek pair of mouse ears perked up. "Aw, they're a great bunch of adventurers," Cheddarhead continued. "Worked with 'em once or twice. Even helped 'em solve a case." "Oh really?" the bartender remarked with a smile. "And your son's the leader?" "Monty? Hah!" Cheddarhead laughed. "Not a chance. Monty's too much like me. We prefer ta use our heads ta break through problems, rather than think around 'em." The owner of the ears, a slim, young male mouse, slowly stood, and tentatively started towards Cheddarhead. "Why do I believe this?" The bartender laughed. "Yeah, a smart little chipmunk leads 'em. Name's Chip. Decent enough bloke, but a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. His pal, though--Dale--another chipmunk, is more rambunctious, and gives some extra punch ta a situation when needed." "Chipmunks? Is that the only species, aside from your son?" "Naw, Monty's got an old friend of his, Zipper. He's a housefly. And there's one other, a mouse. Only female, too. Real lovely beauty, goes by the name of--" "Gadget," the young mouse interrupted. Both Cheddarhead and the bartender turned to face him. "Yeah, that's right. Gadget." Cheddarhead downed his glass, and gave the newcomer an interesting look. "You've heard of the Rescue Rangers?" the bartender asked. "In a way." The young mouse looked at Cheddarhead intently, then brightened. "Oh, wait, you must be Monterey Jack's father." Cheddarhead exchanged glances with the bartender. "Yeah, so?" "Oh, forgive me for being so rude. My name's An Tham Sun." He shook Cheddarhead's hand respectfully. "I know of the Rangers, but not personally. Their tales have graced my ears more times than I can count." "Oh, yeah?" Cheddarhead smiled. "That's me boy, for ya. Already makin' him and his friends famous." Tham grinned, then asked hopefully, "You said you're going to visit them soon?" Cheddarhead nodded, downing another glass and waiting for a refill. "Do you think you could do me a favor?" "What's that?" "If I wrote out a letter to Gadget, could you deliver it to her?" This took Cheddarhead slightly off-guard. "A letter ta Gadget?" Then he grinned as he guessed why. "Ah, so yer lookin' ta establish a Ca-Mewn-A-K with the lovely lass, eh?" He laughed. "Sure! I'll take yer love letter ta 'er, but don't expect it ta go well with the chipmunks, mate." "Thank you very much, sir." Tham quickly ran back to his table. He sat down, and pulled out a pen and some paper from his backpack. He quickly began to write, so Cheddarhead took the time to chat some more with the bartender about various tales of adventure. After almost a half-hour, Tham finally folded up his letter, put it into a small envelope, and sealed it with a piece of wax. He handed it gently to Cheddarhead. "Thank you once more, sir. This is very important to me." "No problem, kid." Cheddarhead looked down at the wax seal. It was of two crescent moons, each facing each other, and five stars. One was over each moon, one was under each moon, and the last one was in the center, between them. Cheddarhead thought it looked familiar, but couldn't remember. "Say kid, what's the seal stand for?" Cheddarhead looked back up as he spoke, but stopped talking when he realized Tham was no longer there. Glancing over at the table, he saw that Tham's backpack was missing too. Apparently, the young mouse had left. Cheddarhead shrugged, and tucked the letter into his sack, not giving it a second thought. Outside, the wind continued to whip the unsuspecting leaves into a frenzy.