away, but they were everywhere. There were so many of them."

"Balto! Incoming!" Kaltag cried out, and when Balto looked up he gasped when he saw just how true the dog's words were. In the street was what must have been Tikani's entire pack - at least a dozen wolves who were soon joined by the four decoys they had followed earlier. Tikani was up front, and when he saw just how off guard Balto was, he broke into a sly grin.

"You see Balto, I told you I'd be taking things to the next level," he gloated.

---

Chapter 5: A Dog For a Wolf

The last time Balto felt fear like this, he was being attacked by an angry grizzly bear during his search for the lost sled team. That time, he had been facing a much stronger opponent and the possibility of losing his life was very real. Now, he was feeling the same fear as he faced down an entire wolf pack. The scales were tipped in Tikani's favour, so Balto knew he would need all his wits to escape. "Alright, you've proven your point," Balto said, trying to sound braver than he felt. "So what are you going to do now?"

Tikani smirked and gazed over Balto's head as if thinking over the question."Well, you're currently in between me and my objective," he observed. "So we can either stand here, or we can run over you."

"It doesn't have to be like this; we can find another way," Balto urged.

"Ugh, I'm starting to get tired of you saying that. It's just the same thing over and over again. Don't you have anything else?" the alpha complained. "I grow bored of your idealism. When will you understand that our answer is still no?"

"When will you understand that going about like this will only bring more harm to your pack?" Balto replied. "One of your own was already injured by the humans, and if they catch you here, the result will be much, much worse."

"I won't run from dogs," he growled. "I don't know about you, but I have some dignity."

"It's not about dignity; it's about doing what's best for both of us!" Balto cried.

"I agree, and I think it'd be best if we simply ran you over. CHARGE!" he howled, and the pack charged as one, a wall of teeth, fur and claws baring down on them. Balto and crew had no time to turn and run; they could only brace themselves for the impact. He was knocked over by the mob and slammed to the ground, feeling the paws press down on him as the wolves ignored him. The mob was gone as quickly as they had hit, but his body was left aching from being trampled. Scattered around him were the other dogs, who were starting to pick themselves up after being run down. Most had simply braced themselves like Balto had, but Dale and Harry tried to stand and fight back. The wolves responded by tearing into them with their fangs, leaving them whimpering in the street. Balto eased himself up, his back sore, but still able to stand.

Wasting no time, he went after the wolves, ducking into an alley as a shortcut. Those that were able followed him, and despite the pain in his back, Balto was able to keep a good pace. He knew the wolves had a head start, and with the reduced pace he was making, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop the wolves in time. The best that he could do was to turn the tide in any confrontation that would ensue. He was already down two dogs, and those on Spitz's team that weren't injured wouldn't add enough to even out the numbers. This was a bad situation that he would have to make the best of. Rounding a corner get back onto the street, he heard the yelping and barking of dogs in distress and made his sore body give it everything it had left to reach his destination. Their house was only yards away, and Balto could see that the fight had already spilled out onto the streets. "There's too many of them! Kari, get out of here!" they heard Spitz call out as he grappled for his life with Tikani. Kari hesitated, but ended up dashing away anyways, only to be chased by two other wolves. Other dogs tried to make a break for it as well, running into alleys or down the streets, but wolves chased them as well. Balto could hear crashing in the alleys and could only guess what was going on in there. First, he had to help those who were standing their ground, as they were vastly outnumbered.

"Forward!" he called, and his battered group charged at the wolves, hitting them from the side. Their sudden attack caused some disruption and confusion, but the wolves were able to regain their composure quickly. Overwhelmed, the dogs tried to back off, but the wolves stayed with them, using their greater numbers to push them back. Tikani and Balto faced each other, snarling and bristling in an attempt to out-do each other's threatening displays. The dogs felt as their tails brushed up against a wall, stopping their ability to retreat. The wolves chuckled at this and moved in from the sides to cut off all escape.

The dogs were cornered and outnumbered, leaving their fate in the paws of an angry pack of wolves. "Well well; not so tough now without your humans to protect you," Tikani taunted. "I guess when the playing field is level, it shows who the greater hunters are."

"Alright, I guess you've got us, but no one else has to get hurt," Balto said. "You've already won, so you don't have to do anything more."

"Does that mean that you surrender to us?" Tikani asked.

"Absolutely not!" Spitz bristled, and he looked ready to pounce. Balto knew that any attack would result in failure, but before he could call for him to stop, they heard a howl ring out from across town. The howl caught Tikani's attention, and it made the wolf grin.

"I guess you're right Balto. We have won and we don't need to do anything further," he said, surprising all of them. "We've gotten what he came for, so we'll bid you goodbye." With that, the wolf pack broke away from them, leaving the dogs both relieved and mystified.

"Okay, what just happened?" Nikki asked. "They had us cornered, but then they left. What's the deal dere?"

Balto shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't know, but let's figure that out later. Right now we need to find out what happened to everyone else." The dogs wandered around town, trying to find and get together everyone that had scattered during the last raid. They found a few injured dogs, while others had managed to escape unscathed. This time, the injuries weren't just to dogs on Spitz's team, as any dog unlucky enough to cross paths with the wolves had been hurt. Balto and Kaltag tried to do a headcount, but there were so many scattered dogs that they couldn't be sure who was where. Spitz ran off to find Kari, while Nikki and Star checked the alleys again.

"Balto, you're gonna want to see this!" he heard Star call out after a few minutes, and he and Kaltag trotted over. However, the scene was not the happiest one.

"Oh no," Balto said when he saw the dog lying on the ground, unmoving. Scattered around it were crates; they must have fallen and knocked them out. "Yet another victim of Tiknai's blind pride," he thought. However, when he rolled the body over to see who it was, they all got the shock of their life. The dog wasn't a dog; it was a wolf, and it was none other than Kisa.

"It's one of the wolves!" Star exclaimed, stepping back.

"Hang on, wasn't she the one that we cornered last time?" Kaltag asked Balto.

"Yes, and she was also one of the ones that I talked to after that," Balto replied. "Her name is Kisa, and she's the alpha female of their pack."

Nikki's face lit up with understanding. "An alpha yous say? That means that she's pretty important, right?" he asked.

Balto nodded. "It won't be long before Tikani realizes that she's missing and he won't be too happy about it." He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts and added, "But for now, we can't let her get caught out here; the humans would kill her on sight. Let's get her to the old mill; it's out of the way and should be a good place to hide her." So, Balto and Kaltag carefully grabbed a hold of her with their jaws and dragged her through the back alleys of the town towards the old mill. The place was empty, and they found a good side room with some old blankets to keep her comfortable.

"What do we do when she wakes up?" Kaltag asked.

"I - I don't know," Balto replied. "I suppose we'd have to let her go..."

"But that won't stop the wolves from coming after us!" Star cried out.

"Actually, it might," Kaltag put in. "We could do as a kind of goodwill thing, to show the wolves that we aren't all bad."

"It could also get them to talk with us," Balto continued. "We give her back, and maybe they'll agree to give us another shot."

"Balto!" A voice called out from outside, before charging inside. It was Spitz, and he looked completely beside himself. He was covered in scratches and his whole body sagged from exertion. "I can't find her! She's gone! They took her!" he cried out, panting and pacing around the room in panic.

"Whoa, slow down," Balto urged. "Who took who? What happened?"

"The wolves took her; they took Kari!" Spitz replied, drawing a gasp from his listeners. "I looked all over for her, and when I did find her scent, it led out of town