turned to her. Many were unsettled at having another full-blooded wolf in their midst, but they allowed her to enter on Kaltag's urging.

"It's true; Balto, Kari and I had just made a deal that would allow the sled team to hunt in the wolves territory," she explained.

"Kari? She's okay?" Spitz asked.

"Yes, she's fine and she even helped us make the deal with Tikani," she replied.

"A deal that might not fly anymore thanks to what you've done," Kaltag growled at Spitz. "Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it now. Kisa's dead and we can't bring her back. We'd need a miracle to get out of this in one piece."

"We were so close, too," Star said sadly.

"What do we do now boss?" another dog asked, but Kaltag had no answer.

"Maybe we should hide her and ask for Kari first?" one dog suggested.

"Or maybe we could say that she wanted to stay here?" another put in.

"No, none of those would work," Jenna replied. "At best, it'd only stall them, but they would get suspicious. They'd find out what happened eventually."

"Besides, lying would only make them angrier," Anya continued. "It might make them seek revenge by taking a dog's life to avenge their own."

"NO!" Spitz cried out fearfully. "They'll kill Kari! You can't let them know about this!"

"Yeah, well maybe that'll teach you a lesson!" Kaltag barked venomously. "In fact, maybe I should feed you to the wolves too for-" however his rant was cut off with a blow across his muzzle from Jenna's paw.

"How dare you say that!" she demanded. "No dog should ever wish that on another, and if Balto was here, he'd be ashamed of what you just said."

"Balto… he trusted us and we blew it," Nikki said sadly. "What now?"

"We honour our agreement," Kaltag replied. "Balto promised them we would return her once a deal had been struck, and we're still going to do that. I guess the only thing we can do now is hope that this guy won't slaughter us all for this."

The mood was tense as the dogs found a sled that already had its harnesses connected and dragged it over to the alley. It took some effort to pull Kisa into the cargo bed, and it reminded Kaltag of the time they had to pull their own musher onto the sled during the serum run in order to get him home safely. However, that time he had Balto leading them towards the safety of home, instead of them heading towards danger. As they prepared, the highly anxious Jenna and Anya watched. "I guess I have to hand it to you dogs," Anya admitted. "I always thought you would try to lie your way out of something like this, but instead you're taking it head on, even though it won't end well."

"Dogs aren't as bad as you may think," Jenna said. "Despite what has happened, there is still the will of the sled dog to finish the run they've started. It's what drove Balto and the others during the serum run, and it's what's driving them now."

"But Tikani won't let this slide. He's a strong believer in justice... and he can be a harsh judge," Anya countered.

"Then we'll face him with our heads held high," Jenna said, trying to hide the fear in her voice. "I appreciate you coming to give us the news, but you don't need to do anything more. Maska made it clear he didn't want any of his own to get involved if things got worse." Anya bit her lip, but obliged, heading out of town and towards her pack. While Maska had initially wished to stay out of this, she remembered how Maska considered Balto a part of his own pack... and wolves never let one of their own fight alone. She broke into a run, hoping that she wouldn't be too late.

The sled was set up for five dogs to pull. Kaltag knew he would lead it, while Nikki and Star knew that they should be there with him. The Chinook approached Spitz, coldly staring him in the eye. "This is on you Spitz, and if you had a shred of decency left in you, you'd come and own up to what you did," he said flatly. Spitz only nodded, and got himself into the wheel dog harness in the back. As he did, Kaltag noticed Jenna starting to step into the second spot from the front. "Jenna? What are you doing?" he asked.

"I may not be an official sled dog like you, but I do know how to pull my girl around on her sled," Jenna said. "If there's going to be trouble, I'd rather face it with Balto than stay and wait for if you come back." Kaltag didn't argue any further, and once all five were strapped up, they started on their way, moving briskly in the cold night. For the first time, Kaltag didn't feel the rush that accompanied sledding as this was not a fun race. A life had been lost needlessly, and they would have to answer for it.

---

While Kaltag and the others prepared for the catastrophe to come, Balto and Kari waited for their arrival, unaware of what had happened. "You're sure that you can convince your team to abide by this deal. From what I've heard, your brother is a very stubborn dog," Tikani said.

"He may be stubborn, but I still have my influence over him. Hopefully this scare will finally make him a little more willing to listen to me," she replied. "Though, I am wondering what's taking them so long."

"Well, Anya has to walk there, tell everyone what's going on, and then they have to come back with Kisa," Balto replied. "It'll take a little while do to all that, and there could be other delays, especially if Kisa decides to make a fuss."

"Yeah, she does have her spunky side," Tikani mused. "It's part of why I love her so much... and why I'd do anything for her."

"Including making a deal with a bunch of dogs?" Balto asked.

"Yes, including that," Tikani replied. "However, I must admit that our agreement is a lot better than what I thought would happen if I compromised with you."

"Just because it's a compromise doesn't mean it would have been a loss for you," Balto said. "I was telling the truth when I said I wanted to find a way to help both sides out."

"I can see that now, but I must ask this. You've stuck your neck out quite a bit to help everyone, yet you're asking for nothing in return from either side. Is there anything in it for you?" Tikani asked.

"What's in it for me is that I don't have to stay up all night watching out for attacking wolves," Balto said, grinning, causing Tikani to chuckle a bit as well. "Truth is, asking for a reward isn't really my style. I simply wanted to help those whom I cared about."

"Yes, it has nothing to do with wanting to rescue a damsel in distress. After all, word around town is that you really went on the serum run to woo a certain red husky you had eyes for," Kari teased.

"It's not that simple; there were many kids who were sick and there was no way the dogs in town could help them. I was the only one who could get the job done," Balto replied. "I will admit that Jenna did play a part, but she wasn't the only reason."

"Just like you probably had many reasons for coming out to help Kari," Tikani put in. "Before you go, I just want to say that I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I'm not a bad wolf. I simply wanted to protect my own pack from harm."

"I know that, and now we have a way to protect you, me and everyone else from harm," Balto replied.

"There are dogs coming!" a wolf sharply called out, catching their attention.

"They must be the ones bringing Kisa," Tikani said. "I guess this is where we part ways. We may not see eye to eye on everything, but you're not bad for a half-dog."

"Same to you," Balto replied. "I hope that things will continue to go well between us in the future." Balto was exhilarated at this moment. He had managed to avert another crisis for the town of Nome. While it would go mostly unnoticed by the humans, he knew it would make a world of difference for the dogs, as they wouldn't have to fear the raids from the wolf pack. He had come through for them once again... maybe Spitz would start to have a little more respect for him now. "But I shouldn't rub it in his face. I'm trying to be the good guy, not the smug jerk." Soon, he saw them approach over the nearby rise, with Kaltag and Jenna leading the way. Right away, their appearance seemed odd. "Why are they hooked up to a sled? Why is Kisa in the sled, instead of walking with them? Did something happen… oh please let her simply be asleep," he thought as the team came in. Their pace was slow and morose, a stark contrast from the excitement dogs usually had when pulling a sled.

"What's going on? Why isn't Kisa walking with them?" Tikani asked, but Balto had no answer. He was fighting hard to hide the anxiety that was starting to well up in him as the team stopped, their heads down and not saying a word. The two walked up to them, with Tikani moving to the side to see his mate in the cargo bed.

"Kaltag, is everything alright?" Balto asked, but the Chinook gave no reply. However, his expression told him that it was nothing good. "Jenna, what happened?" Balto asked, turning to her. "C'mon, somebody answer me!"

"I'm sorry Balto," a small voice said at