pushed against a wall, Balto had little room to pull himself free. Desperate, he bit down on the nearest exposed area, which ended up being the wolf's ear. Tikani's jaws sprang open as he cried out in pain, finally releasing Balto from his hold.

The street was nearby; once there, he would have a little more space to move around. While Tikani shook off the sting from his now mangled ear, he sprang forward towards the open ground. He got two strides in, but was painfully yanked back by his tail. With a massive tug, Tikani painfully wrenched Balto backwards, pulling him to the ground before moving to hold him down.

"First you fight dirty and then you try to run - I expected better of you, half-dog," he snarled.

"You're one to talk - sneaking up on innocent dogs who are just here to compete in sport, and attacking them before slinking off."

"Innocent? After what you did to my mate, no dog is innocent in my eyes!" he snapped, grazing Balto's muzzle. "Because of you, I lost everything I held dear! I was nothing, forced to wander the land for what felt like a lifetime. I though it was all over, until I saw you by chance, leading your team towards a large town. That was when I knew I would have my chance to avenge my loss… and to stop as many dogs as I could, too."

'So that's how he found me. He'd probably wandered almost to Fairbanks over the past couple of years. If only I'd known, then I would've been more careful. Had he not seen us, he would still be way back there, and none of the teams would have gotten hurt.'

However, Balto would have little time to dwell on the what-ifs, as Tikani tried to snap at him, which he returned in kind. Both tried again and again to land a hit on the other, with Tikani trying to deliver a fatal blow, while Balto wanted to knock his foe off. Their teeth snapped over and over, but neither was able to get a clear hit on the other. Balto was able to force him into a stalemate - but no stalemate would last forever.

"You have one chance Tikani. Help will be here any second, and if you want to keep your hide, you'll want to get out of here before they arrive," Balto declared, trying to bluff him into surrender.

"Oh really? Where are they then?" he taunted, and even Balto was becoming discouraged by the noticeable lack of support. "You have nothing! The only reason you beat me before was because of your friends, but where are they now?"

"Right above you!" the voice cried. Tikani only had a second to glance upwards before the grey blur jumped from the nearby crate, slamming him right off of Balto, and allowing the battered hybrid to stand.

"Sonya?"

Tikani was dazed from her strike, allowing her a moment to reply, "I got your message - the other's should be right behind me if Kodi was quick enough." Not wasting any more time, both hybrids retreated to the street as Tikani regained his senses, levelling the playing field somewhat.

"That's it? Just one girl? My my, you continue to disappoint me," Tikani taunted, following them out to the street. "By now you should know that two won't be enough to take me down."

"No, but we can still try," Sonya declared, charging first. It looked like both would jump and meet each other, but right before she made contact, he reared back a paw and struck her across her muzzle, knocking her to side. Balto was next to spring in, but Tikani grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and rolled him off. Sonya and Balto tried alternating strikes, but Tikani effortlessly countered them.

"We have to strike at the same time. I go left, you go right and follow my lead!" Balto declared, and he and Sonya charged at once. Balto bit into Tikani's left shoulder, while Sonya got the right. Trapped in the two-pronged hold, Tikani was unable to stop either of them as they started to push. It was a tactic that Balto and Jenna had used on him once before, but he didn't anticipate that Tiknai would have learned from that encounter.

Tikani reared up on his hind legs, forcing his quarry up with him, before suddenly rolling to the side. On only two legs, a dog's balance would be hindered, which was exactly what he would use against them. The sudden shove made Sonya lose her balance, and she toppled over, with Balto pulled to the side with them. She yelped when he fell on her, and the impact caused both of them to lose their grip, allowing Tikani to roll away. Balto tried to snap at him, but a hind foot shot out and kicked him right in the head, causing him to see stars while Sonya tried to push his heavy bulk off of him.

"Agh, what did you have for lunch, cement?" she groaned while Tikani just laughed.

"You never thought I would have learned from our last engagement did you?" the wolf taunted. "You've become soft, wolfdog."

"How does this guy know you?" she asked as Balto shakily got up. "What's going on?"

"It's a long story, but what matters is we stop him. It's not just us that's in danger, it's my family too!"

"That's right! Once I'm finished with you, I'll make sure to pay dear Jenna a visit. And then I'll hunt down every single one of your offspring, until your legacy has been eradicated from this world. I will, even if I have to run to the ends of the earth to do it!"

"You're not taking another step, ya flea-bitten sack of fur!" the booming voice declared. Tikani turned and saw the large black and white husky standing firm in the road.

Both Sonya and Balto's mouths were agape when they saw who it was. "Steele?"

"After everything you've done, you're not getting away this time!" Steele declared, his fur on end as he faced down Tikani.

"You think you can stop me?" the wolf bellowed. "You and who's army!"

"This army," Steele answered, before arching his head back and letting out a powerful howl. The howl was answered by countless others, as dogs emerged from every alley, every road, and behind every object around the street. Tikani's courage failed as he faced down countless snarling dogs, all focused on him.

"You're lucky your son found me first, because I don't think he would have been able to rally everyone as quickly as I did," he said to Balto, a wide grin on his muzzle, before turning his attention back to Tikani. "Now you listen up, wolf and you listen well. You may not know this, but this town is my home now, and you're not welcome here! You've gone and hurt many of our fellow sled dogs and that stops now! This is the end of the line for you," Steele declared before bellowing, "CHARGE!"

As one, the mob charged forward, a solid wall of teeth and fur bearing down on Tikani. To say the wolf was surprised at the sudden turn would be an understatement, as this was far more than he expected to handle. Cursing, he turned tail and ran, desperate to keep ahead of his pursuers. Steele led the charge, determined to end this nuisance of a wolf once and for all. As they passed them, a few dogs helped Balto and Sonya to their feet, allowing them to join the chase.

"Glad to see he finally changed his mind; for a moment it looked like he wouldn't help you at all," she said to him.

"Well, he certainly didn't seem reluctant when he barged into the boiler room. He just said we had to go and stop the wolf that was sighted in town," Jake explained.

"I can't believe that after all this time, it's Tikani… but it makes sense now, doesn't it? I mean, he used the exact same tactic against us when his pack was raiding Nome. He'd attack dogs and supplies to prevent them from running," Kaltag continued. "How could we miss this?"

"Simple – we thought we'd heard the last of him two years ago," Balto added. "Then again, I suppose it would have been too easy to have him just give up. He still held onto his rage towards me – and that's why we can't afford to let him get away again."

"I hear ya. It's strange though - if he wanted to get you, then why bother with any of the other sled dogs?" Kaltag asked. For that, Balto had no answer, and instead pushed himself forward, coming in line with Steele.

"Oh, I guess you decided to join us anyways," Steele said. "You don't have to worry though, I have everything under control."

"No you don't, and you won't until we catch that wolf," Balto said, noticing that they were now passing outside of the town limits, onto the open tundra surrounding the town. "Long story short, he has a vendetta against me and my entire family. We won't be safe as long as it's alive."

"This monster wants to hurt Jenna too?" Steele growled. "Geez, Balto, what did you do to make this guy hate you so much?"

"It wasn't exactly under my control; things got away on me. As I said, it's a long story," he replied, before adding, "So, I hear you were reluctant at first to come and help."

"Maybe… let's just say that I think I can put up working with you if it means saving the day," he replied.

"Well, whatever your reasoning… I'm glad you came around," he conceded, but Steele didn't reply, keeping his focus on Tikani as he darted into the woods beyond the town. The dogs stayed with him, charging into the dark forest. There was no moon that night, meaning the dogs were practically searching blind.

"Hold up," Balto called, bringing everyone to