Steele fight alone on this one. Despite it being his third foe in a row, Tikani held his own against the husky. It wasn't long before they were rolling on the ground, each trying to get the upper hand. Their rolling brought them dangerously close to the cliff edge, but that gave Steele the opportunity he was looking for. He had Tikani pinned, but the wolf was trying to flip them back over. So, he decided to let him, going down and letting Tikani roll to the top, before swinging around, using Tikani's momentum to fling him around, right towards the crest of the cliff.

Tikani was caught off guard by such a gutsy move, and couldn't stop his rear from going over the edge. Steele sprang up, and on seeing Tikani start to slip, readied to kick him off with his hind feet. Tikani saw the blow coming, but had one more trick to play. He avoided the kick before lunging forward and biting onto Steele's thigh. His weight yanked them both back, pulling Steele until he was hanging off the cliff face, Tikani securely latched onto his rear. He dug his claws into the snow, but even he was starting to slip with the weight of a wolf pulling him down.

Balto had finally risen to his feet, just in time to see Steele hanging on the cliff, starting to slip. The husky was struggling, and it didn't take a second thought for him to take action. He dashed forward, and right as Steele was about to lose his grip he grabbed onto his shoulder, biting down to halt his fall. "Gotcha!" he cried as Steele grunted from his bite. It was enough to stop his fall, but already he was starting to strain from their weight.

Still, his actions had bought the time Steele needed. With Balto holding him in place, Steele now had the leverage he needed to do something about the wolf hanging off him. He swung the lower part of his body, but Tikani held firm. He would need a lot more coaxing to get off, so Steele swung in such a way that he slammed the wolf against the rocks. The first hit wasn't all that hard, but the second much more forceful, and he felt Tikani slide a bit. However, his swinging was translated up to Balto as well, and the torsion was making it increasingly difficult to keep his grip.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast! I can't hold on much longer!" Balto cried, his voice muffled from hanging on. Steele saw his paws start to slip, and knew they were only seconds away from all going over. Tikani was still biting into his one leg, but the other was free, dangling in the air right above the wolf's head.

Snarling, he reared up his free leg, aiming it square between the wolf's eyes. "GET! OFF! ME!" he bellowed, delivering a kick after every word. Despite his efforts, the first two ended up being just glancing blows. The third was more direct, smashing his nose and causing him to slip once more. Tikani's eyes widened in terror when he saw the leg rear up again, and this time, Steele landed a direct blow to his neck. The reflex was instantaneous, making Tikani choke and springing his mouth open.

His last lifeline was cut, and he seemed to hang for a moment in the air. Time itself slowed down as he began to fall away from his enemy. Right up until the end he didn't express any shock, regret or sadness - only the rage that had fuelled him for the past two years. His rage exploded into a yell, cursing at Balto and the husky who had felled him. His cries grew distant as gravity did its work, pulling him faster and faster through the air. Never once did Tikani break his gaze with his foe, his screams of rage echoing off the canyon walls, even after the sharp rocks below silenced him for good.

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Chapter Thirteen: The Endgame

"Hang on, I've got you," Balto said as he strained to pull Steele back over. Even without a wolf hanging on him, he was still a heavy dog. Without Tikani hanging off him though, he could now get a better grip with his feet. It took a couple tries, but he managed to find footing on the rock face, giving him the leverage he needed. With Balto's help, it wasn't long before he was back over the edge, safe on solid ground. They just took a moment to catch their breath, and recover from the ordeal they had been put through.

"Thank you," Balto gasped. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't come."

"You probably would've died," Steele said bluntly, but even Balto had to agree.

"True… but I wouldn't have been the only one," Balto admitted, before standing up. "You've helped keep every sled team, and my own family safe as well."

"So what? Are you saying we're even now?"

"Well, I did save your life here too… but why not?" Balto admitted. "Some things are still the same with you, but you changed where it counts, and that's what's important."

Steele opened his mouth for a witty retort, but a moan from nearby distracted him. It was Sonya, barely starting to recover from the beating Tikani had given her. Steele was quick to check on her, and while she didn't have any serious wounds, her broken leg wasn't very encouraging.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Steele?" she asked. "What happened? Where's Tikani?"

"At the bottom of the canyon," Balto replied.

"How's the leg? Can you stand up?" Steele continued.

Sonya tried to move her leg a bit, but a jolt of pain made her yelp. "I guess that's a no," she admitted, her expression falling.

"C'mon, we'll help you up. You need to get that leg looked at," Steele said, but was surprised when Sonya cracked a smile.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually worried about me," she quipped.

"Wow, you must be hurt really badly – you're getting delirious," Steele added, causing her to smirk a bit more. She still had three legs fully functional, she just needed some help getting up. Balto and Steele were more than happy to assist her, and it wasn't long before she was on her feet, her broken leg tucked in while Balto let her lean on him as a living crutch. They were just about to start up the hill when they heard voices above.

"He went this way," they heard, before dogs from both Balto's and Steele's team appeared. "Look! It's Balto and Sonya - Steele too!"

"But where's Tikani?" Kaltag asked, skidding down the hill.

"Come see for yourself," Steele invited, bringing Kaltag to the cliff's edge. When the Chinook saw the drop, he whistled.

"He's definitely not getting up from that," he mused, before joining everyone else on their way back home. They had won a major victory that night, but right now, their minds were on getting everyone home safely.

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The walk with Sonya limping alongside Balto meant slow going for them, so a few dogs went ahead and tried to rouse the human's attention. Luckily for them, Jonathan had noticed them bolting off, and was already out looking for them. It was a simple matter of Steele pointing him in the right direction before he found them. The going was much easier once he had Sonya safely scooped up in his arms, and it wasn't long before everyone was safely back in town, where the entire story could be told.

Balto told them everything about who Tikani was and why he was doing this before finishing with how Steele delivered the final blow, ending the threat. The reception to that was like something out of the good old days for the husky: pats on the back, cheering and thanks for his great deed. It didn't matter that he'd done it with Balto's help, what mattered to them was that he'd gotten rid of Tikani once and for all. Balto watched on from the side, but didn't mind. If it meant having a little more peace with him, then he was glad to let Steele have his day. And yet, despite the attention, there was something else on Steele's mind. The first chance he got, he broke away from the crowd and made a beeline for the Vance's home.

It wasn't long before he was sitting in the front room, anxiously listening to the conversation in the kitchen. Sonya was nearby, resting on the couch. Her leg had been bandaged up and put in a temporary splint; a visit to the vet for a cast would have to wait until morning.

"So how's Sonya doing?" Marcus asked.

"She'll be fine - broken legs can heal, but she won't be able to run in the race tomorrow," his father replied, sounding sullen.

"What did this to her?" he asked, more concerned this time.

"I heard it was a wolf that was spotted in town. Several of the dogs went after it, which is why everyone's been up trying to round them up," Caroline replied.

"Good thing too - hopefully they chased that wolf so far away it's halfway to Siberia by now," Jonathan added. "It's strange though - there have been a lot of dogs getting hurt through this whole race."

"Maybe it was the same wolf?"

Jonathan just chuckled a bit. "Unlikely - I doubt the same wolf would chase us over several hundred miles," he said, completely unaware of the truth his dogs knew. "Whatever the cause, the result was always the same - several dogs would get hurt and that team would have to pull out of the race," he said, causing everyone's spirits to fall.

"You don't think you'd have to pull out too, do you?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know. I'm only down one dog… but that dog happens to be our lead. You can't just put any dog in the front and expect them to do the