Strider had a new challenge; catching crows. The birds were fast and evasive. He managed to catch one, and then he’d had a drink and chased another. This one had given him the most trouble so far. Then, he managed to bite its neck. He took it into the canyon to eat it. Then, he marked it so it could become a temporary lodging and set off for another drink and perhaps find another crow to catch. One crow flew right by him. Quick as a lightning bolt, Strider snatched it from the air. He ate it and went over to the nearby lake. After a quick drink, he set off in search of more food. After he had found more, he went over to a rock and left a scent marker, heading out on his quest to find Balto and the others again. He found his way back up to the mountains and laid another scent marker in the cave. He was wondering if he would ever see them again though.

It appeared the others had stumbled upon the bear’s camp. The two warrior bears that were guarding had not been very pleased to see them there. The one that spotted them was attacked instantly by all of them, and then as the other one approached, Ralph broke away from the others to fight it, followed by Jenna. Balto was merely trying to stay alive, but eventually decided to help Jenna and Ralph. It wasn’t long before Kodi, Dusty and Kirby joined them and Balto didn’t have to worry… until two more appeared. No sooner had that happened, two more ran out from the camp and one more who looked like he’d been hunting came to join in. it had become less of a fun challenge and mystery tour. Now they were battling for their lives. Balto tried to stay out of the way, until a massive, red eyed, black bear appeared, taking particular interest in him. He didn’t like his eyes, so the wolfdog turned and ran. The red eyed bear merely caught up in practically a single pace and caught him a direct upward sweeping blow. Not only did this give him a severe chest wound, but also sent him flying backwards horizontally into a sharp rock, all but shattering the wolfdog’s spine. Immobilized, Balto looked up as the bear loomed over him.

“Balto…?” Jenna turned and rocketed towards them with one look at the scene. Yelling might not have been the best plan however, the bear turned and, because she was flying through the air, landed a direct hit on her, sending her flying backwards with an awful cracking sound, landing and bouncing across the ground, eventually sliding on her front.

“Jenna…” Balto stared around in horror, everything seeming somewhat surreal. Then he saw a shadow. It was familiar somehow and Balto felt a little hope. But then it turned away, leaving him confused and with an awful feeling that it was all about to end badly. Then then several shadows appeared on the ground. Shadows of wolves with no bodies attached to them. Slowly these shadows sprang up into 3D; each of them bore a similar resemblance to Balto, as if they were echoes of him. Then the shadows combined into one wolf and it seemed to become a physical being. Its appearance was a shock to everyone. It was huge and bore the fluffy neck and tail of Aniu, along with her scarily albino like amber red eyes, but also had the fur colour of Aleu on its body. The bear roared a terrifying roar and the wolf growled its own bone chilling reply. Then they engaged and it was super intense for the on lookers. The wolf was way smaller than the bear but more than made up for it with Aniu’s massive claws and a pair of sharp wolf teeth to match. Eventually the bear ran into a cave, the wolf still attached to its back. Rocks fell across the entrance from the bear’s thudding footsteps and the two were never seen again.

Balto was probably the most confused person alive upon waking up. One moment, he’d been watching what resembled a hybrid of his mother and daughter save their lives, then everything had gone dark and he’d woken up alone during a sunset. “Huh? Where am I?” Balto stood up and looked around. Then he began to walk around. It was a bleak place, white and alone yet strangely familiar.

“Hi Balto.” Balto turned and his jaw dropped in disbelief. “It’s me, Strider.” The dark wolf confirmed. Balto gave a big huff.

“How did you find me?” wasn’t he supposed to be dead?

“Actually, you found me.” Strider grinned strangely

“What?” Balto was even more confused than he had previously been.

“Oh Balto.” Strider shook his head as if sensing his confusion. The wolfdog folded his ears as uncertainty consumed him.

“Please… stop… your… scaring me…” he stuttered.

“But Balto, I haven’t seen you since that accident…”

“That killed you, I know.” Balto cut him off attempting to end the conversation as soon as possible.

“What? I never died in that accident. Don’t underestimate a subordinate you know.” It was Strider’s turn to be confused, yet he masked it expertly with his cockiness.

“Wait, what?” Balto’s eyes widened. His ears shot up and his whole frame straightened.

“Watch out there Balto. You wouldn’t want to have an accident yourself.” Strider warned him before turning and beginning to walk away.

“Strider!” Balto yelled after him but he was already gone. “No!” Balto ran after him as fast as he could through the blinding snow that had begun to kick up. “No! Come back!” he yelled. Then suddenly he was tackled to the snow.

“Kodi is that anyway to treat your father?” came a familiar voice.

“What? Balto? I thought you were Dusty.” Kodi got off his father.

“Wow. You mistook me for Dusty?”

“No, I… was just kidding.”

“Yeah, right.” Balto grinned.