yelled, leaping from the top of the pile.  She came down like… well, like an arrow, sinking her teeth into the rebel leader’s tail.

Groven's eyes widened.  “Harooo!” he howled in pain and whirled around to face Arrow.  His eyes flashed, glinting with a look straight out of any pup’s nightmares.  “I’ll make you pay for that, runt,” he snarled.

“Forget her!” came a voice from behind him.  “You haven’t finished with ME!"

Groven turned just in time to see one back paw driving straight for his face.  The kick was quickly followed up as Chase threw herself at him, lashing out with a merciless barrage of teeth and claws.  Tired and battered as she was, she still had plenty of fight left.  “Get out of here, kid!” she yelled through a mouthful of skin and fur on the back of her enemy’s neck.  “I’ll take it from here!”

“Get that pup!” screamed the insurgent as he tried to fend off the attacks.  With the contest broken, violence erupted once more like the second eruption from a volcano.  Three dogs quickly zeroed in on Arrow, but before they could strike two of them were met by Chase’s troops, leaving only one to attack the pup.

One was plenty.  The dog pounced on top of Arrow, swiping a paw and sending her into the stack of crates she had leapt from.  She let out a cry of pain as her body struck the wood.

"No!" Toby cried, trying to get past his opponent.  "Arooooowww!"

The dog leapt at Arrow again and stood over her, glowering down at the pup.  Dazed and in pain, Arrow tried to get away, but the dog followed her every move like a cobra waiting for a shot at a snake charmer’s face.  She moved to the right, and he copied her.  She moved to the left, and he followed.

Luna, who had been watching the scene as best she could in the midst of a struggle for her own life, suddenly had a fit of inspiration.  “Arrow!” she called.  “Hard left!”

Arrow obeyed, and the dog followed.  He should have paid closer attention to his surroundings, though, because this brought him crashing right into the boxes already unsteady from Arrow’s impact earlier.  He and Arrow both looked up and bolted in opposite directions, out of the way of the avalanche to come.  “Boss!” the dog yelled.

Groven slammed against Chase, driving her back several feet, then turned around just in time to see the crates come down.

CRASH!

All the fighting ceased at the resounding noise of the falling packages.  When it was over and the echoes had died away, the black-and-white dog lay beneath the pile like a tree struck down by lightning.  His body was mostly covered, and it was clear that the crates had done their work.  Groven was dead.

Few things of much note happened after that fight.  Chase made a public announcement that anyone who didn’t want to be part of the “army” was free to leave.  Sadly, about a dozen dogs opted to do so even after the revelation that Groven’s plan had simply been a plot to get his revenge on Chase.  On the other hand, most of the former rebels decided to stay with Chase.  As one of them philosophized, “Somebody’s always going to try to boss us around.  Might as well follow a leader who works.”

Groven’s body was taken out of town and buried in an unmarked spot, and everything returned to normal.  Well, almost.

Over the next several days Toby and Luna noticed a change in Arrow.  She picked at her food like a bird, and she spoke far less than before.  Finally one day when they were alone together, Luna decided to find out what it was.

“Arrow,” she queried, “Is something wrong?  You haven’t been yourself lately.”

Arrow hung her head in shame.  “Well… there is something I need to tell you.”

Luna tilted her head.  “What is it?” she asked.

Arrow stirred her paw in the dirt.  “The reason I knew your aunt was in trouble is because… well… cause the boss told me to keep you busy.”

Luna blinked.  “Say that again?” she queried.

“The boss didn’t want you messing things up again, so he told me to… to pretend that I really wanted to be adopted so you and Toby wouldn’t get nosey.”

Luna looked hurt.  “You mean everything… it was just a lie?”

Arrow nodded remorsefully.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t want to do it, honest.  But he said if I didn’t, he’d throw me out or worse.”  She was quiet for a long time before she spoke again.  “You must hate me now.”

Luna was sorely tempted to agree, but she bit back the words.  After taking a deep breath she said, “I don’t hate you, Arrow, but…” she paused and willed her tears not to flow.  It didn’t do much good.  “Do you have any idea what you did to me?” she asked.  “You took my dream and made it nothing but a lie!  I really cared about you, and you lied to me!”

Arrow licked Luna’s cheek.  “Honest, Mom- I mean Luna- I didn’t want to do it, I just did it because… because…” she fumbled for an excuse.  Because Groven would have killed her?  She could have played double-agent.  Luna would have kept her safe, especially with Toby and his dad to help.  She hung her head.  “Forget it,” she finished.  “I used you, and that’s all there is to it.”

Luna stared at her, her eyes barely visible through the tears.  “Leave me alone,” she sobbed.  “Just… just go away.”

Arrow got up.  “Okay,” she whispered.  And she walked out the pet door.  ‘Now what do I do?’ she asked herself.  ‘Luna doesn’t want me anymore.  I can’t go back to the strays, they wouldn’t have anything to do with me if they found out.  And Toby…’

What could she tell Toby?  That she had used him too? That she had played his mate like a harp?  That both he and Luna had been duped?  No, there had to be another answer.  But what?  She could just imagine what Luna would tell him.  Vividly she pictured Luna’s tear-streaked face, almost heard her choked voice describing the betrayal…

Arrow shuddered.  ‘Well, he’s going to know sooner or later,’ she decided.  ‘I might as well tell him myself and take my lumps.’

To Arrow’s surprise, Toby listened quietly as she told him the truth.  But his face wasn’t silent, and as she explained everything she could see his emotions hopping all over the scale like popcorn in a frying pan.  “I didn’t know what else to do,” she concluded.

Toby’s face was a mix of anger, sorrow, and strangely enough pity, then settled on just disappointment.  “You know,” he said softly, “I really wanted to see Luna happy.  And I cared about you too.  You made me feel like I really was your dad.”

Arrow felt her eyes starting to leak.  “Why don’t we just ‘pretend’ that I already feel bad and you don’t need to rub it in anymore?” she suggested.

Toby just stared at her for a long moment.  “There’s only one thing I want to know,” he said.  “You say you were supposed to keep us in the dark.  But then you warned us instead.  Why?”

Arrow took a deep breath and was silent for several moments before she answered.  “I guess it was because… well… I saw that you and Luna cared about me, like you said.  Not just about having me as your kid, but really cared.  About me.  And… well, I guess I learned something from you guys.”

Toby’s face softened.  “Well,” he said at last, “I’m glad we were able to do that.”

 Arrow nodded.  “Can I ask you something?”

 Toby considered.  “Go ahead.”

 Arrow stared at the ground, then looked up at him shyly.  “This is going to sound silly…” she began.

 Right at that moment her stomach made a noise like a volcano on the verge of erupting.  Toby nodded.  “Very silly,” he agreed.

“No, not that!”  Somehow her stomach’s sudden call for nourishment made it easier for Arrow to speak.  Taking a deep breath, she asked, “I was kind of wondering if… well, can I still call you Dad?”

Toby, Luna, Terry, Groven, Samy, Connie, Eugene © Dragon Tamer

Chase, Ketchikan © redwolf03

Balto, Steele © Universal Studios

Arrow © Dragon Tamer, design © Kirada

Arrow is now included in the cast available for interviews at http://baltosource.timduru.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15835&hilit=+Toby+Series