Rex looked around, then continued his journey down the street. As he passed the town of Tooknik's small boiler room, a few tears filled in his eyes, remembering all the bitter-sweet memories of Rachel. He slowly smiled, the tears falling down his cheeks, and he continued home to the farm.

~~~~~~                                     ~~~~~~

  "Excuse me sir!" a strange looking German Shepherd yelped. Rex, a tall, lean completely black Husky, looked up from his shoe he was chewing and snorted,"You talkin' to me?"

  The strange dog nodded,"Yes, umm, is this the city of Tooknik?" Rex nodded and ripped the tongue off the shoe. The dog smiled,"I'm Danny. I'm from California, and I-"

  "Dude," Rex mumbled,"congratulations, but I'm a stray and I don't associate myself with pets like you." Danny frowned,"But, I'm not a pet!"

Rex stood up, laughing,"How the heck did you get up here?" Danny shrugged,"I just hitched a ride in a pick-up truck." Rex shook his head in wonder,"You're crazy, who are you?"

  Danny bowed,"Thank you! And I'm Danny." Rex laughed,"So, you need someone to show you around town?" Danny nodded,"That'd be great."

Rex showed Danny the only main road in the whole town. The main street had a few roads sticking off into a neighborhood and some factories. On the main street there was the Town Hall, a bank, a restaurant, a coffee and donut shop, a boiler room, and a general store.

  "This town isn't much," Rex concluded at the end of the tour,"but it's home."

  Danny nodded,"It's great! I love this place." Rex nodded as well,"So do I."

  The two spent the rest of the windy October day together in the small boiler room. "Hey," Danny sighed sleepily as the sun started to set.

  "What?" Danny smiled,"You know what season it is?"

"Duck season?"

"No."

"Deer season?"

"No."

"Bear sea-"

"No!" Danny yelled. "It is no type of hunting season, Rex! It's mating season!"

  Rex frowned,"Oh..." Danny sighed,"Does this town have any cute girls?" Rex thought a moment, then chuckled,"Sure there are. I can take you to one now if you'd like!" Danny nodded,"Sounds like a plan!"

  "Here it is," Rex whispered to his new-found friend. They were at one of the houses in the small neighborhood. Rex began to dig a hole under the backyard fence. Danny licked his lips,"Oh boy!"

As soon as Rex had the hole dug, Danny slid under the fence. Rex peeked his head in, but went no further.

  There was a beautiful tan Husky with black paws. She gasped,"What are you doing?!" Danny smiled,"I'm here to make all your dreams come true." After Rex saw the Husky smile, he left.

  "Maybe I should find a mate..." he whispered to himself. He fell asleep in the middle of an alley, finding a nice shoe to snack on.

  "HEY!"

  Rex groaned. He opened his eyes,"Wha..?" There was a female Collie standing over him with panic in her eyes. "Mister, are... Are you ok?"

  Rex sat up and sighed,"Lady, strays like me lay out here in allies like this all the time. I'm fine."

  The Collie blushed,"Oh... I... I didn't know. I'm not from town. I live out on a farm the west of this God-forbidden place. My name is Rachel."

  Rex eyed her, she was rather pretty. Her eyes were lovely. She was brown with a white tail tip, white paws, and a white muzzle with a white blaze going up in between her eyes, which were deep brown.

  "I'm Rex," he stated simply. Rachel smiled,"Nice to meet you!" Rex nodded and lay back down, but as he began to close his eyes Rachel whispered,"Do you think you could help me?"

 Rex stood up and grumbled,"What do you need?" Rachel smiled,"I was wondering if you could help me out of town."

  What Rex wanted to say was "What the HECK woman! There only one frickin' street! How the HELL could you get lost in this place?!" but all he said was,"Sure."

After Rex brought her to the end of the road, where miles of farmland began, he smiled,"Well, here you are!" Rachel smiled,"Thank you, Rex. Maybe we'll see each other again?" Rex just nodded and whispered,"Maybe." With that, she turned and left Rex standing alone on the road.

  "Hey, buddy!" Danny barked that following night. Rex had been sitting in the boiler room with some other strays. Rex smiled,"Danny! How did that female treat you?" Danny bit his lip and laughed,"Well, I just left her house!"

  The room exploded with laughter. Rex smiled,"Guys, this is Danny. The one I was telling you about." All the dogs barked at the same time,"Hi, Danny!"

  Danny smiled,"Rex, I'm going to take control." Rex frowned,"What do you mean?" Danny shook his head," I mean, I'm going to take over the town."

  Rex cocked his head to one side,"I still don't get it." Danny shook his head and sighed.

"Listen, I'm going to take over. All dogs will bow to me. I'll be like... The king of the town dogs. This town is small, but there are many dogs. They need a good ruler, like ME. And as newly appointed ruler, I'm going to appoint you as my second in command."

  Rex frowned,"Who died and made you the leader?" Danny growled, then whispered,"I DID, and anyone who dare challenge me shall be killed!"

  Rex frowned, then laughed,"Good luck with that." Danny snarled with anger, and grabbed Rex by his hind leg, then flung him against the wall. Rex landed with a loud thud.

 "I will rule you all, Rex. Mark my words. You are either with me, or against me!"

Rex narrowed his eyes as another stray helped him up,"I guess I'm against you. I thought we could be friends, but not with you like this."

Danny smirked and shrugged,"Suit your self."

Rex limped back into his alley, then collapsed with exhaustion. "Uhnn..." he whined. He curled up in a tight ball, slowly falling asleep.

  Rex bounded through snow. He saw something in the distance. What is it? "Who are you?" yelled Rex. There stood Rachel, the Collie smiling wide. She said in a ghostly voice,"Hello Rex. Hello. Wake up!" Rex frowned,"What?"

     "Wake up! Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

  "Wha...?" Rex weakly lifted his head. There stood beautiful Rachel. She smiled,"Your leg is bleeding." Rex frowned,"I know."

  Rachel frowned, too,"What happened to you?" Rex shook his head,"Uhh... I-I don't remember." He didn't like to lie, but he didn't want her to think he was weak. Rachel smiled,"Come with me!"

"Wow."

  Rex looked around at the beautiful farm that lay before him. He smiled, his heart beating fast. Rachel laughed,"C'mon, I'll take you to the barn."

  The two entered a large red barn. Hay scattered the floor, and to the left of them two horses slept in their stalls. Rachel trotted over to the right side of the barn. There was a ratty old blanket laying on the floor in the back right corner of the barn. She beckoned Rex to come lie down.

  "Rex, just a tip. When my human comes to feed us, cower. Don't look threatening." Rex nodded, and suddenly the door opened.

  What Rex expected to see was a tall human, but instead it was a slim light grey husky with a white underbelly, white paws, and a white muzzle. He had a black patch of fur over one eye (Like Kaltag's).

"What the...?" he grunted, shocked. "Rachel, who is this?" Rachel looked frightened as she whispered,"A friend of mine, his name is Rex. He was wounded, and, he's a stray, so I figured..."

The husky frowned,"You figured he could stay here, huh?" The husky approached Rex with anger in his bright blue eyes,"I'm Jack." He snorted, looking at Rachel,"He doesn't deserve to stay here, just because he's-"

  "Dinnertime, puppies!!"

A middle- aged woman walked in, carrying two bowls of food. The smile on her face faded as she looked around the room, and seeing Rex, she screamed,"SAM! There's a dog in here! Sam!!"

  A few seconds later, a tall fat man walked in, the snarled,"Why the little, I'll... I'll kill 'im." Rachel gasped, and, without thinking, curled up beside Rex, licking his face.

  The woman gasped,"Sam, Rachel, she... she's.." Sam sighed,"Margi, I can see what she's doin'. Come 'ere, Rachel. Come 'ere, girl."

Rachel didn't move. Jack sat angrily over by Sam. Margi came closer and studied Rex's leg, then went back inside, and came back with bandages. Before long, she had fixed his leg.

  "There!" she huffed when her work was done. She smiled and left the barn, Sam slowly following her. Spike snarled quietly.

Rachel stood and shook her fur,"Well, at least you're safe, huh?" Rex nodded, then turned to Jack,"What's your say if I stay or not?"

  Jack frowned,"Oh, my say is greater than you think." He turned and left without a passing glance.

 Author's Note:

  Jack and Rachel were both adopted at the same time. Rachel herd's the farm's thick-woolly sheep, while Jack give's his owner's rides on their sled, and also competing in sled dog races. The two were in love at a time, but they finally realized it just wasn't going to work out, but Jack had always been protective of Rachel.

Rachel frowned, then turned, telling Rex what you just read. After the small story, Rex sat up,"I'll leave as soon as I'm better." Rachel's eyes grew sad, and she nodded and sat a few feet away. Rex could see the quiet rage flaring in her eyes, and he whispered,"You... You like me a lot, don't you?"

  Rachel gazed over her shoulder at him and sighed,"Define 'a lot'" Rex sat up, awkwardly hobbling over to her. Once he reached her, he gently placed his paw on hers and whispered,"Like... love."

  Rachel's ears perked up and she jumped,"Love? Love? No... no no, we're just friends." And with that she left Rex alone in the barn.

"Rex."

  Rex looked up from his shoe and saw Rachel standing there, like an angel. She smiled,"Hello, Rex." Rex stood and smiled,"Rachel, do you love me?" Rachel blinked,"Do you love me?"  The alley walls began to close in around him. His heart was pounding on a drum. With each be, he heard Rachel say,

"Do you?

"Do you?"

Rex awoke with a start, and saw Rachel sleeping a few feet away. He sighed, realizing how much he cared for her. It might seem weird, since they had only known each other a short while, but so did many people that fell in love. Sometimes you just KNEW, you know? I mean, how long do you think Balto knew Jenna before he fell in love with HER?

 He stood and hobbled out of the barn for some fresh air. He saw Jack standing as still as a statue, watching ducks swim on the small pond the the front yard.

  "Hey." Rex whispered. Jack jumped and whirled around angrily. "What do you want?" Rex frowned, then snapped,"I just wanted to talk!"

  Jack eyed him cautiously as Rex trotted over and sat down next to him. "So," Jack sighed," I guess you think I'm a jerk now, right?" Rex laughed,"Nah."

  Jack smirked,"Well, it's just... I've never shared the barn with anyone besides Rachel, and well... She... she means a lot to me, ya know?" Rex nodded, then looked around.

  The morning was undescribingly beautiful. The sky was a greyish-blue, the sun just barely peeking over the hills. The only noise was the birds and the ducks. Rex sighed, laying down and grunting,"So, is it ok if I stay here until I heal?"

  Jack grinned,"Yeah... It's alright."

   Rachel poked her head out of the barn, and seeing the two males so content with each other, she quietly went out to the feilds to herd the sheep. Rex noticed her running behind the sheep. "Wow," he muttered to Jack,"I didn't know she hearded sheep!"

Jack snorted,"What did you think she does, herd ducks?" With that, he flung a rock in the water and they scattered, but returned a few minutes later.

Rex shrugged and stood, trotting out to the pasture. She was working hard to get them in the next pasture. He finally noticed Sam giving her directions. When she was den, Rex was waitng for her by the gate.

"Oh! Rex, hello."

Rachel blushed,"Were you, uh, were you watching me, herding the sheep?"

Rex siled and nodded,"Yeah! You're really good at it, too." Rachel smiled,"Thanks." She trotted past him, dragging her tail under his chin.

Rex stayed with them three more days, then left with a short good-bye.

"Rex!"

Rex spun around, his best friend, Tomis, running towards him. "Oh Rex, it- it's terrible!" Rex narrowed his eyes,"What? What's wrong?"

Tomis shook his head,"Oh Rex, since you left, Danny has taken control. Every dog in the city has bowed to him except you. When they don't bow, well... Oh Rex, he killed them!"

Rex gasped. Danny was killing his friends? Rex barked,"Show me where he is!"

"Bow down or die!"

A small pup, a white Husky, was shivering underneath Danny's cold stare. Two large malamutes stood on either side of Danny. The puppy bowed down, and Danny nodded,"Now go! NEXT!"

Rex shoved through the crowd until he got to the front. He pushed aside the one pup's brother who was about to bow. "What are you doing Danny?"

Danny narrowed his eyes,"Bow down or DIE." Rex stood his ground. He saw that there were three pups, with no mother. Rex barked,"Where is their mother, you tyrant?" Danny smirked,"She's dead."

Rex almost screamed,"You killed their mother?! How COULD you Danny?" Danny laughed in a layed-back voie,"She didn't bow down."

Rex snarled,"I'm telling you, you're pushing it Danny. One of these days you'll pay! I'll NEVER bow down to you!"

The surrounding dogs gasped.

Danny yawned and mumbled,"Kill him."

Rex yelped, running at full speed down the road, a thin, THIN, thin grey and white husky following him. Rex stopped and whipped around, striking the husky in the face. "Ow! OW!" Rex continued, blinded by fury.

"Stop! Rex! It's! ME!"

Rex looked down at the male. He was quivering on the ground, his face beaten to a pulp. "Oh my gosh! Trevor!"

Rex's little brother looked up at him weakly,"Don't hit me, please... I'm Danny's asassin... But I never kill anyone... I help them leave town... No one is dead..."

Rex shook his head and helped Trevor up. "What about those pups?"

Trevor shrugged sadly,"I don't know. Danny killed her in front of everyone."

Rex licked his brother's wounds, apologizing over and over. After he was fixed, Rex whispered,"Are we the only ones?"

Trevor whispered back,"One of the guards is on our side. The big brown one, Max. There is also your friend Tomis and this one yellow labrador named 'Lucky'."

Rex nodded, then runted,"Ok, tonight, bring the pups to me. I'll know where to take them."

As nighttime fell over Alaska, Trevor carried the three tired pups on his back to where Rex was waiting at the edge of town. "Hurry, Rex, I bet Danny's men will wake any minute and come after me. Best I get outta here. Now go!"

Rex gentley situated the pups on his back, then ran off into the never-ending farmland.

"Please, just until this... This... 'Reign of Terror' is over."

Rachel looked at the little pups. The white one, Mark, was the only one awake. He was watching the adults talk, wondering what was going to happen next.

Rachel sighed,"Oh Rex, I don't know. I mean, I couldn't take care of them. No milk. Do they eat dog food?"

Rex shrugged and trotted over to Jack's bowl and grabbed a few pieces. "Here," he grunted, dropping them before Mark,"eat these."

Mark sniffed them, then ate one. Sniffed, ate. Sniffed, ate. "These is yummy."

Rex smiled,"Just for a little while, Rachel? Please?"

Rachel smirked and nodded,"OK, but remember, YOU got me into this. Where is there mother anyway?"

Rex told her the terrible tale, and how Rex and his friends where trying to help.

Rachel widened her eyes,"If you get cought, they will kill you!"

Rex nodded,"I know."

                                ~

Rex awoke. The morning light stung his icy blue eyes. He grunted, lifting his head. The alley floor was cold and dirty. He stretched, remembering all the things that happened yesterday.

He saw a yellow dog walking past. He was slinking by, low to the ground. Rex bit his lip and hoped he was right,"Hey, psst! You, are you Lucky?"

The yellow dog jumped and ran off. He returned a minute later, a scared look on his face. "Y-y-yes, that's m-me. Who a-r-re you?"

Rex smiled,"I'm Rex, Trevor's brother."

"Oh! Oh good!" Lucky wagged his tail, trotting in the alley. "Do you need something?"

Rex sat up, pulling Lucky close so that he would whisper,"Look, we have to save some females. Females are very important. There are pups that need a mother, FAST. Can you get a suitable female for me?"

Lucky lowered his already low floppy ears,"Are they three husky pups?"

Rex nodded.

Lucky bowed his head,"Oh man... I thought they were killed... There mother?"

"Dead."

Lucky bashed his head against the wall of the alley. "No!"

Rex rushed over to him,"Shh! Shh! Be quiet. Do you know them?" Lucky looked at him, tears brimming his eyes. "They're mine."

Rex bowed his head,"I'm so sorry, Lucky. But, we still need a mother for them."

Lucky nodded,"I'll have one by the end of the week."

Rex nodded and left Lucky in the alley. He had to witness a killing. No matter how terrible it was, he needed to know what Danny was doing to these dogs.

He watched from the window of the boiler room. Dog after dog came and bowed to him. Finally, one big Doberman refused.

"I won't bow down to you."

"So you wish to die?"

"If I must, you stupid coward."

"As you wish. Trevor!"

Rex's heart jumped. Trevor was killing. He was killing them. Of course, Rex already knew, but getting reminded of it hurt. But at least no one found out HE was the one who stole the pups.

Trevor trotted out from the back of the room. The strays and pets alike crowded in the room barked and spat on him as he walked by. Trevor lashed out at a male the hit him, nearly killing him with a swipe and the throat.

"Trevor..." Rex whispered in disbelief.

Trevor stared at the Doberman. Those soft blue eyes now hard. "Sorry 'bout this."

It was almost too terrible to watch. After seeing Trevor grip the other dogs throat and begin to tear and shake his head, Rex turned away. He has sadly and gruesomely answered his question.

Rex trotted aimlessly around town. All he wanted was to lay by Rachel, to nuzzle her. To lick her soft brown face. But he couldn't leave town until it was time to fetch the pups.

"Rex!"

Rex spun around, expecting to see Lucky or Trevor. Instead, it was...

Jack?!

"Jack! What- what are you doing here?!"

Jack gripped Rex by his scruff and dragged him into an alley. "Ouch! Jack, leggo of me!" Jack dropped him.

"Listen, Rex, those pups are driving me crazy. And there's more! Oh you idiot!"

Jack smacked Rex in the face. "Hey! Stop!"

Jack snarled,"YOU IDOIT! Because of you, those stupid thugs of town dogs came! Rachel hid the pups. Oh you idot, they took her away, accusing her of stealing them. They are going to kill her tonight. OH YOU IDIOT!"

Rex shook his head in disbelief. Rachel? Getting blamed? For HIS crime? Oh no.

Rex whined,"Jack, I'm so sorry. But we have to help her." Jack snorted,"NO KIDDING! Why do you think I came here? To tell you what happened and then go buy some candy?"

Rex chuckled. Jack buying candy. Ha.

"This is serious, Rex, pay attention. I love Rachel, and if she dies, I'm turning you in to Danny. I know about you. I heard you talking to Rachel when you dropped those stupid brats off."

Rex nodded,"OK, OK, lets go."

                                ~

Rex and Jack peered in through the doorway. Jack nodded right next to Danny, whispering,"There she is."

Rex was surprised he hadn't noticed her from earlier that day.

"OK Jack, here's the plan."

A lean black dog walked into the boiler room. His hard icy blue eyes sparked with rage. Danny snarled,"WHO are YOU?"

The male growled,"The name's Nick. Just moved here. Everyone keeps telling me to come here and... 'Bow to the almighty Danny' or somethin'."

Nick bowed and Danny nodded.

Nick trotted off and sat in the front row, watching Danny's every move. "Behold, my followers!"

Danny smiled and one guards, a chubby grey malamute, shoved Rachel infront of them all. She snarled angrily,"How dare you put your dirty paws on me!"

Danny barked,"Shut your trap!"

He smiled, standing up and looking upon his crowd. "This is the dog that stole the puppies. You all know her punishment!"

"DEATH!"

"Yes, death! Very good, you're all catching on!" Danny smirked, walking around her in circles. "Normally, I'd have my asassin do it, but he is no where to be found."

Rachel snapped at him as Danny stepped too close for her comfort.

Danny smirked,"I shall be killing her today."

"Hold on a minute there, Danny, I gotta question."

Danny spun around. There was Nick, his hard blue eyes filled with wonder and- something else Danny couldn't quite figure out.

"Why are YOU killing her? I mean, can't one of your guards do it? I mean, no need for you to get all bloody!"

Danny smiled and nodded,"Say, you're right! I like you, Nick. How's about you do it for me?"

Rex continued staring from the door, his heart racing faster and faster.

"Well, sure! Love to, ol' pal! Anythin' fer the leader 'n whatnot."

Nick approached Rachel. The two stared into each other's eyes from a while, and suddenly Rachel gasped quietly.

Nick circled her such as Danny had done. "No no, Dan my man, this ain't gonna work."

Danny frowned, gorlwing angrily,"What do you mean?"

Nick shrugged,"Well, shouldn't we kill her outside? You already have so much blood on the floor and everything, wouldn't want the humans gettin' suspicous."

Danny smiled,"Oh my gosh, you're completely right! Kill her outside, I'll come watch."

Rex ducked back, pressing him self against the outside wall next to the door. So far, so good.

As soon as Nick and Rachel were out Rex bent his knees. Then Danny walked out, and Rex pounced.

"Go! Run!"

"Rex?!"

"REX! Get off of me you freak!"

"Go Jack!"

"Jack?"

"Come on Rachel!"

Everyone was yelling all these strange things, no one knew what was going on. Rachel and Jack (who had rolled in soot and disguised him self as Nick) ran back to the farm. Rex tore into Danny's neck.

The fight was short, the deed was done. No one dare interfere to save Danny from his terrible fate at the jaws of Rex. When it was over, there Danny lay, neck torn open, blood seeping onto the ground. From a distance, a human yelled,"SHUT UP YOU STUPID DOGS!"

Rex nodded to the dogs, all were cheering for him. His bowed and raced after Rachel, with Lucky and a pudgy brown husky at his heels.

                              ~

"Oh, no worries, I'll take care of them."

The pudgy brown husky was Lucky's new girlfriend. Lucky picked up Mark and his sister, the female (named Emma) picked up the other little male.

"Thanks Emma, you're a life saver."

Emma chuckled, and Lucky and she left.

When they were gone, Rachel pressed her face into Rex's chest. "Oh thank you so much." She turned to Jack and licked his cheek,"Both of you."

Jack smiled and trotted out of the barn.

Rachel shook her head,"You're so brave. I don't know what I would have done without you. Oh Rex, I do. I DO love you. With all my heart."

The three lived together on the farm for about a year. Rex was now truly part of the family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, listen to me. This is only part one because you all have to know why it's called "Rex's Angel". I'm sure you've already guessed, but I'll make a sequel.

Rex, Rachel, Jack, Danny, Trevor, Lucky, Tomis,  Mark, Emma, Margi, Sam, and Max (c) to me

Kaltag (c) to Universal Studios