Nikki, Kaltag and Star walked slowly back towards the sled team.

"Where have you been?" Fox, the lead dog, asked. "Our musher will be back in a second! Hey, what's wrong?"

The three dogs had their heads down. Nikki was frowning, Kaltag looked a little queasy and Star looked terrified.

"We caught up with Steele," Star said. "He attacked me, and…and…"

"He went over the side of the mountain," Nikki finished. "I was trying to defend Star. I accidentally made him lose his balance…"

"Oh no," Fox said. "That's…awful. I know he was a bad guy, but…yikes."

Just then, the musher came out, put the dogs back in their harnesses and started off.

Steele got to his paws, thoroughly confused. He felt fine. Actually, he didn't feel anything. No pain, no cold—nothing at all.

Steele looked up at the cliff from where he had fallen. Then his gaze went down the mountain to something laying at the bottom of the cliff.

It was a black-and-white thing crumpled and wet with something red.

Steele approached it and gasped. It was him! Only, his back and neck were turned in unnatural positions. A pool of blood formed under the body.

Steele stumbled back, falling down.

How was this possible? Was he…dead?

Steele had never believed in ghosts, but now he seemed to be one.

Steele looked around wildly. His heart wasn't pounding like it should have been. His stomach wasn't sinking.

This just threw Steele into more of a panic.

He began to run until something white appeared right in front of him. Steele came to a stop, stumbling and falling to the ground. Still no pain.

"Hello, Steele," the creature, which was now obviously a large wolf, said.

"Who are you?" Steele asked. "What's going on?"

"I am Aniu," the wolf said. "Balto's mother."

"This day could not get worse," Steele said more to himself than anything.

"It could," Aniu said calmly. "You could have met one of the wolverines first."

Steele just stared at her.

"I suppose you realize what's happened," Aniu said.

"I'm a ghost, aren't I?" Steele said.

Aniu nodded.

"Are you ready to move on?" Aniu asked.

"Move on where?" Steele asked.

"To the next realm of existence," the wolf replied.

Steele didn't know how to take this. He never thought there was such a thing. Then again, he didn't believe in ghosts either.

"No," Steele said. "My life shouldn't be over! I'm not going anywhere! Hey, how do you know all this, anyway?"

Aniu smiled. Steele noticed her teeth were even longer and sharper than his. That made him uncomfortable until he remembered he couldn't be hurt anymore.

"I am a spirit," she said.

"So, you're dead, too?" Steele said.

"No," Aniu said. "I am neither alive nor dead. I used to be a living wolf, but my friends and I found a way to gain powers. It changed us…Anyway, you should move on. No one will be able to see or hear you here."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Steele asked.

"You will see," Aniu said. "If you want to speak to me again, come to the crystal cave in the mountains between here and the sea. For now, goodbye."

Then the wolf was gone.

Steele was too stunned to do much. He just sat, trying to make sense of the situation.

Finally he decided he'd go to Nome and see if the wolf was telling the truth. It's not like he was in danger anymore.

Steele wondered if ghosts could just appear wherever they wanted. But, as he did not know how, he just walked to Nome.

Once in town, Steele saw Dixie and Sylvie. They were as good a choice to show himself to as any. Neither liked him anymore, but no one in Nome did.

"Hey, girls," he said, walking up to them.

Neither responded or even looked at him.

"Something crazy happened to me out there," Steele continued, unsure whether the dogs could hear him or not.

"You see, I'm dead," Steele said, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.

He took a step closer.

"Girls?"

He reached out a paw and tried to touch Dixie's shoulder. It went right through her.

Steele pulled his paw back quickly. Dixie shuddered.

"Ooo! I just got the worst chill," Dixie said. "But it was just in my shoulder."

"Hmmm," Sylvie said. "That's strange."

"It was like ice going into my shoulder," Dixie said.

"Maybe you should see a vet," Sylvie said.

"If it happens again, I will," Dixie said. "That was icky! Anyway, what were you saying about Star?"

"Oh, yes," Sylvie said. "There's definitely something wrong with him. He's been acting strange today. I asked if he wanted to go down to the bay and look at the stars, but he said no. And he seemed really nervous. I mean more than usual."

"I wonder why?" Dixie said.

"Maybe something happened on the mail run today," Sylvie said.

"Yeah!" Steele practically shouted. "They killed me!"

Of course the other dogs didn't hear him.

"I'm going home for dinner," Sylvie said. "After that, I'm going to check on Star. Do you want to come along and se Kaltag?"

"Sure!" Dixie said.

Were the girls dating Star and Kaltag. Steele scowled. He had never really been attracted to the two dogs, but they were supposed to be his fan girls.

The two dogs walked away down the street. Only now did Steele realize the sun was going down.

He decided to follow the two dogs and see what happened with the team. If he could figure out some way to haunt them, he would.

Dixie and Sylvie entered the boiler room, closing the door behind them. Steele had an idea. Couldn't ghosts walk through walls?

Steele slowly put a paw on the door. He then moved his paw forward and sure enough, it went through the door with no problem.

Steele walked through the door and found himself in the big room with wooden floors and the glowing boiler. Nikki, Kaltag and Star lay near the boiler. Dixie and Sylvie sat in front of them.

Steele drew closer to the group.

"We're fine," Kaltag was saying. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing."

"Star, dear," Sylvie said. "I know you're not fine. You can tell me what happened. I'll understand."

The three dogs exchanged a glance.

"We saw Steele in White Mountain," Star finally said.

"And he was nasty as ever," Dixie broke in. "Oh, you guys shouldn't let that jerk upset you."

"That's not what happened," Nikki said slowly. "We started to chase him so we could bring him back here to face all of us. And…"

"He slipped over the side of a cliff," Star finished.

Sylvie's mouth fell open and Dixie gasped.

"He didn't survive, did he?" Sylvie said, surveying the looks on the sled dogs' faces.

Nikki shook his head no.

"Oh," Dixie said, lowering her eyes. "Well, it wasn't really your fault."

"It wasn't our fault," Nikki said. "It was mine. I pushed him and he lost his footing…"

"You were just defending me," Star said. "He attacked me and Nikki pushed him away from me."

"It sounds like an accident to me," Sylvie said, putting a paw on Star's shoulder.

"Yeah," Star said, looking down. "But we're still responsible for someone being dead."

Steele was surprised to hear his former friends being remorseful. After stranding them in the wilderness, Steele thought they'd be happy to get their revenge.

"I have to go home for dinner," Sylvie said. "But I could come back after if you need me to."

"That would be nice," Star said, smiling slightly.

"I'll be back, too," Dixie said, leaning against Kaltag.

Kaltag nuzzled her poof of hair.

Steele couldn't take watching the lovey stuff between his former friends and former fan girls, so he left.

Outside the boiler room, the sky had turned dusky blue. Steele wondered where he'd spend the night. Not that it mattered much now.

There was one more dog Steele had to see before the night was out.

Steele headed for the old ship Balto lived on. He had to know what happened with Balto after the race. It was largely Balto's fault that he was dead.

Once at the boat, Steele found Boris and the two polar bear cubs, Muk and Luk, cuddled under a blanket asleep.

The cubs were kind of cute, Steele had to admit.

He continued searching the ship but found no sight of Balto. He sniffed at the floor, seeing if he could pick up Balto's scent. His nose wasn't working. That must have been part of being a ghost.

Steele growled. How was a dog supposed to get along without his sense of smell?

Then a thought drove the problem from his mind. Balto was probably at Jenna's!

He took off, furious.

Steele came to a halt in front of Jenna's house. It was weird not to be panting after running so fast.

He hurried around to the side and spotted a pile of barrels. He climbed it and looked in. No one was there. He frowned.

Steele climbed back down and headed for the boiler room. He could wait there for daylight.

Steele never realized how long a night could be. Apparently, ghosts didn't sleep, either.

Laying there, his mind reeled. It was a lot to accept that he was dead. He was angry with his old teammates and miserable at the thought of never talking to anyone ever again.

Steele couldn't help but think about his former teammates' reactions to his death. Why were they so upset? Star kind of made sense. He'd always been sensitive. He wasn't that hard to upset. But the other two? Steele just didn't get it.

Steele's mind wandered to the wolf he had met. Steele was inclined to believe the wolf as she was the only one who could see him. What the heck was a spirit anyway? What powers did they have? Could she help him?

Steele was tempted to go looking for her, but she had been rather intimidating. Even dead, Steele wasn't eager to see her again.

Steele brooded and wallowed in self pity until the sky outside the high side window grew lighter.

Steele stepped outside, still determined to find Balto. He headed for Jenna's house. He got there just as Balto was climbing out of the side window.

Steele began to growl and bark. He raced up to Balto.

"Were you there all night?" Steele said. "How dare you! How could she…?"

Balto walked away. Steele stood, staring after him. He wanted so badly to get back at Balto, but there was nothing he could do.

Steele didn't know what else to do, so he followed Balto. Balto headed towards the edge of town. Soon, they were at the boat. The water shone brightly in the sun and a gentle breeze caused ripples.

Muk and Luk came rushing out and hugged Balto. Boris followed them. When the polar bears let go of Balto, Boris said,

"Welcome home, kiddo!"

The bears had caught some fish which they shared with Balto. After they were finished eating, another dog approached the ship. Steele recognized him as Fox, the new lead dog.

"Hey, Balto," Fox said.

Then he spotted the bears and froze.

"It's OK," Balto said. "They're harmless."

The bears waddled up to Fox and Luk sniffed his head. Fox looked uncomfortable but smiled awkwardly. He stepped away from the bears and up to Balto.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something," Fox said.

"Sure," Balto said. "What is it?"

"Well…" Fox said. "There was an accident in White Mountain yesterday."

"Is everyone all right?" Balto asked.

"Well, the team's all right," Fox said. "But…it turned out White Mountain's where Steele ran off to. He fought with Nikki, Kaltag and Star and ended up going over the side of a cliff. He's dead."

Balto was silent. Steele expected to see him smile, but Balto looked troubled.

"Nikki, Kalatag and Star are pretty upset," Fox said. "You're the town hero. Maybe you could tell them it wasn't their fault."

Balto nodded.

"Thank you!" Fox said.

The two dogs walked away towards town. Steele followed them. What would Balto say to the dogs? Probably thank them for killing Steele. Balto had looked a bit upset when he heard Steele was dead, but that could have just been surprise, Steele figured.

At the boiler room, Balto stood in front of the three dogs. Fox stood behind him, smiling nervously.

"Fox told me what happened," Balto said. "I'm sorry to hear that. Steele was never a nice guy, but I still wish he hadn't died."

Sure, Steele thought. Keep up the nice act for your new friends.

"Yeah," Star said. "The fact that we're responsible is a lot to take."

"You didn't do it on purpose," Balto said.

Nikki could tell he was holding something back.

"But what, Balto?" he said.

"It's just…" Balto said. "You didn't have to attack him. He was gone and he would have probably been banished anyway."

Balto looked at the three dogs' expressions.

"But you didn't mean to do it," Balto said. "I understand that you're upset. I would be too. I just hope you can move past this. And I hope you've learned from it."

There was an awkward silence, then Balto said goodbye and left. Steele followed him, lost in thought. Balto seemed genuinely sorry. Was it just an act or was he really sorry?

Steele felt a little less angry and more confused.

Balto went to Jenna's house. Jenna came out on to the porch to talk to him.

Steele scowled, remembering that Jenna had spent all night with Balto.

"Hello," Jenna said.

"Hey," Balto said.

"What's wrong?" Jenna asked, stepping towards Balto.

"Steele's dead," Balto said.

"I know," Jenna said.

"How…" Balto started. "Oh. Sylvie. Of course. I know it shouldn't bother me so much, but it does."

"You have such a good heart," Jenna said.

"I just wish…" Balto said. "I wish the sled team hadn't done what they did. Now not only is one dog dead, but that's not something those dogs are going to get over anytime soon."

"This could ruin things between them and my friends," Jenna said. "After all this time, they finally found happy relationships. Now it might all be ruined…"

Good, Steele thought. Those three didn't deserve happy relationships. Still, Steele didn't like to see Jenna so worried. Despite the fact she was clearly with Balto now, Steele still liked her. He would never smell her sweet scent again…

Steele was missing his sense of smell more than he thought he would.

"How did things get so messed up?" Balto said.

"I hate to say it," Jenna said. "But this is mostly because of Steele."

"It is," Balto said. "But Steele didn't force the others to corner him on a cliff."

"I can understand why they were so angry," Jenna said. "He did nearly strand you in the wilderness."

Balto nodded.

"Why couldn't Steele have just accepted my help?" Balto said, looking down. "Then everyone would have been all right."

Steele frowned. He was still angry with Balto, but he was starting to see a new side of the wolf dog. Maybe Balto had a point…

Steele shook his head. Was he just so stressed from what happened that he wasn't thinking straight?

Steele didn't like the thoughts that were starting to come to him, so he turned and headed down the street. He wasn't sure where he was heading, but along as it was away from Balto, it was fine.

Steele walked down the streets of town, passing dogs who couldn't see him. Steele couldn't help but think of Balto. He seemed genuinely sorry for Steele. Steele had tried to kill him, but he was still sympathetic toward Steele.

Steele was beginning to feel a little guilty and he hated it.

Maybe this wasn't really Balto's fault. At least not nearly as much as it was Steele's former friends' fault.

Yeah, they were really to blame. It wasn't Balto who had backed him off a cliff.

Steele wasn't sure what to do. He was angry and sad and lonely. He couldn't take seeing everyone in Nome happy and with friends anymore. He headed back to the wilderness.

Steele spent the next two days wandering around and sitting up nights in a cave. Even though nothing could hurt him anymore, Steele felt nervous out in the wilderness at night. Though, he found he could see perfectly in the dark now.

The worst part was being alone with his thoughts. He had started to think about what would happen if his plan had succeeded. A lot of dogs and people would be dead. While Steele still didn't like Balto and he down right hated his former friends, he had nothing against the children of Nome—or the rest of his old team, for that matter. Deep down, he was glad they had survived.

Not feeling or smelling anything was getting harder to stand every day. And the loneliness was awful. Steele was used to having attention and praise all the time. Being silent and invisible was starting to get too difficult to handle.

"I wish I was dead!" Steele yelled.

Then he realized what he'd said and laughed bitterly.

In the middle of the night, Steele decided to go find Aniu. He didn't know if he could trust her, but he had to talk to someone. He couldn't stand it anymore.

Steele felt a little better having made a decision.

Early the next morning he started for the mountains between town and open ocean. At least it was away from White Mountain. He wouldn't have to see his body again. He shuddered at the thought.

The sky was beautiful as it was the day Steele reached White Mountain. He'd felt hopeful then, much more than he did now. Still, he felt some relief at the thought of being seen and heard again.

He walked for a while until he reached a rushing river. A log bridge spanned the river. Steele crossed it carefully, not sure what would happen if he fell.

Once across, Steele quickly reached the mountains He checked every cave he came across, but none had crystals.

He was getting frustrated by the time the sun was setting as he entered a cave he couldn't see the back of.

He stepped inside and headed down the rocky corridor. A low growl came from behind him. Steele spun around. He was not used to not being able to get hurt.

A huge grizzly bear stood on its back legs. It stared down at Steele, eyes glowing red. Steele put his ears down and tried to make himself small.

"You're a spirit!" Steele blurted.

"And you're dead," the bear said in a deep, smooth voice.