The Time of Wolves 2

Chapter 3: An Adventuring We Will Go

In the small-town Nome. All were asleep, including those that owned the house where Jenna lived. After such a long, stressful, and yet pretty extraordinary day, the husky deserved a sweet, peaceful night sleep. Though such a task was easier said than done. The poor dog has just had the shock of her life, she had met real living dinosaurs. Not even that but, as it turns out, her mate knew these young dinosaurs personally. Memories had filled Jenna's head about how Balto told her such months ago, but it all sounded so ridiculous. Being sent back in time, making friends with dinosaurs, and being there for over a week when only being gone for a few hours. It was all a bit much to wrap her head around. So much so that she really didn't get a chance to interact with the kids that much. Jenna mostly spent that day trying to get a grip on the whole situation. It was as if her entire reality was turning upside down.

Perhaps sleep would help alleviate mental stress. Alas, sleep still did not come easy. The husky would toss and turn in her small bed throughout the night. At one point, it would seem that she found an ample position to guarantee some rest. However, that was not to last. From Rosy's room, Jenna heard a crash coming from the family shed. Curious as to what would be wandering around at this time of night, Jenna got up and snuck out of the house to investigate. When she reached the door, Jenna was met with the sight of a familiar longneck dinosaur covered in all sorts of rubbish.

"Littlefoot?!" Jenna was surprised that the dinosaur was here. She also tried to contain her amusement at seeing the attics he got himself into.

"Sorry. I was coming to see you, but I saw this wooden box and got curious," he said while continuing to look through the stuff inside, "Is it true humans made all of this?"

Consequently, all his curiosity was causing quite a ruckus with pots, shovels, and whatnot falling over by accident, "Littlefoot, stop! Someone's gonna hear!"

Jenna looked to the house and breathed a sigh of relief as the lights in the master bedroom remained off. Good, the Mr. and Mrs. were still sound asleep. Who knows how they would react, waking up to a dinosaur in their shed. Though she could guess the outcome would not be pretty. Now, with Littlefoot's journey into the tool shed being sated, Jenna could get down to the matter at hand.

"Littlefoot, what were you thinking? It's dangerous for you to be here, you've could've been seen!" Jenna exclaimed, "Does Balto know you're here?"

"Um…" he was going to respond but was met with a stern look from Jenna. It was a look that he recognized from his grandma. A look that warned to not even think about lying, "No."

Oh well, it couldn't be helped. The damage was already done. It was a miracle that nobody was awake to noticed a dinosaur prowling through the streets. The best thing to do was to try to sneak him out of town. A task that was easier than it sounds considering it was close to morning and the sun would be up soon. With haste, Jenna hatched up a plan as she went into the shed to pull out a huge tarp and threw it over the young sauropod. Several minutes were then spent with Jenna directing Littlefoot's posture to better make her plan work. She had his head lowered, stand up straight, feet close together.

"Okay," Jenna was admiring her handiwork, "With any luck we… might be able to fool people that you're a dog. So long as no one lifts up the tarp."

"Jenna, this feels weird."

"I know sweetie," Jenna, sympathizing with the child's plight, walked right up next to him, "Just try to bear with it for now. Don't worry, you can lean off of me until we make it out." the two began there walking before Jenna notice something about the snowy ground behind them, "You might also want to use your tail to cover your tracks."

Little did they know, several blocks away, Dingo was wandering the streets. No particular reason really; he just felt like a walk is all. As the rust-colored husky was walking through the darkened town, he spotted his sister, Saba, laying on the front porch of her home. Odd enough for sure. However, he could help but notice how she was visibly pouting. For those who knew her would know that seeing this happy-go-lucky hyperactive husky in a bad mood was a rarity. So, being the oh so good big brother he was, Dingo went over to see what's what.

"Hey Saba," he greeted his sister who said nothing, "Why the long face?" she answered with some incoherent mumbling, "My first sister, practically speechless? Hell must be freezing over right now. What happened Saba? Last I saw you were excited about going on a special walk with your boy."

At last, Saba spoke with the most irritable voice she could muster, "Apparently 'special walk' is code for 'we're going to the vet!'" Dingo winced when he heard that one compound word, "I could've been out Wendigo hunting with Kodi and papa, but instead I get a thermometer shoved up my butt! So, in protest of this embarrassment and betrayal, I've been staying out here for twenty-four hours to spite my humans."

Dingo's eyes rolled at her antics. Saba does this every time she had to visit the vet, and every time Dingo had to get her out of this funk, "Did you at least get some sausage?"

Just like that, Saba's frown turned upside down, and started drooling, "Yeah. It was delicious."

Not a hard ordeal, for sure, just annoying that he had to do this so often. Just the perks of having such an oddball of a sister. Speaking of odd, Dingo saw his mother, Jenna, sneaking between the empty streets with a figure wrapped in a tarp walking beside her. This was far too interesting for the eldest pup to pass up, so he went to investigate. Saba, who now forgotten all about her 'plight' and noticed that her brother was leaving, followed after him in hopes that it would lead to something fun.

"Hey mom!" the idea of her sneaking was justified as she practically jumped out of her skin.

"Dingo, you startled me."

That was obvious to him, "What's going on, mom?" Dingo looks to the figure under the tarp and soon got very protective of his mother, "Who's this?" he asked with a slight growl in his voice.

"This…?" Jenna thought quick as she had to get out before the townspeople woke up, "It's just Kodi." she had a shy smile when she said that.

"Hey momma," Saba came over already hearing what was going on, "Why's Kodi dressed like a creepy stalker?"

Jenna was struggling to come with more lies, "He's not feeling so well right now."

"What happened?" Dingo asked before going back to being the snarky big brother he was to Kodi, "Did Runt get scared looking for Wendigos?"

"It's rather embarrassing. We're going to see your father in case he can help," Jenna said which was the excuse she could come up with, "Also you, Dingo, should apologize for growling at Kodi. You know how much I hate it when you pups get aggressive with each other."

Dingo lowered his head to avoid his mother's gaze, "Sorry Runt." What looked to be a head under the tarp started nodding in agreement.

"Now, if you excuse me, we need to go." Jenna was then pushing Littlefoot out of there as fast as possible.

It wasn't long before Dingo left the area as well, "I swear our parents' baby that runt." he said under his breath with a huff.

Saba was all that was left as she watched her family walk off in opposite directions. Her attention, however, was soon drawn to the ground, or to be more accurate, what was imprinted into the snow, "Did Kodi's feet get bigger?"

Back with Jenna and Littlefoot, the two quickened their pace through the Nome. That little run-in with her two other children had severely delayed their departure, so they needed to haul it before the sun rose up. Jenna knew that some humans would start their day before the brink of dawn, so time was of the essence. Lucky for them no other distraction came from then on as the two made it outside the town limit.

Once she was sure they were in the clear, Jenna removed the tarp off of the little longneck. Littlefoot was relieved, for keeping up that charade was quite killer on his feet. Now, he could walk back with Jenna to the boat regularly. There was an awkward silence in the air for as Jenna was throwing away the tarp. Littlefoot was somewhat uneasy as he assumed that he had angered the female husky. Perhaps it would best to try and put her mind off the whole thing.

"Were… were those two also your kids?" he asked.

"Huh?" Jenna wasn't entirely paying attention since she was busy burying the tarp in the snow, "Oh, yes. Those were Dingo and Saba the two oldest of Balto and my pups. I would've introduced you properly if we weren't in such a hurry. Speaking of which, what were you doing sneaking into town again?"

So much for getting her mind off the subject, "I-I was coming to see you."

"And this couldn't wait until morning because?" Jenna tried to urge Littlefoot into talking but could see how nervous he was to tell. She let out a deep breath to calm herself, "Littlefoot, I won't get mad, or tell Balto for that matter, so long as your honest with me. So, please tell me why you wanted to see me?"

"Well, I thought…" Littlefoot was clearly embarrassed by this whole ordeal, "I thought you didn't like me or any of my friend."

"What ever gave you that idea?"

"It's just something Cera said," Littlefoot admitted, "She said how the way you were acting when around us seemed like you didn't want to be near us. Like you couldn't wait to leave."

Now it was all becoming clear to Jenna. Looking back, it would be easy to misinterpret her actions as stuck-up, especially from a child's perspective. Jenna had to remind herself that even though this kid was slightly taller than her that he was still just that, a kid. She knew well enough that being faced with any signs of rejection, even if unintentional, could be hard for a child to go through.

"Oh, Littlefoot, I'm so sorry." Jenna gave the little longneck comforting nuzzle on his cheek, "I never meant to come off that way. I'm just still getting used to all of this. I don't know what Balto told you about me, but I'm not nearly as adventurous as him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he took the whole being sent to the past a lot better than I ever could." Jenna giggled at how she wondered just how Balto reacted to being in the past, "In all honesty, I'm really thankful of you."

"Really?"

"Well, of course. If it weren't for you, I would probably never have seen Balto ever again!" she said, "You know, when he told me about all of you and what happened to him, I didn't believe him. I mean, how could I? For me, he was only missing for a few hours, and it was all such an outlandish story that I had to assume it was all a dream. You have to understand that, next to my pups, Balto is very dear to me. If anything had happened to him while he was there, I don't know what I would do. Probably just sit on the porch waiting aimlessly for him to come home. I would never have known." Jenna's eyes were on the verge of watering with the thought of losing Balto, "When Balto came back, he told me all about you and how your family took him in. That you all took care of him. So, I just want to thank you for helping him come back to me, and I'm sorry I didn't convey that earlier." she leaned into Littlefoot's and pressed her hand along his shoulder and a makeshift hug.

The young longneck knew this thus wrapped his long neck around her back in his own form of embrace. They stood there holding each other as Littlefoot let out a smile. Not because she conformed about not disliking him, but because he finally saw the Jenna he's heard so much about. He could remember the days when Balto was still living on the Great Valley that he would tell Littlefoot about his mate and how lovely she was. The way he talked about her reminded Littlefoot about his own mother and always hoped to meet her. Now he officially was, and she was precisely how Balto had described her: kind, gentle, loving, and warm.

After a while, Jenna broke the hug and proceeded to swat the tears away with her paw, "I didn't mean to get so emotional on you. We should get going before Balto wakes up."

Thus, they were on their way to the boat. Just about time, for the sky was beginning to light up with the coming dawn. They quickly worked on getting to the old fishing boat, but not before seeing familiar tired wolfdog stretching off the bow of the ship before walking off the plank as Littlefoot and Jenna approached.

"Good morning, dear." she greeted.

It was then that Balto noticed his mate, "Morning Jenna," he said sleepily that he almost didn't even see the little longneck right next to her, "Littlefoot? What are you doing up so early?"

At first, Littlefoot thought he was in trouble until Jenna jumped in, "He was with me, Balto. When I got here, the poor dear was thirsty, so I took him out to get him a drink. Honestly, it was no trouble at all."

"Oh, okay."

Balto was obviously too tired to even question it. While the wolfdog let out a big yawn, Jenna gave Littlefoot a sly wink. From this point, Littlefoot knew that Jenna was true to her word in not telling what really happened, thus walked back up the plank as his friends would wake up soon. He'll also make sure to let Cera know that her thoughts of Jenna being 'stuck up' were just nothing but false. This was good, as it allowed Jenna to talk privately with her beloved mate.

"Balto, you look so tired," she said worryingly once seeing how heavy his eyes still looked, "It's the dreams again, isn't it?"

There was no use getting past his mate, "Yeah," Balto stretched out again before continuing, "They're getting worse." he then told her what happened in the dream included the voice still saying, 'Come find me!' but neglected to tell her the whole, 'or she dies!' fearing that the voice may have been threatening Jenna.

"Was there anything that in there that could help?" Jenna asked.

"Yes. The wolf." Balto said for dead sure, "The wolf who appeared in my dream was Nava. I just know it." he again stretched his neck out, "As soon as I'm a bit more awake, I'll go talk to him. See if there's anything he knows about all of this."

The fact that Balto was about to go out on another adventure so soon troubled Jenna, "Do you even know where he is?"

"I know someone who does."

"And what of the kids?" Jenna dropped that little bombshell on her mate, "Last you saw Nava it was at least a day's journey away. What are they going to do while you're gone?"

"I'm sure that Boris can hold down the fort while I'm gone," he said.

"You really haven't thought this through," Jenna could easily see this was all a last-second decision, "Boris has enough of his hands full when it comes to Muk and Luk. I can't watch them for that long because Rosy will get so worried to have her parents look for me, and two guesses of where's the first place they'll look. Besides, no one here knows these kids better than you. They need you here and now."

Balto knew in she was right, but he also knew this was the best chance to get a lead on how to help his dinosaur friends, "I know, Jenna. But I also made a promise to get them home, and this could be it. Don't you see? I have to go."

"Go! Go where!"

The two canine's gaze turned upwards as they could see no other than Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Boris staring down on them from the boat's railing. It would appear that Littlefoot, in the boredom of waiting, decided to check on what was keeping Balto so long. Well, his timing couldn't have been more perfect. Now everyone was looking to Balto to see what was going on. The wolfdog turned to his mate for some advice, but all he got from her was one solitary look. He didn't need words to know that it said, 'You're the one who decided to take responsibility, so you should tell them.' So, he took a deep breath before he broke this awkward silence.

"Listen, everyone, I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news," Balto said, "Good news, I think I know someone who can get you kids home." The children were practically overjoyed to hear this, "Bad news is that he doesn't live close by, so I might be gone for a bit."

"How long is a bit?" Cera asked with suspicion.

There was a pregnant pause before Balto answered, "Two days."

No surprise, there were many protests to this. It was clear that the children were none too pleased with this whole ordeal. Spike was utterly confused by the entire situation. Ducky and Petrie couldn't help but feel a sense of abandonment. Cera, though she wouldn't admit it, didn't like to be in this strange land any longer then she had to. Littlefoot was just upset that Balto had to leave so shortly after being reunited with him. Each and every one of them voicing their disapproval all at once. None caring in the slightest if they were talking over one another. Balto was almost overwhelmed by the arguing children, and it didn't help that Jenna had this 'I told you so' look on her face.

"Balto!" Boris glides down to meet the wolfdog face-to-face, "You can't leave me to take care of seven kids by myself."

"Boris, there's only five of them." Balto corrects him.

"You know very well where I got that number!"

"Guys, I know this is all out of the blue, but It's only for two days," Balto tried to reason with them, "I'll be there and back as quick as possible."

"But we were hoping to spend more time with you." said Ducky.

Littlefoot then spoke up, "We haven't seen you for such a long time, and now you're going to leave us behind?"

Balto was at a loss for words. He knew that he was disappointing these kids, but what was the wolfdog to do. As much as Balto would love to spend as much time with them, his main goal was to get them all back home to their families. He had a responsibility to these kids after all. Jenna, however, could see how this was eating her mate up inside. She knew Balto better than anyone and knew that all he really wanted to do was help them in whatever way he can. Even if he ends up getting in over his head. So, being ever supportive, step up to help.

"Why not take them with you?" she said. "Give them a chance to see just how different our time is to theirs." Balto was about to retort, but then the children suddenly went from disappointed murmurs to cries of excitement. Jenna knew she was on the right track, so she whispered into Balto's ear, "Besides, you said they were brought here for a reason. This might be your best chance to figure that out."

"Alight. Alight!" Balto said to both answer his mate and to quiet down the children, "If it makes everybody happy, you can come with me."

The children were ecstatic to hear that they were going to go on one of Balto's adventures. To go out and explore this brand-new world. It was a lot to take in, and they were all more than ready to go this very second. But their little journey would have to wait for only a bit, for it was early, and no one has had a chance to have any breakfast. So, Balto instructed Boris to take the dinosaur over to woods to eat and to make sure to keep them out of view of the town just in case.

In the meantime, Balto and Jenna stayed where they were. After all, Balto just bought himself a few minutes rest before he had to leave. Jenna, on the other hand, went on the boat and searched through his chest for something to eat. Being the town's hero dog brought with it quite a few benefits. Such of which is free jerky for life. Over the years, Balto had always made sure to store enough to ensure he wouldn't go hungry for any given week. Grabbing some in her mouth, Jenna went back down so that the two may eat together like they were sure to do every morning.

"You know, it could be dangerous out there?" Balto asked while enjoying his jerky, "You sure it's a good idea for me to bring them?"

"Maybe." Jenna answered, "Which is why I like knowing that you're not out there all on your own."

Balto chuckled as what his mate was insinuating, "Oh, so they're supposed to be looking after me."

"Well, why not?" Jenna was playing coy, "If memory serves me, you said that if it weren't for them, then you wouldn't have defeated that Horned Sharptooth."

Balto then gave her a cheeky smile of his own, "I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you. I just need to remember what that was." such a remarkable was enough to earn a hard shove from the now pouting Jenna, "Joking! I was joking. But seriously, what would I do without you?"

"Almost get eaten by a bear." She said bluntly.

"…and that's the story of how I ended up in Nome."

Boris finished his little tale to the children soon after arriving at the wood. For several minutes now, the old goose had entertained the young dinosaurs as they ate. Dear lord, were they ever such a curious bunch, but Boris obliged to keep their interest peaked for the time being. It at least helps keep the kids focus away from the bitter-tasting leaves they were still forced to make do with. Oh, they couldn't wait until getting back to the Great Valley any sooner to have their regular food.

"That was amazing, Mr. Boris. Yep, yep, yep." Ducky exclaimed.

"Yeah," said Petrie, who was gnawing on one of these bitter leaves, "No wonder you so scared of flying."

Boris momentarily slapped his wing over his eyes in embarrassment. Of course, Balto would tell them about his fear of heights. It didn't help much when the yellow threehorn was snickering at his discomfort.

"So, you knew Balto for a really long time, right?" asked Littlefoot.

"Yes. Not long after I came to Nome in fact," Boris answered, "Back then he was only just a little thing, probably a bit younger than you kids are now, all alone and starving. I still have the marks from when he tried to take a bite out of me."

It was then that Cera spoke up, "What happened to his parents?"

Boris tapped his lowered beak as he pondered that question, "I don't know. He doesn't really like talking about it. All I know is that his mother just disappeared without a trace when he was little."

Hearing this put Littlefoot's mind into question. Now he already knew about the fate of Balto's parents, for the wolfdog told him about them in private. The thing that got Littlefoot thinking, however, was how Boris said that his mother disappeared when Balto straight up said to the young longneck that she was dead. He didn't think much of it at the time since Balto was letting a lot out by recount the story but then remembered how the wolfdog said the day his mother left to find food was the last he ever saw her. So, how did Balto come to the conclusion of his mother's ultimate fate? Why not assume that she could still be out there, somewhere, looking for him? Littlefoot didn't know why he was so concerned about this little detail. Maybe he was thinking about this too hard. It's not like such detail was essential or anything, right?

As soon as their bellies were all full, Boris led them back to the boat. Once again, the gang took the same route around behind the old ship as they did yesterday, and just in time. Balto and Jenna had also finished with their breakfast. Balto was still a bit nervous about these new arrangements, he knew deep down there was nothing to fear. These children have been through many dangerous situations before and always seemed to make it out on top. Perhaps it was that old parental instinct kicking in once again. He was responsible for them, after all, it was only natural that he would feel worried. But now, it was ever more apparent that Balto could not delay this venture any longer.

"Well, I guess if there are no further delays, we can begin heading out." Balto announced.

"It's about time," said Boris quite unexpectedly, "I thought we never get this show on the road."

Balto paused in confusion, "Wait, you're coming?"

"Yeah. Well, its been a while since I last been on an adventure." the old goose answered.

"And the last one ended with you being in a plane crash." Balto said bluntly.

"Details, details." Boris brushed the statement away, "Besides you would need help looking after these children. After all, who helped you raise your own pups when they were little?"

"Jenna." Balto said with a completely deadpan expression.

"Well, of course, get technical," Boris said frustratingly, "But who else was there to help raise them?"

"Rosy."

Boris just slapped his wing against his face knowing full well that Balto was teasing him. Finally, after giving up, the goose pulled Balto in for whisper, "Alright. Truth is, is that I'm going nuts over here waiting for Stella to come back from migration, and I need something to do to keep my mind off of it. Plus I could use a break from those pesky bears."

Balto sighed to himself, "If you insist."

"Don't worry Boris," said Jenna, "I'll find a way to keep Muk and Luk busy while you're gone."

"Oh, bless you, Jenna." Boris thank her as he joined the dinosaurs.

Seeing that the gang was more than ready, Balto faced Jenna one last time, "You know what the say: the quicker we leave faster we can get back."

"Then you better get going," she said, "You know I hate it when you're gone for too long."

The two canines soon nuzzled each other affectionately. Once they broke it, Balto led everyone else off into the wood. Most of the gang bid the reddish husky a farewell, all except for one. Littlefoot lagged behind so that he could have one last word with Jenna.

"Goodbye, Jenna. Thanks for convincing Balto to let us join him."

"Don't mention it, Littlefoot. However, I'll admit, my reasons were mostly selfish." Jenna's words left Littlefoot confused, "You saw how Balto was earlier. He always thinks he has to carry the world on his shoulders because he's afraid to be a burden on others. But, in my experience, that's usually when he needs somebody by his side the most. So, please Littlefoot, look after him for me."

"I will."

Littlefoot gave Jenna another quick hug, which she gladly accepted and returned before he was off to catch up with the others. Luckily, they didn't get far to even notice he lagged behind. It wasn't long before they had all reach the edge of the forest and, with one step forward, their journey had officially begun. Every step they took the beach of Nome became smaller behind the approaching tree line until all the gang could see was endless woodland from all around them.

For the next hour, Balto and the gang trek the snowy terrain with nothing but the sound of snow crunching under their feet. However, the cold environment proved to be too much for the group's smaller individuals. Ducky found it challenging to move through the snowy surface as it almost came up her midsection. Thus, she sought sanctuary on top of Spike's head but, even then, the inactivity caused her to shiver under the cold. Petrie, from personal experience, knew that flying for a prolonged period would cause his wings to stiff up until they become frozen. So, the young fly took refuge in Balto's fur. After a while of what seemed like aimless walking, a certain threehorn was becoming a bit antsy.

"We've been walking for hours," Cera exaggerated due to her boredom, "Where are we even going anyway?"

"Simple. We're going to go see Nava." Balto answered without a pause in his movement.

"Isn't he that wolf you said talks to spirits?" said Ducky while trying to hide her shivering.

"The very same."

Cera responded with a huff, "Great, we're going to meet another Jiao."

Balto tensed up when he heard that name. Jiao, a middle-aged longneck who was both a self-proclaimed prophet and one of Balto's most prominent rivals from within the Great Valley. Throughout Balto's stay, Jiao had made it his mission to get the wolfdog thrown out of the valley, and things really escalated when he found out that Balto was a carnivore. Balto would still get flashes of when that longneck almost beat him to death. So, if anything, it was insulting to compare Nava to Jiao.

A sentiment not only felt by Balto as Littlefoot gave the young threehorn a shove muttering, "Cera." sternly under his breath.

"What?" Cera spoke back with irritation, "You can't tell me there aren't some similarities."

"Yes, they both claim to speak to spirits, but that's just a surface-level comparison," Balto explained, "Like I said a while back, Nava is a kind wolf. He helped my daughter and me, after all."

"So, where is this guy anyway?" Cera said smugly.

"Yeah… about that. I don't know." The looks on everyone's face was priceless as they stared at Balto in disbelief.

Not satisfied with this, Boris stepped up to voice his complaints, "Balto, are you saying that you've been leading us on a wild goose chase?"

"Of course not, Boris. If that were the case, we'd all be following you," Balto joked around to lighten the mood; which seemed to work as the gang did have a chuckle at that, "In all seriousness, just because I don't know where Nava is doesn't mean I don't know how to find him. I have a friend out here who can help us with just that."

Boris pondered on this response, "But the only person we know out here is… oh no."

"What wrong with Boris?" asked Petrie

Balto tried to think of how to phrase his answer, for it was kind of a sensitive topic, "Let's just say he and Boris don't get along."

They continued walking through the wilderness believing the trip to be uneventful, or so they thought. Balto stopped dead in his tracks as he a familiar scent reached his nose. The smell of dog. Not just any dog, this scent belonged to Caesar. The scent was soon followed up by his owner, Old Man Johnson. They must be out here hunting, but this area was out of their usual hunting range. Quickly, he warned the others of the approaching danger and to follow him to safety. The wolfdog first led them all across a small creek in the hope the water would help in masking their scent; after which he had them all hide behind some bush and underbrush around the area. It wasn't enough, though. Balto pulled off a low hanging branch as he began to use it to sweep away the track left in the snow. He was only able to reach the edge of the creek before he heard Old Man Johnson shouting in the distance.

"That's it, boy! Go get 'em!"

No more time to clean footprints anymore, Balto could already hear Caesar moving closer. He just hopes that this would be enough to throw the two off the gang's trail. The wolfdog tossed the branch in the water and watched how the current pushed it downstream out of sight. Not long did it take before Caesar barreled out from the tree lines stopping just at the edge of the creek. So enamored he was with his tracking that the dog didn't even notice Balto on the other side at first.

"Caesar?" Balto said a casually as possible.

"Oh, hey Balto," Caesar only passing notice to the wolfdog before sniffing the ground with anticipation.

"You seemed to be hunting outside of your preferred area," Balto said in a way that hopefully didn't come off as an interrogation, "What's up?"

It was only after such that Caesar picked his head off the ground to better address the wolfdog, "After all the laughter my owner and I received the other day, he decided we should go back out and find that Wendigo." Caesar used his paw to point at the prints that still on the other side of the creek. "See? Wendigo tracks. From how some of the prints vary in space, I believe this thing has six legs at the very least." Balto sighed in relief. It was a good thing that Caesar was such a lousy tracker, or else he would have caught Balto's scent and prints intermingled with the kids, "I'll sure show those other dogs. My owner and I: we're going to catch it, stuff it, and have it hanging on the general store wall. Then we'll see who's laughing."

Hearing what plans Caesar and Old Man Johnson had in store for his friends painted a very morbid image in Balto's mind. The thought of the gangs' heads mounted on a wall somewhere was almost enough for a growl to form in his throat.

"Yeah…" Balto did his best to keep calm under these horrible imaginations, "That's… great."

"Say," Caeser pulled his attention away from the tracks for once, "What are you doing out here so early?"

Balto, seeing a chance to change the topic, jumped on it immediately, "I'm here to see Kemo." he said without hesitation, and why not? It was a half-truth after all, "His territory is across this creek after all. You should be careful. You know how much he doesn't like humans, and his feelings for hunting dogs are only slightly less so."

At the mention of that name caused Caesar a shiver down his spine, "I didn't know I was so close to his territory. I don't want to get my human in trouble with him."

Balto felt guilty for putting fear into the Bernese, "It's okay, Caesar. You're technically not on his territory right now. You know, the Wendigo probably went downstream. After all, what's downstream other than…"

"That's right, a lake!" Caesar's mood suddenly switched back to his ecstatic hunting self, "It'll probably go there to find something to eat. Thanks, Balto." Caesar was ready to run until he turned to Balto once more, "You won't tell Kemo I was here, will you?"

"My lips are sealed."

Caesar then ran off all the while barking to his owner to follow. Once Balto was sure the coast was clear, he returned to where the others were all hiding. The dinosaurs were all relieved to have avoided the confrontation with the dog if the things he said would be done to them were as bad as they sound. Needless to say, if any of them had any thoughts about visiting the town of Nome, those thoughts had soon diminished.

"That close one," Petrie said before flying back onto Balto's head, "Me thought he find us for sure."

"You said it," said Boris, "If that lazy dog had found us, you'd all be stuffed right about now."

"Boris," Balto loved this goose, he really did, but sometimes he lets his mouth yammer on, "Let's try not scaring the kids."

"Why?" Ducky spoke with her innocent curiosity, "What were they going to stuff us with? Food?" Spike nodded his with a grin on his face believing what his sister said to be the case.

Balto's heart felt as if it had twisted into a knot as mind went back to those earlier thoughts, "You don't want to know."

"Okay, then tell us about this Kemo guy," Cera interjected, "That's who we're meeting, right? From the way you and that dog talked about him, it sounds like he's someone to be avoided."

"Well, not exactly."

"But that dog said he didn't want his human to get in trouble with him, and humans have guns," Littlefoot said with also some worry, "Is this Kemo really that scary to take on a human?"

"No, he's a nice guy," Balto tried to calm everyone down, "It's just that he can be a bit grumpy."

Boris let a chuckle at this notion, "A bit? I wouldn't be surprised if Kemo would rip a bear's arm off for looking at him funny."

"Boris!"Balto barked back.

Realizing he was doing more harm than good, the goose tried to remedy the situation, "Oh... I mean... he's as gentle as a butterfly."

Balto hid his face behind one of his paws in embarrassment, "Guys, I know how it all sounds, buts there's nothing to worry about."

Cera though was not as convinced, "Sure. Then how come him and Boris don't get along?"

Balto took a deep gulp as he knew this wasn't going to end well, "When I first introduce them to each other, Kemo tried to... eat him." everyone's eyes shot up wide with fear, "Listen, everyone, there's nothing to be afraid of. Honest. The second that Kemo knows that you're with me, he won't do anything to harm you. I promise."

There was a moment of silence amongst the group. Indeed they were all a bit hesitant to be walking straight into the lands of some predator they didn't know. Such a thing wasn't their idea of a good time. However, Balto did say that this guy could help them with find Nava and thus get them home. It's not like they had any other options here.

"We believe you Balto," Littlefoot stepped up for his friends, "Lead the way."

Happy to see his Littlefoot by his, Balto continued to lead on through the forest. Most of the gang followed after him. All except for two.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Cera asked Littlefoot.

"Well, Balto sure seems to trust him." was all Littlefoot could answer with.

"But we don't know anything about this guy!" Cera retorted, "How can we sure if Balto is right about him?"

"Because I trust Balto," Littlefoot said bluntly before starting to walk off, "Remember what happened the last time we didn't trust him?"

Cera sighed to herself as she knew what he meant. How when they were all tricked by Jiao into thinking that Balto was an evil sharptooth bent on eating them. That no matter how much Balto tried to convince them overwise, none of them bothered to listen. Such action led to them all turning on him, and Balto suffering at being beaten by Jiao. When the gang finally figured out what was really going on, they all felt ashamed for allowing such a thing to happen to one of their friends. Remembering these events caused Cera to be silent and follow after everyone else.

With everything settled, Balto and the gang were once again set out to find this Kemo person. Nothing of much interest had happened after their near encounter with Caesar. Just trekking through the thick snowy trees of the woods once again was starting to wane on the children. Boredom was slowly setting in on the group something that Balto was afraid might happen. Seeing the problem at hand, Boris opted that they should sing a song to help pass the time. The old goose had also taken it upon himself to teach them Frère Jacques, and it worked wonders. Balto looked back with a smile seeing the children were now gleefully enjoying themselves despite this long trip.

"Come on, Balto, join us." Littlefoot said with glee.

Balto just shook his head, "I'm not much of a singer."

Boris chuckled at this, "He's not kidding. His singing is so bad it can break the thickest ice."

"My personal motivational speaker, Boris, everybody." Balto said sarcastically which got everyone to giggle.

"How much farther now, Balto?" asked Petrie.

"We should be near the center of Kemo's territory by now," Balto took a whiff of the air to find any trace of his friend, "Don't worry. If we can't find him, he'll definitely find us."

"Yeah, because we all want to be stalked by a predator." Cera said under her breath.

"Ask, and you shall receive."

The group stopped dead in their tracks looking for the sound of the voice. What they saw, from on a boulder, was a large cougar. Its fur that of a dirt ridden gold. The paws lay comfortably on the rock as the cat occasionally showed its razor-sharp claws. All except for the right hind leg, which looked to be lame from some sort of struggle. However, that was not as nearly noticeable as the deep greenish-yellow eyes that leered at the children with hunger. That look was enough to steal the breath away from the children's throats in fear of making the slightest sound.

Though Littlefoot knew better, he felt that he had to ask anyway, "Balto, is this him?"

"No," the wolfdog answered without hesitation, "Stay behind me." The dinosaurs did what he said as Balto faced the mountain lion, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I think you know what I want," the large cat leaped off the rocks and approached the group. Slower than usual thanks to the lame hind leg, "You see, winter has been especially harsh this year. Most of the best game are either hibernating, or have migrated someplace warmer." he tried to look over Balto's at the dinosaurs, but the wolfdog kept blocking his gaze, "I couldn't help but notice you have quite the bounty. I'm willing to be nice. Be a neighbor and how about sharing some of your spoils."

Balto could hear the young ones gasping at the cougar's request, "Sorry, but we have somewhere to be right now."

"What's your hurry?" the cougar stepped in the wolfdog's path, "I love having people over for dinner."

"That's out of the question," Balto insisted, "We've come to see a friend, so please let us pass."

The cougar though was persistent and wasn't taking the hint, "What about the plump green one?" he pointed to Spike who, out of fear, burrowed his head in the snow to hide, "Surely, you already have more than enough for whoever you're meeting and, look, it comes with a little dessert on top."

Ducky coward from on top of her brother. She didn't like how this animal was talking about her and Spike. This guy was really crossing the line as far as Balto was concerned. He jumped in front of the cougar and took a defensive pose.

"They are not for eating!"

The cougar was taken aback by the wolfdog's outburst, but it was only just a moment, "Oh, you must be one of those prey sympathizers. Adopting something that's supposed to be your food, pathetic." he gagged in disgust, "Let me guess, you're a vegetarian too?"

"I'm far from being a vegetarian," Balto replied, still holding a defensive position, "But these children are my responsibility, they're under my protection. All I want to get them back home, so leave us be!"

The cougar was still not taking the hint, "I didn't notice it until now, but you also smell of dog. You're a domesticated animal, aren't you?" Balto didn't answer, but it did confirm his suspicions, "Now it makes sense. You have no real predatory instincts to speak of. Oh well, I tried playing nice. I guess I have to be more forceful."

"Don't lay a paw on them!"

"Or what?" the cougar was starting to mock the wolfdog, "Are you going to go cry to your human masters. Weak-minded pet."

"Boy, are you dumb," Cera said, walking in front of Balto, much to his dismay, to face the cat, "You have no idea who you're talking to. Balto is strong enough to take on a Horned Sharptooth, let alone kick your butt any day across this forest."

"I have no idea what that is," the cougar said before lifting up a paw, his claws extended, "But thanks for volunteering to be my first meal." the mountain lion took a swipe at Cera's head, but the threehorn ducked the attack as she squealed. Her courage had diminished in that instant.

That was the last straw! It was bad enough that this cougar was threatening the young ones, but he's now proven to be a real threat to their lives. Reacting fast, Balto rushed the cougar from the left and bit down on its neck. The cougar struggled to shake him off, but Balto was not budging. The wolfdog was determined to hold onto the big cat no matter how much it flailed about. Eventually, Balto was able to push the mountain lion on its side and pin it to the ground.

"Boris!" Balto exclaimed, "Take the kids and run!"

Boris did as he was told and ushered the children deep into the trees. As he watched them go out of site, Balto let his guard down long enough for the cougar to roll over and smacked the wolfdog off. The cat tried to make a beeline for the dinosaurs, but Balto stopped him by grabbing hold of the feline's busted leg with his jaw. The two animals were soon tussling along the snowy grounds.

Deeper in the forest, the gang ran for their collective lives away from the battle with Boris leading the way. So frightened they were of the cougar that they opted to not look back as they feared it would right behind them. Just run and let Balto handle it by himself. Littlefoot stopped in his tracks when he realized this. They just left Balto by himself with that thing.

"Littlefoot, what are you doing!" Cera asked being the first to notice the longneck had stopped.

"What's the matter? You got ants in pants?" Boris went to the dinosaur's rear-end to try and push him to move, "Let's go!"

"But we can't." Littlefoot asserted, "We can't just leave Balto behind."

"Come on, Littlefoot, he's a grownup," Cera tried to convince him, "He can take care of himself. He beat the Horned Sharptooth, remember?"

"Not without our help," Littlefoot corrected, "Balto has already done a lot for us, and now he needs our help. Are we just going to leave him there?"

"Listen, boychik, I know you want to help, but now is not the time," Boris was moved by Littlefoot's words like the rest of the children, but he had to be the responsible adult here, "The best way to help him now is to get to safety." Boris closed his eyes as he stood up straight to give off a sense of authority, "Since Balto left me in charge, I must take responsibility and insist that we…" when the old goose opened his eyes, the kids were already gone; running straight into battle, "Why does no one ever listen to me?" he soon followed after them.

Back to the dueling animals. Balto was struggling a bit in overpowering this mountain lion as teeth and claw flew all around. Despite the bad leg, this feline has proven to be quite the opponent. The two were locked trying to wrestle the other to the ground. Balto could've had it if the cougar didn't throw another sucker punch at the wolfdog's head. The cougar changed in hopes to land the final blow to this meddling wolfdog. Instead, something slammed into cougar's side, sending him tumbling away from his intended target.

"You wanna mess with him?" Balto looked up to see none other than Cera kicking the dirt under her foot, "You'll have to get through me."

The cougar growled at the threehorn and was ready to attack her. Suddenly a series of large rocks and snowballs were being chucked at the feline's head. Littlefoot threw the snowballs to distract as Spike attacked by throwing the stones. Balto was surprised to see that the gang had come back to aid him. A fact he wishes to address as Boris came out to try and help him up.

"I thought I told you all to run." Balto said in a daze.

"Trust me, I tried," said Boris as he continued to help pick his wolfdog friend up, "But that Littlefoot can be pretty persuasive sometimes."

The cougar was starting to become very annoyed right now. All this hustle over some food. If that wasn't enough, icicles were also being thrown at him from above. Overhead, the large cat saw Ducky and Petrie on top of a tree branch chucking the pieces of ice, as large as they could get their hands on, right at him.

"Take that you mean old sharptooth!" Ducky shouted as she hurled some more ice.

The cougar was becoming ever more frustrated as one of those chunks actually struck him in the eye. Now he was determined to finish end this. The cat jumped up on the tree the two smaller dinosaurs were on and began climbing it. Littlefoot, thinking fast, grabbed the cougar by the tail with his teeth. The young longneck tried to pull the cougar down only to get swatted by the back of its paw. Littlefoot fell to the ground with a hard thud and, when he looked up, saw how the cougar was now on top of him ready to bite down on his neck.

Something snapped within Balto. Seeing Littlefoot underneath this vicious predator sent the wolfdog's blood boiling. Pushing back the pain from being hit, Balto pounced on the cougar's back and bit into the back of its neck with such fury it would put some sharpteeth to shame. The cougar tried with all his might to shake off the wolfdog: he jumped, he kicked, but the canine stayed on. Balto, despite his ferocity, found it to be hard to rip into the skin thanks in no small part to the feline's excess skin. The cougar then tried to stand on his one good leg and fell back to slam Balto on the ground. It was strong enough to knock the wind out of the wolfdog. He was helpless as the mountain lion pinned him to the ground ready to end this once and for all with one bite to the jugular, but it never came.

It took a moment for Balto to realize that a howl broke out in the area. A deep – strong howl that echoed across the trees which only amplify its volume. Everyone saw that on top the rocks the cougar previously laid stood a wolf. A massive wolf, whose size made Balto almost look short. His fur was as white as the snow that covered the very ground. The only exception being the shade of black that lined up along the tips of his ears. The gaze of his hard – golden eyes pieced through the cougar's render the cat into a fearful state. However, the most noticeable feature was the scar. A hideously red scar that began on his right cheek, directly below the eye, and stretched all the way down his neck ending just on the right shoulder blade. The wolf jumped down and approached the cougar with his body straight, ears back, and deep growl escaping his throat.

"Kemo." the cougar said as he clearly lost his nerves almost becoming a stuttering mess, "What a surprise running into you like this."

Kemo posture didn't change in the slightest, "Yes, it is a surprise to see you here, Lumoc," his voice was gruff and stern as he practically spat at the mention of the cougar's name, "Especially seeing that these are my hunting grounds, my territory! I thought you would know better after our last encounter."

The cougar, Lumoc, pulled his lame leg right under him trying to hide it from the monster wolf, "I didn't mean anything bad by it. It's just that this winter been very harsh in my territory, and I was so hungry I had to do something." the gang was amazed how this once fearsome predator was being rendered as a blithering child being scolded by a parent, "Surely, you have more than enough to share in these lands."

Kemo stood tall as Lumoc shrank under his gaze, "Winter is always hard on all of us hunters. It's still no excuse for trespassing. I seem to remember I made a similar offer to you when I first came here long ago, and how you wanted these lands all to yourself leading to our current predicament of me having to chase you out. If you can't survive in these conditions that's on your head, and if you die, you die."

"If that's what Balto calls grumpy, I do not want to see him angry," Ducky said as Petrie flew her back onto Spike's head, "Nope, nope, nope." everyone silently agreed.

It was then that Kemo saw Balto being pinned under Lumoc, and immediately his fur stood with anger, "And you dare attack my guest! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart."

Lumoc quickly scrambled to get off of Balto, "I didn't know he was with you. Listen, I'm sorry, really. I learned my lesson." Lumoc was nearly in tears with fear, "Please spare me, and you'll never see me around here again."

Kemo looked upon the blither mess before him and let out a huff, "Pathetic." his posture now relaxing, "Go! Before I decide to break another leg."

Lumoc wasted no time to scurry out of there with his tail between his legs. The gang stood there in astonishment of how quickly that was taken care of. So, this was Kemo. Now some of them understood why Balto was quick to try and keep them calm before meeting him. No matter how they looked at him, this wolf carried with him a presence that made you feel like you should think twice before messing with him. The intimidation factor didn't stop when Balto got up and showed that, with both of them standing on all four, the wolfdog's head only reached slightly over Kemo's broad shoulder.

"Thanks for the save, Kemo," Balto said without a hint of fear being close to the large size wolf.

"Anytime," said Kemo. The tone in his voice soften immensely, but still carried a low gruff to it, "Good to see you again, Balto. It's been some time since we last saw one another."

"Sorry about that. Things have been hectic in ways you wouldn't believe."

A small chuckle escapes from Kemo's throat, "So long as you, Jenna, your pups, and that little human of yours are okay then that's fine with me."

Boris waddled up until he was next to Balto, "You're quite a sight for sore eyes, 'Scarface.'"

"Feeling's mutual, 'Lunch.'"

Balto snickered a little at the banter between the two, "Actually, there is a reason why we're here, but first let me introduce you to..." Balto looked over to see the young dinosaurs shyly hiding behind the trees, "Come on guys, I want you all to meet my friend. Don't worry, he won't bite. I promise."

Kemo stood still as to not frighten Balto's friends any more than he probably already did. From out of the trees came what could be the oddest-looking creatures he ever laid eyes on. Just from looking at them, Kemo could see that they were as curious about him as he was of them. If their scent was anything to go by, he could tell that they must be pretty young for their respective species. Still didn't stop the wolf from giving Balto a very quizzical look.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" he asked.

Balto just laughed, "It's a long story. First let me introduce you all," Balto walked into the middle of the two groups, "Kemo, allow me to introduce you to Littlefoot, Cera, Duckey, Petrie, and Spike." he pointed to each dinosaur with his paw so Kemo could identify them, "Guys, this is Kemo. My brother."

End of Chapter 3

A/N: And with that, I think we'll end with that surprise twist. For those not in the know, Kemo an old fanon character created by Cyberwulf back in the late 90s as a means to answer who the white wolf was in the first movie was (as you probably tell he was made before the second movie came out), who sadly I haven't seen utilized that much anymore. Though I will cover it later, his origins from Cyberwulf's fic 'Reunion' are pretty much the same with a few creative liberties (such as possessing a scar now). Anyway, just to let everybody know, I'm taking a short break for now. No, I'm not going away for seven years! Just need a quick break from writing two stories at the same time, and to get some creative juices flowing by catching up with a book or two. Until then, hope you all enjoy today extra-large chapter enough to leave a review. Till next time.