Sorry for the long delay. So, when we last left them, Copper and Taya were both captives of Nick Carson, Taya's sadistic former master. And their only hope is... oh, right. This isn't good.

Meanwhile, Toby and Luna were still tailing Copper. Toby had already given the tracks a once-over, and determined that Copper was following Taya, Steele, and two other dogs.

"Maybe we should get your dad," Luna suggested. "we'll make better time if he can carry us."

Toby shook his head. "He'd just say to stay put while he had all the fun." Deepening his voice and adopting a halfway decent impression of his father's southern twang, he added, "Chasing after one maniac like Steele is bad enough, but if those other two dogs are on his side you won't stand a chance. Besides, time is vital right now, and I can't have you two slowing me down."

Luna shrugged, trying not to let on that she was a bit uneasy about the whole matter. It wasn't the strange dogs that worried her, but Steele. For one thing, how could you fight someone so demented, so unpredictable? The fact that he was her grandfather just made it worse. "Maybe it would be better if he went instead."

Toby snorted in derision. "No way. Did Balto go back for help?"

"You're not Balto."

"Well my dad wouldn't either, and I'm sure not going to. I'm following them, but you can stay if you're scared."

Luna's face took on a dangerous expression, with her eyes narrowed and her ears back. "I'm not scared of that big bully," she shot back. "I just don't want you getting in trouble."

"Right, because I was the one who got kidnapped last time," Toby nipped sarcastically.

That was pushing it. "Listen, you," she growled, "I'll go anywhere you go, and that's that. Just don't slow me down."

"Ha! Eat my dust," Toby shot back, and took off at a run.

Luna was close behind, and together the two pups scampered across the tundra, not making very good time but still making headway. It wasn't very long, probably not more than half an hour, before Toby skidded to a stop. Luna crashed into him from behind, burying him face-first in the snow.

"Hey, what's the holdup?" she yipped.

Toby pulled his head out. "There's two dogs headed this way."

"Mom and Dad?"

Toby sniffed the air, which luckily had begun blowing in his direction. "No, two dogs I've never smelled before. I think they're strays."

"They must be the other two who were with Mom and Gran… Steele."

Toby nodded. "Let's hide behind that rise over there and let them pass."

Luna agreed, and the two of them quickly ducked out of sight, watching the two strange dogs with their eyes wide and their ears down. They couldn't hear any conversation, but the two dogs were moving at a pretty good clip and looked badly scared.

"Think your mom taught them a lesson?" asked Toby once the strays were out of sight and he and Luna were back on the trail.

Luna shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "If she was fighting them, she was fighting them with Steele too. Even she's not up to three against one."

That didn't bode well for Taya. "Let's go," Toby whispered as son as the dogs were safely past. The two of them took off following the tracks again, a little more earnestly than before.

They kept on, pausing only to take stock of what had happened wherever they found odd marks in the snow. The print of one dog's back – Toby guessed it was one of the strays – surrounded by pawprints that smelled of Copper – marked the place of a fight which Copper had clearly won. Further on, they found the place where Steele's tracks veered sharply to the left and the rest kept going, with all other strides lengthening into a dead run there.

"I guess... this means... that Steele had them... follow Mom," Luna panted. All the walking and running was hard on her short legs, and she'd missed lunch to boot.

"Yeah, but... for how long?" asked Toby, not faring much better (if any) than Luna. "You... think she's... okay?"

"She has to be," Luna replied. "We know Dad... found them... so..."

There was no need for her to finish. If Copper even suspected that those strays had done anything to Taya, he would have left them in no shape for running.

"Hey!" barked Toby, "Up ahead!"

In the distance loomed what looked like an old house or something. The tracks veered in that direction.

"Looks like that's where they went," said Luna.

They reached the building and nosed around, looking for a place to get inside. "This place smells nasty," grimaced Toby, wrinkling his nose. "It's all musty and... ugh, I'm not sure what else but something smells bad."

"Hey, I think I found a way in." Luna dug away at some drifted snow, clearing a gap between two boards near the ground. "Let's go in."

The pups carefully entered, squeezing through and letting their eyes adjust to the darkness. "Ugh, smells even worse down here," Toby scowled. "I can't find my way in this place. There's too many smells everywhere."

"Hey, I think I found something." Luna raised up on her hind paws to study a rusty old cage. A thorough inspection showed it to be on some kind of sliding track, long since rendered useless by dirt and decay. The door was equally disabled, hanging by a twisted locking mechanism barely still screwed in place. The hinges had been unpinned.

"Hey, I think one of my ancestors was here," said Luna. "Taking the pins out is an old family trick."

"Yeah, but why would they be here?" Toby wanted to know.

Luna shrugged. "How should I know? Until a couple of weeks ago I didn't even know who my grandpa was."

Toby had to admit that she had a point. "Well, I can't pull any scent off the cage. Whoever or whatever was in it split ages ago."

Luna was disappointed. She had wanted to find out more about the cage that she was sure had some tie to her family's past. Her past.

"Let's get going," urged Toby, anxious to get out of this place. His brain was beginning to sort out the odors here. Mildew, rotting wood, something or maybe a lot of somethings that had died and been left to rot, and the stench that hung around the building people where people walked in and staggered out. There was one other scent, and although he had never detected it in a human before, he recognized it as the stench of wicked people. It seemed to trail through the air, but wherever it came from it seemed to have been there a long time.

Then he caught another whiff. "Copper!" he barked.

Luna jumped. "Where?"

"Somewhere around here. He's been in recently. Let's follow him."

They trailed the scent through the crawlspace to a duct blocked off by a crate. "No good," whispered Luna.

"Let's try that one over there," said Toby, heading for one nearby.

Up above, Copper was just coming around in the cage next to Taya's. "Come on you old mutt, wake up," Taya urged her mate. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to kiss him or chew him out for coming. It was great that he tried to rescue her, but look where that got them.

"I think he's waking up," observed Blaze as Copper stirred.

Copper let out a few groans, tried to lift his head, then dropped it at once as if someone had been holding it by a string and let go. "Oh, my head..." he groaned.

"Are you alright?" asked Taya anxiously.

Copper blinked and looked around. "I think I'm okay, but I can't see too well." He blinked some more and a look of despair came over his features. "I take that back. I'm not okay."

"Pretty gallant of you trying to rescue Taya," Blaze commended him, "for all the good it did us."

She shook her head. "You shouldn't have followed. You know that Steele is my problem."

This drew a bitter laugh from Blaze. "I thought your mate was the one who got hit on the head. If it concerns you, then it's his business to get involved."

Copper rolled his eyes toward the old dog, feeling to groggy to move anything else. "Stay off my side if you want to win," he grumbled.

Blaze cleared his throat and pointedly looked away.

"Taya," Copper reasoned, "I know about the whole family thing, but you are my family. You have been for a long time. He's trying to destroy everyone I care about, not just you. So it's as much my business, if not more my business, to see him stopped. Besides, what right would I have to call myself your mate if I didn't try to protect you? If I were the one in danger, wouldn't you be doing the same thing as I did?"

Taya had to admit that Copper was right. "Well, thanks for trying. For all the good it did."

"Hey, we're not beaten yet. We've been in worse places." Copper struggled to his feet.

Taya's eyes bulged. "Copper, rest!" she barked in alarm. "You took a pipe to the head, remember?!"

Copper shook his head, ignoring the fireworks display that erupted within. "Gotta get out of here," he replied.

Blaze looked at Taya. "Don't suppose there's any help where he came from," he ventured.

"Is there?" she asked anxiously.

Copper groaned and slumped to the floor, his strength at an end. "No. As soon as I knew Steele had taken you out of town I followed. No one knew where I was headed except... oh, I know I told someone, but it's all fuzzy."

"Well, as a matter of fact, we are fuzzy," came a voice behind them.

Da-da-da-DA-DADA! Puppy Power!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.