One day while they were playing, a malamute appeared. He was tall and strongly-built, his legs and shoulders bulging with muscles. The top of his body was black from ears to tail, and two black triangular patches circled his icy blue eyes like a demonic mask. He peered at them with a measure of distaste. "Do either of you know where I can find Balto?" he asked.

Toby's tail went between his legs. He didn't like this stranger. He seemed familiar, as if Toby had heard of him before, but couldn't match the physical appearance to the mental description. "I don't know," he said.

The malamute looked at Luna. "How about you?" he asked. "I understand he visited you while you were in the hospital."

"Say what?" asked Toby, whipping his head toward Luna.

Luna's tail crept between her legs. "Where did you hear a story like that?" she asked.

The malamute shrugged. "Things…get around." He smiled. "It's not every day a hero like him visits a little girl like you at the vet."

"Well, I don't think it's really your business anyway," she said.

The stranger sighed. "I can see this is getting us nowhere." And he picked up Luna.

"Hey!" she protested. "Put me down!"

Toby ran up to the stranger. "Put her down," he threatened, "or I'll beat the tar out of you!"

But the malamute kicked him away as if he were flicking aside a pebble. "Stay out of my business, kid," he snarled, bounding off with the kicking and screaming Luna in his teeth.

Toby started after him, but the bigger dog was much faster and easily outran him. Toby started to whimper. What could he do now?

"What's up, kid?" asked Pete, strolling up right at that instant.

"Some creep just grabbed Luna and took off!" said Toby. "I tried to stop him, but…" He sniffled. "I'm too slow," he whined. "Please, you've gotta help me."

"Well, sorry, runt. But I don't know who it was or what he smelled like, so you're on your own." And Pete walked away.

"What good is being a purebred if you're too much of a snob to help someone?" Toby shouted at his half-brother's back.

"Get lost," answered Pete without so much as a backward glance.

That stupid pig, thought Toby. Thinks he's so much better than me cause he's older and I just happen to be part― "Bloodhound!" He'd never really been happy about being part-bloodhound, but now he was glad that for it. He ran back to the alley where he'd been playing with Luna and sniffed at the stranger's footprints. Yes! he thought. I've got him now! And he began to follow his nose.

"Put me down, you jerk!" yipped Luna. "Let me go or I'll bite you!"

"Hush up and keep your teeth to yourself, princess," snarled her kidnapper. "Or I'll tear you apart and leave you for the birds."

Luna could tell by his voice that he meant it. She gulped. Where is he taking me? she thought.

They traveled through several streets and back alleyways until they came to a narrow dead-end corridor between two houses. Here Luna found herself dumped unceremoniously into an empty garbage can. "Now you can bark," the stranger said. "Bark, howl, scream, yell. Holler all you want." His lips curled in an evil grin. "In fact, I strongly suggest you do. Call for help. I'll be going now, but I'll be close by." And he disappeared.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Let me out of here! Now!" She tried knocking the deep metal bucket over, but it was a futile effort. She couldn't see it, but she guessed that snow was piled up around it. "Let me out, you big jerk," she hollered. "You hear me? Now! I mean it. Right now!" She barked and yelled to be released for a few more minutes, and she began to panic when nothing happened. "Help!" she called out at the top of her lungs. "Please help! Someone! Anyone! Get me out of here!"

She barked for what felt like hours before a dog's face appeared over the edge of the trash can. It was Balto. "Luna?" he asked. "What are you doing in there?"

"Some creep grabbed me and threw me in here."

"Some dogs," he muttered, hooking his paws over the rim of the can and pulled. "Hold on." The can tipped over, spilling its contents onto the street, Luna included. "Sorry about the rough landing," he said. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, she's fine," said a cruel voice from behind them. "But you won't be, wolfdog."

Balto spun around to see an all-too-familiar dog standing in the entrance to the alleyway. "Steele," he growled. "I should've guessed."

"It's time to finish a little old business," said Steele, stepping closer.

Balto moved in front of Luna, forming a protective barrier. "Then you leave my granddaughter out of it."

Steele's teeth showed in an evil smile as he eyed Luna. "Granddaughter, is it?" He looked back at Balto. "Maybe I ought to take that load off your shoulders in a gesture of friendship."

Balto picked up Luna and pushed her into a hole that went under a house. "Get outta here, Luna! Run!" Then he turned and launched himself at Steele.

Toby tracked Luna's kidnapper through the streets of Nome. He almost lost the scent several times, but always managed to find it again. He finally tracked the smell to an alley. He listened. He could tell a fight was in progress, but who was fighting? He peered around the corner and saw two dogs. One he recognized as the kidnapper, and the other had to be none other than his hero. "Balto?" he gasped in wonder.

"You ruined me!" raged the stranger. "I was the lead dog! I was the champion! I was given praise and attention that I rightly deserved until you came along and got in the way!"

"You were willing to let innocent children die just to satisfy your pride," Balto answered. "When it came to considering others, you couldn't see past your own nose. I didn't ruin you, Steele; you ruined yourself."

"Steele?!" Toby wondered aloud. So that's why he looks so familiar! He's just like in Mom's stories!

"I don't know how you survived that last fight, Steele, but I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else," Balto growled.

"Very heroic," Steele said, grinning evilly and baring his teeth. "But then, last words usually are." Then he lunged again at Balto.

Toby watched in dumbstruck fascination as malamute and wolfdog battled it out, with claws and teeth flashing back and forth in blurry streaks. Balto was quick and light on his feet, whereas Steele was more attuned toward power. This left the two fighters very closely matched. Suddenly, Balto's left hind paw slipped and he lost his balance. Steele saw the opening to deliver a blow and seized his chance, gripping the nape of Balto's neck in his teeth and throwing him against the wall. Toby saw Balto's head strike the wall with a deep thud, and the wolfdog grunted and fell to the ground and lay motionless.

Steele stepped forward. "Now," he said, savoring the moment, "to finish it."

"No!" Toby ran forward and leapt up, sailing through the air until he reached Steele, at which point he clamped his jaws hard onto the malamute's tail.

The first thing Steele knew about Toby's attack was a sharp stinging pain in his rear end. He howled in rage and whipped his head around to see what had latched onto him. All he could see were four flailing paws and a waving tail, and judging from their size knew that it was something small. But all he cared about at the moment was getting whatever had latched onto his tail off of it. He began to turn around in circles, chasing his tail as he tried to grab the annoying pain-maker. When that failed, he tried rolling over, but that didn't help either, and served only to intensify the pain as Toby tightened his grip.

Steele smashed his rear end against the wall in an attempt to jar the annoying mite from its hold. Again and again, he bashed his tail and hips against the wall to no avail. Toby tightened his grip even more, causing Steele to bite and snap at his tail as the pain intensified. Now desperate and nearly driven mad with pain and rage, Steele finally back up to the wall and pressed his haunches against it, trying to crush the source of his pain. He kept pressing harder and harder until Toby was forced to release his grip as he tried to breathe. The instant the pain stopped, Steele whipped around to face his tormentor.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the half-pint hero," he snarled. "I'll teach you to mess with me, you little flea-bitten―" But that was all he had a chance to say before he was knocked aside. Balto had gotten his second wind and was on the offensive. The onslaught caught Steele completely off guard and drove him out into the street…in plain view of every dog in town.

"There he is!" someone shouted. A whole pack of dogs headed for Steele with fire in their eyes. Steele sized up the situation and ran for his life with the pack close on his heels. Toby ran behind them, but again he was too slow to keep up.

"Toby, are you alright?" asked a voice.

"Luna!" yelled Toby, running over to his friend. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Where'd that pack come from?"

Luna laughed. "I'm fine. He wasn't trying to hurt me, he just wanted to use me as bait to get Balto." She shrugged. "I decided since everybody's heard of him, somebody should know he was back in town."

"I never thought it would come to this," said an older female voice. Toby and Luna looked up and saw a chowamute standing next to them and staring off in the direction Steele and the pack had gone. Toby thought he was looking at a mirror image of Steele, but of the opposite gender. Everything about her was identical to Steele except her fur color; her fur pattern and eye color were exact replicas.

Luna wagged her tail. "Hi, mom. This is Toby, the friend I've been telling you about."

Luna's mother looked at Toby. "Oh, yes. The one who put you in the vet's office."

Toby backed up and his tail went between his legs. "I didn't mean to do it, honest."

Luna's mother smiled. "It's alright. I know it was an accident. My daughter has told me a lot about you. I'm glad I finally have the chance to meet you."

Balto walked up. "Is everyone alright?" Everyone nodded. "Well, that's the best news I've heard all day. What happened back there anyway? I remember him standing over me, but then he was mad at you for some reason." He was looking at Toby.

"Um, well, sir, I saw you fighting, and I sort of bit him on the tail."

This brought a chorus of laughter from Luna and Balto. "You didn't really, did you?" giggled Luna.

Toby nodded, his face turning bright red. Then he noticed that Luna's mother wasn't laughing. She was just standing there with her head and tail drooping. "I thought I'd finished him last time," she said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "Maybe I shouldn't have come back to Nome."

"What do you mean, Mom?" asked Luna curiously.

In response, she turned away. "Come with me, Luna. There's something I need to tell you."

As mother and daughter walked away, Toby looked up at Balto. "You were amazing," he said. "The way you took Steele on like that was totally awesome."

"It wasn't the first time," Balto said, "and I'm afraid it won't be the last. Steele's hated me since before I brought the serum back."

"Before?" asked Toby. "I thought it was because you brought the medicine here and showed him up for a lying, arrogant, self-serving jerk."

Balto shook his head. "That just added to it. He's hated me ever since I first set foot in town."

"Why?"

"Because I'm half-wolf."

Toby couldn't understand this. "Why would he hate you for that?" he asked. "I think it's neat."

Balto laughed. "Well, most of the dogs here hate―or rather, hated―me for being a half-breed."

Toby looked at the ground, thoughtful. "Yeah, my brother―half-brother, actually―is the same way." He hadn't meant to mention Pete, but now that he had the whole story came pouring out. "His dad was a husky, like my mom, but he died in a sledding accident. And then mom met my dad Rex, who's a bloodhound. So now Pete thinks he's so much better than me just because I'm a mix." He looked up at Balto. "I always thought if I were a wolfdog like you everyone would respect me."

Balto sighed heavily. "I'm afraid you're wrong about that," he said. "Having wolf blood doesn't make you popular at all. I can't count the number of times I've had to break up fights that started because someone was picking on my kids for part-wolf, and they have even less in them than I do." He sat in silence for a moment and allowed this to sink in. "A friend of mine once told me that there are some journeys a dog can't make alone, but a wolf can. Maybe it's the same for mixed-breed dogs."

Toby thought about that. All his life he'd wanted to be a wolfdog like Balto; it had never occurred to him that maybe being half-bloodhound was good enough. "You know, you're right. When Steele grabbed Luna, I couldn't keep up with him. But I was able to sniff him out and follow him that way."

"And you showed up just in time, too," said Balto. "You're a good kid. I would've been a goner without you." He ruffled the fur on Toby's head. AI have to go now, but I'll see if I can help you out with your brother one of these days."

Toby's jaw dropped. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

Balto smiled. "I'd be honored to have such an opportunity."

"Wow! Thanks! I've gotta find Luna. I can't wait to tell her about this! See ya!" And he dashed off with his tail whipping back and forth like a flag.