Far from Home: A Balto/Fox and the Hound Crossover

By Woodfox Bravepaws

Chapter 1

"More than a dog, more than a wolf… you're a hero!"

Words that carried far heavier implications than the wolf-dog could have imagined that fateful night when he led an exhausted sled team on the most brutal run of their lives. Balto basked in the new-found admiration he received from the small town in the following weeks, but news spread fast about the amazing dog that saved all the children of Nome. It wasn't long before Balto was snatched up from his home, away from Jenna, away from everything he knew, and shipped across the continent. He was famous.

He arrived by train in New York City. From there he was taken to Central Park. He was surrounded by more people than he had ever seen before. It was an assault of new sights and sounds. But for a dog that had lived his life on the fringes of a small Alaskan town, almost isolated from the rest of the world, it was horribly overwhelming. Not a familiar soul anywhere. He was alone in an endless sea of nameless faces.

In the midst of the park, Balto was brought before a large, draped mass. A large crowd of people were gathered around it. Bright lights flashed from strange boxes held by nearby people. A strange man people kept referring to as Mr. President approached Balto, and greeted him. After a lengthy speech, the drape was removed to reveal a statue in Balto's likeness.

"All this fuss can't be for me." Balto thought, "Yeah, it was tough, but the children would have died. I did what I had to."

Balto finally understood why Steele behaved the way he did. He craved this kind of attention. But Balto wasn't Steele. He had lived his life mostly in solitude. All this attention was a strain on his nerves. It was like a ton of bricks slowly collapsing on him. He didn't know why or how, but he knew he had to escape. All the hands reaching to pet him, the children clamoring to get a closer look. He was surrounded by a wall of people. Panic was setting in. The frightened wolf took over. He growled and bared his teeth at the crowds, snapping at anyone who was too close. People shrieked and backed away. Parents grabbed their children and hid them. Before he knew what was happening, Balto was hooked into a muzzle, and multiple men had restrained him. He was pulled away from the crowds, and forced into a cage. He shrunk back into a corner as the door was locked, and he was hauled away.

That night, Balto was placed in a solitary kennel behind a hotel in the city. He watched people steadily file into the building, suitcases and other luggage in tow. He felt frazzled. In a strange way, he was wearier now than after that long brush with death in the Alaska wilderness. All he could think about was how to get out of his cage and away from all of this.

"So… this is the great hero I keep hearing about," said a voice from the shadows. "Not at all what I was expecting."

Balto snapped his head up. "Who are you?" He barked sternly.

A rather shabby looking alley cat emerged from the darkness. "Nobody important," he said, taking a seat by Balto's cage. "Certainly no one of your stature."

"Of my stature?" Balto snorted. "Look… I didn't ask for any of this."

"Of course, you didn't," the cat chuckled. "Fate has a way of dealing us cards we didn't want to play. Take a gander at me. You don't think I volunteered to be an underfed alley cat, do you?" The cat circled the cage slowly, inspecting it. "Hmm, for such a celebrity, they sure leave you with the scraps. Why ain't you living the high life in there?" The cat motioned toward the hotel.

Balto sighed and closed his eyes. He really didn't want to be having this discussion, especially with a bitter old alley cat.

"I'm not used to so many people," he said. "I sort of panicked earlier, and lashed out. Now I'm in here." He paused, reluctantly. "I'm… part wolf. I don't think that helped any."

The cat winced. "Ooh, that's a tough break. They parade you around, then lock you up when the show backfires. Let me tell you something, humans like to pretend they want you, but they'll toss you aside if you're inconvenient." He jumped up on Balto's cage, and started clawing at the latch. "You know what? I'm gonna help you out. There's a trick to these cages. I've seen 'em before."

Balto watched as the cat worked on the latch. Eventually it popped, and the door slowly swung open. The cat laughed and jumped down.

"See? What'd I tell ya?"

Balto jumped to his feet and crawled out of the cage.

"Wow… I really don't know how to thank you," he said.

The cat just laughed. "Hey, I'm just helping a guy out. Who knows? Maybe I'll become famous now. The notorious alley cat that made the hero dog vanish into thin air!"

"Well, best of luck to you," Balto said as he made his escape. "I'll never forget this!"

Balto made his way silently through back alleys and down dark streets. If he could find his way home in a blizzard in the Alaskan wilderness, he could escape this city. It never seemed to end. So many buildings, so much stone and metal. It was like he was on another planet. Finally, he came to a large river. He wanted to take a drink, but the smell of the water made his stomach turn. Nearby, a giant bridge crossed the river. He made his way silently across the bridge, only to find another ocean of brick, iron, and asphalt. He pressed on, down empty streets, across more bridges, and through weed-ridden lots.

As the sun broke on the horizon, Balto finally arrived in an area that wasn't simply building after building. It was swampy, full of tall weeds and brush. He slipped deep inside the dense foliage. Once he felt like he was well out of sight, he curled up and closed his eyes. He would rest for now, but he knew his journey was far from over. They would be searching for him. He wanted to go home, but for now he needed to be as far from human civilization as he could go. He would get on the move again at nightfall.

Days passed as Balto continued his journey. He kept to forests as much as he could, only venturing near the outskirts of towns along the way to find food. At times, he felt the sense that he was being pursued, but he managed to avoid being seen for the most part. He was relieved when wilderness began to dominate his surroundings. He made his way to the top of a hill and looked out of the terrain. It wasn't as rugged or dramatic as his Alaskan home, but it had a beauty all its own. Long ridges of blue-green forested mountains lined the horizon. Rivers and streams flowed through the valleys. It would be easy to disappear here. He bet that the few people that probably lived in these mountains were mostly cut off from the world he just left.

Balto noticed the clouds rolling in on the horizon. He knew storms were coming. He would need to find shelter soon. He began his descent into one of the valleys, hoping to find a cave or some sort of overhang somewhere on the hillside. Eventually he came across an old, wooden railroad trestle, crossing a small creek. A weathered storage shack sat near the tracks. It looked like no one had been there in ages. He didn't like being so near something manmade, but this was so remote, and he knew rain was on its way soon. He crawled down the embankment carefully, and climbed up under the deck of the trestle, into a dark nook where the trestle met the hillside.

A few drops of rain pattered on the ground outside. Balto slumped in a corner, and let out a deep sigh. He wondered if he would ever see home again. He cursed himself for panicking in the city. They probably would have taken him home again. But would they? Maybe they would have dragged him all over the world. Maybe he would have ended up in a kennel someplace. Maybe they would have put him down after he lost his nerve at the unveiling. He just didn't know. He wasn't sure of anything at that moment. He wondered if Jenna was thinking of him. They hadn't spent much time together before he was taken away. A low rumble of thunder felt like the voice of doom. Abandon all hope.

Having the opportunity to lay there in a funk, instead of all the walking, reminded Balto that he was thirsty. He wandered down to the stream at the bottom of the trestle. The water was nasty, full of oil and tar and runoff from the railroad. He looked up at the sky. It looked like he had some time before the rain started in earnest. He decided to go upstream a little way to find cleaner water.

There was a clearing in the woods where rocks channeled the stream into tiny rapids. The water seemed a lot cleaner here, so Balto stopped and lapped up the cold running stream. The wind rushed through the leaves on the treetops and gusted through his coat. He started to regret his decision to wander so far away from shelter. He needed the drink, though. So what if he got a little wet. The raindrops were getting larger, and more frequent. Lightning flashed brightly around him. It illuminated the dark recesses of the forest for a fraction of a second. It was time to head back to shelter.

As Balto turned to go back, the rain started falling in buckets. He recoiled, preparing to dart back to the trestle, but his shoulders dropped. He shook his head.

"What's the use?" he said to himself. He started trudging back.

Then, in a particularly brilliant flash of lightning, Balto caught something out of the corner of his eye. It appeared to be a figure of some kind. He snapped his head up, waiting for more lightning. Another flash, and he saw it more clearly. The silhouette of a pointy-eared creature, like a dog. Balto was puzzled. He wondered what kind creature would be crazy enough to be sitting out in a downpour like this. Then he remembered that he was out there, too. Not so crazy, after all. He decided to investigate.

Balto approached quietly, not that difficult with all the commotion of the storm. He slipped behind some bushes, and looked toward the creature, now close enough to see clearly. It was a fox. A rather gangly, awkward looking red fox. He was completely drenched, and looked miserable. Balto felt bad. He chuckled to himself quietly. Misery loves company, he thought to himself. He came out from behind the bushes cautiously.

The fox caught sight of him, and jumped back, preparing to run.

"No! Please don't run." Balto said as softly as he could muster in the downpour. "I won't hurt you."

The fox turned around. His eyes met Balto's. He really did look terrible. Like the world had come to an end.

"You're soaked to the bone," Balto said. "Heh, but I guess I'm one to talk. Come on, I've got a spot that's dry."

The fox seemed hesitant. Balto's ears flattened. "I promise you'll be fine. I think we've both had a pretty rough time. Let me help you."

The fox stepped toward Balto slowly. He smiled, and led the fox back toward the trestle.

"Hey, I know this place," the fox finally spoke as he looked up at the old wooden structure. "Not really the best place."

"Yeah, but it's dry," Balto said. "Come on, follow me up here."

He led the fox up the embankment to the space under the deck of the trestle. He shook the water off his coat, and laid down. The fox also shook himself dry, and sat in the opposite corner.

"We should be safe here," Balto said with a yawn. They sat there in silence for a while. The only sound was the rain, and an occasional rumble of thunder. Dusk appeared to be around the corner.

Balto finally broke the silence. "What were you doing out in the storm like that?" He asked.

"It's a long story," the fox sighed.

"I don't think we're going anywhere for a while," Balto chuckled. "I think I have time. By the way, what's your name?"

"Tod."

"Tod, huh? I'm Balto. So, what happened that you were all alone getting soaked?"

Tod's head fell slowly. He looked at the ground as he gathered his thoughts. "I'm not even sure where to start. It's like everything went wrong at once."

Balto tilted his head, listening attentively.

"My best friend Copper went away when I was little. Big Mama said he was going away to become a huntin' dog. I didn't believe her when she said we wouldn't be able to be friends anymore. She was right, though."

Balto's ears drooped. "I'm really sorry." He was curious who this 'Big Mama' was, but he didn't want to interrupt.

"It only got worse. Copper blames me for Chief getting hurt."

"Chief?" Balto finally asked. The fox was recalling things like they both understood.

"Another dog Copper lives with. They're like family. Chief was chasing me up there on the tracks. A train came out of nowhere, and Chief fell. Copper will never forgive me for that."

Balto got up and went over to Tod's corner, sitting down beside him.

"That's really terrible. Hopefully he'll realize that it was an accident."

"Oh, no, he won't. He… he said he was going to get me."

"Maybe it's good that you're with me now," Balto said. "So, you just sat out there in the woods alone after that?"

"No," Tod sighed. "A little old lady… Big Mama called her Widow Tweed. She raised me. Fed me, kept me warm, protected me from Copper's master. He would've shot me by now if wasn't for her."

"Sounds like a wonderful person."

"Yeah… well… today, she brought me out here. I didn't know what was going on. She just left me…"

"Oh no."

"I don't know why. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong…" Tod sniffed. Tears welled up in his eyes. "I thought she loved me…"

"I'm so sorry, Tod." Balto said, gently placing a paw on the fox. Suddenly Tod buried his muzzle into Balto's coat, sobbing. He felt a little uncomfortable with this strange fox breaking down on him. But he felt sympathy, too. It seemed that Tod had lost everything that mattered to him at once. His world really had ended. Maybe the fox just needed someone… anyone, right now. He draped a paw around Tod carefully. As Balto thought about it, he realized, maybe he needed that, too. The world he knew was so far away. He didn't know if he would ever make it home.

Tod sniffed again. "Thank you," he said. "For finding me… for getting me out of the rain."

Balto smiled warmly. "It's the least I could do," he said. "At least you have a dry place to sleep."

He stretched out, and yawned. "Speaking of… I think I'm going to try and get some rest. It's been a long day." He crawled back into the deepest corner of the recess, and laid down. "You try to get some rest too."

Balto closed his eyes and relaxed. It had been a very weird day. But, with a new friend here, he didn't feel so alone. As he began to doze off, he noticed something soft and warm push up beside him. He opened his eyes a little, and saw an orange ball of fur curled up beside him. He sighed, uncertain of what to make of what was happening. All he knew was that they both had nothing. He was going to do whatever he could to help this hurt mess of a fox out.