The Evil Editor, a balto fanfic

Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada,

November 25th 2005, 7:27 PM,

A human sat in his living room, watching his favourite program Survivorman as he typed on his grey laptop computer. The human had lime green eyes that flicked left and right, reading the fresh text that he had typed. A joyous grin spread across the human's face as he typed his newest story. Suddenly, a knock came on the front door. The human set his laptop down and started to walk toward the door.

''Dude,'' a voice called from the laptop, ''what are you doing? It could be a trap!''

The human turned and stared at the screen. A silver and cream half-breed stood with his paws pressed against the inside of the screen.

''Listen Silver,'' the human replied, ''I'm sure this is just the paperboy or one of those door-to-door salesmen.''

The hybrid, Silver, shrugged.

''Somehow, I'm getting a bad feeling about this,'' he said nervously, ''this sounds like something you'd write.''

The human walked to the door and opened it. All of a sudden, his world was in chaos. A blackjack came sailing from outside and struck him right in the head. His limp body fell backward and hit the ground with a crunch. Silver pressed his muzzle against the screen and watched as a grey malamute walked up and picked up the laptop. Using his finger to guide the cursor across the desktop, he selected the program for the Silver AI. Silver watched in horror as the malamute dragged the program to the Recycling Bin and released the left button. Silver looked down and watched as his legs disappeared into the clear bin in a mass of binary code. The malamute smiled as the last of Silver's code went into the Recycling Bin. Dragging the human into a closet, he locked the door and sat down on the couch. The malamute re-attached his paw and started to type, a grin of evil satisfaction on his muzzle.

The Evil Editor The tenth book in the well known series by: silverbalto

Dedicated to my good friend the late Bill Valentine, a man with big opinions and an even bigger heart. I shall miss him dearly.

Nome, Alaska,

May 10th 1954, 11:56 PM,

Brent MacWolf sat watching The Andy Griffith Show on his black and white television. Suddenly, he heard a faint screaming.

''What the heck?'' he asked and walked outside. Looking up, Brent saw a silver and cream hybrid falling from the sky. He had only enough time to think before the hybrid flattened him to the ground.

Brent opened his eyes slowly. All he could see was a fuzzy image of a silver and cream figure applying something to his head. As the image became clearer, Brent saw the hybrid putting a bandage on his forehead, wrapping it tightly. Brent sat up and held his head.

''Ohhh,'' he moaned, ''what in the hell happened?''

''I'm so sorry,'' Silver answered, ''I don't know how, but I must have managed to transfer from the real world to the fictional world through…''

Brent put up his paw.

''Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up there pal. Did you say the real world? As in 3D-Land?'' he questioned. Silver nodded.

''Yeah, I'm an artificial intelligence on Silverbalto's computer.'' He explained. Brent's eyes went wide.

''Do you mean the Silverbalto? The Creator?''

''Creator,'' Silver asked, ''what do you mean Creator?''

''Silverbalto is the creator of this entire place. This fictional world is all from his mind. Every tree, every dog, every atom was his creation. He is like a god to all of us.''

Silver gave Brent MacWolf a strange look.

''Okay then,'' he replied, ''maybe I hit you too hard on the head.''

''Enough about me,'' Brent retorted, ''what about you? Who are you, and how'd you get here?''

''My name's Silver. I came here probably through the actual word document that Silverbalto was using to type his newest story. But a grey malamute knocked him out and deleted me off the desktop. However, I had a backup of myself encrypted into the hard-drive and I managed to make another physical copy of myself from that data. How I got here, I'll never know.'' Silver said. Brent scratched his chin.

''A grey malamute, huh? What did he look like?''

Silver thought for a second and answered, ''he had stone grey eyes, and a cold evil smile that chilled me to the bone.''

A horrific expression appeared on Brent's face.

''Klondike.'' He murmured.

''You can't be serious,'' Silver remarked, ''did he die in Mission: MacWolf?''

Brent MacWolf nodded.

''Yeah,'' he answered, ''but it looks like he has rebuilt himself yet again. Man, I hate that guy!''

Silver nodded.

''When Silverbalto's laptop was off, I used to sit and read his stories. Klondike by far was the most evil of all his villains. I actually believe that he was a good guy somewhere in the past.''

Brent looked at Silver and shook his head.

''Couldn't be,'' he retorted, ''Klondike's an evil maniac who somehow manages to come back time and time again. I wish there were a way to permanently shut him down.''

''The only way that could happen is for Silverbalto to type it. But he's not at his laptop, Klondike is.'' Silver explained solemnly. Brent's ears drooped.

''If that's true, then we're all doomed.'' He said sadly.

''Why do you say that?'' Silver asked.

''The Creator…er, I mean Silverbalto has total control over everything in this fictional world. The weather, the scenery, the seasons. Even time itself is control by him. Silverbalto can also choose who lives and who dies just by typing it. It's basically this. If he wanted me smitten, Silverbalto would type Brent as smitten where he stood, or something to that nature. Whatever he types happens.'' Brent explained. Silver shrugged.

''Duh, I know that,'' he replied airily, ''so what's the problem?''

''Think Silver think,'' Brent pleaded, ''who is currently using the laptop? Who is in full control of this world?''

''Klondike!'' Silver exclaimed. He finally figured it out. Klondike now had full power over every element of Silverbalto's fictional world, and he could do whatever he wished.

''Wait, if Klondike has this power, why hasn't he used it yet?'' Silver questioned.

''Because, he must want us to think he doesn't know about his power,'' Brent noted, ''every word of dialogue that leaves our mouths are controlled by Klondike, and we can't hide anywhere without him knowing our exact location. It's like he's watching us all the time.''

Silver shuttered, but suddenly got a brain blast. Thinking quickly, Silver dug in the snow and found a small microchip. Putting his paw onto it, the chip made a few beeps and the laptop shut down. Brent stared at Silver.

''What did you do?'' he asked. Silver smiled.

''Not much, just delayed Klondike a bit. I rendered the laptop useless for 24 hours; plenty of time to figure out how to save Silverbalto and defeat Klondike.''

Brent nodded.

''Hope you're right Silver,'' he said, ''because if you aren't, this world is in grave danger. I think the first move we should make is to get Balto and Rail Wolf involved. They may be able to help.''

Both dogs walked out of Brent's house and headed for Balto and Jenna's residence, all the while thinking about Klondike's beady eyes watching their every move.

The Aniu residence,

Fifteen minutes later…

Brent and Silver climbed onto the roof of Balto and Jenna's house. Brent knocked on the window to their room and watched as two lumps inside moved under the sheets. One lump disappeared and Balto walked to the window.

''Brent, it's after midnight, what is it?'' he asked as he opened the window. Brent and Silver stepped inside and explained their problem. Balto was intrigued.

''So, the creator silverbalto has been captured by Klondike huh? That dirty scumbag! I knew he was low, but not that low!'' he growled. Brent nodded.

''Yeah, and if we don't stop him, we'll all fade into oblivion.'' He added.

''So, what do we do?'' Silver asked. Brent thought for a second and replied, ''we need to get into 3D-Land. Silver, how'd you get in our world?''

''Well, I remember a sort of wormhole,'' Silver answered, digging deep into his memory, ''does that help?''

Brent nodded with a smile.

''Yes it did,'' he exclaimed enthusiastically, ''you see, in order to get into the real world, we need to get something to move fast enough to break the sound barrier. Not an easy task mind you.''

''So what do you have in mind Brent?'' Silver questioned.

''Okay, firstly, we need a vehicle that is stable,'' Brent explained, ''and won't flip over from the speed. If we used a car, it would kill us. We need something like a bullet train.''

''But we won't be able to power a bullet train up here,'' Balto pointed out, ''there is no way we can bring enough electricity to get it up to the right speed.''

''I know, I know,'' Brent retorted, ''but what other choice do we have?''

''Steam I guess,'' Silver shrugged.

''Time to see Rail Wolf then,'' Balto replied, ''he'll be able to help us out. He has an entire shed full of locomotives.''

All three dogs climbed onto the ground and headed for the KSKR sheds outside of town.

The KSKR Railway sheds,

Twenty minutes later…

Balto gave three quick knocks on the small entrance door to the huge sheds. The sound of footsteps came close and Seena opened the door. She wore a grey bandanna around her neck-the same as her boyfriend's-and had her head fur tied back in a ponytail.

''Balto and Brent MacWolf,'' she replied, ''good to see you again. I guess you came to see Sammy. Follow me, he's working on a train in the back.''

Seena lead the three dogs through the shed. The five locomotives sat quietly, waiting for their next use. Sunlight shone in through the large skylight, illuminating their golden bells and brilliant paint jobs. Finally, the four reached a metal door. Behind it, they could hear the sounds of a sledgehammer slamming rivets against iron. Seena opened the door and yelled, ''Sammy, you have visitors!''

Rail Wolf put down his sledgehammer and walked to the door, a giant smile present on his face.

''Balto! Brent! Good to see you two,'' he exclaimed happily, ''welcome to my little paradise.''

Brent looked around. The workshop was dark, and whatever Rail Wolf was working on was enveloped by darkness. Rail Wolf then noticed Silver.

''Hey, I haven't seen you before,'' he noted, ''what's your name?''

''Silver. I'm an AI on Silverbalto's laptop in 3D-Land.'' Silver explained. Rail Wolf smiled.

''Sweet. My creator Sammy Rehonic knows the creator of this world. He gave silverbalto permission to let me stay in his world. (Note from the author: That is true. Thanks Rail Wolf!) So what is it you guys need?'' he questioned. Balto was the one who answered.

''Rail Wolf, Silverbalto's been captured by Klondike. We need your help to rescue him.''

Rail Wolf and Seena both had the same expression of shock on their faces.

''You must be kidding me,'' Rail Wolf remarked, ''Klondike? He's supposed to be dead.''

''I know,'' Brent said, ''that's why we need your help. Silver managed to shut the laptop off for 24 hours, which gives us enough time to culminate a plan. We figure if we get a vehicle to break the sound barrier, we can enter a wormhole and get into the real world. We also thought that a steam train would be the best vehicle for this job. That's why we can to you.''

''You picked the right dog,'' Rail Wolf replied as he patted his chest, ''and I just so happen to have the right train. Behold…''

Rail Wolf flicked on the lights, instantly shedding light onto the train he was working on. Brent, Balto and Silver were shocked: they had never seen anything like what sat before them in their lives. On the front of the locomotive was the image of a wolf that merged into the boiler. The cab had wrap-around windows with gold frames and the headlamp was shaped as a triangle.

''…The Rapid Wolf, the world's fastest locomotive. This baby has three boilers that run on the same amount of coal as the conventional steam locomotive. This should be able to get up to speed. Let's just hope she'll work without a hitch.''

Silver decided to question Rail Wolf's nervousness.

''What happens if it does fail?'' he asked. Rail Wolf looked right into Silver's eyes and said in a serious voice, ''to put it mildly, the earth will be rained upon by what is left of us.''

Silver gave a giant gulp. He wasn't so anxious to get back to the real world anymore.

The tracks outside of Nome,

Thirty-five minutes later…

Rail Wolf got the Rapid Wolf up to full steam. She approached a long stretch of straight track and started to speed up.

''Hang onto your underwear!'' he yelled. Brent slapped his forehead.

''Never say that again.'' He muttered.

Rail Wolf turned to Seena and replied, ''I think we need the special coal. One shovel full will do it.''

Seena opened a secret panel and thrust her metal shovel into the compartment below. Bringing up a shovel-full of glowing coal, Seena threw it into the fire. Rail Wolf closed the cover and yelled, ''hang onto something guys! You're gonna feel a sequential burst of speed!''

Just as Rail Wolf finished his sentence, The Rapid Wolf set off down the metal rails in a storm of blue sparks and shrapnel. Everything was going good, until Brent realised that they were forgetting a major part of the plan.

''Guys,'' he replied, ''what about the portal? How are we gonna get into the real world without the wormhole?''

Silver put up his paws to stop the mass of confusion.

''Calm down guys,'' he shouted, ''I'll handle it.''

Silver closed his eyes and started speaking in codes. Rail Wolf looked ahead and exclaimed, ''you'd better hurry Silver, we got a bend coming up.''

Silver was still chanting as his friends brace themselves for the impact. Suddenly, a warp appeared ahead. Silver opened his eyes and thundered, ''program activate! Warp gate!''

The Rapid Wolf headed full throttle into the swirling wormhole. It had worked, they friends were heading for 3D-Land.

The Real World,

Uxbridge, Ontario,

November 26th, 12:02 PM,

The Rapid Wolf re-appeared from the wormhole and crashed violently into a field just outside of Silverbalto's house. Dirt was thrown up and the Rapid Wolf smashed into a rock, stopping it right in its path. The impact knocked the Rapid Wolf's passengers onto the metal floor. Rail Wolf held his head and staggered to his feet.

''Ow,'' he moaned, ''my head hurts.''

Silver sat up and scanned the landscape. Everywhere there was farmland. The occasional tractor could be seen ploughing in the distance, but aside from that the area was silent. Brent got to his feet and dusted off the dirt.

''Wow, what a landing. I wasn't expecting such an impact.'' He replied sarcastically. Rail Wolf groaned.

''Just shut up and see if you can find Silverbalto's house!'' he ordered. Brent nodded and squinted. He saw various houses, but he was being attracted to a small two-story farmhouse a few miles away. Brent turned around and pointed to the house.

''I think that's it.'' He answered. Silver looked at the house and nodded enthusiastically.

''That's it,'' he exclaimed as his tail wagged at an incredible speed, ''I'd recognize that shape anywhere! That's his house!''

''So what's the plan,'' Balto asked, ''we know Klondike in there, and so is Silverbalto. Anyone got any suggestions?''

Brent put up his paw. Balto gave him a small nod, signalling that he had the floor.

''I suggest two teams go in,'' he explained, ''one will be a distraction, while the other will do the actual rescue. Silver, Seena and I will save Silverbalto, and you guys distract Klondike.''

Balto smiled and looked at the others.

''Any objections?'' he questioned. No one said anything. The decision was unanimous.

''Okay then,'' Balto said, ''then it's settled. Rail Wolf, you and me are distracting that villain.''

Rail Wolf gave a small snort.

''Shouldn't be a problem. Klondike's mind wanders. He'll be easy to distract.''

Seena gave her boyfriend a small kiss.

''Be careful Sammy,'' she pleaded, ''and don't get yourself hurt.''

Rail Wolf nodded and jumped out of the cab, followed by Balto. Silver turned to Seen and Brent and smiled.

''Thanks guys.'' He replied happily.

Brent patted his new friend on the shoulder.

''Don't mention it Silver,'' he answered, ''Silverbalto's saved us from trouble before, so we're re-paying the debt.''

The three then sneaked up to the farmhouse.

Silver, Brent and Seena peered into the large front window of the house. There was Klondike, feet up and snoring loudly with the laptop sitting on his stomach. As the three watched, Balto and Rail Wolf tip-toed up to the sleeping villain and unplugged the laptop. Balto inadvertently bumped into the small tee-table and made the object that sat upon it tumble to the floor. Klondike made a half-snore and opened one eye slowly. The iris narrowed at the sight of Balto and Rail Wolf. He immediately sat up and placed the laptop on the couch. Standing up, he snarled.

''You,'' he yelled, ''I knew you'd come!''

Rail Wolf looked at Balto and exclaimed, ''we wanted to wake him up, and I guess we did a good job!''

''Forget that, just run!'' Balto yelled as Klondike took a swipe at him. Both dogs bolted from the room, pursued by their enemy. Brent nodded at his team-mates and they opened the front door. They stepped into the front hallway and saw the closet to their left. It was covered in chains and locks. Brent reached into his pocket and pulled out a small laser gun. Aiming it, he fired a small beam of red light at the chains, cutting them with ease. When all the restrains were gone, Silver opened the closet. Silverbalto shielded his eyes from the light as Silver reached out his paw to help his owner up. Silverbalto blinked and took his creation's paw. Standing up, Silverbalto looked at Silver, Brent and Seena.

''Thanks a million,'' he said, ''you know, it's really cool to meet my own creations face to face.''

Silver shook his head.

''No time SB. Klondike's gonna figure out sooner or later that Balto and Rail Wolf are just a distraction, and he'll be heading back this way.''

Silver stopped when he saw Silverbalto's face.

''I think it's too late for that.'' He replied. Silver, Brent and Seena turned to see Klondike, with Balto and Rail Wolf held in his paws.

''So Silverbalto, you managed to escape. Big deal. You'll pay for embarrassing me in A New Hero in Town and Mission: MacWolf!''

Silverbalto turned to his friends and shouted, ''get behind my body! He can't hurt me!''

Klondike gave him a look of confusion.

''What're you babbling about?'' he asked. A grin appeared on Silverbalto's face.

''Because if you kill me, not only will all of my friends disappear, but so will you. And if you don't put down my friends,'' Silverbalto held up a floppy disk, ''your character profile will be terminated.''

''You wouldn't dare.'' Klondike gasped. Silverbalto put pressure on the disk, making it bow.

''I have the power to create characters, and I can destroy them just as easily. What have you got that will combat that?'' he questioned. Klondike smiled. Silverbalto didn't like it when one of his villains smiled.

''Tut, tut, tut,'' Klondike shook his finger, ''I wouldn't be so cocky Silverbalto. I have the one thing that will overpower your creativity.''

Silverbalto watched as Klondike grabbed the laptop on the couch. It had turned back on and was currently on the desktop. Putting the grey laptop on the ground, Klondike dropped Balto and Rail Wolf through the screen and into the fiction world again. Silverbalto was about to break the floppy, when it sailed out of his hands and landed in the floppy drive.

''How'd you do that,'' Silverbalto asked, ''I never meant for you to have psychic powers!''

Klondike chuckled.

''You think I don't know that you chump! I simply took Seena's powers! Don't you see? I have full control over your characters now!''

He then pressed the Enter key. All of a sudden, Seena began to disappear in a mass of binary code. The code filtered into the laptop, leaving Silver, Brent and Silverbalto to combat Klondike. Brent growled, barring his teeth.

''You monster! You're using our world to kill us!''

''That's the least of your worries MacWolf,'' Klondike remarked, ''once I finish this last word, your friends will be added to the kilo-bite total!''

Klondike smiled with glee as he pressed the Enter button. Silverbalto looked down at his feet. He was turning into binary code. He looked at Brent and replied, ''Brent, you should be able to save us! You have the power! I based you off myself!''

Brent shed a tear as Silverbalto's last features disappeared and flew into the laptop. Silver tried to run, but he too was sucked into laptop. Brent stood alone, facing the mad Klondike. Klondike put the laptop down and smiled.

''I've waited a long time for this moment MacWolf. Prepare to fight.''

Brent clutched his fists and bared his teeth past his bottom lip. A small energy field started to appear around his body.

''First, you kill me with my own weapon, then you kill my girlfriend's family in cold blood. Now you kidnap my creator, then you send him and my friends into the fictional world and their deaths,'' the field erupted, throwing Klondike backward, ''three strikes and you are out my friend!''

Klondike got up just in time to witness Brent revealing a side he had never known of before. Brent took a deep breath and yelled a battle cry that Silverbalto had known since he was a pre-teen. As he did so, his fur stood up on end and turned yellow.

''Euuuullllaaaaaaallllliiiiiiaaaaa!''

Klondike growled and launched himself at Brent, who just put up his paw and stopped his enemy in mid-air. Smiling devilishly, Brent threw Klondike through the sliding glass doors that led to the back yard. Klondike stood up slowly, wincing in pain. There were small steams of blood trickling down his fur from the glass, but he still managed to stand. Brent walked slowly outside and stopped thirty feet from Klondike. Both dogs stared each other down, weighting up their opponent.

Klondike made the first move. Dodging right, he tripped Brent and slammed the poor Shepherd's face right into his large knee. Brent's head ricocheted back and he fell onto the ground. Wiping the blood from his nose, Brent countered with a Take-down, sending Klondike flat on his back. Klondike kicked high, connecting with Brent's ribs. They didn't break, but the force was strong enough that it sent Brent backward onto the ground. Klondike got up and charged his downed opponent. Brent saw it coming and rolled to the left. Klondike ran past and turned around, charging in the opposite direction. Brent got up and landing a high knee on his enemy. The combined speed of his charge and the knee sent Klondike into the air. He did a single flip and landed hard on his back. Klondike snarled and got up. Grabbing Brent around the neck with his right paw, he lifted his hapless victim up and slammed him onto the ground. Brent gave a small gasp of pain and went limp. Klondike smiled and walked to the house. A minute later, he returned with the laptop. Setting it on the ground, Klondike started to type away. Brent stealthily got up and tapped Klondike on the shoulder. He turned and received a punch right to the face. Klondike swung randomly from the left to the right and keeled over. Brent took this opportunity to try and get his friends out of the laptop. He noticed that a program had been initiated. A system wipe. He saw a field for a password that would stop the wipe, but he had no idea what it could be. Just when Brent was about to give up, he heard Silverbalto's voice echo in his mind.

''Brent, you should be able to save us! You have the power! I based you off myself!''

Then it came to the professor. He had to think like Silverbalto to crack the password.

''If I were Silverbalto, what would my password be?'' he thought. Brent cleared his mind and thought. Suddenly, a word appeared in his head for no reason. It was just there. Brent typed out the word; Tornado. The computer beeped and the wipe ceased. Smiling, Brent started to type out codes to get his friends back. He was on the last line, when Klondike came back to consciousness.

''Hey!'' he yelled and grabbed Brent around the shoulders, lifting him off the ground. Brent reached his foot down and clicked the Enter button.

''No you fool,'' Klondike yelled, ''you've ruined my plan!''

An uncountable mass of binary code meandered from the screen and formed the bodies of his friends. Klondike watched in horror as his enemies re-appeared full-flesh and fur. Brent smiled and shot his leg backwards. Klondike yelped in pain and fell to the ground holding his groin. Silverbalto walked up and leaned over until his face was parallel with Klondike's.

''Listen up Klondike,'' Silverbalto pointed between Klondike's eyes, ''messing with my characters is one thing, but messing with me is suicide! Klondike, you are retired…permanently!''

Klondike suddenly stood up. Everyone watched as Klondike's legs turned to dust. Then his chest disappeared, and soon the disintegration was up to his shoulders.

''Curse you Silverbalto!'' Klondike shouted as his head turned to dust and fell into the now large pile. The wind came up and blew the dust away. This was the end of Klondike. Silverbalto turned to his characters and smiled.

''My many thanks to all of you. Without your dedication, I would not be standing here right now. I am in your debt.''

Balto, Brent and the rest of the gang ran up and gave Silverbalto a group hug. Silverbalto couldn't help but smile: he was finally able to physically connect with his characters. This moment inspired a thought.

''I should write a story about this…''

Uxbridge, Ontario,

November 25th 2005, 8:04 PM,

''Silverbalto! Silverbalto! Wake up!''

Silverbalto opened his eyes lazily and saw Silver pounding on the screen. Yawning, he asked, ''what happened?''

''Dude, you fell asleep while you were typing,'' Silver explained, ''you were out like a light dude.''

''It was only a dream.'' Silverbalto replied. Silver gave him a confused look.

''What're you talking about SB?'' he questioned. Silverbalto just waved it off.

''Oh nothing,'' he yawned again, ''listen Silver, I think I'm gonna turn in. See you tomorrow.''

Silverbalto got up and walked up the stairs and closed the door to his room. In the laptop, Silver grabbed a file called SilverbaltovsKlondike.exe and put it into his personal archives. Smiling, he whispered, ''too bad I can't tell him it was real. Aw well, I'm sure it won't matter anyway.''

And with that, the laptop turned off, and the house became silent. All that could be heard was the sound of the crickets outside playing their solemn songs.

END

Whew, that was a handful! I started this on November 25th, and I finished December 1st! A story in six days; my best record! Anyways, I wish to thank a few people (after all, give credit where credit is due) Firstly, Rail Wolf (as usual) for allowing his persona to be come a permanent member of my roster of colourful and creative characters, Luminate, baterhaterburner, ice husky, redwolf03, Yukon, Alpine, Greykitty, and all my other fans for being such good amigos to me over the years. Finally, I wish to thank my good friend the late Bill Valentine. Without him, I wouldn't be what I am today. (See you around "Uncle" Bill, too bad I didn't get a chance to debate the American Revolution with you.)

Now for the disclaimer…oh goo-dy.

Here's to another ten books! Here here!