Chapter 2: The Hero Turned Martyr (Obsession).
12:05 P.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:
As death loomed closer and closer for Balto, everything was silent once again. For one crucial second, all of time itself was frozen - or at least it was for Balto. The wolf-dog hybrid could see perfectly well that his archenemy, Steele, was flying through the air, aiming right for his neck, but he still made no effort to move out of harm's way. Shock had caused the hybrid's muscles to lock up in fear, and for one moment, Balto thought he was just going to stand in place and let Steele kill him. As his rival continued to come closer and closer with each nano-second, Balto could see the wild look in the malamute's eyes and the sinister grin on his face that just kept growing wider and wider.
But just as Steele was about to go in for the kill, something shocked Balto out of his daze - the sound of his fiancée screaming at the top of her lungs. "BALTO! MOVE!", she screamed, terrified.
Acting purely on his instincts, Balto quickly leapt into the air, high above Steele's head. With the hybrid now out of the way, Steele stayed in the air for another 50th of a second, before he collided with a nearby brick wall. Normally, the collision alone would have been enough to knock any dog unconscious, but Steele's mind was now so warped and twisted by insanity, the malamute was barely feeling any pain that day.
Steele growled and turned around to face his opponent, furious that had missed the half-wolf by mere inches. The malamute sprang forward again, but this time Balto was ready for him. The wolf-dog quickly retracted his claws and slashed the malamute across the face, before dodging out of the way. Steele yelped and angrily lashed out at Balto, throwing caution to the wind and giving into his blind rage. This time, Steele was quicker than the hybrid and managed to inflict some good scratches on his face, only a few inches above his eyes.
Balto screamed out in pain and fell over onto his back, allowing Steele to run up and tower over him. The sadistic sled dog grinned as he saw his rival in a familiar, pathetically defensive stance. It was the same position that Balto always took whenever Steele managed to catch him by surprise. The wayward malamute had almost forgotten how much fun terrorizing the hybrid was.
Steele lunged at him again, but Balto summoned enough energy to move out of the way. Steele swung around a second time, but missed again, though this time only by a few inches. Once he realized that Balto wouldn't allow him anywhere near his head or neck area, Steele decided that plain psychotic fury wouldn't cut it and that he would have to change tactics. It was time for him to do what he did best: set up a surprise attack. Steele pounced a third time, but to Balto's surprise, Steele aimed for lower part of his body. Pain surged all across his bones as Steele unexpectedly bit down on his leg, digging in deep.
Balto tried to defend himself the best he could, but with Steele attacking him every other second, the hybrid didn't even have time to get to his feet. Balto raised up one of his hind legs and kicked Steele across the face as hard as he could. His large paw collided with Steele's mouth, rattling a few of the malamute's teeth, but it still wasn't enough to get him to release him. Balto screamed in agony, as Steele bit down on his leg harder and harder with each second. The wolf-dog knew it was only a matter of time until Steele broke his leg, and then any chances he had of defending himself would die - along with him.
This was exactly what he was afraid would happen. Balto was a pretty good fighter, but still nowhere near as good as Steele and nowhere near as experienced (the hybrid had made it a habit avoid trouble, not start it). He had never stood a chance of beating him from the minute he and Jenna had stormed into the Boiler Room.
Just as Balto's bone strength seemed to reach it's limits, Steele screamed out of nowhere and finally released the hybrid's skinny leg from his mouth. Once he was free from his rival's death grip, Balto leapt to his feet and realized why Steele had let him go. Jenna had appeared behind the malamute and viciously bit into his shoulder. During the battle, Balto had almost forgotten Jenna was in the room with them. It seemed the husky always had his back, just like how he always had hers. Ironically, Balto realized that the scene that unfolding before him was exactly the same as their last fight with Steele, over three years ago when they faced Devil's gang.
Just as he did last time, Steele raised his hind leg and kicked Jenna with it, managing to dislodge the husky from his shoulder.
Having been kicked in the ribs, Jenna fell backwards and landed on her side on the floor. When she looked up, she saw an angry malamute towering over her, grinning with twisted delight.
Steele bent over and placed his face directly in front of hers. "Haven't you learned by now Jenna?! You play with fire, and you get burn-", he gloated, when the black and white dog was suddenly cut off.
Before Steele could have any time to react, Balto suddenly reappeared and tackled him as hard as he could, sending him flying into a nearby wall.
Moving quickly, Jenna got to her feet, shaking herself off, and rejoined her fiancée's side. "Thanks honey", she commented.
"You're welcome", Balto replied, though he never took his eyes off Steele. Balto noticed that when Steele flew backwards, he had just barely missed hitting into a nearby boiler. Had he collided with the white-hot furnace, it would have fried his skin to the bone immediately. Not even someone as evil as Steele deserved such a gruesome fate like that. "We can't keep fighting in here. It's too dangerous and there's not enough room to maneuver", Balto thought, worried. As he saw Steele slowly getting to his feet, shaking off the collision already, the wolf-dog knew he was running out of time. "Come on Jen, I've got an idea", he whispered into Jenna's ear.
Enraged, Steele looked around the room, but found Balto and Jenna were now nowhere to be seen. "Where are you, you coward?!", he bellowed, frustrated. Balto and Jenna were really starting to piss him off, but they never held still long enough for him to get them back. Why did wolves always have to play these games with people? Why couldn't they just man up and take their medicine like they were supposed to?! But just as soon as Steele spoke, he got his wish, when he felt something (or rather someone) sneak up behind him from the shadows.
"I'm right here", Balto whispered directly into the malamute's ear.
Steele whirled around, just in time for Balto to raise one of his paws and punch him in the face, sending the malamute sprawling to the floor. As soon as he sprang back to his feet, Steele threw himself at the wolf-dog, once again throwing away any kind of strategy in favor of pure rage. But instead of digging into Balto's neck, Steele's teeth sliced through empty air, before he crashed into the cement floor. Steele looked up, just in time to see Balto and Jenna running out the (now destroyed) door, escaping into Front Street. "NO!", he shouted, before tearing after them.
Contrary to what Steele might have thought, Balto and Jenna's retreat was not because the half-breed was a coward, but was instead a strategical maneuver. It was too hard to move around safely inside the confined space of the Boiler Room, and Balto thought they would stand a better chance outside, where they wouldn't be roasted alive if they made a wrong step. Now he just had to think of what to do next.
((()-()))
On the other side of the street, completely unaware of what was happening to the town hero and his mate, three sled dogs lazed around\in the Old Mill. The three friends were currently in the middle of their usual daily routine, lying on top on some throw pillows the humans threw away and chewing on some bones.
"So how did team practice go?", Jared asked, glancing at his good buddy, Kaltag.
The tan husky grinned and immediately started babbling out an answer, struggling to find the right words to describe what had taken place an hour earlier. "It was the most amazing, the most incredible, the most spectacular, the most refreshing, the smoothest practice we've had in years", Kaltag replied, after settling on the right superlatives. "You should have seen Balto out there Jared, the guy was cruising", he added.
"Yeah, there was some rough parts here and there, and I could have lived without having to jump over a brook, but he actually let us keep us with him", Nikki interjected.
"Haha, I knew the shake up in the team roster would be good for you all. It's bound to be smooth sailing from here", Jared chuckled, high-fiving the two dogs. However, Kaltag didn't seem to share his enthusiasm, not quite anyway.
"Maybe", the chinook mumbled, his voice lowered.
"You don't seem too excited. You survived the blizzard and you've got a new lead dog, so what's wrong now?", Jared inquired, frowning.
"It's just, I don't think things will go this smoothly this easily. Steele's still out there, remember? And if I know Steele, and I do, he's probably not too keen on Gunnar replacing him with a wolf-dog. When it comes to his obsessions, that glory hound doesn't give up. So he'll be back to cause trouble for the team, it's just a matter of when and how", Kaltag figured.
"That's why Star's not here with us, he's too scared. The little guy is convinced someone is following him, and that there's noises in his house at night", Nikki informed the Newfoundland.
Taking in that new information, Jared scratched the back of his neck. "I know Steele's got some serious screws loose guys, but he's a wanted dog now, remember? If he tries anything, he'll have to fight off a whole town, not to mention Doc and me. Besides, there's a wedding coming up, and we should be preparing for the big day instead of worrying about Steele", Jared reminded the sled dogs.
Even though Kaltag still didn't seem convinced, the big dog nodded his head slowly and eventually closed his eyes shut to get some rest. "Yeah, you're right. Balto's gonna be a married dog soon, he'll need all the help he can get from his new teammates", the husky mumbled, as he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Maybe Star had the right idea earlier. His limbs started to feel more and more distant, and his mind seemed to just float around in his head. In no time at all, Kaltag would be out cold, getting the afternoon nap he usually took after a practice run, when…
The doors to the Old Mill flew open and two dogs stumbled inside. Both around the same size and shape and both of them wore the same terrified expression on their faces. Just as Kaltag opened his eyes and glanced towards the direction the draft was coming from, Dixie and Star were in his face before he knew it. "HE'S HERE!", the male dog screamed.
"Whoa, whoa, Star! Calm down, back up, and start making sense. Now who's here?", a confused Nikki pressed, scowling at the pair.
However, Kaltag only kept quiet, as the gears in his sleepy brain started turning. Despite what Nikki thought, Kaltag already guessed there was only one dog Dixie and Sylvie could be talking about. One dog who was so evil, so ruthless, and so obsessed that they would tear into the Old Mill and start a riot over him. Kaltag already knew what Star was gonna say before the words escaped the little dog's lips.
"Steele's here", he whimpered.
((()-()))
"Corridors and Fire Escapes" by Murray Gold begins.
Balto glanced behind him to see Steele was still hot on their tails. What's worse, he was actually gaining a few inches on them with every second. Steele leered at the hybrid, pushing himself forward harder and harder. Steele knew that if he managed to catch Balto, he would finally be able to exact his revenge. He would rip the wolf-dog open with his claws and slash his neck, before drinking the hybrid's warm blood as it flowed out of his lifeless body.
Worried, Jenna glanced at her fiancée for leadership. "Balto, what do we now?! We can't keep running forever", she asked in desperation. The husky could already feel some of her leg muscles growing tired from all the running she had done that day, but she didn't dare stop to give them a rest.
Balto thought about Jenna's words for a few seconds, before thinking of all his past encounters with Steele, desperately searching for the malamute's weakness. He knew that everyone had some kind of fault or weakness, something that made him or her vulnerable in a fight. Everyone knew what Balto's weakness was - Jenna. And Balto hoped that if he could figure out Steele's, he could gain the upper hand in the chase.
His last encounter with Steele was during the serum run, so he thought back to that night, examining their last fight with as much detail as he could without stopping. One thing that stood out was how the malamute had snapped at him after Balto refused to stay away from the life-saving medicine. When Balto continued to defy him, Steele just kept snapping at him and viciously throwing the hybrid around, until he made one last, fatal error. Steele had been so preoccupied with trying to finish off his opponent that he had ignored all the danger surrounding him. Before he knew it, he had plunged off the side of a cliff, just barely surviving the twenty feet fall.
"Steele always was a hothead, the guy couldn't control his temper to save his life. Literally. But then again, I've had my fair share of meltdowns as well", Balto thought grimly.
The wolf-dog knew all too well what extreme anger felt like. How it consumed every other thought and feeling in the brain in a matter of seconds, until all logic and common sense no longer existed, replaced only by uncontrollable bloodlust and aggression. A couple of days ago, Balto was so controlled by it that he had almost attacked his own fiancée in a blind rage. He had no longer cared about the danger to himself or the chance that someone else could get hurt in all the crossfire. For a few, horrible moments, Balto had felt just like Steele.
Sudden a light bulb went off inside the wolf-dog's head. "That's it. When you're angry, you ignore all the danger to yourself and everyone else. That's how we'll stop him", he realized euphorically. He glanced back at the malamute behind him, and to Jenna's shock, he actually started taunting his rival. "Hey Steele, you couldn't lead a team even if your life depended on it, and it did!", he shouted.
As he realized what Balto was saying to him, Steele eyes' grew impossibly wide. The sled dog was taken aback by the wolf-dog's impotence, the sheer audacity, before snarling and pushing himself further even harder.
Balto knew his plan was working - he only needed to churn out a few more insults before Steele would snap completely.
However, Jenna, who didn't know about her fiancé's plan, just gazed at him in pure horror. "What are you doing?!", she demanded urgently.
"Trust me on this one, Jen", Balto replied confidently.
Jenna stared at Balto, deeply concerned, before she reluctantly nodded her head, doing as he asked. The wolf-dog had never let her down before, and if he said he had a plan, she would trust him with her life. And right now, their lives were what was on the line.
Balto nodded back before glancing at Steele again. The malamute continued to get closer and closer to them, falling back on the strength he had gained from years as a sled dog, before he ran into some trouble. A couple dogs on the street had been watching the chase from a distance (as they often did when a dog fight occurred in Nome), but they now found themselves becoming a part of the melee as Steele roughly shoved them out of his way, snarling at their protests. Steele was already beginning to lose it, Balto knew he only had to push him a little bit harder.
"Hey Steele! You're so slow, a simple half-breed like me can run faster than you! No wonder your owner disowned you, he doesn't want a lead-footed disgrace of a dog like you as his family's protector!", Balto added. While he was shouting at him, the hybrid's mind was focused completely on survival. But there was a tiny part of him that realized how ironic this situation was. Usually Steele was the one who goaded him on with insults and made him lose his temper, luring him right into a trap. But now it seemed the dogs had switched places. And while Balto knew he was only doing this to save himself and Jenna, he still felt guilty about having to stoop to Steele's level to do it.
Steele snarled and howled with fury, sprinting so fast that his legs felt like they were going to fall off. But the malamute ignored all the pain that was surging through his body, all he cared about now was getting to Balto. Even though it was completely impossible, Steele knew that the only way he'd ever catch Balto was to run faster than him - he had to beat that arrogant wolf-dog in a race, just once. Just this one, crucial time. Warm saliva dripped down from Steele's mouth, like how froth and foam would secrete from a rabid dog's jowls just before they attacked. The malamute's eyes narrowed and his vision blurred. Jenna's red and white body quickly disappeared out of his line of sight, as he focused all of his attention on her half-wolf fiancée.
Balto saw the wild look in Steele's icy blue eyes and knew he only had to deliver one last straw to break the camel's back. Balto looked all around him and found what he had been seeking: an empty trash can.
Jenna noticed unusual movement out of the corner of her eye - her boyfriend pausing. To Jenna's horror, she watched as Balto stopped running and whirled turned around to face Steele.
A scowling, confused Steele stopped running as well, if only to see what Balto was gonna do next. Had the hybrid finally stopped running like a coward and chose to fight him head-on? Apparently not, because instead of charging at him, the half-wolf only glared at him, before speaking in a cold, condescending tone, mouthing off some more.
"But you wanna know what's the worst thing about you, Steele? The people in this town loved you. The women wanted you, the men wanted to be you, heck, some of the men probably wanted you too. And the children all wished you were their dog. Everyone here counted on you and depended on you to save all their lives. And when the time came to step up to the plate and be the leader that Nome needed you to be, you were too selfish to care about anybody but yourself", Balto said angrily, scowling at the malamute standing in front of him. This time, Balto wasn't making up insults. This tirade of his stemmed entirely from the wolf-dog's honest opinion of his rival, and the heinous act of betrayal he had committed. He had always sort of pitied Steele for letting hatred consume him the way he did, but now…now Balto could barely even force himself to look at the dog.
The hairs on the back of Steele's bristled and the malamute's teeth gleamed, he was now only a few seconds away from going nuclear.
"You turned on everyone who loved you, just to spite me, and you almost killed dozens of innocent people over a petty grudge. You're no leader Steele, and you're certainly not a hero. You're just a fraud. A pathetic, useless, self-absorbed fraud who never deserved that champion collar around his neck", Balto derided, dragging out the words long and slow, as he waited for the inevitable reaction.
By now, a large crowd of dogs had gathered on the sidewalk to watch the public fight with their own eyes and they all tensed up as they watched Balto poke the bear with the stick, over and over again like he had some kind of death wish. The town hero had apparently lost his mind.
"Steele, the greatest sled dog in all of Alaska, is nothing but a liar. And now everyone knows it. That's what history will remember you as, Steele. Not Nome's greatest hero, but Nome's biggest failure", the wolf-dog finished.
That did it.
Steele couldn't control himself anymore as the dog he had hated so much, for so long slandered his name in front of the public who had once been so faithful to him. It was all Balto's fault they had turned against him, and now he was trying to do it again. But he wouldn't let him. Steele's next move was something that everyone had all knew was coming, especially Balto, but still everyone on the street couldn't help but flinch as they saw how crazily Steele leapt at the hybrid. As he soared through the air, making direct eye contact with his half-breed rival, Steele's constantly cold blue eyes were now emptier than Balto had ever seen them. Like Steele wasn't even there anymore, replaced by a savage beast with violence as his only purpose in life. But even the sight of his oldest enemy losing whatever was left of his mind wasn't enough to scare Balto that day.
The hybrid grinned triumphantly and quickly jumped to side, practically turning into a blur as he ran. Balto scooped up a nearby trash can lid in his mouth, and flung it forward as hard as he could. His newly enhanced eyes presented a whole new range of depth perception, allowing him to throw the lid with amazing aim and accuracy.
The tin circle collided with Steele's chest, knocking the wind out of the malamute and sending him flying through the air, sailing across the street. Steele once again landed on his back in the snow, and before he could get up, Balto punched him in the face. The wolf-dog kept hitting Steele every split second, making sure he didn't give the malamute a chance to get his strength back up. And after everything Steele had done, everything the prideful, hateful malamute had put the wolf-dog through, it felt good to finally pay him back. It felt good to unload years' worth of resentment, lash out and hurt the creep. He bit down on Steele's shoulder, causing the ex-sled dog to scream out in agony. But unbeknownst to the wolf-dog, the more he fought, the more vicious he became.
After only sixty seconds, Steele was already bleeding heavily, and now had black rings around both his eyes. However, despite Steele being clearly incapacitated, Balto still didn't stop his attack on the dog. The enraged wolf-dog shoved the malamute into a nearby wooden porch, so he would have nowhere left to run from his wrath. Balto's fangs hung out of his mouth as he saw the crumpled sled dog crushed underneath his massive paws, humbled by his own defeat. A tempting thought entered Balto's head, one that he had toyed with for years now - ending Steele's miserable life. After all, he certainly deserved it. Not just for what he had done to Balto and Jenna, but what he had done to everyone in Nome.
As Balto debated crossing his own moral line for the first time, Steele could see the bloodlust and indecision in the half-wolf's eyes. This was what he had been hoping for, what he had been planning when he threatened Star and summoned Balto and Jenna to the Old Mill He knew that Balto would be so caught up in their fight that he'd lose control of his wild instincts and reveal himself for the monster he really was. After all, Steele had nothing left to live for, he had lost everything to that lobo. So he felt he might as well die fighting, knowing that he had finally exposed Balto as being nothing a filthy, wild, untrustworthy wolf.
It would be the ultimate revenge on wolves everywhere.
Balto represented the idea of not all wolves being evil, and the hope for a future where dogs and wolves could live in some sort of peace. But by exposing Balto as a monster, Steele would destroy the chance of that ever happening and finally make that lying savage race pay for making him lose his father. The evil malamute raised his head to glare at his rival, and mustered just enough strength to speak again. "Do it half-wolf, kill me. Just grow a pair and finally finish what you started for once, Bingo", he sneered hoarsely.
Balto stared down at the defeated dog, feeling conflicted. Steele's desire to die was the exact same request Devil had whispered to him the first time Balto had bested him, over two years ago. Except, Balto had barely known the dog, so it was easier to take mercy on him, while his feud with Steele was so much older and so much more personal. Devil may have injured him badly and put Jenna in danger, but Steele had made his life a living hell for more than four years. He had defiled the only memories of his mother, turned everyone in Nome against him, endangered the lives of innocent children, and worst of all - Steele was reason why he had to give up being with Jenna all those years ago.
Even though he had convinced himself he wouldn't lose control of his instincts the next time he saw Steele, all Balto wanted at that moment was to get back at the malamute for everything he had done. In a wolf's world, forgiveness was a rare virtue that almost didn't exist. The only justice there was in a wolf pack was swift vengeance, and as far as Balto knew, a true wolf never hesitated at the chance to finish off someone who had done him wrong.
Balto opened his mouth wide, to reveal two large fangs hanging between his teeth. Balto rarely ever used them since he didn't hunt for food in the wild like most wolves, but nonetheless they were still pretty sharp and glowed bright in the mid-day sun. Saliva dripped from his mouth, but the hybrid ignored it as he leaned closer towards Steele's neck.
Steele smiled grimly as he realized the hybrid was playing right into his scheme. He closed his eyes and prepared to accept his death with dignity - the only honorable thing left for a washed up hero who's glory had been stolen by a half-breed. "I wonder what it feels like… death?", Steele pondered bleakley, before pushing the morbid thoughts out of his head. But as much as he tried not to think about it, Balto's constant stalling was making him uneasy. He wished the wolf-dog was just get it over with and kill him already, before he started to lose his confidence. Since dogs couldn't sweat, Steele panted nervously, and cracked his eyes open a little bit to see Balto was still standing over him, dragging out the moment.
As much as Balto wanted to finish his old tormentor, something was holding him back, and it wasn't just his conscience. Balto could tell someone else had just joined them, and could see something out of the corner of his eyes. He had been so caught up in the fight he had completely forgotten that his husky lover had been with him the whole time.
Jenna was still standing only a few feet away, completely horrified by what her fiancée was about to do. As long as she had known Balto, she had never thought him to be a murderer. Even when he was fighting with Devil, he had never gone this far before. His teeth were literally only a few inches above Steele's neck!
Balto recognized Jenna's terrified expression almost immediately. It was the same look she always wore whenever he went too far, whenever he let himself become a slave to his instincts, whenever he started to become exactly what everyone thought he was - a monster.
Balto glanced back at Steele one last time and saw something that took him by surprise. Deep beneath the malamute's cold blue eyes, trying desperately to appear aloof and hard, he saw fear - and not just fear, absolute terror. In all his time he had known Steele, he had never seen the malamute so afraid before, especially not of him.
As much as he wanted to be brave in the face of his own demise and hold onto his reputation as being a tough brawler, Steele couldn't stop his traitorous body from shaking in Balto's arms. Not when he had just realized that there was probably no hope for him in the afterlife, not after everything he had done in the past few days.
As he stared sympathetically at his rival, both Balto and Steele knew the truth, that underneath all his taunting, bragging and machismo, the malamute was a coward through and through. Even now, as he was crushed under Balto's paws, exactly where he thought he had wanted to be, Steele was starting to have second thoughts about his plan and praying that Balto wouldn't have the guts to go through it. His only hope was that Balto was too spineless to become a murderer, like how he was too much of a coward to be a martyr.
Balto recognized Steele's position immediately, and realized why he had stopped fighting. Curling into a submissive ball was the same way he used to try and protect himself from Steele when he was a puppy. At the time, Balto was only six months old and he had had no way of defending himself from Steele's cruel beatings. The worse days were when he couldn't keep his emotions in check and and tears of pain would flow from his eyes. The other dogs would tear into him mercilessly and tell him he was weak and a nobody. But now their situation was reversed.
At that moment, everything suddenly became crystal clear, and the full enormity of what Balto was doing hit him. He had taunted Steele, broke him down, beat him up, and now he was on the verge of killing him. A tear slowly manifested underneath Balto's eyes and rolled down his face, as the wolf-dog realized what he was about to become. If he killed Steele now, he would not only turn into a ruthless murderer and a monster, but he would become Steele.
"No, I can't, I won't", he whispered softly.
"I See You Silence" by Murray Gold begins.
Balto quickly stepped away from Steele and released the malamute from his grip, dropping him on his side in the snow. Balto breathed in heavily, trying to calm himself down before he made another mistake he'd regret.
By now, the dog fight had attracted the attention of most of the residents of Nome, both canine and human. A lot of the local townspeople had heard all the noise outside their homes and stepped outside to find two old enemies going at it. For a moment, it had looked like the four-year feud between a half-breed and former lead-dog was about to come to a head. But now they couldn't believe their eyes as they watched Balto's spare Steele's life, something that just wasn't done in a dog fight, especially not one like this.
As Steele gathered the strength to get to his feet, he glared at Balto. Even though he was relieved that his plan hadn't worked and that he wasn't about to become a sacrifice for his own cause, he saw Balto's decision to spare his life as a sign of weakness, like he always did. "I knew you didn't have it in you. You're nothing but a gutless chicken of a wolf, through and through", he sneered venomously.
Balto didn't reply but only stared at the malamute in contempt. After everything that had happened, Balto pitied his old rival. Things had gotten so bad over the years that they had come to this. And the consequence was that Steele, the once proud champion of Nome had been reduced to nothing but a washed-up fraud who was trying to provoke dog fights, just to try and 'win' the feud he himself had started years ago. Steele's obsession was the saddest thing Balto had ever seen, and he wasn't going to be a part of it any longer. It was time to end this, once and for all. And he was gonna do it his way, not Steele's.
The half-breed ignored Steele's taunting and slowly turned around on his heels. Without ever once saying anything or looking back at his broken rival, Balto started to walk away, satisfied that he had finally gotten the best of his killer instincts.
"Where are you going?! Get back here!", Steele yelled after him, outraged.
However, Balto only continued to ignore him and just kept on walking. He knew Steele was only doing all this for the same reason he had started his reign of terror in the first place, for attention. He had finally figured out that Steele's obsession with fame was so sad and so twisted that he was willing to let himself get beaten up, and possibly killed, just so he could be a hero again, known forever as the dog who had exposed Balto as a killer. The only problem was that he wasn't, and he was never going to be.
Jenna was only a few feet away from him now, waiting for the dog she loved to return to her. The husky had never been more relieved in her life when Balto spared Steele, but now she couldn't believe she had ever doubted him. If she had ever had the slightest doubts about Balto's morality, she would never have agreed to married him. Balto was still the man she had fallen in love with as a teen.
"Listen lobo, I'm not done with you yet!", Steele bellowed, enraged that his enemy was still ignoring him. None of his other adversaries had ever turned their back on him before and Steele considered it to be an ever bigger disgrace than losing to a wolf-dog.
Balto sighed but he didn't even turn around, even though he already knew what was coming. He had known Steele long enough to figure his next reaction was inevitable. The short-tempered blowhard couldn't fight it even if he wanted to.
"Come back here, you coward!", Steele screamed, before charging at his rival's back and leaping into the air.
Of course, Balto had already anticipated that and bared his teeth, ready for round two of Steele's little game. But to his surprise, Steele's attack had already been intercepted by somebody else.
A ghost of yellow and brown fur jumped in the air and pounced on top of the malamute, causing him to come crashing down into the ground unceremoniously.
Balto and Jenna gasped as they realized a fourth dog had unexpectedly joined the fight, storming into the fray. He had appeared completely out of nowhere, but Balto knew the sled dog well.
Kaltag pinned Steele against the ground, determined to keep his ex-boss from hurting his new friends. "I won't let you kill Balto!", the husky growled.
"It's not up to you! You're nothing but a wheel dog, a simple gun for hire!", Steele shouted, enraged by his ex-lackey's defiance, right before he thrust his head forward and sank his teeth into Kaltag's shoulder.
Kaltag screamed in agony as Steele's fangs tore through his flesh and skin, stretching all the way down to his bones. Once his razor-sharp teeth were hooked in securely, Steele deliberately raked them up and down, slashing a large portion of skin around Kaltag's shoulder to shreds - making the chinook hurt, making him bleed. As Kaltag fell to the ground, his screams' bloodcurdling, Steele stood over the husky's body, victorious. Kaltag tried to stand up, but the pain in his shoulder was too great for him to do anything other than curl up into a bloody ball. By now, Kaltag's life fluid had painted the snow around him red, and the people and dogs of Nome could only watch in horror as Steele moved in for the kill.
"That'll teach you to choose a half-breed over me and leave me for dead, you filthy little traitor!", Steele hissed spitefully.
His former subordinate didn't waste a moment firing back. "You betrayed us first, you two-faced, self-centered son of a bitch! You betrayed every last kid in Nome because of your arrogance, and I hope you burn in hell!", Kaltag growled angrily, before spitting in the malamute's face.
Steele slowly wiped away Kaltag's saliva, seething. He was tired of playing games with the chinook. He was tired of dragging things out in general. But before he could finish off his betrayer, he was suddenly tackled again by a familiar streak of brown fur. After the shock of seeing Steele attack Kaltag had worn off, Balto had leapt into the air as fast as he could, determined to keep Steele from finishing the job.
Balto quickly positioned himself on top of Steele, and made the malamute take the brunt of their fall, knocking the wind out of him. Steele groaned as his back bones fractured, but he only had enough time to blink before Balto slammed his head against the hard ground and placed his large paws around his neck. Balto squeezed them against Steele's trachea as hard as he could, determined on either snapping the malamute's windpipe or choking his rival to death. Steele gasped and desperately tried to throw the half-wolf off him, but he could only flail his paws around helplessly.
"I was going to give you a second chance like I did with Devil, but now I realize that some people just can't be saved. You'll never be able to hurt another innocent person ever again", Balto promised, snarling.
The wolf-dog raised his right paw and swung it towards Steele's neck as hard as he could. But just as the tips of Balto's claws raked the edge of Steele's fur, something stopped him once more. Balto looked up to see Doc holding onto his paw, the expression on the old dog's face rather grave. "That's enough Balto, I'll handle Steele from here", Doc ordered sternly, leaving no room for arguments.
Balto hesitated and glared at Steele again, unwilling to let his murderous rival go so easily.
Meanwhile, Jared appeared from the crowd of nearby dogs and joined Doc's side, helping the old St. Bernard pin the rogue sled dog down. "Balto, Doc and I will be fine. You need to help Jenna check on Kaltag, he's hurt pretty badly", Jared reasoned, glancing at the injured canine with fear in his eyes.
Balto looked behind him and his expression softened, growing still as he saw Jenna leaning over Kaltag's bloody form, tears streaming down her face. The fallen chinook was losing blood quickly and it was only a matter of time until his injuries became fatal.
Balto nodded tentatively and stepped back, allowing Doc and Jared to step over Steele's bruised body.
"Steele, you're under arrest for assault, harassment, sexual harassment, attempted murder, and attempted manslaughter!", Doc declared, just barely keeping his anger at the treasonous malamute in check.
"The hell I am!", Steele defied him, scoffing arrogantly. If he wasn't afraid of Balto (most of the time), then he certainly wasn't afraid of Doc. Just like his most loyal follower, Blaze, he considered Doc's old age to be a weakness, just like Balto's kindness.
However, Nikki and Star appeared out nowhere and joined Doc and Jared as well, surrounding their old boss on all sides. They had watched him attack their best friend from distance and fought their way through the crowd around the same time as Doc. They were followed by a few other dogs, most of whom were friends of Kaltag, who had seen the big guy be ruthlessly struck down by the same man he had once trusted with his life.
Once he realized what Nikki, Star and Doc were planning on doing, Steele growled at the trio of dogs surrounding him. "You wouldn't dare", he threatened dangerously, but that was nowhere near enough to keep his enemies from advancing on him, preventing him from escaping. "You can't do this to me! Do you have any idea how much I've done for this hick town?!", Steele bellowed. When one dog approached him, he roughly shoved him out of the way and snapped at another, daring everyone else to try and take him alive.
Which is why Steele didn't notice Nikki standing next to him, until the porkish dog's paw struck him across the face. Having already received countless injuries from both Balto and Kaltag, being decked by the robust chow-chow got the job done quickly. Steele flew backwards onto the snow and Star delivered the final blow, not wanting to take any chances of Steele getting back up again.
"This is for ambushing me and hurting my friends, you jerk!", Star growled, before raising his fist and thrusting it towards Steele's face with as much strength as the little dog could muster, slamming it into his jaw. What happened next surprised everyone: not only did Star's fist make contact with a solid 'thwack', but it caused Steele to collapse on the snow almost instantaneously, knocked out cold.
As soon as he realized what he had done, Star's mouth fell open in disbelief, mirroring the shocked expressions of his friends. Dumbstruck, he gazed down at the paw that had done the deed. "I punched Steele. I punched Steele! God, I've always wanted to do that!", he exclaimed, gushing excitedly.
Doc and Jared padded over towards Steele cautiously, figuring there was always a chance he was just faking to get them to let their guards down again. But once they saw he really was unconscious and the threat had been defused temporarily, the duo acted fast and started dragging the malamute away. They already knew where they could safely hold the canine criminal, for the time being anyway. Until they decided what to do with him in the long run, and how they would handle the damage he had caused.
Satisfied that his rival was under Doc's control, Balto joined Jenna at Kaltag's side. The wounded dog was now surrounded by dozens of canines and humans. One man, presumably a doctor of sorts, concluded that Kaltag was still alive but he wouldn't be for much longer if his wound was allowed to keep bleeding as freely and heavily as it was.
Among the crowd of horrified humans, one man fought his way to the front, just as Doc and Jared had. Kaltag's owner - Gunnar Kaasen. "KAL, NO!", the man wailed, quickly bending over to check on his dog. Unlike the other dogs on his team, Kaltag was the only one who actually lived with Gunnar himself and the man had a special connection with him, not unlike how Balto and Jenna cared deeply for their girl, Rosie.
"Kal, we're gonna get you to the hospital, okay?", Gunnar whispered softly. Kaltag didn't reply (because humans couldn't understand dog talk), but he did groan and whine in reply, which Gunnar understood as a yes. The man gently picked the chinook up in his arms, making sure to avoid touching his flesh wound, and started to carry him off with a large of crowd of people and dogs trailing behind him.
Among those concerned about Kaltag's wellbeing was Balto, Jenna, Dixie, Sylvie, Nikki, and Star. As he chased after his new musher, followed by his fiancée and all his friends, Balto was too deep in thought to really notice any of their presence. Kaltag had risked everything to protect him and the hybrid knew he had to be with him when the husky made it to the hospital. It was the least he could do for the true hero of the hour.
Author's Notes:
Poor Kaltag, there's always an innocent bystander or a good Samaritan injured in brutal fights like these. Before I started writing Salvation, Part 1 and Part 2 last year, I always wondered how I would end the two stories. I thought about ending Part 2 with Balto fighting Steele, vanquishing his enemy, and marrying Jenna. But for some reason, that story didn't feel quite right to me. Possibly because most of that stuff had already been done, and written by a much better writer than me (check out "The First Day" by iWolf231). So how I was gonna make Balto's fight with Steele original, when it's already been written plenty of times by plenty of authors? Finally, I decided that Balto's brawl with Steele wouldn't be the ending of the two-parter, but I would use it as an excuse to extend the story to a third part, which is why I ended "Salvation, Part 2" in a cliffhanger.
Steele's attack on Balto isn't the big climax of the Salvation trilogy, it's more of a catalyst (or 'MacGuffin' or 'brandy ball' depending on what country you live in). It's not what drives the plot, but rather the thing that sets in motion the rest of the story (like Doc Brown taking Marty and Jennifer to the year 2015 to help out their kids. I know I've used BTTF as a reference or analogy at least five or six times now in my ANs, but that trilogy had so many unique ideas in it that it can be compared to a lot of different situations). As you can guess from this story's summary, there will be consequences to Balto's encounter with his rival, and Kaltag getting hurt is just the first of them. Like I mentioned in the introduction, I had been meaning to writing this continuation in January, but sometimes stuff happens.
And as you can also guess by now, Part 3 is the darkest of the Salvation trilogy (even darker than Devil, Wilson, and Cookie's obsession with Balto and Jenna in Part 1), so if any of you hate blood or gore, turn back now (but then again, if any of you guys hated graphic stuff then you wouldn't have been able to sit through the first part, so I'm guessing that won't be a problem). Plus there are sentimental moments tossed in too (for all you guys and girls who liked Balto and Jenna's relationship from the first two parts).