Chapter 11: A Hero Is Born.
12:45 A.M. Monday, December 25th, 1922:
Wilson fell through the air and braced himself for his devastating impact with the jagged rocks hundreds of feet below. But after a few more seconds, he felt like he was still in one piece. At first, he figured he still in free-fall and he was just falling really slowly. But even after another agonizing few seconds, death never came for him. Wilson felt a jolt and a hard tugging sensation around his nape, causing him to realize someone or something was holding him up in mid-air.
"I Am The Doctor" by Murray Gold begins.
Finally, Wilson opened his eyes and looked up to see Balto holding onto the scruff of his neck with his teeth, determined not to let anything happen to the husky. "Don't you even think about dying on me now!", he ordered with a growl, looking utterly determined. Balto could just barely hold up the bulky husky's weight, and the hybrid himself was dangling off the side of the cliff, using his wolfish claws to hang onto the edge of the cliff face.
Wilson's jaw grew slack as he realized the wolf-dog was actually trying to save his life.
Balto struggled to pull himself upwards, desperately trying to pull Wilson back to safety. "God, Wilson, why did you have to be so heavy?!", Balto groaned, his complaint muffled by all the fur in his mouth.
"Well, why do you have to be so weak for a half-wolf?", Wilson retorted, offended.
"Don't make me drop you!", Balto snapped, scowling at the ungrateful husky. The wolf-dog stepped back a few inches and slipped on a small patch of ice, almost losing his footing which would have sent both dogs flying over the edge of the cliff.
Realizing that Balto couldn't pull up Wilson's weight alone, Jenna carefully walked towards the cliff edge, minding the ice, and started pulling Balto back onto the cliff. Adding a third dog to the two-dog chain sped them up significantly, and Balto and Jenna finally found enough strength inside them to pull Wilson back above the cliff face and onto solid ground.
Balto and Jenna panted heavily, completely out of breath, while Wilson collapsed on the ground, all the fight gone out of the bullying husky. The three dogs simply tried to calm their racing hearts.
Balto looked over at the white husky and padded towards him. "Do you believe my offer's real now?", he asked.
Wilson remained silent and hesitated for a good, long moment, before he eventually nodded his head, looking uncharacteristically humbled. In his entire life, the sled dog had never met anyone who was willing to risk their own life to try and save somebody else's, especially not for a thug like him. The husky slowly stood up, making sure he never took his eyes off Balto, but was surprised to find that the wolf-dog now had his paw outstretched towards him. Realizing that Balto was expecting a handshake, Wilson stared at the hybrid's paw for a few more seconds, before he reluctantly took it in his own.
"I hope this makes us even", Balto grinned.
But before Wilson could even think of an answer, Balto heard someone screaming and looked around to find the source. A few meters away from them, Steele and Kaltag were closing in on Devil, backing the bruised and battered malamute towards the edge of the Chasm.
Balto quickly realized that Steele wasn't planning on being anywhere near as merciful as he had been, and was intent on pushing Devil off the edge, killing the malamute in cold blood. "NOOO! STEELE! YOU CAN'T!", Balto screamed, running as fast as he could to try to stop them.
Catching onto Steele's sinister plan just as quickly as Balto had, Jenna ran after the wolf-dog with Wilson right behind her, determined to save his best friend.
"I told you this was the end, Devil. I hope you have fun in hell, you bastard", Steele goaded and gloated, feeling incredibly satisfied at the moment.
Devil backed up again, only to have one of his hind legs step off the edge and be met with empty air. Devil quickly planted all four feet back on the ground and looked behind him, seeing only the bottomless pit of the Great Chasm. Realizing that there was nowhere left to run, Devil closed his eyes and the malamute prepared to accept his death with whatever little dignity he still had left.
Steele grinned evilly and raised his paws to push Devil off the edge, when something stopped him - a familiar wolf-dog hybrid. Balto quickly brushed past the malamute and put himself between Steele and Devil. Frustrated that Balto was getting in the way of his final revenge, when he was so close to achieving it, Steele growled at the hybrid. "Get out of my way wolf-dog!", Steele ordered.
However, Balto still didn't back down and continued to stand his ground. "I won't let you kill him Steele!", Balto declared, leaving no room for arguments.
Devil was surprised to find Balto was defending him and noticed the wolf-dog had his back turned to him. For a split second, Devil contemplated attacking the hybrid from behind, taking advantage of his foolhardy moment of weakness, but some part of him decided against it. Whether he liked it or not, Balto was currently the only thing standing between him and an untimely death at the hands of Steele, so the time for sneak attacks had well and truly passed.
"Have you forgotten what they did to you? What they did to Jenna?", Steele growled incredulously.
Balto shook his head. "I know they hurt me Steele, and I know that they hurt Jenna too. They tried to kill all of us, and believe you me, I'm just as mad about that as you are. But killing them won't solve anything, it just makes us as bad as them!", he argued.
The wolf-dog turned to glance at Wilson, who was now standing besides Jenna, both dogs watching the hybrid with wide eyes.
"And I know that because I almost just committed murder myself. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life, because of this stupid, ridiculous feud!", Balto reasoned, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face as the wolf-dog experienced an epiphany.
Steele and Kaltag stared at Wilson and then at Balto, confused. For years, their lives had been filled with nothing but anger and violence and revenge, so the two sled dogs could barely understand anything the wolf-dog was getting at.
"Well, you're not just suggesting we let them off the hook, are you?", Kaltag questioned carefully.
"No, I may be willing to forgive this, but I'm not a fool", Balto replied, before turning around to glare at Devil, who was was still dumbfounded by the hybrid's generosity.
"Devil, I'm giving you this one chance and one chance only. Your friend Wilson took it, so I suggest you do the same", Balto advised, his tone sterner and more serious than Jenna had ever heard it before. "I'm going to let you walk away from this fight, so long as you leave Nome and never come back", the hybrid offered.
"What? You don't expect me to-", Devil sputtered, before Balto harshly cut him off.
"I don't care if you think it's undignified to lose to a wolf-dog! If you don't surrender now, then I'll just step back and let Steele here rip you to pieces!", Balto growled, causing the malamute's ego to shrink significantly.
Standing between Wilson and Steele, Jenna stared at Balto in awe, feeling a bit proud. She had seen the wolf-dog fight before, but she had never seen such a confrontational side of him - the hybrid was able to get another dog to back down just by speaking to him.
Steele stared at Balto too, bewildered by what he was seeing. In all the time Steele had known the wolf-dog, he never guessed he had the guts to stand up to somebody like that before and it kind of bothered him. It seemed he had underestimated the hybrid: the dog who he had previously thought to be just a wimp had some fight in him after all.
"Now I know you hate me, Devil, and I'm not your biggest fan either. I'm also not naïve enough to think that we'll never see each other again someday. The world's a pretty small place, and you'll probably still hate me in the future too. But if you ever want to challenge me again…", Balto uttered, his words sounding deceptively calm at the moment.
The wolf-dog slowly leaned forward, resting his snout only a few inches away from Devil's, making the malamute cringe backwards in fear. Balto placed his paws on Devil's shoulders, holding the terrified dog in a vice grip.
"Bring the fight directly to me, and don't ever try to hurt me through the ones I love again. Do you understand?", Balto threatened.
However, Devil was still too stunned to answer, his tail now tucked beneath his legs.
"I said, do you understand?", Balto reiterated, growing impatient.
The malamute finally nodded his head in reply and Balto stepped back, holding up his own end of the deal by releasing him.
"Go now", Balto ordered, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Devil immediately obeyed Balto's orders, foregoing his dignity in favor of self-preservation, and brushed past the wolf-dog with Wilson by his side. Balto, Jenna, Steele and Kaltag watched as Devil and Wilson found their samoyed friend lying on the ground, still bleeding from his wounds. The two troublemakers quickly grabbed different parts of Cookie in their mouth and started dragging the wounded dog away, starting their long walk back to town.
Devil knew that by now, Doc would have learned all about their murder attempt from Dixie, so he figured they couldn't return to Nome. The threesome would just have to hide somewhere in the woods lick their wounds until it was time for their new owner to leave the next day. Maybe they would have better luck once the trio had a clean slate in South Dakota. Maybe they would even manage to stay out of trouble for a change.
After a few more minutes, Devil, Wilson and Cookie disappeared into the night and Balto breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing again for the first time in hours. Exhausted, Balto and Jenna plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.
"I can't believe it, how did you scare Devil off like that? It was amazing!", Jenna laughed, excited.
"I don't know, I guess I was just acting on instinct", Balto mused, feeling a bit too tired to think of a proper answer.
A few feet away from them, Nikki, Kaltag and Star (who were all pretty badly injured) were just getting to their feet; grunting in discomfort but glad to even still be alive after their vicious fight with Devil and his pals. Steele, however, seemed to be in deep thought about something and he had no interest in checking up on his teammates. Balto knew the bullheaded sled dog was still mad that he had ruined his revenge against Devil, but the wolf-dog still felt like he had done the right thing by granting Devil and his gang mercy. His conscience was clear and his paws remained unstained with any blood.
Still, there was something Balto felt like he needed to tell Steele, so the hybrid stood up and walked over to Steele, with a curious Jenna trailing behind him. Balto cleared his throat and tapped the surly malamute on the shoulder.
"What do you want?", Steele snapped irritably.
"Listen Steele, I just wanted to thank you for everything you did here tonight, for me and for Jenna", Balto said.
"You want to what?", Steele growled, eyes widening. The malamute had almost seemed angered by Balto's words, but the wolf-dog didn't seem to notice at the moment.
"I couldn't have saved Jenna without you. I know we've had our differences in the past and that we've never liked each other, but tonight just proves that if we both actually try then maybe we can someday be friends, and-", Balto proposed, before he was abruptly cut off.
Steele raised his right paw, unsheathed his claws, and bitch-slapped Balto across the face, slashing his cheek and sending the wolf-dog flying backwards.
Jenna gasped in mortification as Balto landed on his back, never even seeing Steele's sneak attack coming.
"What the hell are you doing?", Balto exclaimed, rubbing his sore face that would probably start bleeding soon.
"You can save it, lobo. That friendship crap may have worked on fools like Devil, but I'll never want anything to do with a wolf like you", Steele snarled, advancing towards Balto aggressively and baring his teeth.
At first, Balto couldn't believe what was happening. He and Steele had seemed to be doing so well, and for a brief moment it had even looked like the two rivals could coexist together in the same town. But now they were right back where they had started, with Balto on the ground and Steele attacking him simply because he was a wolf-dog.
"Steele, why are you doing this?! I helped you!", Balto yelled, outraged by Steele's betrayal.
"You sentimental idiot. You should never have let your guard down, Bingo, cause this is what I've been wanting to do you since the beginning", Steele smirked, slowing moving in on the cornered, shell-shocked half-wolf.
((()-()))
Earlier that night, Steele sighed to himself as Dixie ran out of the Old Mill to find Doc or Jared; he thought the annoying show dog would never leave him alone.
"Hey, boss. We're not really going to ask Balto for help, are we?", Kaltag reluctantly asked him, doubting Steele's motives.
"Of course we are. But you don't really think I'm just gonna let Balto take all the glory for this, do you?", Steele retorted, quirking his brow suggestively.
"Steele, you're not making any sense", Star stepped forward, slowly and cautiously.
Steele smiled sinisterly and sauntered over to Star's side. "Don't you see Star? Devil has presented us with a golden opportunity. We'll head over to the Great Chasm, with Balto alongside us, and tonight five of us will go in but only four of us will come out, alive", Steele suggested, eyes glinting.
Kaltag eyed him carefully. "Could you elaborate on that?", he requested.
"We'll head over to the Great Chasm where we'll rescue Jenna, send her back to Nome, and once there are no more witnesses, we'll kill her captors and push Balto off the side of the cliff, ridding the world of that meddling wolf-dog once and for all", Steele lazily explained, picking up a bone to chew on and relishing the taste of it.
Dumbfounded, Nikki, Kaltag and Star stared at the malamute in silence with slack jaws. They were all for chasing Balto, heckling him or having some fun tormenting him, but what Steele had suggested was going way too far, not to mention sick and twisted. Steele was suggesting that they help him kill someone, just because he didn't like the hybrid.
"You want us to kill him?", Star repeated, in a bit of denial.
"Sure. You're not going soft on me, are you Star?", Steele inquired, turning his icy blue eyes on the much smaller husky before he snapped his bone in half with his teeth, making his implied threat very clear.
"No!", Star quickly answered, shaking his head feverently.
"Good, then we'd better head over to Balto's boat. I want to get this plan started as soon as possible", Steele decided, grinning devilishly.
((()-()))
As Balto took in the full extent of Steele's words, he realized their temporary truce had been trap from the very beginning, laid not just by Devil and his gang, but by Steele himself. "Boris was right, I can't believe I ever trusted you!", Balto snarled, enraged at the malamute.
"Please, trust is for the weak. The only person you can ever really rely on is yourself. After all, did you really think I would accept any kind of help from a lowly mongrel like you?", Steele scoffed, entirely unrepentant.
Balto tried his best to fight back, but between fighting with Devil and his goons and dragging Wilson up a cliff, he had already been drained a lot of his energy, making it difficult for him to defend himself from Steele's onslaught of slaps, punches and bites. Every time Steele hit him, the hybrid was pushed back further and further, until he realized the malamute was backing him towards the edge of the cliff.
Steele slapped Balto again, and the hybrid flew backwards, into thin air.
Thinking fast, Balto instinctively grabbed onto the ledge, narrowly keeping himself from plunging into the chasm. Still, Balto could feel his grip on the ledge was waning, and he knew that with hardly any energy left he would let go at any second. To Balto's horror, Steele walked over towards the cliff edge and bent over him, grinning.
"Say your prayers, Bingo", Steele goaded, preparing to finish Balto off the way he had to intended to do with Devil.
"My name's Balto", Balto seethed, too tired to speak any louder.
"Do you think I care?", Steele retorted, before raising his right paw again.
Balto closed his eyes, knowing he was about to be sent flying off the cliff into the jagged rocks below. He intended to at least face his death with dignity, even if he hated Steele for betraying him like this.
But just as Steele was about to strike the hybrid, agonizing pain rippled through the malamute's foreleg, causing the sled dog to yell and recoil.
Balto opened his eyes again to see Jenna savagely biting down on Steele's leg, desperately trying to save the life of the dog she loved.
Steele quickly swung his left paw, dislodging her, while he tried to examine how bad his injury was.
"Jenna, just forget about me and run!", Balto insisted, while Steele clutched his injured leg.
"You little bitch!", Steele shouted, watching as blood began to pour out of his leg, staining the white snow.
"I'm not just going to let you kill him!", Jenna raged, ignoring Balto's pleas for her to get out while she still could.
At first, Steele was still angry at the husky for what she had done to his leg, but then he started smirking weirdly at her. The malamute's grin unsettled Jenna, and once again she felt that urge to get away from Steele. Except this time, the feeling was the strongest it had ever been, like whatever her subconscious had been trying to warn her about was about to culminate at that very moment. Still, Jenna wasn't about to run away now and let Balto die at the hands of scumbag like Steele.
Steele looked at the determined little husky and found himself amused by her. She was so small and frail compared to a big, strapping sled dog such as himself - she wasn't even worth fighting if it meant killing Balto, but if she wanted to play her little game, Steele was all for it.
"You've just made a big mistake. You've been a very bad dog Jenna, you always have been. First, you go and make friends with that dirty wolf, and then you run off with a bunch of low life sled dogs, and then you expect me to rescue you?", he growled.
Jenna simply growled back, refusing to back down. Over half of what the malamute was saying didn't even make any sense, and Jenna was certain he was just trying to play mind games with her.
"I bet you thought you were such hot stuff, didn't you? Acting like you were too good for me, playing hard to get all this time, and then running off with that half-breed? All my friends have been beaten up, and now you've bitten me", Steele continued, gesturing towards Nikki, Kaltag and Star, who were still too weak to even stand. "You know what Jenna? I think you need to be taught a lesson, one way or another", Steele decided, rolling his shoulders.
Jenna snarled and dug her paws into her snow as the malamute continued to advance on her, cocksure as always. She knew she didn't have a chance of reasoning with the insane dog, and that there was no around to save her this time. Nonetheless, she was prepared to fight to the death if she had to. She would rather die than abandon her friends, or let that bastard have his way with her. Jenna took a step backwards for every step Steele forwards, drawing him away from the ledge and Balto, while the sled dog licked his lips.
For all that she tried to stay brave, Jenna paled when she felt her tail brush the cold, hard edge of stone. She realized Steele had deliberately backed her into a rock wall, leaving her with little to no room to maneuver when their fight inevitably began.
Watching helplessly as Steele cornered Jenna, Balto shook his head in horror as he realized Steele was even worse than he had ever imagined. At that moment, he didn't even care about what happened to him anymore, so long as Jenna was safe.
At a disadvantage, but far from defeated, Jenna glared daggers at the bullying malamute, who finally stopped walking before her, looking down at her condescendingly. Steele chuckled smugly, still debating whether or not he should actually hurt the husky if she continued to get in his way. "Still think you're too good for me, Jenna?", he jeered.
"You're crazy!", Jenna yelled.
"Maybe, but I'm the one who came out the winner in all this though, aren't I? See, that's the thing about me, Jenna. I always win. Always", Steele intoned, gloating maliciously. But before he could make good on any of his threats, he didn't get to take another step forward.
"STEELE! GET AWAY FROM HER!", a familiar hybrid shouted.
"I Am The Doctor", by Murray Gold begins.
Tensing up in surprise, Steele and Jenna inspected behind them and laid eyes on Balto, who was up on all fours again, ready to fight. With some new motivation, the hybrid had gained his second wind, managed to pull himself back up onto the cliff face, and he looked positively furious with Steele.
Jenna breathed a sigh of relief and the husky let herself smile. She knew Balto would never give up, he had never done so before.
"Well, look who caught a second wind. I guess I get to kill you after all", Steele observed, leering eagerly.
But before the malamute could even move to retaliate, Balto lunged at him, moving faster than Jenna or Steele had ever seen him run before. Balto punched Steele in the face as hard as he could and the malamute flew backwards, slamming into the very same rock wall he had just pressed Jenna against. After the back of his head collided with stone, the malamute sank to the ground with a groan. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of his disorientation, but he was much too slow. The sled dog barely had time to gain his bearings before he was stuck by Balto again, this time landing on his side in the snow before the hybrid was on once him more. The non-stop blows the wolf-dog delivered to him, all over his body, were hard enough to knock the malamute senseless, and the hybrid's sudden ferocity had taken Steele completely by surprise. Finally, Balto picked up Steele by the scruff of his neck and flung the bigger, bulkier dog as hard as he could manage, not even trying to hold back anymore. Steele landed on his back, bashing his head against the cold, hard ground. But even after all the wolf-dog had done to him, leaving him bruised and battered, he was still fully conscious. Though Balto had succeeded in doing one thing: aftering taking on Devil and Balto back-to-back, the malamute was far too weak to fight back now.
As he saw Balto standing over his slack body, glaring down at him, Steele prepared himself for the worse the wolf-dog could do to him, expecting Balto to finish the job at any moment. However, the hybrid only continued to glower at Steele, with a judgment in his eyes that contained a mixture of pity and hatred. "What I told Devil applies to you too, Steele. I won't kill you, but if you ever want to fight me again, you come right to me and leave you Jenna alone", Balto growled, his eyes blazing.
Normally, Steele would have responded with an arrogant or defiant answer, but the wrecked, bleeding malamute had already been worn down by Balto and Devil in the same night and was in no condition for a third round, so all he did was reluctantly nod his head, agreeing with the half-wolf.
"Good", Balto coldly replied.
Seeing what had just happened to their leader, Nikki, Kaltag and Star finally found enough strength to stand up and bare their teeth at Balto. However, the hybrid seemed completely unfazed by the angry trio of sled dogs and simply growled back at them, twice as gutturally. After seeing the hybrid's razor sharp teeth on display, Nikki, Kaltag and Star quickly reconsidered and backed off. Steele's bodyguards could tell that the wolf-dog meant business that day.
"Unless you want what happened to Steele to happen to you, I suggest you three go make yourselves useful and help your boss", Balto snarled.
The three dogs quickly nodded their heads, and then ran off to help their lead dog get to his feet.
Balto sighed and went to go check on Jenna. Usually the wolf-dog was never this callous or merciless, but he had been in enough fights that day - enough fights to last him a long time - and he was ready to call it a night. "Are you okay?", he asked his friend, concerned.
"Yeah", Jenna replied softly, still a bit shaken up.
Balto nodded his head in approval. "Come on Jen, let's go home", he beckoned, feeling as tired as he looked, before he started to walk off, with his house dog friend right behind him. And as Balto and Jenna departed for Nome, they left Steele and his gang to pick themselves up - bruised, battered, and humiliated.
((()-()))
It took them a little while longer than usual, especially since they had to walk at the night, but Balto and Jenna eventually made their way back to the hybrid's trawler just outside of Nome. With the familiar old boat finally in view, they decided to finally break the awkward silence that had fallen over the two friends since they left the Great Chasm.
"How are you holding up? Cause you did a lot of fighting tonight", Jenna checked with her hybrid friend.
"A lot of things hurt right now, but I'll be alright in a few days", Balto assured her. His accelerated healing would help with all the bruises and claw marks.
Things grew quiet again after that, and Jenna suspected the wolf-dog had something else weighing on his mind.
"So, I imagine Steele and his gang are on their way here right now", Jenna guessed, hoping to stir up some conversation.
"I doubt it", Balto quietly huffed.
"Well, why not?", Jenna inquired, genuinely curious.
"No offense Jenna, but a wolf-dog and a girl half his size just kicked Steele's tail. He wouldn't even think about attacking us while we still have our guard up", Balto figured.
"But we know his secret. We could just tell everyone about how he attacked us like that", Jenna countered.
"It wouldn't do any good. The other dogs in town all think I'm just some half-wolf freak, and you're a total newcomer that no one knows anything about, who's already suspected of running around with me. It would be our word against Steele's, and who do you think the majority would believe?", Balto reasoned.
"Wait... so you mean Steele is just going to get away with this?!", Jenna realized, completely outraged.
"He won't get away with it entirely, Jenna, because he failed to do one thing. We're both still alive, and right now, that's all that matters", Balto reckoned, finally smiling.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, it'll take a lot more than Steele to come between us", Jenna decided.
But what was supposed to be a positive, reaffirming statement only seemed to make Balto's face fall, confusing the rust and cream colored husky as her friend looked at her with nothing but sorrow and dread.
"Balto? What is it? What's wrong?", Jenna prompted, growing worried.
Balto drew in a deep breath, preparing himself. "Jenna, that's what I've been meaning to talk to you about, about us being friends", Balto broached heavily.
"Yeah?", Jenna probed.
"We can't be friends anymore, Jenna. It's just too risky for both of us", Balto said, already knowing what he suggested wouldn't go over well.
"What? What?! That's crazy talk!", Jenna insisted.
"Is it Jenna? Everything that happened tonight just proves that I'm right. Devil and his goons took you just because they knew I liked you, and Steele used you to get to me too, twice. Don't you see, Jen? People like Steele and Devil will always try to get back at me by hurting the ones I love, and right now, the one I love the most is you", Balto reasoned, hoping he could convince the husky.
Jenna sputtered, wanting to deny things further, while heartbreak was already starting to manifest in her warm, brown eyes. "But, but you promised….", she reminded him.
"Jenna, people will always be hunting me, and by being with me you're not just putting yourself in danger, you're putting your entire family at risk. Think about your human girl, Rosie. She's innocent in all this. Think about what would have happened if Devil or Steele had decided to get back at me by going after her?", Balto speculated, slowly beginning to get through to the husky.
Jenna paused and she shuddered at the thought of Devil hunting Rosie, viciously maiming the little girl over something she would never even understand.
Balto looked Jenna, who was now biting back a few tears, and he knew that he had made his point. "Do you understand now? Do you know what you've gotta do, Jenna?" he asked her.
The husky hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, before she resigned herself and sadly nodded her head in agreement.
"After tonight you'll won't be able to visit me at the trawler ever again, you'll have to act like you don't even know me, and most importantly, you'll want to stay away from Steele and stay out of trouble", Balto advised her, stroking her cheek with one of his large paws.
Jenna sniffled. "It's not fair", she lamented.
Balto looked at her sympathetically and shook his head. "No, it's not", he agreed, looking pretty heartbroken himself. "I might have been acting earlier when I was talking to Devil, but one thing I said was true. These last few weeks have been some of the best days of my life, and I wouldn't change them for anything", he stated affectionately.
Jenna met Balto's eyeline and smiled, just a bit, a bittersweet sort of smile. "Yeah, they were pretty good, weren't they?", she conceded.
"The best. Writing songs, playing games, holding tours. So why don't we make our last night together a good one, and have some fun, eh?", Balto suggested, hoping to cheer the husky up.
Jenna breathed in shakily, steeling herself, and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'd like that", she agreed.
The husky stepped up to her friend, so they were walking side-by-side, and with that the two canines resumed their dwindling trek to Balto's home. "Besides, I'm sure Boris is worried sick about us by now", Jenna reckoned.
Balto glanced at her from out of the corner of his eye, feeling rather mischievous. Unexpectedly, he gave the husky a light, playful shove, which earned him a surprised, disapproving frown from the house pet, before she broke and let a warm, earnest smile spread across her face.
((()-()))
About ten minutes later, the duo approached the familiar wooden ramp that led to the trawler's main deck. "Ladies first", Balto beckoned, outstretching his paw.
Jenna smiled and shook her head at her silly friend. "Still not impressed", she replied, stepping past him.
"I'm guessing it takes a lot to impress you", Balto sarcastically remarked, following her onboard.
As soon as their paws met the wooden floor, the two dogs were bombarded by the exact relative Balto had been looking forward to seeing again.
"BOYCHIC, YOU'RE BACK!", Boris exclaimed, waddling forward rapidly and tossing his wings around the husky. The whole time his son had been away, Boris had worried he might never see him again.
Feeling just as relieved as his father, Balto barked out a laugh and leaned into the snow goose's hug, tossing a gangly arm around him in return. "Hey, I promised you I'd be back, didn't I?", he grinned.
"And a wolf always keeps his promises", Boris recounted, referencing an old fable he had heard back in Russia. According to legend, wolves all across the world were bound by a single code of honor, and one standard they held themselves to was always trying to keep the promises they made - especially to the ones they loved.
Standing only a few feet away, not wanting to intrude, Jenna grinned as she watched the father and son embrace. She had no idea what Boris was talking about, but she could make a pretty good guess.
"BALTO!", two other voices called. To Jenna's surprise, the bubbly polar bear brothers, Muk and Luk, bounded across the main deck and embraced Balto and Boris, crushing the hybrid and the snow goose between their massive, plushy bodies.
Jenna giggled as Boris struggled to free himself from Muk and Luk's death grip, swearing at them in Russian. Even if she had been afraid of them when they first met, she had gotten to know the polar bears a lot better over the last three weeks, and she tended to enjoy their company.
"It's so nice to have everyone home, safe and sound again", Muk sighed contentedly.
Even if the overly enthusiastic brothers were crushing him as well between them, Balto didn't try to resist their bear hug. After all, he had never been happier to be home with his friends and family.
When the polar bears finally granted their two friends their freedom, Muk turned to grin mischievously at Jenna, making her worry she was next in line for a moment.
"Say Jenna, do you know what a night like this calls for?", Muk questioned.
"What?", Jenna inquired.
"LATE NIGHT SNOWBALL FIGHT!", Muk and Luk declared, giggling simultaneously.
"Well, that sounds good to me. I bet I could wipe the floor with him", Jenna agreed, cocking her head towards Balto.
The hybrid scoffed in faux offense. "Oh, you are on!", he retorted, rising to the challenge.
"Oy vey", Boris mumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes at the canine duo.
"He Could Be The One", by Miley Cyrus begins.
((()-()))
Even though it was still the middle of the night, Balto, Jenna, Muk and Luk were hardly undeterred when it came to scooping up snowballs in their paws and flinging them at each other. Boris, meanwhile, decided to stay dry and watch from the sidelines. Balto threw his projectiles with impressive speed and accuracy, but Jenna was a fast runner and she dodged snowballs easily.
Standing only a few feet away from Balto and Jenna, Muk and Luk waged dogged war on each other with snowballs and one of their stray weapons just barely missed striking Boris' head. "Hey, watch it!", the old goose snapped crankily.
Balto threw a calculated snowball at Jenna, and the husky retaliated just as quickly. But just as she was going in for a second attack, she tripped over a stray tree roof and tumbled into a snowdrift, much to Balto's amusement.
When she didn't come back up a minute later, curiosity got the better of the wolf-dog and he went to check on his friend, only to be pounced on by the opportunistic husky, who had just been faking the whole time.
Caught off guard, Balto fell backwards, though he made sure to take Jenna with him, and the two dogs rolled down a nearby hill, laughing and generally just having a grand old time.
Intrigued, Muk and Luk lowered their weapons and walked over to where their surrogate uncle was sitting. "Uncle Boris? What's going on with them?", Muk inquired.
Boris cracked a smile at the bears. "Young love", he simply replied.
Their friends watched on as Balto and Jenna reached the end of the hill and landed on their backs in the snow. The pair of dogs shook off the snow and laughed for a few more seconds, before they quickly scooped up some more snowballs in their paws and started flinging them at each other again, barely missing a trick.
"Hold still so I can hit you!", Jenna scolded, chasing after the hybrid.
"Never!", Balto retorted, laughing.
The two dogs were playing and romping around like a pair of newborn pups, but they barely cared about their dignity. If they only had one night left to spend together as friends, they were going to make the best of it.
"Come on, uncle Boris, join in!", Muk called. Luk perked up at the thought and eagerly nodded his thick head in agreement.
Boris sighed, anticipating this, but eventually the old snow goose got to his feet. "Alright, fine, but I'm only doing this once. I don't want you two bothering me every time you decide to have a snowball fight", Boris warned them, collecting a sizable pile of snow in his wing.
Muk and Luk found those terms agreeable and the polar bears dashed off as Boris started unenthusiastically chucking snowballs at them, aiming wildly.
That night, Balto, Jenna, Muk, Luk and eventually Boris threw snowballs at everyone and everything that moved. It was on that night, on Christmas morning of 1922, that Balto felt true happiness again for the first time in years. And after that night, he wouldn't quite experience happiness on that level again for more than two years. Not until a cold winter night in 1925: the night he would propose to Jenna.
Author's Note:
When I was breaking down the story beats of Cyberwulfe's "Puppy Love" and I got around to adapting the climax, Balto choosing to spare Wilson's life stood out to me as an important turning point in the story and a character defining moment for the wolf-dog. "Salvation, Part 1" is about the experiences that made Balto the hero he is, and that moment in particular is the moment Balto chooses what sort of person he wants to be - because I would consider Balto's kindness and determination to be his two greatest strengths. So, the music backing it is the first full presentation of "I Am The Doctor", which serves Balto's hero theme in this series. You can find variations of it seeded in previous tracks like "Roman Paradox" and "Chicken Casanova".