Chapter 3: A Hat In The Wind

'He's their French tutor?' Mila thought with amazement as she looked back to the Time-Square screen, focusing on the Husky, while Jenna and Perdita slyly winked at each other.

The two teams are now neck and neck with each other, trying to get the better of the opposition.

Steele was glaring at his opponent on his left with a deep scowl, while the husky was still determined, his eyes remaining frontwards towards the finish line in the distance ahead of him.

Both Pongo and Balto were watching the two sled teams attempting to trounce the other as they gained on mileage.

The Brothers-in-Paws were on edge as they watched the big screen showing the two lineups sprinting as one side inched ahead of the competition until the other side increased an inch forward themselves.

At the same time, Jenna and Perdita were very attentive to their good friend, who was not showing any signs of fatigue, as he continued to run, while Mila was quietly taking in every feature of him from what the Mega-screen presented.

The surrogate Sisters took note of this, and tried their best to keep their amused snickers low.

Rosy was now excited as ever as she watched the Time-Square screen, not knowing which team to support.

"OOH~, I don't know who to vote for!" She exclaimed as her eyes darted from Steele to the brown Husky. The family and Marcie couldn't help but laugh at her childish, yet fitting behaviour.

The teams were now in view of the town-square's crowd, who cheered as they were nearing the finish line. The young Radcliffe was about to chant out one of the lead sled Dog's names when a strong gust of wind suddenly picked up.

"Go- Ah!" Rosy gasped as her Musher's cap blew right out her grasp. Jenna and Perdita also gasped as they saw their owner's present getting carried away by the wind.

Anita tried to catch it, but the cap was too high to reach as it was flown towards the race track.

During the race, Steele was getting more and more agitated at his opponent's never ending wave of every, and Steele was NOT going to be beaten by some mere opposition.

"You are NOT going to beat me!!!" The Malamute growled under his breath.

As both Balto and Pongo got a glimpse of the two teams, they heard a cry from the crowd, snapping them out of their trance.

"My hat!" The boys heard as they caught sight of a hat in the wind getting blown in the direction of the racers.

Both Dogs were prepared to give chase to retrieve it when they witnessed something that stopped them in their tracks, whilst amazing them at the same time.

In the meantime, Steele was formulating the same plan he executed moments earlier, smiling sinisterly. But, while the Malamute was scheming, the other lead Dog noticed the hat that was being blown towards them.

Just as Steele was about to snap his pinschers at the lead Dog's right foreleg, the Husky leapt in the air and caught the Musher's cap, before landing flawlessly back onto the ground, never missing a beat in his step, which left Steele dumbfounded on how his opponent managed to avoid his bite.

The momentum did cause the Husky to slow down, but he kept right on track, keeping up with Steele's level.

"Would you look at that!" The announcer quipped while the crowd watched in awe. "It seems Togo has caught someone's lost hat in the midst of the race, and has not missed a beat!"

'Togo... so that's his name...' Mila thought to herself as she watched the Husky attentively.

"And it's a tie!" The announcer chanted out as both teams had both crossed the finish in a tie, the crowd cheering and chanting wildly.

Just as they crossed the finish line, Boris finally made it to the sidelines while trying to find Balto and Pongo, the Husky, identified as Togo, and his team raced by, causing him to flinch and cover himself with his wings as a shield.

Just as he uncovered himself, Steele's team rushed by, covering him in snow. Boris wiped and flicked off the snow, feeling even more annoyed as before. He took a deep breath, and sighed… then he shouted.

"Hey!" He squawked in the direction of Steele's team. "Watch where you're splashing your snow!" But, it was unlikely that Steele had heard him nor even cared to listen to the Goose.

Balto and Pongo came up to the snow-covered Goose. "You alright there, Boris?"

"Besides being covered in snow, I'm fine…" Boris answered sarcastically. Both the boys chuckled until Balto spotted some humans approaching, and nudged Pongo, making the Dalmatian halt in mid-laugh.

"I think we better get going." The Wolfdog said, hitching his head to the people approaching the sled teams. Pongo nodded understandingly.

For some background, both Balto and Pongo had some unpleasant experiences with some of the residents of the city, as they were considered to be dangerous in the eyes of the citizens, all because Balto was part wolf and Pongo was a stray.

So, they made their way back towards the alleyway they came through with Boris in tow, who was still shaking off some of the remaining snow as he followed the two canines.

Neither of them were not welcome here.

(V)

The first team to pull up was Togo's, aged 18, still holding Rosy's hat in his mouth, and he sat patiently for the owner to arrive.

The second to arrive was Steele and his own crew. Steele just glared at Togo, who in turn just ignored him, making the Malamute glare harder.

Steele instantly lost the harsh look when he noticed Jenna, and straightened himself up and tried to put on his best charming smile to impress the beauty.

Marcie and the Radcliffes had arrived to greet the winning teams, but Mila instantly stopped in her tracks, making Marcie also come to a halt, confused by this action.

"What's the matter, Mila?" She asked her Husky. The rest of the Radcliffes stopped as well, noticing their new friend had stalled.

"Is there something wrong?" Anita asked. Both Jenna and Perdita were also curious about Mila's sudden stoppage.

Marcie shrugged in response. She then knelt down to Mila's level to see if there was anything bothering her Dog. Mila directed her head towards Steele, growling quietly to her owner, as if she were conveying a message to her.

Marcie looked at Steele, then back at Mila, still trying to decipher the signs.

Both Jenna and Perdita instantly understood her message. To Perdita's extent, she felt Mila knew what type of Dog Steele really was on the inside, while Jenna had a hunch for the real reason behind Mila's distaste for the Malamute.

Rosy was busy looking between Steele and Togo, unsure who to praise.

"OOH… who should I pick?" The youngest Radcliffe said out loud, getting the attention of Adults.

Mila then pawed at her owner, getting her attention once again. The Husky then hitched her head to Togo, and let out a positive bark. Then Marcie finally understood what her Dog was trying to tell her, and nodded understandingly.

Marcie looked towards Anita, as if she was asking her permission to talk to her Sister. Anita nodded for her to go ahead. Marcie got down to Rosy's level, and whispered into her ear.

"Pick the Husky." She whispered. "My Dog doesn't seem to be fond of the Malamute."

"Oh… Is she?" Rosy whispered back. "Well, I don't want to become enemies with your Dog, and Togo did save my hat, so…"

So Rosy made her way over to Togo, who wagged his tail upon recognizing the little girl approaching him, immediately knowing that she was the owner of the hat.

"Hi, Togo!" Rosy greeted, petting the Husky's head, which he immensely enjoyed. "Thank you for catching my hat. I would have lost it without you."

Togo gently placed her hat on her head, and licked her face, making her giggle.

"Good boy." Rosy squealed in delight, hugging the kind Husky.

For a little background to their friendship, Rosy was friends with a family member of Togo's owner who introduced Togo to her, and they've been close ever since.

While Rosy was petting Togo, Marcie looked up at Big Ben, and decided it was time to take her leave. She had a job interview to go to.

"I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I have to go now." She informed the Radcliffes, who immediately felt confused.

"Why?" Anita asked.

"Well, I have to apply for a job here after watching the race." Marcie told her before reassuring the family. "But, don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other again very soon."

"Oh, I see." Anita said. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Marcie."

"A pleasure getting to know you all." Marcie bowed.

"À bientôt." * ("See you soon." *) Anita waved, catching Marcie off-guard, before she smiled and waved back.

"Do you really have to go?" Perdita said in disappointment.

"I'm afraid I must…" Mila replied with a sigh before she began explaining. "You see, my owner works as a nurse, and I work as a service dog. She moved here to apply for a spot here since most of the spots back in France are filled."

"Oh, I see." Perdita responded in acceptance. "Very well, then. Catch you later, Good Friend."

Mila smiled at what Perdita called her, but was brought out of her giddy trance when she heard Marcie call out her name, insinuating that it was time to go.

"Well, I must go now." The Husky said as she made her way over to her owner when she stopped for a moment, turning her head to the surrogate Sisters to say something.

"Adieu pour l'instant, nouveaux amis!" * (Farewell for now, new friends! *) Mila quoted in French.

"Au revoir!" * (Goodbye! *) Jenna called out.

"Prends soin!" * (Take care! *) Perdita also quipped.

With that, Mila rejoined Marcie and headed to Nome's nearby hospital for their applications.

Just as Marcie and Mila left, Togo's owner, aged 29, brown hair and eyes, who was unhitching the team, had made his way over to the duo, who took notice of him.

"So, you're the owner of the lost hat, 'ey?" He established playfully.

"Yeah… Sorry about that…" Rosy said bashfully, while holding her hands behind her back, before she brightened up. "But, you know, what Togo did was amazing! He just caught my hat and continued on to finish so he could give it back to me."

The little girl went back to hugging the Husky, whose tail wagged at the affection she was giving him.

"Yep. Togo's one amazing Dog, he is." The Musher quoted with pride. "I trained and raised him myself, I did."

At that moment, someone cleared their throat, and the man directed his attention to the three adults with their Dogs.

"Oh! I didn't see you there. Forgive me." The Musher acknowledged the group. "The name's Lenard Silvers."

"Andrew."

"Nice to meet you." Lenard shook his hand.

"Melanie."

"Morning." The Musher nodded to her.

"Anita."

"Howdy." He gestured for a hat-tip.

"Name's Rosy!"

"A pleasure." Silvers chuckled, patting her head.

"By the way, how did you know my Dog's name?" Lenard asked curiously.

"Oh! A friend of mine introduced me to him a week ago while he was out walking with him." Rosy said to him.

"Oh, really? Tell me…" Lenard inquired. "Does he happen to be named Shaun?"

"Yes, Sir. Why?" Rosy asked in confusion.

"Well, your friend, Shaun, is my Son." Lenard answered whimsically.

Rosy's eyes widened in awe, and an excited grin started to spread across her face.

"Oh… You must be his father!" Rosy quoted gleefully. "Shaun always speaks very highly of you as the greatest Musher in the world!"

Lenard only smiled in pride to know how much his son looked up to him.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Silvers." The little Radcliffe responded with a smile.

"Just call me Lenard." He said with a chuckle. At that very moment, a voice called out.

"Hey, Rosy!" It vocalized out loud. Rosy directed her look to the source, and saw a boy with black hair and green eyes. She immediately recognized the boy.

"Hi, Shaun!" Rosy greeted him as she made her way over to him. "How ya' been?"

"Fine, Thank you." Shaun replied.

The two Kids then began to chat, immediately forgetting the adults, who were watching the scene with contentment. Andrew decided to strike up a conversation with Lenard.

"So, how long have you been a Musher, Lenard?" He asked.

"Oh! Ever since I was 16." Silvers answered.

"Really? That early and that long?" Mr. Radcliffe was astonished.

"Yep." Lenard responded with a smile.

Togo nudged Lenard, who looked at him, and gave him a stare as if he was asking for permission to take a stroll on his own. The Musher nodded, and the Husky gallivanted off to perambulate the square.

The two men then went into a long-winded conversation about their experiences on being a musher, with Lenard surprising Andrew about record breaking races and speed throughout his career with Togo.

Both Anita and Melanie looked on at both men and children having their little chit-chats, and both laughed lightly.

Anita gave her attention to both Perdita and Jenna, and knelt down to their level.

"This might take awhile." Anita sighed playfully. "You two run along and explore town for a little while, 'Kay? We'll find you both when we're done."

Both Perdita and Jenna nodded, and they proceeded to tread ahead of the group to pass the time. This had become a routine for both the Radcliffes and the Dogs, trusting them enough to wander on their own, only if they stayed out of trouble.

So, the Husky and Dalmatian left the Radcliffes and Silvers to have their chinwag as both the Radcliffe women waited patiently for the whole colloquy to subside.

(V)

At the same time, Steele and his team were also getting unhitched so they could go for a well-deserved walk around the town or find a place for a well-needed rest. Steele marched with pride, winking at a few female Dogs, who immediately swooned over his wink.

Behind Steele, a brown eyed and furred Akita/Chow-Chow, aged 19, and two Huskies, one was golden with brown irises and a brown spot over his left eye, age 18, and the other was the same light-lavender Husky, aged 17, from moments earlier, were following Steele close by, praising him.

"Congratulations, Boss! It was a pleasure running behind you'se!" The Akita-Chow hailed. "You're the fastest Dog around! Ain't he, Kaltag?"

"You got that right, Nikki!" The gold Husky, Kaltag, agreed with the Akita-Chow, Nikki, before he began eulogizing their leader. "You're the most amazing, exalted, pre-eminent-!"

"You won!" The lavender Husky cheered, interrupting Kaltag's laudation. He started laughing until he got conked on the head by Kaltag, making him woozy.

"Shut up, Star…" Kaltag grumbled at the lavender Husky, now known as Star, who was, ironically, seeing stars, before he fainted.

Steele trudged proudly up to his Musher, who gave him a pat on the head, which he accepted.

"That Steele is some dog, Mr. Ivans." An African American said, grey haired, coming up to Steele's Musher.

The Musher, Steve Ivans, 38, gave his attention to the fellow approaching him, and grinned.

"Thank you, Mr. Mason." He replied.

Scott Mason, aged 57, was the town's only active telegraph operator, who loved nothing more than to keep using the good ol' telegraph system as he grew up listening to the distinctive dots and dashes, and he had always watched his father work day and night, sending out messages across the globe.

Steele held his head up in pride, feeling high and mighty. That feeling was instantly gone when his Musher said something that almost made the Malamute blow a gasket.

"I don't know, do you think Steele is losing his edge?" Steve asked.

Steele couldn't believe what he was hearing. Him? Losing his edge? What makes him think he was losing his edge?

"Now that you mention it, it looks as if any dogs can outrun him." Scott added.

Steele growled quietly at that comment. Who are they to judge him and his speed?

His bad mood instantly disappeared when he saw Jenna. He smiled and advanced smoothly towards his target of desire.

"Congratulations, Steele!" A voice rang out.

The Malamute took one quick look at the source of the voice, only to see Dixie wagging her tail with Sylvie standing behind her, also regarding him.

"Ladies…" He said huskily, making Dixie shiver in delight as his shadow passed over her.

"Hey, Jenna…" Steele quipped flirtatiously. "Did you enjoy the race?"

The Husky just snorted.

"Not as much as you did." She replied sarcastically.

"Thanks…" Steele chuckled, making Jenna roll her eyes, while Perdita made a gagging expression at Steele 'romantic advances' on her Sister.

"Say, let's go and celebrate. I know where all the bones are hidden." Steele remarked, advancing closer to Jenna.

But, just as he was within a mere radius of Jenna's personal space, Perdita suddenly, and intentionally, got in his way.

"Excuse me, but we are going for a stroll right now." The Dalmatian butted in.

'Great…' Steele mentally grumbled. 'If it isn't the Puppy-guard…'

He gave her a fake grin and continued to speak to Jenna, trying his best to ignore Perdita.

"So, what do ya say?" The Malamute pressed on, making Perdita's mental kettle boil to the point of exploding.

All of a sudden, it was Jenna's turn to interpose.

"I don't know, Steele…" Jenna began. "Suddenly, I've lost my appetite."

This response instantly dumbfounded Steele, making Perdita smirk in satisfaction.

"If I may have to add…" Perdita interjected once more. "We would most certainly not want to risk any cross-contamination."

With that, the Dalmatian turned her head skywards, signifying that this conversation was over, and walked away, with her surrogate big Sister following behind her, shaking her head in amusement at Perdy's 'posh' behaviour.

Steele felt insulted. Who does she think is? Talking to him like that? Nobody should talk like that to him.

'That spotted little Brat doesn't know who she's dealing with…' Steele growled mentally. 'She's tangling with the wrong Dog…'

He then caught his eye on two familiar looking Dogs, walking with a Goose, making their way into the alleyway. A malevolent grin graced his face.

(V)

Both Balto and Pongo were making their way through the alley with Boris waddling behind them.

"You know…" Balto suddenly quipped. "It would be nice to get a chance to race, wouldn't it?"

Pongo nodded in agreeance, while Boris shook his head.

"Boys, let me tell you something…" Boris began. "I'm a Goose, not a Dog."

Pongo and Balto chuckled at their caretaker's sarcasm, but the humor was unfortunately cut short when they heard an unfriendly voice behind them.

"Didn't make the team, Bingo?"

This stopped both the Wolfdog and Dalmatian in their tracks, sour looks forming on their faces.

The Russian Snow Goose immediately started whispering to both surrogate Brothers.

"Don't look at or listen to him…" Boris spoke in a hushed tone to Balto, before leaning over to Pongo. "Live long lives…"

Unfortunately for Boris, this was lost on both Dogs as they turned around to look at the bully.

"Shut it, Steele…" The Dalmatian growled.

"My name is Balto…" The Wolfdog equally growled.

"But you can also call them... 'Idiots'…" Boris murmured tiredly.

"Oh… I'm sorry… Balto… Balto the Half-breed…" Steele mocked, as he whipped his tail at his face. "What's yours? Pogo, was it?"

"It's Pongo…" The Dalmatian gritted his teeth.

"Oh, yeah… Pongo the Weakling…" Steele taunted, while the rest of his cronies joined in with mocking laughter, making Pongo's blood boil even more.

The Malamute then got in Boris' face, making the poor Goose feel on edge.

"Frail Goose… You a half-breed too, bird-brain?" Steele teased harshly. "Let me guess… part 'Turkey'?"

Steele used his snout to push Boris, making the Snow Goose cry out and stumble backwards, landing on an abandoned aluminum roasting pan, its lid closing on the poor fellow.

"Good word play there, Boss!" Nikki praised.

"Yea! That was the most wittiest, the quickest…" Kaltag rambled on. "You're the most drollest, the cleverest, the sharpest-"

"You're hilarious!" Star exclaimed, once again, laughing. This got him another whack on the head from Kaltag, making him dizzy, before he fainted yet again.

"Leave him out of this…" Pongo snapped, getting in front of the pan containing Boris. "You don't want to make me angry…"

"Well, well, well… look who's talking…" The Malamute spoke with a sneer. "Be honest with yourself, do you really think you can beat me, runt?"

That word triggered Pongo's rage even more.

"What'd you say to me?" Pongo snarled warningly. "Say that again… I dare ya'…"

"OOH… What's the matter? Did I hit a nerve?" Steele quoted mockingly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to condescend, that's just a fact."

Pongo was ready to pounce when Balto stopped him.

"Don't." Balto reasoned, putting his paw in front of the Dalmatian. "He's trying to get a rise out of you."

"Hoy… Now he's using reason?" The Snow Goose, who had just lifted the pan's lid, grumbled quietly to himself.

"AWW… Looks like the Half-breed is sticking up for his baby Brother." The Malamute said in faux admiration. "How cute."

"Hey, Half-breed… I got a message for your Mother." The Malamute continued to condescend.

He let out a mocking howl, as if to imitate a wolf. Then Star, Nikki, and Kaltag began to join in on their leader's mock howl.

Steele and the rest of his cronies laughed and continued to mock howl, making both Balto and Pongo's veins fit to burst. But before any action could be taken, somebody hollered.

"Leave them alone, You Big Jerk!" A mysterious voice barked.

(V)

'Tis the season, everyone! Sorry about the delay, but it gets stressful when you try to think up a new scenario for an alternate universe. Also, forgive me if what I typed to describe Scott Mason comes across as offensive to anyone. As you can see, Togo is the surprise character I mentioned in Chapter 1. A lot of people who know the history of the 1925 Serum Run do point out Togo should get some credit too, so I decide to include him in this story. Togo's owner, Lenard Silvers, is loosely based on the owner of the real Togo, Leonhard Seppala, who was also Balto's legal owner in real life. As I said before, I don't own any of the characters and/or elements, except for my own. Happy Holidays, and see you in the new year!