Kingdom Hearts: Light Of Nome
Chapter 8: The Light Of Nome(Finale)
Sora didn't know where he was after he fell off the cliff with Balto,all he remembered before hand was that he tried to prevent Balto from falling off the cliff with the medicine box,but that ended up failing and he ended up falling down with Balto in the process. Now he had no idea where he was,it wasn't the Realm Of Darkness,but it wasn't the Endless Abyss either,and now a mysterious boy he had never heard of before was suddenly calling out his name.
After Sora didn't get an answer from the supposed newfound entity,he slowly stood up and started to examine his now different environment as he called out loud enough so anyone could here "Hello!" which caused an echo,only to be once again met with no response. Sora groaned out of annoyance and started to walk around the pitch black void of darkness in the hopes of finding life,and he wasn't able to even walk a few feet before a dark portal suddenly appeared,Sora instantly thought it was the Organization and summoned the Keyblade and got into a battle stance,only for him to be surprised when a familiar yet new face stepped out.
The figure that slowly stepped out of the dark portal was a young boy that looked around Sora's age that sported yellow spiky hair,ocean blue eyes,and wore a white jacket and grey pants. Sora didn't know this boy,but he oddly enough recognized him and his name as he suddenoy bluttered out bewildered "Roxas?" before he covered his mouth in awe and put away the Keyblade.
Roxas slowly started to walk towards the now stunned boy boy as Sora stated when he recognized him "You,you're the boy from the photo." before he pulled out the photo he got from the ice cream box and showed it to Roxas,who was now mere inches away from Sora. Upon laying his eyes on the photo,Roxas's emotionless stare and eyes started to form a single tear that slowly rolled down his cheek as Sora silently gasped and asked "What's wrong?" to which Roxas replied "You should know what's wrong Sora."
Sora was obviously confused by this response since he didn't know that Roxas was indeed his nobody yet and stammered "Wait-wha?" but was cut off when Roxas suddenly held out his right hand and stated "You have to save them. You have to save them all." as he used his left hand to show Sora a vision of Rosie and the other kids that were still in the hospital.
Sora gasped out of shock at the sight and exclaimed in a panic "Oh no! How do I get out of here?! Me and Balto have to save-" but was cut off once again when Roxas shook his held out hand as a way for him to tell Sora that he wanted him to grab it to which he reluctantly did. As soon as Sora grabbed ahold of Roxas's hand,his eyes widened when he felt an immense feeling of power flow right into his heart as Roxas spoke one last time "For life and light,together we fight."
In the snowy field where Sora's body quietly lay,the ground around him started to quietly rumble and a bright light started to faintly glow around him as his clothes started to slowly fade in and out to the color white sporadically. After a few more moments of this 's eyes suddenly shot wide open as he was launched straight off the ground and into the air as a pillar of light touched the sky for at least 10 seconds. When the light finally managed to fade away,all that remained and hovered a few feet above the ground was a now fully awoken Sora that now sported white clothes with black streaks along them,Oathkeeper and Oblivion floating behind his back,and white glowing eyes. Sora had given into Final Form for the very first time with the help of Roxas,and he instantly used this new found power of his to jump high up into the air and back onto the cliff that he and Balto fell off of earlier,and then proceeded to glide right through the forest at nearly the speed of sound.
Meanwhile miles and miles away from Sora,Balto and his team had managed to make a great amount of distance thanks to Balto's increased confidence in himself from the white wolf that he saw,and when they inevitably came across more of Steele's fake markings,he was able to use his increased sense of smell as a wolf dog to find the right path back to Nome. Balto and his team had just gotten themselves past an ice bridge that hung high above a gorge,and they just barely made it across with their lives because the bridge had fakken apart when they were halfway across and had to make a very quick dash for the other side.
Nikki and the other dogs were trying to catch their breath due to the sudden sprint while Balto wasn't too fazed by it and was anxiously waiting for them to regain their posture as he told them "Hurry up you guys,we can't waste anymore time." before Nikki groaned and retorted "You try running that fast out of the blue!" to which Balto clapped back "I just did."
Once the other dogs managed to regain their breath,they all started to continue their journey back home,with Balto being unaware that his tail accidentally brushed Star's nose which caused him to sneeze very loudly and ended up causing an avalanche from one of the many mountains above them,and all the while they were unaware of it. As Balto and the other dogs slowly walked through another open gorge,Balto soon noticed the avalanche when he heard a very rumbling combing in from behind as he turned his head around to see a massive wall of snow and destruction heading right towards them as Balto gasped "Avalanche! Let's go guys!"
Balto and the other dogs bolted through the gorge as fast as their legs could carry themselves,with the tidal wave of snow just being mere feet away from them as Nikki panicked nearly out of breath "I need to go on a diet when we get back!" and Kaltag retorted from behind "I think you'll have already lost all those pounds by the time we get back!"
The snow was now starting to catch up to the team and all of them were now starting to lose their breath and get unfathomably sore and tired,but they knew they had to keep going despite it feeling like their bones were about to shatter if they took one more step. All the while unbeknownst to them,Sora from atop a nearby hill had seen that they were being chased by the snow as he yelled out loud in the hopes of them hearing "Balto I'm coming!" before he continued to glide through the forest to try and reach them. It seemed like the team was just about to collapse and let themselves and the medicine be consumed by the avalanche,but Balto in the corner of his eyes noticed the opening to a cave in the distance and told the other dogs "There's a cave over there! We can hide in there!"
The dogs tried as hard as they could to get to the cave,but their tired legs and bodies wouldn't allow them to reach the required speed to get to the cave in time as Star panicked "I don't think we're gonna make it!" to which Balto yelled "We have to keep going!" It seemed like they were just about to be fully consumed by the snow and have their journey come to an abrubt end,but just at the nick of time Balto saw a white clothed figure gliding right beside him at an incredible speed. It only took a few moments for him to realize that it was Sora as he gasped "Sora? You're alive?!" to which the boy sternly replied "You gotta get to the cave! I'll hold off the snow!" before Balto nodded his head and continued towards the cave with the other dogs.
Sora then stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the massive wall of snow by himself as he took a deep breath and used Oathkeeper,Oblivion,and all of the Keyblades he had earned up till that point to form a massive and powerful barrier that held back the snow and could hopefully give Balto enough time to get to the cave. However the sheer power and force of the snow was already causing the barrier to quickly wear and fall apart,Sora knew that it wasn't gonna last for much longer and looked behind him to see that the light from the lantern on top of the medicine box had faded away into the cave,Balto and his team had made it. Sora smiled and exclaimed "They did it!" before the barrier finally broke with a massive sonic boom,and he instantly used this opportunity to quickly glide towards the cave as fast as he could. Balto from inside the cave was looking out the entrance in the hopes of seeing Sora and when the dog saw that Sora was fastly approaching,he smiled and called out to him "Come on Sora! You can make it!" to which Sora replied "Get out of the way guys!" and Balto and his team did so.
After about 5 more seconds of waitng,Sora had finally made it to the cave and gilded right inside with the snow just barely consuming him as he then went out of Final Form and crashed into the cave walls. Balto gasped at the sight and unhooked himself from the sled as he dashed toward the now unconscious boy and tried to wake him up "Sora? Sora you gotta get up. Sora!"
Sora however wasn't waking up at all and Balto was starting to get increasingly more nervous that Sora wasn't gonna wake up,but Nikki however wasn't convinced that he was gone and disconnected himself from the sled as he reassured Balto "Don't worry I got this." before he loudly barked in Sora's face. Sora instantly woke up after this and yelled before he asked the brown dog "What was that for Nikki?" to which he and the other dogs merely laughed at the remark before Balto exclaimed in confusion "How did you get here Sora?! I thought you died when you fell off the cliff."
"I could ask you the same thing Balto,but I'm just glad you guys are alright." Sora smiled back and replied before Kaltag broke some bad news to them "Well we may not be alright after all,the snow's blocked the entrance to the cave." to which Sora and Balto groaned out of annoyance.
"Well I guess we'll have to get through the cave. We can't sit around and wait for that snow to melt." Balto sighed and stated before he and Nikki hooked themselves back up to the sled,and Sora added before they ventured off into the cave "Right,Rosie and the kids don't have much time left."
As Sora and the team slowly walked further and further into the cave,they noticed that it was becoming increasingly colder the further the went in,not to mention that the light from their one and only lantern was the only thing keeping the cave alit as Sora shivered and remarked "I hope we find a way out of here soon. I don't think we can survive much longer."
Balto was about to playfully retort at Sora's statement in the hopes of lighting up the mood,but he stopped when he saw something around the next corner in his peripheral vision. A few more steps later and the team would be amazed when they saw that they had now entered a different and more beautiful area of the cave. The new area they were in was now composed entirely of ice instead of snow and sparkled brightly due to little bits of sunlight slicing through cracks of the ceiling.
"Hey,look at this place." Balto remarked in sheer awe to which Sora and the other dogs gasped at the sight,and even Nikki playfully stated "Wow,we have to come back here some time."
As they slowly made their way through the frankly gorgeous scenery,Star noticed that some of the nearby ice pillars were causing his reflection to warp into nightmarish creations,one of which was an alien. The group continued to walk through the cave until both Balto and Sora felt a small piece of ice drop on both of them to which they looked up at the ceiling to see that there were very sharp rocks of ice that could fall off at any minute.
The group started to silently whisper to each other out of nervousness at the sight before Balto sternly shushed them "Shh!" and Sora added "Nobody. Make. A. Sound." Balto and the team started to continue onward with highly increased caution,but Balto's tail accidentally brushed Star's nose again and he was about to sneeze like he did before,but Nikki quickly held his nose with his paw so he wouldn't sneeze and make a loud noise. They soon made their way to a frozen lake in the middle of the cave and down a small hill as the dogs as well as Sora managed to make it down without any problems.
When they all made it down onto the ice Balto suddenly smiled and quietly whispered to the team "Hey,I see a way out. It's just down the lake." as Sora and the others gave a sigh of relief. However their relief wouldn't last very long,for they didn't take into account the sled that was still atop the hill and it ended up slamming down onto the lake with a very loud thud when they walked forward.
Balto and the team perked up as their stomachs churned at the sound,and just like they feared the noise was loud enough to cause some of the ceiling and rocks to give way,with the first pillar of ice just barely missing the medicine box.
Sora gasped out of shock at the sight and he along with the dogs looked up at the ceiling to see that more and more pillars were shortly following after it. Sora and the other dogs started to panic yet Balto was far too determined to give up and shouted "MUSH! SORA GET ON!" before he and the other dogs ran for their lives and for the exit as Sora got on what available space there was of the sled. Balto and the team ran down the ice as fast as they could but that was proving to be fairly difficult since they as well as the sled were sliding out of control due to being on solid ice,with Sora just barely managing to hang on. However they were thankfully able to avoid most of the falling rocks because Sora used Fire magic and even Strike Raid to destroy the ones that came close to them.
The constant swerving of the dogs as well as the sled had gotten to the point where the sled itself slammed very hard into a nearby rock and caused a large crack in the box. Sora instantly saw this and shouted in a panic "Balto the medicine!" to which Balto turned around to see that some of the medicine bottles were falling out and breaking,Balto gasped at the sight and called out to Sora "You gotta keep that thing shut Sora! We can't lose a single one of them!"
"I got an idea!" Sora enthusiastically replied before he went into wisdom form and jumped off the sled as he skated on the ice,due to this he was able to grab the medicine bottles that were falling out and put them back inside before they could break,all the while parkouring and sliding past the falling ice rocks in the process. Once Sora managed to get all the medicine bottles back in the box,he cast blizzard on the open crack as a way for it to stay shut as he exclaimed "Got it!" and got back on the sled to which Balto replied "Nice going Sora! The exit's just up ahead we can make it!"
The exit to the cave was nearly out of their grasp now,they kept running and running as fast as they could and Sora continued to get rid of the falling pillars. In the end,this display of teamwork and strategy paid off because only a few moments later were they able to finally reach the exit,and how lucky they were because the entire ceiling and cave collapsed in on itself only a few moments after.
Meanwhile back in the nearly dead and quiet town of Nome,the kids in the hospital were unfortusntky on their last breath. There was no use trying to hide it anymore,the medicine as well as the dog sled team was probably lost out in the wilderness,and their was no other shipment or dogsled team they could send. Many of the parents were sitting by their kid's beds and slowly waiting for the inevitable to take it's course,and unfortunately the same could be said for Roise's parents although Jenna,Donald and Goofy were present as well. Donald and Goofy didn't say a single word to any of them because even they knew that they needed some quiet time with their kid as Jenna somberly lay on Roise's bed.
Muk,Luk and Borris were laying outside in the boat and mourning over the fact that Balto and Sora hadn't returned yet as they used a nearby blanket to cover themselves up with,and even Borris laid on top of Muk despite him showing resentment towards the two polar bears. A few more moments had passed and Borris was about to keel over and fall asleep due to the cold and time of night,but something happened next that he wasn't expecting in the slightest,it was very faint yet still audible. It was a wolf's howl.
Borris instantly perked up at the sound and quietly questioned "Balto? Sora?" as he turned around to see that Balto and his team were rapidly approaching the town since they saw Jenna's northen light signal.
"They're back!" Borris happily exclaimed at the sight as Balto let out a loud and proud howl that seemed to echo for miles on end,and even Jenna from inside the hospital could here it as she perked up and happily barked over and over again to which Roise's parents as well as Donlad and Goofy got up and looked outside the window.
"They're back!" Roise's parents exclaimed out of surprise as well as did the other residents of the town when they could hear Balto's howling from their homes. Pretty soon the entire town was awoken and their sense of hope was fully reborn as they turned the signal light back on from the post office.
Meanwhile in the boiler room,Steele was still busy telling the other dogs his continuous lies about how he got back home and what happened out in the woods,and it seemed like the dogs were unfortunately still eating it up as Dixie and Sylvie continuously fawned over the "hero" dog.
"Of course you know,I swam and I swam. It was freezing cold and right then and there I finally told myself "Steele,you're gonna have to gnaw your way to the surface." So I-what?" Steele stated as he chewed on a bone before he was suddenly interrupted by Balto's sudden howling,as well as the door to the boiler room slamming opening to reveal one of the dogs announcing "Its Balto and Sora,with the medicine." as the other dogs gasped at the revelation.
It was all finally over,Steele was finally exposed for the manipulative and self centered monster that he truly was,and he could feel his stomach churn as soon as the dog said the word "Balto",but he still tried to pass himself off as a genuine nice guy as he smiled at Dixie in the hopes of her being on his side.
"Steele,you are positively disposable!" Dixie yelled out of pure anger and hatred for her formal idol as she smacked the black dog in the face and knocked the bone out of his mouth and onto the floor,where all the other dogs were angrily glaring and growling at the once former hero.
"O-okay,okay,I can explain." Steele tried to find some way to explain himself and his actions,but he was now stuck in a corner he couldn't get out of as the dogs merely ignored his pleading and slowly walked out of the boiler room as they sent a handful of insults his way.
"You guys weren't there so you don't-wait a minute guys,wait just a sec-please?" Steele continuously tried to earn their sympathy and support,but it wasn't gonna happen as Dixie slammed the door shut behind her and the other dogs,leaving Steele alone in the boiler room. Steele was left absolutely speechless and in utter confusion as to how this could have happened as he continued to stare at the now shut door without saying another word. However as he continued to stare at the door,his confusion and disappointment about being revealed for who he was started to melt away into pure and unfathomable anger as he gritted his teeth as hard as he could and screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" before he yanked the bone off the floor and through it into the fire.
Steele's anger then started to turn into a full on temper tantrum as he started to destroy what he could of the boiler room and turn it into an absoulte mess,he made countless scratch marks on the fireplace,shredded some of the nearby hay stacks with his claws,and he even made a small hole in the boiler room dor. Soon the boiler room was a complete mess and Steele was sitting in the middle of the rubble and angrily and heavily breathing before he started to become more controlled and calmed down.
After Steele managed to calm himself down a little,his attention would then be directed to a dark portal that appeared by the fireplace,and out walked Saix once again as Steele's eyes widened and he angrily asked the man "What do you want now?" only for Saix to smile devilishly.
The residents of Nome were now anxiously making their way out of their homes and to the hospital as Balto and the team quickly ran down the streets of the town and made it back to the hospital. Their journey after all this time had finally reached it's conclusion as Sora gave a deep sigh of relief when he saw the townspeople unloading the medicine from the sled,but he was also surprised when he saw that the townspeople were now praising Balto endlessly as they were now petting him like a loving owner does to their own dog. Balto was very confused and startled by this sudden affection he was receiving,because practically all of his life he had been seen as nothing but a nuisance and an outcast by all the people he came across,but then he started to remember kind and loving people like Roise and Sora as the dog gave Sora a very heartfelt smile.
However it wasn't just the townspeople that were happily greeting the wolf dog,because Balto's attention would be quickly diverted up to the sky when he saw Borris fly down fast and give him a very big hug as he laughed "NOT DOG! NOT WOLF! YOU'RE A HERO!" before he kissed him on the head endlessly.
Muk and Luk also came running down the street as Borris yelled out of fear before the two polar bears grabbed Balto and gave him a very big hug as well. Once Balto was able to get free of Muk and Luk's tight grasp,Sora got down from the sled and walked up to them as Borris soon noticed his presence and surprisingly complimented him "I have to admit Sora,you're a good guy after all." to which Sora replied "Thanks Borris."
Sora then tried to give Borris a hug of his own but before he could even touch Borris,the goose recoiled back sternly started "If you lay one finger on me I'll kill you!" to which Sora laughed at the remark that Borris and Balto soon joined in.
While Sora and the others shared a good laugh at Borris's remark,Sora would soon be startled when he suddenly heard Donald and Goofy shout his name in unison before he was suddenly tackled onto the ground by them.
"Donald! Goofy!" Sora happily shouted as Donald and Goofy pinned him on the ground and hugged him tightly,with the townpeople,Muk,Luk,Borris,Balto and the other dogs watching happily. It all seemed like a happy ending to each and every one of them,Steele was finally revealed as the monster he truly was,the medicine was finally brought home and the kids could be saved,but that happy ending would soon be interrupted when Sora as well as the whole town heard a familiar voice suddenly ask "Well what do we have here?"
Sora instantly recognized that voice and whipped out the keyblade as he got off from the ground and angrily called out to the entity "Get out of here nobody! It's over! You lost!" to which the man coldly replied "Oh I'm not done here just yet Sora. After all…" before Saix appeared out of a dark portal in the street and concluded "I still have a mission to complete,and it seems that I'll have to do it myself."
The townspeople started to panic at the sight of the man who had just nearly killed their kids and the town dogs started to angrily growl at the man as Sora realized what he meant by "I'll have to do it myself." and yelled "You will not lay a finger on those kids!" to which Saix gave no response and instead whipped out his Lunar Staff.
Sora,Donald and Goofy got into their battle stances and the boy told the crowd of townspeople behind him "You all gotta get that medicine inside fast! He's gonna try and kill the kids himself!" to which the town's local doctor nodded his head and quickly brought the medicine inside with the help of the townspeople.
Once all the townspeople were safely inside the hospital with the medicine,all that stood in Saix's way were now Sora,Donald,Goofy,Balto,Borris,Muk,Luk,and the other dogs,but Saix showed no fear or intimidation from them and proceeded to slowly walk to the hospital door.
"Let's take him down!" Sora yelled before he ran up to Saix and was just about to strike him with the Keyblade,but the man saw through his strategy and shouted "Moon shine down!" before a blue aura surrounded him and his eyes glew bright yellow as he deflected Sora's attack with his staff. Sora flew back far due to the attack and Donald and Goofy tried to attack as well,Goofy tried to throw his shield at Saix but he deflected it back at Goofy knocking him out temporarily. Donald tried to cast a massive thunder spell but Saix merely absorbed it since he was in in berserker form due to the moon and threw Donald back with a mere swing of his staff.
"Guys!" Balto shouted at the sight before Saix suddenly appeared in front of him and swiped him away with a powerful strike before Borris,Muk,Luk and the other dogs gasped and tried to back them up by standing in front of their limp bodies,however Sora had a different idea and firmly told them "Borris,you guys how to guard the kids and the medicine with your life!"
"But we can't just leave you fellers out here with this psycho!" Borris retorted and insisted that Sora let them help,but Sora persisted that they go inside as he smiled while he slowly stood up "Don't worry,if you are all my friends,then you'll all be here with me."
After a few more moments,Borris and the other animals smiled at Sora's confidence as the goose sternly told the other animals "Alright you furballs,we got a hospital to guard!" before they ran inside and guarded the front door,no one was getting in or out until Saix was gone. Once it was just Sora,Balto,Donald and Goofy outside,he cast Curaga on his entire team as they slowly stood up from the snow and looked Saix dead on.
Sora and his team quickly rushed towards Saix with the intent to strike him with a full on team attack,but Saix wasn't gonna let them win that easily and smiled before he slammed his staff down on them and their weapons,causing a massive pile of snow to fly off the ground and into the air due to the impact. However Sora and the others weren't exactly through yet as Sora managed to hold the staff up with the Keybalde,Balto did the same with his teeth,and Donald and Goofy did the same with their weapons.
"The moon's power will triumph over you. Give this up now!" Saix shouted as he increased the power of his berserker form and slowly started to overpower the team,Sora's arms started to writhe in pain due to the strain of the staff,and Balto's teeth started to slowly crack as well as they all screamed in pain. It seemed like Saix was about to finally overpower them and finish them off for good,but suddenly Sora's keyblade started to faintly glow a yellow light and they slowly started to overpower Saix as he questioned in confusion "What?"
Sora and his team were somehow regaining their strength and their pain seemed to be slowly fading away as they were now at the same height as Saix and his berserker form,and soon after Sora slowly yelled over what remaining pain there was in his arms "My…...friends…..are…..our…..power!" before they all yelled loudly and launched Saix far away with a loud sonic boom as well as a howl from Balto.
The people and animals in the hospital were all stunned by the sudden noise and anxiously looked out the window to see that Sora and the others had indeed triumphed over the intruder. Saix was now laying down on the snow covered ground in absolute shock as he noticed that the force of their attack had shattered his lunar staff,and that he sensed no darkness left inside of Balto whatsoever.
"So…..he's pure light now." Saix disappointedly thought to himself as he slowly stood back up and threw away his staff onto the ground bedore Sora angrily looked him in the eyes before he said "Now you can-"
"Sora,I got this." Balto interrupted Sora's statement before he slowly started to walk towards Saix,and once the man and the dog were mere inches away from each other,Balto looked up at the man and coldly commanded him "Get out,and never come back."
Saix slowly smiled at Balto's request and opened up a dark portal as he slimly obliged "Alright,you win. However I do hope that you find our…..parting gift. It's something you may find more…..personal." before he slowly stepped backwards into the portal and vanished from sight with one last echo "Goodbye Balto."
"Good riddance." Balto smugly stated as Sora,Donald,and Goofy walked up to him to happily congratulate the wolf dog.
"Way to go Balto!"
"I knew you could do it!"
"You sure told him alright!" The trio continued to congratulate Balto as Borris and the other dogs headed back outside and asked "Is he gone?" to which Balto happily replied "He's gone,he's never coming back." and Borris exclaimed out of excitement "Woo Hoo! No more spikey haired clowns!"
"Hey I'm right here!" Sora replied in anger as Borris turned to him and nervously apologized "You're okay in my book. Even if you do look like a porcupine."
"I do not!" Sora retorted to which Balto surprisingly agreed with Borris "Actually you kinda do Sora." as Sora groaned in annoyance and the group laughed at Sora's expense,unaware that the crowd of townspeople had exited the hospital and were now back outside.
Balto would then be startled when Rosie's father suddenly patted him on the head and told him "Come on boy,there's someone who wants to see you." before he turned to Sora and added "You too son."
Sora was frankly confused by Rosie's sudden desire to see him and Balto,but Goofy however encouraged him to go with the man as he comfortingly told him "Go on Sora." to which he reluctantly joined Balto and the man. When they all entered the hospital,the two heroes were very glad to see that all of the kids had been given their medicine and were saved from Saix's attack as Sora sighed and remarked "You know,I don't think I've felt this good since…you know what never mind."
Once they reached Rosie's room and bed,they were also happy to see that she had woken up and was as happy as she could despite her still being very tired and exhausted. Sora and Balto smiled at the display and at each other before Balto saw Rosie's hat sitting on a nearby chair and grabbed it with his teeth as he slowly walked up to Rosie.
When the girl noticed Balto's presence,she broke free of her mother's hug and happily greeted Balto before she hugged him lovingly "Balto,I'd be lost without you.",however she also noticed Sora as well and told her parents "He's the one who saved me from the monsters the other day." to which her father chuckled and replied "We know Roise."
Sora smiled and slowly walked up to Rosie's bed as he quietly greeted her "Hey Roise." to which the doctor looked up at him and stated "You and Balto have done so much for this town,we are forever indebted to you young man." as Sora got red in the face and nervously replied "Hey it's no big deal,it's just something we thought we oughta do."
"We?" The doctor asked for clarification on what that meant to which Sora clarified as he grabbed a hold of Balto "Me,my friends,and Balto. He's been treated so bad all his life and….he's kinda my friend." before Rosie happily told Balto "Balto,you're a hero."
Balto slowly smiled at Rosie's remark and back at Sora before he suddenly noticed that Jenna was standing outside the doorway and smiling at Balto to which he happily said "Jenna." before he ran back outside to greet her as they barked and pranced for a few moments. However they would suddenly be startled when the tips of their noses touched each other before Jenna rubbed her head against Balto's,therefore signifying a hug. Sora happily gasped at the display as Jenna and Balto slowly smiled at each other,it seemed that they were finally a couple. Jenna soon noticed that Sora was standing at the doorway and smiling at them as she happily called out "Sora!" before she ran up to him and rubbed her head against him.
"You're back." She quietly remarked under her own tears of joy as Sora patted her on the head and replied "Hey I promised that I would be back." to which Jenna suddenly gasped like she just remembered something and gave Sora back Kairi's good luck charm as she stated "This...really helped me get through this. Thanks Sora". Sora starred at the star shaped charm that Kairi gave to him so long ago and smiled before he put it back in his pocket as he thanked her "No problem. Thanks Jenna."
The trio's attention would suddenly be diverted to the massive crowd of people and animals that were cheering Balto and Sora on as Star happily exclaimed "Way to go Balto! You too Sora!" and Kaltag fastly added "They have the most endurance,the most fidelity,the most intelligence-"
"They should build a statue of them!" Star interrupted Kaltag's babbling as the dog bumped into him and surprisingly agreed with him "You said it!" to which Star questioned in awe "I did?" and Kaltag smiled back at him.
A few more hours later and after the whole town happily celebrated Balto and Sora's grand return with a huge party,the kids were finally allowed to be let out of the hospital and sent off to their homes one by one,they still weren't fully recovered yet,but they were at least healthy enough to be released for the time being. Rosie was the last kid to be let out of the hospital and there was still a bit of a crowd outside the hospital so they could see the kids off to their homes,but just as Rosie was about to leave the hospital for good,she suddenly perked up and frantically told her parents "Wait I forgot my hat!"
Sora was about to go in and get it himself,but Balto suddenly offered "I got it Sora." before he ran inside the still lit hospital. As Sora and the others were waiting for Balto to come back out,Donald and Goofy slowly walked up to Sora as Goofy curiously asked him "So I guess we'll be heading off soon then?" to which Donald replied "Yeah,we were here for a long time."
Sora however didn't seem too enthusiastic to leave just yet as he replied and questioned "Yeah I guess we'll have to,but I'm still confused by something. Before that nobody left,he said that he left a parting gift here for Balto. What do you think he meant by-"
Sora's intrigue filled pondering would however be sharply and loudly interrupted when he as well as the entire town heard a massive boom akin to a thunderclap and felt the ground violently rumnle,and it didn't take too long for them to figure out where it came from. Sora and the crowd diverted all their attention to the hospital to see that it had somehow burst into flames,all the windows were now broken and shattered,and worst of all,Balto still hadn't come out yet.
Sora as well as the entire crowd gasped in shock and sheer horror as Donald yelled "What was that?!" and Goofy added "I thought we got rid of all the heartless and nobodies!" to which Jenna exclaimed in a panic "Balto! He's still in there!"
"Don't worry I'll get him!" Sora replied and reassured the now panicking Jenna before he quickly darted into the now falling apart hospital,Donald and Goofy tried to follow after him but some falling debris from the ceiling had unfortunately blocked the front door after Sora ran inside. Luckily since all the kids and hospital workers had been released beforehand,there were no casualties to be found…..hopefully. As Sora slowly walked through the burning hospital,he saw that the inside had become a complete yet strange mess,all of the walls had massive claw marks,there seemed to be blood droplets on the floor as if someone had gotten into a fight,and that he somehow felt abnormally cold despite him being in a burning building.
"Oh no." Sora nervously gasped when he saw the sheer amount of damage and destruction on display before he called out for Balto,only to be met with no response from anywhere. Sora was getting more and more nervous by the second at the possibility that Balto may have died in the explosion,but in the back of his mind he knew that he had to find him,whether he was a corpse or not. Pretty soon Sora found himself in the doctor's main office and he called out for Balto once again,but he would then be surprised when he saw the silhouette of a dog like figure in the black smoke.
"Balto?" Sora quietly called out to the figure in the hopes of it being his friend,however he would be disappointed yet surprised when he saw Steele slowly walk out of the smoke. The first thing that Sora noticed was that Steele looked far more menacing and monsterous than he had ever seen him before,his fur was a much darker shade of black than it already was,his green eyes were now glowing yellow around the iris,his claws and teeth were much sharper than before too,and his body build was less of a dog and more like a werewolf. It almost resembled Balto's dark form from the day that the race happened.
"Hey Sora." Steele greeted Sora in a surprisingly optimistic manner that further pushed the idea that he had entirely lost his mind,but Sora showed no interest in Steele's psychotic mannerisms and asked him sternly "Where's Balto?"
Steele pointed his head towards the ground and to the left to reveal that Balto was laying down with Roise's hat in the corner unconscious and pinned down by a fallen shelf,his fur was very mangled and there were also very small drops of blood on the floor and by him.
"Balto?!" Sora nervously called out to him in the hopes of him getting up to which Steele groaned somewhat annoyed "Relax he's fine,you know you idiots have reduced me to nothing by the way."
"We're getting out of here Steele." Sora stated in a somewhat intimidating tone to which Steele calmy objected "No,you're not." and Sora pleaded as he tried to negotiate "Look you can have all the glory about the medicine okay just let me save my friend."
"After everything you two have done?" Steele laughed at Sora's pleading and insistence that he let them live before he continued much more coldly "How noble of you...but no."
"If we stay here any longer we're all dead,is that what you want?"
"Now are you trying to shift the gears here Sora? I….am the hero of this town,I will do whatever it takes to make sure it stays that way." Steele asked as he was starting to slowly but surely get more and more angry by the minute before he concluded "Ever since you and your two cronies have gotten here you have been nothing but a thorn in my side,you tried to do my job for me and it's high time you learned your place!"
Sora's heart was starting to violently pound and his stomach was now churning due to Steele's threatening words and tone of voice,but he did manage to choke up a response with "Look Steele we can talk about this when we get outside-"
"Sora,just shut up!" Steele interrupted Sora's negotiation as he got into a battle pose,and Sora reluctantly summoned the Keyblade. He hated Steele's guts granted,but he didn't want to fight him yet he knew he probably had to.
"Seriously Steele this is insane even for you." Sora panicked as he slowly walked around the office to which Steele retorted "You wanna hear insane? Sora and his two freinds saved Agrabah from the hands of Jafar!" before he lunged at Sora with razor sharp teeth,but Sora managed to dodge the attack.
"Sora and his two friends,saved all the worlds from Ansem The Seeker Of Darkness!" Steele continued before he lunged at Sora once again,but Sora managed to dodge it once again as he pleaded "Come on Steele,stop!" before Steele continued "Sora and his friends,stopped the sea witch Ursula from taking over the ocean!"
"Look I get it you don't like us very much." Sora nervously stammered as he continued to dodge Steele's attacks before he grabbed a hold of Steele's paw with the intent to try and stop him,but Steele managed to break free and pounce onto Sora as he pinned him on the ground. Steele then tried to bite Sora in the neck but he used the Keyblade to hold his teeth and mouth off him as Steele yelled through it "I have sacrificed everything to get here,and I'm not gonna let a few two bit meddlers,and a wolf/dog outcast take it away from me!"
Sora managed to get himself free of Steele as he yelled "Get off!" and went into limit form before he launched Steele through the office wall with Sonic Blade,once Steele managed to regain his posture and get back into his battle stance,he viciously growled "You care about those three losers so much,I'm gonna make sure they join you."
Steele then made a quick dash towards Sora and tried to swipe at him with his large claws,but Sora managed to dodge roll out of the way and follow up with strike raid. Steele was flown back into another wall due to the attack and it also ended up causing some of the ceiling to fall apart.
Once Steele managed to get himself out of the wall,he made another dash towards Sora but this time Sora guarded his attacks with the Keyblade like that of a sword fight. Pretty soon it seemed like Sora had the upper hand and managed to pin Steele in front of another wall as the dog maniacally laughed "Now that's the Sora I've heard so much about!" before Sora fully pinned him against the wall and angrily stated "We're done here,I'm getting Balto out and we're leaving,if you wanna stay here then be my guest."
"You got me." Steele calmy seemed to admit his defeat,but it was nothing more than a lie because as soon as Sora's guard was let down,he instantly swiped at Sora's stomach and smacked the keyblade out of his hands before he threw Sora onto the ground,unaware that it landed by a now slowly awaking Balto. Now heavily wounded,Sora couldn't find any strength inside him to summon back the keyblade,and all he could do now was nervously back away from Steele as the dog menacingly asked him "You know what Sora? Underneath all the bravado you're just a sad little boy,with delusions of grandeur. Oh who by the way can't fight for his life."
Steele was finally about to put an end to Sora with one last swipe of his claws as he bid Sora farewell "So long my friend." but Balto suddenly intervened and shouted "Sora!" before he used his free foot to kick the keyblade over to Sora. Sora instantly grabbed the keyblade and cast a reflect shield before Steele could attack him. Steele however wasn't phased by this or the attacks that followed from him attacking the shield and continued to bash at it continuously as he laughed "You don't know when to quit do you?! That's good,don't hand it to me,I have had everything handed to me on a large silver platter. Everything! Except,for this!"
Steele finally managed to break through Sora's shield and was about to finish him off for good,but not before he looked down at the cowering boy and smiled "I earned this. All of it." However Sora noticed that a chandelier above them was just barely hanging off the ceiling by a single thread,and that gave Sora an idea as he told Steele "You want the glory Steele? It's all yours." before he quickly aimed the keyblade and threw it up at the chandelier,cutting the thread and sending it tumbling down. Sora immediately rolled out of the way while Steele merely looked up at the ceiling to see what was falling down,however it was already too late for him as just a single second later,the chandelier crushed Steele in an instant. Steele was no more.
"Oh man." Sora nervously remarked as he observed the now large pile of rubble,but now wasn't the time to reminisce about Steele,because now was the time to get Balto out and escape the burning hospital. Sora wasted no time and cast zero gravity on the fallen shelf so it would lift up into the air,and give Balto enough time to get out. Sora then cast Cure on Balto and pulled him out of the rubble before he yelled "Let's get out of here! There's an open window over there!" and pointed to an open window in the office to which Balto agreed "Yeah." before he grabbed Rosie's hat and handed it to Sora.
Sora and Balto managed to crawl out the office window and make it back outside,and it seemed that the fire department had finally made it to the hospital and were putting out the fire as the town watched in awe. Once Sora and Balto headed back to the crowd,their friends happily greeted them out of relief that they weren't hurt in the fire as Jenna and Rosie hugged Balto tightly,and Donald and Goofy did the same to Sora. Once the fire was finally put out,Jenna walked towards Balto and Sora and asked them "What caused the fire?" to which Sora replied "It was Steele. He was too obsessed with getting the glory,and it ended up destroying him."
"Steele is nothing but a treacherous snake!" Dixie angrily joined in the conversation when she overheard it to which Balto agreed "He was annoying I'll give him that." and Sora added in relief "I'm just glad he's gone now."
"Steele? More like rusted iron!" Borris insulted Steele and joined in the conversation which resulted in a big laugh from the group.
"Oh yeah!" Sora exclaimed when he suddenly remembered that he was still holding Rosie's hat and hadn't given it back as he headed over to Rosie and her parents and gave her back her hat.
"Thank you Sora,I couldn't live without this hat." Rosie thanked Sora and gave him a small hug before she tried to grab the hat and put it on,only for it suddenly glow a faint light and float up in midair as Rosie and the others gasped at the display. It didn't take very long for Sora to realize that it meant another gate was opening and that they had to leave this world and go to another. Like in all the other worlds he had been to up till that point,the environment around him slowly changed into an empty void with black and white clouds as a ray of light shot out of Rosie's hat and formed into the shape of a keyhole to which Sora jumped back and shot a ray of light into the keyhole,effectively opening another highway. Once the keyhole was finally unlocked,a large barrage of light leaked out of it as it returned the environment to what it once was.
"What was that all about?" Balto asked in confusion to which Sora regretfully replied "We kinda have to go now." as Donald added "Yeah,we've been here a long time." and Goofy added even further "A new highway is open."
Balto and the others groaned in disappointment at the revelation that their friends were now leaving,but Sora smiled and tried to lighten up the mood as he reassured them "Hey we'll be back one day,won't we guys?" to which Donald and Goofy ecstatically nodded their heads.
"Promise." Rosie asked timidly as she wiped away a tear from her eye to which Sora kneeled down on his knees and reassured her "Promise." before he made a cross over his heart and they hugged each other.
"So long guys. It's been a lot of fun despite the cold,the bear,and Steele being Steele." Sora bid Balto and the others farewell and was just about to hit the road with Donald and Goofy,but Balto and Jenna suddenly stopped them in their tracks as Balto called out to them "Hey hold on a second!" and Jenna added "There's something we gotta tell you."
Balto and Jenna ran up to the trio and Sora asked them out of intriuge "What's up?" to which Balto nervously stammered "I just wanna say…..thanks….for….for everything. When you first came here,I was a loser,a nobody and an outcast,but you saw something in me and it made me feel like I was wanted. And now…...I actually am wanted. I couldn't have done it without you Sora." and Jenna added "Thanks for everything Sora,Doanald,Goofy. If it wasn't for you guys and Balto,I don't think Rosie would still be alive. Come back soon ok?"
"Hey it's no problem. Besides I think you two lovebirds could use some time alone."
Sora,Donald and Goofy were now at the outskirts of the city and were heading out for the final time,but not before Sora turned around and waved all the others goodbye to which they all returned the favor. Once they were back in the Gummi Ship,Goofy sighed somewhat somberly as Sora asked "What's wrong Goofy?" to which he asked "Do you think we'll actually be back?" and Sora reassured him confidently "Of course we will. When I make a promise,I'll keep it to the end. Besides,maybe while we're gone Balto and Jenna will have puppies,and I'm sure they'll probably wanna see the hero who helped their father save the town."
"I think you mean junior hero Sora." Donald smiled and smugly corrected him before Sora confidently retorted "Wait till Phil hears about this,he'll have to make us heroes in a heartbeat." as they blasted off in the Gummi Ship and proceeded to make their way towards The Land Of Dragons.
*In the end credits of Kingdom Hearts 2,there is a short mini movie of Rosie covering Balto's eyes as they walked through the town. Winter had now passed and turned into spring as the bitter cold was now a relaxing and warm breeze. Once Rosie finally uncovered his eyes,Balto gasped in awe when he saw that the entire town had built a statue of him,Sora,Donald,and Goofy in the town square as the entire town starred at it happily,including Borris,Muk,Luk,Nikki,Kaltag,Star and the other dogs. Sometime later it is shown that Balto is playing with him and Jenna's puppies on the beach,one of which is a white wolf dog like him.*