Balto: How the Mighty Rise Again(part 5)

Balto awoke in a dark room. He recognized it immediately.

"Oh no." He groaned. He got up and padded over to the entrance.

"Going somewhere?" Said a familiar voice.

Balto turned quickly around. "Koto."

The wolf padded out of the shadows. "It is hard to surprise you Balto."

"Well it worked in the alley. Why did you do that?"

The wolf frowned. "Do you have any idea how many humans are after you? We saved you. Again."

"I didn't need saving."

"Of course not. But that's not why you're really here. I told you I'd keep an eye on you. Well, I saw you talking to our mutual friend.""Then you should know I nearly killed him." Balto replied.

"Yeah. Right. That's what you wanted us to see." He gestured around him. Other wolves appeared. "We don't like you. We think you're hiding something. So we'll just do a little lie detector test."

The other wolves pounced on Balto and pinned him to the ground. Koto padded up to him. "One last chance. Got anything to tell me?"

Balto shook his head. Koto nodded to another wolf. The wolf padded forward. He grabbed Balto's wounded leg. He raised his paw and slammed it down on his leg. Balto yelped in pain. Koto shook his head. "That was a yelp. I want to hear a howl."

The wolf nodded. He raised his paw and slammed his it on the leg twice as hard. Balto howled. Koto grinned. "That's more like it. Now, you want to tell me about Chiffre?"

"I told you I don't know anything."

The wolf hit his leg again. Balto howled again. Tears of pain rolled down his muzzle. "Dammit! I don't know anything!"

"Bullshit!" Koto snarled. "Hit him harder!"

The wolf slammed his paw down again. Each time Balto tried not to howl. But the pain was too great. "TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!!!" Koto roared.

"Look! I am not associated with Chiffre! You can cut the damn leg off, I don't know anything!"

Koto paused. The wolf raised his paw. "Stop!" Koto ordered. "He's passed the test."

The wolves released him. Balto got painfully to his paws. "That was a test?"

"Our lie detector test." Koto said proudly.

Balto growled. "That was a just a freakin test?"

"Yes. You passed." Koto replied coolly.

Balto bared his fangs. "You put me through…""Oh shut up!" The other wolf said. "I didn't hit that hard!"Balto winced from the pain. "Do you believe me now?"

Koto nodded. Balto looked at the crowd of wolves around him. He noticed something unusual about one. He appeared to be holding on to his jaw. His paw suddenly slipped. The jaw fell open. It hung there."You!" Balto snarled. He pounced on the other wolf. Koto and the other wolves tried to stop him. They were pulling him off the other wolf. Balto managed to grab hold of his left ear. It came off.

"See! See!" Balto demanded.

Koto's eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Chiffre!"Chiffre sat there, sniggering madly. "Very perceptive brother."

Koto turned to Balto, confused. "What does he mean, brother?"

"Uh…nothing." Balto stammered.

Koto shook his head. "That can wait. Right now we kill him."Chiffre pretended to shiver. "Oh please don't kill me." He burst out laughing.

"Get him." He ordered.

The wolves did nothing. "Get him!" He demanded.

"It appears your pack isn't as loyal as you thought." Chiffre said. "Now lets have another lie detector test. Get him!"

The wolves pounced on Koto. He screamed as they crashed on top of him. Balto looked away. Blood flew everywhere. The wolves stopped.

"I'm afraid Mr. Koto has failed the test." Chiffre sneered.

He turned to Balto. "I don't intend to do the same to you."

"Then let me go." Balto replied.

Chiffre shook his head. "No. I want to…talk.""About what?" Balto asked.

"We are brothers. Do we need a special reason to talk?"

Balto shook his head. "We are only brothers by blood. Nothing else."Chiffre rolled his eyes. "Oh cry me a freakin river. Do you think I want to be like this? A killer?"

At this Balto paused. "You…you don't want to be a killer?"

"No, that would be a lie. Killing is fun! I just want to talk with you."

Balto turned to leave the cave. The wolves stepped in his path.

"Of course I could just kill you now." Chiffre said.

Balto sighed, then padded back over to him. "Okay. Lets talk."

Chiffre shook his head. "Not here. We shall go to the frozen lake."

When they arrived at the frozen lake Chiffre stopped. "Do you know what it's like to grow up in a world that hates you?"

"Yes. I grew up that way." Balto replied.

"Don't you see brother? We are similar. We both were hated then. We both are hated now. Why must we fight?"

"Because we aren't the same. I am almost the opposite of you."

Chiffre sighed. "You are hunted. You won't last. Eventually they will kill you. But…I can protect you. I wouldn't let anyone harm you."

"You tried to kill me before." Balto said. "Why do you suddenly care for me?"

"Because you have changed. I have watched you from afar your entire life. I was disgusted by what I saw. You were a freakin lap dog!" He grinned. "But you have changed. You've become a killer.""I've never killed anyone!" Balto snarled. "I'm blamed for killing someone you killed!"

"You don't have to kill anyone to become a killer, brother. You just have to be capable of it. Twice you have tried to kill me. You are a killer."

Balto shook his head. "If I were a killer I would have already killed you."

Chiffre nodded. "That is your weakness. You hesitate. You see I have an advantage. I can't feel guilt. I have never in my life felt guilt. When I kill someone I actually feel pleasure."

"You're sick. You need help."

"No Balto. You need help. I offer you my paw and you slap it away!"

He turned away. "I took the situation I was in, and made the best of it.""Bullshit!" Balto snarled. "The entire world hated you. They feared you. They thought of you as 'evil.' And so you became evil. I had the same situation. But I tried to do good.""And that is why I am the stronger of us." Chiffre said.

"No you're not. You know why I tried to do good? Because I wanted to prove them wrong. You just went with the flow. Who's the weaker of us now?"

Balto thought he saw something flicker in Chiffre's eye. Anger.

"You think they ever loved you?" He demanded. "They loved you in spite of the fact that you were part wolf. Underneath all that love, all they saw in you was a scrawny wolf dog!"

"They have the right to think that. They also have the right to hate you. And so do I."

Chiffre growled loudly. At that moment there was a gunshot. It grazed Chiffre's head. He charged at Balto and the two fell onto the frozen surface of the lake. Several cracks appeared in the surface. The area where they had just stood was filled with men. They were holding rifles. They wore jackets with the letters AHA on them. They raised there rifles. Balto closed his eyes.

Just as they fired the ice gave way. Balto and Chiffre fell into the freezing opened his eyes. He was submerged in water. He could see only darkness. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his wounded leg. He resisted the urge to open his mouth. He looked down. Chiffre had bitten him.

He kicked Chiffre in the face. He tried to swim to the surface. He got there to find a wall of ice. Chiffre swam back up to him. He punched Balto in the face. The two exchanged blow underwater. Chiffre appeared to have the edge. He was stronger, a better fighter. And a better killer.

Suddenly Chiffre stopped. He swam away.

Balto was running out of air. His lungs were feeling the strain. He began punching at the ice above him. He was feeling light headed. He punched and the ice broke. He pulled himself up.

He gasped for air. He was feeling terribly weak. "Where's Muk and Luk when you need them?" He thought.

He pulled himself onto shore. He looked up to see a gun barrel in his face.

He recognized the person holding the gun. It was Rosy's father.

His ears flattened back. He stared at the man who, for a short time, had befriended him. He waited for the end to come.

But Rosy's father was hesitating. Balto could see the gun shaking in his hands. He was trying to convince himself to pull the trigger.

Suddenly he dropped the gun. He knelt down and, carefully, reached out and patted Balto on the head. Balto did nothing. He relaxed slightly.

Rosy's father smiled. "You're not gonna hurt me, are you boy?"

Jenna paced the living room nervously. She wondered whether Balto had killed Chiffre yet. Or whether Chiffre had killed him. She forced the thought out of her mind. Suddenly the door slammed open. Rosy's father walked in. In his arms was a shivering, bruised Balto.

She barked happily. Balto smiled despite how cold he was. "Dear, would you please start the fire? He looks pretty dang cold."

He set Balto down next to the fireplace. He shivered uncontrollably. Jenna lay down next to him, keeping him warm.

"Balto!" Rosy exclaimed. "How you doing boy?"

She hugged him around the neck. Balto smiled. Good to be home.