Chapter Five:

A New Dawn, A New Idea

On the snowy white horizon and behind the giant mountain peaks in the far-off distance, the first rays of sunlight were on the rise. Dawn was breaking and the sleepy little town was slowly waking. The roads, covered with a blanket of white, were graced by the golden glow of the morning sun, making way for the big event that was to come. Today was the day. The day of the big race.

As first light seeped through the window and into the room to cross over a groggy set of resting eyes, Star stirred in his sleep. The brightness almost tickled his fur as he rolled over. The bright eyes of the husky slowly opened to find he was still where he was when he fell asleep. Still on the couch in the small living room of his home. Surprisingly, he had slept well and, with a long stretch and a drink of water, he was awake.

Star could still hear the continuous tick-tock of the clock on the wall. It was the only sound he could hear in the quiet, empty house. He looked up towards it. The clock's arms read 7:22, though to Star, he hadn't a clue what the arms on a clock meant as he never really caught on how to read time. However, the sound managed to captivate him in a way.

Eventually, he jumped back up onto the couch and looked out the window, out to the snowy streets of Nome. Only a few townsfolk were out and about. Star knew well that within a couple of hours, those streets would be crowded with bystanders and onlookers, with a path cleared for the race. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His mind returned to yesterday, Balto's words echoing through his mind.

"Just remember. Go in and give it your all. You can do it."

"Just be yourself, Star. It's all you ever have to be."

"I can do it."

He exhaled calmly, fogging up the window ever so slightly as he settled down. When he finally opened his eyes to look outside again, it came as a shock when he saw who was making his way down the empty street.

"Balto?"

Indeed, it was the scruffy wolfdog, who… almost never came into town this early.

At this point however, that didn't matter to Star. A sudden rush of excitement came over him in an instant and without thinking, he barreled towards the door, nearly running into the rocking chair that sat closely to the couch. He was just about to burst through the dog door, eager to see his friend when…

He stopped.

Just inches away from the dog door, to where he could see the outside through its transparency, he stopped. He didn't move any closer. He just stared ahead of him. Though he wasn't moving physically, his mind was racing like mad. All were focused on one thing.

"Steele…" was all Star could whisper to himself, recounting what Steele had almost done to him last night when he found out he was hanging out with the wolfdog. He couldn't seem to do anything now without fear of facing that wrath and malice of his team's leader. It was like he was in control of his life, and no doubt most of the others on the team.

Defeated, the husky accepted he'd just have to mind his own place. He turned back and climbed back onto the couch, laying down with his head resting between his paws. None of this felt right. He couldn't do anything at all without risking any sort of trouble. Nikki and Kaltag would barely associate with him and Steele… well, Steele was going to do what it'd take to prevent him from hanging out with Balto, seeing as Star befriended the one canine Steele absolutely despised. Quite literally the only thing anyone outside his home would let him do was run with the sled team, and even then, he was always being hauled relentlessly.

There seemed to be no steady balance in Star's life. He was just… controlled, and he hoped more than anything that something, anything would change that.

About an hour or two later, Star found himself being prepped for the race. The mother of the young boy had come back home after staying at the hospital a little longer. She refilled Star's food and water dishes, and once he was content, the two sat together on the couch quietly. Both dog and human could hear the increasing hive of activity unfolding on the streets outside. Star was already set for the race, with his collar fitted long before more people began to line the sidelines. However, there was still plenty of time and they chose to spend that time with each other. Both mentally preparing not only for what was to follow but hoping more than anything that the final run to deliver the medicine would be a success.

As the mother ran her fingers through Star's fur, she sighed as Star laid uncharacteristically motionless.

"You miss him too, huh?" she quietly sympathized. Star could only glance up in response. The lady noticed and silently closed her eyes in agreement as she continued.

"Just an hour out of that hospital and it feels like an entire decade since leaving him in there like that."

At the moment, she could feel Star's body rise slightly as an audible, anxious exhale escaped from him. She continued to pet Star's back, occasionally running her thumb round in circles gently within the three spots on his scruffy back as her mind wandered. Suddenly, she stopped. Star lifted his head to look up and see if anything was wrong. To his surprise, he saw her looking to the ceiling, smiling.

"You know, that boy misses you more than anything in the entire world and there is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that it would make his day to see you now. If only he could…"

She trailed off, the sadness slightly returning before she continued speaking. Though she would never be able to hear Star, she talked in a way as if she knew he understood her.

"Taught him how to knit a couple weeks ago. It's amazing how quickly he decided what he wanted to make after he got some good practice."

Star was a little confused now. That was until the mother got up and walked over to another room in the house. When she returned, Star couldn't believe his eyes or what stood before them. There, she held up a small unfinished blanket and there, in the center, was what looked like… him. Well, at least what a young elementary school child could knit together in order to resemble him. He even made sure to include his spots. Oh, Star was so overjoyed, he couldn't stop his bushy tail from wagging so fast. As if by magic, his mood changed in an instant.

"He always was a bit of an artist," the woman smiled. "He wanted to make this for you as a surprise before the sickness got a hold of him. Seems as good a time as any to pull it out."

She walked over to Star, who almost couldn't contain his happiness. After he settled down, the lady sat beside him, still holding the blanket in her hands as she looked down at it and smiled.

"He loves you dearly and is counting on you. Can you do it?"

Star knew that he was unable to answer with words but, with this newfound sense of hope and confidence, he gave a chipper bark in response. The mother smiled warmly.

"That's my good boy. I'm going to get out my knitting equipment and finish this up. When you come home, it'll be ready and waiting just for the both of you."

It would be almost impossible to put into words the sense of pride, confidence, hope, and joy Star felt in that moment. This, all combined with the reassuring and comforting hospitality Balto had given him, filled him with such happiness that was more than anything he had ever felt before.

From the outside, the two could hear the commotion had now gotten louder. People lined the sides of buildings, mushers were calling, bets were being made, and dogs were beginning to be lined up at the starting line. Both looked out the window for a moment. Star was smiling his goofy adorable little smile again as his tongue hung out, his excitement clear as ever.

"Well then, Star," the mother grinned. "It's time we get you with the others."

As the bright sunlight filled the doorway as the front door slowly swung open, Star felt like it was almost smiling down on him. He was going to run the race and he was going to run it well. He trotted off happily towards the starting line, with quite the spring in his step.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. Something he really did not want to see. With his attention elsewhere, he wasn't looking where he was going and ran straight into another dog. As he lifted himself back off the ground, he found out that the dog… was Jenna.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss Jenna. I-"

Star trailed off, as his eyes glanced behind her. There, at the starting line, pacing back and forth in front of the other dogs like a drill sergeant, was Steele. Star gulped, as he couldn't shake what had happened between the two of them from his mind. However, he did what he could to dismiss the thought. He had Balto's words of encouragement and his family's love and hope. He wasn't going to let that sociopath stop him from pulling through for them.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts once more as Jenna lifted herself back up, more baffled than hurt. Particularly how he knew even her despite having never met each other.

"Do… do I know you?"

Star really didn't have an answer to give. He did know her, from Balto, that is. However, he felt he'd made enough of an awkward introduction. Not to mention just about every dog was now in line but him, ready for the race that was about to begin. So, he just smiled awkwardly and gave out a feeble "No, not really." before running off to get into position. To say the red husky was confused would be quite the understatement.

Soon enough, there he was, at the starting line for one of the most important races he'd run in his life. Just about everyone was ready, waiting for the musher to fire the shot that would mark the start of the race and, after a little debacle with those pesky sled harnesses he always got himself wrapped up in, Star was ready and raring to go.

For the town.

For his family.

For…

"Balto…?"

As he glanced over to his right for a quick moment, the last thing he was expecting to see was the wolfdog hybrid lined up with the rest of the sled dogs, just mere seconds before it was time to start. Due to the ruckus Kaltag was causing from the surprise contestant, just about all eyes from the other dogs were on Balto as well.

Star was just as confused but suddenly, as if by magic, he felt… strong. It was as if the kind, reassuring words Balto had given him the day before were all coming at him again. Boosting him with even more confidence than ever before. And if Balto was running in the race…

...then there was a good chance Balto would end up on the dog sled team.

Star wouldn't have to be alone amongst his own teammates for much longer. He'd be running alongside someone who actually supported him and saw value in him that the others didn't. Another sense of excitement surged through him, like he could run through a blizzard with no trouble at all. With Balto now here, Star truly felt he could do just about anything.

As the last few seconds of the countdown dwindled down, Star closed his eyes as he got ready. It was in those few remaining seconds that, in his head, he saw it again: That soft, cozy little blanket his owner had begun to make for him. The same young boy who was now in the hospital, counting on him.

From the moment Star first laid eyes on that blanket of himself, Steele didn't matter anymore. Not only did he have Balto as a supportive friend, but he also had a family who loved him so much and was depending on him. There was no way he was going to let them down.

This race he was about to run was for them.

In an instant, a loud gunshot broke the air as the musher fired into the sky. And just like that… the race had begun.

The End

Author's Notes: And so we've reached the end of the story, stopping just before the big race scene in the film. I am extremely proud of this chapter. So much that I remember the moment I got the idea for the blanket part. I was in a classroom on my last day of school near the end of May and I was like the only student in the room. Had a movie playing on the projector and I was at a desk with my chromebook and the doc for the story shared for to my school account so I could make edits and add stuff when I got ideas and had no work to do. I had to think of something to end off the story on a happy note. (Mostly because of how you can see Star visibly smiling in the race but also because I just couldn't let it end on a sad one.) When the idea hit me, I immediately got to work. Put a lot of heart into the dialogue in this one, along with the idea of the blanket for Star. It felt like such a heartwarming way to end the story and I'm still very pleased with it. I ran it by a few friends of mine and, to my shock, one of them said they were moved to tears. Now, I'm still getting a hang of this whole fanfiction writing thing but, while a pleasant one, I never expected that kind of reaction. I guess that means I must be doing something right. Also, just like the reasons given in the last chapter, I kept the mother and little boy nameless to keep it subtle and leave it up for interpretation. Me personally, I kinda envisioned the mother as a smaller, older lady. Somewhat like Star's own Muriel from Courage the Cowardly Dog; funnily enough another purple dog character who I also adore. Also, I've gotta add that having Star refer to Jenna as "Miss Jenna" was a bit of an objective of mine because, in my mind, Star's likely just that humble XD. Many thanks to the friends who've given such great feedback and encouragement for me to work on this story and to those who left reviews on my first story. A good amount of inspiration for the story came from those reviews and I hope I gave an adequate follow-up as suggested. Thanks for reading. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

(Hope y'all don't mind the inclusion of these author's notes. Thought it'd be neat to kinda include them to show the inspirations, thoughts I've had when writing the chapters, and give thanks to those who've helped. To give a bit of insight, I suppose. I know I said in my first sorry that I'd cut it down but I kinda like adding these lol. Especially if it helps inspire anyone out there. :))