When Cole's eyes were able to open, drowsiness overcame him a little. He reached up and felt his forehead and felt…fingers? Cole's eyes opened sharply to see he was in his room again only he was laying on his bed. He got up fast and when he got to the mirror, he saw his human face and body in the mirror's surface wearing the exact same shirt, pants, socks and shoes he wore from the start. Confused and shocked at the same time, Cole reached into his shirt to feel the Inuit necklace he was still wearing before the memory of his experience came flooding to him.

"Was everything I saw, just a dream?", he asked himself looking at his reflection's eyes as if accusing it while it did the same thing to him.

He turned to see the DVD on his bed he had only now he was inspecting it closely. It was a "Balto" DVD which he picked up and a memory of him watching it as a little kid faintly materialized in his mind's eye.

"Mom, is this a true story?"

"No Cole, it's based on one though. They often change a few things so that people get the idea."

Cole pushed the memory aside and put the DVD back on his bed before going to his window to be greeted by a scene of late summer and no snow.

"Cole, you okay in there?"

Cole turned just as his mother poked her head through looking a bit worried.

"Hey, everything alright?"

Cole felt happy to see her, but then grew curious.

"Mom, how long was I here?"

His mother looked a bit curious herself.

"Cole, you've only been in here for five minutes."

Cole looked surprised, but tried to cover it up.

"Feels like it was entire days.", he admitted.

Cole's mother gave a smile.

"Well, dinner will be ready shortly."

She left leaving Cole curious as he went to the mirror again imagining Balto, Jenna, Boris, Muk, Luk, and even Steele. He placed a hand on the wolf's head part of the necklace before taking a breath.

"I wish I could go back.", he told himself bracing for the wind to blow again.

Nothing happened. No wolf howl, not winter wind, nothing.

"I wish I could go back.", Cole said again more firmly.

Still nothing happened. Before Cole could try again, his mother's voice rang out from upstairs.

"Cole, dinner's ready."

/

As Cole and his mother settled to dinner, they heard the family car pull up into the driveway meaning that Mr. Marty was home from work. Soon, he came in through the door looking worn out, but happy.

"Evening everyone.", he said which he often did as a greeting.

"Evening Dad.", Cole answered.

As the family settled down to Hamburger Helper, Cole couldn't get his time as a wolf dog out of his mind. He ate, but his parents couldn't help noticing.

"Cole, everything alright?", his father asked.

Cole snapped out of his thoughts and tried to look alright.

"Yeah, just…a little bit unsure."

Cole's father rolled his eyes comically.

"I don't blame you. Starting a new school next week. It can get a bit scary."

Cole then sighed.

"I know."

Cole's mother looked impressed.

"Wow Cole, looks like you might give Nome a chance after all."

Cole didn't answer, but at least his parents were thinking he was taking their advice. As Cole went to bed that night, he recalled the white wolf he saw and interacted with on his adventure.

"Who was she?", he couldn't help but ask.

As he pictured her eyes, a sense of calm came to him. Almost like the wolf knew him even though he didn't even tell her his name. Cole then thought about visiting the shop to ask the shopkeeper if he knew anything about why the necklace wouldn't let him go back to Balto's world. Then he looked to his "Balto" DVD and couldn't help but smile as he remembered singing the signature song from its end credits.

"Deep in the night the winds blow cold. And in a heartbeat, the fear takes hold.", he sang to himself as the memories of visiting that other world repeated themselves silently, "Deep in the storm, there's a place that's soft and still. And a road waits to be taken if you only will. The voices inside you can lead your soul astray. Believe in what you dream. Don't turn away. Don't you turn away."

Cole was asleep the moment the song was finished.

/

The very next day, Cole was up early again as he decided to try and find that shop where he bought his necklace. As he jogged around, he remembered running on all fours and the smells he could pick up that he now couldn't. As he got to where he thought the shop was, he was greeted by a strange sight. The building looked like it was in disrepair for decades and the door was broken and held on barely by its hinges. Cole was stunned as he noticed the sign from the shop only now faded with time and bad weather.

"That's weird.", he said to himself, "Wasn't that shop just fine yesterday?"

The memory of when he found it repeated itself and Cole felt obliged to walk off and it soon grew into a jog as he started hoping that the new school he would attend would at least have a track and field team he could join so at least his favorite activity would be with him. Soon, he came to the Nome Public Library where he couldn't help but walk into. An old Inuit woman sat behind a desk and looked up as he approached.

"Can I help you find something?", she asked looking a bit curious about him.

Cole felt a bit nervous, but managed to get his nerve enough to talk.

"Is there a section on Nome's history?", he asked.

The librarian pointed towards the back.

"End of the third aisle, lower shelf, third section from the left."

Cole then headed there and found the place seemingly empty and finding the right books was a bit difficult, but he managed to do so.

"This book looks promising.", Cole thought as he pulled one book off the shelf and examined it, "Hmm, "Sled Dogs of Alaska History". Guess I'll start there."

Cole took out a few more books and took a desk near a window so he could read with the morning light. As he started reading about Leonard Seppala's role in the Diphtheria Epidemic, Cole touched the necklace around his neck as he read about the musher's disappointment about Togo not getting the credit for his role in the race even if it was the most dangerous part and Balto was given all the glory cause he was the last team to arrive.

"Geez, you would think that Seppala's friend Gunner would have at least gave him credit.", Cole said to himself as he shut the book.

He opened another one he had picked out, hoping to find something about the necklace, but came up short.

"How come this necklace isn't found here?", Cole wondered as he had flipped through another book with no luck on the necklace.

After about three more hours, Cole had found zip on the necklace or how it worked when an idea came to mind.

"Why didn't I think of it sooner.", he told himself, "I'll look it up."

/

On the library's computer, Cole typed in the search bar "Inuit Necklace" and clicked the magnifying glass next to it. A bunch of sites popped up, but as Cole searched each one, they seemed to just be selling necklaces rather than talking about them. The librarian who was now restocking books on a nearby shelf looked curious as she came over.

"Everything alright?", she asked.

Cole looked her way a bit timid.

"Yeah, just trying to find out something about a necklace."

"Which one?", the librarian asked.

Cole reached under his shirt and pulled out his necklace still around his neck and the librarian inspected it for a bit.

"Well, it looks pretty old.", she commented, "Who sold it to you?"

Cole tried remembering the shop keeper, but he couldn't pin a name. Then he remembered the store's name.

"Inuit Antiques and Gift Shop.", he said looking the librarian's way a bit curious, "Does that ring a bell?"

The librarian looked thoughtful for a moment.

"As a matter of fact, it does.", she told him, "Once, when I was about your age, I was about to start my new school year, but I got scared and didn't know what to do. Then as if something heard me, a shop showed up selling all kinds of Inuit things from masks to parkas, ivory to snowshoes, and a bunch of other stuff. Didn't get the shopkeeper's name, but as I left he said that if I studied well enough, then I'd be passing that knowledge to others. Guess he knew something cause after I graduated, I went on to become a librarian where I help others find what they're looking for."

Cole was interested.

"Did he say his name?", he asked.

The librarian shook her head.

"Nope. Said nothing like that.", she said, "I wanted to thank him, but when I tried to look for the shop, as quickly as it had appeared the day before, it was gone."

Cole's hope deflated a bit.

"Oh.", he said looking disappointed.

The librarian looked at Cole's necklace with curiosity again before looking Cole in the eye.

"What did this necklace do?", she asked.

Cole looked unsure.

"I don't think you'll believe me if I told you.", he said nervously.

The librarian smiled.

"Try me.", she said.

/

Cole started walking home a bit disappointed as he recalled the story he had told the librarian.

"So after I got to Nome with Balto, he and Jenna started having more time together before I was sucked into some kind of portal like the one from before only it then showed me some kind of ending to the Balto movie only there were-"

He paused when he noticed the librarian's unconvinced face.

"You're not believing me are you?"

"Well, it does sound pretty farfetched.", she answered, "Magic necklaces, you being in a famous dog's form, facing a bear, and a white wolf showing up and disappearing like a ghost? Sounds like something a kid would make up to get out of a history report."

She paused as she noticed Cole's expression.

"I'm not saying that I don't believe you young man, but even I haven't heard of something even I find it hard to believe."

Cole kept walking while feeling more confused and frustrated at not getting any answers. As he turned to the playground near the park, he happened to notice another boy his age sitting on a bench wearing a light brown shirt, dark brown pants, boots that looked worn a bit, and looking pretty down. Cole made his way over, but then the boy looked up as if he knew Cole was nearby and then turned away.

"Um…hello?", Cole asked cautiously.

The boy said nothing, but the look in his brown eyes seemed lonely underneath his brown hair. Cole then stepped a bit closer.

"I think I said hello.", he said more firmly.

"Go away.", the boy answered.

Cole raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, what's going on?"

The boy looked irritated, but when he saw Cole he then looked surprised.

"Who are you?", he asked.

"Oh, looks like the social zero found someone new."

Cole turned to see four other boys walk over though the one in the middle seemed more interrogating with his black and white striped pants, icy blue eyes, dark hair, and plain white shirt. The other boys were dressed similar, but the boy on the bench looked more tense while Cole looked annoyed.

/

"And who might you be?"

The boy in the white shirt and black pants with white stripes looked equally annoyed as he stepped forward.

"Do you have any idea who I am?", he asked as his voice grew cold.

Cole was reminded of Steele and the three other boys started talking.

"Real nice Keith."

"The most upfront, the most thought out, the most-"

"You said it."

The one who spoke second smacked the third boy across the face while "Keith" turned to Cole and noticed his necklace.

"Oh, the new loser has a fancy necklace to try and get into our team boys."

Cole frowned as the boys started laughing meanly, but he turned to the boy on the bench.

"Looks like we're not wanted here. Want to leave?"

Even though "Keith" and his posse kept hurling insults, Cole was beyond listening as he and the boy from the bench kept walking away.

"So, you know the guy back there?", Cole asked.

The boy looked more depressed.

"Unfortunately.", he admitted, "Ever since I tried out for the cross-country team, Keith had made it his personal goal to make my time at school as unbearable as he can make it."

Cole looked interested.

"What's cross-country?"

The boy looked a bit better.

"It's a run across a marked trail.", the boy answered looking like he was liking Cole's company, "You run also?"

"Just track and field.", Cole answered looking a bit embarrassed, "I was kind of the best back in my old school."

The boy looked interested.

"Care to tell me your name while we run to my house?", Cole added looking eager.

The boy's smile brightened as he and Cole started dashing down the street.

"I'm Blake Wolfen."

"Cole Marty.", Cole said as they turned a corner together unaware they were being watched.

Leaning against a house nearby was the shopkeeper from Inuit Antiques and Gift Shop looking pleased.

"I'm glad you met someone Cole, but your journey in that animated universe is not yet done.", he said slyly, "Sure some of your memories and speech got a little wonky, but that's kind of a backlash to the magic."

He then pulled out a scroll from his belt and opened it to reveal the riddle Cole saw in Balto's world.

"By helping Balto learn to accept his heritage, you learned to believe in yourself no matter where you are.", he said to himself as he put the scroll away, "Two more riddles you must solve, but for now your place is here. The way back will open again when you're not looking for it."

He then gave a chuckle as he vanished like a ghost without leaving a trace or hint he was even there. Cole and Blake by now had reached Cole's house and Blake had agreed to have dinner with Cole's parents while the ivory wolf head on Cole's necklace shimmered for a moment before it went dim once more.