Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Balto nor any of the places in the movies, only the story. Balto and its characters and places belongs to Universal. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

A/N: We have reached the finale and a small kiss at the end. I thank you guys and wish you a Happy Halloween.

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Chapter Four: Facing the Ghost

The group of friends made their way back to the cabin just as the sun started to go down. Balto lead the group with Jenna, Boris, Muk and Luk in the middle while Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Ben and Joe brought up the rear. They walked up to the tree line before the open space to the abandoned cabin. The group stopped before they went any further. Balto looked to the others and said, "Okay, Jenna, Ben, Joe and I will go in and try to find that thing we saw earlier.

"Kaltag, Boris…" He said to the two, making them stand at attention, "I want you both with Nikki, Star, Muk and Luk to cover both sides of the house from the outside. If whatever it is comes running out, you'll need to stop it."

"Right." The dog and the goose nod in agreement. The wolfdog then looked to the three on his team and said, "Let's go."

"Right." Ben and Joe said. Jenna nodded too and placed a paw over his, "We're with you."

"Here goes nothing." Balto said before making his way towards the house. Jenna, Ben and Joe followed after him. As the four walked off, the remaining six looked to each other and Star asked, "So, who gets the front yard and who gets the back?"

"Well, we could-" Boris started to say. But Nikki cut him off by saying, "Wese three call the front yard."

"But-" Boris tried to argue. But Kaltag shook his head, "Hey, we called dibs on it first and you got to live with the choice."

"But-" Boris tried again. But he was once again cut off when Muk said, "Come on, Uncle Boris. Let's just do this. Balto's counting on us."

"I-" The goose tried to argue. But with a sigh he stopped and started moving to go around the house. Muk and Luk quickly followed after the goose to keep up with him. While the three were going around and the four making their way up the porch, Kaltag turned to his two friends and said, "Okay, we need to keep our eyes and ears open. We watch the front door and the windows."

"Maybe wese should spread out to keep a look out and even stay in touch with the goose and the bears." Nikki suggested with a shrug. Kaltag agreed by saying, "That is a very good, very ingenious, very-"

"That's a smart plan, Nikki." Star complimented with a chuckle. Kaltag just rolled his eyes and shook his head before pointing with his paw, "Let's just get into position."

The three dogs then moved to get into position.

…

On the front porch, Balto, Jenna, Ben and Joe all stood before the front door. The leader of the group looked back and asked, "Are you ready to do this?"

"Not really." Ben shook his head. Then he said, "But someone's gotta teach that jerk a lesson."

"Agreed." Joe nodded. Jenna then said, "We're with you, Balto."

"All right." Balto took in a deep breath and carefully opened the door with his paw. The old wood lightly creaked and he opened it to where they could enter through a big enough crack.

Once all four were inside, they moved to where they could look up the stairs. They saw that the thing they saw earlier wasn't up there anymore. Joe leaned closer and asked, "Where do you think it, or he, is?"

"Probably still in the house somewhere." Balto guessed and they carefully went further into the house. As they moved closer to the stairs, they suddenly heard a voice laughing and a paw hitting the floor boards, "Oh, man, ha ha. I still can't believe that I got those yahoos real good!"

"Steele." The four whispered as they recognized the voice. All four glared as they were really ticked off about being tricked and basically held hostage for three days. The group carefully started making their way up the stairs and Balto looked back to the other. He gave a wink and said out loud, "I sure hope that we don't run into that ghost again."

"I know what you mean, Balto." Jenna said, catching on to what Balto was doing. They heard Steele scrambling where ever he was and he inaudibly growled something. When they reached the top of the stairs, they looked around for any signs of the malamute. A moment later, a shape burst out of a room behind them. They looked back to see the "ghost" standing there. The specter then moaned, "Get out!"

The four looked to each other before looking back at the ghost. The spirit stood up straight and asked, "Uh, aren't you going to run?"

"Get him!" Joe shouted and the four charged straight at the ghost. The ghost yelped in fright and turned tail. Balto, Jenna, Ben and Joe chased the ghost into a hallway with six doors. The ghost ran into the first left door with the four right behind it.

If one was to be standing out in the hall, they'd watch a comical chase scene unfold before them. The ghost came out the first left door and ran into another room with the four right behind it. Another door opened and the ghost and the boys ran out into a room a few doors down. They disappeared just as Jenna came out a door by herself before running into the room across the hall. A moment later, Ben and Joe came out a different with ghost right behind them. They disappeared into the third room on the left side while Balto and Jenna came out the first door before disappearing into the second room on the right. Things got a little whackier when not the ghost nor the four came out next. From the first door on the right, a group of young dinosaurs consisting of a young Apatosaurus, Triceratops, Pteranodon, Parasaurolophus, Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus and Oviraptor ran through the hall before disappearing into the room on the far end of the left hall. The chase ended when the ghost with its pursuers came out of the last door on the right and down the hall way.

The ghost tried to make for the stairs, but ended up tripping on the rug. The four stopped when the spirit cried out as it tumbled down the stairs and grunted in pain each time it hit the old wood before landing at the bottom of the stairs. Balto, Jenna, Ben and Joe moved to see it lying on the ground. Ben looked to Joe and commented, "I didn't think ghosts could feel pain."

"He's gonna wish he was a ghost who couldn't feel pain." Joe growled as they watched the ghost shakily get up. The ghost at the bottom of the stairs groaned as it got off the ground and swayed a bit as if dizzy. And just as it started to try and make a getaway, Balto looked to Ben and Joe and said to the two, "Come on!"

With that, all three boys rushed down the stairs to catch the ghost. The ghost looked back to see the three coming and tried to run. But Balto, Ben and Joe didn't let it get far as they leapt at it. All three tackled into it and they tumbled along the floor. In the midst of the chaos, what was covering the ghost came off and they came to rest on the floor. Jenna rushed down the stairs and said, "Are you boys all right?"

"Yeah." Balto nodded as he and the other two slowly got up. The four looked ahead to see Steele getting up himself. The malamute snarled at them and Balto said, "Your sick little game is over, Steele."

"Says you, mutt." Steele scoffed with a glare. The door opened to reveal Nikki, Kaltag and Star standing there. Steele glared at them and said, "Well, if it isn't my three traitors."

"You betrayed us on the Serum Run and left us to die." Kaltag countered while the other two nodded in agreement. Joe growled, "And you are so gonna pay for keeping us trapped in here."

"And yet I took such good care of you." Steele said with a fake pout. Ben gave an irritated nod and said, "Yeah, and yet some of that meat you had brought was pretty bad."

"You gave us old meat." Joe growled. Jenna then raised a brow and questioned, "So how do you want this to end, Steele?

"Now that we know the truth of what happened, you're going to be hated and shunned by every dog in Nome." She said. Steele scoffed again and said, "Not like I'm not used to it by now.

"Just wanted to see if I could give our big, brave wolfdog a scare." He taunted when he looked to Balto. Balto then said, "Steele, I'd leave if I were you."

"Or what?" The malamute questioned with a raised brow. Joe then stepped forward and asked, "You really want to know the answer to that question?"

Steele huffed before quickly turning and making for the door. Balto looked to Ben and Joe and asked, "Don't suppose you could help Kaltag take him back to town?"

"You saved us, so it'll be our pleasure." Ben nodded. Joe assured, "Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on him."

The five then followed after the malamute out the door. Balto and Jenna came out of the house a moment later and watched the group of dogs disappear into the trees. Jenna looked to Balto and said, "You were very brave back there, Balto."

"I think it took all of us, to be honest." Balto said with a grin. The red and white husky then leaned into his shoulder and said, "At least we now know the truth. And maybe more of the town will see you for who you are."

"Maybe." The wolfdog shrugged. Jenna lifted her head and he looked to her. They became lost in each other's eyes and leaned forward. The two canines kissed each other for maybe a few seconds before parting. Jenna laughed and said, "I'm just glad that there wasn't really a ghost."

"Yeah, me too." Balto agreed. The two suddenly got a chill down their spines as a slight fog rolled over the porch. Jenna shivered and asked, "Why did it get so cold all of a sudden?"

"I don't know." Balto shook his head. Behind them, a white shape suddenly took form. The two tensed up when they heard the sounds of heavy breathing behind them. They slowly looked back to see something standing there and growl, "Get… Out!"

Balto and Jenna screamed at the sight of a real ghost and quickly ran off the porch. As they ran off, the ghost suddenly changed its form to reveal a white wolf. The wolf chuckled before looking to the audience and saying, "Happy Halloween."

THE END

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Later that night, at the back of the old house, Boris nor the bears had heard any of the commotion earlier. The goose seemed to be bored out of his mind while the bears were enjoying the scenery. Boris sighed and asked, "When are we going to see some action?"

"Maybe they've already confronted the ghost and went home." Muk guessed as he played with a stick while his brother whimpered in agreement. Boris scoffed at the notion and waved it off with his wing. But after a moment of thinking, he groaned as that was probably what happened and shouted to the heavens, "Balto!"

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Author's Note: I hope that you guys enjoyed this little gift. I know that it probably wasn't one of my best, but I had fun nonetheless. I do wish you guys a Happy Halloween. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.