Steele was growing impatient before he noticed Stella fly over looking a bit winded as she landed on Luk's head.
"Well?", he asked.
Stella ignored him as she was clearly focused on Balto and Cole.
"It's there. I saw it. The plane.", she reported, "No sign of Boris."
Balto then looked worried.
"Come on, let's go.", he said dashing off.
"Don't leave me behind wolf dog.", Steele warned as he gave chase.
Stella followed, but Muk looked nervous.
"Through moose territory?", he asked.
Luk and him cuddled each other whimpering as Cole rolled his eyes.
"Guys, we'll be okay. If a moose shows up, just freeze and hopefully they'll pass by."
Muk and Luk looked less worried.
"Really?", Muk asked.
"Really, really.", Cole assured.
It didn't take them long to catch up with the others though Steele was sniffing the air.
"We're close.", he informed, "Let's move."
Cole sniffed the air also and caught a whiff of Duke and knew they were on the trail. It wasn't long before the group passed Bear Rock and heading to where the plane had crashed. Luk whimpered something which got Cole's attention.
"What did he say?", he asked Muk as the group paused for a moment.
"Luk says we're doomed if we meet one of those bull moose.", Muk informed.
"The faster we go in, the faster we come out.", Balto said knowingly.
"Then why are we stopping?", Steele fumed.
Cole frowned.
"Steele, would you just cool your jets for a minute and-"
"No, you cool it!", Steele snapped as he trudged forward, "I've been trudging through this brush slipping on ice, almost drowned, and now I'm on the verge of-"
"Um, Steele.", Balto said as he suddenly paused.
The rest did too, but Steele hardly noticed the large bull moose he was trudging towards. Cole did though and the moose didn't look friendly.
"Don't interrupt!", Steele shouted, "I have had quite enough of all of this nature wondering around-"
"You talking to me?", the moose asked gruffly.
Steele suddenly paused and turned around and before sending his ire at the moose.
"Excuse me, but I wasn't finished yet, you big horn-headed, moss munching, house of meat!"
That set the moose off and it charged sending Steele flying into a snow pile near the group.
"I think that hurt.", Cole said.
Steele wearily lifted his head out of the snow still dazed, but not hurt too bad.
"I'm okay."
"You talking to me?", the moose asked as it looked the group's way.
Cole felt like something was off and leaned close to Muk.
"Any ideas?"
"No.", Muk whispered back, "Moose only have two moods: angry and very angry."
/
The moose looked angrier as it lowered its head.
"You talking to me?"
"No.", Cole suddenly blurted out, "Just talking amongst ourselves."
The moose then scrapped the ground with its back leg as if getting ready to charge.
"I think you're talking to me."
Balto tried talking peacefully.
"Look, we just want to get by. We don't want any trouble."
The moose clearly wasn't listening as it then charged their way.
"Run for it!", Cole called out.
The group scattered and Steele luckily had managed to get himself back together enough to do the same. Muk and Luk ran until Muk got his leg caught in a log and Luk tried pulling him out before the moose set his sights on them. Cole knew he had to do something, but what? Just then, Cole saw Balto jump on the moose's back and held on as the moose bucked like a bronco before sending Balto flying into a snow pile and stunning him for a moment.
"Balto!", Cole called out as he dashed to his friend's side.
He then saw the moose getting ready to charge again and looked Balto's way frantic.
"Balto, this is not the time for a snooze."
Balto then started coming around, then the moose charged. Cole and Balto didn't have time to get out of the way, but just when it looked like the moose had them, Steele jumped out of nowhere and had chomped down on the moose's nose making him back off.
"Steele?", Balto asked in surprise.
Steele didn't hear them as the moose then flung him away and he landed on the snow.
"Hey, lamebrain."
Steele flinched as he, Balto and Cole looked up to see another bull moose on the hill above them looking toward the first moose.
"You're standing on my turf."
"You talking to me?", the first moose asked.
"What am I here to amuse you?", the second moose countered, "You see any other lamebrain moose around here?"
"Yeah, I'm looking at one.", the first moose answered.
Cole, Balto, Steele, Muk and Luk backed off as the moose charged each other making really loud crashes while doing so. As they did, Cole looked Steele's way a little surprised.
"Steele, you just saved us."
Steele looked firm.
"I did not.", he insisted, "I just… I… I don't want to explain your death to Jenna okay?"
"So you do care.", Balto said looking sly.
Steele tensed, but then regained his bravado.
"Can we just find that plane and go home?", he asked, "I'm late for dinner."
"Whatever you say Steele.", Cole answered.
The group then saw the plane crashed and wrecked which made Balto and Cole more concerned as they hurried over with Muk, Luk, Steele, and Stella alongside them.
"I hope it's not too late.", Cole prayed silently.
/
Once the group got to the plane, Steele looked a little amused when Balto, Cole and him saw Duke hanging halfway over the side of the cockpit.
"Oh well, we got here too late.", he said with a shrug and turning away, "Let's just go-"
"Zip it Steele.", Cole snapped.
Balto got close to Duke and sniffed a couple times.
"He's alive.", he confirmed.
"Boris?", Stella asked as she flew up to the cockpit and looked around.
"Maybe he wasn't on the plane after all.", Balto said.
Stella managed to get the compartment open while she was still looking.
"I could've sworn he…", she then paused and gasped.
"What?", Cole asked.
Before Stella came up, Cole felt a shiver on his back and turned to see something black and ominous slip into the trees. He was brought out of it when he heard Balto call out.
"Boris? Can you hear me?"
"Uncle Boris!", Muk called out.
Cole noticed Luk sniffing around, but Steele didn't look worried.
"I don't see why we're looking for that goose."
"You may not care about anyone else, but we do.", Cole countered.
Before Steele could think of a comeback, Luk gave some gibberish and started digging in some snow a bit off.
"Luk says he's found him.", Muk informed as the rest came to join Luk who had gotten Boris out of the snow.
Luk blew some hot air on Boris to defrost him, but the goose limped as Luk set him down. Stella was instantly trying CPR.
"Come on, big boy.", she told him, "Don't you give up! You owe me an apology!"
Boris then slowly came out of his daze looking confused.
"What…? What… what am I doing here?"
Muk and Luk brightened up instantly, but then Cole felt a shiver again and turned as more shadows slithered through the shadows of the trees. Whatever chat was going on, he wasn't listening as he could've sworn he saw some red glowing eyes that told him trouble was near.
"We better get him home."
Cole turned to see Luk holding Boris up and Steele looking annoyed.
"But what about the pilot?", Boris asked.
Steele hurried over to the pilot leaving the rest alone. Balto and Cole looked each other's way and knew what had to be done.
"Guys, take Boris home.", Cole informed, "Balto and I will get Duke."
Steele looked amused.
"And try not to get any moose to run you over.", he chuckled.
"Glad you feel that way Steele.", Cole countered, "Cause you're going to help them get back."
Steele halted and looked shocked.
"Me help them get to Nome?!", he snapped looking firm again, "What?!"
"You can tell Jenna that you'll be going back for us.", Cole said stoking Steele's ego.
Needless to say, it worked as Steele calmed down and looked toward the others.
"Okay you lot, move out!"
/
As they headed out, Cole and Balto headed to Duke who stirred for a moment. Balto then gave a small lick and Duke's eyes slowly opened to see Balto and Cole looking his way.
"Balto? Togo?", he asked as he tried getting himself up, "What are you both doing here? How… how did you know?"
He then fell out on the snow and clutched his leg clearly in pain.
"Darn leg.", he muttered as he looked out into the wilderness, "Guess I won't be walking back to Nome."
Cole observed as Duke managed to stand upright and look to Balto with a smile before pulling the cover off the plane's compartment. He then used some rope in the compartment to make a make-shift harness for Balto and Cole. After they suited up, Duke got on the lid which was used for a sled and Balto started pulling with Cole through the wilderness. It started snowing and the wind picked up, but Balto and Cole trudged on. Cole then felt a presence and turned to see the shadows stir again.
"Balto, any idea what might be out there?"
Balto shrugged, but then a wolf howl rang through the wind and Nava's voice came to Cole's ears.
"Keelut. An outcast of my clan long past. His evil has twisted the earth around him. Run!"
Balto seemed to hear Nava too cause the moment Cole heard Nava yell the last word, he bolted alongside his friend while Duke held on for dear life. Balto and Cole raced across the landscape as the shadows around them seemed to swirl and form into large black wolves chasing them for the kill. Just the sight of them made Cole remember a vision he had the first time he came to Balto's world: the dream where he saw Balto's father carry him to Nome as a puppy and the same wolves were chasing him down. He was brought out of his thoughts as Balto and him dragged Duke across a ledge not far from the ice bridge when another howl rang out. This time, Cole and Balto smiled.
"Fox.", Cole said with relief.
They soon came to the ice bridge, but as they drew near, a wall of darkness formed behind them and Cole looked behind to see a large black wolf with glowing red eyes stand there snarling and crouched as if ready to pounce.
"Togo!"
Cole looked forward to see Fox with Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Kodi, Kirby, Ralph, Dusty and Steele on the other side of the bridge but too stunned by the scene to speak. Cole then paused and slipped out of his harness in the middle of the bridge and turned to face Keelut as Balto and Duke slid to a stop.
"You will not pass!"
Steele looked interested.
"What's he doing now?", he asked.
/
Keelut raised up and seemed to grow in size as he looked Cole's way.
"I won't let you hurt those who I care about.", Cole declared with gusto, "Dark forces will never harm them as long as I live."
Keelut then started on the bridge while not taking his eyes off Cole.
"You shall not pass!", Cole declared as he smacked the bridge with his paw.
A large flash rang out as the sun began to rise, but the bridge did nothing. Cole braced as Keelut came forward, but then the bridge broke underneath the wolf and sent it falling to the ground far below. Cole then bolted back toward Balto as the cracks began their way and they had just made it across before the cracks came underneath Duke's sled causing it to fall and Duke held on while Balto tried to keep himself from falling. Cole grabbed Balto's harness and tried hauling him forward, but it hardly made a difference. Fox however looked firm.
"We have to help him.", he said before turning to the others, "Come on!"
Steele tried backing off, but then Fox pulled him back.
"Hey, you're helping buster."
Once Duke was safe, Balto and Cole ran with the others towards Nome. It was morning once they arrived and it was a great relief to Nome that Duke was rescued. Steele tried to get some credit, but people just passed him and he spun around and landed in the snow (not that he cared cause his musher had given him another shot at keeping him and that was enough for him).
Not much happened after that. Boris made up with Stella that evening and the following week, Cole met up with Jenna and Kodi observing the open tundra now in full bloom of spring.
"Did Balto tell you that when he saw you with the other dogs helping us, that it was the proudest moment of his life?", Cole asked.
Kodi smiled.
"Yeah, well, not is so many words, but I got it.", Kodi admitted before looking upward as a plane engine sounded above their heads, "Hey. Hey, there he is!"
Cole heard Jenna chuckle.
"Living out a dream."
Cole saw the new bush plane with "Balto Flyer" on the side and before he knew what he was doing, he started running as if racing it.
"Hello up there!", he called out.
He didn't know if Balto and Duke heard him, but he knew they were looking down on him as he felt a familiar wind blow around him.
"Balto, wait for me!"
He picked up the pace even when the plane started drifting further away and his consciousness started to wane. As it did, Cole started to see events he had done with Balto. Meeting the wolf dog for the first time, the fight with the bear, delivering the medicine to Nome, Balto's pups growing up with him helping, him and Balto journeying with Aleu, meeting Nava, Nigaq, Sura, and their pack, their fight with Niju, seeing Aniu, and now this set of adventures.
"Balto, I'll always remember you.", Cole said mostly to himself, "Not even when I'm in my home world."
Before he blacked out again, Cole heard Duke's voice faintly in his ears over the plane's engine.
"Nothing like it, huh boy?"
And before Cole could say anything more, his whole vision went black just like the last two times.