The journey, on his own, was in front of his own eyes. It wasn't his usual walk in the. This was far from the town of Nome and on the trail of the chosen sled team that had been lost after they'd missed their second checkpoint. No one else dared to set off on this journey and deliver the medicine… except for him.
Balto marched through the snow, forest and mountains in order to find out where the missing team was located. Few hours passed since he had bid farewell to Jenna, Boris, Muk and Luk near that frozen lake where he'd almost met his fate if it wasn't for his polar bears friends to come to his rescue, even risking their own safeties in the process.
"I promise…" Those were Balto's words he'd given to Jenna when he was ready to move on. He didn't want to let Jenna down and worse, let Rosy meet her own fate at this very young age. Jenna had given him his bandanna before parting ways. Her scent was still intense and fresh, as if she made sure that she was never going to leave his side on this journey.
The snowstorm was getting stronger, but it wasn't strong enough to deteriorate him from his path where Steele's team's scent was still fresh. Then again, the scent was fading in the thin air so Balto had to make sure that he scratched every tree possible on his way that was going to help the team follow the marks all the way to Nome.
"Rosy can't hold much longer." Jenna's words repeated in his head when he noticed the way down the hill and not paying any attention, he sunk deep with his paws into the snow and stumbled down the hill. Thankfully his descent was stopped thanks to a thicker layer of snow down below. For a moment he had a picture of ill Rosy sleeping in the hospital's bed.
"Hold on, Rosy… You will be safe in no time… I won't let you down't, Jenna, not this time!" Balto thought to himself when he rose from the thick snow layer, ready to carry on ahead. The wind and the snow grew stronger and fiercer but he was doing a very determined job to face off against both! His iron will motivated him to get a move on.
Marching further, after scratching down some more trees, Balto caught up a familiar scent. Sniffing the air carefully, he wanted to make sure that his senses weren't toying with him. The scent of a certain malamute was actually pretty fresh around her and of course, he knew it was none other else than: "Steele!"
He must have found them! There was no way that this scent could belong to anyone else, especially after all that torment and bullying he'd been suffering throughout all his life. He had to put that animosity aside for the sake of ill people of Nome, children the most. He moved closer to the ledge of the cliff and noticed something.
A light was shining down there and there were multiple figures shivering and stirring under the snow accumulating on them, save for one - Gunnar Kaasan. A large and a long sled was also there, all covered in snow over a certain time. Hours? Days? Balto's expectations were fulfilled and with joy he could head down to them and let them know that they were no longer lost!
Well, he should have paid attention to the slippery slide below his paws when he rushed down the hill and much to his surprise, he was firmly grasping the ice below his paws and was also making sure he wasn't going to slide too far. Thankfully, unlike the team below, he was landing down onto the ground gracefully.
Before he landed down on the ground, he'd heard the familiar high-pitched voice from one of the sled dogs, this one belonging to Star: "Balto!" Him noticing the presence of a familiar wolf-dog also resulted in Nikki saying as he broke out of the snow layer: "Is that Balto?" And Kaltag soon enough followed in utter surprise: "How did you find us?!"
"Is anyone hurt?" Balto asked them, wondering how capable the team was going to be to carry on with medicine delivery. A certain malamute, sitting not far from him and facing him with his back down, spoke in his typical cold voice: "Everyone… is… fine…" Clearly the presence of the wolf-dog angered him, the last thing he needed was him being present.
"Yeah, but our musher hit his head and he didn't get up!" Star told him what was the situation over there, showing the unconscious Gunnar Kaasan partly covered in snow. He further explained to him: "And he's not moving!" Star was too frightened and too concerned to do his usual mocking shenanigans reserved for Balto, seeking to be back home to safety after being lost for many days out there.
"All right, follow me! I can lead you home." Balto told them. He grabbed one of the leather ropes from the sled, with the intention to lead them back to Nome. However, someone stomped on the leather rope and only the response revealed who that was: "We don't need your help!" Out of everyone who had done it, it was none other else than Steele.
"M-maybe we should listen to him…?" Star expressed his support for Balto leading them home, only to face furious Steele threatening him with a growl and Star backed down in fear. Nikki, however, was curious rather than to mock Balto: "How would youse get us home?" Balto noticed a tree leaning on the side nearby.
"Well, I marked the trail, like this." Balto demonstrated what he had intended by scratching that same tree and leaving the mark behind. Using his instinct, he sensed Steele leaping from behind him and taking down the tree to the ground, already old and unstable. This clearly showed Steele's true intentions.
"I'll get us back! I am the lead dog. I'm in charge!" Steele furiously told him to back off, not wanting to trust this half-breed in any way possible. Balto, as intimidating as Steele was right now, persisted in his intention to bring back the medicine, walking to the sled and saying: "Then let me take back the medicine. They're getting sicker!"
He wasn't fast enough when Steele leaped between him and the sled where the medicine crate was, exhaling and inhaling deeply and simply telling him: "Touch that box… and I'll tear you apart!" Star just stood aside with other sled dogs, insecure about this situation all while Nikki and Kaltag still had the pleasure to bet. Nikki's bet was: "Two bones says Steele takes him!" Kaltag didn't see any other alternative: "You're on!"
Balto didn't let this malamute stand in his way so he moved onto his left and further told him: "Steele, I'm not leaving without that medicine!" Steele stood there at first, not believing that Balto would actually try to come closer, but seeing that he was closer with each step, he should have seen it coming...
He was struck by Steele on his side and he flipped in the snow before regaining his pawing in process as Steele dared to ask him: "Who do you think you are?!" Them spending in the wild, far from the town, far from food, far from sleep, showed how much Steele's sanity deteoritated.
"Hey, this is gonna be good!" Nikki commented, both him and Kaltag being the only sled dogs here who had the pleasure watching these two brawl here. Even after the wolf-dog sustained some beating from the wolf-dog, he still didn't let him win here by asking: "Since… since when do you need a pedigree to help someone?" He hit him right where it hurt the most.
For a moment he saw that the path to the medicine was free again until he was proven wrong once again as Steele leaped ahead and stood in his path. Balto just begged him: "Steele… let me help you!" The malice in Steele's eyes was clearly shown with those pupils combined with Steele's ice blue eyes and relentless anger.
At first, Balto was convinced that Steele had enough of beating him and so he let him pass… if only he had paid attention to Steele's growl and again… Steele violently and powerfully rammed him into his shoulder, thus making Balto roll in pain and land into snow quite painfully. He heard Nikki and Kaltag saying something to one another, a bit distorted as the landing made him lose his orientation for a short time.
Once he regained his footing, Balto insisted on his pacifist intentions by letting the malamute know: "I don't want to fight!" This, however, ticked Steele off when he saw how he deliberately refused to fight against him and after seeing him one more time coming close to that medicine, he lost it with his most violent attack.
He barred his teeth out to strike Balto onto his neck, or more like his neck scruff and furiously he'd thrown him with all his might away from the sled. This was by far his dirtiest move here and seeing what kind of force Steele was using here, Nikki expressed his second thoughts: "Whoa, that can't be legal!"
Even Kaltag agreed with him when his pleasure faded after seeing how Steele started attacking out of malice. They watched in shock how Balto was coming closer to the sled and this time Steele did yet another dirty trick, by slamming the sled onto his side, along with crate and the lantern, hearing a slight crack from there.
"That stuff is fragile!" Nikki noticed how Steele was going to play as dirty as possible, even if he had to smash that crate and medicine in it. Then Star joined them, who clearly watched this in anything but pleasure. For the entire time he'd been showing how afraid he was where this was going to lead, even expressing his support for Balto: "What's with Steele?! Balto wants to help!" Surprisingly for him, Kaltag didn't smack him for this.
Balto was as shocked as Star was, but not as shocked as he felt someone biting his rear leg and in full swing, he screamed when Steele violently threw him aside straight into the rock! The pain he felt was stronger than on his bitten leg, feeling it all across his rear side of the head and spine, combined with the cold and Steele's malicious laugh.
For a moment, everything looked as if Steele had won the fight, with his rival not getting up on his paws and others watching silently and frighteningly, only Steele's exhaling and inhaling to break the silence. It wasn't until ten seconds after when Star pointed: "Look!" The other looked towards the same direction at him and Steele's pleasure was fading once again.
They saw Balto raising on all his fours once again, weakened by the sustained impacts. Steele couldn't think of anything else but to ask himself: "When are you going to be a good wolf and stay down?!" He lunged again at Balto one last time, grabbing Jenna's bandanna he had tied around his neck. Clearly he should have looked where this was going to lead to.
The knot on Jenna's bandanna moved to the rear side of Balto's neck and as Steele was trying to pull down his enemy down the cliff, he was on his rear legs and furthermore, he was pulling pretty hard that the bandanna untied itself. In that moment, Steele noticed now the fabric in his teeth was lighter and how he was leaning backwards.
"Wait, this cannot be…!" Steele thought for a moment before he realized how unbalanced he was that he was now descending deep down with bandanna in his jaws and him screaming in terror. He suffered some impacts after landing on rock, wood and eventually in the snow. This one actually and surprisingly, just stunned him instead of having his life claimed!
Steele laid down there, feeling the pain throughout his body after falling from a great height and surprisingly he got on all his fours, still keeping Jenna's bandanna in his jaws. Did he just lose this fight to that filthy wolf-dog? That was something he couldn't believe with his own eyes! He was going to take away all his pride… or was he?
"You think this is how you're getting rid of me and taking away all my pride, Bingo? I don't think so! I'm not that dumb!" Steele let him know when he was starting to defy the pain, getting a hang of this situation. He reached the cliff nearby and knew that it wasn't that hard, even if the pain was present, to climb up there and make his way back to the sled team!
"I'll show him… oh yes, I'll show him what I have in my mind!" Steele growled, reaching the height with each step he made by climbing. Eventually he got so close to the top of the cliff and right on time he witnessed the team leaving him behind. To think that his teammates became such turncoats for this wolf-dog, he had one thing in mind.
"Go ahead, wolf-dog! You'll never get home! I'll make sure of that!" Steele told him what he had in mind when they were leaving. He knew somehow how to get an advantage by over-lapsing their path. He may have tried to fall deaf on Balto's pleads, but he didn't forget one thing - how Balto marked the way home.
He saw one tree in his way and Balto's scent was relatively fresh on that one so he decided to tamper with Balto's plan by looking at the tree next to one, saying: "I'll show them!" He clearly couldn't take the betrayal of his team in his eyes so he decided for one step further - sabotage their path home by clawing more and more trees!
"Why not this way? How about over here? Oops! Wrong way!" Steele cackled maliciously with each tree he clawed with the intention of having each one of them clawed to make sure the treacherous sled team would never make it home even at the cost of the lives of children. It was never his intention to save them, it was always a glory and fame he yearned for.
"That oughta do it!" Steele thought to himself after he'd clawed enough trees to deteriorate the sled team to reach their destination. He never wanted anyone to take away the glory he never deserved, especially for a half-breed like him. Even if he's clawed too many trees by now, he was still able to track down Balto's scent that'd lead him back to Nome, even if that meant under these snowy conditions.
"But hold on a moment, if I'm going back home and they see me coming alone… I have to think about why only I have returned and without medicine!" Steele figured out that the team was never going to make it back home and he wanted to make sure that his malicious scheme was never brought to light. He devised a plan…
For hours and hours he'd been going against the cold and merciless snowstorm to reach Nome, following Balto's scent on his way home. He tucked Jenna's bandanna in his golden collar and presented it as the only evidence he had taken with himself. He thought about it well: "Best for last, she'll believe me one way or another and nothing will stand in my way to have her!"
After almost receiving a slippery adventure on a frozen lake, Steele was very fortunate that the ice that had been broken earlier was now frozen solid again and at this point he sensed a few more scents, but Jenna's was the only one he bothered sensing. "So is this where they parted ways here? Jenna, you have no idea how stupid that idea was to side with the lobo! Don't worry, I'll leave something for you as well!"
He proceeded against the snowstorm further to Nome and the crystals were accumulating on his muzzle, face and body. It didn't matter to him anymore as he finally remembered the path home and that even included some small towns on his way, but none as important as the one at the end of his road after hours and hours of running.
"At last, I've made it! Now where do I seek other dogs in this town?" Steele asked himself this when he gazed at many houses and buildings from the distance. The oil lantern was still turned on and hanging on the telegraph's office. They couldn't be there, but the lights coming from the boiler's room fixed his mind to think they were there.
"Perfect, they should be right over there!" Steele figured out that the boiler room was the most popular place for dogs to come and hang around and now that he'd thought of a well-constructed story based off on his lies, he moved ahead to surprise them with his return and the story he had to tell them.
Making it at last in front of the door, he made sure that despite the mess he'd been in for hours and if possible, the whole last 24 hours, this was going to show them what had happened to the team. Waiting no longer, he slammed the doors open and noticed the huge crowd inside, with some gasping: "Steele!"
As soon as he entered, he could feel the warmth of the room and an avalanche of questions like: "You're alive!" "You're back!" "Where ya been?" and "Are ya OK?" at the same time. He saw them toss their bone to him and the sight of that bone made him unbelievably hungry. He couldn't even remember the last time he had a decent meal and everything, absolutely everything looked so tasty in his eyes.
"S-Steele, w-where are the others?" Doc, the St. Bernard among the dogs in the boiler room, next to Jenna, asked him why there were no others with him. One of the questions he'd received in the process was: "What happened to you?" He figured out it was the time to tell them the fabricated story.
"Well, one by one they… fell." Steele started after gnawing the bone, starting this story in a really dark and desperate tone. Even if he didn't have to rehearse it like some kind of human play, he could at least stutter under the excuse of being cold: "Frozen, barely alive! I pulled four onto the sled! Three more on my back!" While telling them, he finally got rid of pesky ice on his fur and like bullets they scattered around the room, surprisingly missing everyone.
He paused right here upon receiving the shocked gasps of all of them, most notably from his fervent admirers like Sylvie and Dixie. Heck, even Audrey was present there on one of the platforms, next to two of the dogs he hoped he'd not have to see, her brother and her brother's friend.
"And, uh, I walked… and I walked, but i-it was just… it was too late." Steele further explained while walking in circles around the room, leaving the impression of a tragedy he'd witnessed on paper. He continued: "They were…" but was very soon interrupted as soon as he heard someone ask him: "What about the medicine?"
Then came the most "tragic" moment of his story, hoping to cash in their pity: "Well, uh, I… I went on, dragging the medicine alone… all alone… and… and then suddenly…" Steele paused for a moment, knowing that he was going to mutter the wolf-dog's name he loathed as much as the majority of dogs here: "...that wolf-dog appeared, Balto."
He had received the attention of everyone around here, even from the small number of dogs who didn't dislike Balto on who he was so they could hear: "H-he demanded I let him take the medicine. You know, he just wanted so much to be a hero in your eyes." Steele's shadow loomed in front of Jenna's eyes when he said "hero", feeling something was amiss.
"And h-he grabbed the crate, but he couldn't handle it! He couldn't see the patch of ice… Th-the snow, the wind and… and then the log and the cliff… Well, he just didn't have a ch…" Steele was breaking in here, yet no one else suspected how fabricated this story was, at least not from the majority, who were curious if Steele actually ever felt sorry for Balto in a first place. They didn't interrupt him yet.
"He just… I'm sorry…" Steele acted like he was breaking in tears when he said that, which made him earn the pity only he saw he deserved in a first place. Then came the part from where he hoped to earn the pity from none other else than Jenna. He pulled out the orange fabric from his collar, muttering: "And then…"
As soon as Jenna saw what Steele was holding in his jaws, she gasped in shock and muttered: "My bandanna!" He dropped it down on the floor and seeing how broken she must have looked like after the loss of her best friend, told her: "He… made me promise to take care of you, Jenna."
He was hoping that Jenna would take a bite and seek the comfort from him to drown her sorrows after this loss. Instead, when she heard the word "promise" coming from him and how he told her they had made the last deal, she just defied those words with: "You're lying." Steele and other dogs, be it his fans and followers or his rivals, all gasped in shock.
"Steele's lying." Jenna repeated those words when she grabbed her bandanna from the floor. "Balto's alive and he's coming home!" Jenna told them before she left the boiler room, clearly not taking his words as honest. Whether Steele had foreseen this or not, he just let them know: "Uh… well, you know, she needs a little time."
He had expected at least that her being shocked by the "loss" of Balto, she'd need some time to accept that he was gone. Not only that, he also noticed that there were some other dogs leaving. He glanced behind him to notice Maxie Boy and Dolly, as he called Max and Molly, leaving. Max told them: "If you think I'm going to accept that Balto's gone, Steele, you'll have to think about that one!"
Molly brought up: "Since when have you had a change of heart that you and Balto are good with one another? Not on my watch!" They both sounded so upset and as if they were unable to face the loss of their friend, to which Steele compensated with his false honeyed words: "They'll need some time too. At least I can tell you what happened before everything."
"Yes please!" Dixie didn't miss her chance and Sylvie made sure that he had a comfortable spot to lay on, whispering: "You just rest here, big boy! You have had a long and an exhausting journey!" Everyone else, including Doc, remained to hear Steele's story, except for one fan of his - Audrey.
"Audrey, aren't you going to hear me out here?" Steele noticed how Audrey, one of his most fervent fans, wasn't staying, but heading for the exit. Audrey stopped by the doors and sighed, telling him: "Steele, I-I don't think I feel like staying here. I am too tired and too stressed to hear what happened… I'm just going to go home, alright?"
Steele, who had paid attention to her at least all the time back then, asked her again: "Are you sure?" She glanced at him one more time: "Yes, I am. I will come over some other time, okay? Now I just want to go home." She said this without having a need to raise her voice and soon she left the boiler room behind her.
"Don't worry, Steele, you have us all to talk about your heroic journey!" Sylvie honeyed his ears, willing to hear through what her favorite malamute had to say, Dixie adding up: "Did you face any other foes out there?!" Steele had a chance to raise and shine with his lies and cheats when he started: "Let me begin when we set off on this journey…"