to do the job," he explained.

"But you're so close to the finish," his wife added. "Are you sure you can't make it with the rest of the team?"

"I could, but the question becomes, would I make it quickly enough?" he countered. "I may be in the lead now, but who knows what will happen if I try to run with one less dog. Kassen's already bearing down on me, and that Balto of his is one heck of a speed demon," Jonathan let out a sigh, before adding, "I don't like it, but forfeit might have to be an option." Steele gasped, but Sonya was quiet - she had a feeling that this might happen, but didn't want to say anything to discourage the team. In the kitchen was the sudden sound of a chair scraping, and when Steele peeked inside, he saw Marcus had bolted out of his seat, fists clenched at what his father had just suggested.

"No, you can't give up without at least trying! It's only one more day!" he cried. Steele shared Marcus' sentiment, wishing that the humans would understand him too if he wanted to protest. He'd come so far and was so close to reclaiming the glory he lost years ago, but this man was going to throw that all away just because one dog was hurt. In desperation, he barked out to vocalize his own protest.

He managed to catch their attention, and when Jonathan saw Steele standing there, and idea started to form. It was so simple and obvious, he smacked his head with his palm for not immediately thinking of it. "Oh, I'm such an idiot… I'm so used to Sonya leading… but I've got a solution standing right in front of me!" With that, he started to chuckle, and that was when Steele started to catch the man's meaning.

"Wait, he's not actually going to, is he?" the husky asked in disbelief.

"I think he is," Sonya replied, a smile on her muzzle. "Congratulations hotshot, you're going to get your wish… just don't blow it."

----------

Balto was just getting his harness on, eagerly anticipating what was to come. This was it - the final dash. No more checkpoints or rest stops, just the finish line waiting for him in Nome. He pictured the whole town waiting for them; Rosy would be bundled up with her own musher's hat that was still a bit big for her, with Jenna by her side. They would be waiting at the finish, anxious until they saw him running into town, leading the way. Jenna would cheer for him, and the second he crossed the finish, she would probably tackle him and cover him with licks and nuzzles. He stretched a bit and felt the soft fabric of her bandanna along his neck. Even though he'd been wearing it for the past week, it still held a bit of her scent, reminding him of who had inspired him, who he was running for, and who he would return to very soon.

"This is it, the end of the line," Kaltag said behind him. "We may be in second, but we're so close!"

"Yeah, I can't believe Sonya's team got the lead from us," Nikki added. "Then again, that may change dependin' on if they can run today."

"That's true. I heard Sonya won't be able to run for weeks, and she's the lead," Star continued.

"But they could still run if they… nah, they wouldn't, would they?" Kaltag asked. "I mean, would they actually trust Steele enough to put him in lead?"

"Kal, you might want to think twice about that," Balto said, looking back with his mouth agape. The rest of the team looked back, surprised by what they saw.

"No way," Kaltag said, as the team came up beside them. It was Sonya's team, but up front was none other than Steele, who made sure to put on the widest smile he could as he came up alongside them. They may have been one dog down, but all were raring to go, eager to show their stuff despite the absence of their usual lead dog.

"Yep, I bet you all thought I was nothing more than a washed-up has-been by now, but I'm back boys," he said, holding his head high.

"I can see that," Balto replied. "How's Sonya doing?"

"Ah, she'll be fine. She's a lot tougher than any of you clowns," he replied, causing Kaltag to scoff. "In the meantime, I'll be in charge. It'll be just you and me, Balto; the way it was supposed to be."

"I look forward to it," he replied. "May the best dog win." For the first time that Balto had ever seen, Steele did not reply with any snide remark. Instead, the husky just nodded, accepting the challenge. Ever since the serum run, Steele wanted some way to have a second round against Balto, and now would be his chance. No more sneaking or plotting - just him and his rival, fair and square. Only one of them would emerge victorious, and he intended to be that one.

Once the official cleared them, the call to move was made, and Steele's team bolted forward, tearing through the snow on their way to Nome, determined to leave them behind in the dust.

"Just when I thought we'd seen all the surprises for this race," Kaltag mused. "What do we do now? Should we be worried?"

"No, I'll tell you what we're going to do," Balto countered. "We are going to win. We've come so far and faced everything this race can throw at us, but it's not over yet. The whole reason we've run so hard is because of Steele. We're doing this to show that we don't need him to win. I'm not afraid of Steele, and that's why I'm going to run my hardest to beat him, fair and square. This is our chance guys, our time to shine… our destiny. And even if we don't win the day, I can still say that it has been a privilege to run with dogs a great as you… and to call you my friends. So who's with me?" The team erupted in barks and cheers, showing the overwhelming support for him. Win or lose, they would do it together, as a team.

"Mr. Kassen, sixty seconds!" the official called, signalling that it was almost time. Their musher took his place at the end of the sled, while his dogs wound up, ready to charge ahead. The end of the road was in sight, and once the order to go was given, they held nothing back, moving as one.

At once, he felt the wind in his fur, the strain of the harness, and the pounding of his feet against the snow beneath them. His muscles burned as they tried to squeeze out every once of speed they could. It was just like his dreams; he would become a champion, and then he would know how his father felt when he became a champion. He'd never known the dog, always having his wolf mother to watch over him, but for the first time in his life, he felt like he was there too. Both of his parents, wherever they were, were watching over him, encouraging him as he ran to make them proud.

"You're so close! You can do it; don't give up, my son."

"This is for you mom, and you too dad," he muttered, his determination absolute.

The road ahead was gentler than other segments of the racecourse, but it was not without its own challenges. They quickly found themselves on a winding trail through a spruce forest, ducking left and right around trees and boulders. Fallen logs also obstructed the path, meaning they would either have to go around, over, or try to duck under the ones that weren't completely on the ground. Such things were easy for the dogs, but their musher would have only seconds to duck down or risk being knocked off his sled. There was one close call where a tree was so low, it grazed his head, almost taking his hat off. However, he didn't hold it against the dogs - they were running the best they could and the only way to catch up with their rivals was to take some risks.

Every now and then, Balto would see a tree with a marked up trunk. The sight of them boosted his spirits - these were the same marked trees that he used to guide the team two years prior. They pointed the way towards Nome, and their sight only made it feel more like they were coming home. The only dent in his confidence came when he realised that Steele was also on the exact same path. 'Of course, since he tried to sabotage them, he would know about them as well. There's nothing stopping him from using the same trail I did to get back to Nome.'

Their path soon took them up a hill, onto a narrow path carved into the side of the small mountain. The narrow path made delicacy necessary, as straying too far to either side would be disastrous. On one side was a sheer rock wall that would stop them in their tracks if they even grazed it, while on the other was open air, and a terrible tumble if they went over the edge. It didn't help that the path curved and twisted along, and if they didn't turn sharply enough, their momentum would send them flying off the edge. They were smart enough to slow down on the curves, but their determination to win meant that sometimes they were skirting along the edge.

The path gradually started to slope down, before returning to the level ground within the woods. Every step brought them closer and closer to home, but it wasn't bringing them closer to catching up with Steele. To counteract the fact they were down one, the husky was pushing his team as far as they would go, determined to stay ahead of them. Now was the time where Balto needed to draw on his teammates experience, and they would have just what he needed.

"C'mon, where is it?" Balto heard Kaltag mutter.

"Where is what, Kal?" he asked.

"Somewhere around here is a shortcut," he replied. "We used on our first race in the derby. It's a frozen riverbed that goes