becoming obvious that Steele did not enjoy being around him.

"Yeah… so how are you doing?" Balto asked, smiling a bit.

"Does it matter? You sure look like you've got everything wrapped up."

"What do you mean by that?" Balto asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Oh don't be stupid with me. You know exactly what you took from me. You're wearing the bandana to prove it!"

"But this is Jenna's-" Balto replied, before it started to click in. "Oh, you're going to be all sore just because I'm with Jenna? For goodness sakes, there are more important things in the world than just one girl!"

"But she was supposed to be with me!" he snapped. "It's not the only thing that was supposed to be with me too! My friends, my reputation, my honour. You even took my collar, right off my neck!"

"I didn't take them away - you just lost them because of what you did to your own team!" Balto returned, before deciding to shift gears. "Look, we can argue over who did what until the cows come home, but that's not why I'm here. We're both here in the same race, so we may as well just agree to disagree. What do you say? Can we move on from the past and just run a good race?"

Steele thought for a moment, but ended up snorting at his friendly outreach, causing any hope for a civil interaction to fade in Balto. "Look, I don't know where you get the idea that you can be all buddy-buddy with me, but you can shove it," Steele growled, baring his teeth. "I still don't like you, and I never will. Nothing has changed between us, and this race will prove it! I am the champion, and no flea-bitten wolf is going to take that from me!" With that, he trotted past Balto, making sure to shove him to the side with his shoulder.

'Well that settles that; he's still the same old Steele,' he thought. 'I suppose I should've expected some bitterness after what happened. If that's the case, then I might have to be a little more careful. If he's determined to win, then who knows what he might do. He's shown before that he's not above cheating to get what he wants.' Balto started to walk back to the warehouse, now unsure of what the coming days will bring. 'He is wrong about one thing though - things have changed, he just doesn't want to accept it.'

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Chapter Five: The Race Begins

From the moment the sun started to peek over the horizon, there was electricity in the air in Fairbanks. The mushers were up at the crack of dawn to rouse their dogs and put everything together for the race. Sleds needed to be taken out, supplies needed to be lashed to the sled, double and triple checked, and finally the dogs needed to be hooked up to their harnesses. Because of the number of teams competing, the race officials set the start line just outside of the town, where all the teams could be spread out at the same time. Rather than a staggered start for each team, the Trans-Alaskan Derby had all teams start at once. There was the risk that they might get tangled up with each other on the start, but this way, it would be clear that the first to cross the finish in Nome was the winner. Plus, it would provide a greater spectacle.

But, what was spectacle without an audience. Everyone in town, and even those who had travelled from far away just to see the start of the race were present. Most were in the street that opened out onto the tundra, while others climbed up a nearby hill to view the entire starting line. Balto looked back and couldn't help but smile when he saw a few humans perched on rooftops. If he were in their position he would have done the same; up there was probably the best vantage point.

In addition to the first-hand witnesses, there were countless others documenting it for those not present, or for those in future years to read about. Some of the mushers were eager to talk with the reporters, while others preferred to busy themselves with their sleds rather than be bothered by the journalists. One of those was their own musher, who was trying his best to avoid an interview.

"But sir, I came all the way from Ottawa to get this story!" The man protested, notepad in hand, but Gunnar wouldn't have any of it.

"If you wanted to talk, you should have come around last night, when I wasn't busy," he grumbled, trying to brush off the annoying reporter.

"But-"

"Hey buddy, if you want someone to talk to, I'm your man," another voice came in. Kassen turned for a moment, before starting to chuckle when he saw who it was.

"Well I'll be - I thought I'd never see you again here, Vance," Kassen greeted, heartily shaking the man's hand. "So, what's the family man doing out here."

"What does it look like - racing of course," Jonathan replied.

"Ah, it's great to see you again - I haven't seen you since… since I sold old Steele to ya. I trust the fellow's doing well with you."

"That and then some. Just you wait Kassen, I'm gonna beat you this time, and I'll do it with your dog," Jonathan boasted. "When that happens, you'll wish you'd kept him!"

"Hehe, we'll see about that," Gunnar finished, before muttering to himself, "Oh Jonny boy, you haven't changed a bit." The two men broke away to return to their respective sleds, barely noticing that the reporter had been madly scribbling down what they were saying, hoping to turn something from their exchange into a story for back home. Already it was clear that there were a few old rivalries in this race.

Looking up and down the line of dogs, Balto could see many of them were very excited, partly from the apprehension for the race, and partly because there was so much going on in the town around them. Balto however, tried his best to maintain his calm and stay focused. At the sound of the gun he would have to run his hardest through wild terrain against countless other teams in the hopes of reaching Nome first. It would be a difficult road ahead with many dangers, and only now was that starting to affect him. He tried to swallow his anxiety, and distracted himself by stretching. As he bent down to extend his front legs, he took a quick glance to his left and saw Steele a couple teams over, hooked up in the swing position behind Sonya.

The burly husky glanced towards Balto, but only for a second. He wasn't going to let a half-wolf like him steal his thunder because this was what he was born and bred to do. Unlike the crossbreeds, he was a purebred Siberian husky, a breed born to pull sleds and race. It was their purpose, and no half-wolf would supplant them. This was a matter of pride and honour for Steele, as he not only had his own reputation, but that of his fathers before him as well - and he wasn't about to let them down. This time he would take back what was rightfully his and his alone.

"Well, well, it looks like the rumours are true - we're going up against our old boss with our new boss," Kaltag mused behind him. "Are you seeing this Balto?"

"Yep, and I already did last night," Balto replied, turning to him. "He's still his old self, even after all this time."

"Lovely, that's just what we need," Kaltag grumbled. "Then again, I wouldn't mind having the chance to beat the tail off him after what he did to us."

"I sure hope you're just talking about racing," Balto said, raising his brow at him, but the Chinook gave no reply.

"Still, with him around we'll have to be careful. Who knows what tricks he'll use on us," Nikki added.

"Hey, he may be bad, but I don't think Steele's stupid enough to cheat and risk getting caught," Balto replied.

"That doesn't mean he won't do something to try to trip us up," Kaltag continued. "You've never seen him in a race. He plays like it's a life or death matter, and he'll do anything to survive. What's worse is that he's smart about it too - he'll wait until there are no witnesses and then-" he finished by snapping his teeth at the air beside him, mimicking an action he saw Steele do to other competitors many times. "He has a saying - it's not cheating if you don't get caught… and he's really good at not getting caught. We just got lucky with him that one time after the serum run."

Balto took another glance towards to Steele, and while he couldn't hear what was being said, he could tell that Sonya, the dog in front of him, was lecturing him on something. While Steele grit his teeth, he still obeyed whatever demand his lead dog put on him.

"Then again, it looks like his lead's got a good handle on him, so as long as we don't get him alone we'll be fine," Kaltag observed.

"I certainly hope so," Balto said, his apprehension becoming quite evident to Kaltag.

"Hey, it's okay if you're feeling a little jittery, but things will work out. You haven't failed us yet, and I don't think you ever will," he offered. "Besides, you've got us. We know all the tricks of the trade and can handle that old glory hound any day. With our experience and your guts, we'll be the greatest, the speediest, the highest-"

"We're gonna win!" Star cut in, causing a cheer to erupt from the team.

"Thanks guys… who cares if Steele's in the race? We're great dogs too, and we're going to prove it!" Balto continued, encouraging them