Author's Note:

This is the entire first part of my story Hybrid of the Opera, a crossover between the movie Balto and the Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. I was going to upload it piece by piece, but I decided to just say 'screw it, I already published the entire thing, so I might as well upload it,"

The main reason as to why I wanted to create this story was busy re-watching Balto after many years, and having been a huge fan (or Phan for that matter) of the Phantom of the Opera, as well as Balto fan, I found there were a few connections between the characters in Balto and in Leroux's novel. I was instantly inspired, and I immediately started writing my ideas down. 

Anyway, as for the story itself, I've reread Phantom and re-watched Balto a few times, and tried to pin-point the connections between the characters, as there was definitely some sort of contrast between Balto and Erik, Jenna and Christine, and Steele and Raoul. As I looked over some of my ideas, I found a few problems with the characters. As most crossovers do, I've realized that some use the characters from one source and place them either alongside the characters of another source, or replace them altogether. However, I didn't exactly want to do that, so I had to find some way to make the characters from Balto become the characters of Phantom without trying to make them seem like each other. What I mean is Balto will act like Erik, but still have his personality (mixed in with my own version of the two combined). I do hope I got the character's personalities down correctly, and will only change them if necessary. 

Also, the characters present are anthropomorphic, so they can hold things with their paws, wear clothing, etc.

As for the various scenes and characters that I've personally added are based off a few scenes and characteristics from the different Phantom movies (and the original story), from Lon Chaney to Robert Englund, to Claude Rains to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and some are from my own ideas.

(I'm a literature nut, so I guess I'm taking this a bit too seriously, but I feel like that's what good writers do)

Besides all of that, hopefully you enjoy this brand new version of Hybrid of the Opera. Hopefully I'll be able to satisfy both Phantom Phans and Balto fans alike. I've been working on this for a while, so if there are any mistakes, feel free to inform me.

Leave your comments and let me know what you think! A comic of the story is also in the works, and if wish to support it, please feel free to follow my page HydeCorner on DeviantArt.

- Dante Frost 

Balto, Jenna, Steele, Kaltag, Star, Nikki, Sylvie, Dixie © Universal/Amblin Entertainment Inc.

La Carlotta, Joseph Buquet, Comte Philippe de Chagny © Gaston Leroux

Monsieur Frederic Levefre, Monsiuer Inspector Jean-Claude, Madame Elisabeth Aurelia, Monsiuer Belmont, Monsiuer Louis Harris, Monsiuer Officer Babet, Pampin, Emilia Pontmercy and Jaques belong to me.

Music of the Night, Point of No Return, All I Ask Of You, All I Ask Of You (Reprise) © Andrew Lloyd Webber

Hybrid of the Opera

A Balto and Phantom of the Opera Crossover

by Dante Frost

Cover Picture by Dante Frost (HydeCorner)

Balto Cast:

Jennifer "Jenna" Daae - Christine Daae

Victome Stephen "Steele" de Chagny - Vicomte Raoul de Chagny

Balto - Erik, The Phantom of the Opera

Monsiuer Manager, Kaltag Moncharmin - Manager Armand Moncharmin

Monsiuer Manager, Nikki Firmin - Manager Firmin Richard

Monsiuer Manager, Star Andre - Manager Gilles Andre

Dixie - Chorus Dog

Slyvie - Chorus Dog

Original Character Cast:

Madame Elisabeth Aurelia - Box-Keeper and Main Usher

Monsiuer Inspector Jean-Claude - Inspector of Police

Monsiuer Belmont - Acting-Manager

Monsiuer Frederic Levefre - Retired Manager of the Opera Canine

Monsieur Louis Harris - Theater Critic

Jaques - La Carlotta's servant

Monsiuer Officer Babet - Officer that works for Jean-Claude

Emilia Pontmercy - Philippe de Chagny's love interest

Prologue

Author's Beginning Analysis Of The Opera Canine And The Incredible Story That Took Place There:

   I must ask you, dear reader, do you believe in ghosts? As you well know, the definition of a ghost can mostly been described as a spirit, specter, or ghastly apparition that haunts a place where said ghost once lived during its lifetime. One must ask as to why these ghosts linger about the earth, their nebulous forms forever doomed to walk the planes of our world, unable to reach the "other side". Some aren't fully understood by mortal beings and many wouldn't bother to mess with them.

   So, I ask you again, do you believe in ghosts, supernatural beings and the stories that go along with them? You might shrug and chuckle at the idea of such creatures actually existing within our world, thinking they are about as omnipresent as Hamlet's Father's Ghost. Whilst the ghost in the story of the Prince of Denmark isn't real, your mind should at least postulate at the idea of a ghastly being coming back from the realm of the dead. I'm quite sure you can't deny that, no matter what anyone else has said. Within the world of fiction, however, one could easily discover strange, unnatural things; things could easily be conjured up from our nightmares. One particular ghost story, however, is anything but fictional.

   The story I am about to unfold to you, dear reader, was in fact real. It was not created, nor was it fabricated by any author. It was not created by the unfortunate scene-shifter, it was not a prank being played towards the managers, nor was it a rumor. It was definitely real, and despite its age, and it was almost forgotten, I still believe that it is indeed relevant to our modern world.

   Our setting for this tale takes place in a century not too far from our very own, one that seems to have faded as time has passed, but one that had not been forgotten by history itself. During this time, Paris, France was a its peak in high culture, with its landmarks becoming attractions for all dogs around the world, and as they gawked and beheld the wonder that was Notre Dame, the immortal Louvre Museum, and the incredible architecture of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, one particular building suddenly appeared, and became one of the greatest and largest theaters in Europe, next to the one in Italy: The Opera Canine.

   The Palais de Canine, or the Opera Canine, created by the late Charles Canine, first went under construction in 1962, and was finally completed in 1875. As soon as this majestic creation hit the scene, the populace of Paris soon flocked to its doors, and, in my mind, were no doubt captivated by its glory. The outside facade seemed to beckon the viewer into its world of beauty, as well as the sculptures that adorned the entrance, which displayed the creator's everlasting tribute to all of the classical arts, such as the ones at the bottom level, each separated by archways. These displayed the regular theater art fundamentals, such as The Dance, Lyric Drama, Song, Instrumental Music, Poetry, The Idyll,and The Cantana, with each sculpture painted by different artists. (I also took note that just above the 4 middle statues, a few composer medallions could be seen of Bach, Pergolesi, Hadyn, and Cimarosa. Upon the 2nd level, just above a few pillars, several busts of composers could be seen, such as one of Beethoven, Auber, Mozart, Rossini, Spontini, Meyerbeer, and Halevy. If you stood far back behind the Rue Auber, you could see two large golden angel statues that could be seen raising their arms to the sky, with the statue of Apollo at the very peak, with his equally golden lyre being raised to the heavens.

   However, despite the grand staircase inside, the thousands of doors and rooms within its halls, the gilded Foyer, its maze like structure with twisting passages and stairways, and the majestic auditorium that displayed the music of the Classical and Romantic Era, a dark, mysterious shadow seemed to take its hold on the Canine only a few weeks after it opened.

   This was during the time when the Opera Ghost first made its appearance. At the time, no one was sure as to why they saw an ominous, black shade out of the corner of their eye, nor did anyone wonder as to why a pair of glowing, yellow eyes could sometimes been seen inside Box Five. Was a trick from the light or a mere coincidence? It certainly wasn't a coincidence when more sightings were being reported only 5 months after the Canine's grand opening.

   There was one particular employee that soon brought the rumor to new heights, a pit-bull by the name of Joseph Buquet. The main scene-shifter, "Chief of the Flies" as he was called, the smoke loving, beer chugging dog made a sudden encounter with the ghost whilst taking his regular smoke break, as he leaned against the railing up in the rafters backstage.

   "I was up 'here in the rafters," He told his fellow dogs, "an' as I turned around, the ghost was about….5 feet away from were I was standing…'e wore a long, black cloak over a gentledog's attire, a white vest with a white bowtie alongside a black coat, which was covered by a black cloak around his shoulders that flowed around like some kind of weird mist. His paws were abnormally large, the claws scratching the railing, leaving skid marks. When I slowly looked up at 'is face, I saw that he 'ore some kind of skull head atop 'is outfit,