him right now, although he could only just barely see her out of the corner of his eye...Aleu! Balto remembered that Steele had kidnapped her, and tried to use her as bait for a trap! That old familiar anger came back once again, and without thinking, Balto let out an enormous yell, dashing towards his helpless opponent. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, as Balto executed perfectly, dealing a blow to Steele's torso, and landing on his feet. Steele clawed in mid-air, as his body disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" His voice echoed throughout the gorge, as he fell, and Balto peeked over just in time to see Steele come to a very terrible end! Balto was stunned with what had just happened. He had killed! It was his own anger that had led to Steele's death.

"Papa!" Aleu called, running over to him.

Balto looked up at his daughter, relieved she was okay, but he was unable to speak.

She had seen what had taken place, and now looked over the edge herself to get a look at what lay dead, several hundred feet below.

"Balto!" another voice called from behind.

"Jenna?" Balto said, turning around.

"Momma!" Aleu said in surprise.

"Balto, Aleu, are you all right?" Jenna said in deep concern.

"What are you doing here?" Balto asked.

"Balto, I saw what just happened," Jenna said. "I saw it all. I was watching from above. I'm sorry for not listening to you and staying behind, but something told me that you were going to run into trouble. So, I came looking for you..."

Not a word was said. Balto looked down at his feet, still unable to believe what he had done. Aleu and Jenna exchanged glances, and they both looked back at Balto, who seemed caught up in the moment.

"You had to do it, Balto," Jenna said. "He would have done the same to you if you didn't do it."

Balto sighed. "I know," he said.

Jenna looked to her daughter, trying to forget what had just happened. "Aleu," she said, changing the subject, "Why did you run away on us? We were so worried."

Aleu felt taken off guard. "Because...because there isn't a place for me back home, Momma. No human is ever going to want me, momma!"

"That's not true!" Jenna protested.

"It is, and you know it!" Aleu shot back.

Suddenly, Balto looked up, and jumped into this argument. "Regardless, we're here to take you home, Aleu," he said.

"No...I can't go home, Papa," she argued.

"But Aleu, why in the world not?" her mother asked.

"There's just something out here..." Aleu responded. "I can sense it. I don't know what it is, but it’s calling out to me...I can't go home until I find it."

"I don't understand," said Balto.

"Don't you see?" Jenna asked her lover, "Aleu's looking for her purpose in life. And she feels it's out here somewhere."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, papa," said Aleu.

"I am not going to stand for this!" Balto argued back. "You are my daughter, and you will do as I say!"

"Balto..." Jenna chimed in, "Aleu's been trying to find a home now for so long. Don't you think it's about time we let her go?"

"Jenna..."

"We have no right to take control of her...she's all grown up now. I think she's old enough to make her own decisions."

"Aleu," Balto began, "I don't know if this is right. You don't even know what you're after."

"No, but I'm going to find out,” Aleu said.

Balto knew they were both right. Who was he to still treat his daughter like a pup? But it was going to be hard to let her go. "Will we ever see you again?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Aleu. "But, even if you don't, you don't have to worry about me."

After a long goodbye, Balto and Jenna nuzzled their daughter. She took off, quickly climbing the walls of the gully, and disappearing over the top. Balto and Jenna called to her one last time, before turning around to climb the opposite wall. They made their way back to town, Jenna feeling a sense of pride that Aleu was finally on her own, and relief that Steele was gone. However, the feeling was just the opposite for Balto…

Chapter 12: The Dream

"No!" Balto yelled, as he tossed and turned beneath his blanket. "Leave my daughter alone!"

***

Balto could see Steele's face, as he fell down the cliff. The agony continued as his voice followed. Balto panted in disbelief, hearing the word, "Murder," echo through his mind.

"No!" he yelled. "I had to do it, to save my daughter!"

"Papa," Balto heard Aleu's voice echo throughout the valley. Suddenly, the land beneath his feet shifted, and the gorge disappeared. Everything became dark, and gloomy, and the earth turned to ice. It was becoming that familiar dream Balto had been having for so long. He knew what was going to happen next. The raven appeared overhead, and Balto began to run like he always did. Then, in the distance, he made out a figure...it was Aleu! She was sitting still, with an expressionless look on her face. Desperately, Balto ran towards her. "Aleu!" he called out, "Aleu, don't move, I'm coming." She didn't react to his voice, but Balto felt hopeful as he dashed in the direction of his daughter. That is, until the wolf-pack appeared in the distance. It was running at Aleu from the opposite direction...at a much faster rate than Balto. "No! Leave her alone!" Balto yelled. He desperately tried to get to his daughter before the pack did. But as Balto ran towards her, she only seemed to get farther and farther away. Eventually, she was so distant, Balto could barely make her out, but he could see the wolf-pack as it came upon her. "No! NOOOOOOOO!!!!"

***

He awoke with a start. "Aleu!" He yelled, as he sat up at Jenna's side where he had been sleeping. Being that Balto was at an all time low because of everything that had happened on this day, Jenna thought it would be good for Balto to spend the night at her house. Balto was in utter shock after what he had dreamt. Something terrible was about to happen to Aleu! He didn't know what it was, but somehow he just knew it, by the dream he had just had. He had to find her. Without thinking, he crept out the front door, and squeezed through the fence. He looked out into the distance. It was beginning to get light outside. The sun was not up yet, but Balto thought that if he went out searching now, he could be back by nightfall...hopefully with Aleu at his side. He decided not to tell anyone, as he set out on his journey. He was nearing the edge of town, and was passing the old warehouse, when a small voice spoke up. "Where are you going?" the voice asked.

Balto turned around in total disbelief. "Star!" he said. "What are you doing here?" he felt a bit awkward. He had not spoken to a member of the team since he had left. "I thought you and the team went to Galena."

"We did..." Star replied calmly.

"Well...what happened?" Balto asked. "Did that new lead dog give your team a boost at all?"

"There was no lead dog there for us, Balto," was Star's response.

"What!" Balto said in surprise. "But, you guys have been gone over a year! All this time...?"

"Whoever this new lead dog was supposed to be, he and his owner had apparently left town by the time we got there," Star responded. "Our musher was frustrated, not knowing what to do. He settled down in Galena for a while, and tried to get by, hoping to find another dog for us. But, he finally gave up, and so he decided we should just go home. We took a train back a few days ago."

Balto blinked in astonishment. All this time, he figured the team had found a replacement for him. They had been gone for so long, and Balto kept picturing them doing so well, winning races, and getting a fresh start. When in reality, they were struggling just to get by.

As long as Balto could remember, Star had always been the somewhat clumsy, yet high spirited dog on the team. But now, he was talking in a deep tone of voice, and Balto could not recall ever hearing him sound so serious. Star finished by saying. "We're pretty much throwing in the towel."

"That can't be," said Balto, "You guys are the best team around."

"We were," Star replied sadly. "Funny how we just can't seem to find, and keep a good leader..." Star didn't say anything else, but Balto knew what he was implying.

"Star..." Balto began, "I'm so sorry about...you know."

"Balto, why did you do what you did?" Star asked.

"I..." Balto didn't know what to say. "Well, I just felt like I wasn't cut out to do it," Balto said finally, "You saw how bad I screwed up..."

"Balto, you don't know what you're saying," Star responded. "You were doing a great job, especially for your first day. Everybody thought you were really on top of things."

"But, I crashed the sled! I could have killed you guys!" Balto shot back.

"That was nothing," Star said, "You should've seen how bad I screwed up my first day." He explained to Balto how he had jumped over the center line dividing the dogs, and caused the whole team to collapse. "The sled plowed right into us, and the dogs in