at first, then slightly bloated. Soon, it began slowly disintegrating, coming to pieces that were gradually eaten away by an invisible consumer. Eventually, there was little left of the body; it was reduced to a disfigured mass of bones and mutilated skin. Then, the midsection of the body bulged and split open, most of the torso breaking to pieces at the same time. Out of the pile of flesh, a five-foot high, worm-like, skinny yellow monster rose, uncoiling from its tightly-wound position in the abdomen of the corpse from which it had grown, gradually digesting the body chemically to give it the energy needed for growth to full size. It turned around slowly, staring at Balto and Jenna with blood-red eyes that had no iris or pupils, taking vibrating breaths, balancing on a knotted section at the base of its body. Balto walked toward it, raising himself up off the ground with the virus arms, walking himself along with them so he could stare the beast in the eye. He stopped just in front of it, and it stared at him, not doing anything. “You know what this thing is, Jenna?” She shook her head, awed rather than afraid. “No. What is it?” “It’s an Ebola virus. It’s just like the small ones that cause the disease, only bigger and in the form of an organism. All it knows is ‘kill’, ‘eat’, and ‘spread’. It’ll do whatever I tell it; it sees me as an advance form, like Abaddon. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt me or anyone else unless I tell it to.” The virus bowed its head submissively, and Balto lowered himself to the ground, standing on his feet again. “I’ll help you dig up some bodies,” said Jenna. “Thanks,” said Balto. “We’re going to need a few more…”

With Jenna’s help, Balto was able to create more Ebola base forms very quickly, now getting two out of each body. About half an hour later, Abaddon returned, telling them that the leprosy swarm had gathered some distance from the north side of town. After doing so, he went back to town to guard the others, and Balto and Jenna walked to the north of Nome, accompanied by their own swarm, a horde of about one hundred and fifty Ebola viruses that followed behind them, snarling and growling, each one virtually identical in appearance. The lights of the town could be seen on their left, going out one by one. According to Abaddon’s directions, the leprosy swarm had gathered dead ahead. Balto nodded towards a hill to their right, speaking to Jenna. “You should go over there,” he said. “It won’t be safe down there.” Jenna nodded, even though it was clear in her eyes that she wanted to stay with Balto. He saw this and nuzzled her. “I’m coming back. I promise.” Jenna smiled and nuzzled Balto, then walked away toward the hill. Balto continued ahead, telepathically ordering the Ebola viruses to form up into an arrow shape behind him.

Down on the snowy ground below, the swarm of leprosy bacteria sat idly, waiting as their formerly installed knowledge prompted them. They were to wait a certain amount of time for either the Dreadnaught or Sorrow to come and assume the role of their leader. If neither came, they would attack Nome on their own, driven simply by hunger. That time was drawing near, and the swarm became increasingly angry as their lust for blood intensified. Then, suddenly, an unearthly scream tore across the snowdrifts, causing the bacilli to raise their flagella defensively and look around, knowing that whatever it was had come for them, but not knowing what it was or where. One of them looked up at a hill of snow to the west, quickly uttering an alarmed growl to the rest of them. Up on the hill, Balto was extending his virus arms skyward, and though he and the virus arms were yelling a bloody war cry, the force of it came from the Ebola swarm that were uttering it simultaneously. The Ebola viruses came up directly behind him, ready for battle, and the leprosy swarm turned their attention toward the hill, gathering together in preparation. “CHARGE!” Balto roared, and he took off down the hill, followed by the flood of Ebola viruses. A screech rolled across the leprosy swarm, and they charged at Balto and the Ebola swarm. The two armies closed the distance in seconds, the first ones on each side jumping as they came within yards, rising and crashing into each other like tsunamis. A mass of pathogens twisted around each other as they collided, biting and tearing flesh with the fury of enraged predators. Yellow and green blood washed the snow, riddled with chunks of tissue, staining the white away. Balto stayed in approximately the center of the battle instead of running with one of the stream-like Ebola groups that remained together as they charged back and forth, biting and slashing at any bacilli that approached him. He jumped with a backflip, shredding a bacillus in the process, then grabbed its body, using it as a huge blunt weapon when he came down, scattering leprosy bacilli like they weighed nothing. He punched one in the side, crushing it, then picked up another and threw it forward with a spin, clearing away many more.

From her vantage point on the hill, Jenna couldn’t tell which way the battle was turning. The Ebola viruses were less scattered, staying partially in large groups that moved about, slaughtering as they went, but since the leprosy bacilli were so spread out, they could make kills anywhere. However, Jenna wasn’t nearly as concerned about them as she was about Balto; she watched him, observing how he was keeping himself safe by having a small number of Ebola viruses with him at all times. But then, as she watched, a surge of leprosy bacilli began circling Balto’s group, taking down his helpers one by one, until before long, he was alone and surrounded. “BALTO!” she screamed, sprinting down the hill. The other Ebola viruses couldn’t help Balto; they were struggling to keep the leprosy swarm from grouping up. Jenna ran into the fray, ducking under flying corpses, dodging shrieking pathogens that still lived, ripping each other apart. A leprosy bacillus jumped on Jenna’s back, and she screamed as it tried to take her to the ground, expecting to die immediately. However, almost the instant the bacillus was on her back, an Ebola virus jumped and bit, taking it off of her so cleanly she didn’t even lose her balance. As it fell, the Ebola virus drove its head into the bacillus’ body, sending a spout of green blood shooting out as it writhed in death. Jenna ran on, making her way through the battle.

Balto was overwhelmed, and he knew it; there were simply too many bacteria around him to hold back. As he was distracted killing a pair, a single one came up behind him, ready to pounce and bite into his neck. However, as it opened its mouth, Jenna’s jaws clamed onto one of its flagella, and as she pulled, she exerted enough force to pop the fragile tentacle clean off. The beast roared in pain, sharply feeling the destruction of the sensitive organ, and Balto whirled around. “Jenna?!?” he shouted. The bacillus that was now missing a flagellum turned its rage toward Jenna, nearly catching her throat as it lunged and she jumped back. Balto yelled and seized the bacillus, holding it up in the air with both virus arms, pulling, pulling…until its body severed, ripped in half, spilling blood and entrails. Balto dropped the dead bacillus, turning toward Jenna. “Thank you,” he said. “I owe you one.” Several bacilli came at them, and Balto jumped between Jenna and the attackers, fighting like a maniac, biting their faces and ramming the virus arms through their bodies, butchering over a dozen in seconds. He called two Ebola viruses and told Jenna to go with them. “Make sure she stays alive,” he said to the escorts, and they headed off quickly out of the hot spot with Jenna. Balto was finally able to rally more Ebola viruses to him, and he waded into the thickest part of the battle with them, plowing through the leprosy bacilli until he reached one of the unified Ebola streams, leading it through areas that the other streams weren’t reaching. His stream split up when they reached one such area, and he dove into the leprosy bacteria, peeling one’s skin as he leapt over it, then grabbing its flagella and throwing it over his shoulder, crushing it on the ground. One dove at him, and he caught it, spinning around and releasing it, allowing a pair of Ebola viruses to jump and tear into it in midair. He gave another one an uppercut, stunning it, then disemboweled it with both virus arms, kicking its body away. As he looked around, he saw that the Ebola viruses were winning. Ahead of him, most of the remaining leprosy bacilli formed a disorganized group, obviously intending to charge again. Balto gathered two Ebola streams behind him, merging them into one, and ran at the gathering, smashing it to pieces and slaughtering the bacteria. All over the hills, the Ebola viruses were taking down the remnants of the now-outnumbered leprosy bacteria. Balto climbed a small hill, looking at the sleeping town nearby. “You’re still safe,” he thought, and the virus arms uttered a cry of victory.

The Ebola viruses gathered the bacilli’s bodies that were a certain distance from the center of the battle closer in, depositing them in gory piles that dripped blood and fragments of torn skin. Balto walked around the battlefield, making sure that no leprosy bacilli were left alive, then went to find Jenna. She was lying in the snow, her fur matted with blood from the Ebola and leprosy pathogens alike, waiting for him. He stopped in front of her, looking into her eyes. She looked around at the horrific sight, her face showing the aftereffects of terror and extreme stress. Balto caressed her face, and as she looked at him, it was obvious that she was emotionally drained. “Please. Take me away from this,” her eyes read. Balto leaned forward and kissed her, and she returned it, closing her eyes and reaching up to put her paws around him. Balto used virus cleansing on her body, eliminating the blood, and wrapped the virus arms