don’t want to fight you Steele but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you throw me around like last time." said Balto, he and Tina turn to leave but Steele tries to bite Balto’s hind leg, Balto jumps out of the way. Steele keeps trying to attack but Balto keeps dodging. Steele was beginning to lose his temper. Balto jumped backward to avoid another bite. He places himself between Steele and a pile of wooden crates. Steele charges and Balto side steps him at the last moment. Steele ended up pinned beneath a heap of broken wood, his ego was more hurt than he was but he still couldn’t force his way out. "There Steele you got what you wanted, we fought. Now leave me alone and keep your paws off Jenna, come on Tina." said Balto, he was still upset but beating Steele had helped and hopefully taught Steele a lesson.
Tina had been glaring at Steele, that sneak attack was the last straw. "Ok, just a minute." she told Balto. She walks up to Steele and looks him in the eyes with a sudden seriousness. "Want a tip Steele? Give up and move on. You’ve never beaten Balto and you’re never going to beat him, trust me I know." Balto wondered again, was Tina playing mind games or did she really know? Tina's face turns to anger. "And about your offer…" Tina smacked Steele in the face in the dog equivalent of a strong slap and then hit him in the snout with her tail as she turned to walk over to Balto, leaving Steele to seethe in his anger. "It probably altered history in some way but if Steele listens maybe it will be for the better, for both of them." she thought as a smile crossed her face.
"I’ll get you for that!" growled Steele, anger and embarrassment obvious in his voice and a demented look in his eyes. He tried to pull himself out but only succeeded in causing a board to fall off the pile and hit him in the head.
Balto and Tina walk away, Tina stopped once they were out of earshot of Steele. "I‘m sorry Steele treats you like that, you don‘t deserve it, no one does." she said.
"I‘ve been made fun of all my life for being half wolf, even now that I‘m a hero I‘m still being picked on and not just by Steele." said Balto, still quite upset.
Tina puts her paw on Balto’s shoulder in a comforting gesture, Balto thought it felt heavier it should. "Hear me out. I know it hurts but don‘t worry about it. Those other dogs are just making fun of you to make themselves look big and tough, to make them feel better about themselves, or because they‘re jealous, probably all three in Steele‘s case. All that shows is you’re a better dog than them. Now try to cheer up, you don‘t want Jenna to see you like this do you?"
Balto smiled, he was really starting to like Tina. "You‘re right…What do you think about me being half wolf? I just want to know. Please be honest."
Tina looked at him like it was a weird question. "What do you think? I like it, heck I’d give anything to be like you. Let me ask you something, could you of saved Nome if you weren‘t a wolf dog?"
"No, a dog couldn‘t of done what I did, Steele proved that."
"That wasn‘t the only reason you succeeded where he failed. You did that run to save lives. Steele did it for his own ego. So it looks like you have Steele beat 2 to 0."
"I guess nice guys don‘t finish last after all." said Balto with a laugh. What Tina had said made him feel better, it didn‘t make the pain go away completely but it helped. "Let’s get going."
Jenna set in the living room, her eyes centered on the door. She yawned, even after the storm calmed down, she hadn’t been able to get to back to sleep and she was having trouble keeping awake. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen and Balto being late didn’t help things. She always worried when he was late, she couldn’t help it. "Bye Jenna." said Rosy, the little girl pets Jenna on the head, Jenna smiles and barks a happy reply. Rosy and her parents were going to the store, Jenna would normally go with them but she was just too exhausted and she just didn’t feel safe to go out without Balto because of Steele. She usually wouldn‘t worry about Steele but with the shape his mind was in right now, there was no telling what he might do to her if he found her without Balto, she was afraid to find out. She wasn’t too worried about Rosy, attacking a little girl definitely wouldn‘t benefit Steele’s standing with the humans, one of the two things he cared about, the other being himself.
"Come on Rosy, we've got to go." said Rosy’s father.
Rosy ran to her parents. Jenna was relieved by what she saw when they opened the door to leave, Balto had just walked onto the porch. Balto walked through the door, receiving a pet on the head from Rosy in the process. "Hello Balto." said Rosy with a smile. Balto returned the smile and let out a happy bark. He took Rosy's hat off a nearby chair and handed it to the girl. "Thank you." Rosy hugged the big wolf dog’s neck.
Balto smiled again, just seeing Rosy cheered him up. She was the only human that had always been able to see more than just half of him, he had to prove he was good to everyone else but Rosy had always known and treated him like it. When Rosy let him go, he ran over to Jenna, who nuzzled the side of his head as the family left. "Where are they going?" asks Balto, confused.
"Just to the store, they‘ll be back soon. Where were you?" asks Jenna.
"I’m sorry I’m late, I’m still not used to getting up without Boris’s help and then I got into a scrap with Steele." Jenna snapped back as soon as she heard him.
"You fought Steele? Are you hurt?" she asked, concerned.
"I’m fine, he tried to attack me when my back was turned but he didn’t even hit me. I just got out of his way until he got himself trapped under some crates, He‘ll find his way out eventually."
"I’m more worried about you."
"Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself."
Jenna nuzzled him again. "I know, its just I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you."
"You won’t have to find out, Jenna, I promise…Not to change the subject but there was another reason I’m late."
"Which is?"
"I found this dog unconscious outside of town, she has a really strange burn on her neck but other than that she looks fine. She’s waiting outside, mind if I let her in?"
"I don’t mind Balto, she can’t be any stranger than your other friends."
"I’m not so sure about that." Balto thought as he pushed the door open. Tina had stayed outside because she didn‘t want the family to see her, she didn‘t say why. "Tina, you can come in now."
Tina and Jenna almost fell backwards when they saw each other and they looked each other over, almost mirroring the other, both very surprised. Jenna had instantly seen how much Tina looked like her. The eyes also caught her attention, like Balto she recognized them but couldn’t remember were she’d seen them before. Balto suddenly burst out laughing, Jenna and Tina looked at him confused for a second before realizing how funny they must of looked and start laughing as well. "Hello, I‘m Jenna, this is rather strange." said Jenna once she managed to stop laughing.
"I’m very happy to meet you, I’m a huge fan of you and Balto. I wish I was as brave as you are, I’m not sure I’d be able to attack a grizzly bear to save anyone." said Tina with a smile, Balto might have been her idol but she knew that Jenna played a big part in what happened that night. "You’re right about this being strange, this is a 10 on the weirdness scale." She was surprised because she’d been told how much she looked like Jenna but she had no idea just how much they looked alike. She got an embarrassed look. "Sorry, I can’t seem to remember to introduce myself today! My name is Tina."
"That’s alright. Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before."
"New York City. I have no idea how I got here, I just remember being in New York, I was running, lightning, I can‘t remember anything else about what happened." Tina’s memory was coming back in bits and pieces, what was she running from?
"Well you can stay here if you like, I’m sure the family won’t mind an extra dog for a little bit. Where’s your owner?" said Jenna.
Tina looked unsure of the answer. "I don’t have one, well I do but he’s…let’s just say I have issues with him." Tina suddenly looked scared, she remembered seeing what happened to Damien through the Outsider’s eyes. "The Outsider…" she muttered, in her excitement she had totally forgot that monster. The rest of her memory surged in. She remembered looking into the Outsider’s eyes as it was struck by lightning, reality warping around them. Where was the Outsider? She dove into her mind, she was surprised, the Outsider’s twisted thoughts were gone, she couldn’t feel it at all anymore, what did that mean? She needed to think.
"Tina, what’s wrong?" asks Balto.
"Trust me, you don‘t want to know. I need to be alone for awhile." Tina ran out the door before Jenna or Balto could reply to her.
"Balto, what’s going on?" asks Jenna, for some reason she was scared. That last thing Tina said made a chill go up her spine…