Author's Note : This fan-fiction takes place a few weeks after the original Balto movie. It mostly surrounds yet another conflict between Balto and Steele. If you do not like somewhat "strong" violence, blood, or character death, do not read.
Steele, Kaltag, Star, Jenna, and Balto are all copyrighted © by Universal Studios.
Silence surrounded the small town as a large black and white husky traveled among the shadows of the woods. His keen blue eyes peered into the quite streets, most of which had been deserted except for the occasional dog making his way home for the night, most likely coming from the boiler room which was the most popular area for the local dogs of Nome to hang out. The large husky crept closer to the outskirts of the town, keeping a careful eye on everything around him, knowing that being caught would only ruin what he had been carefully planning since he had been chased out of the small town a few months ago.
The chilly Alaskan wind picked up slightly and a scent caught the large husky’s attention. He turned his nose in the direction the wind was coming from and snorted in disgust. The husky shook his head wildly, trying to get the scent out of his mind, but he was all ready visualizing the brown wolf-dog standing before him. He growled softly and turned his head away, trying to get is anger under control. Even though he was trying as hard as he knew how to, however, it did not work. All the problems the wolf-dog had given him flooded the large husky’s mind. His movements slowed as he allowed the memories to all come back to him, the ones he had been keeping back until the time was right to let the anger flow.
“No,” he finally growled to himself a few minutes later, barring his white teeth. The fur on his neck was raised and he shook himself slightly to help it lay back down. He turned briefly back to the direction of the scent, but knew that if he started that way, it would ruin everything. He wanted it to be a surprise. He did not want the wolf-dog to see it coming. And he knew no one would, either. Everyone in the town thought the husky was dead. Most of them had probably forgotten all about him. He smirked slightly, thinking of how everything would play out. “Time for my fun,” he said to himself. “But not yet.”
The husky wandered slowly closer to the town, watching out for anything littering the ground to give him away. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything tonight, but he wanted to see just how close he could get. His large paws made soft indentations in the snow as he walked onward. The warm light of the lamps on each house illuminated his black and white fur, almost reminding him of when he was still a part of this small town.
Once he had left the safety of the outskirts, the large husky kept toward the shadows. Slowing his steps to a halt, he closed his eyes, trying to imagine every ally-way in the town. It made him frustrated that he was not able to remember it all without trying. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and in a gentle dash, made his way towards the house he had been looking for. Slowly, the husky made his way up to the window and lay under it, perking his ears to listen to all the different sounds around him. It did not take too long to hear what he had been waiting for.
The soft sound of small paws walking across a wooden floor reached his ears, causing the large black and white husky’s fur to stand on end in anticipation. He had to keep himself from leaping through the window, which he knew was something he really wanted to do. Instead, he simply stayed completely still, hoping to hear the other dog speak. In a way, he was hoping it would find him out under the window. But at the same time, he knew it would just be something that would end up causing a problem in his carefully laid out plan.
After only a few moments, he heard the other dog scratching at the dog lightly, giving her humans a soft bark to let them know to open the door. A shuffle of feet came, followed by the creaking sound of the door opening. The large black and white husky pushed himself back into the shadows, making sure he would still be able to see the other dog. Sure enough, it was the one he had been hoping it would be.
The other dog was a dainty red and cream husky, a billowing red bandana hanging around her neck. The female was almost never seen without it save for the one time she had arrived, injured and in company of two polar bears, after saving the wolf-dog from an almost certain death by bear. The husky almost let a snarl escape him as he thought about it, but held it back, not wanting to let the female know he was there.
She stood by the door a few seconds, almost seeming to glow as the light of the moon danced across her soft and beautiful fur. The dimed rays of light seemed to show a whole different world in the female’s gentle amber eyes. She sighed lightly and padded into the snow towards the edge of town where the large male knew the wolf-dog’s home was.
“We’ll meet each other once more soon enough, Jenna, my dear,” the large male said softly, glaring after her with a smirk displayed across his face. He stood to his own four paws and started to creep back towards the woods. He did not think anything of being caught until he heard the sound of two dogs’ pads walking through the snow right behind him. Slowing, he turned his head back slightly, not being surprised at all when he saw a small grey Alaskan husky in the company with an almost orange husky.
“Steele…?” the smaller of the two asked, cocking his head in confusing, moving forward a few steps to get a closer look at the large black and white husky. “What… where did you come from?” He spoke fairly fast.
The large husky chuckled. “What? Did you almost not recognize your old friend?” he sneered, turning fully to look at them both, staring them straight in the eyes, a feeling of pleasure running through him as he saw the fear starting to fill them. “Has it really been that long? And here I thought you would have remembered me, with it only being a couple months.” He stopped, almost laughing as the smaller of the two dogs started to retreat back a few steps now. “Then again, it has been months too long.”
The larger of the two stepped forward in an attempt of bravery, which even he knew he was lacking at the present moment. His normally relaxed features were tense as if he were ready to break into a fast sprint at a seconds’ notice. “You were banished. You were exiled. You were never supposed to come back. You’re supposed to be dead.”
Steele laughed. “Oh, dead now? Why didn’t anyone tell me of this?” He started walking towards the two, a menacing look across his muzzle. He pulled his lips back, showing his white fangs. In many ways, Steele knew it was too soon. He knew that he should just ignore the two dogs, but then again, he knew he would not be able to do it. He had never backed down from any form of confrontation and was not about to start now. “See, I’d only be dead… if I were you.”
The grey and orange colored huskies looked in confusion at one another, trying to understand Steele’s words. They looked back at him, confusion still flooding their expression. Steele simply returned their gaze, but instead of confusion showing through his eyes, it was malice. He grinned, his form almost seeming to get larger than it all ready was. Staking a step forward, he could tell how frightened the other two dogs were, but that didn’t stop him.
Before the two huskies could do anything, Steele leapt at them, grabbing the larger of the two by the scruff, dragging him onto the ground. The taste of blood reached the large black and white husky’s throat and he noted that the blood of another dog had a slight different taste than that of rabbits and other measly animals that lived in the woods. He smiled slightly, feeling the husky beneath him quiver with the fear of what would happen.
The small grey husky jumped around the two, trying to find a way to help. He could not bear to see his friend, and a dog that used to be his friend, doing this. It tore him up inside. But he knew he was too small to do anything. The only thing he could do was stand there, transfixed, as one slowly started to kill the other.
“Please…” the orange husky begged, a yelp in his voice. “Just let go.”
Steele laughed. “And let you live? Now what would be the fun in that?” He forced the other husky onto his back, his soft underbelly now exposed. Steele almost walked away right then. It seemed there was no point in killing something that did not even bother to fight back and save its miserable life.
As he slowly started to lower his teeth to the husky’s tender throat, he felt something kick the bottom of his jaw. Jumping back in surprise, the orange husky stood shakily to his paws, a look of grate shock plastered across his face.
“Well, well, well,” Steele said, growling. “Looks like Kaltag finally learned how to fight back.”
Kaltag glared at Steele, his fear being slowly replaced with anger. He returned Steele’s growl with a small one of his own, his ears pinned against his head and his whole body tense, ready to attack. He did not know how to fight, really, but knew that if the larger dog got his teeth wrapped around his throat, it was over.
Without any warning, Steele leapt back at Kaltag, grabbing one of his front legs and biting down with bone crushing strength. The other husky yelped out in pain as he tried his best to pull away. The more he pulled, however, the more damage was done to his leg. Kaltag could feel his blood dripping from his now wounded leg onto the snow. He forced himself to stop pulling, and instead attempted to now leap at Steele.
“That the best you can do?” Steele asked, mockery surrounding his voice as he met Kaltag’s fruitless efforts with a simple back step.
The orange husky landed with a soft thud in the snow, glaring up at the larger. He all ready knew how things would end up playing out, but he knew he still had to fight back. After all the years of knowing Steele, he had always kept quite. But now, at the end, he was done with it. It was time to fight back and give Steele what he wanted.
Trying to catch the larger husky off guard, he darted to the side, jumping at him, trying to get a hold of his thick fur. Steele merely chuckled and turned his head, grabbing onto Kaltag’s collar, ripping it off of his neck and throwing it into the messed snow. Before Kaltag could back away, Steele then grabbed the underside of his neck, biting down as hard as he could, hearing the suspected yelp of pain and surprise from the husky.
Kaltag attempted to get away, squirming and using his good leg to push into Steele. Everything he tried, though, failed. The large black and white husky had too tight of a hold on his throat. Seconds ticked by, and it became increasingly harder to breathe. Slowly, Kaltag’s vision started to blur as more and more of his blood poured onto the ground.
Steele griped tighter, growling and shaking Kaltag’s throat, ripping it more and letting more blood pour out. He could hear the husky gasping for breath now, but did not let the thought of stopping even enter his mind. Steele was not going to stop until all life had left the other husky. No matter how long it took, the only thing that would make him stop would be Kaltag’s lifeless form hanging in his bloody muzzle.
It did not take long for most of Kaltag’s strength to leave him. After only a few minutes of being held fast in Steele’s strong jaws, the other husky was starting to grow limp. He knew that there was nothing he could even attempt to do now. Every movement was wasting strength he did not even have. Giving up, he shut his eyes, willing for it to be over. He could feel the larger husky tearing at his throat more and more with each second, yet there was barley any more pain. In a way, he was glad of it, but then again, he knew it was a bad thing.
Only several more seconds passed before Steele felt the husky go completely limp. Growling savagely, he lifted the husky’s body off of the ground and threw it, watching with a smile on his face as it skidded to a halt in the snow, leaving a trail of blood. The large black and white husky walked over the Kaltag’s body, a look of surprise slowly coming over him.
The other husky was still breathing, but barely. Snarling, Steele grabbed a hold of the husky’s throat again, biting down swiftly. And in one second, it was over. Kaltag drew in a quick breath, gasping, and then was still. Steele took a step back to observe what he had done. No longer were the other husky’s sides moving. The final bit of life had finally left him.
Steele smirked and turned towards Star, who was trembling in fear only a few feet away, his tail tucked tightly underneath him. The large black and white husky slowly walked over to him, his eyes holding a murderous glint. As he became closer, the grey husky almost cried out in anticipation of sharp teeth penetrating him, too. Steele laughed at the sight.
“Do you really think I'll waste my time killing you as I killed him, Star?” he spat at the small and frightened dog, who simply stood still, mute in fear.
With a lunge, Steele was atop him, ripping his throat out in a single bite. Standing back, Steele smiled as the scene unfolded more. The small dog, though dead, was still on his feet, almost seeming to hang in the air. A few seconds followed when the body was still up, until it crumpled to the ground in a heap of fur and blood. Steele walked away as more blood started to run from the small dog’s throat into the all ready red snow.
Not wanting anyone to be able to follow him, Steele put his muzzle into a patch of clean snow, shaking it in an attempt to get any blood off. After a few minutes of doing that, he pulled his head back up; shaking it again to be sure there was no more blood dripping from his muzzle. Smiling to himself, he ran back into the darkness of the forest that would be his protection until he would be able to act further.
As he reached a small cave, Steele began to slow. Giving the area around him a quick glance, he walked into the back, lying down on the dry ground with a huff. He gazed towards the entrance of the cave, his eyes completely still, watching snow flakes slowly start to fall. Ones that would cover his trail back to his cave.
Steele had decided to lay low for the few weeks following his murder of Kaltag and Star. He was sure that the town would think it was a rogue wolf that had wandered into the town and came upon the two dogs, but he wanted to be sure that no one would suspect it was him that had done it. Steele knew there was not much to worry about, though. There was not anything he had left to link him to Kaltag and Star since everyone in the town seemed to think he had died.
Standing to his paws, Steele stretched, yawning. He shook himself lightly, making the small particles of dirt that had been clinging to his usually glossy coat fall back onto the earth where they belonged. He walked out into the shadowed woods were another new layer of snow coated the ground. Rolling his eyes slightly, he started walking towards the small town for the first time since he had killed both Kaltag and Star. While he knew it had only been a few weeks, and it probably would have been wise to put more time in between things, he had been growing increasingly impatient. The strong pull to act had become stronger over the past few days and Steele wanted to get it over with.
It had been a while since he had seen the small town in the light of day. He sighed quietly, wishing that the past had never taken place; that he was still the lead dog of the sled team; that the wolf-dog had never shown up. In some ways, losing the girl he had always had his eyes on to a wolf-dog hurt more than being banished from the town. If it had been up to him, he would have forced her to come with him and leave the wolf-dog to himself for the rest of his pathetic life. But as Steele had found out, things rarely worked out the way one planed for them to.
Settling down onto a soft patch of grass that had not yet been covered by the snow, the large black and white husky glared out into the town. He could tell that almost all the town dogs were out and so were many of the humans. A few miles off, a sled team was returning after a run. The sound of the dogs’ happy barking ignited a flame of envy within Steele. His ears slowly lowered against the back of his head and he growled quietly.
Patiently now, Steele sat there, waiting for the sun to finally set. He knew that he would have to make his move just as the last rays left the sky in order to have everything perfect. Over the past months he had been outcast, he had discovered that every full moon, Jenna and the wolf-dog would go to the cliff and watch the starts and aurora borealis together, something that made Steele’s stomach churn each time he noticed them doing so. But to him, it was also what had pushed his plan along. It was the only time the two of them were completely alone.
Hours later, the last rays started to leave the sky, a dark blue taking over the light pinks. Steele gazed out to where he knew they would come. Only a few moments later, Jenna appeared right on schedule. The large black and white husky knew he would have to follow her close behind for it would not be too long before the wolf-dog was there as well. Standing softly to his paws, Steele made his way behind the purebred husky, making sure he was far enough behind to not be noticed until he wanted to be.
Jenna walked at a steady pace all the way up a small mountain side, Steele only a few feet behind her, his paws matching time with hers to prevent her from hearing him. He smirked as he thought of what he was about to do. Only a few months ago, before his exile, he would never have thought of doing anything like it, but now that things had changed, so had that. The red husky had had her chance to change things, but after allowing the other dogs to be rid of Steele, she had locked her own fate, along with the wolf-dog’s.
After several minutes, Jenna had led them to the top of the cliff, overlooking a small valley, and beyond that, the ocean. It was a beautiful sight, but Steele was interested in that. His eyes were locked on the husky, who had sat down and stared off into the distance. Steele chuckled, watching with a smirk on his face as the purebred spun around, horror on her face.
“Steele!” she gasped, jumping to her dainty paws. “What… What are you doing here? They told me you were-”
“Oh, that ‘dead’ thing again, huh?” Steele growled. “Same tune Kaltag and Star sang before I killed them.” The fur on his back bristled as he took a few steps toward the frightened female, her eyes wide in the growing terror that was beginning to take hold of her. Seeing her reaction, Steele growled again. He knew she was going to be frightened, but he did not think she would be this cowardly. Taking a deep breath, Steele thought he could smell something slightly different in the red husky’s scent, but did not know what it was.
As the female started to back up a few steps, Steele advanced on her. He smirked a little more as she glanced around wildly for a place to run, but even she had to know that she was trapped. The large black and white husky walked up to her and slowly moved his head towards hers. He was slightly surprised to see a small tear forming in her amber colored eyes. His bushy tail moved around her for a moment, his want growing as he saw her fear more now.
“I really didn’t want to do this to you, Jenna,” he told her. “But you had your chance. You could have forgotten about Balto. You could have left him and came with me. I mean,” he laughed a little, “Balto’s only a wolf-dog. Not a real one that can provide for you. He means nothing to everyone. That wolf-dog has been filling your pretty little head with lies.”
Jenna shook her red and cream head angrily, her eyes flashing. “Just because you know nothing of love, Steele, doesn’t mean everyone else can’t have it.” She stepped to the side a little, trying to get away from him only to cause the large husky to growl threateningly.
Steele glanced around quickly to make sure the wolf-dog was not coming yet. Sure enough, the path before them was clear. The only paw prints that were coving the path were those of Jenna and Steele. Again, he turned toward the female, bored all ready from their small conversation. “At first, I was planning on doing this differently,” Steele informed Jenna. “I'm not doing to keep you alive as long as I had originally thought. It seems my plans have changed.”
Jenna’s eyes widened as she suddenly understood what Steele was telling her. He barred his fangs, snarling at the female as she wildly attempted to find a way out. As she leapt forward to run down the patch, Steele caught her by her pack leg, throwing her to the ground like she was nothing. A satisfying yelp of pain reached Steele’s ears as the husky skidded to a halt. He watched her as she struggled to stand to her paws before walking forward, a menacing look covering his features.
“I really will miss you,” he growled. “But if I can’t have you, no one can.” Before the smaller husky could react, he was upon her, his teeth tearing into her soft flesh, yelps of pain coming from her as she tried to push him off unsuccessfully. Steele merely laughed as she struggled, biting down harder, the warm taste of her blood slowly slipping down his throat. The large black and white husky could tell that Jenna was finally loosing her strength when she started to slow in fighting back. Her attempts were much more separated and not nearly as forceful.
He stepped back, smiling, her blood smeared across his muzzle. “What?” he mocked. “Poor Jenna too tired to fight back now?” He grinned as she tried to lift herself up, only to fall back into the blood covered snow. She was covered in deep gouges and a growing pool of blood surrounded her. The usual twinkle in her eyes was slowly fading as the light in her struggled to stay lit. “Should I just end you now?” he asked, not waiting for an answer as he once more walked towards the slowly dying husky.
Lowering his jaws, he waited for her to struggle, trying to fight him off. But she only laid there, her eyes diverted from him. Steele laughed as he forced her to look into his eyes one last time. Her amber eyes were filled with despair and defeat, while his icy blue ones were only filled with the murderous rage that filled him. Snarling, he wrapped his jaws around her neck, a strangled yelp escaping the red and cream husky. Tears started to fall from her eyes as Steele gripped the underside of her throat and shook it, tearing it open just as he had done to Kaltag.
As Steele stood there, the female slowly beginning to grow limp in his jaws, snarled. After so many months, he was finally getting his revenge. After all those days of wishing to just rush into town and kill the husky, he was finally able to. He could hear her struggling for breath as she went even limper. He knew she would not be able to hang on much longer and all he had to do was wait.
Finally, after a few more minutes, Jenna was completely still. Steele shook her and threw her to the ground, walking over to her still form to make sure she was really dead. Watching for any movement, he grinned when he found none. Her chest was completely still. The only thing that was still moving was the steady flow of blood, still exiting her body through the many wounds covering her.
Smirking, Steele turned away from her body. As he glanced toward the path, he laughed again, seeing a stunned looking brownish colored wolf-dog staring back at him. Balto’s eyes blazed with a hatred Steele had never seen before as his lips curled back into a growl. The large black and white husky shook his head, another laugh mocking the wolf-dog.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Lost for words?”
Balto growled, it sounding more wolf than dog. The brown fur on his neck stood on end as he faced the murderous husky. He took a step forward, ready to lunge at Steele, but held himself back. “Did you do it out of jealousy, Steele?” he snapped, growling again. “You were just jealous that someone like her would choose someone like me, huh?”
Before Steele could answer, the wolf-dog was atop of him, his fangs barred, snapping at his strong neck. Steele rolled over, shoving Balto to the ground, chuckling slightly at the sight of the wolf-dog now trying to fight. He stood to his paws and held his head low, blocking another barrage of bites the wolf-dog tried to deliver. It seemed that the fight would continue to go on like that forever unless one of the two made a grave mistake.
After several minutes, Balto was finally able to latch onto Steele’s leg, giving it a powerful bite. The large husky held back his yelp of pain and he bore down upon the smaller wolf-dog, grabbing a hold of the scruff of his neck, yanking him off and throwing him a few feet away into the snow. Steele quickly inspected his leg, surprised at the pain he felt from it, and the warm red liquid running into the snow. He turned back toward Balto, who had just clambered to his paws, his pink tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“Let’s end this now,” Balto snarled, more and more of his wolf side starting to show. Steele gave his own snarl back, agreeing with the wolf-dog’s words for the first time.
The two eyed each other, neither wanting to make the first move. They both watched for a moment where they could attack and catch the other by surprise. Both Steele and Balto, however, were paying to close attention to each and every move their rival made to be caught off guard. They both knew that one or the other would have to be the first to attack. If neither did, it would never be able to end.
Fed up with waiting for so long, Steele lunged at Balto, grabbing him by the neck with his sharp fangs, digging into the wolf-dog’s soft flesh. Balto yelped loudly and attempted to throw the larger dog off, but to no prevail. Steele was putting all his effort into holding onto the wolf-dog no matter how hard he struggled. Both their hearts were pounding in their chests, but neither would give up.
As Balto struggled against Steele’s onslaught, he was unknowingly bringing them closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. It was not until Steele felt his paw slip slightly that he realized exactly where they were. In an attempt to push himself farther away from the edge, he pulled them both closer. Even knowing where they stood, Balto still did not back down. He kept fighting the large husky back as they got closer still.
Before either knew what was happening, both of their footing was lost. Steele could feel the ground starting to disappear out from under his very paws and clamped tighter onto the wolf-dog, who cried out in pain. The snow covered ground slowly started to fall onto the earth below, pulling both animals with it. Steele never let go of his victim even as they were both pulled downwards to their impending deaths. Even as the two made impact, they were still caught in their everlasting battle, their bodies laying broken under the newly fallen earth never to be found by anyone from the small town with Jenna’s torn body far above them, left for the creatures of the woods.