Balto shuffled his feet up the hill through the dead grass and flowers until he crested the last hill before Nome. It was the same hill he had come over several years earlier with two polar bears named Muk and Luk, and a Russian snow goose named Boris.

Once atop the hill Balto looked down on his home, Nome. The town was a sight that Balto thought he had long forgotten, and at time would never see again. Yet here he stood, looking down on the town absolutely exhausted from his journey.

Balto's body had changed since he had left the comfort of Nome. Before he had left he had a belly that bulged out, and fat surrounded his muscles on his legs. Now Balto's belly was sucked up against his back grotesquely, and his legs were stringy with thin, yet strong, muscles flowing down from his shoulders. He felt he had the true look of a half-starved grey wolf. But now it was time to return to a civilized life with his family.

Nome had changed since Balto had left. He remembered that in the spring the town had the look that it had just exploded from the seams and lay spread out for more than a hundred yards from the nearest building. Now the town had a feeling that it was pulled in tight with itself for the coming winter, like a giant turtleneck had been brought up around the ears that would soon be cold.

Balto felt surprised that snow didn't cover the ground. Just a short ten miles to the north, in the foothills of the mountains, three feet of snow hindered travel to a crawl. It looked like the depths of winter had flooded the land, and Balto had expected it to slide all the way down to the edge of the ocean. Yet when he got down to a lower level the snow petered out and vanished.

Balto looked to the northwest where half the sun glowed red, while the other half hid below the horizon of a mountain. It was already dark enough that travel became cumbersome, and if Balto waited around any longer, he might not be able to find his way the last five hundred feet into Nome.

He pushed down off the peak of the hill, through the dead grass and in between loose grey granite rocks that stuck out of the ground. When Balto had left in the spring there had been snow around the rocks. All of which probably stayed around the rocks for several days after Balto had left.

Balto reached the bottom of the hill and made a beeline for the town. Out to his left he could see the boat that had been his first and only home. It rested where it always had on the edge of the ocean, slowly rotting down into the ground with every spring thaw.

Balto looked over towards the edge of town where he had first entered the town when he was young. The building where he had seen his first human come stumbling out and drop a bottle, making bunches of pretty lights all over the ends of logs. It was also once the home of the only human, before the serum run, who had actually liked him and brought him gifts of meat, blankets, and a strange wind-up cat.

Balto moved on towards the edge of town. The streets had their edges lit up by lantern light coming from inside window. All of the lights came from inside except for one hung on the outside corner of the telegraph office and another at the other end of the block.

As Balto looked at the corner of the telegraph office, he noticed that a red furred figure hid just around the corner of the building in the shadows. To small to be a human, it was just the right size to be a dog. The figure looked straight out into the darkness where Balto stood. It was almost like the creature had been waiting for him.

"Jenna." Balto said to himself. She had been waiting patiently at the edge of town for him to arrive back. How sweet, he thought.

Balto picked up the pace. He couldn't wait to see the look in Jenna's eyes when he came running out of the darkness and into her waiting embrace.

But then as Balto came closer he realized that the dog sitting in the shadows wasn't Jenna. The creature had large muscles and wide shoulders like a working dog. It was at that moment that Balto realized exactly who it was.

"Kodi." Balto yelled out, now within shouting distance of Kodi.

Kodi rocked forward until he stood and stepped out into the light. He then sat back down with his face out into the darkness.

Balto entered the lantern light slowly. He felt like he was under the gaze of judgment. That every action he made now, and in the past, was all ending up in a final ruling that would decide the rest of his life.

Balto came to a sitting position half a dozen feet in front of Kodi.

"Hi dad." Kodi said with an ambiguous tone to his voice. "Did you have a safe trip?"

Balto sighed, turned his head to the side slightly, and raised that same shoulder up to his chin. "It was okay, kind of long and boring, but I discovered a lot about myself." Balto sighed long and hard. "Listen, Kodi, I would just like to say that I'm … sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you for laughing. It was just that I had a lot on my mind, and I thought that you were … well …"

"It's okay dad." Kodi said with a smile. It made Balto's heart melt. "Mom told me that you really didn't know anything about your mother, and that laughing at that joke … you know, hurt you."

Balto smiled long and wide. He felt proud and strong. He felt like he had arrived home. "Why don't we go and see what mom's up to?" Balto suggested.

Balto stood and stepped forward. Kodi turned and stood next to him. Together they began to walk down the street towards Jenna's

"So has Jenna been worrying much about me?" Balto asked.

Kodi shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, she got more worried when fall began to come; but she was worried the entire time that you were out of her sight."

Balto smiled. "Just like her to worry."

Kodi giggled "Dad, you're funny."

A long moment of silence fell between the two of them. Balto had never felt more at home than he did at that exact second. He had his son walking next to him smiling and laughing. He would soon be with his mate and be able to see that flash of life in her eyes when he came walking in. Then tomorrow he would wake up to questions about his journey and everything he had learned about his family.

"So dad." Kodi interjected into Balto's thoughts. "Did you learn anything about your past that you didn't know before?"

Balto smiled as they walked down the main street of Nome, under the stars and flashes of northern light, into the sunset, and into history. "Nothing I didn't already know son. Nothing I didn't already know."

The end.

(The characters of: Balto, Jenna, Kodi, Muk, Luk, Boris, Aleu, Dusty, Kirby, Ralph, and all other characters that exist in the Balto movies 1-3, belong to somebody other than me. While all other characters belong to me. No character can be taken and used without my permission, and no part of this story can be copied in word, or form, without my permission, as according by law of the Copyright Administration. Peace out, Erik.)