Balto: Son
Nov 15, 2008
This story takes place after the events in Balto II: Wolf Quest.
Nilak, Suka and this story belong to Xaqtly and may not be used, copied or altered without my permission.
All other characters belong to Universal Pictures.

Prologue

Long before wolves roamed the Alaskan tundra, long before any corporeal life forms were intelligent enough to mark the passage of time, the spirit world thrived and was home to thousands of benevolent spirits whose purpose it was to oversee the development of all life's creatures in what we consider to be our mortal plane. These spirits were each assigned to create a species as part of the grand design, to place them in balance with one another, to create an ecosystem of living beings in which they all could exist and survive.

One such spirit held great hope for her species, a noble, powerful race of creatures destined for more than mere survival or living off the pickings of others. Her species were nameless, as all species were nameless during the process of creation. She knew that whatever she chose to name them during the final stage of creation, it would be a word of power drawn from her own being. She created, formed and molded their essence over a millennia, infusing her own life force into their very souls that they might carry her strength, power and wisdom across the divide into the mortal realm unlike so many other species.

She gave of herself into these creatures that they might do more and be more than part of the circle of life. She wanted nothing less than greatness for these, her children. Though she knew her children were not destined to be the dominant beings within the mortal plane, she would give them a gift that was unparalleled by any others, something that would assure their rightful place amongst the other species.

She would give them a guide, bound to this earth by birth and to the spirit realm by design. A leader to unite all his brothers and sisters, born of our world as a bridge between the two planes of existence that they might live as one in harmony with each other and the spirit world.

It was something no other spirit had ever done before, because none of them had ever wished to become mortal. Why would you choose to take a mortal form, when in the spirit world you exist outside of space and time? There is no death, no hunger, no fighting for survival. There is only peaceful existence and observance of their creations across the mortal divide.

"I have decided," she said with a voice that echoed through the expanse of the spirit world, resonating like an ethereal chorus, "I will give them a son."

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Chapter 1: Revelations

Balto's feet kicked and twitched as he slept, dreaming of leading his own dog team through the mountain pass back to Nome. He could feel the cold mountain air rushing into his lungs, his powerful shoulders pulling the sled forward with every pounding step through the powdery snow.

"Come on guys, mush!" he yelled back to his teammates, grinning broadly. He felt a sense of purpose, an excitement that sparked his actions as he exploded forward with a burst of speed, running for all he was worth. He ran tirelessly through the mountain pass and down into the forest, savoring the crisp smell of pine and freshly fallen snow as he expertly navigated the sled around trees and boulders, taking the line that would grant them the fastest passage.

They broke through the forest and entered the plains, and Balto poured on the speed, running the fastest he had ever run in his life.

"Ahhwooooooooooooo!" Balto howled with pure joy as the mountains in the distance became a blur and the snow beneath his feet atomized under his relentless assault, becoming slush in his wake. He closed his eyes and felt the rush of air against his face and breathed deeply. He felt so alive, and he knew this is what he was born for, his unique blend of husky and wolf combining to make him the best lead dog there had ever been.

As he slept, Balto smiled, and his legs twitched again. "This is what I was born to do," he thought as he lead the sled team with lightning speed and pinpoint accuracy back home to Nome. As they hit the home stretch into the city, Balto noticed a dark shadow overtaking him on the ground. He gasped in surprise, and looked up to see a raven flying overhead.

"Mother...?" He stared at her and wondered why she was flying over his sled team and what it might mean, when time began to move in slow motion. He turned back around to look in front of him, and he saw he was headed straight for a large snowdrift sitting just outside of town. He tried to change direction, but it was no use, he couldn't stop sliding towards the drift. He slid past the small familiar signpost that read "Nome, Alaska" as he began to collide with the snowdrift. Time began to move even slower as he tried to go over the drift but went through it instead, spraying snow everywhere. And just before time seemed to stop completely, something caught his eye behind the drift. He stared at it and tried to see what it was, and just as time came to a stop, he saw it.

It was a small brown and tan puppy, not more than 2 months old. It was looking directly at Balto.

Balto yelped in surprise and suddenly woke up into darkness, panting and disoriented, his heart beating so hard his whole body throbbed in time. His eyes darted around but he saw nothing, and he began to calm down.

"Ugh," he said as he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "If that raven was my mother, why did she do that? What was she trying to tell me?" He slowly stood up and stretched, then walked over to his water bowl for a drink. "It must still be the middle of the night, I don't see any signs of daylight," he thought as he drank. He finished drinking and walked back to his blanket, exhausted. He lay his head down on his paws and fell back into sleep, wishing he could lead that sled team again.

Balto woke to the sound of the polar bears yelling for Uncle Boris to come out and play, and Boris yelling for them to go somewhere else. Balto chuckled and got up, feeling rested despite having woken up in the middle of the night. He yawned and padded out to the deck to sit in the morning sun, where he could see Boris on the beach being smothered by the polar bears.

"Get off, you giant balls of fluff!" Boris yelled. "I am goose, not squeeze toy for bears!"

"Sorry, Uncle Boris," said Muk as they let Boris go. "We love you!"

"You love to sit on me," Boris mumbled under his breath as he hopped up onto the deck of the boat to join Balto.

Balto watched the bears splash around in the shallow water as Boris tried to straighten out his feathers. "No respect for their elders, Balto", Boris grumbled. Balto grinned at him and shook his head. "Come on Boris, you know you're their favorite uncle."

"I'm their only uncle," Boris replied, waving his wings at them. "These bears are crazy!"

"You love them too Boris, admit it," Balto said, and nudged him with his muzzle.

"You, I love," Boris said and put a wing on Balto's shoulder. "Bears, I tolerate."

Balto shook his head and smiled. "I'm going into town to see Jenna," he said, stretching his legs. "Be nice to your nephews."

"Ever since Aleu left, bears will not leave me alone!" he lamented.

"They're lonely, Boris. Be a good uncle and play with them." Boris lowered his head and sighed.

"Look, if I see Dingo or Kodi in town I'll ask them to come out here and play with the bears for a while. All right?"

"All right, Balto," said Boris with resignation. "I play with bears for now. You go see Jenna."

Balto nodded at Boris, and jumped over the side of the boat. As he ran towards town, his thoughts turned to the dream he had last night. He couldn't get the image of the raven out of his mind, looking straight at him with those glowing yellow eyes. He might have thought it was just an odd dream if it weren't for the fact that he knew his dreams weren't always just dreams.

He arrived at Rosy's house and went around back to the shed where his pups were born, and where he and Jenna had spent many happy days and nights together. A smile appeared on his face as he opened the door, as it did every time he came to see Jenna.

"Hi Jen," he said as he walked in to see Jenna lying in her bed, licking her paws clean.

"Balto," Jenna said with a smile as she looked up to see him enter the shed. Balto walked over to Jenna and sat down next to her, and she lovingly nuzzled his face and kissed him.

"I missed you, Jen," Balto said as he closed his eyes and nuzzled her neck.

"You say that every time you come here, "Jenna said with a giggle. "But I missed you too."

Balto smiled and nuzzled the side of her face, taking in her familiar scent.

"So what do you have planned for today?" Jenna asked.

"Nothing in particular, although I was going to see if I could find one of the kids to go out and play with Muk and Luk. Poor Boris is all uncled out."

Jenna smiled at that. "Dingo told me that he would stop by today, so maybe you can ask him then."

"Sounds good," Balto said. "Listen Jenna, do you have some time to talk?"

"Of course, love. Is anything wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just had a weird dream last night and I wanted to see what you thought."

"Oh? What was it about?" she asked, sitting up to listen.

Balto sat up and told her about his dream, how he felt so good leading the sled team and how right it felt, and how the raven appeared and he crashed into the snowdrift and saw that pup staring at him.

"It surprised me so much that I couldn't catch my breath when I woke up. What is my mother trying to tell me? And why would there be a pup... in the snow..."

Balto's face went pale as he realized what his mother had shown him. "Jenna... it was me. That was me in the snow."

Jenna gasped. "You? She showed you as a pup after she abandoned you? Why would she show you that, what does it mean?

He shook his head. "I don't know. And he... I... was looking right at me. It looked like he wanted my help. But that doesn't make any sense, does it?" Balto sighed and lay down at Jenna's feet. "I never was any good at interpreting my dreams."

Jenna leaned down to kiss Balto on the head. "If it really was Aniu appearing to you in your dream to show you that, then she must have had a good reason, right?"

"Yeah, but what? Wait... I recognized that area outside town, we've been by there plenty of times. Let's go check it out." Jenna nodded, and the two of them went outside. "It was this way," Balto said as he took off towards the outside of town.

Balto recognized the signpost he had seen in his dream, and walked past it to find the snowdrift, but there was none to be found. The landscape had changed in the years since he was abandoned here, but Balto still knew where it had been.

"It was here", he said. "I was right here." Jenna looked at the patch of ground at Balto's feet. "This is where your mother left you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. At least if what I saw in the dream was true. I don't remember it myself, and Boris never told me exactly where he found me." Balto sat down and hung his head. "Jenna, why would she do this to me? I had almost forgotten about being abandoned, my life is so good now. I'm in love with the most beautiful girl in the world and I have six beautiful children. Why would she show this to me now?"

Jenna smiled at Balto's compliment, and she leaned forward to kiss him. "I don't know, my love. From what we've seen so far though, there is always a reason behind the dreams that come from Aniu. There's no reason to assume that this is any different, right?"

Balto looked up at Jenna and smiled. "What would I do without you, Jenna?"

"You'd be lost without me," Jenna said with a grin.

"You're right, I would be," Balto said as he sat up again. "Let's go home."

The two of them walked back to Jenna's home lost in thought. They lay down next to each other in front of the large iron stove that was keeping the shed warm, and Balto put his head on Jenna's shoulder. Jenna turned and nuzzled his face lovingly.

"Oh, Jenna," Balto said. "I don't know what to think. I haven't seen a raven outside today so I don't think I'm supposed to go anywhere. Maybe she just wanted to show me that spot so I could have some closure? I don't know. I'm already happy with my life, I don't think I need closure."

"If she's really trying to tell you something, you'll figure it out. I do wonder what she's trying to say, though, "Jenna said.

"Me too," Balto agreed. After they lay together for a while, Balto decided he should be getting back to his boat. "I should be getting back, Boris is probably wondering why I haven't rescued him yet."

Jenna chuckled. "All right, my love. I'm always here for you if you want to talk about the dream some more."

Balto smiled and got up, stretching his legs. "If you see Dingo or Kodi, will you send them out to the boat?"

Jenna nodded in response. "They should spend some time with Uncle Boris and the bears anyway, it's been a while." She stood up and kissed Balto deeply. "I love you, Balto."

Balto returned her kiss. "I love you too, Jenna," he said as they pulled apart. They had been mates for over two years, and still her beauty never failed to leave him speechless. As the light from the window filtered into the shed, he took in the view in front of him and smiled. His love for her was still as pure as it was the first time he told her he loved her, and it always would be.

Jenna looked away shyly and smiled, seeing Balto staring at her again. "You are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen," he said, unable to tear his eyes away.

Jenna blushed. "Oh, Balto..." She kissed him and gently pushed him down onto his back. "You always know just what to say to a girl, don't you?" she asked, smiling down at him.

"It's the truth, Jenna," he said as he looked up into her deep brown eyes. She looked down at him adoringly, and her smile faded as she lowered her muzzle to kiss him passionately.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered. "I love you..."

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Balto's legs twitched under his blanket. He was leading his team again, through the mountain pass and into the forest, dodging tree stumps and boulders, going faster and faster until they broke out into the open, and Balto once again began to run so fast that the scenery blurred and he could feel his powerful wolf heritage coming to the surface as he howled, fueling his strength and endurance.

Just as he hit the home stretch into Nome, he saw a dark shadow overtake him. He looked up to see the raven circling overhead, then instinctively looked for the snowdrift he had seen last time he had this dream. And just as before, time began to slow down and stopped just as Balto caught sight of himself behind the snowdrift.

"My son." The voice echoed across the entire landscape, sounding both distant and close at once. Shocked, Balto looked around as time stayed frozen around him, and the sled and the other dogs disappeared. Two-month-old Balto continued to stare at present-day Balto. He looked up into the sky expecting to see the raven, but instead was met by Aniu's gaze, looming above him as part of the great expanse of the heavens.

"It is time you knew the truth, my son," she spoke as her voice carried across the landscape, a warm blanket of sound that wrapped Balto in its embrace.

"M-mother?" Balto asked, both surprised at what he was hearing and grateful for this chance to speak with his mother. "What truth?"

"The truth behind your origin, little one. The reason you are here... and my own failure as your mother." Aniu's voice had a hint of sadness as it seemed to embrace him. He sat on the snowy landscape, stunned by what he was hearing.

"Your failure...? Mother, I don't understand."

Aniu drifted down from the sky and took shape as a large white wolf in front of Balto. She nuzzled him softly and he lay down and curled up against her.

"Then listen, my dear one," Aniu continued, "and I will tell you the story of what was meant to be, and what came to be." Her voice surrounded him and made him feel like a pup again, safe against his mother's body, and he closed his eyes to listen.

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Next: Chapter 2 - "Love Over Destiny"