Epilogue: A Guide's Duty

Soon, Balto had finished dragging the crate up the sled and was met by the cheering of the other dogs. While the others grabbed onto the crate, he took a moment to catch his breath. Taking one more look over his shoulder, he saw that the wolf he had howled with earlier had disappeared.

Aniu had completed another part of her duty. While her life as wolf had ended, her new life as a spirit guide had begun. Her duty was now to guide her son in his life, and to show him who he really was. Today, she had done just that, and her actions had not only saved Balto from his own misery, but had saved countless other lives as well, "Who knows, maybe those dogs on that team or the children in town each have their own destiny. By saving them, I have given them all of them a chance to become champions in their own way," While she was glad that a part of her duty had been completed, her time as a spirit had not been without sacrifice.

After her fall, everything had gone black, but soon, she found herself opening her eyes on the ground. Beside her lay Mayak's body, broken in multiple places, his eyes still wide open in shock. She got up and found, to her surprise, that she could get up easily. It was as though her fight with Mayak had never happened. She was a little disoriented, but felt strangely okay. She had no idea what to make of this. The wound that Mayak had inflicted on her, combined with the fall, should have killed her instantly and yet here she was. Was this some kind of miracle the spirits had given her? She stepped back, but her paw bumped into something else on the ground. Her heart skipped a beat at this, "Mayak and I were the only one's here. Who else could it be?" She slowly looked back and the second she saw who it was, she screamed.

It was her body; her broken and shattered body was lying on the ground as well.

Terrified, she ran away from the scene until she came to a river. She tried to run from what she knew, but there was no escaping it. She had been killed, and now she was a mere spirit, a ghost of her former self. She stopped and looked at her reflection in a stream. Her face stared back at her, showing no signs of the wounds Mayak had inflicted on her. Taking a deep breath, she took stock of her situation, and remembered the stories she heard about things like this.

"There are other stories of creatures whose spirits are still bound to this world, instead of being able to pass on to the next life. Usually it is because they have a duty they must complete in this world before passing on to the next."

"Huh, that sounds like some of the ghost stories I've heard."

"I suppose they could be seen as ghosts, but they more like guides - spirit guides."

So that's what it was; she was now one of the spirit guides that she had heard so much about as a cub. She had vowed to protect her son, and her promise had bound her to this world. "My son; he's probably wondering where I am. What will I tell him? Would he understand what has happened? Would he be happy about this or would he be terrified?" She debated her next move and eventually decided that it would be best to be with her son. She dashed back to the boat where she had left him, finding the travel much easier this time. When she returned, she found that her son was looking out at the forest, waiting for her to return. She walked up the gangplank, but he didn't react to her approach, "My son," she said softly, but he did not reply, "My son, I have returned."

However, her son did not reply to her. Instead, he whined, "Where are you momma? You said you wouldn't be long. You're never this long."

"I'm right here little one," she said, "Can't you hear me?"

However, he could not hear her at all. Time passed, and soon her cub retreated under his blanket. Aniu could see tears form in his eyes as he walked right by her. It was as though she wasn't even there, "I miss you momma."

Aniu couldn't take much more of this, and left the boat, "Why is this happening? If I have stayed behind to guide him, then why can't he see me?" she asked out loud.

"Because it is not yet time for him to see you," a distant voice called.

Aniu looked around frantically, searching for the source of the voice, "Who are you? What makes you say something like that?" She couldn't help but feel as though the voice was familiar.

"Don't you recognize my voice? I thought it always made you feel safe."

"Amak…"

"Yes my love."

"Amak, where are you? I need your help," she asked.

"You said it yourself Aniu, I'm somewhere you can't follow, at least not yet."

"How come I can hear you now, when I couldn't before?" she asked.

"I'm don't fully know myself, but my guess is that you are somewhere in between this world and the next, just like those spirit guides you told me about. You can partly access both worlds, but not fully. However, there are more important things to worry about. Aniu, you must guide him, you must guide our son."

"Amak, I can't do this alone. Why can't you come help me?" she asked.

"Because, I have already passed on. I completed my duty in my life, but you still need to complete yours."

"But what can I do?" she said, "How can I complete my duty if he can't see me?"

"You must be patient. There will come a time when he will need to see you. When that time comes, you must to remind him of who he is."

"How will I know?" she asked, "How will I know when the time is right?"

"Trust me, you'll know."

"But what then?" she asked, "What will happen after that?"

"What happens after that is up to you. You can continue to be with him, or you can pass on to the next life with me."

"I miss you Amak," she said.

"I know. I miss you too, but don't worry about me right now; our little guy needs you more than I do. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be waiting for you; just reach for the light…"

Aniu trusted his words, and so she returned to her son and watched over him. She watched him grow, always wanting to be by his side. However, in her current form, she couldn't physically interact with him, and she was forced to watch from the sidelines. That fact made her son's early life a hard thing to watch. Early on, the humans and the other dogs pushed him around due to his half-wolf breeding. This constant mistreatment and exclusion wore on him, and Aniu felt her heart break as she watched him give up on his dream of being a champion like his father. Gone was the pup wanting to be the fastest sled dog of them all, replaced by a hybrid who had resigned himself to misery over being an outcast.

However, what truly made her blood boil was that one of his tormentors was none other than Steele. That husky had banished Amak from his own town, leading him to his death. More often than not, she had wanted to jump in and tear the husky apart for what he had done to Amak, and what he was doing to her son. His torment had destroyed her son's aspirations, and she vowed that at the first chance she got, she would exact vengeance on him.

However, the situation was not all bad, as her son had also found some friends, with one who seemed more affectionate with him than the other dogs. Time passed and she waited for the chance when she would show herself to him. That chance would came after Balto went out to find the missing sled team, and when he was at his most desperate.

After his fall from the cliff, she watched as he covered his face in misery. She wanted desperately to help him, but up until now, she had no way of communicating with him. Then, he looked up at her, staring right into her eyes. He saw the majestic wolf before him, and Aniu knew that now would be the time to make her move. Now, she could remind him of his true heritage. She howled for him, and after he overcame his doubts, he howled back. As they howled together, she couldn't help but notice how much her son had grown by now. She had seen the exchanges between him and Jenna, and in many ways, they reminded her of herself and Amak. They were two creatures from different worlds who saw past their differences and started to grow closer to each other.

With the confidence given to him by her appearance, Balto was able to lead the team back to Nome in time. The medicine was delivered, and her own son won the heart of the town, along with the heart of a certain red husky he had a liking for. Soon, Steele was disgraced and sent away from the town. Aniu couldn't help but think that Steele's punishment was rather cathartic. He had banished Amak from his own home, and three years later, Amak's son Balto had come around and banished him. With him gone, Balto could finally live in peace with Jenna.

Aniu thought that with this, her duty would be complete. However, as Balto and Jenna snuggled up to each other for their first night as a couple, she couldn't help but feel like there was something else. There was something more that she would need to help her son with.

"Well done my love…. you have guided our son to where he is supposed to be."

"I know, but I can't shake the feeling that there's something else coming," she replied, "I can put my paw on it, but I don't think I'm quite finished here."

"If that is what you feel, then I can wait a little longer. Do what you need to do…. I'll be here when you're finished."

"I love you Amak," she said.

"I love you too Aniu."

"And I love you my son," she continued, "I have a feeling that this won't be the last time we meet. Your life is going to get a little more difficult my son, but no matter what, I will always be there for you. I will help guide you along the next part of your path…"

"…And you'll always be my baby……"

Mayak, Faro, Atka, Salin, Amak, Sierra and Sonya belong to iWolf231, and may not be used in any way without my direct permission.

Balto, Jenna, Steele and Aniu belong to Universal Studios and Amblimation