Author's Note:

Hello everyone, this is The Cool Kat again, along with the second installment of the "Heritage of the Wolf" series (the name stems from an unfinished Cyberwulfe story, and the title of one of the score tracks from "Balto's" soundtrack). "Salvation, Part 2" continues where Part 1 left off, though it's a fair bit shorter, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it.

Like the summary says, "Salvation, Part 2" deals with the aftermath of the serum run, along with the positive and negative impacts it will have on Balto and Jenna's new relationship. Because after an experience like that, the lives of everyone in Nome will never be the same again. Part 2 is written in pretty much the same format as Part 1, it contains the same "Law & Order" styled time cards, several vocal songs from various artists, and a few tracks from "Doctor Who's" soundtrack.

As a word of warning, reading this story without reading with the previous fic, "Heritage of the Wolf: Salvation, Part 1", will result in it not making any kind of sense. With that in mind, I'll cut my boring monologue short and let you get on with reading "Salvation, Part 2".

Chapter One: Final Days.

12:00 P.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:

Balto took several deep, contemplative breaths, mentally preparing himself for what he knew had to be done. He had always known that this moment would come sooner or later; it was inevitable. The doomed wolf-dog had never been one to believe in destiny. He firmly believed that fate and spirits and all that business was mostly nonsense: stories that the humans told each other to keep their children entertained at night. But this was something Balto always knew had to happen, it had only been a matter of time. Ever since he had first met his challenger, the malevolent mutt had hated him to the deepest depths of hell. Balto didn't know why the dog loathed him so much, but at the moment it wasn't important anymore. All that mattered was that his assailant been dreaming about this day for a long time, and so had he.

But one thing Balto and his fighter hadn't considered was the idea that Jenna would be there with them, right in the middle of everything, during their final battle. Balto glanced over at the husky. She looked ready enough, her hackles were raised and her teeth were bared and ready for action. But Balto could tell that underneath her fierce exterior, she was just as worried as he was about the potentially deadly outcome of their upcoming duel. There was a good chance they both could perish that day, and neither of them could live with the other, should one of them be killed in battle. Neither of the two lovers knew much about fighting, while their opponent had been getting into brawls for years.

Balto took one last look at Jenna, his beloved. He would gladly die for her, a thousand times over. And if this was really his last day on Earth, he was glad he had finally admitted his true feelings to the husky. Jenna caught his eyeline and met his loving gaze with her own.

"Are you ready?", he asked her.

"I was born ready", she replied, psyching herself up.

Balto inhaled one last time to gather his strength. In a relatively short process, the wolf-dog withdrew his claws lining his paws and bore his fangs, his eyes glowing with a mixture of anger and anticipation. "Then let's do this!", he growled.

Using only a fraction of his new wolfish strength, Balto braced himself against the door of the Boiler Room and pushed inward on it. The door quickly gave way and landed on the concrete floor with a loud, echoing thud. With no barrier in place to block it anymore, sunlight poured in through the open doorway and lit up the entire dark room.

Balto and Jenna peered inside, already knowing who to look for. They didn't have to search for long, because the Boiler Room was completely, eerily empty, all except for one dog. The other canines had all fled as soon as they saw him coming.

The black and white malamute inside took note of their loud entrance, and his gaunt face lit up with a savage, wild grin. He had been waiting for this showdown for years, a chance to snuff out the loathsome, meddling wolf-dog that had always been a thorn in his side. The way Steele saw it, only one dog could walk away from this fight, and everyone in Nome already knew who the victor would be.

"Hello, Bingo. Long time, no see", he sneered icily.

The burly, deranged malamute got to his feet and rolled his shoulders, before he sauntered forwardly eagerly, poised to kill with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his eyes locked solely on Balto.

"Doctor Who XI" by Murray Gold begins.