The Time of Wolves 2

Chapter 1: The Coming Storm

Nome Alaska February 1928

The small mining town was bustling with life and excitement the likes of which it has never seen before. Indeed it was a time for celebration, for today was the anniversary of how the famed wolfdog, Balto, saved the town from a horrible diphtheria outbreak. Not three years ago did he brave the wilderness of the cold tundra's to rescue a missing sled team to deliver the medicine to the town's stricken children.

Speaking of such, Balto was at the center of all this celebrating. Nothing less for the hero of Nome. The wolfdog felt as if he was on top of the world. Here he was surrounded by friend, family, and strangers from all over the world. Even his parents took a break from the afterlife to show up for the occasion.

And at the end of this extravaganza was none other than President Calvin Coolidge to award him for his stellar show of bravery. Not only that but in honor of Balto's wolf heritage, the President announced that he was going to meet the chief delegate of wolf kind, Nava, to discuss making wolves legal citizens of the United States. Everything was looking up for our resident wolfdog, or that's what it appeared at first.

In a blink of an eye, everyone who was once in the town vanished before his eyes without a trace. All that was left were empty – decayed buildings. Balto, concerned about where everyone was, chose to look for any signs of life within his now dying home. Throughout the streets, he could find nothing, nothing but a horde of ice sculptures cluttering the roads. Wait. On closer inspection these were not simple ice sculptures, these were the townspeople encased in ice. Not just the townspeople, but the neighborhood pets as well. Jenna, Kodi, his sled-team, Rosy and her parents, all of them trapped with sheer terror frozen on their expressions.

When looking for the cause of such a catastrophe, Balto only had to look up to see a storm cloud, the likes of which the wolfdog has never, seen hovering over the town. Something about this storm set Balto on edge as he started into its eye – no wait...eyes. Two big, scary, blood red eyes were staring down at him. It was as if an actual living being made up the storm itself. To further iterate that idea, the storm's clouds formed a massive hand which careened itself right at Balto. When it made an impact, the ground underneath him shattered into an endless black abyss. While falling through the empty void, Balto could hear something speaking in the darkness.

"Come find me!"

Balto shot up from under his blanket in terror. His heart was beating as if it would pop out of his chest as he looked over his surroundings. He was on his abandoned fishing boat just outside of Nome. It was all a dream — a horrible nightmare that he was glad to have awakened from. The wolfdog never had one quite like that in some time. Not since…well not since winter started. Least he could take comfort in that Boris wasn't awake to nag about it as Balto stretched his legs before going into town.

Looking back on it, it almost seemed rather silly. The streets of Nome were always so quiet and peaceful; everyone out and about to get on with daily lives. There was no way that a parade would be held here. Not a ceremony so big that it would involve the President of the United States. No, the most it ever got excitement around here was during the last legs of the annual sled-races. Even though, when their team lost this year with Kaltag as the lead dog did little to disparage the crowd's enthusiasm.

"Balto!" came the voice of the small redheaded human girl who was the owner of Balto's mate named Rosy, "Hi, boy!"

Rosy bolted from her home to greet the wolfdog who showed up on her doorsteps. Though Balto came to meet up with Jenna, he never minds seeing Rosy. She was by far his favorite human being the only one who trusted him before saving the town, so he would always welcome a playful pet or bear hug from the girl. Was still a great way to start the day before being greeted inside for some breakfast. Though he was never officially adopted as a pet of this family, that didn't stop Rosy's parents from buying an extra food bowl just for him. It was nice to feel like part of the family.

"Morning dear." Came the beautiful husky that was the love of his life, Jenna.

The red and white husky gave Balto an affectionate nuzzle under his chin before joining him for breakfast. Balto was enjoying the company of Jenna's human family. At least until Rosy had left to visit her friend, this was the perfect opportunity for the two canines the excuse to head out on the town.

"You came by earlier than usual." said Jenna.

"Yeah," Balto began to explain, "Got woken up early from a nightmare I had."

Jenna had a coy smile on her face, "There were no dinosaurs in this one, I hope."

Balto had himself a little chuckle at this little inside joke between the two of them, "No, this time the President came to visit us."

"Well, I hope I looked nice for such an occasion."

"Don't you always?" Balto asked as he lovely nuzzled his mate.

The two love-birds continued their stroll through Nome. Even when the streets were beginning to now flood with townsfolk eager to get to their daily routine, everything felt peaceful around them. As far as Balto was concerned, as long as he was with Jenna nothing could ever go wrong.

"I'm telling you there's something out there!"

Balto stopped in his tracks when he heard some commotion coming from the local tavern. It was from an old man that the residents refer to as Old-Man Johnson. Johnson was a local hunter who's been at his job for longer than Balto could ever remember and showed no signs of slowing down. Most of the dogs around town usually joke that the old man had been living before America was even founded.

"You've been drinking again, old man." said one of the patrons sitting alongside him, "The only thing out there this time of year are rabbits and that scared up white wolf. Everyone knows that as long as you leave him alone, he leaves you alone."

"It ain't no wolf," Old-Man Johnson, "I heard something unusual down at the caves near the falls."

"It probably was just a bear," said another, "They get cranky when you wake them up from their hibernation early."

"I've been hunting through these woods for many years. I know the difference between a rabbit, a wolf, and a bear!" Old-Man Johnson refuted, "I'm telling you whatever's out there is unlike anything I've heard before. Why even Caesar was freaked out."

"That dog can't tell the difference between a squirrel and a caribou." said the first patron.

"That only happened once!"

So enticed was Balto in this conversation that he failed to notice how he was ignoring Jenna's concerned questioning. Balto snapped out of it and continued his walk with his mate as if nothing has happened. Though Jenna wanted to know what that was all about, Balto was determined to convince her that it was nothing. Though being honest to himself, what he heard did catch Balto's intrigue.

He has a dream of some sinister force, and suddenly Old-Man Johnson just so happens to have a run-in with something mysterious. One may call it a coincidence, but Balto has had a history of his dreams trying to warn him of such things. Sounds crazy, one may say, but it was only near the start of last winter did these kinds of dreams start occurring. He could still remember how those dreams sent him across the Alaskan wilderness with his daughter, Aleu, to aid a wolf pack. He had to say goodbye to her that day as she left to lead the pack from then on. Balto hoped that this wasn't one of those moments, but little did he know he'd be in a rude awakening.

"Dad!" called his son, Kodi; who, like most of their children, resembled his mother with his fur color, "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Hey, son." Balto greeted before he notices how fast Kodi was rushing in, "Where's the fire?"

"I was looking for you," Kodi said as he approached his parents, "It's Caesar. He's been wanting to speak to you all morning."

Caesar, Old-Man Johnson's dog? First is owner had an odd experience, and suddenly Caesar wishes to talk to Balto. The more Balto thought of it, the less it was starting to sound like a coincidence as he followed after Kodi. When they reached Caesar, a Bernese Mountain Dog, the poor guy was pacing back and forth outside his kennel with a few other dogs that Balto was familiar with.

"Balto, thank goodness you came!" Caesar said in such a worrisome expression on his brows; which honestly wasn't that surprising though. For a hunting dog, Caesar was known for being pretty anxious at times, "You won't believe what happened to me!"

Balto remembered what he heard from Old-Man Johnson, "I could guess."

For the next several minutes, Caesar told the tale of his morning hunt with Old-Man Johnson. They were out looking to catch hares, and maybe caribou if they were lucky, for some stew. Things started like any other morning of hunting until the mountain dog stumbled on the most unusual of scents; like nothing his nose has ever picked up before. Perhaps some fresh new prey, Caesar thought, but he soon found out how wrong he was. He followed it scent trail to a cave near the waterfalls did he realize that he and his master stumbled on to something not of this earth! Shadows of some twisted – unnatural creatures aligning the walls in such that neither human or dog could recognize. Caesar and his master ran away from the scene when the unknown figure made a move towards them. To say that Caesar was traumatized by the experience would be an understatement.

"When I got back, I just had to speak to you Balto." Caesar finished his tale in relief that the wolfdog was with him.

"No offense, but that der sounds a bit farfetched." said one of Balto's friends, a Chow-Chow named Nikki.

"I'm telling you that's what happened!" Caesar reiterated.

"Sure you just didn't have a run in with Kemo?" asked a skinny looking grey and white husky by the name of Star.

"I can tell the difference between the scent of a wolf and whatever was in there."

"You mean like how you tracked down a squirrel thinking it was a caribou?" butted in a brownish husky with a dark patch over his left eye.

"That only happened once!" Caesar said but not before the other dog started laughing their heads off.

Once the laughter had settled down, Nikki chimed in, "Then what do you think it was?"

"Isn't it obvious? The long neck, huge protruding claws, the large crown-like antlers," Caesar lowered himself in fear of having to recount what he saw, "It was a Wendigo!"

A moment of silence fell before once again being engulfed in laughter. All were laughing except for Balto. For some odd reason, hearing the term Wendigo struck a chord with the wolfdog. Like something in him should know of it though none of this helped Caesar, who now had his paws over his head in embarrassment.

"You believe in Wendigos?" Nikki asked rhetorically.

"That is the outlandish, the most nonsensical, just simply outrageous…"

"It's downright hilarious." Star interrupted Kaltag's rambling which, like most of the time, led to Kal knocking out the smaller husky.

"Caesar, you know there's no such thing as Wendigos," Jenna said with the intention of calming the dog, "They're just folklore that humans tell their children to keep them from going out into the forest at night."

All the ridicule and support, however, did little to sway Caesar. The mountain dog was still very much convinced of what had transpired. Though, to Balto, he felt that somehow there was more to this than what was being let on.

"Caesar," the wolfdog spoke up, "Why did you want to see me specifically?"

"Well…" Caesar's nerves almost got the better of him, "You see, before the Wendigo came after me and my master, it uttered a single word. It spoke your name, Balto."

Now, this was getting a lot weirder the more Balto thought it over in his head. Bizarre dreams and soon stories of monsters located outside of town. Something was not right. Balto could feel it in his bones. Even when he and the other dogs left Caesar, the wolfdog couldn't shake this curiosity stirring inside him. Certainly, it all had to be some huge coincidence. Seriously, Wendigos? A creature that lives out in remote areas in the woods that prey on human flesh, or possess other humans to crave said flesh. Even with all the oddities he faced, the idea was still too out there.

"So, what do you think dad?" Balto was taken off his train of thought by Kodi, "All sounds pretty crazy, huh?"

Balto unintentionally chuckled nervously, "You can say that again."

"So you wanna go look?" Kodi said to Balto's utter confusion, "I mean, Caesar saw something. Might be cool to check it out."

"Come on Runt," came the voice of another red and white husky. Balto's oldest son, Dingo, "Don't tell me you believe in that old folklore. Even as the youngest in the litter, I think you would have grown out of believing such things by now."

"Come on Dingo, give him a break," said Saba, one of Balto's three daughters, "Kodi's always the one who craves adventures, and who could blame him? Hunting down monsters sounds like fun."

Balto snickered as his children bantered on. They were all such good pups. Dingo, being the oldest, chose to dub his little brother that title for being the runt of the litter, much to Kodi's chagrin. Even when Kodi has ended up growing to almost surpass Balto's size, Dingo's constant teasing never cease to end. Though none of it was done out of malicious intent, for he loved all of his siblings dearly even if his way of showing it was by continually annoying his little brother. Balto remembered how he broke the news of his half wolf heritage to his kids after what had happened to Aleu, and Dingo was primarily upset that his sister was gone from their lives. Most other time, this eldest of the litter processed a calm – levelheaded demeanor; which couldn't be said for his other daughter.

Saba, from birth, has always had this huge spark of energy. Every second this girl would be bouncing around like some newborn pup. Whether that was a result of her wolf gene's, or she just never grew out of her puppy phase, Balto never knew. Regardless, he loved her and her playful spirit. The young female husky was almost a spitting image of her mother. Although, she had much more define muscle tone almost making her look nearly as big as her brothers, and her tail would never quite curl up all the way.

"You know, if you want, you both are more than welcome to come along." Balto offered.

Like that, Saba's ears fell back, and her head lowered in disappointment, "Ah, I won't be able to go. Timothy is expecting me to be home for a 'special walk' before dinner," she said before her head shot back up and her tail started wagging like crazy, "We're having pork sausage tonight, and I always get to lick my boy's plate clean. If I'm an extra, extra good girl, he'll sneak me one when his parents aren't looking!" Saba's mouth began to water at the very thought of it.

"Dear, you're drooling." Jenna said for Saba to wipe her mouth.

"I would love for some family fun time, but I don't care to go chasing after imaginary creatures," said the eldest pup, "Sorry Runt, I won't be there to protect you from being eaten by Wendigos. That is if it doesn't possess you first with its spirit magic. Oooooohhhhhh." Dingo finished with dramatic effect to freak his little brother out.

"Stop being so mean Dingo! Everyone knows Wendigos only eat human flesh." Saba came to Kodi's defense, "Besides, spirit magic wouldn't sound like that. It would be more of a whooooh-whooooh!"

The family had a good laugh from Saba's shenanigans before Jenna spoke up, "You go along Balto. I'm not one for adventures."

"Yeah, good luck with you wild Wendigo chase!" said Dingo as his father and younger brother left for the woods.

For the most part, their walk out of town and into the forest was a quiet one. Both canines were just treading through the snow-covered terrain. Though Balto was still confident they wouldn't find anything. The wolfdog had been through these woods many times, and beyond, and not once has he ever witnessed any signs of monsters of the like. However, that's not what he cared about. Balto was just happy to spend time with his son.

With Kodi's duty as part of the mail team, the younger dog would be off constantly delivering mail and supplies to White Mountain. Depending on what happens during the in-between trips he might be gone for many of days at a time, and Balto would only be able to spend time with his son for just a short amount of time. It was best to take whatever chance he could get to spend time with Kodi even if that meant chasing down imaginary creatures.

"Dad, can I ask you something?" Kodi asked as he maneuvered under a fallen tree.

"Shoot."

"You don't think I try too hard to act like you, do you?"

Balto halted on top of a sizeable icy rock, "What brought this on?" Kodi choice not to answer his father, "Dingo's been teasing you again, hasn't he?" Kodi's silence only sealed the deal, "Tell me, son, are you happy with what you're doing?" Kodi nodded, "Then it doesn't matter what I think. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud that you want to follow in my paw prints. But what really matters to me is if my pups are happy."

"Thanks, dad."

"Besides, you know what happened last time I tried to push one of you to follow my example."

"You're…talking about Aleu?" Kodi asked hesitantly.

Balto nodded before continuing through the snow. It was still a sore point when raising his pups. Now don't get him wrong, Balto loved all of his children equally, but Aleu was his baby. The only one out of six pups to be born with his fur pattern. For that reason, Balto was very protective of her after all the harshness he faced with his wolf heritage. He even neglected to tell her, or his other children for that matter about said heritage as to spare her of the fact. However, that blew up in his face when a hunter took aim at her one day, and she ran off in anger after Balto was forced to tell her the truth. Sure, she forgave him long before she ran off with a wolf pack across the ocean. But the wolfdog still missed his daughter dearly.

"We're here!" Kodi announced.

With Balto temporarily broken from memory lane, he now realized where he was. They had made it to the supposed Wendigo sighting. The river that had once flowed through this place was now frozen all the way up to the waterfall, but even then Balto couldn't forget the place. This was a place where Balto had, not only month prior, almost died after a race with Kodi back home gone wrong. A day that Balto will no sooner forget.

"You okay dad?" Kodi asked in fear that his father's stillness might be signs of him suffering from PTSD.

"I-I'm fine son," Balto stuttered, "Just lost in memories. Come on, let's go find Caesar's Wendigo."

The two canines moved their tails up the river until they found their destination. A cave, as Caesar described, located right next to the frozen waterfall almost wide enough to fit a full-grown bull elephant possibly. From the mouth, everything seemed clear. So far nothing otherworldly in sight. Venturing deeper also yielded no results. The cave was utterly devoid of all life. Going further was also out of the question, for going too far led to a ten-foot drop with sharp – spiky stalactites covering the floor. Balto and Kodi stopped dead in their tracks just when one of their paws stepped on the edge and almost fell through.

"Looks like we've gone as far as we can go." said Kodi.

Balto agreed with his son, "Better make the most of it. HELLO!" he bellowed with his voice echoing off the cave walls and into the untouchables darkness ahead, "ARE THERE ANY WENDIGOS IN HERE!?"

Alas, no one answered. Oh well, the two had a good laugh at Balto's antics all the same. Once their chuckles died down, Kodi suggested to at least sniff out the cave. Caesar did say he was following an unrecognizable scent; it might still linger around the place. Balto humored his son's request and so started sniffing the area. It wasn't long before his nose caught something, and oh boy did it catch something. Something that the wolfdog thought he would never be able to smell out here, but his nose never lied. This unique – impossible scent permeated these very walls. But how and why?

"Dad?" Balto snapped out of it thanks to Kodi's voice, "What's wrong? You found something?"

Balto was at a loss for words. Just how on earth could they be here? "Ahh…no." Kodi gave his father a confused look, "Actually son, we should probably be heading back."

"Why?"

Balto tried to think up a good excuse, "It's getting late. We should head back before it starts getting dark."

"It's only an hours past noon," Kodi clarified, "It doesn't get dark that fast around here."

"Yeah but..." if Balto could he would be rubbing the back of his neck right now, "You know how your mother worries."

Kodi wished to protest, but his father was not taking no for an answer. The younger dog followed Balto out of the cave, and that was the end of it. Kodi never could figure out what came over his father as they went back home. From then on, the two returned home without so much of an exchange of words. Kodi left to join back up with his team as Balto decided to spend the remaining day with Jenna.

Though it remained unspoken, Jenna could tell that something happened out there. Seeing how her husband and son came back without so much as speaking to each other was a dead ringer. She tried to coax it out of him but was met with must resistance. Things, however, didn't fare any better for the two lovebirds. For some reason, Balto seemed out of it. He would just walk alongside Jenna without much input on any conversations; only contributing to a series of nonverbal responses. After a while, the sun was now setting on the horizon, and so Balto and Jenna called it a day with a few nuzzles before headed off to their respected homes.

Balto walked to the outskirts of Nome to his grounded fishing boat. He needed some rest after all this day's confusions. The wolfdog stepped onto the plank leading on the vessel hoping to wrap himself in his soft – warm blanket and sleep the day away. However, that was put on hold when the wolfdog was faced with a disgruntled figure.

"Well, look who finally came back," said one of Balto's oldest friends, Boris. Boris was a Russian goose who has taken care of Balto ever since he was but a little pup. The old goose was practically the closest thing Balto has ever had to father; to this day he was astonished that he could still bark instead of honk. He, however, didn't like to occupy Balto in town often. Boris would remain scrubbing down the deck of their boat, "Couldn't at least wait a little longer for me to wake up before leaving to say hi Boris, good morning Boris, see you later Boris…" he has been in a particularly bad mood this whole winter, "I ain't getting any younger here."

"Come on Boris; you're not that old." Said Balto.

"I'm old enough to not fly south for winter."

The was enough for Balto to give the goose a sly grin, "Yeah that's why you don't migrate. It had nothing to do with you being afraid of heights. What was your record height with your eyes opened? One-two feet off the ground?"

"I regret ever telling you that," Boris grumbled, "Easy for you to make jokes when your girl is still in town."

"Don't be like that Boris," Balto tried to comfort his old friend, "Stella's only going to be gone until winter ends. If I remember, didn't she say she'll come back early just for you?"

Boris only moaned in disappointment, "Winter cannot end any sooner."

Yes, Boris was grumpy over a girl, but not just any girl. Stella was, for lack of better words, Boris's dream goose. It was at the beginning of last spring when the female goose flown from the south as she said was for a change of scenery — something to do with her being in a relationship that went sour. From how she made it out, it sounds like her last boyfriend may have cheated on her, or something, Balto didn't try to pry anything out of respect. Being her first trip to Nome, she ended up meeting Boris when he 'saved' her from some polar bears. From there on the two were almost inseparable. Almost. Stella had no such fears of height as Boris does. As much as it pained them both, Stella's instincts won over, and such she flew south once fall was coming to an end. Though, when she did, the female snow goose lamented on how she had something to come home to. She even promised that she would try to fly back as soon as possible.

"I'm sure you can hold out for one more month," said Balto before letting out a yawn, "Anyway, it's been a long day. I'm going to bed."

Boris stroked his chin quizzically, "A bit early for ya. Thought you would be chasing sticks by moonlight with Jenna at this time."

"I'm tired, Boris," Balto answered as moved under an old blanket that's been on the boat for as long as he has, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Is that so?" Boris became ever more curious, "Would've been from any dreams boychik?"

Balto groaned in frustration. Remembering how when his dreams revolving around Aleu first surfaced; how Boris was concerned with how that must mean something when Balto just wanted to shrug it all off. When he came home after that adventure the words of the old goose saying he told him so still lingered in his head. If Boris finds out about having another dream, he would never hear the end of it.

"I was up late looking at the aurora last might and nothing more," Balto said as soon as the excuse came into his head, "And right now the only thing keeping me up is you!"

"Touchy." Boris remarked before sauntering away.

Balto didn't mean snap at Boris. There was just too much on his mind at the moment — too many questions running through his head that was hard to ignore. He'll make sure to apologize first thing in the morning. For now, Balto laid his head down to sleep this day away.

Balto found himself wandering through the town Nome in complete confusion. The entire town itself was utterly deserted. There was not a shred of life to be found no matter where he looked: nothing but the wind to drown out the uneasy silence that surrounded him. The buildings were in shambles, windows broken opened, doors hanging off their hinges, and just overcome by the elements. Where was everyone?

The sound of a crash came from down the main road, and thus Balto leaped to check it out. Hopefully, he would find some semblance of life around here. But what he saw was not what was to be expected. From what moved out onto the road was a tall lump of snow running on its own. It stopped once it came into view of the wolfdog to turn around to showcase its haunting blood-red eyes. It was enough to freeze Balto in place before the lump of snow charged at him in full force. Balto was left with no other options but to run for his life in the other direction. There was no telling what that thing would do once it caught up with him.

"Balto!"

He looked back to see who had called for him, only to regret it immediately after. Now the lump had sprouted arms made out of nothing but solid ice clawing after him. But no matter how hard he ran, the town only seemed to extend for miles on end. However, he wasn't able to travel that far when a large wall sprang out of nowhere to halt Balto's progress. Now the wolfdog was forced to face off against the mound of snow, that has grown considerably large, all on his own. It opened a maw of razor-sharp icicle-like teeth and lunged at the wolfdog. The last thing Balto knew was him swirling within nothing more than endless snow blowing all around him

"Come find me!"

For the second time in a row, Balto shot up from his blanket in a shallow breath. It was just another dream, he thought — another hard night of sleep. This one was even worse than the last, yet still had the same feeling to it. Bad enough to wake him as the night sky still filled the sky. The stars looked to be slowing fading away and a slight warm breeze was in the air. The morning was beyond the horizon with less than an hour before sunrise. The wolfdog was not getting any more sleep this night that was for sure. Not with another terrifying dream looming over his head. With the rest of the town surely asleep, Balto looked for something to preoccupy himself with. On board, this boat laid a chest of which once held his old red blanket, but now it held something even more precious. From within, Balto pulled a star-shaped leaf, a treestar it was called. A plant that hasn't existed for millions of years.

Jenna's little comment the other day about dreaming of dinosaurs was, in fact, no dream at all. Near that start of this winter when Balto had his mishap with racing Kodi, a race that almost drowned him, something unusual happened. For you see this incident resulted in him traveling back in time. Such a crazy result that had Balto stumped. While on this journey in the distant past, Balto stumbled onto a fertile land, the Great Valley. There he met such a colorful group of children that he was proud to call friends: Cera the stubborn but good-hearted threehorn, Ducky a very cheerful little swimmer, Petrie the nervous flyer, Spike the mute and loyal spike tail, and of course Littlefoot. Littlefoot was a young yet curious and brave little longneck and was Balto's best friend while he stayed in the valley; enough so to have the wolfdog live with him and his grandparents. Balto felt as if he was part of the family while with them. After a week's stay, Balto was forced to face off against a ferocious beast, a large carnivore that the dinosaurs dubbed a Horned Sharptooth, to save his friends from its wrath. Only then was he able to finally return home to the present, but with a slight complication. Balto was sent back mere hours after he had left with only Jenna being told of what he experienced. Because of this discrepancy, Jenna was convinced that his week-long journey was nothing but a dream. This treestar, a parting gift from Littlefoot, was the only reminder that Balto had to remind him that his time spent there was real.

Periodically, Balto would take out the exotic plant as a reminder of all the memories of his dinosaur friends. All the games they played, the stories they shared, the dangers they survived. Even all the adversities he had gone through whether from being the only one of his kind in this prehistoric world to all the persecution from a particular dinosaur trying to make his life harder in the valley. Whatever the case, Balto cherished his time there and missed the friends he made dearly.

Taking a whiff of the treestar a bit of Littlefoot's scent was still latched to the plant. It was this scent that made Balto so weary of the cave he explored with Kodi. For some reason he could not fathom, Balto could swear that he caught the same scent in the there. And not just his, but the others as well. The whole gang's scent was there. It just didn't seem possible. The way to that period was shut when he traveled back into the present. But he could not shrug off the possibility of if it were true. If so, then those dinosaurs were roaming around in the cold dark forest in a time not their own. Balto needed to find out for sure.

Quickly he bolted from the boat and ran off into the night. It wasn't long before the wolfdog found his destination and went headway into the cave again; sniffing the same wall thoroughly he could now say for sure that his hunch was correct. They were here alright. Now it was a matter of figuring out where they were. Sniffing around outside yielded some results. He found a scent trail leading further into the woods. Hopefully, they didn't travel too far in the time that when he was last here.

"AAAHHHHHH!"

A scream and one Balto remembered well. If the one behind it was in danger, then he had to hurry. Balto wasted no time as he stumbled upon a very angry grizzly attacking a hollow dead tree. The bear was probably woken up from his hibernation early and taking out his frustration on the poor soul who did so. But, from what Balto could make out, that poor soul was one of the people he was searching for. The canine charged on head first on rampaging bear; going for the legs first to draw its attention. The bear growled in annoyance as it kicked the nuisance away before going back to the task at hand. Not being one to give up, Balto leaped back into action this time on the bear's back to bite into its shoulder. That got the bear's attention to cease its attack to focus on this insolent canine that fear got in the way. The bear leaned back to fall and crush the wolfdog only for Balto to jump off at the last minute. The two squared off once the bear was up again.

With both animals were now locked in this intense staredown to see who would make the first move. The bear let out a roar before charging Balto with full force. The wolfdog was too quick and dodged the oncoming beast with ease, but not without being struck by its shoulder and sent to the ground. With that, the bear took the advantage to stomp the wolfdog down with the latter rolling away from the heavy paw. Each chance Balto got he bit down on the paws of the bear when they went down. However, in this desperate struggle of surviving the onslaught, the wolfdog saw a chance for victory. When there was enough room, Balto got back up and made a quick bite on the bear's muzzle before running off a few feet away. Enraged, the bear charged after the wolfdog yet again, but when Balto dodge this time the bears ran straight off a cliff behind him. Looking back, Balto saw how after it survived the several foot tumble the bear gave up and left. Least the wolfdog now had a chance for a short breather.

"Balto?"

And thus Balto was faced with the impossible. Face to face with one of the very people that he never thought he'd see again. Someone that Balto didn't just see as his best friend, but as family.

"Littlefoot?"

End of Chapter 1

A/N: Ten years ago I started a story with the simple idea of two of my favorite non-Disney animated movies meeting each other. Since then I had no idea how well-liked the story would become and have always wanted to expand upon it. Here's hoping that I can live up to the same standard that you all enjoyed from the original, and here's hoping that nothing throws a wrench into me finishing it for a prolonged period. Anyway, don't forget to enjoy and review. Till next time.