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Plot: It’s been some time since the race with the bush plane, and things are going excellently for Nome. Kodi is now the lead dog on the mail team and Balto and Jenna are getting along well. However, a new dog arrives in Nome, Steele’s son Fang. Despite being far nicer than his father, Fang is persecuted by many dogs in Nome for his father’s sins, until Kodi and the mail team, with Balto’s urgings, accept the poor dog and he ends up placed on the team.

However, despite being accepted, Fang finds himself tore. His father orders him to help him take revenge, with promises of finally being accepted after trying to be all his life, and poor Fang finds himself trapped between siding with his new friends and siding with the father he’s wanted the love of his entire life. However, behind the scenes Steele isn’t alone in his plot for revenge, a feral, human hating, Tigress named Kira is plotting along side him to take vengeance. But Kira may be willing to sink to lows even Steele won’t and may be more untrustworthy than he knows. How will this twisted tale be resolved?

Characters:

Me:

Jenna
Steele
Fang
Kira
Dusty
Sally (Fang's foster mother, a skunk)

HMXTaylorLee:
Balto
Kodi
Boris
Muk and Luk
Ralph
Kirby

Co-Authors' note -

Hi everyone! This is my first role-playing experience on the Animation Source forums, and well... my first role-playing experience ever pretty much! I ask that you all bear with me as I try to learn the ropes, and I'll have my co-author and new forum friend GodzillaWolf teach me while we go.

Unfortunately, for my timing, I'm shipping off to Basic Training for the US Military on April 10th, which leaves not a lot of time to finish it. I sincerely hope we will, but if we don't, it will be roughly a TWO AND A HALF MONTH waiting period before I return to finish. But mark my words, I WILL return to finish it. Godzilla's idea has a ton of potential, and I am very excited to be able to bring it to some sort of fruition, no matter the wait.

Special thanks to GodzillaWolf for approaching me asking for participation, and for being patient as a saint in regards to my scheduling. Your story will begin, shortly!

-HMXTaylorLee

OOC: That said, mods, please don't delete this during that time, I don't think you will but just asking.

Dusty panted heavily as the mail team continued down the path, Nome visiable now. "Looks like we'll finally make it home on time, Kodi," she said, knowing timing meant a lot to the stubborn lead dog. "And Ralph managed to go the whole run without complaining about that toenail of his."

--------------------

Jenna set at the post office, looking around. "Where's Balto?" she asked, concerned. "Kodi's should be back any minute, I don't want Balto to miss him getting back," she stated, knowing home important Kodi's job was to him.

OOC: Fang gets introduced a little later.

"Come ON Boris! The mail is going to get here any minute, I want to see Kodi back from his run!"

Balto anxiously paced the topside of the boat, his home. As he paced, his paws took him further and further towards the ramp, until they eventually led him to the snow covered shore the laid the foundation for his home.

"...Balto, please! Go on without me! I don't care about the mail coming in again, unless it has a cure for heartache in it".

Balto rolled his eyes at the line. Normally, he would refrain from using cues like that around his friends, but Boris, a white snow-goose wouldn't be able to see him with the cold steel bucket resting upon his head.

"You know, Boris, I don't really think you have much room for heartache. You left Stella, not the other way around!"

The goose jumped from his seat beneath the spindly wooden wheel that would have steered the boat, were it able to float. He ripped the bucket over his head, and thre it into the corner next to the accompanying mop.

"ACK! I had no choice! I couldn't rest, she talked talked talked all of the time! If I had known what I'd have to endure now... well, I would have done it differently!"

Balto didn't roll his eyes this time. Boris often had a penchant for complaining, but Stella's departure hit him harder than anything he had witnessed prior. He felt fortunate that Jenna had got on so well with him, and he never had to wonder what it was like without her. Still, one got tired of listening to perpetual bellyaching after a time.

"Well... you could come and see the mail with me and Jenna, and hey! Ralph is going to be there too! I bet he'd cheer you up, eh?"

Boris lifted his head at this. It had been a time since he had seen Ralph and his sled dog team mate Kirby go at each other. Boris enjoyed watching them rib each other, with Ralph at the recieving end most of the time. It reminded him of how the twin polar bears Muk and Luk recieved an earful for the smallest things from him, but it was all in good fun.

"I suppose I can come with you this time, although I don't know why you insist so much on seeing Kodiak EVERY time he returns from a mail run. It's his job!"

Balto and Boris began jogging towards the town, while Balto replied "He's proud of everything he's done, and so am I. Besides Boris, it's very important to show support for your children. Nothing makes their day more than having someone close to them tell them they've done a good job."

At this point, Balto was in a full on run, with Boris flying low behind him to keep pace. They turned down the street, and saw a familiar copper Siberian Husky with a tell-tale orange bandanna waiting by the building with the words "U.S. Post" on the windows.

-----------------------------------------------------

Kodi listened to Dusty behind him, and shook it off. Even though his strong work ethic and sense of duty had helped him to attain the coveted lead dog status on the U.S. Mail team, he had been reminded constantly (and for good reason) by Kirby and Ralph that he needed to lighten up. He knew this full well, but couldn't quite control his anxiety in such regards.

He had been born as the runt of his litter, and had to work very hard to even keep pace with his brothers and sisters when he was younger. This imbued in him a high set of standards that he tried to the upmost to live up to, and showed (with lesser frequency nowadays) annoyance at the rest of his team when they seemed to shirk what he considered one of the most important responsibilities they had. Not wanting to seem stand-offish towards her, Kodi agreeably chimed in "..Yup! We arrived on time! Good work everyone!" Their musher on the sled called to his team to slow down, and slow down they did. The familiar sight of his mother and father (and Boris too!) were waiting for him at the post office.

Their musher, upon stopping, undid the harness of his dog team. Upon being freed, Ralph and Kirby immediately went towards the deck of the post office, eagerly anticipating a reward in the form of food.

"..of course, Ralph the first thing you do when we get back is seek out some food."

"Yeah Kirby, and what are you doing?"

"I-i-I'm following you, to prove that you're so predictable!""

"So then, are you just going to watch me eat, and not touch yours to prove how unpredictable you are?"

"...Zip it, Ralph!"

Back in front of the sled, Kodi, with Dusty following close behind, approached his parents. "Hi Dad, Hi Mom".

OOC: Could you please give each character their own color if you don't mind? It helps tell them apart.

Jenna smiled. "Hello, Kodi," she said, smiling and nuzzling her son. "I see you're on time today," she continued, knowing how important his job was for him. "Didn't stop Mel from throwing a fit again though," she said with a sigh, Mel ALWAYS worried.

Dusty walked over to Kodi and family. "Hello, Balto, Jenna," she said, glad to see Kodi's parents loved him so much. "We're getting better though, I think Kodi becoming lead dog helpped us a lot," she said, smiling. "No suprise really, he IS the son of Nome's fastest dog."

------------------

Fang walked through town slowly, looking around. He was pretty jumpy, he'd already had several dogs insult him and give him trouble. His mother was busy trying to find somewhere for her to stay, since a skunk couldn't hang out in a boiler room.

Kodi lowered his head a bit, and looked away from the group for a second, studying the snow at his feet profusely. He loved hearing this praise very much, especially from Dusty.

"Well, uh... I can't take all of the credit! It's all a team effort!" he proclaimed as he snapped his head quickly to face his parents again.

"Even if..." his gaze looked behind him at the loud ruckus emanating from Ralph and Kirby's escalating argument about the amount of food divvied up to them "...we're a bit unorthodox"

-----------------------------

Balto's eyes lit up at this. He and Jenna, like most parents did, worked hard to instill good values in their pups. Included with these, was the ever-important aspect of teamwork, particularily crucial for a dogsled team. "That's a good way to look at things son".

Kodi slowly turned his head way from the now wrestling Ralph and Kirby, while a most unscrupulous Boris egged them on with colorful commentary, laughing gleefully.

"I've told you before about what can happen when you place your own self-importance before a team effort."

At Balto's words, he felt Jenna tense up next to him. She knew what was coming. From the reaction on Kodi's face, so did he.
Simultaneously, Balto and Kodi both uttered "...Steele", Kodi more exhasperatedly than Balto's touch of flourish. Jenna exhaled loudly next to them. Dusty looked quizically at the three of them. She had heard of Steele, but knew him only as a champion lead dog. Much of the dogs were the same way around Nome, the younger ones at least. The older canines who witnessed Steele's treachery three years prior would say that dragging Steele's name in the mud was rude and unnecessary, but after nearly losing his daughter, Aleu, because of a long-lived lie, Balto took no hesitance in telling the truth about him to Kodi.

Balto sniffed the air wistfully, and surprisedly thought he could smell Steele again. No, he didn't think. He knew. but it was... different somehow.

"Speaking of which, I think that's Steele's scent. But that's.."

"- Boychick, I don't think that's Steele you're sniffing out!" Boris called from the awning above the post office. He pointed his wing down the road, towards an opening in an alley, where a small, sleek, black cat-like creature was nervously moving in and out, as if searching for something.

Balto had seen one before, many years ago, but it had been some time since. "It's a skunk!"

Kirby and Ralph raised their heads to follow the rest of the groups gaze, where the skunk was ever slowly moving closer to the group, skittering about.
"A what?"

Boris's head appeared in front of Kirby's making him jump. The goose spoke plainly "It's eh... it's like a cat. Or a rat. But it don't smell so good. I don't really know much else about them, as much as I know is when I saw it with Balto"

Kirby's eyes lit up, "I bet that Ralph would get along just GREAT!"

Ralph shook his head vigorously. "Nu-uh, I don't like cats!"

Kirby laughed "HA! As if! You've never even seen a cat!"

"What difference does that make?"

"You're something else..."

Kodi turned back to his father. "So, what do you suppose it's doing in town?"

Balto looked puzzingly for a moment, before replying "I'm not sure. But I know how to find out!"

Balto started down the street quickly, approaching the skunk.
"Excuse me, but can I help you wish something?" he said.

"A skunk?" asked Dusty, looking at the little animal a bit aprehensively. "Yeah, they can kick up a big stink, but they only do it in defense," she said. "I've gotten sprayed before, it's horrid and lasts a long time, unless you get a bath in tomato juice," she explained. "Even bears leave them be."

Jenna nodded. "Balto's had quite a few run ins with them, hasn't he, Boris," she asked with a chuckle, refering to Balto's puppyhood, which Boris told her about.

---------------

The skunk, Sally, looked up at Balto. "Oh, hello there," she said. "Yes, I'm looking for a place to stay, you see I'm here with a dog I care for, his name is Fang, wonderful boy," she said. "Anyway, he wants to be a sled dog, but clearly it wouldn't work well if I stayed in the boiler room with him," she explained. "Do you know a place I could stay?"

Boris leapt from the awning, down landing in front of Dusty and Jenna.
"Oh, did he!" he exclaimed. "When Balto was a pup, he would wander off all over the place when I wasn't around. Even when I was, he wouldn't stand still!" He flapped his feathers for effect, visualizing his past frustrations.

"Maybe he was just bored, but he tried to 'play with them' several times, always ended up the same way. Can't blame them, seeing a big wolf-dog creature bounding towards them... My sense of smell? Not so good, but even I could tell when it happened. Was TERRIBLE!"

He pinched his forefeathers over his nose and shook his head wildly.

"That tomato solution would have been wonderful! Even Muk and Luk, who smell constantly of wet bear and herring, they stayed away! Not that I minded too much, of course. I couldn't imagine how Balto could tolerate it..."

Boris followed Jenna's cautious stare, and turned to face Balto and the skunk, engaged in conversation a short distance away.

"He's too trusting for his own good sometimes, but ahhhh... can't hold it against him. He's a good boy. Looks like it finally paid off, from what I can tell, he hasn't been sprayed yet."


------------------------

Balto listened attentively, absorbing the information he had just learned. He hadn't heard of a dog named Fang around here, and he wasn't quite sure where she could stay, but a particular bit of information struck a chord. A skunk raising a dog... it sounded vaguley familiar with what he had with Boris, an abnormal parenting situation.

"Looking after a dog huh? I've got someone you'd probably be interested in meeting..."

Balto turned his behind him, and called out "Hey Boris! Come on over here!"

Boris winced, and feigned not hearing him. He didn't want to risk getting sprayed himself, not if he didn't need to.

Kodi laughed "Hey, you heard what Dusty said! In self-defense only! I doubt you'd come across as threatening".

"UNCLE BORRRIIIIS"

Boris tweaked, he hated when Balto used that. Begrudgingly, he turned to look at Balto and his new acquaintance.

"Coming Mister Balto!!" He slowly started off towards the two.

Balto turned back to face Sally, "Don't mind Boris, he's a bit eccentric, but I'm sure you could relate to him. Do you want to meet some more of my friends, maybe they can help you out too!"

Although phrased as question, Balto gave no time for an answer, and turned to call everyone over. Balto was easily excited at the prospect of helping people, one might say, a bit overeager.

Kodi started immediately, Ralph and Kirby cautiously and hesitantly debating whether or not to follow suit. Eventually, they did.

Boris, by Balto's side, stared intently at his feet.

"So, Boris, this is Sally. Sally, Boris".

Without looking up, Boris grumbled something that might have sort of sounded like "How do you do..."

Author's Note - Apologies if double posting is against the rules, this was simply too big to post in one.

Boris burst out laughing, attracting the attention of the dogs behind Balto.

"Oh Balto! You crazy! What makes you think that?"

Balto realized how brazen he sounded with such a bold exclamation, and struggled to relay his mind's theories to Boris.

"Did you hear how she described his father? Nasty, dirtbag, full of himself. And the coloring he had!"

Boris, still chuckling, replied to him "Let me tell you something Balto. In the homeland,
if you had put those terms on a Missing Dogs poster, you'd be up to your ears in hundred of Steeles'! Ours just happened to live, well, here."

Balto sighed deeply, bringing to light testimony that would be hard to refute. He avoided it himself, hoping that what Sally thought was indeed that, a thought. A rumor at best.

"She also said he was chased out for abandoning his sled team in a blizzard, nearly killing kids in Nome during a disease outbreak. Come on Boris, that CAN'T be a coincidence! How often do we get outbreaks like that around here, especially"

Expecting Boris to settle down and accept the possibility that Balto's theory might possibly have merit, Balto was surprised by what Boris did instead.

"Ay, Balto! I don't know! Maybe this happened a long time ago, maybe before we settled here! I wouldn't be surprised if this Fang is an old, old, dog. His father? Maybe he abandoned their sled team many years before?"

Balto shook his head, "That's absurd. Moreover, she said that his father was more social today, implying he's still alive. If Fang were that old like you suggest, I don't think his father would still be around."

Finally giving way, though not fully, to Balto's resolve, Boris conceded.
"Alright, alright. You have a point there. Anything else you want to mention to, shall we say, corroborate your idea?"

Unsteadily, Balto murmured the one detail that refutes all of the others most severely.

"She also mentioned... that Fang is part wolf."

The group of dogs turned again to look at the loud laughing goose, at another outburst sprung forth by new information.

"That settles it then, it's not Steele, it's impossible! I'm sure you remember his... ehhh... attitude towards wolves, yes?"

"That's just it. I can't explain that. Unless Steele didn't know, but he was able to make me out right away."

Boris put his wing to his chin, for lack of a better term, and started trying to click it together.
"Suppose this theory of yours is true... you aren't going to consider helping him out, letting HER stay at our boat?"

Quickly, very quickly, Balto retorted "Of course I will!"

Not liking what he heard, the goose quickly tried to convince him otherwise.
"B-b-but why Balto? You don't remember what he did to you?"

Rehearsedly, Balto had rationalized this already
"I remember what Steele did, Boris, believe me. But, at least for Sally, she's NOT Steele. She said herself that she can't believe how nice Fang is, considering the 'piece of work' his father was. I doubt HE'S Steele either."

Boris turned his head down ashamedly. He knew that Balto was completely in the right here.

Balto's righteousness, when it had momentum, was quite a force to be reckoned with.

"Furthermore, I'm surprised you can't relate in some way. She's just a mother trying to care for her young
as best she can, when his actual parents can't or won't."

"Alright! Alright!" Boris had had enough. He knew that Balto was right, in all regards to helping her out.

"She can stay with us. A skunk, a goose, a wolfdog, two polar bears! Get a man with pointy nose-hair from a travelling canine circus, THEN we'll have a real show!".

Emboldened by his success, and unfettered by Boris' continued grumblings, Balto turned tail, and proceeded to jaunt back to the others, to tell them the good news. But Boris, he wasn't quite finished.
"Wait! Balto!"

Balto stopped, and sighed. "Boris, she's staying" he said, turning his head only slightly, enough to see Boris out of the corner of his eye.

Boris flapped over to him, kicking up snow from his take off. "I'm a goose of my word boychick, I'm just curious... Why is she wanting to stay here?"

Amidst the confusion about Steele (which he was still unsure of), and the living arrangements, Balto had almost
forgotten why Sally wanted to badly to be close to town.
"She said she wanted to keep an eye on him, he's looking to join a dogsled team I think?"

Boris stopped waddling along side him for a moment, "What dogsled team? The races have been all but finished for the season!"

Balto contemplated, only for an instant. "I'm not sure they know that... Maybe- Maybe Kodi can arrange to have a new member for the mail team!?"

The snow goose guffawed."Oh yes, I'm sure. After all you've told him about Steele-"

"-We don't know if Fang is! If he is, which doesn't even ma-"

"So now you think he isn't? When it suits you?"

"Boris, please... We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm sure Kodi will be just fine with it."

Balto nearly ran into the white muzzle of his son as Kodi turned around, asking "Fine with what?"

Balto didn't realize how close they had wandered to the group during the last leg of their conversation.

Boris had a point though. Balto hadn't painted a pretty picture of Steele to his son, and Kodi's super emphasis on teamwork was a testament to how much Kodi DIDN'T want to be like Steele, just from the stories he'd been told.

However, it had all been true. And it was also true that children aren't their parents.

Here's hoping that Kodi would accept both truths.

"Oh, uhh... I'll tell you later." He told him. Balto needed more time to sort it out. It would help also when they finally met with Fang, wherever he was.

Kodi looked at him questioningly, but immediately perked up when his father spoke next.

"Sally? C'mon, me and Boris will take you to your lovely new place of residence".

Sally nodded. "Alright, thank you very much, Balto," she said, very politely. "I just wonder were Fang has gotten to," she said. "Maybe he's wherever the sled dogs are," she continued, unknowing that they were already extremely close to there.

"You're close, actually," said Dusty, finding it weird she was talking to a skunk. "Jenna and Balto are the only dogs here that aren't sled dogs, well Balto is part time," she said, happy Balto had helpped them with the plane and still did some racing for cherity and the like, when it was importent enough. "Anyway, we could check the boiler room first if you'd like, see if he's there, then you can go with Balto."

Sally nodded. "I wouldn't mind, if you're willing to allow me. If Fang does become a sled dog, I'd like to see where he'll be staying if you don't mind."

"What do you think, Kodi?" asked Jenna. "Can she see the boiler room to check if Fang is there?"

----------------------------

Fang was in front of the boiler room, sadly when he'd gotten there, he'd run into trouble. "Just leave me alone!" he barked at the dogs who were tormenting him.

"Why should we, mongrol?" asked the leader of the group, a rather large malamute named Saber who regularally picked on Kodi and his siblings for their wolf half. "You look like someone who caused a lot of trouble around here a long time ago," he said. "A lowlife dog named Steele who nearly got my owner killed a couple of years ago, when I was just a pup!" he snarled, Fang looking ashamed at the mention. "Looks like I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?" he smirked, his cronies, a couple of huskies, helpping him back the poor dog into the corner. "I never got to pay that jerk back for nearly costing me my owner, maybe I'll take out my anger on you instead!"

Saber kicked Fang hard into a wall, leaving the poor wolfdog in a good bit of pain. "What's wrong? Not a fighter like your papa?" he asked, mockingly.

Fang whimpered. "I don't want my first day in Nome to involve me hurting someone else," he muttered back.

"Well good, but I don't mind it involving me hurting you," said Saber, moving in.

Sally was slower than the others, being smaller with shorter legs. She heard Fang's voice and gasped. "That's Fang! He's in trouble!"

Jenna suddenly gasped and ran forwards. Being a mother, she knew how poor Sally probably felt hearing her boy in trouble. She entered the ally in time to see Saber throw Fang against a trash can and froze. "He...he looks just like Steele..." she said, shocked. She, like her mate, had guessed it may be true, but looking at Fang, she knew instantly it was Steele's child, Fang looked very simular, except with wolfish eyes, paws, and less smooth fur, in addition to his namesake, a single fang coming from the side of his mouth. He was also a good bit smaller, about Kodi's size. Reguardless, seeing Fang getting beat on made her mad, Steele's son or not he didn't deserve to be hurt. She quickly ran in and leapt over Saber's group, snarling. "Leave the boy alone! What did he do to you?" she barked, in a chastizing tone Kodi would know very well. She didn't like Saber anyway, he'd hurt her baby's feelings every chance he got, she wasn't about to stand by and let him pick on someone.

Dusty, already disliking Saber for bullying Kodi, joined Jenna quickly. "Where do you get off?! Hurting others just because they're different than you!" she barked, though they were outnumbered, Saber tended to roam with a small group of dogs, abut five.

All of the doubts that had lingered in his thoughts were gone now. This was definitely Steele's boy, but it was definitely a wolf, or at least, part wolf.
The size of the paws, and the scruffier appearance of his fur (made more scruffy by his recent bout of conflict, no doubt) were surefire indicators.

Balto couldn't help but feeling a sensation of deja vu having watched Saber throwing Fang around, now against a wooden wall that had absorbed the impact without so much as a quiver.
He too, had taken his fair share of fights at the hands of Steele, and just like Balto had done during those fights, Fang hadn't appeared raise a paw in defense thus far.

Balto had a very strict and well voiced policy with his family regarding violence. It was strictly a last resort for when a life was at risk. The last time he had ever attacked ANYONE was almost two years ago, when a hunter had taken aim at his daughter.

Kodi was to his right, teeth bared. Although he had taught Kodi that it wasn't worth fighting others, it was clear from his expression that Kodi was willing to make an exception for the greater good.
It probably helped him to ease his conscience, considering how many times Kodi had been the victim of Sabers' gangs repeated tauntings and prodding.

Looking at Jenna, who had leapt over Saber's group in defense of Fang just a moment ago, Balto decided that, should the need arise, he would make an exception too.

--------------------------------------------

Kodi listened, head swimming with anger from the scene he was witnessing, to what his mother and Dusty had said. He was sure that Dusty's comment was derived from the times that he himself had been hassled, and his Mother's passion seemed to stem from the same source.

Kodi had never liked Saber. Proudly declaring that his father was the great Balto had turned out to be disadvantageous for him in this regard, gathering naught but sneers and jeers from Saber and his ruffians. Many a time, Kodi had thought of pouncing him, just to show Saber that he could.

On each occasion, he heeded his father's advice. But this, this was something different. This Fang, clearly part wolf, had done seemingly nothing to antagonize Saber's wrath, apart from simply being different. Kodi wanted to use this opportunity to help, in any way he could. He hadn't seen the extent of the fighting (or rather, assault), so he didn't know how badly Fang had been injured. He did know, and lamented for those occasions when he wanted to stand up to Saber, that Saber was a very hearty and strong dog. Any blow dealt by him, especially when no defense is presented, was sure to be inflicting.

He remembered the crashed bush pilot from month ago, and he had learned that if a life was in danger, desperate measures needed to be enforced. If his mother had already put herself in harms way, he couldn't think of a situation MORE desperate. His teammate Dusty had followed suit. If anything, he didn't want to leave her to the dogs, so to speak. They were part of a team, one that Kodi considered his own family, and he would try to follow in his fathers footsteps and defend them at whatever the cost.

Kodi turned his head behind, noticing his father staring intently at him at a glance, and looked at Ralph and Kirby before uttering "Can I count on you two?". Although phrased as a question, it was clearly more of a plea for assistance.

Simultaneously, Ralph and Kirby both agreed "Yes sir!".

Kirby had often heckled Kodi for his stringent adherence to responsibilities, but he had the utmost respect for him. They had elected him lead dog (their musher had less of a choice in the matter than one would think) because of his strong values. Such values have a way of attracting loyalty, which Kodi had definitely earned. He and Dusty acted as a great foil to keep him and Ralph, along with the others, in line. He liked to think of the balancing act as mutual, because Ralph and Kirby had many times reminded Kodi to loosen up a bit, which was a very healthful suggestion.

Ralph felt much the same way. He had witnessed Saber's mocking of Kodi since Kodi had first joined the team, and he didn't care for it one bit. Ralph knew that Kodi was more of a pacifist, but Ralph and Kirby could certainly scrap when they wanted to, often wrestling with each other for fun. Ralph usually won, his larger size was very much a factor in this, and would come into play most graciously should worse come worst in the coming minutes.

Kodi leapt to Jenna and Dusty's side, while Ralph and Kirby lumbered to his.

--------------------

With that, it was a much more fair outlook. Though still outnumbered (five on six), the prospect of actually losing a fight would probably help Balto's attempt to talk Saber out of an unnecessary battle.

Balto spoke to the collective

"We don't want to fight you-"

Kodi had grumbled something under his breath at this, probably louder than he had intended it to be.

"We don't want to fight you, but we will if we have to."

The tension in the room was palpable. Balto wasn't sure if Saber had got the hint, so he chimed in one last time, while bracing himself low the ground.

"The choice is yours."