Balto and Jenna lay pressed up against one another for another minute or so, trying to regain their physical and emotional strength. As they occasionally nuzzled and pressed further into each other, the two loving canines both felt their own kind of guilt.

Jenna felt deeply ashamed of the fact that she had dragged Balto into this mess. He shouldn’t be here right now. He should be back at the safety of his boat, or spending his afternoon with Rosy like they had planned. But when he happened to catch her in her abduction, of course he came after her. The sweet, devoted canine had once again proven the lengths that he was willing to go for her. He always had a way of making her feel safe and loved, even in just the way he looked at her. Yet look at how he was rewarded for it. Bound and gagged alongside her. She pressed her face further into his neck, trying to show how much he meant to her. “Mm lmmv ymm,” she looked up at him and tried to say that she loved him. But the cruel muzzle was keeping her from even this simple heartfelt statement.

Balto, meanwhile, felt as though he had failed his mate. He knew that she was independent enough to take care of herself, but he still felt that he had the responsibility to never let her down or disappoint her, ever since he saved her little girl. And yet she was still trapped in here. She didn’t deserve this. She was a loving pet and the truest friend he’d ever had. She had faithfully stuck by him through all his hardships, and inspired him with her own strength and determination. He suddenly felt her face nuzzling his neck, continuing to show him affection despite his failure. She murmured something to him, and while the ropes made her words unintelligible, the wolfdog knew what she said. From the tone and sincerity in her voice and the way she looked up at him whenever she had said it before, he just knew. He responded by resting his chin on her head. “Mm lmmv ymm tmn,” he said gently.

He tried to give her a gentle lick, but couldn’t even slip his tongue through the vile gag. “Mm smmry,” the wolfdog tried and failed to get out an apology for letting her down.

“Wnnn?” Jenna asked, her face contorting in confusion – which caused the gag to bite at her mouth a little more.

“Mm smmry,” Balto repeated it slower this time, but still couldn’t be understood. Feeling utterly defeated, he simply lay his head back down on Jenna’s.

But the husky had had enough of this. She'd been tied up and gagged for a while at this point, and the ropes had yet to yield their cruel grip even slightly. Most dogs would likely have fully succumbed to their bondage at this point, but she was more resilient than most dogs. She wanted out, wanted these ropes off of her, wanted out of this basement. And above all else, she wasn’t going to just lay around in pity while she, her mate, and possibly her family were put in danger by these brutes. So the stubborn canine separated from the wolfdog’s comfort, and wriggled around to readjust herself so that her paws were directly over the ropes binding Balto’s front legs. She unsheathed her claws from her bound paws and began trying to cut off his bonds.

Balto realized what the husky was trying to do. He was more than grateful for her efforts, but his days of running and watching sled dogs made him aware that in a situation like this, if they were pressed for time, it would be more beneficial to have one’s back legs free first. It would allow them more balance, and they could get closer to a full-on run if they had to make a getaway. So he pulled away from Jenna and repositioned himself to have his hindleg ropes at her claws instead.

"Grr frm mm bmng lmmm. Thnnnll mm mhnnmr wnnh dnnn frmm," he grunted.

"Whmm? Mmgnnn hndmrrdnnm ymm," the gagged husky grunted in confusion and tilted her head. She was unable to make out what he was saying, but she herself couldn't be understood either. Their mouths were just too well-secured. They had to rely solely on physical gestures to communicate in any way. Balto responded to her clear confusion by nodding his head towards the bonds and wriggling his back legs in their ropes. Jenna got what he was getting at, not sure why he insisted on it but trusting him regardless. So she instead went to trying to cut at those ropes instead. At the same time, Balto shifted over to try and cut the ropes on her own back legs, the two simultaneously working at the other's bonds.

After well over ten minutes, however, neither of them made an inch of progress. Balto was able to confirm to himself that these were indeed pieces of sled harness. And so unfortunately, they were built for immense toughness, a tight grip, and resistance against all but the sharpest of objects. It was becoming incredibly clear that neither of their claws were going to make a dent in the ropework. Eventually, Jenna let out a strangled moan of frustration, throwing her forelegs about as much as she could.

So cutting through the ropes wasn’t going to work. They had to think of something else. Balto readjusted himself onto his stomach. He looked down at his bonds on his forelegs, wanting to thoroughly examine how they were applied. His brow furrowed deeply as he studied them, examining how many layers of rope were used, how the knots were tied. He shifted his shoulders and hips about, wriggling and tugging his forelegs and hindlegs in a slow, experimental manner to see and feel how the ropes reacted. He didn’t even bother trying to break them through sheer force. Balto was strong, but he was by no means muscular. His sleek, sturdy body and thin but firm legs were far more well-built for speed, agility, and endurance than for brute strength. The ropes continued to dig deeper into his skin in response to his movements, but he forced himself to ignore the sting, breathing deeply and slowly through his nose as he focused.

The wolfdog shifted and scrunched his jaws around as best he could, trying to feel how they were bound and looking for any possible give. He twisted and contorted his muzzle in any way he could to jostle their grip, and threw his head around in a moment of impatience. He tried to pull his jaws open even a little, letting out a long, loud groan as he strained, but they remained very tightly clenched shut. All in all, he only succeeded in making his mouth even more sore.

Jenna observed how Balto calmly and intensely studied how he was bound. She had always admired him for his intelligence and calm determination when he set his mind to something, and it shone through once more here. She sought to examine her own bindings as well. The husky experimented with them in a similar manner to her mate, methodically working her body in the bindings. She rolled onto her back and squirmed her hindlegs back and forth, trying to look for any slack to work with. Her legs weren’t nearly as powerful as Balto’s, but they were still long, healthy, and strong for their slender size. Her lithe body also had far more endurance than anyone would have expected, which would come in handy as she exerted herself trying to break free.

The husky desperately wanted the harsh gag off of her above anything else, so she tried as best she could to wedge her bound paws underneath the ropes around her muzzle. She pulled as hard as she could and compacted her jaws as much as possible, but it seemed to give her a millimeter of slack at best. She tried to twist her forelegs around to reach the muzzle from different angles, examining how the ropes shifted – or rather, how little they shifted. But the bondage of her forelegs gave her few options to work with.

Both canines were unable to really twist their legs around or tug in many directions. The problem was how far up their legs the ropes went. Their front legs were so covered in ropes that their elbows were involuntarily touching. Their back legs had been thoroughly restrained from their ankles to halfway up their thighs, with only a small gap at their knees. This kept both sets of legs locked parallel to each other, squeezed tightly and stiffly and allowing very little room for struggling. Their muzzles were wrapped just as densely, with the ropes tucked deeply into the bridges of their snouts and winding their way up to just short of touching their noses. Almost no inch of their muzzles were free of their grasps, and they could barely even shift their jaws at all.

Additionally, it seemed that two layers of rope had been applied everywhere, including their muzzle gags. As if one layer wouldn't have been enough for the strong ropes to hold their captives. Multiple knots had also been tied off to ensure that no weak points existed.

So sadly, none of their work did either of the two captives any good. Neither canine could find any opening in their bondage to exploit. Their grim predicament was feeling more and more inescapable by the second. In addition to their seemingly inescapable ropes, the two lovers hadn’t even had the chance to think about how they would escape once they did get free. Their only way out seemed to be the door at the top of the basement stairs, which had been locked.

The wolfdog, feeling defeated, ceased his struggling and rested his head down on the cold floor, sighing through his clenched teeth. He weakly tugged at the ropes once more as he muffledly whined, but they still held tight. The two canines were tired, afraid, and trapped, and could seemingly do little if anything about it. Balto could feel his fear rising, his legs jerking about in the ropes almost involuntarily in a brief panic. He was beginning to doubt that they would ever be able to free themselves.

But he quickly pushed these thoughts down. No, he thought to himself, You can’t think like that. You’ve been in sticky situations before, and this time Jenna’s at risk, too. We just have to keep thinking.

Meanwhile, Jenna looked around their basement prison. It was largely empty, but still had a few boxes and some loose miscellaneous items lying around. There was very little chance that there would be anything in here that could actually help them, but they had to take any chance they had. She glanced over at her mate, and it appeared that he too had been looking around the room. The two canines seemed to read each other’s thoughts, as they nodded to each other in confirmation of their new tasks. And so Jenna began inching her way through the room, looking around for anything of value to them.

Balto, however, was getting fed up with having to lie on the floor like this. He scowled, and began an effort to get onto his bound feet feet. He got himself onto his stomach wriggled his back feet until they were as directly underneath him as the ropes would allow. Once he managed to plant himself in a shaky crouch position, he then carefully rose up. He had to fight every instinct he had to separate his feet like he normally would, but he finally was able to push himself fully upright on all four paws, a stifled grunt escaping his muzzle. He had to teeter a little to keep himself steady, and his footing was off, but his agility was better than most, and he quickly managed to maintain a somewhat stable standing position.

As Jenna turned around to check on the wolfdog, she was surprised to see him standing on all fours while still tied up. "Bmmtm!" she gasped. Balto noticed her surprise and gave a wry smile under the ropes, trying to at least add a little levity to their dour situation.

Jenna couldn’t help but give a light stifled chuckle at the wolfish grin. She then tried to get on her feet as well. She tried to find a decent footing to lift herself up, but every time she would begin to rise she found herself tipping back over onto her side. Once more, the difficulty came from how far up her legs were tied. It drastically limited how much she could maneuver or adjust her legs, which were so stiffly joined together that her even shoulders and hips were partially bunched up involuntarily.

After three failed attempts on her part, she saw Balto looking at her in concern. She just let out a muffled sigh and kept trying. Balto awkwardly hobbled his way over to her side. Despite him being just as restrictively tied up as she was, he was making it look so easy.

Balto was more than willing to help his mate maneuver herself in this tricky state. Unable to speak, he would have to do so through demonstration. He lay down next to her on his stomach to match her position. He then put his back feet back underneath him, grunting to her and trying to signal her to get hers into that position as well. Jenna caught on and managed to emulate him. The wolfdog then planted his front paws firmly on the ground and got into a crouch position, and she followed suit. He then slowly rose up, allowing her time to do the same. Jenna shakily did so, and eventually she was finally on her feet. She had to wobble quite a bit to stay upright, much more so than her agile mate, but she managed.

The wolfdog then took a single step forward with his bound forelegs. He looked at her and tried to guide her to do the same. She copied him, and he did the same motion with his back legs, which she also copied. The two repeated the process for a few steps. They ended up limping side by side, and although it was clearly not easy for her, Balto was impressed with how she was doing overall. He smiled at her in admiration, and she smiled back at him. “Gnmd jmm,” he tried to praise. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I've seen her in action before, she's definitely physically capable. Heh, maybe one day I could show her a few of my tricks, he thought to himself.

Once he felt she could go forward on her own, Balto decided to go the other way. He looked down at his restrained legs and began turning himself around. He took one step at a time, pausing in between to make sure that he kept a stable footing, but he was turned around in a few seconds. All the while Jenna marveled at how her nimble mate had once again made it look so effortless.

And so the two bound and gagged canines spent the next little while hobbling around the basement, searching through what little they could find in the run-down room.

---

As both of them expected but were hoping against, the tied up duo were unable to find anything of use to them. They scoured through every nook and cranny they could find, but the sharpest objects they came across were the occasional loose nail or the dulled edges of the basement walls. Neither of which would be sufficient.

At some point, Jenna found herself at the bottom of the basement staircase. She looked up at the door, seemingly their only means of getting out of here. Just as she was about to look away from it, however, she noticed a crucial detail about it. Its hinges looked slightly worn out, another sign of this building’s old age. They also resembled another certain door: that of the boiler room back in Nome. The same one that Balto had effortlessly unlocked by claw when the two were trying to sneak underneath the hospital. The tied up husky turned around to get a better look. Perhaps too enthusiastically, because the effort caused her to tip and fall back onto her side. Jenna groaned in frustration, but looked back up at the door.

Could Balto unlock it? He did it before, but he’s tied up. Plus, even if he can, we’d still be tied up. Could we really make our way out of here and back to town like this? Jenna gave it a few seconds’ more thought, before coming to the bitter conclusion that this seemed to be their only way of escaping. It was far from ideal and maybe not even possible. But they had to try.

“Bmmtm! Mvmr hmrr!” Jenna garbled out. The wolfdog had been rummaging through some open crates, using his nose to shift around the materials inside. He immediately bolted his head up at his mate’s call, and made his way over to her. "Jnnrm!" he grunted, eyes showing concern when he saw she had fallen over. When the husky saw this concern and realized she'd made a fool of herself, she lowered her ears and looked away in shame. Balto responded by simply nuzzling her face, which she gratefully returned. He went over and began to guide her up again, thinking that this was the reason she had called out. She shook her head and nodded it up at the basement door several times, pointing her forelegs to it as well. Balto raised a brow and looked towards it as well. He wasn’t sure what she was getting at, so he pointed his tied up muzzle at himself, and then the door, letting out a questioning grunt. Jenna nodded in confirmation. The wolfdog tried to ask what she was thinking, but all that came out was, “Whmrn rnn yrn gmmnn wnnn dmnn, Jnnnm?” The husky only looked at him with pleading eyes, trying to silently say, Trust me. Her mate was still unsure, but nodded his head at her in accordance.

Jenna let out a slight grin underneath the ropes and began inching her way up the stairs. Balto, of course, kept upright on his feet as he slowly climbed up. He had to crouch on every narrow step, but his catlike reflexes made this almost a non-issue.

Soon both canines made it to the door. Just as Balto turned to Jenna to silently ask what her plan was now, the husky rubbed her nose against the hinges, looking her mate in the eye afterward. Suddenly, the wolfdog’s eyes shot open wide in realization. Of course! he thought. How could I forget, I have the keys to the city! A brief smile started to form on his rope-wrapped face, before he immediately recognized the major problem. His legs were bound. Would he still be able to do this? Only one way to find out, he thought.

Balto sprang himself onto his tied up hind legs, pressing his front paws against the door. From there, he carefully inched his way over to where his paws lined up with the door hinges. He scrunched his face up in concentration, and at this point he was more annoyed than pained when doing so tightened the grip of his gag. He tried to get an extended claw positioned underneath the nail of the top hinge, but the ropes hindered his dexterity. He had to also focus on keeping himself upright and not falling back down the stairs. After several failed attempts, he was beginning to get frustrated.

Fortunately, Jenna had another idea. She squirmed her way up to the top and wriggled her way underneath Balto. From there, she got into a half sitting position and extended her neck and head up as far as they could go. Balto immediately saw why she was doing this – she was giving him support, so that he could lean on her as he tried to get the hinge. He gave a beaming smile of admiration at his clever mate. He had always considered her to be the smartest dog he had ever met, and it seemed she was intent on continuing to prove him right.

Still on his hind legs, Balto pressed his furry chest into her head to keep a steady balance. It took a little bit of adjusting, but the wolfdog finally managed to get a good grip at the nail. He pulled and wriggled it up, and it came out of the hinge, falling onto the stairs and rolling down to the floor below.

“Ymm!!” Jenna cheered, careful to still not move while her mate was still leaning on her.

Balto eyed the lower hinge, and nodded to it with his head while grunting out at Jenna. The husky immediately moved aside so that he could get back down to a lying position. He reached out his rope-wrapped forelegs and tucked his claw underneath the bottom nail, yanking it out with ease.

And then, with much anticipation, Balto used his bound paws to nudge the door open. And it gave, falling out of the frame before leaning on one of the walls.

"Gmhn, lmnn gm!" Balto whispered.

The captive canines didn’t even take a moment to celebrate, or look around to see if their captors were in sight. They immediately squirmed out of the dreaded basement and into the main area of the house. The way to the exit came back into their memories, and the two didn’t waste a moment inching their way over.

When they finally made it to the back, Balto and Jenna went over to the window with the missing glass, their way out. Jenna immediately squirmed over to it while Balto got onto his feet once more and hobbled over. The bound wolfdog took a few shaky steps to position himself for what he was planning, and crouched his legs low, wriggling his flank as he prepared himself.

Jenna looked at her mate in confusion. Wait, he’s not really going to …

Balto then leaped out of the window, cleanly soaring through. It took all of his concentration, but he managed to shakily yet skillfully land in a crouch on his bound feet. He wobbled about as he rose back up. He looked back at his mate and gave her a devilish smirk underneath his gag.

Okay, now you're just showing off, Jenna thought. The husky didn’t even attempt such a stunt, instead opting to drape her forelegs over the sill and launch herself over. She landed on her side in the snow, but it didn’t matter. They were out of the house. Still tied up, muzzled, and in pain, but they were out.

But the lovers still wouldn’t allow themselves a moment to celebrate. They had no idea where the robbers were, and they were determined to not find out. Balto got back into a lying position, and the two began rapidly worming themselves away from the house. Jenna was in the car when she was brought her and so didn’t know the way back to town. But Balto had chased them here, and so grunted and nodded his head in the right direction, and the two were off.

They still weren’t sure if they would be able to pull this off. Squirming and inching their way across the tundra of Nome for potentially miles, unable to defend themselves and growing increasingly sore by the minute. But as long as they got as far away from those evil men as possible, they were willing to make the effort.

And at this point, they were convinced that as long as they had each other, they could accomplish anything.

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Balto the film, the images used, and the characters of Balto, Jenna, and Rosy, all belong to Universal.

The image was made by foxy-lex

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Thank you for checking this story out!

Originally uploaded on November 14, 2018.

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Jenna's gag speech translated:

“Mm lmmv ymm,” – “I love you,”

“Wnnn?” – “What?”

"Whmm? Mmgnnn hndmrrdnnm ymm," - "What? I can't understand you,"

"Bmmtm!" - "Balto!"

“Bmmtm! Mvmr hmrr!” – “Balto! Over here!”

“Ymm!!” – “Yes!!”


Balto's gag speech translated:

“Mm lmmv ymm tmn,” – “I love you too,”

“Mm smmry,” – “I’m sorry,”

"Grr frm mm bmng lmmm. Thnnnll mm mhnnmr wnnh dnnn frmm," - "Go for my back legs. Things'll be easier with them free,"

“Gnmd jmb,” – “Good job,”

"Jnnrm!" - "Jenna!"

“Whmrn rnn yrn gmmnn wnnn dmnn, Jnnnm?” – “Where are you going with this, Jenna?”

"Gmhn, lmnn gm!" - "C'mon, let's go!"