In the dire darkness below the run-down building she was being held in, Jenna continued squirming and pulling for all that she was worth. She heaved in and out through her nose, the panic rising higher as he movements became both more quick and more drained. Her paws had twisted and tugged against their bindings for well over ten minutes straight. Jenna couldn't resist the pained grunts that escaped past her gag every time they were pulled; this goose knew how to tie tight knots, and the bitter sting was incessantly coursing through her legs with every movement.

But she refused to give in to the pain, the discomfort, or the reality that if these ropes were escapable, she'd be free by now. She was fighting for two lives: her own, and that of the love of her life.

"Jenna," Steele's cold, callous utterance of her name caused Jenna's movements to freeze. She looked up at him, her hatred washing out the dread in her eyes. He was still sitting in the corner of the room, watching her futile efforts with obvious joy. This was his ultimate fantasy, she was sure of it.

"Stop fighting. You're mine, don't you see? This is what was meant to be. Haven't you all taken enough from me? You'll deny me of the one thing I have left?" Steele wasn't speaking in the usual cocky, self-assured manner that he usually did. His voice was shaky and uncertain, as if he was trying to convince himself that he had things under control, that he was still top dog in some way.

In fact, as Jenna really took the time to study Steele, the more she noticed how much of a wreck he was truly was. For most of her captivity thus far, she had been too in shock, fear, and anger to really pay attention to his appearance. But now, she noticed the details. For one, his championship collar was missing, his neck bare. She'd heard that it had been forced off of him by a mob of dogs when his crimes were exposed, but she hadn't known if there was any truth to that until now. Additionally, his fur was a mess. It had lost its shine, stuck up in many places in thick clumps, and had dried patches of brown dirt sprinkled around. It seemed that he had not received a bath at all in his time away. Balto was unkept, but he at least used the lake to clean himself; Steele looked like he had just given up entirely.

His movements were different as well. He would often pace around her aimlessly, and in that time his head was slouched low between his shoulders, his movements stiff and rigid, a violent twitch in his eye. She could hear his claws tapping the floor as they carried him. This was all far different from the usual dominant way he held himself in, a strut to his every step like he just knew he was the greatest thing in whatever room he entered.

It really was a sight to behold, this once-proud top dog now looking so shaken and broken. Not that it made Jenna feel sorry for him. Not in the slightest. If anything, it was the one thing she could enjoy in all this. In her mind, he had this coming, and she darkly hoped that it only got worse for him.

However, it was also making her even more afraid of him. He was clearly even more unstable than before, so she didn't know when he would just snap and attack her. To be tied up and unable to yell or speak in the presence of someone like that was another incentive to keep her struggling going, even when her aching body was begging her to stop.

"I mean, open your eyes, Jenna. You talk so highly of that mangy, skinny fleabag, how he's so sweet and so good to you. But tell me this, where is he? Huh?! Why hasn't he arrived to save the day and win the girl? If it were me, I'd have had you out of here hours ago. You see, Jenna? He's not the guy you think he is, he's not right for you! If you stay with me, I'll be what you deserve, I'll never leave you alone, you can-"

"Nnmmph, Nmmrm! Mmmmghmn, ynnnmmnnnn hrmmmrrnnmmn!!" The dog's insane spiel was cut off by the gagged husky, causing him to snap his head towards her.

"E-everyone's just delusional." He sauntered over to her. "That's it. Yeah, that's it, they've all gone mad, and so have you! It's him, it was always him! Spreading rabies or whatever wolf diseases he's carrying so bad that it starts eating at people's minds!" He sauntered over and placed his cheek right beside Jenna, as if in a last-ditch effort to win her over the old-fashioned way. "C'mon, Jen. Let good ol' Steele help you. Let me cure you."

Jenna just snarled through the gag and wiggled herself away from him. Steele, however, immediately dropped the suave act. In a swift movement, he slammed a paw against the side of her head and pinned it to the ground. "MMMMPH!!!" she squealed. Even the goose huddled in the corner flinched at the blow.

"OH WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!! YOU'RE JUST SOME DELUSIONAL HUSSY!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU!!! I DO!!!" Steele was baring his teeth inches from her face through every crazed word. Jenna squeezed her eyes shut in horror. She was in hysterics, letting out high-pitched yet stifled screams that turned into choked sobs. She kept struggling and bucking her legs around in a frenzy, having never felt more violated.

"I'LL SHOW YOU!!! WHEN BALTO SHOWS UP AND FAILS TO BEAT ME, YOU'LL SEE WHAT A FAILURE HE IS!!! HOW MUCH HE CAN REALLY PROTECT YOU, PROTECT ANYONE!!! I'M THE TOP DOG, I ALWAYS WILL BE, AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU KNOW IT MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, YOU ROTTEN LITTLE-"

"Steele!!"

Both canines went dead silent, the drop of a pin being audible. They slowly turned their heads towards the source of the new voice. Jenna's eyes went wide while Steele's narrowed.

Because in the entryway stood none other than Balto himself.

The hybrid canine looked about as angry as either dog had ever seen him. He was in a slightly crouched stance, the fur on the back of his neck standing up. His teeth were bared, his bright eyes flashing as his thick brows were dug in between them. It was a sight to behold from the wolfdog who was usually so easy-going.

Steele slowly removed his paw from Jenna's head and turned to confront his enemy. Jenna, meanwhile, was more afraid than relieved due to what Steele had in mind for him. She started screaming out, trying in some way to tell Balto to leave her, to spare him of such a grizzly fate. "Bmmnn, ghnnnnhmmm! Mmrrmm, hnnghrrmmn grmmymm, nmmgm! GMM!!" The red husky was shaking her head vigorously to try and help get her muffled message across. But her love either didn't get the message or didn't care, as he kept focus on Steele.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the brave hero. How nice of you to pay your old friend a visit," Steele growled bitterly. Balto kept his stance and gaze firm. Had he not known of the trap beforehand, he'd be taken aback by Steele's unsurprised addressing of him. "I take it you're here for her," he nodded towards Jenna, whose voice was straining to keep muffling in desperation.

Balto couldn't help but address the poor husky. His gaze softened considerably as he took in her tied up and fatigued state. It looked even worse from closer up. "Jen. Jen, shh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay," he tried to soothe her. "I'm getting you out of here, just hold on." She had stopped shouting, but kept shaking her head, her eyes begging for him to flee through unshed tears.

"HA!" Steele exclaimed sharply, audibly startling Jenna. "And just how are you gonna do that, wolfie? You gonna beat me up, or just try and talk me to death like you always do? 'Ooh, Steele, I don't wanna fight, I just wanna do what's right'! Sounds like a true hero, right?! RIGHT?!"

He was losing what little sanity he originally had, and Balto could instantly see it as clearly as Jenna could. But he kept steady. "Steele. I know you're upset right now, and I don't blame you." Well, yes he did, but he had to keep up the act. "But I have something that I think could benefit both of us." With that, Balto reached behind the wall closest to him. Steele was ready to attack him to prevent his escape, but what Balto pulled out stunned him in place.

It was none other than his championship collar, the one that had been forcefully removed from him.

And now Balto had it.

"Rubbing it in more, huh Bingo?! Not enough that you took my girl or my reputation!? Why I oughta just-"

"Listen!" Balto barked boldly. "You want it back? Well, here's the deal: let Jenna go and it's all yours. Jenna for the collar, nothing else, and we never have to address this again."

Jenna raised a brow at that. This certainly wasn't what she was expecting, and she didn't know understand it. What was Balto thinking? Did he really think that Steele would agree to such a thing?

Steele circled himself for a moment, seeming to genuinely be thinking it over. As if he was so desperate for some tie back to his former life, that even a mere collar was enough to make him give up his plans. But his head shot back towards Balto, the malice erasing all sense of doubt within him.

He stared Balto down and replied, "How very tempting. But since you seem to have all the answers, tell me this. Why don't I just rip you apart and take the collar and the girl?" Steele began slowly padding towards the wolfdog. Balto recoiled and slowly backed up, and the two started slowly heading for the exit of this room.

"Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt. Listen, Steele. If you kill me, then people are going to notice. If you keep Jenna here," Balto had to hold back a growl at that idea, "Then even more people will notice. She's already missing, the town is already looking for her. And they know I am too. You think the dogs won't put two and two together once I'm gone? Someone, human or dog, will track you down." His body was now halfway through the entryway, and he kept backing up as Steele kept advancing. "I'm trying to give you a way out. Take the collar, let Jenna go, and leave town. Find another town who'll accept you, see that you're a prized dog and let you run with them. Steele, please, don't let anyone else get hurt from this whole thing. Yourself included."

By now, both males had went through the room's entryway, now in the dark corridors leading to it. Balto needed to keep this up as long as he could. Once the fight began, he could only hold out for so long against the superior fighter.

Steele scoffed violently. "Still?! You're STILL trying to be the goodie-goodie hero?! You can't dog up for a minute just to fight me?! You're PATHETIC!!!" He rammed into Balto, which the wolfdog swiftly dodged. Steele just stood there, panting in rage. Balto's ears pressed against his head as he reeled and backed up more. Steele followed, faster than earlier. "No. Nonononono, that's not how this works. The handsome hero saves the day, slays the savage beast, and gets the girl. Not the other way around. You don't try to be all noble on me!! Not after you ruined my life!! When I'm through with you, I'll say that you killed Jenna. Then they'll all go back to hating you, and worshipping me! And I'll keep her here forever, then no one will look for her, and she'll be MINE!!!"

"You seriously think they'll believe you after what you pulled?!" Balto shouted. "Steele, pull yourself togeth- AH!!"

That did it. Steele couldn't take any more of his world collapsing, any more fatal holes in his logic that cornered him once and for all. And so he did what any cornered animal would do: lashed out.

"MMNNM!! NN!!" Jenna screamed, having clearly heard the fight start.

Balto had to dodge an Steele's teeth going for his neck. He then backed up at Steele's slashing at his head, and then another. Then when Steele finally pounced at his back, the nimble canine slip underneath his foe and emerged behind him. But he then made a risky move by jumping over Steele. His four paws landed on the Malamute's head and launched him back in front. He couldn't undo the progress he'd made.

From there the pattern repeated. Balto followed a strict strategy: dodge, weave, distract, and keep on the defensive. Not only was it his biggest advantage against Steele's crazed, uncoordinated attacks, but it was the best way to keep him busy and distracted. Steele would slash and bite with terrifying fervor, and even the speedy wolfdog was forced to take a few hits. The worst was a vicious slash to his shoulder, resulting in a loud, pained shout from Balto.

"Hehehe, had enough wolfie!!?" he taunted. And wanting to keep him egged on, Balto bent his legs low to the ground, ears against his skull. "C'mon, glory hound."

And so the fight continued, with Steele lashing out violently and Balto evading with as much skill as any dog could hope to. The two got further away from the previous room as it went on, and Steele's attacks got more and more brutal, but Balto wasn't running out of steam any time soon. Using the speed and reflexes he was so well-known for, he was able to last many minutes against the stronger canine without much damage. Of course his defensive approach meant that Steele wasn't getting injured almost at all, but that wasn't Balto's main priority right now.

However, at one point in the fight, Steele switched it up and went for Balto's side, causing Balto to jump and slam into a wall. He ducked when Steele went for the throat again, slinking between the larger dog's legs. But Steele slammed a paw on Balto's back, causing him to shout and collapse onto the ground below him.

Balto squirmed and struggled desperately to get out from underneath Steele's pin, but when he pressed his other forepaw firmly against the hybrid's back, the hold appeared inescapable. Balto tried to push himself up with the might of all four of his paws, but Steele just shoved him down before he could get two inches off the ground. Balto slashed his paws at Steele, but the bad angle he was in allowed only for minimal hits to land. Balto continued struggling, kicking, and pushing, but the Malamute's pin held firm.

No, no, get up!

Steele sinisterly brought his mouth down to growl lowly into Balto's ear.

"How does it feel, wolfdog? To feel so helpless, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide?" the voice sent chills up Balto's body, and he squirmed harder to escape. "You know what that's like? Because I do. I spent three weeks like that. All. Because. Of you!"

"Steele, please! I didn't want to do that to you! It doesn't have to be this way!" C'mon, please, just a bit longer! Please, not like this! Jenna!! He fought and twisted with all of his strength, refusing to believe that this was how it would end. He grunted loudly with each exertion, but Steele's hulking form and powerful legs made it useless. He was trapped.

"YOU THINK I CARE HOW IT HAS TO BE!? No ... no, I want this. So, so badly." Steele bared his pearl-white teeth, a wide grin on his face, as he inched his head down to the back of Balto's neck, ready to finish him off.

No!

"Say farewell, Bingo.""Mmmmph!! Nrrrgmph!! HMMMPH!!!"

Jenna heard the violence and mayhem going on out of her sight, and it heightened her heart rate more than she had thought possible. Her white, thickly-furred chest was heaving in and out, her rapid breathing made worse by her mouth being blocked. Balto, no! She had to get out, right now! She gave a long pull with all four legs, thrusting with all her might, a continuous moan into her gag. But she was still helpless.

She suddenly heard a shriek of pain that she recognized as Balto's, and went into a panic. The thought of Steele succeeding in killing Balto, the wonderful, amazing dog that she'd fallen in love with, tore at her heart. And it was made all the worse that she couldn't see how he was doing, whether he was only lightly scraped or much worse.

Jenna started making her way to the exit herself, needing to keep an eye on Balto. She slowly, painfully inched along little by little, thrusting her legs, hips, and shoulders as much as she could. Small huffs escaped her gag with each thrust, the husky wriggling in determination.

That is, until she felt something grab her bushy tail and yanked it back, eliciting a muffled screech. She twisted her head at an awkward angle to see Steele's goose gripping it.

"Nonono, please, you have to stay here. If I let you get away, Steele will kill me!"

Jenna grunted and yanked her tail around in the bird's grip, but he held on, using his other wing to help. Jenna thrashed around a bit more, before hearing a gasp.

She turned her eyes to the goose, and saw that his own eyes were suddenly locked onto something else. Jenna stretched her aching neck to lift her head up to the front of the room, and gasped through her gag at the sight before her. It was the last sight she was expecting to see, but perhaps never wanted to see more than right now.

Boris, Muk, and Luk.

"Brrmm?! Mmm, Rmm?!"

Steele's goose started shaking, unsure of what to do. He certainly hadn't planned on there being reinforcements, and he started trembling.

"H-hey, y-you're not supp-posed to be here. Steele! Steele, the-" His cries were cut off when Boris rushed over and squeezed the other goose's beak shut.

"Silence, you cretin!" Boris hushed.

The polar bears ran over as well, and wasted no time in doing their parts. Before the goose could get out of Boris's hold, Luk quickly spread his arms out, before clapping his hands together. And the goose's head was squarely in the middle. The blunt force from the small-yet-strong bear was enough to render the feathered minion unconscious. He collapsed onto the floor, wings drooping limp.

Luk wasn't finished, though. He knelt over and kept bashing the goose's body, bringing his fists down repeatedly. It was only when Muk dragged him away that the pounding ceased.

"Okay, brother, I think you got him!" Muk scolded.

Boris took a moment to stand over the fellow bird, crossing his wings in contempt. "What a sad day it is. You're a disgrace to our kind, young one," he muttered, shaking his head softly.

The sound of muffled grunting brought the trio's attention back to the bound and gagged husky.

"Jenna! Darling, hold still, the bears will cut you loose!" Muk and Luk proceeded to do just that. Using their sharp claws, they began sawing over the ropes around Jenna's legs, moving slowly but steadily. She remained as still as possible, still antsy over the fight going on behind the walls but knowing that freedom was about to be hers. While they did that, Boris reached up and pulled the bandana off of Jenna's face, appalled to see the knot crammed so cruelly into the female's mouth. A knot which she gladly spat out again.

Boris took the sides of her face in his wings. "Jenna! Oh, thank goodness you're alright! I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner. We couldn't just barge in here like Russian army. That crazy dog would have threatened you before we could do anything."

Jenna let out a long, relieved sigh, taking in fresh air through her mouth and stretching her jaws around. "... Boris ... Boris ..." That's all she could say, in this moment of sweet, sweet relief.

Of course Balto had a plan. It made sense now: Balto must have somehow figured out ahead of time that Steele had nabbed her. He then offered Steele the collar so as to get him talking for longer. Long enough to slowly lead him out of the room before their fight started. That way, when Steele was solely focused on Balto, Boris and the bears could sneak in and free her.

Balto came through for her. Again. All thanks to his intelligence, bravery, and leadership. And of course, the best friends he could have ended up with.

The husky stretched her neck to nuzzle into Boris's chest, the first smile she had in many hours breaking out onto her face. Boris lightly hugged her neck in return.

"It's okay, sweetie," Boris crooned, softly petting the top of her head. "Boris is here for you."

As the last of her ropes were finally snapped, Jenna finally felt safe enough to believe him. The bears backed up to allow Jenna to quickly spread her four limbs out, letting out a breathy moan of relief as their stinging grip was ended and she could stretch and move after such a long time in that horrid position.

But time was of the essence. She shakily started to rise to her feet, but they gave out and she collapsed back onto the cold ground.

"Ah!" she cried.

She tried again, this time succeeding, her paws trying to get the feeling back in them again.

Jenna wanted to thank these three a million times for taking this risk to save her. They could have been killed at Steele's paws if they were caught, but they took part in it anyway. But as she heard another gasp of pain from Balto, she snarled.

"Come on, we have to go!" she shouted to the trio. They were quick to nod and follow the newly-free husky as she shakily sprinted out of the room to join Balto in the fight.

Fire ignited Jenna's entrancing eyes, and in a very rare display for her, she raised her hackles. She was determined beyond measure to take down the savage Malamute that had put her through so much pain and suffering, who had tried to take so much away from her. And, more importantly, to help the wolfdog she loved so much. She would do whatever it took to save him, just as he would her.

No one hurts my hero.Balto, the original images, and all the characters (except the unnamed goose) all belong to Universal.

Originally uploaded on July 22, 2019.So yeah, big surprise, Balto had a plan. And it looks like it worked, as Jenna has been freed and is ready to take action! That's always satisfying to write, as I want to show that physical side to Jenna that shined occasionally in the movie. She's not letting anything happen to her man! XD But aside from that, this was fascinating to do just to see how I could play around with Steele's character going even madder than he already had.

And so, the captive is already free, the earliest I've ever freed one relative to the story's length.

I really hope you enjoyed this, thank you for reading it, and always feel free to share your thoughts!Jenna's gag speech translated:

"Nnmmph, Nmmrm! Mmmmghmn, ynnnmmnnnn hrmmmrrnnmmn!!" - "Enough, Steele! Let me go, you don't know what you're saying!!"

"Bmmnn, ghnnnnhmmm! Mmrrmm, hnnghrrmmn grmmymm, nmmgm! GMM!!" - "Balto, get out of here! Please, he's going to kill you, just go! GO!!"

"MMNNM!! NN!!" - "BALTO!! NO!!"

"Brrmm?! Mmm, Rmm?!" - "Boris?! Muk, Luk?!"