- Chapter 16: THE LAST WAFFLE

Having finally arrived in Hollywood, Bolt and his friends ventures into dreams to find their red-headed actor and bumps into some new characters along the way.
This is the semi-final, the second to last chapter! As always, tell me what you think in the comments!

Author's note: Yey, I'm finally posting this!

I'd like to thank everyone who stayed with this story so far! It's been more than three years of infrequent updates, cliff-hangers and plot-twists and I kept it going because of you selected few that kept commenting, kept messaging me to remind me, kept giving me inspiration to keep going!

I'd like to extend a special thank you toBoltfan117 for proof-reading and support!

- Bolt -

- "So what are breeds?"

Benji raised an eyebrow and gave Bolt that odd "are you kidding me?" - look that made Bolt feel like he was asking about something that every puppy knows but for some reason, he didn't.

"You mean dog breeds?"

- "Uhuh"

- "Well" Benji stretched, as he often did before explaining something. "Like I'm a Labrador. Though my mum was half border-collie. Breeds are just like... different types of dogs, you know"

- "And what am I?"

Benji gave him that look again. "You're a German Shepherd...of course"

- "I'm pretty sure I'm American..."

- "Well, yes but you're still a German Shepherd. Look, it's complicated..." Benji sighed. "But you don't have to be German to be a GSD".

- "GSD?"

- "German Shepherd..."

- "So what are German Shepherds like?" Bolt didn't care if he was asking too many questions now. He wanted to know more about this breed thing.

- "Well you're... protective, eccentric, brave... handsome" he nuzzled Bolt's cheek, making the latter blush involuntary. Good thing Mittens and Rhino decided to wait behind.

- "So which breed is Mittens? A cat?"

- "No... or well yes, but cats have their own breeds. Look, I think you have species and breeds confused. They're different things" he turned to Bolt who had his head tilted, ears semi-perked in attempt to understand what he meant.

- "So Mittens doesn't have a breed?"

- "I don't know, I guess she does. But who cares about cat breeds? They all look the same to me"

"Oh yeah, I guess" Bolt was trying to make sense of it all but it wasn't easy when there was so much to make sense of.

- "So how was I supposed to know I'm a German Shepherd?" he asked after a while. "Was someone supposed to tell me that or are you supposed to figure it out by yourself?"

Benji seemed to think about it. "You know, I don't even remember how I find out" he said after a while. "I guess my mum told me, back when I was just a pup"

- "I never knew my mum. Or my siblings" Bolt explained, ears lowering slightly. Talking about his puppyhood - well anything up to the point that Penny found him, really - always made him a bit sad.

- "Don't worry, bud. I can be your mum 'til you have it figured out" The Labrador teased, flashing him a playful but comforting smirk. It made Bolt feel a little bit better.

He was about to ask another, presumably stupid, question when he spotted the large building Mittens had told them about. The soundstage. Or studio as it was also called. A large hangar like structure with high wooden walls.

"This must be it"

- "You nervous?"

- "No..." Bolt lied, his tail going back and forth apprehensively. "Just hope we'll find her"

"Trust me" Benji smiled. "If Penny's anywhere in this stinky city, she's in there. Why don't you go ahead" He gave Bolt's back an encouraging push. "She's waiting for you"

- "You're not coming?"

- "I think it's better stay behind for this one. You should be the first one she meets. Just let me know as soon as she's calmed down and I'll come rushing in!"

- "If you think that's best" He set sights on the soundstage. His heart was beating nervously. He felt oddly uncomfortable, like back on his mission with Penny when things seemed to finally go their way right before the Green Eyed Man revealed one of his intricate traps.

But he turned to Benji and felt a surge of courage. Benji would tell him if anything about this place was amiss. He knew these things, he and Mittens. There were no humans around either - in generally the place seemed completely deserted - so he decided to stride bravely forward, up to the wide-opened door, through it and inside to find his Person.

...

The soundstage looked even larger from the inside. There were no rooms, just four walls so tall he could barely see the roof. All around him were cameras, spotlights, boom poles and all sorts of TV studio props - everything from car-sized... well, cars to obviously fake plasma rifles littered the place, as well as a bunch of other stuff Bolt didn't recognize.

A large attack helicopter was hanging from the ceiling but Bolt see that the menacing machine was made out of hard plastic, not metal and armor. So unrealistic...

Overall, his studio was a lot like the pictures Mittens had shown him - yet much bigger. Of course, it was built by humans, probably a lot smarter than himself for the intended purpose of duping him so that his reactions and emotions would seem more authentic on a TV-screen. He hated them for it, the TV guys, the directors and producers and whoever else played a role in tricking him, year after year. Everyone except Penny.

The scent of this place was eerily familiar. It was the musky scent of wood and dust emitted from the sound-proof walls. He recognized it but he wasn't sure why. Could it be that he had spent so much time unknowingly in this murky, giant room that he'd gotten used to the smell without even knowing it?

The whole place made him uncomfortable. It seemed to radiate evil. He wanted to run back outside to Benji, but Penny was waiting for him somewhere in here. He could feel it, so he ventured forth like the hero he was, the hope of seeing his person soon trumping all qualms of this odd place.

He continued into the dark building, walking pasts green-screens and studio cameras. Oddly enough, the place seemed utterly abandoned with not a single human in sight. Maybe everyone was on vacation? He hopped that Penny would still be here.

It didn't take long until he saw the familiar sight of his home - a silver mobile home parked in the middle of the hangar. Back before he met Mittens, he had thought the metallic caravan was some sort of teleportation device. Now he recognized it as just a normal house trailer, the likes of which he had seen many of on his journey through America.

His ears flew up in excitement. If that thing was here, then his person could be nearby as well! "Penny!?"

He rushed up to the trailer and took a deep breath before stepping through the wide-open door. Although it was dark inside, a wave of familiar, welcoming scents immediately struck his big nose. It was like stepping into a compression chamber of memories.

As his eyes adjusted, the white shepherd could see assortment of familiar polaroids decorating the metallic walls, each one of them a memory in itself - a photo of his and his person's shared triumph. Of course, he was always too confused or stressed out to really enjoy the moment but the sight of them now made him smile. As he walked through the dark room, his left paw stepped on something rubbery and a familiar whine echoed in the cabin.

He looked down to see none other than his old friend Mr Carrot. He pounced the toy, grabbing it his muzzle and rolling around, overjoyed to be reunited one of his oldest and dearest friends. Just as he was rolling around on the floor, squeezing the toy between his teeth and feeling like a puppy, he could hear light footsteps approaching.

"Bolt!? Is that really you, buddy?"

Bolt turned around and saw none other than his very own person, standing in the doorway, staring at him with a mix of disbelief and joy in her eyes.

"I knew you'd come back for me" she beamed, her eyes blank with tears. "What are you waiting, your silly dog? Come here!"

He was so overcome with joy he could barely move but as his person got down on her knees, arms wide open, he didn't hesitate to throw himself into her waiting arms.

"Penny! I'm so glad you're safe!" he yelped as he person embraced him. His person hugged him back, squeezing him tight and running her hands down the fur of his back just like she always used to.

For a moment everything was perfect. Penny was happy. He was happy. They were together at last.

Then suddenly, the trailer started shaking violently, polaroids scattering from the walls, furniture flying every which way. They were both thrown off their feet by another violent quiver. Before he could get back on his paws, he felt the entire cabin lifting off the ground, the center of gravity shifting and sending him flying through the mobile home and landing on the far end.

"Bolt!?"

He looked and saw his person hanging from the door, her small hands holding the handle for dear life. Suddenly and seemingly out of knowhere, a large metallic claw swooshed in from below the trailer, grabbing her by her legs.

"Penny!" He dashed towards her but it was too late. Penny disappeared through the cabin door and he could hear her screaming his name. Then, whatever has holding the trailer in the air let go, and suddenly he and the cabin was in free-fall. CRASH!

When he came too, he saw the walls of the trailer on the floor around him like a house of cards. The walls looked plasticy, as if made from rubber or something. Has it just been a fake trailer? Some sort of cheap replica? A trap of sorts? He couldn't see Penny anywhere.

Suddenly, a flash blinded him and he could hear the swoosh of jet engines, the last thing he had expected to hear in a soundstage. As he looked up, he saw the massive roof slide out of the way with a metallic, screeching noise. Sound trailers were definitely not supposed to do that!

Through the opened roof came a massive hover-ship, stealth black with the distinctive logo of Calico Corporation painted on its matte side. He blinked several times in the blinding light from the hover-ship, thinking to himself that what saw couldn't possibly be real.

That's when he saw his person, as real as life itself, held by the claw at the end of a long, robot tentacle extending from the ship. She struggled but the claw was too strong. He saw her being pulled into the confounds of the airships belly with a scream. "Boooolt!"

His shock turned to anger and fear as he saw the ship lift with his person, seemingly ready to take off. "Hold-on, Penny! I'm coming!" he shouted, running towards the ship.

- "Not so fast, superdog" A searchlight switched on, blinding him. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see, looking down at him from the ship's cabin door, a tall dark figure with poisonous neon-green eyes. Through the roar of the jet engines, he could hear an all too familiar manic laugh. It was the laugh of his old nemesis. The Green-Eyed Man.

"This can't be... this just can't be" Bolt repeated to himself, over and over again. He closed his eyes and looked away, trying to wake up from this surreal nightmare. But when he opened his eyes, the hover-ship was still there, and so was the Green-Eyed Man.

"What have you done with her!?" Bolt screamed at him. "What do you want with her?"

"This is all just too easy" he laughed. "Not only have I finally laid hands on that pesky scientist's daughter, I get her stupid pet as a bonus!"

"You're not real!" Bolt roared at the mad scientist. "Mittens told me all about it! You're just an actor!"

"Oh, trust me, he's real enough" a familiar black cat appeared behind the Green-Eyed Man's shoulder. "You should have known better than to trust a cat, Wags" she flashed him an evil grin - the kind only a feline could pull off.

"Mittens?!" Bolt just stared in disbelief. "What is going on here?"

- "Oh Bolt, always the slow one. You should have figured out by now that I was on his side all along! You dogs are so gullible!"

"But my powers? My powers were..."

"...Temporarily disabled. Thanks to this wicked stuff." She held a pink Styrofoam packing peanut in her paw, admiring the powerful material. "Powerful virus, this is. The latest in Calico Industry's patented superdog-suppressant."

- "It can't just be the Styrofoam. I'm just a normal dog. You said it yourself!"

"Of course, I did!" she snickered. "We knew we couldn't keep you exposed to your kryptonite forever, so that's where me and my bullshit about your television show came in. Convincing you that you're nothing but a regular old pooch was easier than we thought!" she laughed menacingly, throwing the Styrofoam over her shoulder. The poisonous packing peanut flew down, landing on the floor with a sizzling "psssttttt" as the substance melted through the floor panels.

"Enough!" Bolt roared. "I'm gonna make you regret this, you lying, traitorous hairball!" He took aim at the cat and her fiendish master, his eyes glowing neon-green as he charged up his laser vision and took aim. A superbark was out of the question as it could hurt Penny, but he knew his laser should be enough to blast them both to pieces.

However, the second he discharged his laser, another red laser beam came shooting out from somewhere in the peripheral, smashing into his own and absorbing it a massive blast that sent him flying back across the floor.

"Ouch..." As the superdog climbed out the smoking crater that was the result of the blast, his dizzy vision picked up the sight of another dog with eyes glowing with a vicious red, approaching him slowly.

"I'm sorry, Bolt but I can't let you hurt my master" he heard a familiar voice say. "You're not the only superdog around anymore..."

"Benji?" Bolt slurred, still dulled by the blast. "It can't be..." he shook his head, trying to make sense of it all.

- "Don't take it personally, bud. Me and Mittens, we're just doing our jobs"

- "Benji..." Bolt said, stumbling onto his legs. "For how long...?"

- "Since the very start, Bolty" the black Labrador replied as he towered the downed shepherd.

"What should I do with him?" he said, turning to the gunship.

"We only need the girl" he Green Eyed Man's replied, laughing again his hover-ship gained attitude before blasting off, leaving the two dogs to settle things on their own.

Bolt watched the gunship disappear and prepared to make chase, but once again Benji got in his way.

"I'm gonna need you to stay down" he heard Benji saying. "I will hurt you if I have to"

"I'll never let you have her" Bolt growled, turning to the traitor that used to be his friends.

Without warning, he charged at the Labrador, as fast and forceful as a lightning bolt, but Benji was faster. He hopped to the side, narrowly avoiding karate kick, then delivered a strike strong enough to send the white shepherd flying again, half-way through the soundstage.

Bolt landed painfully on the floor, his indestructibility not stopping the fall from hurting a lot. In fact, he hurt way more than it should. Once again, Bolt tried to get up but his aching muscles wouldn't listen. It was the first time in ages he had used his power, but at the same time he felt a lot weaker than usual.

"Looks like you still got some of that Styrofoam in ya" The black Labrador chuckled menacingly as he towered over the downed shepherd. He must have zoomed across the hangar to reach him that fast. The super-Lab was faster even than himself.

"Last chance to surrender, hero" he said. "We could always use another superdog on our side!"

- "I'll never surrender to your sick, puppet master" Bolt barked before shooting surprise laser attack at Benji. Once again, the labrador was too fast, jumped out of the way before countering with a shot of his own laser. It struck Bolt right in the chest, stunning him and pinning him to the scorched floor. He couldn't move. Meanwhile, his opponent was charging up his next attack.

- "It seems like you leave me no choice" Benji bucked down, an unnaturally deep growl resonating from his chest as he prepared to release his strongest superpower - his very own superbark.

Bolt closed his eyes, knowing that it was all going to end soon. This was it. It was over. He had failed, and he was about to die, killed by the dog he had trusted more than anyone else. Then suddenly, someone licked him on his nose.

He looked up and was surprised to see the shining sun beaming down at him, blinding him. All he could see was a blue sky and clouds, not the roof of a soundstage. Bolt had no idea what was going on, when suddenly a second lick came, awaking him fully from the nightmare.

Then Benji came into view, not the one with glowing red eyes ready to blast him but the regular Benji with chestnut-brown eyes and a smile across his muzzle.

"Wake up, sleepy head. This is our stop!"

- "Where am I?"

- "Boy, you must have really dozed for a while" Benji chuckled. "We're in Hollywood - in the back of someone else's pick-up truck! Come on, let's get off before the driver comes back!"

Bolt got up on his hunches. They were indeed on the flatbed of a pickup car, and he remembered dozing off a couple of hours ago when they were still on the highway. It certainly wasn't his intention to sleep for hours, but he must have been really tired.

- "Where's Mittens and Rhino?"

- "They were gonna scout ahead and figure out where we are. They're probably still arguing about the map" Benji hopped off the rusty flatbed.

Bolt followed, still a tad disoriented by the sudden switch in context. He was on a hill beneath the bright blue sky with the sun warming his fur. In front him, the small road winded down the mound. He could see the hamster and cat a bit further down studying the trusty old waffle-map.

Next to him, the entirety of Hollywood was sprawling out before them; rolling green hills and an endless grid of houses and roads as long as the eye could see. He ran up to the fence to get a better view of this massive city. There were tall skyscrapers in the distance, and beyond that, he could see what must be the ocean. This was it, he realized. The last waffle on the waffle map. Their final destination where his person was waiting for him.

"Penny..." he whispered to himself, as if just saying her name could somehow bring her closer to him. He felt with every fiber of his being that she must be somewhere in this city, waiting for him.

- "Digging the view?" Benji asked as he walked up beside Bolt.

Bolt nodded. "It's so large..."

- "It's a city. Cities are large. I'm surprised you don't recognize it, being a Hollywood, after all"

- "I didn't exactly see that much of it, you know"

When he thought about it, he couldn't remember anything of this place. He did remember that Penny would sometimes take him on long walks through the town but that was before the show, and he couldn't remember much. He did remember Penny though, and that was the most important part.

Then he remembered the dream he just had and his heart sank in his chest. He glanced over to Benji who stood beside him, paws leaning on the fence and his floppy black ears wilting in the wind. He wasn't anything like the Benji from his nightmare and it made him feel guilty for even dreaming something so horrible. Yet, he knew that talking about it would help him leave it all behind him.

"Hey" he started warily. "This is gonna sound stupid but..." he drew circles in the grass with his paws. "If you were like a double-agent working for the Green-Eyed Man, you would tell me right?"

Benji sighed. "You've been having those dreams again huh?"

Bolt nodded, somewhat embarrassed.

- "It's been getting worse lately, right?"

- "The closer we get, the worse it gets" Bolt said. "And it's always the same setup. I meet Penny in the trailer and then it falls apart. The Green-Eyed man shows up and takes her away from me"

- "And then I show up as a giant super-douche and basically murder you, right?"

- "Sometimes Mittens is in on it, sometimes it's only you. Sometimes you're a double-agent, sometimes you're secretly a cyborg..."

- "A cyborg?" Benji raised an eyebrow.

- "I never said me my dreams were realistic" Bolt retorted.

- "This Green-Eyed Man. This Calico guy. He must be pretty wealthy if he can afford all those cyborgs and spaceships"

- "Hover-ships, yes. He owns and operate the largest private military company on Earth and he's conducting secret R&D; into various experimental bio-weapons..."

He looked at Benji and quickly realized that he probably wasn't too interested in any of this "Anyway, the details don't matter" he added. "And it's not that I don't trust you or Mittens. I really don't want you to think I don't trust you..."

- "Hey, enough of that nonsense" Benji dealt a lick over Bolt's face. "It's gonna take more than some silly dream to separate us" he said, nuzzling the Shepherd softly. "Just don't attack me like you did the first time we met"

"I'll try" Bolt laughed, confident it wouldn't be a problem. As long as he didn't start sleep-walking, Benji should be safe from any and all surprise attacks from him.

I felt a hot flush creep under his fur as the Labrador inched closer to him, his soft nose finding his cheek, his nose and then his muzzle. He pressed back, their muzzle's touching, soft and warm and exciting, and then ...

"HEY, LOVE-BIRDS, GET OVER HERE, WE NEED TO PLAN!"

Benji sighed. "That cat's got the worst timing"

- "She's not gonna stop unless we go"

Benji nodded. "But we'll continue this later"

He gave to the white shepherd a sly wink, making the letter feel a strange fluttery feeling in his stomach. He was feeling better about this day already.

"So, here's the plan" Mittens unfolded the Waffle Map on the ground. "We're here" she pointed to the waffle with the sunglasses. "Bolt's TV studio is in this city and it's a safe bet that our red-headed person of interest lives somewhere here"

- "In other words, Penny is as good as found!" Rhino squealed excitedly "Soon she'll be safe from Calico's clutches!"

- "Not exactly. There's probably a trillion humans living in this Neon-lit dump and we can't exactly go door to door and look for her. But I think that if we find the studio, we might also find some clue as to where she lives and basically take it from there"

"Gotta be honest with ya, team" she added with an uncharacteristically wide smile "I never thought we'd make it so far and I think everyone of us has done a great job" The usually cynical cat even seemed almost a tad bit proud.

"That's all well and good, Mitts, but how exactly are we supposed to find this TV studio?" Benji asked. "We don't even know what one of those things look like"

- "No need, my slobbery friend! We got the address right here" She walked over to Bolt, grabbing the surprised dog's dog-tag, turning it around and revealing the engraved words on the back side"

"Wow! A hidden message!" Bolt exclaimed. "When did you discover that?"

- "When you were dangling me from that bridge"

- "Oh" He smiled awkwardly. "So what does it say?"

- "2100 Riverside Drive, Hollywood"

"It's your address" she added when he saw the other animals staring at her blankly. "The name tells us which street to look for and the number says where on that street. It's not rocket science"

- "So that means we'll find her soon? Mittens. you're so smart!" Bolt couldn't stop himself from giving the cat a big lick, his tail sweeping the grass like crazy.

- "Yes, but keep the licking to a minimum, will ya" Mittens said, brushing off her cheek.

"Calm down, folks" Benji said. "So we have an address. Then what? I sure as heck don't know this city and we can't exactly ask for directions"

"Perhaps we can be of assistance" The animals turned around to see two pigeons, staring at them from atop of a wire. How long they had been there was anyone's guess.

"No... freaking...way" The pigeon in the left gasped, staring with utter fascination at the white German Shepherd in front of him. "You're really you, aren't you? Please, dog, tell me that you are really you!"

- "I'm... me?" Bolt answered, rather confused. "At least I think I'm me, whoever me is supposed to be..."

"I knew it!" the middle pigeon flapped down to land in front of Bolt. "Name's Blake. and I'm a really big fan of yours, brother. Really big fan" He grabbed the surprised dog by the paw, shaking it diligently.

"Pleasure to meet you" Bolt smiled politely. "But we were just going to..."

"And this is my writing partner Tom" the bird continued unhindered. He nodded to his friend who flapped down to land next to him - another pigeon with blue neck and an intensive stare.

"Tom, say what's up"

"'Sup" The blue-necked pigeon, apparently known as Tom, hopped closer, eyes fixed on Bolt.

"I can't tell you how excited we are to meet you!" Blake explained. "Me and Tom are both aspiring writers, actually"

"Pigeon writers, yeah right" Mittens snickered. "Why don't you two fanboys beat it? The star's not signing autographs today"

- "Talk to the wing, yarn-ball. We're not here for you, we're here for him" Blake hissed, flapping past Mittens and landing right in front of the white dog.

He flew over to Bolt, landing right in front of the white dog.

"We are your biggest fans, this part of the hemisphere! We love your show. We love you!"

"Really love you" the other pigeon added, leaning closer to Bolt for added emphasis.

- "That's awfully nice of you" Bolt said, backing away slowly "But we really must be going, right guys?" He turned to his friends who all nodded agreeingly.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" The first pigeon flapped his wings dramatically as he made his way in front of Bolt. "We know where the TV studio you were talking about is!"

- "Penny's studio?" Bolt's ears perked up.

"You birdbrains know where we can find 2100 Riverside Drive?" Mittens asked.

"Is this puss serious?" Blake sniggered, pointing at Mittens. "Like we wouldn't know the exact geographical whereabouts of the epic Sovereign Entertainment TV studio, home of the best action series of all time? Every bird south of The Hills knows that place. Me and Tom circle that place like all the time, right Tom?"

Tom nodded. "All the time"

"We can show guys there and maybe pitch a few ideas on the way, and who knows, maybe you can introduce us to some of your producer friends, quid pro quo?" Blake winked at the confused dog.

"Quid pro what?"

- "Quid pro broship, that's what I'm talking about! If you take us on as writers, we could bring some really fresh ideas to the table. Not to mention the start of a long and mutually beneficial friendship"

- "Hey, back off, poultry" Rhino rushed forward, effectively putting himself between Bolt and the birds. "The position as sidekick and - or - biggest fan is already occupied!" He shooed at the surprised birds.

"No, wait..." Mittens said, pushing aside the angry hamster. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong paw here. Or wing as it were" she smiled at the two birds.

"The truth is that we're actually all, err... actors, yes, and we really really need to get to the studio where Penny is before they start shooting. If you could help us, that'd be really cool!"

"You're really all actors?" The pigeons stared with increased interest.

"Oh yes! Benji said. "Except me, I'm Bolt's personal assistant. And our feline friend here plays one of Calico's scrawny evil cat buddies. And this is our, err, pet, Rhino" he pointed at Rhino who frowned. "Anyway, if you could show us to the studio, that'd be swell!"

"You got it, my fuzzy friend! Me and Tom will get you there in no time!" The little bird smiled widely and gave his friend a winged high-five.

"Trust me, you will not regret this, brother" he promised, hopping up to Bolt and laying his wing uncomfortably over the dog's shoulder. "Just getting to know the coolest quadruped on the planet is thanks enough for me. And later on, who knows..."

"Ehm... excuse me?"

The voice had come from above. Bolt and everyone else looked up to discover a lone pigeon on the wire. "I'm sorry to bother you, Bolt, but there's something I need to tell you" he said, fluttering nervously as he flapped down to the animals.

"Oh, this is our personal assistant, Billy, who was supposed to wait up at the dumpster" Blake sighed. "But that's okay because you were just leaving, weren't you, Bill?"

- "Yeah, beat it" Tom pecked at the other bird who once again fluttered nervously and hopped away.

"Woah, guys, let him talk" Bolt said, struck by a sudden empathy for the little pigeon. "What's on your mind, buddy?"

"Bolt... I've admired you for such a long time but there's something I have to tell you" the pigeon apparently known as Billy started. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this but I think something may have happened to your redheaded co-star"

Bolt's ears perked up like two springboards. "Wait? Are you talking about my Penny?"

- "Yes Penny! She's been filming with another dog since you left. But then there was some sort of accident on the set, a fire or something"

- "That's impossible" Bolt said, shaking his head. "Penny wouldn't work with another dog. You must be thinking of a different person"

- "Are you sure?" Billy asked. "I saw a column of smoke a few days back and I heard something about a fire. I just thought you should know in case..."

"Billy here doesn't know what he's talking about" Blake interrupted, staring angrily at Billy. "I'm sure Penny is fine. Come on, Bill, don't embarrass us, man!"

- "But..."

- "But nothing" Blake continued. "Bolt doesn't have time for your nonsense, he's a busy dog"

"I'm telling the truth" Billy said, turning to Bolt. "Something terrible happened at that place"

- "I'm sorry" Bolt said. "You must be mistaken. Penny is waiting for me here in Hollywood and I can't waste any more time here"

With that, he turned around, leaving the pigeon behind. Blake and Tom quickly flapped up to him. "It's just down this hill, then a couple of blocks to the south" Blake said, flying ahead towards a pathway by the hillside.

Bolt looked at Billy one last time before following the two other birds down the path. He saw Mittens and Benji exchanging a worried look before following him, tightly followed by Rhino. He looked over his shoulder again and saw that the lone pigeon had flapped back to his wire from where he watched them leave.

The little bird sighed to himself.

Blake and Tom flew ahead all the way, chattering enthusiastically about their various ideas for the show. Aliens were mentioned several times, as well as zombies. "Zombies are a huge selling point these days" - Blake had ensured the superdog several times. Bolt who didn't know what zombies were, just nodded. Luckily, Blake talked enough for both of them and never stayed with one idea longer than it took him to come up with another. As such, Bolt didn't need to say much himself, which suited him just fine.

The other bird, Tom, kept mostly quiet unless called upon by to agree with something Blake just said or "pitch" ideas. "Aliens" he would say, eyes intensively fixed on Bolt as if the latter was supposed to be blown away by the sheer ingenuity of whatever he was pitching. The whole thing made Bolt more than a tad uncomfortable.

So, when Rhino rushed up to Bolt, asking if they could talk, he rather welcomed the distraction.

"What's up, buddy?" he asked the hamster, lowering his big head so that the latter could climb aboard.

"Oh, just something that's been nagging me for a while" Rhino said as he climbed over the dog's snout to settle between his ears. "Something we need to talk about"

"In private", he added, glaring at the birds who hovered curiously above Bolt. They reluctantly flapped off to give them some privacy.

"Finally alone" Rhino said. "Those birds are a bit fishy, if you ask me. Keep this between us, but I don't think they're really writers" he whispered in Bolt's's ear.

Bolt decided it best not to ask how two birds could be described as fishy, choosing instead to go straight to the point, whatever it might be.

"So what's this about, Rhino? You're worried about Calico's henchmen following us again?"

"No, not since I mastered my Master of Stealth skills during our last escape. I was epic!" Rhino giggled to himself before continuing with an uncharacteristically serious tone. "This is about all the weird stuff those birds were on about"

- "Whadda you mean?"

- "What do you think I mean? All that stuff about you being an actor with a TV-show and everything" The little hamster sighed deeply. "I gotta know, Bolt, why didn't you tell me?"

Bolt's heart skipped a beat. The moment he had dreaded was finally here; Rhino was asking about his superpowers. He might have ever well had figured it out already. He gulped nervously, knowing that had to come up with something, some excuse or elaborate explanation. When, he couldn't think of anything, he decided to simply tell the hamster the truth.

"I'm sorry, Rhino" he said, ears dropping but ready to lay it all out. "I should have told you before. The truth is that I'm just a regular..."

- "...GENIUS!" Rhino squealed before Bolt could finish. "I couldn't have thought of a better cover myself! What better way to keep your hero identity a secret than to say that you're an actor?"

- "I, ehm, ...what?"

"Every superhero needs a secret identity, and yours is one of the best I've ever heard of. You obviously have that poultry fooled!"

"Oh, you mean that" Bolt let out a deep, internal sigh of relief. "You like it?"

- "I love it!" Rhino jumped up and down between his ears. "Can we think of a cover for me now?"

- "Maybe later, Rhino"

- "Perhaps Mittens can help me think of one. She's smart and sneaky." Rhino continued. "But I still wonder... why didn't you tell me about your secret identity? You trust me, right?"

- "Of course I trust you!" Bolt started. "It's just, well..." he looked around, spotting Benji walking alone a bit head. "I'll tell you later okay. I just remembered I need to talk to Benji about something"

- "Okay, cool! Maybe we can figure out an identity for him too!"

"Alone..."

- "Fine" Rolled his eyes before hopping off. "I'll go talk to Mittens or something. Have fun with your boyfriend..."

- "Rhino!" Bolt felt his white ears blush up by the rodent's sudden straightforwardness "Who told you he's my boyfriend?"

- "Oh please! You'd have to be blind not see it! I'm not dumb, Bolt. Nothing escapes the Master of Stealth!"

That's maybe a tad presumptions, Bolt thought to himself, but didn't say anything.

"For all it's worth, I approve" Rhino continued. "Every hero should have a love interest" he flashed him a smile before scurrying off to find the cat.

Bolt couldn't help but smile back. Rhino's unyielding enthusiasm had that contagious quality to it. So, what if the hamster knew about his thing with Benji? He was bound to figure out sooner or later. Bolt was just glad he hadn't figured out his other secret. For now, the hamster remained blissfully oblivious to his lack of powers - and although it was a huge relief on Bolt's part, it also made him feel like the worst friend in the world.

Friends don't lie to each other; Bolt knew that much. Lying was for bad guys, and Bolt was supposed to be a good guy. He had expected Rhino to put him on the spot about his inexistent superpowers, but instead the hamster's belief in his superhero persona seemed stronger than ever.

Bolt sat down on his haunches and let out a deep sigh. His first day in Hollywood wasn't exactly going how he had anticipated. First that awful dream, then that crazy pigeon warning him about Penny and now he had to lie to his best friend.

Of course, he could walk over to him right now and lay it all out, but how could he tell Rhino the truth when the truth would break his little heart? No, Bolt told himself. He must keep the truth from Rhino for his own good. And can it really be called lying if Bolt just told Rhino what he wanted to hear?

Besides, Rhino was his only friend who still saw him as a real hero. In fact, his unfaltering belief in his awesomeness far surpassed Bolt's belief in himself. It was that belief that helped him find bravery to save Mittens that fateful night when he realized he was just an ordinary dog. It was Rhino who convinced him that anything can be possible if you're awesome enough.

"You know, he's going to figure it out sooner or later"

Bolt turned around to see Benji, looking at him with solemn amber eyes.

"You shouldn't' lie to him like that"

- "Rhino lied to himself" Bolt answered. "I just didn't correct him" He realized he was pretty satisfied with that reply. It was true after all - Rhino had come up with the whole secret identity thing all by himself. Besides, he was already beating himself up over that conversation, he didn't need Benji's to beat him up over it also.

Benji, however, didn't say anything else. Instead, he walked up to Bolt, although instead of nuzzling like it seemed like he was going to, he just stared at the ground between his paws. Bolt could tell there was something on his mind.

- "What's the matter, Benji?" he asked.

- "Oh nothing important" The black Lab said, still looking down, kicking a rock in front of them as they walked. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked after a while.

- "Oh that! I just needed an excuse to stop the increasingly awkward secret identity conversation"

- "Is it that awful to be constantly surrounded with animals that worship you?" Benji looked at him, eyebrows raised inquisitively in that way which made Bolt wonder if he was genuinely curious or just wanted to pull his tail, as he'd put it.

- "It is awful when they adore you for all the wrong reasons" He retorted. "Rhino thinks I'm a superhero. Those birds think I'm some hot-shot actor...Being a celebrity is tougher than being a superhero ever was"

- "Yeah, your eccentric fowl fans creep me out" The Labrador admitted. He chuckled slightly, and seemed to light up a bit. "And I didn't mean to sound condescending just now - but I would take your life over mine anytime"

- "Trust me, Benji. Being Bolt is not all that it seems. I just hope we find Penny soon and this will all be over"

- "About Penny..."

- "Hmm?"

Bolt looked up at Benji who had stopped, looking all serious again. He was definitely worried, even by Benji standards.

- "There's something that's been bugging me" he said hesitantly. "Something I've wanted to bring up with you for some time"

- "I knew something was up. Whatever it is, shoot"

- "Promise to hear me out and not get mad?"

- "Of course!" Bolt smiled. He realized that whatever Benji wanted to talk about must be very important.

- "It's about this whole Penny thing. I'm concerned about what will happen when we find her. I think that maybe..."

- "Don't worry" Bolt interrupted. "That pigeon back there didn't was just talking nonsense. My Penny is fine. I can feel it"

- "Not that" Benji shook his head. "I'm sure Penny is fine but... I'm not sure she'll like me..."

- "Oh, is that why you're moping?" Bolt chuckled, relieved that it wasn't anything more serious. "Don't be silly, Benji, she'll adore you!" he smiled, nudging his friend. "Just like I do..."

Benji didn't smile back. "This is serious Bolt. How do we know she can be trusted? How do you know she'll want to adopt me? What if she decides one dog is more than enough?"

- "Not this conversation again" Bolt rolled his eyes. "As I told Mittens back at the prison facility, Penny will adopt all of us when I show her we're a team. I'll vouch for you guys. Besides, she's my person and I could never leave her"

- "Firstly, it wasn't a prison. It was a dog pound. You know, the kind of dog pound that humans tend to throw unwanted dogs in" Benji said, kicking his rock off the walkway. "Secondly, she had a point. Our lives are at stake here"

- "Benji..."

"I know Mittens has been too fond of you to bring up again, but I can tell you that we're both worried about this" Benji continued. "Heck, the only one who isn't worried is Rhino and I'm not sure that guy even understands where we are..."

"Benji, I sort of got a lot on my mind right now. Do we really have to talk about this now?" Bolt couldn't understand why the Labrador was so insistent on questioning his person all the time.

- "Because we'll be there soon and you're expecting me to just trust a stranger I've never met once in my life. A human at that!"

- "She's not just any human. She's my person" Bolt said for what he felt must be the hundredth time. "Doesn't that word mean anything to you?"

- "Actually, it doesn't. I have no idea what you mean by person. We normal dogs tend to call them owners, because that's they are"

- "She doesn't own me. I don't own her. We're a team!"

- "You keep saying that, but she didn't save you from that TV-show, did she? So maybe she's not as trustworthy as you think!"

"You wouldn't understand! Neither you or Mittens!" Bolt barked. "You never had real families. Your persons all abandoned you! You can't know the kind of connection I have with Penny"

- "Oh, I get it..." Benji hissed. "What would two thrown-away pets know about real love, am I right?"

- "Benji, just listen..."

- "No you listen, you pampered pooch!" The Labrador said, pointing a paw on Bolt's chest. "You think you got humans figured out, but that's only because you have yet to see firsthand what happens when they get bored with ya! You think you can trust your precious person, but you can't!"

Bolt was so taken aback he almost fell backwards. How could Benji say something like that about Penny? Didn't he realize how much she meant to him? Couldn't he understand how far he'd go to be back with her, or how far she'd go to save him?

If he didn't it was time he realized. "Trust me" Bolt whispered calmly, eyes pinned on the Labrador. "You don't want to make me choose between you and her. You might not like outcome..."

- "You trust me, superdog. You're gonna have to choose sooner or later. So, tell me right now, if you had to pick between your beloved human and the dog that saved your life and loves you more than anything, what would you chose?"

The German Shepherd stayed silent for a little while, then looked away. "I... I could never leave Penny..." he finally said. The determination in his voice was unmistakable.

Benji didn't say another word. When Bolt looked up, he saw that the Labrador had walked off. He could see him making his way to the back of the group, as far away from him as possible.

"Fine..." Bolt muttered to himself before walking on alone.

...

The silence between the two continued for the rest of the way with Bolt walking first and Benji lagging behind, still doing his best stay far away from the German Shepherd.

Rhino and the pigeons quickly assumed their positions on top and above Bolt, talking to him about what the show and various other things he had no interest in talking about. At least twice, Rhino and Blake got into a conflict about who was his biggest fan, something that made the superdog want to turn around and leave them right then and there.

Now and then, he glared at Benji who was still walking with Mittens far behind the rest of them. Mittens had kept to the back of the group for most of the trip, probably because she wanted to get as far away from the chattering pigeons as possible. Now, Bolt suspected that they just didn't want him to hear what they were talking about. Maybe they were trash-talking Penny or calling him gullible. Or maybe they were talking about something else entirely. Bolt decided that he didn't care. He had too much going on to worry about them. He was going to see Penny soon. If Benji wanted to be alone and feel sorry for himself, it was no fur off Bolt's back. Maybe after meeting Penny and realizing how wonderful she is, he would apologize and then everything would be alright.

Bolt was looking forward to that because right now, he was starting to feel pretty lonely.

- Benji -

Benji couldn't believe that the German Shepherd could be so wrongheaded, so naïve so utterly stubborn! He had shared his concerns with Mittens who just laughed. "Oh, save your breath, pooch" she had said. "It's useless. He ain't listening. You'd be better off trying to convince Rhino to go on a diet"

Benji found her lenience on the issue a bit odd. He knew that Mittens was just as distrustful of humans as he was, yet she seemed contempt with putting her fate in the hands of one. He figured the cat must have finally succumbed to the old Bolt Syndrome, marked by the irrational need to follow, adore and protect him wherever he might go, no matter how foolish and dangerous the road. It was a strange kind of obsession that seemed to escape no one that spent any time with Bolt, not even Rhino it seemed. Benji was sure they'd all follow Bolt down a cliff if that's where he wanted to go.

Now Mittens was ranting about pigeons, her favorite topic. "I can't believe we're trusting a pair of skeevy birds to know the way. I learned one thing back in Brooklyn it was to never trust a pigeon" She pronouncing "pigeon" with the same affinity one might pronounce gutworm.

Benji giggled. "You don't trust anyone..."

"I'm just effing tired. Another block and my paws will fall off"

- "Want a lift?" he gave an inviting half-smirk.

- "No, thanks, poochy. There's still some dignity left in this old feline"

They walked for a bit before Benji decided to try to bring the conversation back to Bolt.

"Do you think we trust him too much?" he asked. "I truly love him, but I'm not sure if he's being realistic about this whole adoption thing"

- "Of course he ain't, but are you really surprised? I decided to put my better judgement aside and follow him several states ago. Why stop now?"

- "Because we're like three Bungalows away from that Hollywood Studio and I'm worried that Bolt's planned reunion will be less adoption and happy endings and more being chased off the set by angry security guards"

- "I told you already, there is no convincing that canine. Besides, since when did you start doubting your perfect snuggle pooch, your twue wuv?"

- "Since I found out he'd ditch us if Penny doesn't want to adopt, which is more than likely. I'm sure she'll rejoice to see her purebred German Shepherd darling come back, a flea-bitten stray like me? Not so much..."

- "You got fleas? Ew!"

- "I don't have fleas! I was just making a point!" Benji woofed. "We both know what happens when this girls parents decide that they can't possibly take in a stray dog, cat and hamster just like that. It'll be straight back to the dog pound with us. And this time, Bolt won't be there to save us"

Mittens sighed. "Bolt's the sweetest dog I've ever met, but say one bad word about that girl and he explodes. I accepted a long time ago that he would never abandon Penny. What you need to ask yourself is, would you abandon him?"

- "Of course, not!"

- "And neither would I. So, there's nothing we can do anyway, is there? Unstoppable force, immovable object and all that... Might as well go with the flow"

- "Why does he have to be so dreamy and dumb at the same time?" Benji sighed.

- "He's not dumb. He's a dog, and dogs are suckers for their owners" Mittens explained. "Now, you're not like that because you've seen firsthand one traitorous those bastards can be, but you can't expect Bolt to have the same undoglike insight"

Benji shrugged. He knew Mittens was right. He was still angry with Bolt, very angry in fact, but he knew that expecting him to see past his life-long love for his person wasn't fair. Especially when the girl in question had been his everything for most of his life.

He felt a string of jealousy in his chest when he thought about her. Penny seemed to be more important to Bolt than anything else, including himself. Besides, what had this girl ever done to deserve Bolt's unconditional love and adoration? She was obviously in on duping Bolt, year after year, into thinking that he was a superdog. She could have saved him from that horrible place, but instead she had played along. The fact that Bolt refused to realize what a lousy friend Penny had been was nothing short of staggering!

There had been so many opportunities for Bolt to go another way. They could have settled down in Vegas, where the containers were filled to the brim with delicious left-overs or maybe on the open fields of Missouri, far away from dangerous humans. Maybe he could have convinced him to forget about Penny and they could settle down just the two of them (and Rhino and Mittens of course).

But he had waited so long to bring it up with Bolt, postponing it mile after mile, state after state. And now it was too late. Not only that, it seemed like there had never been a chance to begin with. "I could never leave Penny" he had said, and he had meant every word of it. He had hoped that Bolt would change his mind if he pushed him a little. The realization that he was still second priority to him was nothing short of crushing.

"I have to tell you something, dog"

Benji who had been lost in thought, looked up at Mittens. She sounded... less sarcastic than usual.

"Not for nuttin' but the first time I laid eyes on you, I thought you were nothing but another spoiled lapdog"

- "Thanks..." Benji said. Talk about anticlimax...

But the cat continued. "I thought; who's this sleazy wisenheimer sitting on a pier, exchanging body fluids with the dog of my dreams? Who's this insufferable douchebag who feels sorry for himself because he had had to live without his precious family for the whole of 24-hours while I've spent three years on the freezing streets of Brooklyn, fighting pigeons for scraps?"

- "Doesn't these rants usually come with a but...?"

- "But nothing! You were excruciating, through and through, all the way up until that time at the dog pound. There I realized that behind that snuggle-puppy Romeo act was a deeply cynical, depressed, good-for-nuthin', thrown-away-like-rubbish pet just like myself, and I realized you weren't that bad after all"

"Oh gee Mitts, don't make me blush..."

- "And then you went back to save me, even though you hated my guts - and rightly so. So, I guess what 'm trying to say is that as far as stinking dogs go, Bolt can do a lot worse than you. Now, he might not be that good with words but trust me when I say this; he needs you"

A grin spread on Benji's muzzle. The cat had never been this nice to him before. "That means a lot, coming from you" he said. "You are totally in risk of being licked right now!"

"You'll stay clear if you know what's good for ya!" Mittens raised a declaw mitt at the dog.

"Oh yeah?" Benji got ready to pounce Mittens but he had barely nudged her before the cat suddenly tripped, falling face first on the street.

"Ouch!"

He rushed up to her, to check on her and help her up. "Ohmygosh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

- "No... Just lost my footing there for a sec'"

- "Is it that wound you got at the dog pound?"

- "No, no" Mittens said. "It's these damn paws" she showed her bruised paw pads to the dog.

- "You're bleeding..."

- "Rough asphalt, sensitive pawpads plus several hours of walking - not a good combination. I'll be fine though. Just a little sore. Nine lives and all that" she smiled at Benji but he could tell she was in pain.

- "I'll go tell Bolt you need to rest"

- "No that's okay, I can walk. Besides, he wouldn't want to slow down now that we are so close"

- "Nonsense" Benji said. "I'll go tell him he has no choice"

- "Don't bother" Mittens started, but Benji was already marching in Bolt's direction. If Bolt cared at all about the rest of them, he would stop to let them rest, he thought to himself. Besides, was his chance to test if Mittens was right, if Bolt really cared about him and the rest of them.

- "Hey, woah, Bolt doesn't need his assistant right now!" Benji looked down to see one of Bolt's annoying pigeon aficionadas blocking his way. "You're interrupting, bro. Bolt and I were just discussing about third season plot-twists"

- "Get out of the way, you winged rat. I need to talk to my friend" he pushed passed Blake who stared shocked after him.

He walked up to Bolt who was speaking to Rhino. "Hey Bolt, we need to talk!" he called, ready to make his demands known.

Bolt perked his ears up turning to Benji. He actually looked happy to see him, throwing Benji off a tad, but he decided to be straight-forward nonetheless.

- "We need to stop and rest for a bit. We're all really tired"

- "Oh no, we gotta keep going" Bolt said. "We need to get there as soon as possible. It's late and Blake tells me Penny we'll be ending her shift soon"

- "Mittens' paws are hurting" Benji explained. "And she's exhausted"

- "Oh, ehm..." Bolt's ears dropped as he seemed to contemplate the situation. "Well, Blake just told me we're almost there. Right Blake?"

- "Totally, dude!" the grey bird assured them. "We'll be there in a jiffy. My brother Tom is flying ahead to spot it as we speak, so why don't you chill out, mate? Give the star some space"

- "Don't mate me, pal. This is between us" Benji hissed at the bird. "Bolt, she's bleeding. She needs to rest!"

- "But we're almost there" Bolt whined. "I can carry her if she's hurt, but we need to keep moving or we'll miss Penny!"

- "Nobody carries anyone!" Mittens shouted at the two dogs. "Benji, I appreciate the concern but you need to take it down a notch. I'm good to walk"

- "No, you're not. And who says Bolt gets to decide everything?" Benji argued, turning again to the Shepherd.

"I'm freaking tired, Bolt. We've been walking for hours, crossing the whole damn city. It's easy for your bird friends who got wings, but the rest of us have to walk"

- "But Penny..."

- "Penny can wait till tomorrow! The sun is already going down so chances are they closed down for the day anyway"

He half-expected Bolt to get angry with him again but instead, the white dog just sighed at sat down.

"Okay" He said after a while, surprising both Benji and Mittens. "We'll take a break"

Benji was so taken aback he didn't know what to say. It was the first time he had ever seen the dog prioritize anyone or anything over his person. He almost felt a bit bad for pushing Bolt to make the decision to begin with, but at the same it felt good to know that they really meant something to him.

However, before he could thank Bolt, he heard Tom, the other pigeon, flapping towards them and yelling something about the studio.

"I FOUND IT! I FOUND IT!"

He looked and saw Tom come flapping down, exhausted but thrilled. "I saw it... it's just down the street!"

He had barely landed and was already flapping off down the street. "Follow me!"

He turned to Bolt but it was too late. The white dog was already chasing after the two pigeons.

"That damn dog..." He turned to Mittens and Rhino. "I'll go after him, you guys can stay here"

With that he set off after Bolt, leaving Mittens and Rhino in the dust.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Rhino called after Benji but he was already gone. "Dang dogs! Why do they always leave without me?"

- "Because you're slow, even by hamster standards" Mittens said, licking her paw.

The little hamster turned to Mittens, putting on his most effective hamster face"

- "Oh don't even think about it. You're gonna have to find another ride, rodent. I'm resting"

- "But please, I'll miss all the action!"

Mittens rolled her eyes. "Ah, what heck, climb aboard. I've walked this far, might as well see what this is about" And with that, the cat and the hamster set off as well.

...

Benji was already panting, but neither Bolt nor his bird guides showed any signs of slowing down. He had never realized how fast Bolt could be before. Bolt was a bulky German Shepherd but he could apparently sprint faster than a greyhound when it came to this person.

The pigeons lead them down the street, left by an intersection and over the road. A car screeched to halt in front of the caravan of animals making their way across, the driver honking angrily. Benji jumped out of the way, shocked by the SUV which was mere inches from running him over. He could see Bolt in front of him just running on, completely unfazed by the narrowly avoided accident. Crazy dog...

When he finally caught up to Bolt, he was panting heavily and ready to collapse.

"Dammit Bolt... don't bolt off like that" he gasped between breaths. "Do you realize how close you were to being... Woah!"

His jaw dropped as he gazed upon the TV-studio in front of them, or rather what remained of it.

They were standing in front of a large, fancy grind gate with tall beige walls on each side. The words Sovereign Entertainment was embossed across the arc. However, behind the driveway gates, which were wide open, the burnt remains of the soundstage could be seen.

It was basically just a big square of black soil, ashes and scorched rubble, squared off by the depressing remains of the buildings once tall walls - now nothing but chest-high stumps. The surrounding building, a couple of houses, storage sheds and a tall water tower bearing Bolt's familiar mug next to a red-headed kid Benji realized must be Penny, seemed to have been saved from the fire. However, the studio itself was completely gone.

It all could only mean one thing; that crazy pigeon they met back at the hill had been right. This was the scene of a disaster. Worriedly, he looked at Bolt and could see that the Shepherd had had the same realization.

"I...I don't understand" he heard Blake stutter behind them. "This is not at all what it looked last time we were here!"

"Not at all" Tom concurred.

The entrance before them was crossed off with brightly colored tape and red signs. You didn't have to be a human to understand that the tape meant to stay away. The entire area was shut down, abandoned and restricted. Perhaps even dangerous.

Of course, that didn't stop Bolt from running inside, cutting through the barricade tape.

"Bolt, wait for me!" Benji shouted before setting off after Bolt. The two pigeons flapped after them as fast as they could.

Benji followed through the entrance, towards the blackened ruins of the soundstage. They slalomed between left-behind camera equipment, firetrucks and rubble. The ashes were cold and dry against Benji's paws. He figured that whatever fire had raged at this place had been put out long ago. The thick, doughy odor of smoke and ash stung in his nose. He coughed.

Bolt finally stopped in front of an old-school house trailer parked right in the middle of the burnt square. The thing had somehow survived the blaze. The tires were just a molten black sludge and the flames had licked off much of the silver finish, but the mobile home itself seemed mostly fine.

The white dog approached the trailer door, swiping ashes and soot away with his paw to expose a large sticker shaped as a star with the name "BOLT" capitalized with large letters. That's when Benji realized that this wasn't just any trailer - this was Bolt's trailer. The one he spent his nights at back when he was during the show with Penny.

There was now no doubt that the surrounding ashes had been Bolt's TV-studios and Benji could see the realization in the white Shepherd's face.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. We don't know what happened here" Benji tried, knowing full well how unconvincing his shaky voice must sound. But he felt like he had to say something.

Bolt didn't say anything. He just took there, silent and motionless like a statue, staring with horrified eyes at the fire-torn hellscape around them. He remained motionless, even when Benji tried to approach him.

Realizing that it was best to give the German Shepherd some space, he backed off.

"Ohmygosh! What happened here?!" he heard Rhino squeal behind him. He turned around and saw that he and Mittens had caught up with them. They both looked devastated.

The cat was about to say something but stopped herself when she saw the blackened ruins.

"This is not what a studio is supposed to look like, right?" he asked her, knowing already what her answer would be.

- "Definitely not. I think some sort of accident happened here"

They looked worriedly Bolt who inspected the trailer door. "Help me get this thing open" he asked, although it sounded more like an order than a request.

Together, they managed to get the metal door, which was ajar but burnt stock, to break off the handles and fall off.

As soon as the door was out of the way, Bolt hopped inside. Benji hesitated to follow, partly out of respect, but curiosity got the better of him. Inside the cabin, it was dark. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that the carpet and much of the floor was almost completely burnt off. The remains of an olive colored couch and a table could also been seen. Something cracked under Benji's paw, and when he looked closer he could see it was the smoldered remains of a pink phone, it's expensive LCD shattered and flip-over keyboard unhinged.

"Careful!" Bolt said, pushing Benji aside. He hunkered over the phone, sniffing it warily. "This was hers..."

A bunch of partially burnt polaroids riddled the floor. Bolt walked up to the assortment of photos, nudged through them and looked at each one very carefully, still not saying a word.

When Benji took a closer look, he could see that they were photos of Bolt and Penny together with various exotic locations in the background. He could see one photograph set in a desert, another in what looked like a jungle - always just the two of them, up close, impromptu but joyful moments captured at an arm's length. The red-headed girl in the pictures was smiling at the camera, hugging her dog and looking happy.

Bolt went deeper into the dark room and came back with an orange carrot-shaped chew-toy in his mouth. He laid it down very carefully on the floor between them.

"It's Mr. Carrot" he said softly.

- "Who?"

- "Aside from Penny, he was my only friend. We used to play all the time, the three of us"

- "I see" Benji said, studying the rubber vegetable. The chew toy had a smiley face and although some of its orange color had been burnt off, it seemed relatively undamaged compared to everything else in the trailer. It obviously held a great deal of personal value for Bolt.

- "She could be fine" Benji said. "Maybe she had a day off or something"

- "Penny never leaves without her gadget" Bolt nodded to the phone.

- "She could easily have forgotten it here" Benji tried again. He couldn't stand seeing him like this. So dejected. So miserable.

- "But what if she wasn't!" He turned, facing him. "What would have happened to her, if she was in her? Could she have survived!?"

- "If she was here then..." He swallowed uncomfortably, looking around. The more or less half-molted trailer, the burnt-to-the-ground soundstage, it didn't bode well and they both knew it. "I don't know, Bolt. I just don't know..."

"Hey, I found something!" he heard Mittens shout from outside the trailer. Bolt quickly sprinted outside, keen for any news involving penny.

They went out and there was Mittens, fondling a semi-burnt piece of paper in her white mitts. "It's a newsprint or something" she said. "I think about whatever happened here"

"Well, what does it say?" Bolt asked impatiently "You're the only here who can read"

Benji glanced over at his friend who was visibly perturbed but at the same time totally resolute. He had a bad feeling about this newsprint. Whatever it was, it was not likely to be good news and Bolt did not seem like he could handle any more of what right now. Whatever happened to Penny, Bolt shouldn't hear it from the front-page of some news magazine.

- "Are you sure we're not better off asking someone?" he asked Bolt, as careful and respectfully as he could. "We should find someone who was here and could give us the full-picture instead of just reading some newspaper"

- "Whatever it is, it may have vital intelligence pertaining to my person" Bolt answered, mechanically. "Please, Mittens. Just read it"

"It's kind of hard to make out. Cheap pulp doesn't do well with smoldering ashes..." She studied the paper, turning it back and forth with her green eyes scanning the front-page.

"Disaster at Sovereign Productions, soundstage burns down following on-set fire accident" she read. She flashed Bolt a concerned look. "Do you want me to go on... or?"

- "Keep reading" Bolt said. His voice was calm and determined as he stared glassy-eyed at the Mittens and her newspaper.

"If you say so" Mittens cleared her throat before doing her best to read whatever paragraphs weren't smudged by the ashes.

"Fire caused by onset torch sets local TV studio ablaze" "...firemen were initially unable to locate trapped crew, including thirteen-year-old, as fire intensified",

She stopped, swallowing uncomfortably, her pupils darting across the page. "This can't be..."

- "Keep going" Bolt demanded.

Mittens swallowed again. "Young child-actress Penny Forrester among trapped, mother among many to sue Sovereign Entertainment, makers of the popular Bolt TV series, for criminal neglect"

The rest of the article was virtually unreadable but Mittens didn't think anything more was needed. Instead, she put the newspaper and glanced warily at Bolt. "I'm so sorry, Bolt" she started, putting a paw on Bolt's shoulder - but she was pushed away.

"I should have been here for her..." he repeated, shaking his head. "I should have been here to save her... I failed her..."

"Bolt, there's nothing you could have done" Benji said as gently as he could. "These tragic things... sometimes they happen for no reason"

- "If it wasn't for you and Mittens fighting and getting into trouble all the way, I would have been here weeks ago!" the staggered dog barked at poor Benji who hopped back in surprise. "If it wasn't for you, I could have been here in time to save her!"

- "I, well..." Benji started. He tried to think of something to say, but the sight of Bolt utterly devastated and angrier than he had ever seen him before made the words stuck in his throat. Bolt had been annoyed with him before, but he had never seen this kind of anger from the white dog.

Both he and Mittens stayed silent as Bolt paced back and forth. He glanced warily at the cat, and she had the same mix of shock and empathy in her eyes. Neither of them knew what to say.

Rhino was the one to break the silence. "Maybe... maybe you can rewind time like you did when you infiltrated Dr. Calico's secret..." he stammered.

- "Don't you get it?" Bolt turned to Rhino "I don't have any superpowers! I never had any! You should have realized that about three-thousand miles ago!"

"Don't take it out on him!" Benji said, stepping between Bolt and the hamster. "I understand how you feel but this not our fault!"

"I...I'm..." Bolt sat down on his hunches, ears drooping. The anger was gone and he looked sadder than ever. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"Think about what would have happened if you had been here as well" Benji continued. "We would have lost both of you"

Bolt looked away. "It's all the same to me" he said softly. Then, he got up an all fours and started walking towards the gate.

"Wait, where are you going?" Benji shouted after him.

- "I need to be alone for a bit. Don't wait up"

- "But... what about me?" Benji felt his voice break.

- "I think..." Bolt stayed quiet for a while. "I think maybe you're better off finding your family, Benji" With that, he turned the corner and disappeared behind the door.

Benji stared after him, trying to make sense of what had just happened. His first impulse was to run after him, but he felt like his paws were stuck to the ground. He wanted to scream at him to stop, but he couldn't make a sound. He wanted to run after him and bash him right on the face for taking it out of him, but at the same time he wanted to apologize; apologize for never understanding what Penny meant to him, apologizing for getting caught, screwing up and slowing them down, apologizing for the fire and all the awfulness that had happened as if it was his fault. He did none of these things.

After a while, he felt Mittens paw on his shoulder. The cat sat down next to him. "It's not your fault, pooch"

- "He'll never want to see us again"

- "Give him some time. He'll come around"

- "Let's hope" He look at the empty gate. For once, the cat seemed optimistic than he was.

- Billy (the pigeon) -

Billy flew high over the rolling hills of Hollywood - high enough to catch the setting sun disappear behind the mountain ridge and paint the entire city in vivid orange, high enough to see all the way to Silver Lake and even the ocean beyond that. There was something comforting, almost tranquillizing, about soaring far above everyone and everything. Right now, Billy needed more than anything to be comforted.

However, he also knew that it would get dark pretty soon and therefore decided to head home. As he swooped down over the downtown area, his sharp eyes spotted something he did not expect to see.

It was the unusual sight of a white German Shepherd making his way down the boulevard below. As he circled around to get a closer look, he was surprised to see that it was in fact Bolt, walking all alone on the sidewalk. None of his friends, not even Blake and Tom, were around. The dog was all alone and something was obviously wrong.

Billy debated to himself whether to approach. He had already embarrassed himself once today. All things considered, his meeting with the hero of his life had been a complete and utter disaster. For all he knew, the canine star hated him and never wanted to see him again after spouting that nonsense about the disaster.

Yet, Billy was sure he had seen a large column of smoke rising from the studio, less than a week ago. There had been fire trucks, news helicopters and cameras. At the same time, if something bad had happened to Penny, Bolt would be the first to know, right?

It was these any many other questions that prompted him to approach Bolt. At the very least, he could take the opportunity to apologize now that Blake and Tom were finally out of the way.

He touched down right next to Bolt but the dog didn't notice him. He just kept walking, head and ears dropping and eyes fixed on the road ahead of him. He wasn't as much walking as just skulking seemingly aimlessly down the street. Something was definitely wrong.

"Ehem?" Billy waved to Bolt.

Still no response.

"Ehm, excuse me?" He tried again, raising his voice slightly.

Finally, Bolt stopped and turned around. Billy had never seen such a miserable animal in his life. He could tell on his face that something horrible had happened.

"I'm sorry to bother you... again... but I saw you walking by yourself and I wanted to check if everything is alright"

"Nothing is alright..." The dog sighed deeply.

"You were right all the time, Billy. Something terrible happened at that place. There was a fire, like you said, and Penny..."

He sighed again.

"Penny... Penny is..."

- "She could have made it" Billy said, as he hopped up to the sad dog. "It's possible she made it out"

It wasn't a lie. He had overheard to other pigeons talking about the disaster but no specifics were mentioned. He had seen the column of smoke, but no bodies. He also knew that the show had aired as usual last Thursday at 8pm, featuring new a new Bolt and a new Penny, but he had no idea what had happened to the old actors.

At the time, he had assumed that Bolt too was gone and now he was standing right here in front of him.

Bolt however didn't seem to share his optimism. "Nobody could have made it out of that place" he said, looking even more miserable. "The whole building was burnt to the ground"

- "If anyone can survive something like that, it's your Penny" Billy tried again. "She's not just any little girl"

This time, Bolt seemed to lighten about a little.

"Even if she made it" he said after a while. "How would I find her?"

- "I don't know. But I know someone who might"

Bolt's ears flew up. "Who?"

- "Let's just say she's a contact of mine. She lives just a couple of blocks from here, down by Silver Lake. I can show you the way if you wanna!"

Billy knew it was a long shot, not to mention a long walk, but nobody was more likely to know of Penny's current whereabouts then his so-called contact.

"That is, if you're up for it" He said, looking at Bolt.

Just had he had expected, the superdog didn't hesitate. "Let's do it" he said, a sense of determination returning to his face. For a while, he looked like the Bolt he knew from the television screen, proud and determined.

"But we need to be quick about it, I need to get back to my friends"

- "If we hurry, it shouldn't take us too long", Billy promised, feeling a flutter of excitement in his little chest. They were on a mission together, he and his hero, and if Penny was out there then dammit, they would find her. He just hoped his contact would be as helpful as he hoped.

...

It turns out the bird way to Silver Lake was a lot faster than the street-way they were now limited to. Billy was used to the latter, crossing straight-across town with his wings getting him wheverer he needed to go in no-time. But when all you have is paws; things are inevitably going to be slower.

Bolt may be a fast dog, but he sure as heck couldn't fly which meant some improvising on Billy's part. For one thing, he couldn't just fly over the hills like he normally would. Instead, they had to find a way to cut through the suburbs.

Luckily, it was late which meant that the streets were mostly empty and avoiding unnecessary attention was easy enough, even with the most famous dog in Hollywood. As they were getting closer to Silver Lake, they started running into more and more pedestrians - people jogging or walking their dog - which meant that they had to stick to the back-alley routes not to get spotted.

Neither of them knew enough about the human species to know how one would react to the sight of a lone white German Shepherd in the company of a lone pigeon walking down the street - and neither of them had any interest in finding out.

Billy spent about half of the way either flying ahead or circulating Bolt, but when that got too slow, he settled to just walking with the dog. However, walking long distances when you're a pigeon was surprisingly tiring. So, when Bolt had offered him a ride, he had accepted. Snuggled up on the back of the coolest living being on the planet was both surrealistic and very comfortable.

And since there was little else to do, they talked during most of the way. Billy asked about Bolt's sudden disappearance from Hollywood and Bolt had told him about how he got lost and had traveled across the country with that cat and hamster. They talked about his TV-show and Billy explained how Hollywood worked, how the show's popularity relied on his damn thing airing every week and how the producers had replaced him with another dog after he disappeared.

He wasn't sure Bolt fully understood what he was talking about, though. Overall, the most famous animal actor in the world seemed to know surprisingly little about his own branch.

At the same time, Billy was pleasantly surprised to find that the dog was just like the Bolt he remembered from the TV screen. Actors around here were usually the complete opposite of the heroic larger-than-life characters they were paid to act - but there was something very genuine about Bolt and his love for his person, as he called her. Something that made him feel like he was actually hanging out with the real-life equivalent of the TV Bolt, like they were somehow one and the same.

The German Shepherd also told him about Penny, about how he was adopted when he was just a little pup, how he remembered Penny's face that fateful day but little else. That she had taken care of him, given him a name and a collar that he was still wearing to this day. His voice was so full of sheer puppy-like adoration and he spoke of her, how smart and pretty she was, and how she loved him more than anything.

How ironic that they were less than a couple of blocks from the Silver Lake Animal Rescue where Billy happened to know Bolt was adopted. The producers had made the Animal Rescue Effort a part of their advertising and Silver Lake's Rescue Center had seen a boost in both popularity and funding since one of their rescues had gone on to become world famous.

Billy considered telling Bolt since he didn't seem to know about this at all, but decided to let the Shepherd focus on the task at hand.

During the way, they passed at least a couple of billboards where with the shepherd's face plastered across. One of them were advertising his TV show; 'CATCH BOLT, THURSDAYS AT 8pm' and another one, Bolt appeared with a speech-bubble, endorsing the safety of some new Volvo.

"I do not remember recommending that automobile" Bolt said perplexedly as he looked at the billboard.

"It must be weird seeing yourself everywhere" Billy had asked Bolt who nodded.

"Really weird..."

- "We should be there soon"

- "I hope so" Bolt said. "The others are probably wondering where I am"

Then, finally, they arrived at their destination, a white luxury bungalow on top of the hill.

"So, where's he?" Bolt asked.

"She usually hangs out on the backside in the evenings" Billy explained. "With a little luck, she's still up"

He flapped off to check, then returned promptly. "She's there, let's go!"

Bolt followed the bird through the front gate and over to the large backyard. There, they found a garden and a pool, and by the pool laid a white dog, napping on a sun lounger, it's paw lazily dipping the heated water.

Bolt just stared. It was a German Shepherd with creamy white fur, a red-brownish collar, just like his own, and a black lightning bolt tattooed on its side. It was adult, a little smaller than himself perhaps, but other than that, this dog looked a lot like himself. The addition of the lightning bolt made the whole thing even weirder. Who was this imposter? And who had gone through the effort of masquerading this dog, whoever it was, to look exactly like himself?

"Just let me do the talking" Billy said. "These actor types tend to be a bit eccentric..." He hopped up to the snoozing dog, flapping his wings to wake her. When that didn't work, he splashed some water at the dog's nose.

"Hey, woah, I'm not taking autographs!?" The Bolt copy got up on all fours, looking around confusedly. "This... this isn't a book signing?"

She lit up when he spotted the pigeon. "Billy, is that you old pal?" she gasped, grabbing the bird and pulling him in for a tight hug. "You finally visit!"

"Zoe, I ... ehm brought a friend" Billy gasped between the canine's strong arms.

"Hey Billy, I told you not to call me by my old name! I'm Bolt now, ya can't be taking me out of the zone like that!" the dog continued, still oblivious to Bolt's presence.

"You're not, Bolt" he said, causing the Shepherd to spin around in surprise. "I'm Bolt!"

"Oh... my... dog..."

The imposter looked up, staring at him like he had seen a ghost, eyes wide with show and jaw nearly dropped to the grass. "I can't believe it... the original Bolt, the legend, right here in my own backyard!"

Before Bolt had the chance to ask what this strange dog was on about, she was on top of him, alternating between hugging him tightly and licking his cheeks, all while blabbering frantically.

"Oh my gosh... Bolt... ... my hero...It's such an honor, ... real freaking honor... unbelievable..."

- "Okay, that's it!" Bolt pushed the over- enthusiastic copy of himself out of the way. "Tell me who you are, imposter!"

- "Oh, where are my manners... Name's Zoe. I'm a purebred, Best in Show Champion with a passion for acting. I'm the Bolt for the next generation. I'm the new you!" She straightened up, smiling widely at him as if waiting for his approval.

- "That's very impressive and all, but there's only one me" Bolt said, staring skeptically at the other dog.

- "I know I'll never live up to your legacy, sweetheart" the other dog continued. "But trust me, the audience adore me, and I've been told I'm doing a pretty bang up job as your replacement. We're up in both viewership and merchandise sales!"

- "Replacement?" Bolt lifted an eyebrow.

"If I may" Billy hopped in between them. "Zoe here is your extra since you left Hollywood. The studio needed a dog that looked just like you, or at least similar enough so that humans can't tell the difference"

- "Oh yes! I'm a great actor" The imposter, apparently known as Zoe filled in. "And I do my own stunts, just like you did! Wanna see my superbark!?"

She hunkered down, growling ferociously before discharging her superbark right in Bolt's the face.

- "That's... pretty good" Bolt wiped some spit off his eyebrow. Of course, he remembered his own superbarks sounding way better.

- "Oh gosh, you really think so? Of course, the special effects guys do most of the work..."

As she talked, Bolt started noticing how very similar they were. This dog had his white fur and his brown eyes. Of course, she was smaller, and a girl, but other that, they were astoundingly similar. Could they be twins or something?

- "Of course, now that they got me, I think they'll reluctant to take your back, But since you're my hero and all, maybe I can convince them to write you in as a sidekick. Perhaps even as a love interest. The audience love their romances"

She winked at Bolt who stared confusedly. He wasn't sure what she was getting out, but if it meant acting on that show again he wasn't interested.

"I think my acting days are over" he shook his head. "Besides, I'm really only interested in finding out of my person is safe..."

- "Oh that's too bad. Of course, that doesn't mean you and I can't be close friends in private. I've always dreamt of meeting the original superdog..."

She approached the former superdog who inches away. "I ehm, I'm really not interested in whatever I think you're proposing. Besides, I'm here on very urgent business"

- "What's the matter, super? You're not neutered, I hope?" she asked, glancing warily at his flank.

- "No, I'm not. Whatever that is. Besides, I'm sort of taken" he explained.

- "Oh, I'm sorry" she blushed. "I don't suppose she's another GSD? Odds are I know her. Hollywood's a small town"

- "He's a Labrador, I think. And I'd be surprised if you knew him..."

"Ehum" the pigeon cleared his throat. "Zoe, we're only here because we want to know more about the incident at the soundstage. You were there, weren't you?"

- "Oh you mean that studio fire thingy?" Zoe chuckled nervously. "Hey, I had nothing to do with that! That place broke at least ten different fire codes..."

- "So you were there?" Bolt's ears perked up. "Tell me what happened!"

- "So we were shooting the rescue scene, which went great, until I got distracted and fell of the stage. Apparently, some idiot cinematographer had placed these Tikki-torches all over the set, right? So, I knocked one over and next thing I know - BAM - whole place is ablaze!" She threw her paws out demonstratively.

"It's a miracle everyone survived, especially with half the cast locked inside the soundstage for a good twenty minutes before those idiot firemen could break down the door. And they blame me for the incident? I tell you, this industry..." she giggled.

- "Wait, are you telling me Penny's alive?" Bolt asked. "Please, just tell me, I can't stand any more of your confusing nonsense!"

- "You crack me up, dog" The other Shepherd laughed. Her expression changed from smiling to slight confusion when he saw that Bolt was very much not kidding.

"Wait, you serious? Of course, she's alive..." she continued. "I should know, she's my person!"

"Your person?" Bolt lifted an eyebrow. "That's highly unlikely. Penny is my person"

"I told you, I'm the new Bolt. I do the stunts, I save the little girl, I fight Doctor Calico"

- "Impossible" Bolt scoffed. He turned to Billy. "Let's get out of here, this dog has got a bone loose"

- "Oh yeah?" the other dog sneered back. "Why don't you take a look for yourself, old-timer?" She nodded to the front porch.

"Fine" Bolt rolled his eyes, deciding he might as well humor the dog. Together, they around the corner to the porch. Through the glass doors, Bolt could see someone inside. It was a human. A wispy girl with short red hair and freckles. She was sitting on a coach, eyes tentatively fixed on the TV screen with a controller in her hands. His heart skipped a beat. Penny?

The imposter version of himself yapped happily, nudging the door away before leaping inside to greet her person. The girl leapt to her feet, half-throwing the controller away before getting down to greet her dog as her abandoned character was shot to death on the screen.

"Oh hi there my little cutie-pie!" she giggled, laughing and scratching the wagging dog his chin while Bolt looked on, growing increasingly confused with every second. "Where have you been all day, my little cutie-pudie-pie?"

It definitely wasn't Penny. She never called him cutie-pie. Besides, this person had green eyes, not chestnut brown. Besides, her voice, her scent, everything was different. She might looked like Penny from a distance, but she was clearly just another imposter.

Suddenly the phone rang and the imposter-person got up, running into the next room, leaving the imposter-Bolt behind.

"That's not Penny" Bolt said incredulously. "That's definitely not her"

- "Of course it is! Isn't she amazing?"

- "I've known Penny for all my life and this isn't her" Bolt said, firmly.

- "Oh..." Zoe yawned, scratching herself behind the air. "You mean the oooold Penny. That makes sense. I forgot you never had the pleasure of meeting the new Penny, old-timer"

- "What do you mean?" Billy asked. He was just as confused as Bolt now.

- "Your Penny was replaced with a better one after the incident" Zoe explained. "Good riddance, if you ask me. The Old-Penny was impossible to work with. She didn't really like me and we had zero chemistry, know what I'm saying?"

"Enough with your blabbering" Bolt roared, pinning the other dog to the floor. "Just tell me where my Penny, the real Penny, is!"

- "Woah woah, easy big guy! She's at the hospital! The one down on Guerrero Street!"

- "Is she okay?"

- "Dude, I don't know. We sent her flowers, isn't that enough?"

Bolt didn't answer because he was already on his way out of the door. "Show me the way, bird" he shouted as he ran out.

"I gotta go. Talk to ya later, Z" Billy said before flapping after Bolt, leaving the other white Shepherd staring after the two odd animals.

"Never meet your heroes, I guess" she mumbled, staring after the odd dog. "Too bad. He was really cute". With that, she stretched and padded inside to find her own Penny.