Chapter 1

Bolt walked back home. He was tired and his paws ached; it had been a long day, and it was not the first, as it would not be the last. He kept a quiet pace as he passed under the lights that illuminated the sidewalk. Despite having lived like this for a while already, he couldn't get used to life on the streets. Food wouldn't be a problem, since his puppy face would solve it no problem, but there was still thirst, harsh weather, aggressive dogs, cars, animal control, and so on. For a long time he wouldn't even had thought he would live like this… but it had almost been a year now, and he didn't know how it had happened. No, he did know, he just liked to pretend he didn't, but he knew perfectly well how this had happened.

He reached his box, which was just another constant reminder of that had happened. He drank some water before getting inside and curling up in his cushion. "I found some Styrofoam and I stuffed it inside, which I thought was both kind of creative and ironic…"

He shook his head, shooing this ghost from the past. It was late and he had things to do in the morning. He closed his eyes and sighed. Just before falling asleep, a question popped in his head. He already knew the answer, but he kept asking it anyways: How had he ended up there?

He opened his eyes in a very familiar place. He would never forget it. The garden of Penny's house. Overwhelmed, he looked around. The sky was covered in clouds, gray and piled up, ready for the rain at any moment. A little away from him he made out two figures. At first, he couldn't make up details, but as he walked closer, they resulted too familiar. A cat, almost entirely black excepting her belly, paws and snout. Near her, a White American Shepherd, much bigger and stronger. Both were arguing about something. Incredulous, Bolt walked closer, realizing it was himself and Mittens that he was seeing.

"You don't understand, do you, Bolt?" She was angry, her voice and corporal language betrayed her. "She is manipulating you, she only comes close because you give her whatever she asks."

"That's not true!" The dog barked, equally angry. "Princess is my friend, and she wouldn't do something like that."

"No, Bolt. I am your friend, and I'm trying to stop you from ruining your life. She'll try and have you as a mate to get herself a home."

Bolt stared, frozen on his paws, how they both moved and talked. They were arguing over this "Princess", but no matter how much he tried to remember, the name didn't ring anything.

"So what if she wants a home? She has the right for a second chance. You lived a situation like that yourself and nobody denied the chance to you."

As the cat opened her eyes, Bolt wished his other self wouldn't have said that. The cat began to bristle her fur, something he had never seen her do before, and feared her anger as he continued to watch.

"You cannot compare me to that mutt! Yes, I used to manipulate, but never tried to trick anyone into giving me a home!"

"It's not her fault that you gave up!" He howled furiously, before adding in a lower tone. "And it's not her fault that you're being so selfish."

Bolt cursed his other self mentally. How could he not notice? He was hurting her, he was! He tried to yell at him to stop, but not a single sound came out of his mouth. Impotent, he moved closed to the scene.

"She brainwashed you!" The cat hissed. "She's manipulated you so much that now you are a puppet! Why don't you just go and be her mate, and then have her filthy puppies, just like her!"

Bolt did notice that Mittens had said that last argument with too much emotion. He would have liked to think why, but his mind was swirling.

"You know what? Forget it! I don't even know why I'm talking to you. Since I met her you've been acting weird and you expect me to guess why."

"I'm trying to see for your good, dog!" She replied. "Since Princess arrived you have gotten in many more problems than in the rest of your life!"

The other Bolt went silent. The shepherd assumed she had been right.

"T-That's not true! A-And if it were, it doesn't prove anything!"

"Bolt, you didn't even know what hunger was until I explained it to you."

The other dog seemed to explode in fury. "You would still be in your filthy alley if it weren't for me! Everything that happened later was because of that!"

"Same for you!" She snapped back. "You would still be in New York, had it not been for me!"

Bolt was getting scared. That wasn't them, that wasn't them. Ever since the animal control incident, both had carried on quiet, calm conversations. And he was seeing them, shouting at each other, throwing in their faces what they owed to the other instead of thanking for it.

Then, like a stone, the memory hit him. Princess was a little she-dog, a Belgian shepherd, whom he had meet on any given day. She was a stray, like Mittens said, and, as she had said too, she constantly asked Bolt for food or blankets; and Bolt had complied and gotten into several problems for doing as much in a very short period. It was also true that she was always getting close to him and brushing her tail against his neck or flank. Mittens used to sulk after he had been with Princess, and he had found it exhausting to try and figure out why, since she never answered when he asked.

"And you know what?" Mittens kept going. "I'm not wasting my time anymore. I'll be inside, maybe when Princess can give me back the Bolt I know, we can talk." Then she added, almost in a whisper. "You disappoint me, Bolt."

The other dog was out of his mind. Bolt feared he would be too angry to think clearly, and confirmed as much when he opened his jaw just to say, "That's not happening. I'm leaving."

The cat stopped dead on her feet and turned around, her look of total disbelief.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm leaving! I don't have to put up with this, and I won't!" He howled angrily. "Do as you wish, Mittens! Enjoy your beloved home!"

The other Bolt began to scratch his neck, while he watched himself doing as much in horror. After a few seconds, the other Bolt achieved his goal: taking of his collar. Then he grabbed it and threw it at Mittens. "Keep it!"

The cat was no much more scared than angry. "Bolt, wait…"

"If I'm not the Bolt you know, then I'll leave, just how you want me to do!"

"No, Bolt," Mittens cried with tears threatening to get out. "I didn't mean it… I… I said it for a reason."

"Well, I don't care, Mittens! I no longer care!"

"Damn it, listen to her, you idiot!" Bolt yowled at himself, not affecting the scene at all.

The other Bolt was turning around when Mittens caught up with him. She was holding his collar in her paws.

"Bolt, listen to me. I have to tell you something…"

"Go tell someone else!"

As if his shout had been an order, the sky thundered and the first drops of rain began to fall down, wetting them both.

"No, don't do it, dumb. Listen to her, she wants to tell you something important! You wouldn't dare… you're not going to—"

"Goodbye, Mittens." The dog said without giving opportunity to her of answering, with a complete neutral tone, eyes cold as ice.

Before she could react, Bolt had ran off.

"No!"

Bolt ran until he reached Mittens and watched, unable to change a thing, as his furious counterpart speed away from there. She didn't take her eyes off him, tears beginning to tickle down her cheeks, mixing with raindrops. She whispered his name a couple times, sobbing, before lowering her head and openly beginning to cry, in the same way the rain intensified, say, as if the sky were crying too. Then everything began to turn gray and disappear. Bolt lost sight of Mittens, himself, the garden, the house, the rain, all of it. Everything was gone. The dream was over.

"It was no dream," The told himself. "It was a memory. I did all of that, I acted like an idiotic dog!"

Then he analyzed his dream. The discussion was halfway when he joined in the dream and for the worst part no doubt. He had said, he had done things he had regretted since then.

He gave it a little more thought and found something new: he had never considered neither Rhino nor Penny. What would have become of them? What would Mittens have told his admirer? Would Penny have looked for him?

"Of course she would have, dumb," He scolded himself. "And she surely did for months."

Why had he abandoned his friend and person for an argument with Mittens? Recalling that day, he had not even thought of the other two until he was far away from home. Only until he had reached a highway had he remembered he was abandoning the other two important presences in his life as well. But his pride had forbidden him to go back to that house, and his wrath had still been so much that he had simply kept going, not caring… or pretending not to.

Why had he not remembered until later? Was Mittens' opinion more important than theirs was?

Then he recalled how the cat had angered when mentioning him as Princess' mate. Why would it bother her so much? Why was she so angry when she said that he should "have puppies with her"?

Bolt shook his head frantically, feeling silly.

"She wasn't angry; she was hurt, and I only made it worse."

He believed he had reached a conclusion. Mittens had been jealous of Princess. She had explained the concept to him herself. But even so, she had taken her jealousy too far for her best friend.

"Or maybe…?"

He didn't finish asking. He didn't know how.

Then he remembered something else. Himself. He had gone directly to Las Vegas. He didn't know why, but he had arrived there, found the place where Mittens had once tried to make him stay and had taken his box. That had become his home, and he still didn't know why there.

Slowly, he began to review his memory again. From the beginning to the end, and his stomach began to hurt the more he thought about it. His words, his actions… hurtful words, stupid actions, thrown at Mittens, who was only trying to look for his best as always, everything made him feel worse. For one reason he had locked this memory deep into his mind, because remembering it made him feel bad. It made him want to go back to the place to which he had promised himself that he would never go to again, not even crazy.

"You disappoint me, Bolt."

"Bolt!"

The dog opened his eyes and jerked awake. His gaze crossed a Beagle's with deep, black eyes, watching him happily. The small dog backed away a couple steps to allow Bolt out of his box.

"Hi there!" He chirped while wagging his tail. "I brought you breakfast."

"Er… th-thanks, Fox," Bolt mused after a few seconds.

The beagle looked at him inquisitively.

"You okay?"

The shepherd sighed and sat down, hanging his head. "Nothing…"

"If I believed that, I would believe everything. You've got something on your mind, and you've got it since… well, a long time ago."

Bolt noticed that Fox had not said what he originally intended to and wondered why. He decided he had no reason to lie to his friend.

"Yes, well, I'm not feeling okay."

"Reason?"

"I don't think you would understand. I don't think you've felt your heart getting crushed." He said, trying to explain graphically how he felt after letting the memory out of his mind and realizing what he had done. There was no response and Bolt looked up to face the beagle. He had his eyes tainted with pain and sadness.

"You know I do." He snapped at Bolt, turning his back.

The dog remembered in a split of a second the accident from a couple months ago and realized he had screwed up.

"Oh, damn! I'm sorry, Fox! I didn't remember Lily's…"

"Nah, doesn't matter," The other interrupted.

"I'm distracted, that's all." He hastened to add, hoping he had not angered his friend. He didn't remember receiving a single look like that since he had known him and he didn't want to start now. They had helped each other since they had met and that's how he wanted to keep it.

Fox looked back at Bolt, his gaze cheerful again. "Yes, it's quite noticeable. You didn't even notice the piece of meat I offered you." He emphasized, pointing with his nose towards the shepherd's front legs.

Bolt smiled slightly and lowered his head to eat. His current life was not bad. As he gave the first bite into his breakfast, he thought of all the good experiences he had lived during the last year. Another smile escaped his lips at the thought of Fox and Lily, his good stray friends, and he couldn't help but run a paw down his side, where he had a scar, remembering the day he had met them.

"Thanks," His partner barked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Why?"

"I thought you were remembering the day we met." The beagle replied, referring to the gesture Bolt had made. "After all, if it's nine and a half months and counting, I'm telling you it will be there forever."

"Nothing gets past you." The shepherd told him.

"Insight is my second name." Fox told him after swallowing a mouthful. "At least that's what Lily would say." He added before lowering his eyes again.

"Sorry."

Fox looked back at him. "Don't be. You did all you could; it was nobody's fault."

Bolt watched his friend keep eating with ease. He was too mature for the three years he said he had. Both finished eating in silence and then went out to check what they had taken as their territory.

After half an hour of walking, Bolt realized he could not pay any attention on what they were doing. His thoughts kept wandering over to his dream, so he would just follow Fox through the streets and alleys. He thought about that again. That memory, he had had it for a year, from the moment it had happened; why would it come back now, clear as if he had just lived it? He had worked very, very hard to suppress that memory inside his head, looking for anything to distract him from it, but there seemed to be nothing he could to this time. From one moment to the next, Bolt realized that they were no longer on the route they used to take.

"Where are we going?" He asked without much real interest.

"We're going to see Lily." Fox answered with remarkable joy.

Bolt found himself gaping. "What? No, Fox, it's not necessary…"

The beagle ignored him. "You need it. And me, too." His voice became absent for a moment. "C'mon, it's this way."

Bolt resigned himself and followed his friend as he had done all day. By then he couldn't care where he was going, as long as he could take his attention away from it. But his mind kept ringing one word, always the same. Mittens. Yes, maybe his current life was not bad, but the way he had walked out of the previous one was just terrible, and he was sure of it, as he was sure the sun rises every day.

"Hey, we're here. Hello, Lily!" Fox greeted. "I'm sorry I didn't come before, but I've been somewhat busy with Bolt these last weeks."

Bolt was no less than amazed by how naturally Fox talked to Lily, even after what had happened. He remembered what she looked like when they first met, a white, pretty Cavalier King with several large tan spots along her body. Now he looked in her direction, but…

"Bolt! What are you waiting for? Say hi!" Fox urged him.

"Uh… h-hi, Lily," Bolt said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Lily didn't answer, and Fox kept talking as if nothing.

"Yes, I do think Bolt is distracted, too. That's why I brought him to you, pretty. What do you think?"

Bolt watched as his friend put on and expression of thinking while he continued to watch the tree next to where they had buried the female in question. He was not sure if Fox was really talking to his deceased mate, or if he was just pretending to feel better.

"You're right," He kept going after some seconds of thinking and looked at Bolt. "She says you're to go back."

"Go back? Where?"

Fox raised an eyebrow. "To France, you genius. To your home!"

"Wait, are you saying that Lily…?"

"Lily and I, we both agree. You are not happy here; well, maybe you are, but not as happy as you could be if you go back and fix things up."

Bolt then felt two things. The first one was a huge wave of relief: he had been trying to face himself since he realized what he had done to Mittens, though he had always tried to drown that memory among his other thoughts, he wouldn't last doing it for another month, let alone another year. The second thing he felt was concern, because he would be leaving Fox to his fate.

"And what about…?"

"I'll be fine, Bolt. I have the boxes, I have Lily and I have our territory."

The shepherd thought of another solution. He had given Mittens and Rhino a new home. Fox could join them.

"You could…"

"I don't think so," Fox interrupted again. "That's your place, not mine. With what you and I made these months, I'll manage. Besides, Lily is here and I couldn't leave her for long. Right, sweet?"

This time a leaf fell off the tree and landed on the beagle's head gently. Bolt couldn't have cared less, but Fox opened his eyes with excitement.

"She says yes!" He told him excitedly. "She agrees!"

Bolt decided to make his next question towards Lily, still not quite sure that she had had anything to do with the leaf.

"Lily, would it be fine if I spend a last day with your poor, desperate lover?"

"Of course it's fine," Fox answered without waiting to see what she had to say. "But we'll leave it in half a day. What do you say if we finish checking our territory, get some food and eat one last time together?"

Bolt smiled. "Lead the way, Fox."

The canine duo finished their route and checked there were no trespassers in the territory they had earned. Though neither of them would have been bothered to share what they had, outsiders were usually Machiavellian, abusive, or came in with intentions of driving them out. So they had agreed only to show kindness when it was required.

"Well, we're all clear," Fox yawned, sitting down in the alley behind the meat shop.

"Yeah, we are." Bolt got to thinking for a few seconds what would become of his friend if he left. "Fox, are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"I thought we had talked it, Bolt. We haven't seen anyone in our territory in a little over a month. I think we earned the reputation to keep them away. And it's not like they know you're leaving, so they don't have any reason to come here."

Bolt sighed. His friend's words were with their typical optimism, but he couldn't find such angle for the situation. He focused his gaze on Fox, using a puppy face to make the usual person give them as couple of meat pieces before entering the store again. Why wouldn't he want to go back with him?

"Let's go," His friend's voice shook him out of his thoughts. "Lily will be waiting for us."

The white shepherd just nodded and took the piece of food that was for him before getting up and leaving the alley.

They both headed back to where Lily was and ate in relative silence, only breaking the silence for the occasional anecdote. After they were done, both dogs lay down under the shade of the tree to talk a while longer.

"Lily says, don't forget to apologize."

Bolt rolled his eyes. "I know; you've both told me like a million times. I screwed up, believe me, apologize will be the first thing I do." He said, relaxed. After spending that time in company of them two, he didn't picture himself going back to California.

"And I say, choose your words carefully," Fox added, lowering his voice. "After all, we're talking about a girl here; she'll tear your ears apart if she gets the chan—ouch!" The beagle was interrupted by a considerably large apple that fell on his head. "Sorry, darling, I was kidding." Then he lowered his voice again. "You see?"

Bolt chuckled. Then he chose to tell his friend what he had been considering.

"Fox, I really think… I should stay here."

The beagle jumped to his paws and stared at him. "Oh, no; not that! You get on your paws and start walking towards California. Right. About. Now." Bolt tried to explain, but he didn't gave a chance. "Lily's with me and says you're leaving. And she says you better treat Mittens well."

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me. After all, if you manage to make her forgive you, maybe you'll even become a cute couple."

Bolt couldn't have been more confused by what he had heard. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Bolt, Lily and I have known since the first time you talked about them. It's obvious that you fell in love with her, and, by the way you say she was with you, it's obvious she had fallen in love with you, too."

The dog's brain swirled for the next seconds, and a weird feeling settled in his stomach. Had he fallen in love with Mittens? Even more, her with him? That would explain her extreme jealousy and her anger towards Princess no doubt. In fact, that explained a lot more. But he had fallen in love with her?

"You can think it on your way. California is not that close." Fox pointed out when he saw his face.

"Wait. What should I do… assuming you're right?" Bolt asked, unable to confirm or deny he beagle's assumption.

"Tell her how you feel. And that you're sorry." Fox must have noticed his expression of doubt. "You can do it. You're Bolt, the superdog, remember?"

Bolt chuckled at his friends comment and made a decision. It looked like everything was pointing home. Back to Penny, to Rhino… and back to Mittens. Then he realized he was crazy. He had said, he had sworn he would never come back, not even out of his mind. And since he was going back, he had to be out of his mind. What would he say to Mittens? 'Hi, how are you?' Moreover, how would he ever compensate for his actions?

"Well, if don't go there, you will never find out." Fox answered to his thoughts.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Bolt asked again, feeling a part of him hope the beagle would reconsider and ask him to stay. He didn't feel capable of facing her, and even thought it would be easier to fight a full gang of dogs.

"Affirmative."

"Won't it bother you to be alone?"

Fox chuckled and smiled. "I will never be."

"Are you sure you don't want to—?"

"Bolt," He interrupted gently. "Just go."

His tone finished reassuring him; he had to let Mittens know how sorry he was, and leave the rest to… whatever it were. Finally, his decision began to take strength. He was going home. The dog felt a pang of sadness, since it also meant saying goodbye to his newest friend. Without hesitation, he pulled the beagle in for a hug.

During those brief seconds, Bolt remembered all of his stray life. The fight he got involved to, the day he met them, being chased by Rottweilers; the scar he had earned as a result of that fight and how they had cared for him while he recovered; the way they had made up a "territory"; how, ironically, he had helped Fox confess his love to Lily, and how happy they had been; Lily's accident, just a few months after his declaration; her burial and their mourn of her leaving them; Fox's recover and how he still deeply loved her, even if they never saw each other; their little training sessions in order to stay fit for a surprise fight and all the tips they had given each other for survival in the streets; how, that very same morning, Fox had gotten him breakfast and motivated him to do something he wouldn't have dared do on his own, and how, countless times, he had helped Bolt, including that moment.

"Be careful," Bolt told him, parting from the embrace. "Don't get in trouble. I won't be around anymore to make myself a scar defending you. And be careful near the streets."

"And I won't be around to make you see what's in front of your eyes, so open them well," Fox retorted. "And don't worry… I know how dangerous streets can be…" His gaze went lost for a moment, probably remembering Lily's accident.

Bolt turned to the tree. "Take care of him, Lily."

"She says she will," Fox answered with a cheerful bark. "Now, go."

Bolt felt a surge of excitement. He was going home! He had denied himself for a long time, first out of anger, then out of pride and then out of taking care of Fox and Lily. Now both were urging him to go back. However, as he started running towards California, a very important doubt assaulted him. What was he going to say to compensate Mittens? He had a general idea, but the doubt remaining was: Which would be the right words?

Yeah, yeah, I know. Have been absent for quite some time. Sorry. Can't really justify it, just writter's laziness, since those extra chapters from my main story are a little too long. So I remembered I have this, another story, in Spanish, and decided to make a translation for it as well. It's shorter-6 chapters only- and has no Let's-Save-The-World plot. Just a small story I decided to do when I was in the middle of the extra chapters. I hope next time you know of me is in the other story, but if its not, then it will be here. You tell me if you liked this chapter and maybe I'll hurry up for the next one. Anyway, I guess that's all I gotta say so nos vemos luego.