It's been long enough since my last update, and my readers are worth me staying up late to write. At least I hope you guys are. (Just kidding!) You guys are the reason I write in the first place. When I see those reviews pop up a few days after an update, it reminds me why I do this. Thanks guys!
A/N: I do not own Bolt or any of its characters. All characters are the property of Disney and its subsidiaries.
What Happens in Bakersfield
A loud knock rattled all three animals awake at such a late time at night, at least it felt late due to the night sky. Seth looked around to see that he was still in the front seat and looked in the back of the SUV to see that Preston and Simone were nowhere to be seen.
"What the…" Seth began before another knock came to the passenger side door that the young tabby was occupying. As he poked his head over the window, he saw two huskies perched down below looking up at him. As Seth sat back down in the seat, he looked at the computer system in the car and wondered if it would respond to his voice.
"Um… computer on." Seth said directly to the screen. After waiting for a few seconds with no response, he spoke again.
"Open passenger door." Seth ordered, this time more stern.
"OPENING DOOR." said the computer. Instantly, the passenger side door opened and the two dogs that were standing outside scattered in fear. As Seth looked in the back seat, he saw Preston and Simone look up from the very back of the Tahoe.
"What's going on?" Simone asked looking around.
"I could ask you guys the same thing." Seth said as he stared at the two of them.
"You'll learn about it when you're older. In the meantime, what just happened?" Preston asked getting back on track.
"Well, I… I guess we all fell asleep before we got here, and as you can see, it's dark outside." Seth said before continuing.
"Anyway, there were two dogs standing outside, but when I opened the door, they ran off." Seth finished
"Oh, okay!" Simone said jumping to the front seat, allowing Seth to jump out first before she and Preston followed. As the three of them walked around the property, they noticed a women walking out of the front door to greet the guests.
"Hello." the woman said from about 20 feet away.
"Hi there." Preston said greeting her.
"What can I do for you?"
"We're some old friends of Eli and Beverly." Simone said
"I figured as much, seeing as you can talk." the woman said as she turned around to head back to the door. As it opened, two familiar faces walked out onto the front porch.
"Oh My God." Eli said as he rushed down the front steps and pounced on Preston, knocking him on his back.
"Whoa, déjà vu." Simone said looking at Beverly who was walking casually towards her.
"I won't pounce, I swear." Beverly said as she pulled Simone into a tight hug, which the Ridgeback was glad to return. As the hug got tighter, tears began pouring from Simone's eyes, which Beverly could feel running down her shoulder.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?" Beverly asked softly.
"Eight months is just too damn long." Simone said through her thickened voice.
"I know, it HAS been too long. I didn't expect you guys to come so…" Beverly began before she looked over at Seth, instantly recognizing him from the photo frames.
"Wait a minute… is that who I think it is?" Beverly asked
"It is." Seth said walking up to Beverly.
"Wow. Seth, it's nice to see you again. I guess you don't know who I am."
"No, I know who you are. You're Nova's real mom." Seth said plainly. Beverly looked at Seth, a little surprised.
"How did you…"
"I've seen the frames. I know who all of you guys are." Seth said looking around at each member of the family, who had all come outside to join the party.
"Mom, who is this?" Nichole asked as she stood beside Beverly.
"This is Seth." Beverly said. Each of the kids had looks of complete shock on their faces. It was enough for Seth to know that they know just who he was. Levi and Valerie looked at each other for a quick moment before Levi walked up to introduce himself.
"Nice to meet you, man." Levi said
"Same to you, Levi." Seth said
"So this is really Bolt's son?" Jack asked walking up to his father, who by now had gotten off of Preston.
"Yep." Eli said
"Whoa." Jack said almost star struck.
"So what brings all you guys here?" Beverly asked. Simone looked at Preston, who in turn looked at Seth, giving him the floor.
"Nova." Seth said simply.
"What is it?" Eli asked confused. Seth looked at Beverly, and instantly she knew that something was wrong. She motioned her head to the side, telling everyone to follow her into the house.
(Penny's House)
"Mom, it's been 24 hours, and I'm really starting to worry." Penny said pacing back and forth in the living room.
"Where would they go?" Catherine asked
"I don't know. I would like to get a hold of that Kurt guy, but I don't remember where I put his phone number." Penny explained.
"Do they have a website?" Catherine asked once more. Penny instantly looked up and stared at her computer, wondering how she could have missed that.
"Wow, I feel like an idiot." Penny said as she walked over to her laptop and opened the Internet. After searching for about 10 minutes, she came across the company website, and dug a little deeper before finding their contact information.
"Bingo." Penny said satisfied. The teenager pulled out her cell phone and dialed away. As she waited for someone to pick up, she got up out of her seat and starting pacing again.
"Honey, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor." Catherine said giggling a little.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't sit still."
"Gracin Genetic Enhancements; this is Tanya; how may I help you?" said a voice on the other end of the line.
"Hi, my name is Penny Russo, and I'm looking for some information about my dog. Is Kurt there?" Penny asked
"He is, just one moment… Hello?" Kurt asked taking the call.
"Mr. Gracin, this is Penny Russo. Do you remember me?" Penny asked again.
"I do. How are you?"
"Well, I've been better. Um… Bolt and the rest of the family went missing earlier yesterday, and I was wondering if you called them back for some reason, because you're the only person I know who would seek all of their help."
"Uh… well, the family isn't here. However, the young tabby of your family showed up outside our warehouse yesterday MORNING."
"He did?"
"Yeah. Apparently, he and his sister got into a fight the night before about her real family, and he's 'on a mission' to reunite them because she implied that he wasn't her brother."
"So… where is he now?"
"Well, one of my agents is escorting him to Bakersfield. After he comes to his senses, she'll bring him back. Do you remember Simone?"
"Yeah."
"Well, she's the one who's escorting him. As for the rest of your family, I just don't know."
"You know what; that's okay. I've already got a pretty good idea of where they are."
"Wait, you think they went to find him?"
"Well, knowing Bolt, that would be my first guess."
"I might be able to help. Do you know if he's wearing his collar? You know, the one that Eli gave him?"
"Uh… I don't know."
"Well, that collar has a GPS tracer logged inside the same mechanism that enables him to speak. We have the technology here at the warehouse to locate it over satellite, and I can send the coordinates to your phone."
"Really?"
"Yeah, just give me about 2 minutes and we should have him locked on our radar. If he's moving, we'll find him."
"Oh My God! Thank you so much!" Penny said breathing a sigh of relief.
"No problem."
(Bolt and the family)
It was now 9:00am, and the group was just waking up from a long night. Nova finally cracked the address, and was sleeping happily in Trigger's hold, while Bolt, Mittens and Rhino stayed inside the sheltered phone booth. Suddenly, Bolt jumped out of his sleep slightly, and got up to stretch. He looked around as if something had awoken him from his slumber, but saw nothing that would cause it. After his yawn subsided, Mittens began to wake up as well.
"You know, that yawn of yours is so cute." Mittens said hopping up on all fours. Bolt laughed a little at the remark before giving her a kiss. The pair exited the phone booth to find Trigger and Nova sleeping in the same position they were in the night before.
"Well, I guess we should wake 'em up." Mittens said walking up to the sleeping couple, but was stopped by Bolt.
"Hold on. I got this." Bolt said with a coy smile plastered on his face.
"Bolt, behave yourself." Mittens said
"Hey, I'm the dad. I can have some fun every once and a while."
"Bolt."
The shepherd walked up to the Trigger and Nova, and laid down right next to them, as if he was waiting for something. Mittens waited for Bolt for a good 10 seconds for him to make his move, but nothing happened.
"Bolt, what are you…" Mittens said before Bolt let out a set of three loud barks, causing Trigger and Nova to practically jump out of their skin. As the two of them began catching their breath, Bolt continued to sit on the edge of the curb and smile widely.
"What was that about?" Nova asked
"Did the two of you sleep well?" Bolt asked. Nova's face now showed signs of shock and her stomach began to churn. Trigger didn't seem too pleased with the recent knowledge that Bolt had obtained either.
"Uh… I guess?" Nova said not sure she should be talking at all.
"Uh-huh." Bolt said walking away. Mittens walked up to Trigger and Nova to fill them in on what was going on.
"Your father and I came out here last night and saw you two sleeping on the sidewalk." Mittens informed.
"Oh great." Nova said sulking.
"Honey, he really IS happy about this, but… he'll probably never admit it."
"Mittens, this is probably my fault. I…" Trigger began figuring he should be the one to take the blame. However, he never got the chance to finish, due to Mittens jumping in to stop him.
"It's not your fault, Trigger. Trust me, he likes you. I know; I'm his mate."
"Hey." a voice from the phone booth said unhappily. The voice was Rhino, who was rudely awakened by Bolt nudging him until he fell off of the seat.
"You could have told me to get up." Rhino said grumpily rolling out in his ball.
"Or I could have barked." Bolt said as he looked back over at his daughter, who gave him an icy glare right back.
"So, did you find the house?" Rhino asked Nova as he rubbed his eyes, still trying to get up.
"I did. The address is 11288 Ridgecrest Road. It's about a one-mile walk from here." Nova explained to the group.
"Honey, you do remember we can't read, right?" Bolt asked
"Right, sorry." Nova apologized
"Before we set off, I need someone to take this collar off." Bolt said jumping in.
"Why?" Rhino asked
"Because I think there's something wrong with it. It almost feels like it's vibrating, and I don't want it to electrocute me." Bolt pleaded. Trigger walked up to Bolt and pulled on the loose strap, snapping the collar free and having it fall to the ground. Both Bolt and Trigger took a closer look at it to see that, in fact, it was vibrating, and a small orange light was flashing on the inside of the strap.
Uh... Bolt?"
"Yeah."
"Where did you get this?" Trigger asked
"A friend of mine gave it to me." Bolt explained
"Bolt, this is a 2nd edition TrackTime collar. It's got a 14-language translator, GPS locator, and 3-line communicator built in to the tag alone."
"In English?" Bolt asked completely lost.
"In other words, it's a phone, navigator, and translator all in one." Trigger explained in a language that the rest of them could understand.
"Why is it flashing?" Mittens asked
"Because it's on." Bolt said out of the blue. Trigger looked at Bolt, wondering how he knew what it meant.
"How did you…" Trigger began
"We used the same model when we were looking for Gracin at the airport last year."
"Sweet."
"Wait… who would be looking for us?" Mittens asked getting back to the subject at hand.
"I don't know. Who would want to find you?" Trigger asked
"Penny." Bolt, Mittens, Rhino, and Nova all said simultaneously.
"Your owner? But there's no way she has this kind of technology. The patent is owned by GGE. She would have to be at the warehouse." Trigger explained.
"Maybe she is." Rhino said.
"So, do we just let her find us?" Nova asked
"Well, if she knows where we are, then she has nothing to worry about. We still have a job to do." Bolt said. Everyone in the group nodded in agreement, and they were off once again to their NEW destination. After about 30 minutes of walking, avoiding the dog catcher, other cars, and other animals, they made it to a dirt road marked 'Ridgecrest Road.'
"Which way?" Bolt asked looking at his daughter. She gave her answer by walking in the direction she knew would take them to the Montoya's home.
"I think I see a sign up ahead." Nova said looking off into the distance.
"It says 'MONTOYA'. That's our stop." Nova said once more. With that, Nova raced towards the home, leaving the rest of her family in the dust. After it settled and the sand was cleared from their eyes, Bolt focused his vision to the driveway, where he saw Nova sitting and waiting patiently for the rest of them to catch up.
"Oh yeah." Trigger said laughing before he too took off at lightning speed, and sprinted to the young husky. She had indeed discovered a new power that she'd possessed: super-speed. Just by the way she and Trigger were chasing each other up and down the dirt road; you could tell that she was enjoying getting to use the newfound ability. Bolt, Mittens and Rhino casually made their way to the driveway, letting the two young canines have their fun. However, in one false move, Nova tripped over her own hind leg and began rolling towards the ditch, and directly in her path was Trigger. Before he could even blink, she barreled into him and sent the two of them rolling down the road, right in front of Bolt. As the rolling stopped, Nova looked down to find herself on top of Trigger, mirroring the smile he had on his face.
"Sorry." Nova said getting off of the black lab.
"It's alright." Trigger said getting to his feet.
"Should we leave you two in the ditch?" Bolt asked teasingly. It wasn't very often he could embarrass Nova, so he would take every chance he got.
"Dad!" Nova said in a hushed tone, beginning to feel embarrassed. As they climbed out of the canal, all of them looked down the long driveway and stared at the house for a good 15 seconds before Bolt turned his gaze over to Nova and spoke.
"Are you ready for this?"
"No.
"Me either." Bolt said, and the family walked down the pathway towards the Montoya residence. What was yet to some would bring more shock and surprise than anything else, but they had already gone this far and there was no turning back… not this time.
**End of Chapter**
My sincerest apologies go out to all of my readers. I am aware that it's been over a week since my last update, and free time was readily available; however, the epiphanies were not. Thank you for being patient with me, and I hope I didn't disappoint. In the next few chapters, you will see more surprises than you could ever imagine. What will Nova think of her real family? Will Nova and Seth make up? One thing is for sure: It will be a lot like my last family reunion. (Which can be good or bad depending on who you are.) See you guys soon.
Adios!