Disclaimer: Bolt is owned by Pixar Animation Studios, a division of Walt Disney Studios and the Walt Disney Company. I own nothing except for the plot of this story. There may be some minor changes in the dialogue, but I own none of the Disney source material for this fanfiction. Enjoy the first chapter, folks!


Chapter 1: A Daring Rescue

It was just another day on the set for the cast and crew of the Bolt TV show, but soon, it turned into a nightmare for young Penny Forrester. In a moment of fear making him unable to continue with the scene, the phony dog playing in Bolt's place had knocked over a line of torches on the set, and the building rapidly caught fire. Ten minutes later, Penny was trying desperately to find her way out of the studio and rejoin the rest of the group, only to be leading herself deeper into a maze of rubble and flame. A creaking and groaning of something large and metallic slamming on the ground told her a horrifying truth: she might be trapped inside and no one knew where she was or how to get her out. No one, that is, except the most likely member of the show.

Bolt had leapt under a falling slab of metal at the studio entrance and made it inside the smoldering building, where his beloved owner was now truly in danger. Looking around, he knew this was no television episode. Towering flames roared all over the studio like the blazes of the underworld itself, and the air was so thick with smoke it was like an evil-smelling fume. This was a real, full-scale emergency, and Penny's life was truly at stake.

I must find her before it's too late, Bolt told himself in his mind. Superpowers or not, Penny's my person and she needs me.

Not wasting a second, Bolt rushed through the burning studio, leaping over heaps of wood that seemed like mountains and even crawling under toppled statues that seemed like walls of living despair to bar his way. As he ran, Bolt began barking with all the energy he had, hoping that Penny would come to him. By now, the fire had crawled up the walls and over the ceiling, filling the air with smoke and embers. For a moment, Bolt worried that he wouldn't find his owner in time, but that changed when he heard a sickly-sounding cough a short distance away. He ran on, following the sound, until at last his patience was rewarded. There was his owner Penny, coughing hard from the lack of oxygen and clearly quite scared. He barked once more, and she saw him again after almost two weeks of him being completely absent from her company.

"Bolt!" she cried, and she immediately ran to her friend and embraced him. Penny's face was dirty and her clothes were soiled from the ash and smoke, but Bolt nuzzled his furry, white face against hers and whimpered joyfully in her arms. Hearing Bolt's gentle whines made Penny shed happy tears, and she whispered, "I knew you'd come back."

The tender moment between owner and dog was interrupted by another sound of creaking metallic ballast, and the two friends ran as a burning "Calico" helicopter broke loose from its suspension wires and crashed to the floor. Penny screamed as a heap of torched backdrop setting fell on top of her legs and knocked her to the ground. Bolt stopped and barked as if urging Penny to get up as the fire was nearly on top of them. It looked like there was no chance for them to escape when Bolt noticed a proverbial gleam of hope. A vent at the back wall was sending cool air into the burning studio, and there was no burning material near it to cut off a potential avenue of escape.

Penny got a good look at it and struggled free. She found a good bit of rope on the floor and soon had an idea, one that she had used on the show many times before.

"Bolt, zoom-zoom."

Bolt ran as fast as his legs could take him with one end of the rope clenched between his teeth and Penny clinging to the other end. Together they rushed through the deadly labyrinth of seemingly endless fire and ruins, never daring to stop or look behind them. In only a few minutes, Bolt and Penny made it to the only section of the studio that had not caught fire.

This is it, thought Bolt. Just a little longer, and we're home free.

He ran for the vent and pulled the cover off with ease. But at this moment of high hopes, Bolt heard an unpleasant sound behind him. He turned and saw Penny had collapsed. Her breathing was no longer a peaceful puff, but a sickly rasp, and she was so weak she could not stand up. Bolt realized immediately that Penny had been inside the building too long, and the smoke was choking the air from her lungs.

No. No, no, no. Not now, Penny. Don't give up now, Bolt silently begged. He ran back to Penny and tried to urge her to get up. She spoke, but her voice came out as a sickly rasp mingled with an almost constant cough.

"Bolt. Go on out," groaned Penny. She reached weakly for his face and gasped, "Go. It'll be okay."

But Bolt would not abandon his owner to die here in this fire. He thought that she had replaced him at first, but realizing the truth from Mittens and coming back for her had only sharpened his determination to save her, and now it seemed as though fortune had cheated him. He wriggled his head under his young owner's arms and lay there, whining softly for her. Penny hugged her dog with the last of her strength and moaned, "You're my good boy. I love you."

Bolt was too sad now to reply with even a moan. He could still hear Penny's heartbeat, but her cough was slowing down and her breathing was getting worse. It was only a matter of time before she lost consciousness, and all Bolt could do was remain snuggled beside her wishing that he hadn't been outside when this accident started.

The small German Shepherd looked into the open vent with sad eyes, and then gave a little yelp which echoed up the hollow metal interior. Then he gave a little bark, which had the same effect. In that moment, a light began to blaze within Bolt's eyes. He could still save his little owner, whether he lived or not.

Bolt rose up on his four paws and positioned them as he had done so often on the show. Gathering all the strength in his body, he gave a single strong bark that echoed from one end of the vent to the other. He barked a second time, and then a third, which was rewarded with the sound of urging voices and running footsteps. Before his legs gave out from under him, Bolt barked one last time. The last thought before he blacked out was, You're gonna be all right, Penny.


The firefighters had heard Bolt's barking and on arriving at the location, they cut the vent from the wall with chainsaws and flooded the area with clean air from outside. They widened the hole a bit and pulled Penny and Bolt out of the building to safety. In moments, two paramedics had Penny on a stretcher and had applied an oxygen mask. Slowly, the young girl began to regain consciousness and she saw one of the firefighters holding Bolt in his arms. His pristine white fur was blackened with ash and his trademark lightning bolt completely faded away, but Penny smiled to see that her pet was wagging his tail in spite of being out cold.

"Sweetie!" came her mother's voice. "You're okay. You've gotta be okay. You're gonna be just fine."

Penny's mother was right by her side now. She had been frantic with worry when no one came out with her little girl, but to see that Penny was safe now. She was even more amazed to find that the firefighters had saved Penny because someone else had helped them; none other than Bolt.

As Penny was hoisted into the ambulance, the first paramedic gave the first message that ensured Penny was going to be just fine. "She is stable, but we're going to take her to the hospital to be safe."

As Penny was wheeled on board, the firefighter who had helped Bolt out of the studio handed him over to her. He said to Penny, "Your dog is a real hero, miss. You're certainly a lucky girl to have him."

Penny nodded in agreement and gently stroked Bolt's head as he came to consciousness as well. It was all she could do to express how truly happy she was to have her real pet back in her arms. Then she looked over at her mother, who was still calming down.

"Mom."

Penny's mother held her daughter's hand and said almost sobbingly, "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry this happened to you!"

The heartwarming reunion was then interrupted by none other than Penny's agent. Admittedly, for someone who had not cared about Penny's feelings over losing Bolt, he looked quite sympathetic. The bespectacled man said, "I can't imagine what you must be feeling, Mrs. Forrester. No mother should ever have to go through something like this. But I promise you, we're going to make this work for us."

To Penny's mother's great surprise, the agent's expression instantly changed to one of excited glee as he babbled, "I'm talking cover stories, production deals, executive producer credit. There may even be coverage of today's events in the national news. This is so great!"

That made Penny's mother mad. Without hesitation, she flung the sleazy agent clean out the open ambulance door, scattering his cell phone, wallet, fine comb, and watch as he tumbled into the road. Penny's mother exchanged a nod with her daughter, then turned back to the insensitively greedy agent with a face that showed there was no room for debate. Then she uttered with pure disgust in her tone, "We quit."

"Ahh, wha- wait, wait. L-let's not make any rash decisions," Penny's ex-agent blathered on. "Here, let's put a pin in i-"

Penny's mother shut the door on the callous jerk and turned her attention back to her little angel on that stretcher.


A/N: Hope you all liked this beginning chapter. Chapter 2 will see Mittens and Rhino show up, the beginning of Penny's recovery, and then... Who knows? Maybe a special commendation for Bolt saving Penny's life.