Epilogue

Arms Race

As it had over five years ago, the bell attached to the front door of the Silverlake Pet Store tinkled as it opened, a tall, thin man with a shock of wild brown hair and a short beard walked inside, heading straight for the front counter.

Only this time, the man was alone. No girl, little or otherwise, accompanied him, and the man, rather than smiling at some happy occasion, had his face locked in a serious frown. Whatever he was here for, it had absolutely no relation to that other, happy visit.

"Ah, hey there, Richard!" Joe cried as he saw Richard coming up to him.

"Hey, Joe!" Richard replied, managing a weak smile

It had been close to a week since Penny and Richard had returned to Silverlake, and things were fast returning to normal. The house was not fixed yet, but it was not far off. Penny had returned to school for the next term, and, with his help, she had convinced the school to allow Bolt to accompany Penny with her. Ever since they had returned, Bolt was even more protective of Penny than he had been, simply refusing to stay at home while she went to school. The school had initially fought to keep Bolt away, but in the end, with a town as close-knit as Silverlake, they realised that it would not make much difference if they let Bolt stay. In the end, it turned out that Bolt did very little to disrupt to school, although Richard had heard rumours that one boy, a classmate of Penny's, refused to go within twenty feet of Bolt for some strange reason.

But Bolt was also becoming a little more independent, as well as being even more protective. Sometimes, when Penny was home, Richard would notice that Bolt sometimes went out for short wanders, and could have sworn that he once saw Bolt sitting at the end of the street with another dog. But in the end, Richard had forced himself to set those things aside...he had much more important matters to deal with.

He turned back to Joe. "Have you got him in?"

Joe nodded. "This way."

Richard once more fell into his thoughts as he followed Joe down into the back of the store. The one thing that had bugged Richard ever since he had escaped from the underground cavern was that, having announced his resignation from Calico Technology very strongly, he was now out of a job. In the end, that had almost fixed itself. It seemed that there was some mild knowledge, in certain circles, of his abilities as a genetic researcher, and as such, several universities had offered him positions in their research sectors within days. He had since taken on one of those jobs, and had already begun work. It was demanding, but not to the same level as Calico had been, and as such, he was able to see Penny a lot more. Better still, he had weekends off, now, and so was able to spend far more time where he was really meant to be...at home, with his daughter.

But he had not stopped following the news, and knew that, despite Calico's organisation coming to pieces, his problems, and Penny's, were far from over. The day after the collapse of the Los Angeles plant, Calico had been found, alive, on a beach on the outskirts of Los Angeles. He had stayed overnight in hospital, and had since been released, at which point he had simply disappeared, vanishing as he always did, while his company slowly began to shut down, one facility and office at a time. Barely a week on, already every single one of Calico's international facilities had already shut down, along with most of his local ones in the United States. Richard guessed that, within the month, Calico Technology would be no more.

But that did not mean that Calico was finished. In fact, Richard was certain that Calico was actually collapsing and selling his organisation deliberately, gathering up as much money and things as he could, before spiriting himself away to some unknown location. From there, he would start anew, and work on yet another plan to make the world his. Richard knew this, and knew that, now, he was the only one who could slow him down. He had no idea what Calico was up to, or when he would next reveal himself. But he knew that, when that time came, he would have to be ready, and to do that, he needed to continue the research Calico had sent him on for five long years, continue the research that the university he now worked for would no doubt disapprove of.

That was why he was at the Pet Store today...because Joe was one of the select few who knew of his past, and knew what he had to do. Penny knew as well, and she was not happy about it. But she knew that it was necessary, and in the end, she had agreed, on the condition that Bolt was never used in these experiments again. Richard had agreed gladly, he had no intention of experimenting on Bolt ever again...he despised experimenting on any animal, but it was necessary...he had to do it, or Calico would win once more. It was a secret, private, genetic arms race now, between him and Calico. And the first one to fall behind would ultimately fail. Richard knew he was on the back foot, that Calico had all the resources at his disposal. But Richard was determined, and knew he was fighting for the ultimate cause...and that kept him going.

Finally, Joe lead Richard into the very same back room Richard had previously used to house all of the items he thought Penny would need if Calico ever came for her. Now, the room was mostly empty. There was only one object, in the back corner of the room: It was a clear sided box, a small animal pen of kind, and inside it, sleeping quietly inside a small, plastic exercise ball, was a pudgy, furry brown hamster.

"That's it?" Richard asked.

"That's the hamster you ordered, yes. One of the most resilient I could find, although he never seems to leave that damn ball. It's become a second skin for that rodent. According to the guys I got him from, he's called Rhino, and he's perfect for your...uses."

"Rhino?" Richard repeated, staring a Joe. "Rhino...the hamster?"

Joe shrugged. "I just got him here for you...I didn't name him."

Richard stared at him for a few more seconds, then let the matter drop. The name was insignificant. "His genetic line is stable?"

"According to the breeders, his genetics are as stable as they come...for a hamster, at least."

Richard moved forward, opening the pen and pulling out the little exercise ball, deciding to get a closer look at Rhino. The little hamster woke up, stretching was pudgy frame, before fixing his big, gentle eyes on Richard, staring at him blankly. After a brief inspection, Richard concluded that the hamster was a little on the fat side, but that he seemed healthy and strong enough, and would be more than suitable for his needs.

"He's perfect, Joe! You've done it again!"

"Can't say that I'm glad to help you this time, now that I know what you're up to," Joe replied darkly. "But I can say that I understand why you're doing this, and I'll continue to help you any way I can."

"Thanks, Joe," Richard said, smiling as he put a friendly hand on Joe's shoulder. "That means a lot. But you've done enough for now, I can handle things from here for the next few months, I think."

Joe nodded. "Then I'll leave you to it," he said simply, before leaving the small storage room, shutting the door behind him.

the moment the latch clicked shut, Richard moved towards the opposite corner of the room, just to the left of the door, taking Rhino with him. There, he felt his way along the concrete wall, feeling, searching for...

There! He felt a small imperfection in the concrete, a place where it felt like a tiny crack had formed, circling around in such a way that it created a loose chunk of concrete. Richard quickly pressed on this concealed button, and with a soft, hydraulic hiss, a panel of the concrete floor fell away, before sliding aside, revealing a ladder that descended into darkness. Richard tucked Rhino's ball under his arm, and deftly slid down the ladder, not bothering with the steps. He slid down for a short time, travelling close to fifty yards underground, before his feet hit cold steel. Putting Rhino firmly in his hand once more, Richard felt around for the master light switch, finding it almost instantly and flicking it, lighting up the large underground room with bright florescent light.

The underground room was an almost exact copy of his experimentation lab back in Highton. Computers and various pieces of machinery were strewn everywhere, all of them slowly coming to life, filling the room with a low but insistent hum. What looked like a doctor's examination room lay in one corner, and a small, cheap television rested in another corner. It was Richard's new genetic experimentation lab, where he could examine the animals - and possibly humans - in question, program the genetic alteration sequences, and actually perform them, before processing the results. Once again, a wave of self-disgust crawled through him at the thought of what he was going to do over the next few weeks to this innocent little hamster, but he forced it aside. He knew he had no choice, and that Calico would be searching for a solution even more ruthlessly, and was probably working on it right now. If he did not do this, Calico could claim the world once more without any trouble, even with Bolt's powers. It was either perform mild cases of animal cruelty, or see the world destroyed...he knew which one was the better choice. Besides, if everything went as planned, it would not be animal cruelty, considering what Rhino would become.

Richard took a deep breath, and finally committed himself to this new project. "Alright, Rhino...let's get to work!"

Author's Notes:

And, at long last, "Bolt the Superdog: Origins", finally reaches it's end! And I must admit, as opposed to being thrilled, I am actually rather sad.

I have seriously enjoyed writing this story, and now that it's over, I feel like Bolt as he leaves Mittens and Mindy behind to head home. The grand, exciting adventure, though over, and allowing normality to return, leaves a lingering sadness behind, as the adventure forces you to leave a piece of yourself behind with it.

But, in the end, as the saying goes, 'all good things must come to an end', and sadly, it is now Origins' turn. But in a way, it is not over, for the story will remain on the site for as long as this place continues to exist, I can guarantee you that! In the end, as I leave this story behind, all I can do is hope and pray that you, the reader, enjoyed this story as much, if not more, than I did.

But, as is stands, there are a few things I must say before I go; the first of those...is a list of acknowledgments. It's time for those people who sat in the shadows and lent their minds to this story to finally stand and be recognised! And so, in no particular order, I give you:

1. Everyone at Walt Disney Studios: Without their spark of animated brilliance that was, and still is, the movie "Bolt", this story would have never, ever, come into existance. On top of everyone at Disney, a huge thank you must go to all the actors and actresses who lent their voices to that movie. They may not be directly affiliated with Disney, but they were the heart and soul of that movie!

2. Hunter Lord: At least that is his Internet name (just like mine is Australian Chaos...do you really think people call me that in real life?). Hunter is one of my best and closest friends, and therefore, a big thank you must go to him for helping me with some of my ideas for this story, and for tolerated the fact that a grown man (19) became close to obsessed with a Disney animated film!

3. Everyone who reviewed: A huge thanks must go to this group, for their encouragement and support kept me going right until the very end. I will not name names, but if your name is among the list of reviewers, then this is for you, and all the support you gave me! Oh, and by the way, keep those reviews coming! Now that the story's over, and you have the full picture, you can give a much better insight into what you thought of Origins!

4. Everyone who simply read Origins: Even if you did not review, you still deserved a hearty thank you, because your contribution helped me smile every time I looked at the Story Stats. (By the way, as of February 6, the total count stands at over 5,000 individual hits to my story, which is great!

I could really go on and on and on for another 10,000 words about this, but seeing as the story is already at 160,000, I think I'll leave it at that.

And now, as a final tribute, I would like to present you readers with a gift, and a request.

The gift, as a reward for making it all the way through my admittedly gigantic story, and reading all the way through to this point, is small, but I think many of you might enjoy it! My gift is, for those who are interested, a way of contacting me!
My central e-mail address is
'aus . chaos . 165 (at) gmail . com'
(sorry about the strange layout but something's screwing with it...just remove the spaces and replace (at) with an at symbol), and is the one I check the most frequently. If you wish to send an e-mail, send it there, or suffer my eternal ignorance! (Okay, in all seriousness, I MAY get back to you if you send an e-mail via the alternative address, but I can't guarantee it, and you will almost certainly have a long wait ahead of you!)
My alternate e-mail address is
'australian chaos 165 (at) hotmail . com'
(again, just remove the spaces), and it comes with one significant bonus...I actually do use Windows Live (formerly MSN). So if you like using instant messaging over e-mails (I know I do), feel free to add me to your contacts list. Just make sure that the invite mentions something about this site or Origins, as I will not add contacts who just appear out of the blue!
This gift is specifically designed so that those who want to stay in contact with me, or perhaps learn a little more about me, can do so. I'm not the most social person on the Earth, very far from it, but I find I'm a lot more open over the glorious invention that is the Internet. So come along, add me into your IM contacts list, and have a chat, I won;t bite!

And now for the request:
My request is a very simple one. If you have any questions, any at all, about Origins in any way, whether it's about the story, the design, or even the smallest little piece of trivia. If it's to do with Origins, or me as a fan fiction author, feel free to ask, either via Private Message, review, or e-mail. Private MEssages are much preferrable. If I get enough meaningful question, I may post them, along with the answers for them, here, in this story, as a sort of 'Author Interview', to wrap up the story. So get asking!

And with all this, I also have one, final announcement:

Anyone who has seen my profile, or talked with my via PM, will most likely know that I have planned out two sequels to Origins. It is therefore with deep regret that I announce that not only has that project been canceled, but Origins is to remain my sole fan fiction on this site.
I have decided that, with my writing as it is, that it time to track down the Holy Grail of writing...publication. For those who don't understand, this means writing a novel, completely original, and selling it into bookstores. It is an exceptionally lofty goal, but I believe I have what it takes, and as such, I am going after it with everything I've got.
I will frequently check back in to this site, looking for additional reviews, and questions for the Author's Interview (which I plan on constantly updating as new questions come to light). I just will no longer be posting any new stories or chapters.

And so, with those final, lengthy words. I must at last say good-bye! To all you writer's out there, here is this advice. "Keep your pens sharp, your keyboards clean, and remember: There is no such thing as a wannabe writer...either you are a writer, or you are not, and only YOU can make that choice!"