Forward. Upward. Onward: A Bluey Story.

Overture - Eureka

2:47AM

"Aye mate!"

A young German Shepherd woke up from his awkwardly positioned chairsleep and straightened. "What?"

"We got a case. Some kids dissapeared."

"Again?" He got up from his chair. "That's the second time today!"

"To my knowledge-" a young Cocker Spaniel dropped a manila folder on her coworker's paws. "They're the same kids."

"Huh..." he said as he took a peek at the document. "Wonder what's making them act like this."

"That's... kinda your job to figure out." she mumbled as she grabbed a pair of car keys from her desk. "C'mon, I bought us some brekkie for the trip."

"Brekkie? But it's three in the morning!"

"You're delusional for thinking you'll eat later today" she said as she spun the keychain on her finger.

– – –

There was a knock on the Heeler Home. The door was opened by a red heeler who was finishing putting on a green winter jacket. "Hello?"

"Hello, we're from the AFP, we wer-"

"Oh, yes! Please come in!"

Both officers entered the Heeler Home, to find all remaining adults pacing the living room, and Bingo sitting on the couch.

"Hello, my name is Charles and this-" He said as he turned around to see his mate closing the door. "-Is Skye. We've been assigned to find your children."

"Oh, please take a seat-"

"We're okay like this, ma'am thank you."

There was a slight silence in the room.

Charles would be the one to break it. "So, what are we here for aga-"

"We're here to ask a few questions." Skye interrupted as she sat down on the couch near her.

"I thought you'd stay like that?" Bandit asked.

"You have a right to stay silent, sir." She got up and leaned into Bandit in a threatening fashion. "Or maybe not."

"But I'm not a susp-"

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in court."

She turned around and went towards a different couch. Bandit then whispered to Charles "What's with her?"

"Oh, she just wanted to feel badass after she couldn't stop a drug deal from happening on a playground last Wednesday."

"Anyway" She got up and turned to the adults. "Why do you think your children may have fled?"

All of those on the couch -including Bingo- looked at eachother's eyes in a panic, before the looks settled on Bandit. "biscuits." He muttered under his breath before starting to explain.

"We- well, uhm..."

"Drop it already!"

"Our kids might like-like each other, so we maaay have overreacted-"

Both officers sighed. "Who's coming with us to look for them?"

Bandit got up. "I will."

"Alright, we'll wait in the car."

"We called Mia, she'll come to take care of Bingo so we can go look for them too."

Speaking of Mia, there was a knock on the door. The door was opened by Chilli. "Oh, Mia, thanks for coming"

She came in. "If Bingo is hungry there's lasagna in the oven. If they come back, please call us"

"No worries, Mrs. Heeler"

– – –

The officers and Bandit drove down the highway.

"Okay, where do you think they could have gone?"

"I don't know, they really weren't allowed to be together alone to plan an escape"

The silence resumed.

"How old are they?" Skye asked.

"My daughter -Bluey- is nine and the other kid -Mackenzie- turns ten next week"

"Huh." Charles said. "That's better than what I originally thought."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that's not that bad of an age..."

Bandit sat in silence. "Agree to disagree, I guess"

– – –

15 minutes later;

"No ideas yet, Mister...?"

"Heeler. Bandit Heeler." he corrected. "And no, not yet..." Bandit sighed. "They got injured today, I just hope they're not hurt"

Skye raised an eyebrow. "How bad?"

"My daughter just got a slight cut on the ankle, I'm worried about the other kid who burned his paws and wounded his chest"

"How does that even happen?!"

Bandit half closed his eyes in annoyance. "Three days ago we figured out they were 'dating', as they called it, so we banned them from hanging out. The thing is they go to the same school so they managed to sneak out, and as you know, they got caught up in the hurricane." Bandit continued. "-When Bluey got injured and couldn't walk, he carried her all the way back to the school on his back."

"That's actually kinda sweet. And concerning. But mostly sweet."

"I'm not worried about that part, they've known each other since they were toddlers and he's never done anything 'bad' to her, perhaps -and I'm embarrassed to admit this- my daughter is the one who treats him wrong at times. What i'm worried about is, are they old enough to understand the weight of their actions?"

Charles joined the conversation. "Whaddya mean?"

Bandit hesitated. "Y'know what i mean... we actually figured out this whole thing because they slept in the same bag at a sleepover! And kissed! And you know how kids these days are!-"

"The only thing I know is that all of you are probably overreacting." Skye rebutted.

Bandit stayed in silence for a moment. "You think?"

"I mean, I've known this dork since we were kids too and running away was never my first thought when we got grounded."

"I know, and I don't believe in authoritarian parenting. My solution would be to sit them down, explain their doubts and tell them to maybe wait a bit before 'dating'," He said, making air quotes. "But his parents are, how to put it... orthodox-er"

"I see..." Skye said.

Bandit looked to his side, where the window was, and saw something that would put his brain to work overtime. Eureka.