Mackenzie had another dream about his parents, first he was spending time with them, then they were brutally murdered again. Mackenzie was quickly woken up by Bluey. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked "You were breathing fast again" Mackenzie looked at her then sighed "Y-yeah…it was just another nightmare" Bluey grabbed his tail "About your parents?" he nodded "Yeah, sorry to make you worry" Bluey shook her head then kissed his cheek "It's fine, anyways I need to go talk to my parents about…something" she hesitated for a bit. "Want me to come with?" he asked. She shook her head "Thanks, but there is no need" he raised an eyebrow but shrugged "Oh, alright then" she smiled at him "See you in a few" she got up and walked out, heading towards her parent's home.
Mackenzie stretched and walked around his home for a few minutes "The other night was fun" he said to himself remembering what he did with Bluey "Bet she would've never guessed my tongue could do that" he smirked while picking up a few things that were on the floor. His smirk would fade when he passed by a picture of his parents that were hanging on a wall, he sighed when he remembered that they were no longer around "Neither of you deserved to go like that…I'm sorry" Despite the fact that he thought he had made peace with their deaths, he realized that it had only been about a month or two and deep down, he was still hurting at from his loss. It wasn't long before he felt emotional and was longing for both of his parents, he cared deeply for Chilli and Bandit but they were in no way a replacement. The more he thought about it, the more sad he felt, especially since the house he was in now was thanks to them, and he couldn't even do so much as invite them over to show his gratitude.
He remembered a time when his father had taken him to the creek for the first time, before he went with Bluey, Bingo, and Bandit years ago. He wasn't as cautious as Bluey, but he was still nervous about trying new things. He made some of the same mistakes that Bluey had made, losing his balance, stepping on slippery stones, and mistaking a leech for a snake, but just like Bluey he learned that the creek is beautiful. His father had also warned him of dropbears, which he quickly learned were fake and mainly used to scare tourists. It didn't bother his much though because he was able to have fun and relax with his dd, the two played around and shared jokes with each other, even with his father talking about jumping on sheep, the whole reason why Mackenzie would buy sheep rugs for his home. The best part of that day was when the two would return home and his mum would yell at them for tracking mud all over her floor before she chased both of them back outside with a broom and told them to wash the mud off.
Another time he remembered fondly was when his mum, Chilli, and Chloe's mum arranged a barbeque for their families and Honey's family before all the tragedy had began. His mum took him to the store with her to buy a few things, he found it boring but he knew that she wasn't just going to leave him home by himself. He would grab a few things and put them in the trolley, things that his mum would make him put back since they were not getting, it culminated in her yelling at him and him getting frustrated with her but eventually they apologized to each other and she would get a few of those things for him to have as snacks once they got wasn't as easy as his father but she was still the voice of reason, and one thing he learned from an early age was that his father would not dare disagree with her over small trivial things such as allowing Mackenzie to have junk food from the store, unless he wanted to do all the house chores for an entire week.
There were also things that he remembered about them that would make him laugh, like his mum's attempt at face painting, he had no clue he was meant to be a cheetah and was very surprised when he figured out that he was supposed to be. He found it a bit odd when she seemed to have had no trouble when making Bingo a cheetah however. The whole day was funny to him, except for when he made his parents upset by accidentally telling Bingo that Bandit was going on a trip for work and that she wouldn't see him for a while. Later that evening they told Mackenzie that he would have to learn to keep some things to himself, and that even if he didnt know, he should stay quiet when it came to things that wasn't his business, he meant no harm by it but his parents were right.
There were other things he enjoyed about them, how they would go out of their way just for him, and how they would do their best to bond with him together and separately in their own ways, it always meant so much to him. Then when reality sunk in, it hit him hard. His mum said she would love to see her grandchild if he ever had given her one and his father said that he would enjoy going on fishing trips and hanging out with him when he would be older and they could have more…exciting conversations, things that could never happen now, all because some weird dog that he didn't remember was paid to kill them. Before he knew it, tears were dripping onto the floor in front of him, he was too late to help his father, and he arrived just in time to see his mother die before him. He slammed his fist into the wall next to him before he dropped to his knees and cried "It's not fair…why did this have to happen?"
He loved Bluey with all his heart, and was willing to do anything for her, especially since she was all he had left at this point, he knew that he wasn't going to hurt her again, he'd rather die first, though he hoped that would not happen either. He had not told her of how even though she eased his pain, he was still very much depressed about them being out of his life, how he was angry that they were robbed of their futures and how he was robbed of his parents, and he would not tell her that despite what happened in the store the other day, he still very much wanted to kill Gruber, especially since he threatened Bluey. In his heart, he knew it would be wrong to go after Gruber, especially since it would be like betraying Bluey, but in his mind all he wanted to do was keep her safe, and the only logical way to stop someone who is a threat and who nearly killed themself to avoid the police? Bring an end to their life if given the chance.
He truly believed his feelings were slightly hypocritical, he was willing to get into a fist fight with Chucky who wanted to kill Bluey to avenge his father, yet here he was, willing to kill someone else to avenge his own parents. He also had a terrible feeling, if he managed to succeed and kill Gruber, how would Bluey feel? She had managed to stop him once, and she even 'rewarded' him for doing what was right, but would she stop loving him if he went against that? How would his friends feel? Rusty and Jack were his closest friends, that's the way things have been since they were small kids at Calypso's school, and while he didn't reciprocate Coco's feelings, he still valued her friendship. Then there was the odd thing Gruber said to Jack, how he was why nobody remembered Gruber, if Gruber had managed to kill him and Bluey, would Jack be next on his list? That was another question that troubled him, finally there was the fact that he had no idea where Gruber was, and as far as he knew, Gruber didn't know where he lived either.
He wouldn't know where to begin looking anyways…until he heard a noise coming from outside. He looked out his window to see a dog place something in his letterbox before getting in a car and driving away, he didn't have enough time to see who it was but he had doubts that it was Gruber. He would then walk outside and go to the letter box and open it, it was a long envelope, and it was kind of heavy. He would then look around then bring it inside. Seeing his name on it he decided to open it and was surprised to see a long serrated knife and a letter attached to it, it read "Hello Mackenzie, I am sorry to hear about your parents. However I offer you an opportunity to get rid of the one who killed them" Mackenzie looked at the knife then continued reading "Do not worry about who I am or how I know about you, I pose no threats at all, in fact I also want the dog who killed your parents to be dead, hence the knife. Anyways, on the back of this letter are directions to his home, he doesn't know where you live or how to find you, so this is to your benefit, best of wishes to you and whatever choice you make" the letter would end there, mackenzie was confused by whomever sent the letter, the he would turn it over to see a set of directions. He would grab his phone and take a picture of the directions then he would write on the paper under the directions "Bluey, I do this because I love you, I can't bear the thought of anyone hurting you"
Mackenzie grabbed the knife and would get into his car, then he would begin to drive where the directions had instructed. "I can not allow him to keep getting away" he thought. Along the way he would stop at a red light where he would see a familiar face "Hey Mackenzie, how's it going?" Pretzel asked. Mackenzie gave him a friendly smile "Oh hey Pretzel, it's going well" he responded. Pretzel noticed the sharp knife that Mackenzie had in the passenger seat but chose to ignore it "So uh…what have you been up to?" Mackenzie asked. Pretzel sighed "Nothing much, I've just been trying to figure out who killed my cousin" Mackenzie raised an eyebrow "Cousin?" Pretzel nodded "He was an officer, and some masked bastards tossed him into a burning home…there are some real twisted dogs out there these days" Mackenzie's eyes widened as he realized that Pretzel's cousin was the one that was thrown into his home when it was set on fire. "I'm sorry about your loss, I also know how it feels to lose family" Pretzel nodded "Don't mean to be nosy but, you doing anything?" Mackenzie smiled "Well I've got to…take care of somethings then I should be free later" Pretzel shook his head "Well then, are you free enough to notice that the light is green?" Mackenzie quickly looked to see that Pretzel was right, then Pretzel began to laugh "Ah well, see you" he said as he drove off. Once he was gone, Pretzel stood there for a few seconds "Now…why would he need a knife?"
"I don't care if you are almost in Toowoomba, I will get you Gruber" Mackenzie said while driving a bit faster. Memories would flood his mind, like the time he and his dad went fishing out in the middle of a lake. "Sit down Mackenzie" his father said. "But dad, how will I be able to see the fish?" he asked. His father chuckled "You don't need to see the fish to catch them, you just need to know that they're taking the bait" Mackenzie turned around and looked into the water "But…what if I just" he leaned forward, closer to the water. "Mackenzie, that's dangerous" his father said and pulled him back. "Aww dad" he said and groaned. "You have to be patient, you can't rush these kinds of things son" Mackenzie looked and saw a few fish in the distance "Some of them aren't moving" his father smiled and closed his eyes "They will eventually" the wind would push his father's rod into the water. "I'll get it!" Mackenzie said as he quickly stood up "Wait! Mackenzie! No!" before either of them knew it, the small canoe had flipped and sent the duo into the cold weather beneath them. His dad had managed to pull both of them to shore. "Sorry dad" Mackenzie sad sadly. Fortunately the cooler that the fish were in managed to folate to shore next to them, causing his dad to laugh at the events.
Mackenzie sighed as he remembered that day "Why am I thinking of that now?" he thought before he stopped at another red light this time he would see Jack who was talking with Snickers "That's right, I'm doing this for Jack too" Jack would wave at him and he would smile and wave back. Snickers would quickly walk over to Mackenzie's car "Hey, you wouldn't have happened to have seen Dan have you?" Mackenzie raised an eyebrow "Uh no…why?" Snickers shrugged "He owes me five-hundred dollars" Mackenzie's eyes widened "He does? What for?" "You don't just ask someone to paint a specific design on your car that takes an entire day and not pay them for their hard work" Snickers said. Mackenzie chuckled nervously "Well, I'm sure he'll turn up with the money soon enough?" Snickers squinted "I hope so, it would be a real pity if all that hard work got undone by some gaudy gold paint covering it all up" Mackenzie laughed at his friend's strange but understandable threat before noticing that the light turned green "Well, I gotta go but, let me know how everything turns out?" Snickers nodded "For sure" Mackenzie would then drive away.
This time he remembered a time when he was in the kitchen with his mum, he was watching a cake that had been in the oven, he wanted to make it for his mum's birthday. "Don't forget the oven mitts, you don't want to burn your hands again" his mother said. Mackenzie nodded "I know mum, I'll be careful this time" he said, grabbing the mittens then carefully taking the cake out of the oven when it was done. He grabbed frosting and immediately put it on the cake, unaware of the hot pastry needing to cool down before applying icing. Not much longer his cake had looked odd in some places where he applied too much force and he had placed an odd looking slice in front of his mother. He looked a bit ashamed to present it due to how it turned out. However his mum took a bite of the cake "This is wonderful!" she exclaimed. Mackenzie was surprised "Do you really mean it?" he asked. She smiled and nodded "I do, it's my favorite flavor" Mackenzie's tail wagged "Even if it looks funny?" She nodded again "What matters is that you did your best, and you made it for me" Mackenzie had a big grin on his face as he hugged her "Happy Birthday mum!"
Mackenzie began to tear up at the memories, then he thought of another. He was out eating with his parents one afternoon, the three of them were enjoying each other's company "So when I got there to pick him up, it was only him and Bluey in her backyard" his father said. His mum smirked "Oh is that so?" His father laughed "Yeah, seems like he was enjoying it being just the two of them" Mackenzie looked at his father, letting him know he was suspicious of him. "What are you trying to say dad?" His mother quickly pulled him into a tight hug "Aww our little Mackenzie has a crush on Bluey!" she was swinging him around while he was trying to get out of her grip "H-hey mum! Come on!" he said while he was blushing, some of the other customers were giggling at the sight. "Got any plans to ask her out? When do you think you are going to have the wedding?" His father asked. Mackenzie turned more red by his parents' behavior "Let me go! This is embarrassing!" he said while squirming. Soon his father joined in on the hug, making it harder for him to get away "Don't try to escape our love, we only want you to know that we accept you and Bluey!" his father said as he finally managed to break free and rush to the other side of the table he let out a low growl of annoyance to the both of them while they laughed at his reaction. While he was embarrassed for his parents to do that in public, deep down he was grateful to have such accepting parents.
This would continue into his teen years, even when his father questioned him about him inviting Rusty and Jack over so much. His father had noticed that Rusty and Jack seemed pretty close in multiple ways, it made him wonder about Mackenzie. One day after the other two had gone home his mother's curiosity got the best of her. She would walk into Mackenzie's room "Ming if I ask a question?" she said as she sat in his chair. He turned and looked at her "Sure mum, what's up?" She had a nervous look on her face as she found it a bit awkward to ask "Um…I know they're just your friends and all but…are they more than just that to you?" Mackenzie looked at her confused "What do you mean?" She chuckled a little "You know…are they?" Mackenzie waited for her to spit it out before his father walked in and interrupted her, asking the question in her place "She wants to know if you are gay, and if you have any interest in them?" Mackenzie's eyes widened "What? No! Well, I don' t know if they are gay, but I'm not!" his mother laughed sheepishly "Would you be upset if I said yes?" he asked. "Oh, no love I wouldn't be mad! Not one bit, it's just that-" "Your mum really wants grandchildren mate" Mackenzie's eyes widened "Woah, mum I'm only fifteen, don't you think that's a bit to young for me and Bluey to-" he immediately stopped talking once he realized that he revealed who he had feelings for. "Ah, so it is Bluey!" his dad said with excitement. "Well, time for me to go tell Bandit the news" he said while he turned around "DAD NO!" Mackenzie quickly jumped out of bed and nearly tackled his father to stop him. "What's the matter there son? Shouldn't I tell Bandit that you want to get busy with his daughter?" Mackenzie was practically giving his father a pleading look "Dad…I don't want to die already, please just shut up for once!" He seemed so bothered that he was nearly crying. "Oh alright" his father said while patting his head "I don't know what you're so worried about, Bandit really likes you kid, I feel like he'd feel fine leaving Bluey in your hands" his mum laughed "And Chilli is so lovely, I wouldn't mind having her as a sister in law" Mackenzie let out a sigh of relief. "I know your fifteen, all I want you to do is promise that if you ever want to…you know with someone, you use protection" his mum said. Mackenzie blushed "I will" His father smirked "I can't wait to spend time with Mackenzie's little one, spoiling them, giving all of Mackenzie's old toys to them" his mum nodded in agreement "They will make better cakes than his" Mackenzie rolled his eyes "Even if that happened, my cake will always be better!" He had also found it a bit awkward that his parents questioned his sexuality, he loved Jack and Rusty, but only platonically since they were there for him when it really mattered.
His tears were dripping onto the steering wheel, he knew that they would never get to see a grandchild now, nor would they even be there for any wedding. All he could think about was how much rage and hatred he held towards Gruber for stealing that possibility from them. Even if they did embarrass him and made him feel odd at times, he still wanted them to be happy, that's why for the most part he was an obedient child who never caused them any trouble.
It wouldn't take long now, his phone's navigator had let him know that he was near Gruber's house, and with each passing second he was mentally preparing for something that he knew was heinous. He felt like it would hurt his relationships with everyone, but that lingering feeling made him believe that if Gruber couldn't be captured by the police for some reason, then he would have to be stopped. He reasoned in his head that this would be a solution to a problem, he couldn't simply ignore his threats like Bluey and Jack had. He also believed that if he would be successful in killing Gruber, maybe then he would stop being haunted by the german shepherd in his nightmares, perhaps he would stop seeing life leave his mother's eyes. Maybe the memory would stop replaying, and some of the pain would leave his heart. After a few minutes he had finally arrived at the address that he was given. He could feel his heart race and his hands had trembled as he grabbed the knife "Why do I feel this way now all of a sudden?" He steadied himself as he got out of his car and began the walk towards Gruber's location, he hid behind some nearby bushes and would wait for the dog to step outside, so he could avenge his parents and protect his friends.
Hours had passed while he waited, he felt impatient but he knew that Gruber would have to come out eventually, when he did then Mackenzie would inflict the same pain onto him that he inflicted onto Mackenzie's parents. He envisioned the other dog screaming at him to stop, to apologize and beg for his life, the same way he felt like his parents must have. His hands began to tremble again as he had slight doubts about whether he was in the right place or not, and if Gruber would even step outside, what if he had other ways to get out the house? What if he had spotted Mackenzie?
It didn't matter because he heard the door knob to the house turn and after a few seconds he would see his target leave their home, and lock the door. Gruber would take a few steps before Mackenzie would make his presence known to the other dog. Gruber seemed frightened by the border collie, or at least by what he was holding in his hand "H-How did you get here?!" he asked. Mackenzie growled "Does it matter? I'm just here to put an end to this!" he said as he began to approach Gruber. Gruber was visibly panicked as he didn't know what to do "W-wait! Don't do this" Mackenzie got closer "Shut the fuck up!" Gruber quickly managed to unlock his door and stumbled while trying to get in, he had attempted to close the door, but Mackenzie would ram it before it could close. Gruber was thrown back by the force and began to crawl away quickly. He wasn't quick enough as Mackenzie had managed to slash his tail. Gruber tucked his tail between his legs and ran faster.
"What's the matter? I thought you liked knives!" Mackenzie yelled "Not when they're cutting me!" he yelled back. Gruber quickly stood up and dropped a bookcase behind him, Mackenzie would however manage to move it with little effort and continue to pursue Gruber. "What do you want to do with Bluey?" Mackenzie asked as he stabbed the nearby wall with the blade "N-nothing! I swear!" Gruber tried backing away only for his hand to receive a slash, causing him to yell in pain. "Funny, you didn't seem like this much of a coward the other day" Mackenzie said. Gruber clenched his bleeding hand "I-I knew they would stop you!" Mackenzie took a step forward and slashes Gruber's arm "PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!" Mackenzie smirked "Is that what my father said?" Gruber looked at him confused "W-what?" Mackenzie snarled "MY FATHER! DID HE BEG FOR YOU TO STOP BEFORE YOU KILLED HIM?!" Gruber's eyes widened "Look, it was just business! Nothing personal" Mackenzie wanted to laugh "Well you made this entirely personal" Mackenzie swung at Gruber's abdomen, a blow that would've been severe if he didn't back away in time "Look! I have money! Is that what you want?!" Mackenzi shook his head "The only way you are getting out of this is if you bring my parents back!" he said, taking another swipe at the frightened dog.
Gruber was shivering at the enraged dog before him "What do you have against Jack?" Mackenzie asked. Gruber began to move away quicker "You would never understand, you have a father that loved you!" Mackenzie growled, slamming the blade into the floor, causing the floor to chip "YOU MEAN I HAD A FATHER THAT LOVED ME!" Gruber gasped and quickly began to run towards his room, he would fall over once Mackenzie would manage to slice his leg. Gruber then crawled with all his strength. "Have mercy!" Mackenzie smirked as Gruber did as he figured he would. Mackenzie then let out a loud growl and would kick Gruber in his ribs, triggering the PTSD he had with his father. Gruber then let out a loud yell and would manage to open the door to his room and crawl inside his old cramped cage that had been in his room for years. His breathing would increase and he would begin to sob loudly and tremble aggressively "Please dad I'm so sorry don't hurt me please dad I love you don't hit me, I'm sorry I won't do it again, I will be a good boy I promise, dad please don't hurt me anymore, I am so sorry daddy" he would repeat these words as his trauma would cause him to see his father taking Mackenzie's place. His breathing would increase and he would beg more intensely with each step Mackenzie took, he became so frightened that he would begin to piss the inside of the cage "Dad…dad no…I won't do it again…I swear! I SWEAR IT! PLEASE! PLEASE I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Mackenzie was a bit confused but he didn't care, Gruber trapped himself in a cage and made Mackenzie's job much easier for him. Mackenzie then raised the knife to kill Gruber "Why do you hate me daddy? What did I do wrong? I didn't mean to kill mum when I was born!" Mackenzie pieced what he was saying together and remembered his comment about his father loving him. Gruber began to cry hysterically as he felt like he would have a painful death at the hands of who he thought was his father. He had even began to question wheter his father had came back from the grave to ki him, or if he was some kimd of demon and that's why he made Gruber's life hell for years. Mackenzie shrugged and finally prepared to put an end to this, but something had stopped him, whoever or whatever it was tackled him from behind and sent him off balance. It didn't hurt but it did catch him off guard.
Mackenzie looked up, then felt his heart sink when he saw Pretzel, who had shoved him, and an enraged looking Bluey behind Pretzel. "B-Bluey?!" he asked. "Mackenzie, what were you doing?!" Mackenzie did not know what to say to her "Shit, she used my full name instead of the nickname…now I know she's furious" he thought "Bluey, I-" he felt the harsh sting of a slap across his face, courtesy of Bluey. "Bluey! He's dangerous!" Mackenzie said "He burned down my house! Killed my parents!" Pretzel seemed surprised by this information "He what?" Mackenzie nodded "It was him!" Gruber seemed to calm down a little while Mackenzie was talking "Th-that's right…I did that" he was returning to his senses. While Mackenzie and Bluey were talking, he would quietly get out of his cage, shove the other three dogs and run out of his house "WAIT!" Mackenzie said quickly, grabbing the knife. Once he reached the door, it seemed like Gruber had vanished. Pretzel would put his hand on Mackenzie's back, causing Mackenzie to quickly turn around and point the knife at Pretzel who he had mistakenly thought couldve been Gruber. Once he saw it was Pretzel, who was frightened by nearly getting stabbed, Mackenzie's eyes widened, he dropped the knife and backed away "Pretzel…i'm so sorry, I-" Bluey groaned and pushed past him "Bluey wait-" Bluey turned around and looked at him "Why? So you could justify murder? I get it he killed your parents and I'm not saying that he should keep getting away with it" Mackenzie stepped closer "Then why?! Why did you stop me?!" Bluey backed up from him "Because you don't have to stoop to his level, you're better than that" "I DID IT BECAUSE HE THREATENED YOU BLUEY! I CAN'T-" he caught his breath and calmed down before dropping to his knees "I can't lose you too…I love you" Bluey sighed "You're acting just like someone I know, the only difference is that that person really gets on my nerves" Pretzel would walk to his car and Bluey would begin to follow "I'll tell you this so that you'll have something to consider, what good is it to protect someone, but lose any of the trust they had for you?" Mackenzie's eyes widened as he understood what she was saying "Bluey…please don't" she looked at him with tears in her eyes "I hate the fact that you've pushed me this far, but if you actually murder him…I wouldn't want to be around you. It's your choice you know" she got in Pretzel's car and he would drive off, leaving Mackenzie alone by himself. Pretzel sighed "So what are you going to do?" Bluey sniffled "For now, I'll just hope he makes the right choice" Pretzel nodded "If he doesnt…are you still going through with your plan?" Bluey shrugged "I don't know, I love him so much but it hurts to see him like that. He'll need to prove that I can trust him first" Pretzel nodded again while he had his own motives now "So that was one of the people that killed my cousin? This suddenly got very interesting…"
Gruber has managed to escape Mackenzie's wrath, and with Pretzel's help, Mackenzie has managed to avoid going to prison, but he has caused Bluey to be deeply upset. How will things turn out for the couple? What is Bluey's plan the Pretzel mentioned? What are Pretzel's plans now that he knows who killed his cousin?
