Sorry I took so long with this one. The story had me a bit blocked up. But when I fought through the writer's block it took a surprising turn. I'm just as eager as you guys are to see how it develops. Thank you all for your patience and support.

The police and park rangers had looked for hours, but every lead to find the children turned cold. Each family that fell victim to the tragic disappearance of their child, or children in the Heelers' case, was with two officers and a ranger. Bandit and Chillie were sitting at a picnic table near their tent. Chillie was in tears, and Bandit held her for comfort.

"Mister and Mrs. Heeler, I'm sorry but I regret to inform you we haven't found any trace of Bluey or Bingo. We have looked from one side of the park property to the next and some of the park authorities are still searching now… But we haven't seen sight or hair of either of your kids."

"I don't understand," Chillie sobbed, "They weren't supposed to go too far, I could still see them when they started playing their game. They just went over the hill before I realized they weren't… anywhere! I shouldn't have taken my eyes off them! I should've… I…" Chillie buried herself into Bandit's chest.

"We searched all day, Chillie." Bandit said as he stroked Chillie's back. "We've done all we can for them. Don't blame yourself."

"What if… Someone took them?" Chillie sobbed, "What if they were screaming for help and… we weren't there for them, Bandit!" Chillie sobbed loudly and hugged Bandit tightly. The thought of it just made things worse.

"Mrs. Heeler, if it's any consolation to you, even if they were kidnapped, we'd have had the kidnapper by now. There isn't a place here we don't know about in this park or a cave they can hide in. We have men searching those caves as we speak," The park ranger said professionally.

"See, so that's not it," Bandit smiled. "No one's hurting them, Chillie. But you've got to stop thinking about all these bad scenarios and take a breath. We aren't helping them that way."

"You're right," Chillie cleaned herself up and wiped her eyes as she sniffled. "What can we do?"

"As of right now, we are looking into this with the best of our abilities and all the manpower we can spare. We've managed to track them to a small river, but the trail goes cold. We think…" the second officer paused as if to give the two time to process his words, "…they might have started playing the water and just followed it down. We're trying that theory out and following the river flow, just in case they ended up there and we missed it. But other than that, there's not much more I can tell you."

The first officer nodded. "We have all the details you've given us on what your children look like and how they behave. Is there anything else you can tell us about them?"

Bandit shook his head. "No, mate. That's all. We gave you everything we could."

He nodded. "Okay. If you'd like, I've got some contact info for you. These are just some resources to help you through this and also get caught up in the case, stay in the loop." He offered them a sheet of paper with numbers, names, and acronyms. "Some of them will be calling you within forty-eight hours. Within that time, as long as you consent to it, they'll send someone to your house and talk you through what the process is. They can also answer any questions you have about what you can do to help in case you remember something, need extra support, or just need someone to talk to."

"If you're nervous about phone calls," added the second officer, "their website offers an appointment scheduler. You can just type that link in; it'll take you to a sign-up window. You'll fill out a questionnaire, input your case number and they'll meet you within three days.

"Thank you," Chillie wiped her face again.

"Whatever you need." The first officer saluted with two fingers. "By the way, the case number is on the top of the paper. I wrote it down for you there." He pointed at the lone set of penned numbers on the top of the paper. "The underlined ones will try and get in touch with you. In the meantime, we suggest that you return home, get some rest, and try to relax. Let us handle everything."

"Thanks, mate. We appreciate this." Bandit shook their hands and returned to Chillie's side.

"We'll get back to it. Just keep that paper close so you can stay informed." The two officers left leaving the park ranger with them.

He cleared his throat and fixed his belt then fixed his posture to remain professional. It was clear though, he was quite tired. "Is there anything on the park side that I can answer for you? Since law enforcement is giving you resources the park can't offer much. We send any updates we get to the police; they keep your people informed and they'll tell you what you want to know. But other than that, you got any other questions?"

"Naw, mate, your good," Bandit said putting a hand up.

Chillie had her head buried in her arms. She couldn't stop her crying, no matter how hard she tried. Bandit hugged her close, bring her head to his chest again and kissing her head. "We'll get them back Chillie, don't worry. We'll get them back."

"I don't know what to do, Bandit." Chillie took a deep breath in. "Our kids are out there all alone and we're supposed to just leave them, and go home? What if they come back?"

"That's what the rangers are for, love. They're doing everything they can to find Bluey and Bingo. If they come back and we're not here, the rangers will find them, let us know and we can drop everything to get them." Bandit moved so he was kneeling in front of her. He took a hand in each of his and cleaned her face so they could look at each other. "Bluey and Bingo a Heelers. Right? That means they're tough. Bluey's smart. Resourceful. When she wants something she gets it. And she has a yellow belt in karate, so no one's going to mess with her!" Chillie giggled and pressed her head against Bandit's. "And Bingo's a big girl. She might be five, but she's just as smart as Bluey and just as resourceful. We taught them well. Now we need to trust they'll do well."

Chillie hugged Bandit tightly and they shared a kiss. They quietly sat in each other's arms for a while. "I'm going to miss them so much, Bandit. And when I see them again I'm going to give both of them a big hug. So tight they won't be able to breath. Then I'll never let them go."

"You'll have to let go sometime," Bandit smiled, "Otherwise they won't breath. Then you'll lose them again."

"Okay, maybe not as tight," Chillie rolled her eyes and wiped them clean again. But they filled up again. "But no promises."

"I have a feeling they won't care anyway…" Bandit chuckled and rubbed his hands together to warm them. "If anything, they probably won't let you breath either."

"I sure hope so," Chillie sniffled.

Bandit sighed as he looked up at the sky. "I know they will. Because whatever they're doing. They'll be thinking about us. And they'll do anything to come home."

"Come on, Rusty, one more time. Please?" Snickers begged.

Rusty relucted and looked at his wooden sword. "Well… okay." Rusty took a deep breath then stopped. All the children stopped and watched him with tails wagging. Rusty readied his sword near his head then swung it in two side-circles skillfully. He then cut upwards, stopped, changed direction to a precise downward side slash, spun around and repeated the attack with a spin twice before switching sides of the down slash and following through with a one-handed spin of the blade behind his back to finish with a precise horizontal cut. He took another offensive stance then relaxed.

"Whoa!" Chloe applauded. "That's so cool! Where did you learn to do that?"

Rusty shook his head. "I… don't know. I just… feel like I've known for forever."

Indy ran to Valerie's side and looked up at her. "Can we do that too? Except be a different kind of adventurer?"

Valerie giggled. "Well, I think so. I guess it depends on you. But how to get there, I'm not sure… I'm not even sure how I discovered my class. I just… became an archer when I needed to be. That's the best way I can explain it."

"Maybe it only happens if we do something brave," Bluey suggested as she skipped along on the path before them. "Rusty was brave when he faced that stone monster."

"Yes, but I wouldn't recommend fighting a stone giant to discover your class," Valerie chuckled. "After all, not everyone is a fighter. Alister tells me that…" She inhaled then held her breath as she remembered her friend's words. "… It's through one's… passion. Or their, um… talents perhaps. It's all theories and thoughts, I suppose. But I've learned never to second guess a word Alister says."

Bluey gasped. "I'm really good at making games for everyone to play!" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Will that help me find out my class?" Her tail began to wag.

Valerie giggled. "Well, I do suppose that means you're a great planner. Or maybe even a great leader. It'll all depend on you."

"I'm really good at rolling down hills," Snickers smiled, "Will that help me find out mine?"

Everyone stopped and looked at Valerie who was without words. "Oh… um… perhaps?" They returned to their walk. Valerie smiled at Bingo awkwardly but politely then continued to walk behind them with her. "I'd like to ask, Snickers. Why that particular... talent?"

Snickers shrugged. "I don't know. It's the only thing I'm good at because I'm a sausage dog. And I…" Snickers tripped over a log and landed with a, "Oof!"

"Are you alright, Snicker?" Chloe asked, helping to his feet.

"Yes, thanks. See? I'm not even good at walking. I trip all the time and can't jump because of my stubby legs, I can't run very fast, and I can't even sit!"

Valerie smiled sympathetically, "Oh, I see. Don't be so defeated, Snickers. Every adventure has to overcome their shortcomings…" She placed a caring hand on his shoulder. "And acknowledge their strengths. You'll see, there's more to… being a sausage dog than even you know." Snickers' tail wagged proudly, and his walk became more confident. Valerie smiled brightly at him then continued to happily lead the way through the forest.

Mackenzie cupped his hands and caught the clear water from nearby waterfall. He couldn't say for sure it was clean water. But he was confident it was clean enough to drink since it was running water. Coco and Honey followed after his example, then Coco began to fix her poofy fur and freshen up.

"How long do you think we have to walk?" she asked, fluffing her top bun.

Mackenzie shook his head. "I don't know. I was hoping we'd find someone by now."

Honey splashed her face with water and brushed her fingers through her fur. "Maybe we should try walking a danother direction?"

Mackenzie thought for a moment. "Maybe… But I think we should keep going north. I just feel like it's the right way to go. Rusty told me that's the best thing to do. We might find our way out of the forest."

"What about our friends?" asked Coco with a concerned look.

Mackenzie shook his head. "We don't even know if there here. They could have appeared anywhere if this is a different world. Mackenzie dug into his fanny pack and handed them each a cracker, which they excitedly accepted. "Here, this is all I have left. We'll need to find food soon."

"How are we going to find food here?" Honey asked, "It's just trees and plants."

"There could be some fruit trees, or nuts," Mackenzie replied. He crossed his arms and examined the colorful greenery. Other than the occasional flying flowers or the odd toad stones, and other strange creatures. like cheetah-patterned deer of varying colors, he didn't find anything worth noting as food. He wasn't even sure if the fruit they'd find would be edible. If they did find any.

"Mm," Coco swallowed her cracker. "I'd love some fruit."

"Yeah, fruit sounds amazing." Honey salivated, then gripped her stomach as it growled. "Um... Mackenzie, are you sure you don't have any more crackers?"

Mackenzie tensed. He had only two left. Two he was saving for himself. But he felt a sense of responsibility for the girls and his mother and father always taught him to be a gentleman. As much as he wanted to say he didn't, he dug into the fanny pack and gave them what he had left. "This is it. Here."

Honey and Coco happily accepted the crackers and Honey wasted no time in savoring a second peanut butter chocolate cracker. But Coco stopped herself after seeing Mackenzie look at the ground like he was sad.

"Mackenzie? Did you get anything to eat?"

He straightened his back again. "Oh! Uh, I'm fine. Really."

Honey stopped chewing and Coco didn't break eye contact. Honey immediately felt guilty and fiddled with her hands. "I'm sorry, Mackenzie. You were saving those, weren't you?"

Mackenzie nodded his head but gave them a smile. "I'll be alright. I'm sure we'll find some food before we starve."

Coco extended the cracker back. "Here. I don't need it. I had one last night."

Mackenzie shook his hands. "Oh. No, Coco, really, I'm okay."

Coco extended it further. "Please?"

In truth, Mackenzie was glad she asked. He didn't fight her for very long and he quickly scarfed the cracker down. Seeing him indulge made both girls laugh, and the mood was much better for all three.

Mackenzie swallowed the cracker and took another sip of water from the water stream then wiped his mouth clean. "Thanks, Coco." Coco smiled giddily with a rapidly wagging tail. She liked they way he was smiling back. But he broke the eye contact then returned their attention to the situation at hand. "Okay! We should get moving! We'll stay north and hope we can find someone." He pointed onward with high spirits that were infectious to the girls.

"Okay," The girls followed behind him for another long walk, with walking sticks, this time, in hand.

It wouldn't be long for them to need another break though. The journey the day before had worn them out and having not fully recovered, the girls had to rest frequently. Even Mackenzie was beginning to feel sore and cramped after only half a mile of walking. But he fought through it in hopes they'd cover enough ground to at least get out of the forest.

Mackenzie wasn't sure how far they had gone when Honey started to groan again. "Can we stop and rest?"

His shoulders slouched. "Honey... We had a rest five minutes ago!"

"Well, we need another one!" Coco whimpered, "Please, Mackenzie?"

"My feet hurt."

"So do mine."

"And I'm so hungry!"

"I can't walk another step!" Coco colapsed on teh ground.

Mackenzie put his hands on his ears. "Argh, fine!" He sighed and calmed himself down. His gaze looked downward, tossing his walking stick on a log then sat down aggressively on top of it. The thud made several flying flowers jump up and away. "At this rate it'll take ages for us to go anywhere!"

"We've been in the forest for ages," Honey whimpered as she laid down next to Coco. "I don't want to walk anymore."

"But we have to if we want to get out of the forest," Mackenzie argued as he motioned to a figurative exit with both his arms.

Coco hugged her legs and whimpered as an intrusive thought entered her mind. "Mackenzie… are you even sure we can get out?"

Mackenzie didn't answer. He was a little doubtful himself. In truth, he had asked himself the very same question while they were sleeping. He asked himself that same question when he was… left behind.

Are we going to get out? He wondered. Will we ever be found? His hand balled into a fist and his eyes closed. Will mom find me? His eyes shot open, and he stood up quickly. He played it off as needed to stretch so neither of the girls caught on to his upcoming episode. He needed to breath. He had to breath. He avoided hyperventilating as hard as he could. even as everything in his body demanded it. He applied the breathing exercise his dad taught him. Say it, then do it. Breath in… Breath out… Breath in… breath out… He did a whole manner of breathing and stretching then went into his mantra. I don't have to go back anymore. I don't have to go back anymore. I know what's there. So, I don't need to go back there anymore. He felt it pass. Slow but steady, he was coming back to himself. I know what here now...

The girls eyed him oddly. The whole thing was strange to them. It was a good sign, to him, but he imagined he looked a bit strange suddenly breaking out into weird exercises out of the blue. "Mackenzie?"

Mackenzie cleared his throat. "We won't get out if we keep stopping. We're going to take a long break now. When we feel better, we'll keep going. But no stopping until I say so. Okay?" He pointed at his chest with a thumb.

The girls looked at each other and replied glumly, "Okay…"

"But it's really hard." Coco laid down on some soft moss, still curled up and playing with some moss on a rock with her finger.

"I know its hard, but we have to... We have to." Mackenzie took a seat and reclined on his log when they heard a loud crash, shortly followed by voices.

The three children sat or stood up quickly. They listened carefully to the sounds in the distance. Was it an animal? Was it people? They were quiet, ears perked to discern the sounds.

Honey gasped, her tail wagging viciously. "People!" She could hear the voices of other kids. "It might be the others!"

"No wait!" Mackenzie reached out. He didn't recognize any of the voices he was hearing. They sounded too deep. But Honey and Coco bolted off anyway. "Wait!" He ran after them. They fought the pain in their legs as they ran through the forest and Mackenzie finally caught up to them and stopped them as the source of the sound came to view. "Stop!" He grabbed them both and forced them behind a log. Looking over it, they saw a line of carriages with horses and some teenagers gathered around one of them that was lopsided. It looked like a broken wheel.

"I don't see any adults," Coco said as he peaked over.

"They're teenagers!" Honey exclaimed quietly as she viewed every dog trying to lift the carriage.

"Look out! Victor's loose!" shouted one of them.

A large blue lion-like creature, with a large leaf mane jumped out of its broken cage and started to roar at the teens as they cornered it.

"Victor! No! Back 'n yer cage you big leafy brute!" The teen dressed in a red tailcoat reached for a whip from his belt then cracked it to scare the leaf lion back. "Back I said, go on! Git!"

"Wow! Look at that lion!" Honey said with stary eyes. "He's beautiful!"

"Why are they being mean to it!" Coco pointed as several of the boys started to whip at it.

"It looks dangerous," Mackenzie said as he backed up, taking them with him, "I think we should go."

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Honey screamed as a whip lashed the lion. She jumped over the log and ran down the hill to stop them.

"No! Honey!" Mackenzie tried to stop her then coward behind the log. Coco was unsure whether to follow or stay with him.

Honey ran passed the whippers and hugged the exhausted lion. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but she felt it was the right thing at the time. But a part of her realized that this creature could tear her apart as soon as she turned her back. But she still protected it, despite everything that made it certain that was a bad idea.

"What the… Where did she come from?" asked the red tailcoat with his light Irish accent. "Who are you, eh?"

The teen boys looked back and forth at each other and muttered to each other quietly as Honey hugged the lion. It was too exhausted to act now. She glared up at them and began to stroke its head. "That's no way to treat an animal. You should know better because your older!"

The boys looked at each other then laughed. The red tailcoat shook his head and started to roll up his whip. "You hear that, lads? We should know better, she says. It's not like I'm a leafine tamer or nothin', eh?"

The boys laughed again. Honey felt slightly silly but stuck to her position. "If you know so much, they why are you hurting him!? You should know how to tame him if you're a tamer!"

The lion tamer scoffed and leaned forward. "This is how it goes, lassy. That thing'll tear you to pieces as well as do a trick for you if you turn your back. So, you show it who's boss. You make sure it knows who's in charge. That's how you keep any beast in check. Especially monsters like Victor here!" He finished and pointed his whip at the lion. "You'd best let go of him before he gets a second wind. We're putting him back in his cage then getting a move on. I have a circus to run." Some of the boys pulled out some rope.

"A circus?" Coco echoed then turned her head to face Mackenzie who was still hiding behind the log, a hand on his chest as he was breathing quickly. "They're circus performers!"

Honey still didn't let go. "You're just going to be mean to him again! I won't let you." She hugged Victor tighter.

The lion tamer shook his head and scoffed. "Kids. Git out of the way or I'll throw you in with 'em! See how you like him once he gets his strength back. Might not even need to feed him tonight."

Coco gasped. "Mackenzie! They're going to hurt Honey! Mackenzie!"

Mackenzie was quietly hyperventilating. His mind was helplessly stuck back to that playground but he didn't know why, when suddenly… he saw himself plain as day. The playground in the mall was now in the woods with them, the leaves covered the mall floor while people walked back and forth around it. He hopped off the slide, the leafs letting off a cruch as his younger self dropped. Mum? Mum!

There were three boys, a doberman, a retriever, and a terrier, in the playground too. They were playing a rough game of some sort, taking advantage of the soft playground floor. He ran to them, stopping their game, and asked "Excuse me. Have you seen my mum?" Mackenzie watched the memory in confusion. He didn't remember any of this!

The boys looked at each other and laughed. "We don't even know who your mom is!"

"Look at this baby! He lost his mum! Boo hoo!" The retreiver teased.

Mackenzie's younger self backed away as they closed in on him. "Go bother someone else, baby!"

The boys seemed like they were going to leave him alone. The little collie about cried but he balled his fists angrily and shouted back. "Why are you being so mean! I'm just looking for my mum you stupid heads!"

"What did you just call us, baby?" The Doberman closed distance, his friends following him.

"Look who's the mean one now. He needs to learn good manners!" The retriever grinned and cracked his knuckles.

Mackenzie shut his eyes, so he didn't see the rest. I don't have to come back to this place. I don't need to come back to this place.

"Mackenzie!" Mackenzie opened his eyes and saw his mother stop everything. She glared at the boys and that was all it took for them to back away as he was whisked away. "Mackenzie." She hugged him and Mackenzie shut his eyes again and he sighed in relief.

"Mackenzie!" His eye shot open. "They're taking Honey!"

Mackenzie looked over the log and gasped. They were tying the lion up and throwing her in with it in the cage. "Honey!" He jumped over the log. Coco didn't hesitate to follow. "Stop!" Mackenzie stopped just at the bottom of the hill they were on, right before the dirt road the circus performers were standing on.

"Where did you come from?" The lion tamer scoffed. "Are there anymore 'a you? This is getting' anoyin'."

Mackeznie glared at him, Coco latched onto his arm for protection but gave them the same mad and determined look. "You let our friend go right now!"

"Your friend?" The lion tamer echoed iin a teasing manner. "Oh, so sorry. I didn't know." He scoffed and shook his head at his laughed with him and locked Honey and Victor up in the broken cart's cage.

"Hey, let us go!" Honey shouted as she tugged at the bars.

"Y-you can't just take her like that!" Mackenzie yelled, trying to put on a brave face.

The lion tamer closed the distance and towered over him then leaned closer to his face. "Or what? Hmm? What're you goin' to do about it? Hit me? Go on." He pointed at his cheek. "Right in me kisser. Hit it. Go on."

Mackenzie wouldn't admit it, but he was too scared to. Instead, he remained still but defiant. The lion tamer easily saw though him as he quickly bound forward only to stop short and scoff at him as he quickly jumped back.

"Aye, that's what I thought. Baby." The tamer turned away and returned to his troop, who finished repairs.

Mackenzie checked back a cry, then fixed his face and shot back. "I'm not a baby!"

"Yeah?" The tamer replied almost too quickly. Like he knew he'd say it. "You wanna prove it? Put 'em in the cage with their, 'friends'. Let's see him be brave in victor's cage."

Two strong teenaged boys grabbed both of them. They struggled but it was no use. They were thrown into the cage with Honey and the tired lion. The cage slammed shut, then was quickly locked.

"Hey! You can't keep us here with this lion! What if it eats us?" Coco screamed.

"Then at least we won't have to feed it tonight!" The tamer chuckled. "Carry on, lad! Lilytown is just a stretch away!"

Honey hugged the lion as the line of wagons and carriages clattered forward. The cage rattled and creaked but did not give like last time. The three children were trapped for good. Coco and Mackenzie kept their distance. But as Honey stroked his mane and whispered to it, she never let it go.

"There there," she said comfortingly. "It's okay… it's alright." The lion stared at her as it lay still, tired and deflated. "I won't let them hurt you again…" It lifted its head and their eyes met. He seemed relaxed, but she couldn't discern what he was feeling. But she continued to comfort it as it rested. "I promise."

Mackenzie turned and gripped the bars sadly. He felt like he failed them. He was the boy. He was supposed to be brave for them. But he was too scared to do anything. If anything good came from this, he thought aloud, "At least we're getting out of the forest."