"Ok Pals, this is the last stop before the forest" Gumshoe called, pulling into a petrol station
"So everyone go to the toilet!" Maya chimed.
GUmshoe hopped out of his couzin's borrowed 4x4 and started to fill the tank.
The others filed into the shop, hoping to buy their last peice of cilvalised comfort for the night ahead.
"I dont even like the 'Great Outdoors' !
Why ever did I let Gumshoe talk me into going?" Edgeworth grumbled
"Edgeworth, only a foolishly foolish fool could let that fool Gumshoe convince them of anything!"
"Oh, Then why are you here Fransizka?"
Edgeworth retaliated.
"I- I wanted to come. I am perfect at Hiking and camping. I command and control nature!"
Edgeworth smiled and started to think of witty comments for when Fransizka's lie is exposed.

"And I'll have the Galaxy bar, and the WineGums... Ooh! Walkers Crisps!
..aaaand Minstrels!"
"Sure you have enough?" Phoenix laughed.
"This is just for the rest of the car ride Nick!" Maya replied. "I've got more in my ruck sack for the Hike!"
"I'll have these Marshmallows Mr. Nick! You cant have a camp fire without Marshmallows!" Pearly chirped.
"What are you getting Nick?" Maya asked
"I'm getting this - TAKE THAT-" He shouted as he presented a loaf of bread onto the counter.

"..Oooo Kay..." The completely freaked out shop keeper said.
"Why are you getting bread Nick? Gumshoe already has all the food!"
"..Just in case Maya..Just in case.."
"RIght whatever Nick, Pearly and I will be waiting in the car, so you can bring our stuff over after you've bought it!"
"That will be $18.95 sir"
"That seems a lot for just sweets and bread!"
"Well that girl in the top knot also put in 2 Red bulls, a milky way, twirl...and a cornetto!"
"..Maya.." Phoenix groaned, before buying everything and heading back.

"Ok Pals, everyone gone to the bathroom?" Gumshoe laughed, getting back in the Jeep
"Yes!" Everone replied except for Edgeworth.
"Edgeworth, even If you dont have to go, go now!" Said Maya, pointing to the public cubicles.
"Hah! Those things are filthy! Besides, not onlydo i ' not have to go' as you so delicatly put it.
I'd rather not converse about my bladder for my moment."
"Only the most foolish of fools cannot see when he is being a fool!"
"Ok, We're Off!" Gumshoe cried, kicking the engine into life and driving down to the forest carpark.

"Oof, I'm exhausted!" Maya complained, after 10 minutes of walking, "and I'm all out of crisps!! Nick, we have to go back!"
"We can't go back, Maya, take out the chocolate instead."
"I've eaten all the chocolate, I've only got the cornetto and the red bull left and I have to save those!"
"It's ok, pal, we'll be at the camping site in no time!"
"Really, Gumshoe?" Edgeworth inquired. "We've only be hiking for a few minutes."
"Well Pal, we could always take the long way-"
"NO!" cried Fransizka, who had been very quiet for a while.
The group stopped and turned to look at the poor woman with tears in her eyes. Fransizka's knees were covered in mud and her arms were covered with blotchy scars of the rebound of tree branches pulled back by the people in front of her.

"Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the woman with complete control and command over nature," Edgeworth smirked, glad he could use the witty comment he had thought of in the shop for this occasion!
"I meant to say, no...lets take the extra long way.." Fransizka lied, trying to stop the tears flowing from her eyes.
"Ok, sir, whatever you say!" Gumshoe grinned, looking at the map then leading everyone to a sharp left.
"Awww, man!" Maya groaned, being led by the ever-enthuasiastic Pearls.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 hours Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"We're going on a bear hunt!" Maya sang.
"Were going on a bear hunt!" Pearly repeated.

"We're not scared!"
"We're not scared!"

"We're gonna catch a big one!"

"Maya can we please stop talking about bears?" Phoenix pleaded.
"Nick, don't tell me you're scared of a little ole Grizzly bear!"
"Yes! Aren't you?"
"No! Don't be such a scaredy cat, Nick!"
"Mr. Scruffy Detective? Are we nearly there?" asked Pearly, who was getting tired.
"Um...Yeah, pal...sure.."
"Gumshoe, you didnt look at the map," said the now-grumpy Edgeworth.
"Oh yeah...well I um...Know it off by heart! Just a left here..."
"This is starting to look very familiar, Gumshoe..."
"Wright is right," agreed Edgeworth "Are we going around in circles?"
"um...No Sir..."
"Gumshoe, where is the map?"
"..."

"Gumshoe, Where is the Map?" Maya repeated.
"um...Well, you see, pal...the thing about that is..."
"Gumshoe! You foolish fool! You lost the map! The rest of this hike you will carry me on your back!" Fransizka screamed, who, in the 3 hour hike, had managed to get mud all over her face and nettle stings covering her legs.
..Which was quite odd...because everyone else was clean and itch-free.
"You mean, we've been walking around in circles getting lost for the last few hours and you didn't tell us!?" Edgeworth boomed.
"Um..no, well, yes, sir...I mean.."
"Gumshoe!!"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix yelled, getting the attention of the angry hikers.
"No-one worry" he smiled smugly.
"Knowing Gumshoe, this thing was bound to happen, so I took precautions!"
"You brought another map?" cried Fransizka, who had now mounted Gumshoe like a horse and was sitting on his back.
"Um..No..But I had a better idea! To stop this very thing happening, back in the shop, I bought a loaf of bread, and the whole trip, I've been dropping large crumbs behind us, so we wouldnt get lost! All we have to do is follow the- Oh."
Phoenix turned around to see the way they had just come, completely breadcrumb-less
"Ohhhh, yeah, Nick? ...yeah, you see... I may have been eating those crumbs..." admitted Maya sheepishly.
"What!?"
"Why do you think I haven't been complaining about food for the last 3 hours?"
"Maya!!"
"It's ok, Maya," Edgeworth comforted her, " It was a stupid plan anyway. If you hadn't eaten the bread, the birds would!"
"Hey! I got the idea from a very reliable camping source!"
"You got it from 'Hansel and Gretel', you foolish fool!" said Fransizka, who had now regained her composure atop Gumshoe...and had wiped all the mud on his coat.
"Mr. Nick? Whats happening? Are we lost?"
"Um..no, Pearly, we're just going the extra long way like Franziska wanted. But Gumshoe is gonna get us to the camp real soon!" Phoenix lied as sweetly as he could.

"I'm pretty sure we're supposed to go left," Gumshoe turned and started walking, despite the glares directed at him.
"Then MUSH!" yelled Fransizka, who whipped Gumshoe's behind until he started to run through the forest!
...
"We're going on a bear hunt!"
"We're going on a bear hunt!"

"Nick is scared!"
"Nick is scared!"

"This place will have to do for tonight," sighed Edgeworth, after two more hours of walking. They had only gotten further away from anywhere they wanted to be and on top of that, everyone was worn out.
"Are we sleeping here, Mr. Nick?" Pearly asked wearily, who was slumped over Phoenix's back.
"Yeah, Pearls," Phoenix replied as he let her down. Franziska dismounted Gumshoe and tied him to a nearby tree.
"Hey, pal! I'm not a real horse!"
"Oh! I had forgotten you were a dumb animal and thought you a pony instead. If I were you, I'd rather be mistaken as the horse!"
"Yes, sir" Gumshoe said glumly, sitting hurt at the bottom of the tree trunk.
"Fransizka, untie him" commanded Edgeworth and Fransizka reluctantly obeyed.
"Hey, wheres Maya?" Phoenix asked looking around.
"...Down here..." Maya replied, who had collapsed face down on the ground from sheer exhaustion.

"Hey, pals, how about I cook us up a little something to eat? How does that sound?"
"Awesome!" Maya yelled, jumping up. Everyone agreed that it was time to eat.
"I half-expect the food to be missing" said Edgeworth, giving a short sarcastic laugh.
"Hey, what kind of guy do you take me for, pal?" Gumshoe opened his rucksack to reveal mountains upon mountains of mouth watering food.
"I brought chicken, beef and hotdogs!" he said, winking at Maya. "Potatoes, bread, carrots...you see I'm gonna cook everything up here!" Gumshoe boasted while the campers stood frozen in terror.
"What, pals? You don't like carrots? Even grown ups need to eat their vegtables!" he laughed, exciting about having his first proper meal in about a year. But they weren't looking at the carrots, were they looking past him?
"N-N-No, Gumshoe" Phoenix stuttered, his voice almost a whisper. "...Don't move...It's b-behind you.."
Gumshoe, ignoring the warning turned around to see what everyone was staring at and tumbled backwards over the food in shock.

"B-B-BEAR!!!!!" he shouted. The gigantic grizzly bear who was very hungry and didn't like being shouted at let a mighty 'ROAR' and swiped at Gumshoe's legs. The poor detective pulled them away just in time.
Maya ran behind Phoenix and using him as a shield gripped his arm tightly.
"Nick! Do something!" she cried.
"I thought you wern't scared of bears!" he replied.
"I'm not!" she returned, still hiding behind him. "I'm just helping you overcome your fear!"

"Ok, I think there was something about this in the camping manual," Nick reassured the rest of the group. "We need to get the bear up beside a giant oven, then when it turns around we push-"
"THIS IS NOT HANSEL AND GRETEL, YOU FOOLISH FOOL!!"
The noise made the bear even angrier and it charged at Fransizka who hurridly climed atop Gumshoe.
"Gumshoe, surely you know what to do!" Edgeworth begged.
"Enough!!" came the sound of a soft girlish voice. Pearly walked straight up to the bear.
"No, Pearly!!!" Maya screamed.
"Mr. Bear, if you're hungry then you can have our food!" Pearly threw the contents of Gumshoe's bag to the bear's direction.
"Now go away - SHOO!" the little girl of nine years old shouted at the 800 pound grizzly bear. The bear looked at Pearly, then sniffed the bag and took it in it's massive sharp teeth. With one last 'ROAR', the bear turned and ran back into the forest.
...
I don't think the word 'PHEW!' could describe how relieved the campers felt.
...
All except for Gumshoe. Gumshoe started to cry.
"Haha!! But, Gumshoe? Whatever is wrong?" Edgeworth asked.
"To buy all that food and cooking material, I had to take a loan out of a bank, sir..."
Edgeworth sighed. "Gumshoe, how about I cover the cost of the 'stolen' items?" He was feeling generous now that he hadn't been torn limb from limb and eaten by a massive bear after all!
"I think I love you, sir.."
"What?!"
"Nothing..."

"Pearly! Pearly, you did it!!" Maya said as she hugged her small cousin.
"That was so brave, Pearls!" Nick agreed. The group sat around in a small circle, thanking Pearly and joking amongst themselves while Gumshoe tried to start a fire.
"...I think I need a drink," Edgeworth sighed, as the excitment wore off.
"I think we all do," agreed Nick. And he was most certainly right.