Chapter 1: "Our Stuff"
It started with an aspiring young girl named Jessica Bailey. She is at an age of 19, with long brown hair (a lock of it goes in front of her face), a green sleeved shirt, and black shorts. She was using her phone typing up an entry for her diary.
Dear Diary,
Today is my first day at San Francisco. We've managed to unpack everything we have in a day, only to sleep afterwards. I'm going to make all that work worthwhile by trying to make some new friends this weekend. My Mom said I can try until curfew for all she cares, as long as I don't end up on the news. People usually end up on the news for bad things in her experience, so that would scare my mom to death if I got on it at all. But people get on the news for good stuff too, liking saving a kid across the street. At least I tried to tell her, but she doesn't believe that. But that's for another time. Today, my new life begins.
That was when she bumped into a furry shape and fell to the floor. Fortunately, her phone didn't crack. The shape responded to her. "Ah! Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" As Jessica tried to reach for her phone, she was interacting with the shape. "Oh, no, it's okay. I just wasn't watching where I was going." Then, she heard a new and monotonous voice. "Ice Bear thinks it's his fault." Jessica grabbed onto her phone and pulled it to her face. "Really? Well, you can tell Ice Bear that it wasn't..." Suddenly, she saw on her phone's reflective surface three bears, specifically a Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, and a Polar Bear in a stack of that order with blue headbands on their heads and a yellow backpack on the top bear. "...his ...fault?" For a while, Jessica was standing still as if she was having a Eureka moment. The Grizzly Bear tried to snap her out of it. "Hey, uh, are you okay?" Suddenly, Jessica squealed with excitement at the three bears. "I can't believe it! I thought I'd have to go to the forest, China, or Alaska, but the three great bears of my life are standing in front of my eyes in a stack!" The Grizzly Bear was confused, but he figured it means one thing. "So you think we're cool?" "Heck, yeah!" The bears started whooping in victory until Jessica cleared her throat. Then, she introduced herself. "My name is Jessica Bailey. I just moved in here." Then, the bears introduced themselves next. "My name is Grizz. Always available to be a friend." "Uh, h-hi. My name is Panda. But you can call me Pan-Pan." Panda abruptly stopped talking after he said that, leaving Jessica with a few giggles. "Sure thing." "Ice Bear's name is Ice Bear." Jessica got confused about the way he speaks. "Uh, don't you mean your name is Ice Bear?" "That's what Ice Bear said." Grizz explained the concept to Jessica. "Oh, don't worry. Our little bro usually talks like that." "Huh. So what are you guys doing today? Working out?" Grizz was more than happy to invite her. "You might say that. We're gonna go shoot some hoops. Want to come over?" "Sure! I was a basketball champion where I came from." Grizz felt inclined to ask. "And where's that?" "New York." Panda was surprised to hear that and wanted to know something else. "You're not one of those mean kids, are you? 'Cause New York is full of them." "Relax, Pan-Pan. I'm not that sort of girl." Panda felt relieved. "Phew." "Ice Bear would like to see you shoot hoops." "Well then, challenge accepted!" With that, Jessica gladly went along with the bears to the court.
At the court, the bears and Jessica, who was listening to her MP3 Player, were waiting for their turn next to the spectating crowd. "We got next." When it came time for their turn, Grizz opened the backpack to put their belongings in. Grizz put in his item first, then Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear were to follow in that order. "One velcro wallet. One Cellie." "Be careful with this please. It is my life and soul in rectangular form." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Grizz put the phone in the backpack. "And one MP3 Player from me." Jessica put her MP3 Player in the backpack, just before Ice Bear got his shurikens out. "Ice Bear has ninja stars." Jessica found it odd. "Uh, where did you get these?" "Ice Bear would rather not say." He then tossed them into the backpack. Grizz prepared to toss the backpack as Jessica got on the bleachers. "Grizz for three!" Jessica caught the backpack and set it on the bleachers. "Interception!" The bears looked confused at Jessica. "What's up? Do we not say that in Basketball?" "Yeah. It's just that it was really impressive wordplay." "Oh. Thanks." With that, Jessica started her countdown on the phone at approximately 40 minutes. Grizz prepped the team up with a team shout of sorts. "1, 2, 3..." Then Jessica and the rest of the bears joined in. "Game time! Huh!" At first, Grizz was having trouble getting around one player who was blocking him, but saw an opportunity to take a shot. As such, he took the opportunity. "Buckets!" However, he was not as successful as the ball hit the rim of the backboard. But Jessica leaped for the ball, grabbed it, and slammed it in the hoop. "2 points!" Grizz and the others were impressed. "Wow! Not bad, Jessica! Let's keep it up!" Grizz tried to make a shot, only for it to be intercepted by one player. In another scenario, Grizz was forced to move upwards upon being blocked passage to Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear. He then tossed the basketball, but he didn't take into account his strength, so he ended up tossing it over the court and bombarding a faraway car. Next, Panda was trying to get enough space to get the ball without interception when he noticed Jessica closing in. "I'm open!" Jessica prepared to shoot the ball to Panda, but he's afraid of the speed it'd go. "Wait, wait! Not too fast!" By the time she heard it, it was too late. The ball ended up hitting Panda in the side. Jessica gasped and ran toward Panda. "Time out! Time out!" Jessica lifted Panda up as he did a time out sign with his paws. "You'll be fine, Panda. I've had worse than this before." "You have?" "Yep. Come on! Let's step it up!" With Ice Bear, he was over-dribbling the ball until it was on his paw, letting the kid snatch it away with a swipe. When he tried to make the shot, Jessica intercepted and made a long shot of 3 points. Later on, Grizz was on defense. "I got this!" He started acting like a bear as he tried to block him, only for him to make the shot, allowing the other player to leap and take the ball doing a backhand slam dunk. Panda felt embarrassed. "My bad." Jessica cheered Panda on. "Don't worry, Panda. The game's not over yet." Grizz tried another attempt at defense, only for him to go around and take the shot successfully. "Wow. Nice shot, man." Grizz tried to high-five him, but he just walked away briskly. Jessica let them in on a tip. "About that, Grizz, we usually congratulate people after the game." "Huh." They tried a three bear stack near the hoop, but instead it hit the hoop and went far away. Grizz tried to stop the other player from going, but when he made a run for it, he tripped and fell to the floor. Panda tripped next as he ran over Grizz. Meanwhile, Jessica successfully snatched the ball from him and made another 3 point shot. "Swish!" Next, when someone tossed the ball out of bounds, the player called out. "No bounce!" However, Grizz didn't take that to heart and just dove toward the trash can. "I got it!" He ended up smashing into the can, making Jessica giggle a little. "That's one way to show initiative." Grizz tried to find a way around him, but was having difficulty. "Pick and roll! Pick and roll!" Suddenly, Ice Bear leaned on him, slid down, and then rolled away. Then, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear each made their own shots. Grizz's attempt was less than perfect. "It's gone!" Panda wasn't as lucky. "Sorry!" Jessica made the shot herself successfully. "3 points!" Ice Bear shot the ball and stuck it in the hoop. "Ice Bear meant to do that." One guy had the ball and leaped in front of Panda and Grizz by putting his hand on Grizz's head as he took the shot. Jessica knew the rules of Basketball enough to know what it was. "Foul!" It all came down to this. However many points they've scored, they needed at least two more to win before Jessica's alarm can go off with only 10 seconds to go. The other player shot the ball at the hoop, but got knocked off course, allowing Ice Bear to take it. Jessica let Ice Bear know that he was open. "Outlet! Outlet!" Ice Bear tossed it to Jessica, who tossed it to Grizz. "Come base slide, back door, square offense." Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear positioned themselves in a square shape along with Grizz. "Play seven!" Grizz tossed the ball to Ice Bear, who then tossed it to Jessica. "Incoming!" Jessica then tossed the ball to Panda, who got hit in the arm, straight toward the hoop. It landed on the hoop and danced around it as everyone watched with baited breath. Finally, it slid down into the hoop, just as the timer went off with a basketball buzzer sound, giving Jessica and the bears a one-point lead. "Yay!" "Whoo-hoo!" "Yes. Yes. Uh-huh. Yeah." Grizz and the others decided to celebrate while Jessica congratulated the other players. "You guys were really tough. I'm glad we got the chance to play together." "Yeah. Me too." "Where did you learn those moves?" "I learned them in New York. Today's my first day here actually." "Well, good for you." Jessica noticed the bears carrying Panda above their heads and going out of the court. "See you later this week, guys?" "Sure, no problem." Jessica ran towards the bears and saw them dunking Panda in the statue fountain with what appears to be the statue of the town founder. Panda didn't move for a while until he burst from the water with excitement. "Game time! Huh!" Jessica smiled at Panda's enthusiasm. "Now that was fun." "I know, right?" "For a while, it looked like you didn't know how to play." Grizz made a contradicting statement. "Pfft. Of course we know how to play. Good job, everyone. I'm proud of you, I saw improvement, and I saw heart. And you can't teach heart." "No, you cannot." Grizz realized that he's forgetting something important. "Wait a sec. Did we forget something?" Jessica realized it the same time Ice Bear had. "The backpack." "The backpack!" "The backpack! My wallet!" "My MP3 Player!" "Ice Bear ninja stars." Panda chuckled at their panic, thinking they were joking. "I thought for a second that you said we left our stuff back at the court, because my phone is in there, and if I lost that, I would totally freak out." Jessica tried to gently break the news to Panda. "Uh, Panda, about that..." Grizz interrupted and broke the news for her. "We left your phone." As expected, Panda flailed about in a panic. Jessica grabbed Panda's arms and set them on his sides. "Relax, Panda. There's no need to panic. We just have to go back to the court and get it." However, when they got to the court, Jessica and the others noticed that the backpack wasn't there anymore. "Oh, it's gone. Somebody jacked us!" "Okay, now you can panic." "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooooo!" As Panda yelled out, he sent a swarm of pigeons away from the court.
In a panic, the Bears dragged Jessica along with them to a policewoman who was writing the ticket. "Police! Police! Police!" The policewoman initially thought that they were stopping her from writing a ticket to their car. "Whoa. Sorry, guys. I'm already writing this ticket." "No, no! We were robbed! The guy had a knife, a-and one eye!" Jessica was confused about they way they were presenting their case. "What? We don't even know who robbed us, guys!" Panda and Ice Bear went on with his statement in panic. "They stole my phone! My apps! My soul!" "Ice Bear wants justice." "Arrest somebody! Use your gun! Wait, where's your gun?" "Guys, this is not that kind of policewoman. She's a Meter Maid." The Bears seemed lost on the concept of the police. "What's a Meter Maid?" The policewoman finished up her ticket and set it on the car. Afterwards, she drove off. Jessica felt that she needed to know something. "That wasn't our car! But good job!" Panda started to accept defeat. "My phone is gone forever." Panda took off his headband and wrapped it in his right arm. "I will wear this in remembrance." Jessica started to feel sorry for Panda and gave him a hug. "I'm really sorry, Panda. I just don't know what to tell you." In spite of his predicament, Panda smiled a little bit from Jessica's comfort, while Ice Bear reverently set his head on the parking meter. But Grizz wasn't willing to give up so easily. "Guys, keep it together. I have an idea. We're going to take Justice into our own hands." Jessica felt alarmed by that, as that is the leading cause of ending up on the news. "W-Wouldn't that be Vigilantism? Because I'm not allowed to be on the news." "Be that as it may, we're no closer to getting our stuff back than square one. And if we have to resort to vigilantism, so be it." With that, Grizz took the parking ticket and wrote the words 'F.B.I.' on it and drew a red circle around it. "Perfect! Taxi!" Just as the Taxi cab pulled up, Jessica grew unsure about his methods. "Uh, that's not how a real badge looks." "We'll just have to make due." At that point, Grizz shoved Jessica in it as Panda and Ice Bear slide in. "F.B.I. We're on a very important case. Take us everywhere a criminal would hang out, now!" Jessica tried to speak up, only for Panda and Ice Bear to cut her off. "Oh, but can we go to the bathroom first?" "Ice Bear needs Latte." Jessica was finally free to speak for herself when Ice Bear had finished stating his demand. "First off, it doesn't work that way. Second, he's a cab driver, not a chauffeur. We're sorry about that, sir. We'll just get out of your hair." With that, Jessica shoved the bears back out of the cab as the driver watched. After they were booted out, Grizz was starting to be aware of the difficulty the challenge poses. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought." Jessica slapped herself on the forehead. "This isn't turning out to be a good first day." Just then, her stomach growled. During the whole escapade, it never occurred to her that she'd forgotten to pack a lunch. "Oh, great. Now I'm hungry." Panda noticed a nearby restaurant and put her at ease. "Look, a diner." Jessica took notice of that and smiled. "Huh. What do you know?"
At the diner, Jessica was having a Grilled Cheese Sandwich with soda while Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear only had ice waters. Grizz had made an artistic depiction of the court, the basketball, and the players with syrup packets, straws, a crumpled-up wrapper and a table mat with an exact drawing of the court. Grizz set down the pepper and salt containers as himself, the bears, and Jessica. "Okay. So if I was here, and you guys were here, here, and here, that would mean somebody took the bag where?" "Ice Bear has a conspiracy theory." Jessica noticed Panda drawing on the table mats and grew interested. "So, what are you drawing?" "I'm drawing mug shots." Jessica immediately grew offended, but then realized there are some suspects worth looking at. After all, some of them were edgy. "Never mind. So, how are they coming along?" "It's a good thing I've got a photographic memory. Here's what I got so far." With that, Panda pulled up numerous manga drawings of the other players. Jessica was impressed to say the least. "Wow! Those drawings are so cool, Pan! I was a bit of a drawer myself." "Really? Thanks!" Grizz, however, was lost to the concept of manga art. "Hmm, they kinda look similar." Jessica got in defense for Panda's art. "Are you kidding me? They're so rendered." Just then, the waitress's voice got their attention. "So, I just talked to the manager, and he said if you guys want to sit here, you'll have to order more than three ice waters." "Well, maybe you wouldn't say that if we were F.B.I., lady! We're doing official business! Step away from the table!" Jessica growled at Grizz, who backed off. After which, she spoke to the waitress. "Okay, we understand. Ice Bear, didn't you say you wanted a Latte?" "Ice Bear would like a Latte." "Sorry. We don't have a Latte. The closest we've got is Coffee." Ice Bear tensed at that. "Ice Bear doesn't do caffeine." The waitress grew annoyed and left in a huff, but not before she scolded Panda. "And stop wasting table mats!" Jessica offered a valid point. "No, Panda, she's right. As cool as your art is, it was a bit wasteful." "We're losing time. Gotta think. Need a clue. Maybe someone who was at the scene of the crime?" Jessica didn't find it helpful. "The only people who were at the crime scene are back home by now Grizz. And even then, you can't expect pigeons to..." Suddenly, Grizz slammed on the table and got an idea. "Aha! I know just where to go." Jessica and the others noticed that Ice Bear had finished his ice waster and wanted another. Grizz called out to the waitress. "More ice water, please!" Jessica immediately pulled Grizz's hand down. "We've actually had enough for now, guys."
At the park, Grizz and the others got to the park where he was asking the pigeons a question. "Yes! It's a yellow backpack. Any of you birds know anything? I got sugar packets." As expected, none of the pigeons responded. "Ugh! It's almost like they don't understand me." "That's because they don't. I told you, you can't expect pigeons to help you. You'd have to be some sort of Pigeon Whisperer, and come on, what are the odds of that?" Suddenly, Ice Bear walked up and started dancing around while doing bird noises. "Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, squawk, squeak, squeak, tweet, squawk. Tweet, tweet, tweet. Chirp, chirp, chirp. Squawk, squawk." Suddenly, the whole group of pigeons turned to Ice Bear. Grizz and Jessica were surprised. "Oh! Hey, look at that!" "Apparently, very high." "Idea! Excuse me." Grizz snatched Panda's art. "Careful! It's art." As Ice Bear continued communicating, Grizz laid out the drawings. "Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, squawk, squeak, squeak, tweet, squawk. Meow. Tweet, squawk, tweet, squawk, squawk." After laying down the art, Grizz turned to the pigeons once more. "Okay. Do any of you birds know which guy here took our stuff?" Suddenly, one pigeon stick his head out. Grizz saw that and called him up. "Whoa! Hey there, little guy. Come on down." The pigeon got his head down and sidestepped to reveal his position. Jessica found it suspicious. "How did you do that?" Grizz was more focused on the task at hand. "Okay, take your time and look carefully. Who was it?" For a while, the pigeon danced around the pictures, looking carefully at each one, until he tapped on the culprit's picture. "Aha! Here's our guy, fellas. Number 41. Evilest number of them all." Jessica was confused. "I don't get it. What would he have to gain from stealing our stuff?" With knowledge of the culprit at hand, Panda became more desperate than ever to reclaim his phone. "Tell us where this criminal is, pigeon! You tell us right now!" Jessica stopped Panda from going more ballistic than he already has. "Whoa, Pan-Pan, relax. He may have taken your guys' stuff, but not your dignity." With Jessica, Panda felt more patient, and as such, he obliged. "Okay." Suddenly, the pigeon took off. The Bears grew worried and tried to run after it. "Hold on! W-We'll follow you!" Jessica immediately ran after them to prevent any further chaos. "Guys, wait! At least look where you're going!" Jessica jumped onto Grizz and went along with the desperate trio.
In the city, as they were running past the crowd, Jessica saw the guy with a hot dog cart in front of them and steered away from it and back into the path as they followed the pigeon. At the park, Jessica shouted to the couple laying on the blanket. "Out of the way, guys!" Thanks to her warning, they were able to avoid getting pummeled. At the streets of San Francisco, they passed a nearby train headed downward. Suddenly, they found themselves at a Baseball game, where they distracted the swinger from taking the shot, as the crowd shouted. Next, they went inside a house near a beach, oblivious to the people living in the house who were confused. Next, they went on the pier at the ocean where they fish. Jessica saw a fisherman with a boy and shouted to them. "Guys! Back up!" With her warning, they backed up safely to avoid falling to the ocean. Suddenly, they found themselves back at the streets of San Francisco. This part of the streets in particular had a guy with a long beard selling tie-dye shirts. Jessica knew there wouldn't be enough time to shout for him to move away. So, she took charge of the stack and steered them away from the stand, but not without snatching a tie-dye shirt and dropping off the money needed to pay for it. The owner was dumbfounded. "What?"
Eventually, they made it to the library. Grizz was confused. "The library? Why would the pigeon take us here?" In a different circumstance, Panda would snap like a twig, but with Jessica, he just couldn't do it. So he had to think of a good reason. "Maybe he reads there?" Jessica then remembered how books were able to be scanned, and had a Eureka moment. "Of course. The library has internet there right, Pan?" "Yeah, so?" Panda then got the gist of what Jessica was talking about. "Phone finder! I'll track where my phone is." "Yep." "Oh, who's a little genius birdy? High-five, friend." Panda tried to high-five the pigeon, only for it to skip away from Panda. "Hmm. Maybe he's tired."
At the library, Grizz was about to kick the door open, when Jessica stopped him. "The library is a quiet place. The last thing they need is noise." With that, Jessica reverently opened the door and walked in with Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear following. At the computer, Panda searched the web for the phone tracker. After typing the phone password, Panda printed the location of his phone. However, the printer was having difficulty, as it had a paper jam, a problem Grizz fixed by smoothing it out. After a brief problem check, the paper was successfully printed. "Okay, let's go."
Near the location of their pilfered goods, Grizz, Panda, Jessica, and Ice Bear slowly stepped forward from the shadows. "Well, this is the place." Grizz folded the paper into a telescope and passed it to Jessica. "Okay, what do you see?" The first thing Jessica saw was a girl arguing with her father. The next, she saw a white cat meowing at her. Finally, she saw the same culprit that had a number 41 shirt. "It's him!" Panda wanted to know something. "Where? Do you see our stuff?" "Yep. I saw the backpack." Grizz knew it was more than enough reason to take action. "Oh, he has our stuff alright. Let's move!" Jessica stopped them again. "Wait! We can't just barge in, no matter how much we want our stuff back." "But he has our stuff! We've gotta get it back!" "I know, but it could've been a mistake. He must've thought that backpack was his. I know. He had the same yellow backpack as us." However, Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear were already gone. "Guys? Ugh! Fantastic." While Jessica stuck to her more practical strategy, the bears climbed up on the ladder beneath the door, working their way up. Jessica knocked on the door and the door was opened by a landlord of this apartment. "Yes?" Jessica tried to speak, containing her nervousness. "Hi. Can you, uh, show me the room of Number 41? We met earlier today." The landlord nodded and let her in. Meanwhile, the bears continued to climb on the stairs, unaware of the old lady watching them and calling 911. "911, what's your emergency?"
At the room of Number 41, he was watching a basketball game. "Right out Jones, he bounced the ball, shuck at 18..." At this point, Grizz saw the prize in sight and went forward only to be stopped by Panda. "Wait, Grizz. What's the plan?" "Well, I'm gonna go in there and get our stuff back." "What if he's, I don't know, crazy? What if he works out? He could hurt our faces and stuff." Ice Bear was quickly running out of patience. "Ice Bear wants to get moving." "Okay, okay, okay. We'll go in ninja style. Cool?" Just as Panda and Ice Bear nodded, they heard a knock on the door. Number 41 went to get the door, and when he opened it, he found Jessica at the door. "Hi." Number 41 smiled and shook her hand. "Hey, you're the expert Basketball Champion. From New York, right?" "Yeah. The thing is, I-" "Oh, you should see the game that's going on right now." Number 41 dragged her into his room and watched the game with her. Grizz saw Jessica with Number 41 and changed plans. "Alright, new plan. We'll let Jessica take the wheel from here." As they watched, the game continued. "And here they come down the stretch..." Jessica tried to get to know him first before they can confirm the verdict. "So, what's your name?" "My name's Keith." Jessica got her hand out to Keith for a friendly handshake. "My name's Jessica. Nice to meet you." After the handshake, Keith wanted to know why she came here. "So, what brings you here?" Upon seeing Jessica with the culprit, for whatever reason, Panda started to growl. "Well, actually, we actually had the same yellow backpack, with different contents, right? So, after our game, we noticed our backpack was gone. And, well, I figured you must've taken it by mistake." "Well, unless you've got an Action Buddies movie in it, I don't have your backpack." Jessica thought that he was dodging the question and brought up a different one. "Oh, well can I see it?" "Sure. I rented it an hour ago." Keith opened up his backpack and got out an Action Buddies movie, proving his innocence. Grizz and the others got surprised, while Jessica kept her cool just. "Huh. That's cool. I like Action Buddies too." "Really? Oh, wait here comes a good one." Keith and Jessica payed close attention to the game to not miss a moment. "They give the defense a rebound. Oh, look here. Jerry's using the tank. And what a slam! Oh ho!" Keith and Jessica cheered at the maneuver. "Yeah!" "Whoo! Way to go!" Jessica then tried to apologize to Keith. "Listen, I'm sorry to have wasted your time." "No, that's cool. I just wish I could help. Besides, it was cool getting to know you." "Yeah. Same here." Panda growled even more as Ice Bear tried to hold him back while keeping his mouth closed. "So, want to watch it with me?" "Not today. I have to be back before curfew. Maybe sometime next week?" "Maybe, if I can have your number." Jessica felt it to be abit sudden, but it also was the best way to get to know people in San Francisco. After all, she did have permission to make friends. "Yeah, sure." Mentally, Panda exploded. 'WHAT?!' Just as he was about to charge in like a bull, a spotlight flashed on him and the rest of the bears, catching Keith and Jessica's attention. A cop spoke on the microphone. "This is the police! We have you surrounded! Give up now!" Jessica face slapped herself. "Why don't the guys ever listen to me?" "You know these guys?" "Unfortunately." Grizz tried to explain. "This is all a big mistake! We were just trying to get our stuff back!" Jessica thought that what had happened between her and Keith was unknown to them. "It was unnecessary guys! That wasn't our backpack! It just looked like ours!" At this point, Grizz realized his mistake and tried to explain further. "Uh, so, it was a mistake. Not our stuff. No harm, no foul, right?" The crowd begged to differ. "Those guys have been running around the city destroying stuff, and that poor girl was stopping it from happening!" "She stopped them from ruining my T-Shirt stand!" "Those guys came into my restaurant and ordered only Ice Waters!" Grizz felt it to be invalid. "Hey, we tipped!" "No, your friend did! You just left me a table mat drawing!" It all made sense to them now. If they had listened to Jessica's courteous advice, they wouldn't have been in this predicament. But they chose not to. Worst of all, they dragged her into something she never wanted to be a part of: Vigilantism. They hung their heads down as shame swept over them. "Jump now! We will catch you and then put you in jail! Do the right thing!" Panda whimpered shedding a tear, catching Jessica's concern. Ice Bear noticed a pigeon by his foot and stomped near him, scaring him off. Jessica was still confused about their events. "I don't understand. How did things get this far? This doesn't make any sense. Unless..." Jessica payed close attention the pigeon flying away, until it entered a building adjacent to them. "Of course! Keith, come with me." Keith, confused as he was, went along with Jessica. "Okay."
Meanwhile, the bears accepted their fate as Grizz prepared a huddle for his brothers. "Okay, brothers, group huddle. I'm not gonna lie, it's not looking good. It looks like the real criminal might've been us, and the real victim was Jessica. We dragged her into this mess, and now we must face the consequences." Panda grew sad at the thought of letting Jessica down and getting her into trouble when he noticed Jessica running away from the building with Keith. "No!" Far away, Jessica saw Panda's worry and felt concerned. "Hang in there, Pan." Keith was still confused about their goal. "So, what are we doing?" Jessica and Keith ran into the abandoned building as she answered him. "When we're done, it'll all make sense." The cop called out to them again. "Please jump one at a time! Slowly!" Grizz had a different plan. "Hey guys, if we go down, we do it together." Panda and Ice Bear hugged Grizz just as the cop shouted to them again. "I repeat, do not jump all at once! Do not-" However, they never listened. "One two, three, game time! Huh!" "Do not- Oh, they all jumped." As the people grew very concerned whilst taking a photo of them, the bears bounced high on the trampoline and crashed through the window of the building Jessica and Keith went in, earning stunned gasps from the crowd.
At the building, when they saw a door labeled "Pigeon Storeroom" and burst into it, only to find a swarm of pigeons and Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear lying on the floor with broken glass around them. Jessica assumed the worst and ran toward them. "No! Guys, wake up! Please!" With a stir, the bears woke up and noticed Jessica and Keith. After helping them up, Jessica hugged Panda tightly. "Oh! Thank gosh, you're okay!" Keith was more worried about the crowd surrounding them. "Uh, Jessica?" Jessica and the others became fixated on the surrounding crowd of pigeons with T.V. screens, phones, and assorted electronics. Grizz got out his "badge" and tried to scare them straight. "F.B.I.!"
Soon afterward, every single Pigeon in the building was arrested. Grizz, Panda, Ice Bear, Jessica, and Keith were in blankets as the officer presented their yellow backpack. "Is this your bag?" After a mix-up, Jessica wasn't so sure. "I don't know, officer." Keith looked at it closely, saw no initials on it and confirmed it. "Why, yes it is." The bears and Jessica grew happy. Panda got into the backpack and got his prize. "My phone!" Jessica got into the backpack and got her prized possession. "My MP3 Player!" Grizz got into the backpack and got his out as well. "My wallet!" Finally, Ice Bear retrieved his shurikens. Keith was confused. "Where did you get those?" "Ice Bear bought these legally." Jessica was confused. "Wait. How come you never told me that?" "Ice Bear wanted to be cool for Jessica." Jessica grew flattered. "Aw. Thanks. But you guys already do that just by being you. You didn't need to change a thing." After that whole fiasco, Panda was surprised to hear that. "You're serious?" "of course." The cop spoke to them after retrieving their stolen items. "You guys sure did us a huge favor stumbling upon those criminals. Pigeon Cartel is one of the most elusive of criminal gangs." Jessica heard of usual typical crime, so Pigeon Cartel was entirely new to her. "Pigeon Cartel? How come I've never heard of it? Oh. That's just how elusive they are. I get it." "So the pigeon in the park really was misleading us." Just as Grizz finished his accusation, a pigeon landed on the cop. "Oh, you mean this guy? He's actually been working undercover for us. Wears a wire and everything. Ain't that the cutest thing?" Jessica was still confused about the end result. "So, what's the verdict?" "Nobody's pressing charges, thanks to your efforts, young lady, but don't ever do that again." With that, the cop tore up the "badge" Grizz made. "Thanks again. Good night." Jessica looked at her watch and knew she needed to get back home. "Wait! Can we get a police escort back home? I'm supposed to be back home before curfew." The cop turned back to her and smiled. "Well, sure. It's the least we can do."
With that, Jessica and the bears got into the car in the back and were driven to Jessica's home. The address was 743 Andreas Court. Jessica turned to the bears. "Can you guys stay with me? I'll need some help explaining everything to Mom." "Of course. It's the least we could do." "We dragged you into something you never wanted to be in. It's only fair." "Ice Bear will support you." Jessica smiled at them and hugged them tightly. "Thanks, you guys." After a brief hug, they walked toward the door and felt nervous. Then she took a deep breath, opened the door, and prepared for the worst. When she opened the door, she noticed her mother, Patricia, a woman about the same height as her, but she had dark brown hair in the same style as her daughter's hair, black glasses, wrinkles between her nose and mouth to indicate her age, a light violet shirt, and a purple skirt, with a surprised look on her face. "Uh, Mom?" Patricia took off her surprise face and hugged her daughter. "Thank heavens, you're safe!" Jessica was still cautious and casually asked her something. "So, you're not angry at me?" "Oh, no." The bears sighed in relief while Jessica was still waiting for the worst. "Wait for it." "Angry doesn't BEGIN TO COVER IT!" The bears stumbled back in shock. Jessica, however, was expecting that. "And there it is." "Unbelievable! I told you not to go on the news, and what do you do?!" Grizz defended Jessica. "Wait, ma'am. None of this was her fault! It was ours." That, however, only added to her anger. "You! You're the reason my daughter ended up as a hoodlum on TV!" It was then that Panda not only defended Jessica, but directly stood up to her. "She's not a hoodlum! She's a hero! She helped the police arrest a Pigeon Cartel!" Jessica was stunned by Panda's outburst of protection. "Panda." Patricia still didn't budge. "You're obviously lying." Panda still never lost his composure. "If you don't believe me, look for yourself." Patricia looked at the news and saw the police arresting the load of pigeons. "In a surprise twist, the Pigeon Cartel was found in the process, thanks to the efforts of a 19-year-old girl who had snuck into their hideout to prove their innocence." Both Patricia and Panda were surprised for different reasons. Panda was surprised that she'd never given up on them and her mother for what she'd done to help the police. "Jessica." "You did all this?" "I had to. They're my friends. I'd do anything for them. Well, almost anything. And they'd do the same for me." Patricia looked at the three bears who nodded at her. Unexpectedly, Patricia hugged the bears all at once. "Thank you so much for looking out for my daughter." "No sweat, Ms. Bailey. We were just looking out for each other." Patricia then turned to her daughter. "Jessica, I'm very proud of you." Jessica grew surprised and hopeful. "Wait. Are you really proud?" "Of course, but you should've at least called or texted me. I've been worried sick all day." Jessica rubbed her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Mom. In all the excitement, I guess I forgot."
After a lengthy conversation, the bears went outside the house. "It was great to hang out with you, Patricia!" "Ice Bear will live up to standard expectations." Panda was the last one to leave before Jessica stopped him. "Panda, wait." "Yeah?" Suddenly, Jessica hugged Panda tightly. "Thank you, for being such good friends." Panda blushed madly just as Jessica did. "Aw. It was nothing. You would've done the same. After all, what are friends for?" Panda and Jessica smiled at each other. "Oh! This is our home, in case you want to hang out with us." Panda handed Jessica a photo of their cave before he went into the car. The police car then drove away from the house as Jessica looked at the cave with the three bears in front of it.
In her bedroom, decorated with brown walls, a poster of the albino alligator at the zoo, a laptop, and a panda stuffed animal, Jessica was writing her diary on her phone.
Dear Diary,
My first day started out as crazy. But, as it went along, everything resolved itself. One minute I was shooting hoops in the court, and the next I helped arrest a Pigeon Cartel. You're wondering, "how did that happen?" Well, it started the way it ended; the Three Bare Bears who, while they had a lot to learn, have had great roles in my life, and who'll always be my best friends.