"The embassy is here, sir."

The President of Eagleland turned around him his chair, shut off his Gameboy Advance promptly and hid it under the desk.

"Oh?" he said, straightening out his black tie vigorously, "You mean the pigs?"

"Yes…the pigs. They were holding up a big flag with an olive branch. They’ve been searched and stripped of all arms. It would not a good idea to keep them waiting."

"Of course not. Did they state exactly what they want to negotiate with us?"

"Hey, I’m only the vice-president! You’re the executive of this whole country! Maybe you ought to go down there and ask them yourself. Sir." He added as an afterthought. President Gregory frowned a bit, then nodded solemnly.

"I think I’m ready for anything that may happen."

In eight minutes, the President was sitting in the conference room with the largest, ugliest pig he had ever seen, even though he had been raised on a pig farm. The fact that it was wearing an expensive pinstriped tuxedo didn’t really help a lot.

"May I begin?" it said in a disturbingly smooth voice. The President had to stifle a shudder before responding.

"Yes."

"Mr. President, as you know, your nation is under attack. And as you ought to know, you are losing."

"I am aware."

"We are fighting you due to the fact that we have a natural enmity towards humans. Would you care for a cup of expresso, Mr. President?"

"No thank you."

"I apologize for our actions, we are warlike in nature and the Pig King is a bit…rash if you will. However, I am here to negotiate a possible peace between Eagleland and the New Kingdom. We’re not heartless savages that happen to have post-modern technology. Our goal is to be recognized as a race, not terrorists."

"You attacked us for no apparent reason."

The pig’s eye twitched for a moment, but it returned to its normal coolness, "Should you agree to a peace, your great country will be spared from the Pig King. Your country will not only be spared, but it will thrive and prosper even more than its doing so now. What do you say?"

The President straightened out his tie and pursed his lips apprehensively. Some allies across the ocean were on their way to aid them in their war efforts, and to the south, Hawkland was mobilizing an army. If what this beast just said was true, a full-scale war wouldn’t be necessary…

"I will consider your ideas…Mr. Pig. But such an action requires some thought."

The pig’s mouth curved into a little grin. "Do you know what’s going on right now a few hundred miles east of here? A large force of our pigs has encircled another town, and they are waiting right now for your decision. Peace would mean a likewise resolution, but if you decide against our modest proposal…You know what happened to Coal Town and Craggy Cliffs."

There was a moment of silence. The President usually only had ceremonial power in Eagleland, as the representatives of the towns and cities held the true ability to pass proposals, declare war, adjust taxes and all that stuff. However, it clearly stated that the President held full responsibility to things such as diplomacy and enforcing various laws. These sorts of things didn’t happen much, so it was no wonder he was so ill at ease. There had been three battles already; the battle at Coal Town, the battle in Craggy Cliffs and a battle in the middle of a farm field just south of Fourside. He gave it another minute of thought before answering.

"I agree to your terms."

"Very good," said the Pig with a polite smile, "I assure you that you will not regret your decision."

The kids managed to keep alongside Charon’s regal stride by jogging. Mera was out front, obviously looking forward to some new adventures, followed by Ricky and the fox, which was named Sirius. Krause took up the rear, probably reflecting how uncomfortable he was traveling with a giant talking wolf and fox. The humans could tell the forest was thinning, because above the canopy they could now see the ominous snow-capped mountains that seemed to be made of blue stone. The one that seemed closest rose into a sharp peak and seemed to be a bit taller than the others. Another hour of walking brought them across a beautiful field of wildflowers and up to the base of the foremost mountain.

"This is it!" Charon said cheerfully, "The Blue Tower."

The humans couldn’t have thought of a better name themselves, as it seemed to rise up like an impossibly tall skyscraper of stone in a city of flowers.

"May the blessings of the Forest be with you, and may the path ahead of you be paved with success," the two great animals said in unison. Without any further words, the animals departed back through the field of flowers.

"Do you have any idea which way to go, Ricky?" Krause asked just as the animals had slipped off into the distance.

"Um…I don’t think so."

"This is just great! Where are we supposed to go now, huh Ricky?"

"Well…I guess…"

Mera looked around with her cat eyes for a moment.

"So we’re going to a place called Cloudy Valley?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Well that valley over there looks pretty cloudy to me."

Sure enough, just beyond a little rocky ridge was what looked to be a narrow valley in between two mountains, filled with a huge billowing white cloud.

"I knew that was there!" Krause said quickly.

Ricky snorted a laugh. "At least we don’t have to go through a cave, right Krause?"

"Hey, that was fun! Don’t deny it! Of course, if I had a stomach like yours I’d probably understand…"

"What? You almost peed your pants when those bats came flying out of that pit and I nearly fell off that invisible bridge!"

"Watch it, bro. I saved your hide twice in the same day, besides…"

Their conversation sort of continued like that as the three of them began trudging towards their destination. Mera listened casually as they playfully argued about mine carts, dragons, a crazy prospector, some riot and a bounty hunter. She determined about half of it was true, although 90% was a more accurate estimate. The land was beginning to rise noticeably and the flowers were receding into rough rocks and dirt, but unfortunately this didn’t apply to the irritating insects. They made their way slowly around boulders, fallen trees and narrow streams. It was clear that they were climbing a mountain, as the land sloped down about two thousand feet into a picturesque green valley dotted with flowers and stands of trees. Cloudy Valley was no longer in sight from their position, but Ricky was acting pretty confident of their direction. Maybe two hours passed and the sound of running water was rising above the din of the birds and the wind rustling through the strange, narrow pine trees surrounding them. Sure enough, as they rounded a large boulder they beheld a majestic waterfall spilling over a steep cliff side and descending several hundred feet into an obscure cloudy mist. The feeling the kids got while seeing this sight was indescribable by mere words on paper, but it was very much like stepping into a postcard that spent a little bit of time with Photoshop.

"Wow…" was all Krause could say about it. But the roar of the water drowned out his voice like a worm in a puddle.

"It looks like we were going in the right direction, Ricky!" Mera shouted to him, "So now how’re we getting down there?"

Ricky grimaced oddly and stared into infinity like he usually did when he thought about something. Now that he had stopped gaping stupidly at the big waterfall, he noticed that the ledge they were on went right behind it. Suddenly he remembered the story Flint often told him about how Ness and his friends had found some kind of alien (or maybe zombie?) base behind a waterfall after waiting three (or was it four?) minutes. It all seemed so long ago…

"Hey, Ricky! Do you see that ledge that goes behind the waterfall?" Krause shouted at him.

"Yeah!" he shouted back, "Let’s go check it out!"

There turned out to be quite a ledge behind the falls, enough to be called a small cave, but it didn’t seem to lead anywhere. All three of them heaved sighs, dropped their packs and plopped down against the wall of the little cave. It was even louder in the cave than it was outside. Ricky suddenly came up with an idea. Focusing hard on the sound, he began to work his mind in a way he hadn’t ever worked it before. His eyes squinted, a bead of sweat broke out on his forehead, and the sound suddenly seemed to diminish. Mera looked at him, yellow eyes wide. The pocket that the little arrowhead was in suddenly lurched a bit and a chill jolted down her spine. Krause just edged away.

"What did you do?" Mera asked him quietly.

"I’m not really sure…but I think I filtered out most of the sound from entering this cave. So at least now we can talk normally."

"Yeah…" said Krause, "So now we’ll have to find another way to reach Cloudy Valley?"

Ricky bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah, I have a feeling it won’t be so easy. I’m guessing dangerous animals and rough terrain at best."

Mera just flashed her usual feline grin and Krause gave his usual sigh.

"We’ll just stay here for the night," he added. They set about to finding berries and collecting pine needles so they could at least put something in between themselves and the hard cave floor. After a quick dinner, they drifted off at around eight.

Krause blinked uneasily and groaned as he pulled himself up on his knees. He hadn’t had any weird dreams, but he swore he heard something that sounded like a strange combination of a distant lightning crack, cymbals and several people saying "ding" through Ricky’s sound-dampening field. Mera and Ricky were still asleep against the cave walls.

"Hey! Wake up you two!" he called hoarsely. Mera gave a groan and sat up, her yellow eyes glowing in the dark. Ricky just mumbled something that sounded like something about mushrooms on his head.

"What is it, Krause?" she asked.

"I heard something very weird, sort of like lightning, cymbals and somebody saying ‘ding.’ "

Mera’s feline eyes narrowed angrily and she let out a very catlike growl.

"No, really! Ugh…I wasn’t dreaming!"

As if to drive his point home, the cave was suddenly lit by a bright flash of white light and six silvery Starmen appeared, towering over the kids and bearing the PORK Snout on their chests. Everybody was up on their feet, Mera with her blades already out, Krause holding his baseball bat and Ricky looking focused, if a bit disoriented.

"You are all under arrest!" the robot in the lead announced mechanically. Krause didn’t have time to try and figure out how the Pig King had found them because suddenly the cave was illuminated by another sudden flash of white light, only this time Krause and Mera were thrown back against the wall due to the sheer intensity of the heat. It was over in a second, and the Starmen still stood, if very burnt up along with the rest of the cave. The leader made a clicking noise and all Hell was unleashed. The kids were dodging badly aimed laser blasts left and right, rock from the cave exploding all around them. In the confusion of battle, Krause managed to hit something with his bat, but he had no way of knowing whether it was a Starman, the wall, and hopefully not Ricky or Mera. But what he did know was that there was suddenly a loud noise like rock splintering, then everything became still for a very long second before the whole ledge began sliding. He got a final look at the strangely luminous cloud below before he let out a long scream and woke up.

The next day a strong, warm wind was rolling in from the south when they started walking around the waterfall area. All around them, the rugged, rocky slopes descended dramatically into the thick cloud that obviously hid their destination. Ricky was sure there must be some sort path leading down there, but after a whole morning of rigorous hiking his friends were beginning to have their doubts. Ricky finally stopped at what would be a very impressive scenic lookout had it have been a national park.

"So what now Ricky?" Mera grumbled, settling herself on a rock, "If you get us lost, you’re going into that bloody valley the hard way."

Ricky just glared at her and sat himself down near the ledge, watching the valley beneath them as if an escalator might suddenly appear out of the thin mountain air and take them down.

"Uh, guys…" Krause said, "I’m gonna find a place to go do my business now. I haven’t gone all day and…yeah."

He stumbled over a few rocks and brushed aside a shrub. Suddenly he let out a startled yelp. Lying in the bushes was a human skeleton, its jaw open in a gruesome silent scream. Krause looked at his pants and groaned.

"What happened, bro?" Ricky shouted.

"Nothing! I’m just fine!" Krause answered quickly. Even without anybody but that pile of bones around, his face was burning hot. He crouched to the ground and quickly removed his shorts and threw them deep into the bushes. He fortunately found an extra change in his backpack and quickly got redressed and out of curiosity began examining the skeleton. Krause wasn’t an archeologist, but he could tell that it had been here for quite a while by the fact that it was nearly bleached white and clad in raggedy threads of an orange flannel shirt and brown trousers. It also seemed to be missing its left arm at a very loose shoulder. He noticed it was clutching something close under its right arm, but he couldn’t tell what. Maybe if he got on the other side…

"A skeleton?" said Ricky’s voice. Krause turned his head and sure enough, Ricky and Mera were looking down at him. Ricky was biting his lower lip like he did when he was nervous, but Mera’s yellow eyes shone with interest and excitement. A strong wind whistled through the pines for a moment.

"Yeah," Krause said, "Cool, isn’t it?"

Mera bent down next to him and began looking it over. Krause gulped and slowly turned over the skeleton over with trembling hands. A spider scurried away hastily as it came to rest on its back as Krause slowly picked up what the skeleton had been guarding. It appeared to be a small leather-bound book protector. All three gathered around Krause as he opened it up to the first page, which was surprisingly well preserved. Krause blinked, then began reading it aloud.

"Looks like a traveler’s log or something," said Ricky, "Turn the page."

Krause did, and it turned out that the next two days were not much different. But as he turned the page again, he found a folded sheet of yellowing paper, which he quickly unfolded. What he found was a note written in strange writing that bore an even stranger message.

"What in the name of all things sacred and holy is this about?" Krause said after a pause. There really wasn’t a better way to say it.

"Wait a minute," Ricky said, "Something about…a tunnel behind the waterfall at Cloudy Valley?"

Krause began turning the pages again, "Guys! Here’s the last entry."

"So do you think this ‘treasure tunnel’ leads down into the valley?" Krause asked, setting the book down. Ricky’s face was rather blank.

"If there’s a tunnel, it probably will go down there somehow, but you know how I feel about caves…I almost fell into a bottomless pit and chopped in half the last time I went into one…"

Mera sighed a, "If you want to find another way down there, fine with me as long as you don’t drag me along!"

Ricky grimaced, "Okay, but I’m sort of doubting that this’ll actually work."

Boney didn’t like his predicament at the moment, to say the least. Awhile ago, some pigs carried him onto one of those terrible flying shiny discs while he was minding his own business drinking out of a trough in the shade of a house. He had tried fighting back, but they just knocked him out. He awoke a little time ago in a little dark room with bars, newspaper, a bowl of stale dog food and a throbbing headache. He couldn’t truly be sure of how long, however, due to the fact that dogs aren’t blessed with much chronological sense. The whole place reeked of not only pigs, but also something deeper and…fouler…that made the dog cringe a bit. Suddenly the ripe stench of hogs assaulted his nose and the room lit up, revealing two hideous-looking pig’s heads glaring down into his little cage. Boney growled. The smaller pig began grunting.

The cage was opened, and the smaller pig swiftly grabbed Boney by his dilapidated collar. Boney had enough of being pushed around by pigs, but all he could do was gnash his teeth. The two pigs snorted and he was dragged out of the cage. The strange new place frightened Boney. The room was small still dark even with the light, and the walls and floor were made of some kind of black metal. The little place was crammed full of things Boney did not recognize, but he did see something that looked a bed in the corner, but with some scary-looking shiny things attached to it. He gave a final desperate squirm as the pigs slammed him down onto the bed. The scary-looking metal pieces were clamped on all four legs and something like a metal bowl was placed on his head. Boney barked haplessly as the two pigs snorted at each other.

The two pigs turned and walked out the little door, but as they left another pig stepped in. It was the strangest kind of pig Boney had seen in his advanced eleven years. It was pink and rather lean, with a white coat and bizarre-looking glasses on his porcine face. He quickly walked over to one of the things Boney had never seen before and suddenly there was a loud whirring noise and the crackle of an arc of bright light. Boney yelped; it now felt as if his poor head was being assaulted by something very strange. As he whined in pain, things were flying through his animalistic brain very, very quickly. He was a puppy again and he was sitting placidly on the lap of the tall man he had once known. Then he was chasing rabbits through the fields of tall grass, and then following the two nice kids into the woods when they were younger, then the next moment he was in the town watching and greeting all the people on the streets. The images flashed on and on at a mind-blowing pace until it began slowing down. The poor dog was twitching and whining like a pathetic orphaned puppy just when the last image flashed through his brain. The tall man he loved was fighting against the huge pig in the cave. The man rolled backwards, and the Pig lunged after him, only to have the bridge beneath him collapse. The man jumped for the edge, but something from the Pig struck him and he, too, fell with his enemy. Boney flinched and finally fainted.