Disclaimer: I don't own Bark, Bean, or Nack. Neither do I own Elsie. She is owned by Blue Mage Quartet. I only own Eliah, Natalie, and the guests.

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Silence remained like an unwanted guest. The only thing that broke it was Nack's muttering from the chair besides Bark. Him, Nack, and Bean were sitting in the lobby. Numbers, letters- Bark knew what Nack was up to. He was trying to decipher the code.

After Ferra's "departure", although no one had said as much, it was clear that everyone in the hotel was thinking the same thing: Something terrible was going to happen to her. Nack was convinced that the answer lay in the code, which was going to reveal the secret of Chateau Royal and somehow help them understand the fate of Ferra.

As it turned out, it was not the code that helped them as much as a ditsy cow who arrived later that night...

...but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The sun was just beginning to set when Nack suddenly cried, "Bark!"

"What!" He was so surprised that when he jumped a foot out of his chair.

"I've got it," he whispered hoarsely. Bark leaned in closer. He did not want Bean to hear, just in case he blurted it out again.

"I've been substituting numbers for letters." The sleazy, yet clever weasel began, "It took a while to get the right combo, but but I think I've got it now. I'm positive. Six, one, one, one, five. Six equals F, that's easy."

"If you say so." Bark said.

"One is A," Nack continued, ignoring Bark, "the next two ones are eleven; that equals K, and the five means E. Put them all together and it spells fake. Get it?"

"No," Bark admitted, "Fake what?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe Eliah's a fake. Maybe she forges documents, makes counterfeit money in the basement. Whatever it is, my guess is that Chateau Royal is nothing more than a cover for some shady, sleazy operation. Mandy must have found out. Then Ferra."

"And now you." Bark gulped.

"Correction," Nack said, "Now us."

Bark gulped again. This time it stuck in his throat. Nack dashed over to the door. "Now if you excuse me, I have some bones to talk to." And he was gone.

Just like a weasel. They tell you your a dead one, and then they go off to talk to an even deader one. Well, Bark was not going to sit around and think about some terrible fate; no he had some figuring to do. He leaned back in the chair and began to think.

Fake.

What did it mean? After several seconds, Bark's head began to throb from all the thinking, and he was getting nowhere. He decided to ask Bean. Maybe if he did half of the thinking, Bark's head would not hurt so much. "Do you think Eliah is a quack?" The polar bear asked.

"You mean someone who specializes in ducks?" Bean asked stupidly. "Now that's what I call fowl practice. Get it, Bark? Fowl practice?"

Bark sighed and rolled his eyes. For some reason, his head was hurting more instead of less. Bean was obviously not the best person to ask... "A quack is someone who's a fake, a phony. If Eliah is caught making fake whatever, she'll get thrown into jail."

"That would be terrible," Bean stated, "There's no ducks in jail! Except Cousin Rick, but he doesn't count because he's half chicken..."

Bark had the feeling that he had just lost Bean. Just then, Nack appeared in the hallway. "Bark, Bean," he sighed, "As hard as this is for me to say... I need you."

Bean ran over to Nack and threw his arm around the sleazy weasel's shoulders. (Probably not the smartest thing to do, but hey, this is Bean we're talking about) "Aw, Nack. We need you too; don't we Bark?"

The Beaver suddenly popped up next to Nack. "I couldn't help but overhearing, and if you don't mind my saying so, it's about time you three lovable guys told each other how much you care! What a beautiful moment... There's a little song I could sing-"

"Mandy's not talking." Nack said before the Beaver could finish his sentence, let alone break into song. "I thought maybe she'd talk to you, Bark?"

"I'll try." The polar bear sighed.

"Me too!" Bean shouted.

"I'll sing backup." The Beaver said.

And off they went.

It was no good. After fifteen minutes of calling Mandy's name, of asking her the meaning of fake, of telling her what happened to Ferra- all to no avail. All she did was moan and repeat the strange little rhyme over and over again. They were about to give up and go up to there rooms when a loud commotion broke out. "It's coming from the lobby." Bark observed as he, Nack, Bean, and the Beaver dashed through the side door.

When they reached the lobby, what could only be described as a spectacle was taking place. Eliah, in all of her fury, was standing between the check-in counter and a cow. Bark was not sure, but he thought he saw foam coming out of the coyote's mouth...

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eliah howled.

""In Cyberland, we only drink... Diet Coke." The cow recited. Bark and Nack exchanged glances.

"I came to visit!" The cow cried. "You said I could!"

"I said no such thing, Elsie!" Eliah shrieked. "Don't you have anything better to do? Something far, far away from me!"

"Nope!" Elsie said, digging through her suitcase. "I brought you guys some food from the Jade Palace! Please let me stay. Please, please, please, please..."

Behind the check-in counter, a very puzzled Natalie who was most likely thinking, WTF, noticed Eliah slowly reaching for the handgun that she kept hidden in her belt. She sweat dropped. "Eliah! Just let her stay. How much trouble can one cow cause?"

Boy, were they in for a surprise...

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