The first part of Welcome back, soldiers! Hope you like it.

Flippy woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He had just had another nightmare about his days in the war. He took a couple of deep breaths and looked at his alarm clock. He never set the alarm because it usually made him 'flip-out'. He didn't have anywhere he needed to be so it didn't matter anyway.

It was pretty early in the morning but he knew that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now so he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He took a shower, dried off, and then got dressed. Like usual he wore his green army jacket, beret, and dog-tags. He looked at the tags and sighed. They were one of the few things he had saved when he was discharged that he some times regretted keeping.

He walked down to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich. He sat at the table and started looking though a few old article clippings he had of him, Sneaky, and Mouse Ka-boom. He missed his friends and team mates a lot, even if it had been a long time since they had died. The three of them had been one of the best teams in the W.A.R, and if Operation Tiger Bomb hadn't gone south the three of them would probably still be fighting.

He took several bites of his sandwich when the phone rang. Who would be calling me seven in the morning? he thought. Flippy stood up and answered the phone.

Flippy: Hello?

The voice on the other end was that of his old sergeant. Flippy was so surprised he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't still asleep. He wasn't sure what surprised him more, that he was getting a call from his sergeant or that he knew his home number.

Sergeant: Flippy, it's me. I know it's been a while since you've heard from me, but I have an assignment for you.

If Flippy wasn't awake before, he was now.

Flippy: What?! B-but sir, I was discharged! Why would you be giving me an assignment? In fact, how'd you get my home number?

Sergeant: I'm giving you this assignment because you're one of the few people who I can trust to take this assignment. I can't tell you the details over the phone, but I plan on arriving in Happy Tree Town tomorrow to discuss this in person with you. As for how I got your number, you'd be surprised what someone can find out with the right connections.

Flippy: B-but sir, I-

The sergeant had hung up on him before he could continue. Flippy sighed and hanged up. He hadn't been on a mission since operation Tiger Bomb, and that ended with two of his closest friends dying right before his eyes!

He calmed down and thought through what he'd need to do. First, he'd have to pack some of his belongings. Some clothes, a picture or two, and his relaxation tips book. They didn't always work but sometimes did.

Second, he'd need to get one of the others to look after his house while he was gone. He decided that he'd call either Petunia or Pop later to see if they could. If they couldn't, he'd probably call Flaky.

Finally, he had to make sure that Shifty wouldn't try to break into his house while he was gone. Ever since Lifty and Nutty started dating Shifty has been stealing things twice as often, and he even stole from Flippy some times, even though he knew that it was a bad idea. Flippy had set up traps all over his house for when Shifty ever tried to steal from him, but no matter how humane the trap was there was always blood.

Flippy: I hope this doesn't end badly. If I die outside of Happy Tree Town I'm done for…

Flippy tried to relax for about two hours until he had decided to take a walk though park to calm his nerves. He saw toothy and Cuddles running for their lives while being chased by Giggles who was covered in glue and feathers. He chuckled quietly at the familiar scene and continued walking until he saw a couple of the others huddled around something. Curious, he went to see what was going on. Everyone was looking at a newspaper that Pop was holding.

Flippy: Hey guys, what are you looking at?

Russell: Accordin' to the paper thar be other places like Happy Tree Town!

Flippy: What?! Is that even possible?

Petunia: That's what I said!

Nutty: Wow, I didn't think that there was any other place like Happy Tree Town on the planet because my parents and I have gone traveling a lot and we've never ever seen another place where people come back to life!

Flippy: Where are these places anyway?

Pop: Just a couple of small places not that far from Happy Tree Town. The farthest known one is Happy Shrub Town, which is just twenty miles south of Tree country.

Sniffles: I've been researching the barrier ever since I could hold a magnifying glass and I still don't have the slightest idea how it works. Now it looks like it's starting to spread all over Tree Country and into some of the neighbouring countries too. This is an amazing scientific discovery if it's true!

Petunia: The key word being 'if'. If it turns out to be another scam like that time with Joy Tree Town I'm gonna be really mad!

Pop: From the looks of it they've checked, and this is the real deal. Whatever keeps people from dying in Happy Tree Town-

Flippy: More accurately what keeps them from staying dead.

Pop: Right, my mistake. Whatever keeps bringing us back to life is spreading to other places. I wonder what's happening?

Russell: One thing's fer sure, we won't be gettin' as many tourists come summer.

Flippy: 'Wow, first that call and now this! I wonder if there's some kind of connection between the two…'

For the rest of day, all of the Happy Tree Friends could talk of nothing but what the paper had said. Well, everyone but Flippy. He finished packing, disabled all of the traps, and got Flaky to agree to look after the house while he was gone. He spent most of the day trying to calm his nerves down and trying to figure out what this 'assignment' he was going to get was.

He was also trying to figure out what the surprise he was going to get was. Flaky had told him to come to the diner early tomorrow for a surprise.

-the next day-

Like Flaky had told him to, Flippy got up early. He checked to make sure everything he needed was packed and that he had the picture of him, Sneaky, and Mouse Ka-boom in the extra pocket on the inside of the bag. Just in case the sergeant came earlier then expected he taped a note to his front door saying that he'd be at the diner, as well as directions to said diner.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed to where the diner was. On the way he noticed that their was no one around. It was eight in the morning but usually there was at least one or two people around. On his way he stopped by Handy's house to get his flashlight back. He waited for a few minutes but no one answered.

Flippy: Odd, usually he's awake by now. Strange, I wonder where everyone could be?

Flippy continued to the diner, worrying about his friends. Where could they all be? He knew that some of them were probably still sleeping but… He got to the diner several minutes later. The lights were off but the door was open so he went inside.

Flippy: Hello? Flaky, anyone? *little nervous*

Suddenly the lights turned on and all of the Happy Tree Friends came out of their hiding places in the diner.

Everyone but Flippy: Good luck, Flippy!

A banner opened saying 'bon voyage, Flippy!'. Shifty and Lifty let loose with some confetti shooters, Mime let go of a bunch of balloons, and Disco Bear threw a coin into the jukebox and music started playing. Flippy was about to 'flip-out' when Flaky squeezed his hand. He calmed down just in time, making everyone let out a sigh of relief. He then looked at Flaky who was smiling shyly.

Flippy: What's going on? Why is everyone here?

Flaky: W-Well, you said th-that you w-were g-going o-on some kind of s-secret mission, s-s-so I got Giggles t-to help me p-plan a g-going away party.

Flippy: Really? You guys did this all for me?

Lumpy: Last I checked that was your name on the banner we made, so yeah. Uh, it is your name on the banner, right? *looks at banner*

Sniffles: It is, now can we get on with this Bon voyage party already?

Flippy: Wow, this is… I didn't think you guys cared so much. *smiles*

Petunia: Of course we care! You might kill us all the time but your still our friend.

Nutty: Besides, we don't get a chance to throw big parties like this very often because usually most of us are dead and those that are still alive are too sad because everyone else is dead. I brought the snacks! I hope you like chocolate and taffy and soda and-

Pop: We get it Nutty, you brought sweets for everyone! Now stop before we all get toothaches!

Everyone laughed at this and started to celebrate. They had even gotten him gifts. Flaky gave him a photo album with pictures of everyone in it as well as a couple of blank pages, Toothy had gotten him a book of knock-knock jokes, Petunia gave him a travel sized bottle of cleaning detergent, Shifty and Lifty gave him back the stuff they had taken from him over the years, and Lumpy had gotten him a sandwich. Probably not the best gift he had ever gotten but he was still touched.

Flippy placed everything on one of the booth tables, except for the book of knock-knock jokes and the photo album which he put in his bag. He thanked everyone and smiled happily as they continued to celebrate.

A little while later someone walked into the diner. Flippy and the others looked to see a fox in the door way wearing an army uniform. He had a scar over his right eye. Flippy recognized him immediately as his old sergeant.

Nutty: Who's the guy in the uniform with the scar over his eye? He looks kinda scary and really serious like he has a stick up his-

Flippy: Everyone, this is the sergeant! Sergeant, these are my friends.

Sergeant: Looks like I came at a bit of a bad time. Flippy, I thought you would've known better then to tell civilians that you were going on a mission.

Flippy: Well, I told Flaky that I was going on a mission when I asked her to look after my house, and she called the others and set all of this up.

Flaky: I-It's t-true…

Sergeant: Well, it's nice to see that you have so many friends, even despite of what happened as well as your, um, condition.

Russell: Condition?

Pop: He must be talking about how Flippy 'flips-out' now and again.

Mime: *nods in agreement*

Sergeant: *looks at Flippy* They know about that?

Everyone but Flippy and the Sergeant: Trust us, we know.

Flippy: I've had a few flip outs, nothing big.

Shifty: Nothing big? What about that time you killed Giggles with a bottle of ketchup and mustard? I couldn't eat either for a week after I heard about that one!

Giggles: I couldn't eat hamburgers for month after I heard that he melted Petunia's face off by holding it to a grill!

Handy: And who can forget the time you peeled Nutty like an apple while he was on a sugar high? I'll admit, I laughed a little bit.

Toothy: My neck still hurts from the time you broke it! I thought that only worked in movies.

Sniffles: I remember the time you ran over everyone while driving a truck carrying toxic material and we all came back as zombies.

The gang continued to list any and all Flippy related deaths. By the time they were done everyone had started laughing at some of the funnier ones, except for the sergeant who had turned a little green.

Petunia: You still haven't told me how you dug the pit so quickly, or where you got the spikes Flippy. That was probably one of the worst deaths ever!

Cuddles: Oh yeah? What about the time he killed Flaky and then started to beat me with her corpse? I still find the occasional bloody flake in my hair!

The sergeant ran out of the diner and had just gotten behind the truck before puking. When he was done he walked back into the diner, wiped his mouth on a napkin, and threw it in the garbage.

Lumpy: Are you alright mister Flippy's sergeant sir?

Sergeant: I-I'm alright, but how the heck are you people able to talk about that kind of thing like it's a joke?

The Mole: Well, when you die every day death doesn't really bug you any more. In fact, and I think I speak for everyone here, we get a little frightened if no one dies!

Disco Bear: Well, not so much that we'd kill ourselves on purpose of course. Besides, why would I want to deprive the world of this? *points to self*

Giggles and Petunia: *rolls eyes and sighs*

Sergeant: Wait, you weren't just making those up just now?

Pop: Of course not! We might die almost every day but we're not insane!

Petunia: We get that death is serious, we really do, but it's not as big a deal here. Sure it's painful to die but we always come back within two days so it's easier for all of us to deal with it.

Sergeant: Interesting. How do you do it? Is there some kind of machine or something?

Sniffles: Or something. Honestly, not even I'm sure how it works, and my dad was the one who figured out how wide the barrier is!

Shifty: We call it the barrier because if you die outside of that range you won't come back to life.

Sergeant: Again, interesting. Well, as much as I'd like to see if your claim is true or not, I'm afraid me and Flippy have to be going now.

Flippy said his goodbyes one last time and grabbed his bag. He and the Sergeant got in the truck and it started to drive off. The green bear waved back at the others who had ran out of the diner and waved goodbye to him.

Flippy sat back down, a wide smile on his face. He was going to miss everyone, especially Flaky. The photo album she had gotten him was a really nice gift, at least with that he wouldn't forget about them, even if he never returned to Happy Tree Town. He had already eaten the sandwich Lumpy had given him, even though he didn't like pickles and peanut butter.

The Sergeant wrote something down and then turned to face the window. Once they were out of Happy Tree Town he turned to face Flippy.

Sergeant: Your probably curious as to what your mission is.

Flippy nodded at the sergeant, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. The Sergeant smiled for a second and then cleared his throat.

Sergeant: I'm sure that by now you've heard of how other places are getting the same 'barrier' that Happy Tree Town has. What few know is that these barriers were artificially created by the government.

Flippy: What?! But how? Why?

Sergeant: I can't tell you the how, but I can tell you the why. About a month ago we got word from our spies that the Tiger army is secretly planning on bombing Tree Country.

Flippy: *gasps* B-But if they do that thousands of people will die!

Sergeant: All but those in Happy Tree Town. It's the only place where people come back to life as long as they don't die of old age or normal illnesses. The imitation barriers we've tried making other towns in Tree Country as well as towns within a fifty mile radius of Tree country haven't been very successful as of yet.

Flippy: So that's why Happy Shrub Town is also reporting people coming back to life. But, what do you mean they haven't been very successful?

Sergeant: We've had a few successes, but the barriers we've made stop working after a month. We tried starting on smaller cities, but the only true success we've had is with a few small cities within a seven mile radius of Happy Tree Town. Any place with a population over a thousand or more then seven miles away from Happy Tree town won't support the barrier for more then the before mentioned amount of time.

Flippy: Forgive me for asking, but how is this related to my mission?

Sergeant: I'm sure you remember operation Tiger bomb.

Flippy: I wish I could forget… *shivers*

Sergeant: Don't we all? The only reason I even brought it up is because we're sending you back to that jungle. We've discovered a small village that share similar qualities with the barrier around Happy Tree Town. However, there are two differences that I should mention.

Flippy: What are they?

Sergeant: The first one is that although the barrier is much smaller then the one around Happy Tree Town, it works quicker and they people who die don't need to be in that barrier at the time of death. As long as they're in the barrier before twenty-four hours has passed, they'll come back to life.

Flippy: Wow, that's amazing. I didn't think that was possible! But, what's the other thing?

Sergeant: That's where the downside comes in. Although it brings people back to life quicker then those in Happy Tree Town, it leaves scars. Our scientists theorize that the reason people don't come back right away is that the barrier is somehow healing them.

Flippy: That makes sense now that I think about it. That still doesn't explain why your sending me there, I'm sure there are other soldiers, who weren't discharged, who could do a better job then me.

Sergeant: Trust me, the last thing I wanted to do was call you back into active duty, but few of the other soldiers know much about the jungle or of the barrier's existence. The ones that do are either dead, fighting somewhere else, or refused to do it all together.

Flippy: So that leaves me, and I'm guessing I can't refuse to do this?

Sergeant: Correct, especially seeing as we'll be at the Tree Country base in half an hour. I'll give you a few more details once we're there, so in the mean time try to relax.

Flippy sighed and started looking though the photo album that Flaky had given him. He took the photo he had of him, Sneaky, and Mouse Ka-boom and placed it in one of the empty slots.

Flippy: 'I wonder what the two of you would say about all of this if you were still alive?'

He started thinking about all the good times they had had together and smiled. He continued to think about all the good times they had shared all the way to the base.

To be continued…