~Note~

Name pronunciation: Xephyr (Zefer), Turrak (Turik), and Dachus (Dakus) incase you needed to know :3

Also, ty for the review! I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far :D

~End Note n' let's continue!~

As a Colonel, I had three officers under my command. Their names were Xephyr, Turrak, and Dachus. They were very loyal as we spent many years fighting together, and more often then not, we would save eachother's necks. There were times I would argue with my officers, but they would soon be left to pass, save for one in particular.

Flippy his absent-minded search, more curious to hear what Evil was telling him.

"So you had a few bouts with your soldiers. Disagreements arise; It's not that big of a deal."

It wouldn't be, if it weren't Dachus. It was a constant battle with him, and I wondered if one day he would conspire against me if I rubbed him the wrong way. But somehow I knew he wouldn't. He was my most-skilled soldier after all, but that didn't mean he didn't make mistakes.

Flippy soon found himself at a clearing, high above the beach of the wreckage, and he could clearly see he had wandered a bit too far. Behind him, a vast jungle beckoned to be carefully combed, but he knew this was far enough for one day, less he risk running into trouble.

"We should head back and check with the others incase they found something. We can search tomorrow if we need to."

He tread cautiously down the hillside, glancing behind him, and made a quick note of his location. There were scattered grasses and flowers, and from a distance it appeared as if it could be on an island postcard. As he wasn't paying attention, he lost his footing and skid before catching himself on a withered tree stump.

Nice. Evil grinned.

"Yeah, well whatever," Flippy said as he pulled himself up from his awkward fall.

Suddenly, a few markings on the stump caught his eye, and as he began to study them, he swore he saw movement atop the hill. No stranger to being caught unaware, his first reflex was to draw his knife. He eyed the hilltop with high priority all while examining the markings. It was a "X" symbol with two dots, one below and one above the shape.

"This is certainly not nature's doing. Recognize the symbol Evil? Is it the Iris's?"

The insignia seems familiar, but it's as if they changed it. I'm not sure why though. Evil responded.

The same movement burned at Flippy's curiosity, so he decided to check it out. Knife in paw, he crept slowly up the ridge, and prepared himself for any sudden attackers. As he grew nearer the source, he felt a wave of uncertainty staring at the trees before him, and he suddenly felt like he was being watched. He felt as if he was immobilized, yet he was calm, and a thought finally clicked in his mind. Was he feeling Evil's emotions? They couldn't be his own, yet something was holding him back, and again he found himself concerned with Evil's well-being. He didn't know yet, but he would know soon why his psycho counterpart was harboring this fear.

Flippy sheathed his knife, deciding it was best to leave this be, and he heard a friendly voice behind him.

"Where have you been? You should have been back an hour ago, and they all sent me to find you," a pink chipmunk called as she made her way up the hill.

"You mean sent us to find you," another friendly voice said, this time belonging to an indigo blue furred skunk. It was clear she was not par-taken to nature, as she tried her best to avoid the dirt or rather anything on the ground in general.

"Giggles, Petunia? You didn't have to come and get me. I was on my way back actually." Flippy spoke as he turned to face them.

"How were we supposed to know that? We were all just worried you fell in a hole or something..." Giggles said.

"Shouldn't they have sent Splendid then? I doubt you two would figure how to get me out," Flippy laughed.

"Well, we're here now and we're bringing you back. I don't want to be stuck out here in the dark," Giggles said nervously as she glimpsed at the forest around her.

It was dusk by the time they arrived back at the beach. A small fire was lit, and appeared as a light of brilliance in contrast to the darkening twilight sky. Splendid was tending to the fire, making sure it had enough various twigs scattered around it here and there, and it was clear he had arrived back at the camp much earlier than Flippy. Sniffles was there too, chatting with a few others, and he turned as he saw Flippy wander up to them.

"What took you so long? We were getting a bit worried, so I hope you found something that was worth your time," Sniffles blurted as other tree friends gathered to listen.

"Actually, I did find something interesting. It was more of an emblem, carved on the side of a tree trunk," Flippy began as he started to redraw the symbol in the sand. When he was finished, the others observed the find, but found no resemblance to anything they had ever seen.

"Evil told me this may be the insignia of the Iris, but it was slightly altered than the one he had seen."

"So, all we have at the moment is a necklace and a symbol? Are you sure this signifies that they are here? They could have left this place a long time ago," Sniffles implied as Cuddles nodded in agreement.

It's enough information to worry at least. Like I said before, these people are not to be messed with. For all we know this could be a warning. Evil voiced to Flippy.

"Look, If it makes you feel more at ease, we'll search tomorrow," Flippy put in.

You're not going to mention what you saw today? The movement in the clearing? Is that not important for them to know? Evil questioned.

"Let's not scare anyone based on the small chance that we actually saw someone. It could have been nothing," Flippy interjected.

It was something... Evil persuaded.

"And if anyone of their members turns up," Flippy continued to the group," then we'll know we're not alone, and we're not just running in circles guessing-"

Without warning, a voice spoke,

"You may not have to search to find the one you're looking for."

A shadowed figure stepped just out of reach of the fire's light. He held Petunia with a serrated blade made of bone, and his posture was threatening. Flippy quickly drew his Bowie knife, and his eyes blazed a radiance of gold as they widened in alarm at the attacker before him.