When Caboose heard Agent Washington say that his little Freckles was a tracking device, he swore he felt his heart stop. Nothing mattered anymore. The only friend who stuck with him was going to be taken away. Church had left with Carolina, Tucker left to be a leader, and Wash tried to kill him and the others. The Reds were always leaving, so it didn't matter. Freckles had stayed. He was always there. Now he was going to be gone.
Caboose didn't notice himself backing away from the group, but the others did.
"Caboose?" Wash asked him. Caboose kept yelling no in his head, chanting it over and over. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't true. Wash was lying.
Church, having the patience of an angry alligator, proceeded to posses Caboose, forcing him to watch as he gave his own friend away with his own hands. Church turned him away and turned off his audio, but Caboose turned it back on and turned around. He flinched when he heard and saw the snap of the chip breaking in half, then being crunched to pieces and scattered into the wind. Church went back to Carolina, no remorse shown in his hologram. Wash, however, looked very guilty. "Caboose, I'm sor- ," Caboose cut him off with five words that hung in the air.
"I hate all of you," He stated simply, his voice strained with so much hurt and betrayal. They all took a step back, surprised and confused, maybe a little hurt. Caboose took off his helmet, the one that Wash had made for him as a sign of friendship, and smashed it to the ground. The two teams gasped at the broken helmet and the dripping tears coming down the cheeks of the blonde haired man before them. "You took him away, made ME give him away. Gave me no time to grieve," Caboose continued, glaring at Church, who stepped back in surprise. Deep down, Caboose hated himself for doing it, but he was too angry to care. "He was the only one who hadn't left, and you took him away from me," he finished
Donut was sobbing from inside his helmet. Grif and Simmons stood next to each other, shifting from side to side on their feet. Sarge stood straight up, gripping his shotgun tightly with shaking hands that were almost unnoticeable. Wash looked about ready to shoot himself, Tucker couldn't look at Caboose, and Carolina and Church stood right next to each other, looking at Caboose with sympathy and guilt. Doctor Grey and Lopez were watching from the sidelines, though Lopez had to feel moved by how much Caboose cared about a machine. It was nice to know someone did.
"You may not have any blood on your hands, but the remains of my heart are spread across your fingers," Caboose turned around and began to walk away. "Goodbye," Came his voice, but it was different. It was cold and angry instead of the cheerful tone they were used to hearing, or the confused one anyway. He kept on walking not looking back at the people he had called his friends. They stared after him even after his blue armor disappeared.
Wash kept kicking himself mentally while letting silent tears roll down his cheeks. Thank god for the helmet. He had basically taken Caboose's dog and crushed it to death in front of him! Of course he would be angry! As he watched Caboose's figure fade away, he screamed in frustration and threw his gun on the ground. No one looked at him, but they felt his pain.
Tucker could feel the hot tears prickling his eyes. What the Hell?! Why would Church and Wash even do that to Caboose?! Now he was gone! Sure, Caboose wasn't the brightest or best soldier, but he was kind, and made war a little less depressing. He left. They made him leave! When Caboose went out of view, Tucker let the tears roll down his cheeks.
The Reds looked at Caboose sadly as he walked away. They didn't blame him. Though they hadn't known the Blue very well, they knew he was like a more innocent version of Donut, and seeing him cry hurt a lot. So they huddled together, even Sarge, the gruff old man trying to be nice to his soldiers, and cried silently, even if Donut's sobs gave them away.
Caboose was mad. Furious in fact. He heard the others call after him when he walked away, but he didn't listen. He was too hurt to care what they wanted at that particular moment. He was alone. Everyone had left him. They took Freckles away, so he walked. He just kept walking, past the horizon, to a new life.
Church watched as his "number one follower" walked away from him, just like last time, but this time he wasn't coming back. Thinking back on it, he was a total jerk to Caboose, possessing him like that. He called after him, but the soldier didn't even look back. Seeing him walk away hurt. His sadness washed over Carolina, causing tears to form in her eyes, though she held them back. However, there was one drop that spilled the cup, and the tears rushed down her face. It wasn't Caboose yelling, or his cold voice, or him leaving. It was his eyes. They were hollow and broken. The glowing blue orbs full of innocence had disappeared. And it hurt like nothing else.