Red vs Blue: Loose Ends

by AndreWRvB

After the events of Season 8, with the Meta dead, Washington and the Reds and Blues begin plan to head back to Valhalla in an attempt to regain some "normalcy". Although, as is often the case, their plan does not go quite so smooth, and they are thrust into an encounter with the UNSC and the lasting results of Project Freelancer.

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Endings Become Beginnings

"It's over. It's all over." Washington stared at the floor of the Falcon as it shook from the worsening weather again. "The Meta. Dead. The Freelancers. Dead. The A.I. Gone. The Director" Washington leaned his back against the seat as he began to think about the Director. "The Director needs to pay, but he's probably already locked away in some high security prison for his crimes by now." Washington's conscience setted the more he thought about the Director's fate of living the rest of his sad life behind bars. "He stays behind bars, and I get to walk free, all thanks to-" Washington's reflection was cut short by the sound of shouts coming from the cockpit. The tired soldier reluctantly got to his feet to examine what the source of their worry was as he carried himself to the front of the vehicle. "It's all thanks to the Reds and Blues."

He stepped through the entryway to find an aqua trooper, who recently he learned was named Tucker, and a crimson red trooper, the headstrong sergeant of Red Team aptly named Sarge, both holding back a royal blue trooper, otherwise known as the not-so-bright titan Caboose.

"What is going on in here?" Washington asked as he turned to see the controls of the Falcon being manned by the resident maroon colored nerd of Red Team, Simmons, frantically clicking buttons on the dashboard; while next to him the orange plated infamously lazy Grif was shouting at him while also gripping the joystick that piloted their aircraft.

"We let Caboose out of our sight for just one second and he clicked a button that is, apparently, very important." Tucker explained.

Washington stared at the blue helmet on Caboose's head as he responded in a hushed tone, "Not my fault. Tucker did it".

As Tucker and Sarge released Caboose after realizing he was finished pressing buttons (for now), Tucker shouted "Are you fucking kidding me!? You're doing this shit again!? Quit saying I did things that we clearly saw y-"

Washington sighed as he drowned out their bickering and asked the others, "What did he do?"

Sarge responded, "The bluetard hit a button that is causing us to leak fuel"

Simmons suddenly shouted, "Found it!" He pressed a button as the group let out a big sigh of relief.

Grif commented, "Took you long enough"

"You know I don't work well under pressure!"

"Sooo, are we all good now?" Washington asked, irritated by the interruption the whole debacle had caused him.

Sarge leaned forward and looked at the dashboard of the Falcon, "Well, we ain't leakin' anymore. But we also don't have enough fuel to make it back to Valhalla."

Hearing this, Caboose gave a hushed, "Sorry."

Simmons chimed in, "Lucky for us, the GPS says there's a refueling station not far from here."

Washington began to make his way back out of the cockpit before Tucker stopped him and asked, "Where are you going?"

Washington turned back around to face the group and said, "Grif, get us to that station so we can refuel. Simmons, monitor the rest of the Falcon to make sure nothing else is awry. Sarge and Tucker, keep an eye on Caboose. And I, private Tucker, am going to rest."

Saying this, Washington exited the cockpit, only hearing murmurs from the Reds and Blues as he left. He resettled into the seat he was previously sitting in before all the commotion and tried to fall asleep, but was kept awake by his thoughts. "The Reds and Blues are idiots, but they're nice idiots. They are providing me with hospitality and are proving to be loyal teammates, but that's nothing new." Washington took off his newly painted helmet for the first time to let his face feel some fresh air. "Project Freelancer provided me with the same things, and look how that turned out. These sim troopers may be treating me well now, but they still cannot be trusted." As Washington finally began to drift to sleep, he thought he heard more noise coming from the front of the Falcon, and maybe some outside of it. Yet, he ignored these sounds as his exhaustion washed over him and his thoughts eventually ceased with him coming to the conclusion, "The Reds and Blues are not my friends."