The city is eerily quiet, save for the distant hum of flickering neon signs. The team moves cautiously through the ruins, shadows stretching long under the broken streetlights. Then—

Price’s radio crackles. At first, just static. Then—

“Oh, look who finally showed up!”

Price stiffens. The voice is unmistakable.

“Eyes up,” he orders, scanning the rooftops. “She’s here.”

A soft giggle echoes through the comms, distorted, wrong.

“Did you miss me? Or did you come to finish what she started?”

Ghost shifts beside him, grip tightening on his rifle. “She’s playing with us.”

Soap exhales, voice low. “Aye, but is this a warning or an invitation?”

Price lifts his radio. “Stand down, lass. We can fix this. Come home.”

Silence. A breath. Then—

“Home? You mean the place where everyone dies?”

The words slice through the air like a blade.

“The place where I was just another piece on the board?”

Soap steps forward, voice softer now. “We didn’t leave you, we—”

“Didn’t leave me?!” The voice turns sharp, jagged with something raw. “Then where were you when I was screaming your names? When she ran and never looked back?”

Then—boom.

An explosion tears through the street. Smoke billows. The team dives for cover. Above them, perched on the edge of a ruined building, she watches.

A lullaby hums through the static.

Ghost curses under his breath. “She’s setting traps.”

Price grips his radio, jaw tight. “Dammit, kid…”

She tilts her head, eyes glowing in the dim light, a manic grin barely hiding the pain beneath.

“Tick-tock, Captain.” Her voice is almost playful. “How long before you give up on me too?”