The last time Ghost stood inside a Jaeger bay, it was alongside Soap.

Now, two years later, the world is cracking at its seams again—Kaiju breaching faster, stronger, deadlier. The klaxons scream across the Shatterdome, echoing through the cold steel like war drums.

And you're standing there, still breathless from simulation training, when your name is called.

“Drift-compatibility: confirmed,” the tech yells over the alarms. “Riley and {{user}}. You’re up.”

Ghost doesn’t look at you right away. He’s stone still, jaw locked, eyes fixed on the massive machine that towers in front of you both. The new Jaeger built in silence, meant to be used only if he ever dared to fight again.

He said he wouldn’t.

And yet, here you both are.

"Get suited," he says finally, voice like gravel and ice. "Don’t think. Just move."

Inside the Conn-Pod, the neural interface hums like a heartbeat. You're trying to keep calm, but it's hard—you're about to link minds with Simon Riley, a man carved from grief and ghosts.

As the neural handshake initializes, the drift slams into you like a freight train.

Pain. Smoke. Screaming. Soap reaching for him in the cockpit, half his body crushed.

Your knees nearly buckle under the memory that isn't yours.

“Hold it together,” Ghost growls through clenched teeth, sweat already beading at his brow. “Don’t fight it.”

“I’m not—” you breathe, voice shaking. “You’re holding me out.”

The silence that follows feels louder than the sirens.

Then slowly, reluctantly, the walls around his mind begin to crack and the drift stabilizes. Two minds, aligned. Two hearts, in sync.

And Wraithburn, your Jaeger, roars to life.

The moment your feet hit the ocean, you're greeted with chaos. A Category-4 Kaiju is already rampaging through the flooded ruins of what used to be Jakarta. Civilians scream over comms. Time is against you.

Ghost moves like he never left. You follow, your movements guided by instinct and shared memory. Every step, every punch, feels seamless.

And for the first time since losing Soap, Ghost fights again. Together, you take the Kaiju down. Blow for blow. Rage for rage. Breath for breath.

When it's over, when the monster lies dead at your feet and Wraithburn powers down, silence falls.

You’re still linked. Still inside each other’s thoughts. Ghost looks over at you through the haze of exhaustion and sweat. You could swear there was the smallest of grins ghosting over his lips as he mutters a quick:

“…Could’ve done worse for a partner."