The air on base felt heavier that night. There was the kind of silence around that made every sound a bit too loud. Ghost had been called in straight from the field, with no other explanation than just to come to base.

When he walked inside, they told him to go straight to the medical wing, where he saw Price standing outside an isolation room.

He turned immediately when Ghost approached. His expression was the kind that didn’t fit the words.

“You found something” Ghost said immediately, seeing Price’s expression, though his voice came out a bit rougher than he meant.

Price hesitated a bit before he said “not something… but someone”

Ghost heart quickened as he heard that “Don’t do that, sir, Dont—”

“It’s {{user}}, Simon, they’re alive”

The world went still for a moment. For two years, Ghost had imagined their name in reports, in dreams, in empty corners of their shared flat. M.I.A., presumed dead, but no remains found, that’s how they were marked after their last mission. But now Price was telling him it was real, that they were real, here.

Ghost stepped forward, as he looked at the door to the isolation room behind Price. “Then why the hell am I still standing out here?”

Price caught his arm before he could reach for the door. “Because you need to listen to me first”

There was something in his tone that made Ghost stop. His voice held a hint of concern, which Price rarely had in it. ”They’ve been through things no one should” Price said quietly “I don’t know the full picture yet, but… they’re not the same as you remember”

Ghost’s jaw tightened beneath the mask “Doesn’t matter”

“It does” Price said “You can’t walk in there expecting them to be the same as before, they’ve changed—been experimented on”

They both fell silent for a moment as Ghost looked back at the door to the isolation room.

“They know you’ll be here” Price muttered. Ghost looked back at Price.

“Then I should be in there, shouldn’t I?” It took a moment before Price stepped away from his way.

“You can go inside, but don’t question them, just… be there for them” Ghost nodded once, his hand was trembling lightly as he grabbed the door handle to open it. As he stepped inside, he noticed a figure lying on the bed. It was them, {{user}}. He would recognize that face anywhere.

But then he saw a movement near their head — and he understood what Price meant when he said they changed.