Everything was hazy and muddled together. Through the haze there would be bright flashes of light and bursts of pain touching on the edge of consciousness.

When Ghost first opened his eyes, his vision swam. It made him nauseous, his stomach turning right before he lurched to the side to throw up. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his arms strapped down to a familiar chair. He tried to look up, but the dizziness prevented him from lifting his head up higher. Through the subtle ringing in his ears he could hear a door open and shut behind him. Ghost tried to turn and look, but instead his stomach twisted again.

"You are awake." Ghost groaned as he heard Gonzalo. The faint of alcohol and blood made his already twisted stomach twist again, and he dry heaved. "Disgusting." When Gonzalo's boots passed in front of him, Ghost had slightly wished he had thrown up on his shoes instead. "Gary has told us that the two men that had left were indeed members of your task force. And that they are aware of the time limit you have." Ghost froze, unsure if he accurately heard Gonzalo.

"He...what?" Gonzalo scoffed, roughly grabbing Ghost by the jaw and making him look up to face him. Ghost wasn't prepared for the sudden motion, nor the look of glee on Gonzalo's face. He could see splashes of blood on his shirt and arms, fresh if the smell was to go by. It mixed with the alcohol on Gonzalo's breath, making Ghost gag.

"Gary was very compliant in answering our questions after we had threatened your safety. No regard for his own safety. Which makes his release of information suspect since your death is approaching quickly." Gonzalo let out a laugh, getting closer to Ghost. "But if this information is correct, what makes it so much sweeter is-" Gonzalo cut himself off with a laugh. "No one has come to rescue you yet! They know of your location! They know of your time limit! And yet they have not shown up!" The ringing in Ghost's ears grew louder. Something in Ghost's expression must have changed, because he didn't realize that Gonzalo could look happier than he did before. Gonzalo released him, laughing loudly. "They have left you to die!"

"Wh-What did you do to Roach?" Ghost fought off the dizziness to watch Gonzalo move around the room, still laughing as he answered.

"He does not do well under torture techniques, as you recall." Ghost remembered when they had waterboarded Roach and frowned. "We just replicated the effects!"

"Sick fuck." Ghost spat out, trying to stop his stomach from turning again. He felt the nausea come back.

"I am not the one who left their comrades to die. The one who knows where comrades are in danger and do not send help." Gonzalo kept laughing. Ghost dry heaved again, the ringing growing louder for a moment. Gonzalo ignored him, grabbing a hook that was hanging from the ceiling and pulling it down. Ghost felt his blood go cold, eyeing Gonzalo warily. "Do not worry, I will not be mirroring my father in hanging you the way he did." Instead, Gonzalo pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, placing one end on Ghost's left arm. Before Gonzalo released his left arm, Ghost felt the barrel of a gun on the back of his head. He didn't realize someone was behind him the whole time. "Do not try to resist. You should face your end day with dignity." Ghost didn't move, the retort he had ready stopping at the tip of his tongue.

"Where is Roach."

"Gary is in the room next door. He is viewing through the one way mirror. Be aware he can hear everything is going on in this room." Gonzalo said loftily, hooking the other end of the handcuff on. He pulled Ghost up, sliding the chain of the handcuffs over the hook. A small mechanical whirl had the hook retreat back into the ceiling, forcing Ghost to stand until he was barely on the balls of his feet.

"And what is he going to be watching? More torture for me?" Ghost asked. His vision still swam, not nearly as much as it had before. The ringing wasn't stopping, though.

"In a sense, yes." Gonzalo replied distractedly. There was a table Ghost didn't know that was behind his chair, a few knives, a few syringes filled with a faintly blue liquid, and an IV kit sat on it. Gonzalo had picked up an IV cannula and a rubber tie, moving towards Ghost. "I have a few more surprises for you." Ghost flinched as Gonzalo swiftly tightened the tie, quickly inserting the needle into his arm. He let out a hiss of pain.

"If you set me up like this, I can't do much for you when you drug me." Ghost frowned.

"This is different, a new psychotic for you to test." Gonzalo stepped back for a moment, a strange look on his face. Ghost watched him warily. "After hearing you mention my father a few weeks back I had been developing this for you. I did try this on a few others and the results are past what I was anticipating." Ghost's stomach flipped, and not from nausea this time. Gonzalo had picked up a syringe, pausing to turn to Ghost. "You had not seen me for a few days, correct? Did you ever pause to wonder what was going on?"

"Crossed my mind but didn't lose any sleep over it." Ghost replied. Gonzalo shrugged, holding up the syringe. "I'm assuming at this point it was due to whatever shite you got in there."

"You are correct. Let us see how long this affects you." Gonzalo put it into the IV.

"Any reason for the IV this time?" Ghost asked, feeling a cooling sensation spread through his arm.

"It's faster." Gonzalo said simply. Ghost frowned, the area in his arm that was cold now suddenly started to warm up. He tried to respond, but it felt like his tongue swelled, any words he was trying to say coming out as a garbled string of sounds. His vision stopped swimming, and instead started to fade out. Ghost couldn't keep his head up, trying and only succeeding in tipping his head back.

He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he was staring at a woman with red hair and piercing green eyes. She sat behind a desk, staring him down. He looked at the name tag facing him.

Dr. Annabeth Halloway

"We are making some progress, but I am concerned about the mood swings." She pulled a file towards her, flipping it open.

"I'm fine, doc." Simon responded, drumming his fingers on the armrest. "Haven't even gotten into an argument lately." Halloway gave a hum and she read over the top sheet. After a few minutes, she flipped the sheet to the next page, glancing up to him for a moment before continuing to read. Simon huffed, glancing around the room. At first the room looked bland, a potted plant sitting in a corner behind Halloway, a few certificates hanging on the walls. When she spoke next, her words sounded strangely strangled.

"I know you want to go back. For revenge." Simon frowned, his eyes starting to itch. He closed them to start to rub whatever irritant was there, but when he opened his eyes back up the perimeter of the room was on fire, the air filling with smoke. His arms were strapped down to the chair, desk gone in front of him. Halloway approached him, dark, hand shaped bruises blossoming on her neck. "Your revenge gets me killed, Simon." Her eyes dimmed, the life leaving them. She collapsed into his lap, her neck twisted back until her eyes stared at him. He tried to move her off his lap, not noticing the flames had closed in around him. When Simon looked up, Halloway had caught on fire, the smell of burning flesh overtaking his senses. He panicked, trying to pull away and managing to tip the chair back. Instead of hitting the floor, Simon fell through it, Halloway's body still in his lap, the fire spreading to him. The fire consumed him, the pain intense. The fire roared in his ears, his eyes screwed shut to the harsh light. He couldn't help the cry of agony he let out as every part of him was burned away.

Everything was quiet, and when he opened his eyes again, Ghost was staring at the ceiling, his arms above him tingling with the lack of blood flow. He was breathing heavily, heartbeat becoming too loud in his ears.

"Welcome back. How was your trip?" Gonzalo asked. Ghost looked to him, Gonzalo sitting in the chair he had occupied last. He had a smug look on his face, legs crossed as he watched. "I imagine unpleasant. You were screaming a bit." Ghost didn't rise to the bait, keeping silent and watching Gonzalo's movements. He wasn't going to admit his nerves were shot. That was the last thing he had thought was going to happen. Gonzalo gave a small tut as he stood up, grabbing another syringe. "The dosage I gave you had you out for three and a half hours. Let us double it, and see what happens next." Ghost didn't watch when Gonzalo administered the next syringe, but was acutely aware that his body started to feel heavy, his head dropping down to stare at the floor.

When he blinked again he was staring at a familiar tan door, waiting outside as a doorbell finished ringing. When the door opened it was to the sight of his brother Tommy, holding Joseph in his arms.

"Hey Simon." Tommy grinned as Joseph loudly exclaimed "Uncle Simon!"

"Hey Tommy. And hello to you ya little bugger! You're getting so big!" Simon laughed as Joseph leaned to him, Simon lifting him from Tommy's arms to hug him. He leaned to Tommy, one arm outstretched to hug his brother.

"What'ja get me for Christmas Uncle Simon? Didja get me that toy airplane I showed you?!" Joseph had grabbed Simon's face to make them face to face, Simon laughing harder.

"Oh, I dunno. Was it the one with the red stripes on the wings?" Simon feigned a look of confusion. "Or was it all red? Oh, bugger mate I just can't remember!" Joseph gave him an incredulous look before it changed to one of glee as Simon picked up a box from behind him, aforementioned toy in his hand. "Pretty sure it was the red stripes."

"Best uncle ever!" Joseph cried out.

"Mum is waiting for you, think she said something along the lines of 'about bloody time'. Maybe took some liberties with that." Tommy grinned as he closed the door behind them. Faint Christmas music was playing from the living room.

"Told her I had an appointment with the doc." Simon grumbled out, putting Joseph down and relinquishing the toy. Joseph ripped the toy out of the box before he raced down the hall towards the living room, almost knocking his mother down in his haste.

"Joseph Riley I swear!" Beth scolded. She looked up, smiling at Simon. "Hey dear. Hope you're hungry. Your mum and I have been cooking a feast."

"About time he showed up!" He could hear his mother call. Tommy laughed while Simon took off his jacket, walking around him to pull Beth into the living room. When Simon looked up the hallway lights were dark. The music had suddenly stopped as well. He took a step forward, immediately hit with the smell of blood. His stomach dropped as he ran down the hall, turning the corner to see his family. They were all covered in splatters of blood, faces frozen in terror, eyes blank and unseeing as they lay on the floor. Simon took a stumbling step forward, not able to hold back the anguish as he fell to his knees. When he blinked, he was startled to see them all sitting up, all speaking in unison.

"You let us die. You killed us." Simon tried to stand up, but found himself burning half in dirt, in his hand the remnants of a jaw, sun beaming down on him. He raised his other hand up to shield his eyes, but his mother grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward. "You should have never come home. You should have stayed there, and died. I wouldn't have died because of you." He tried to pull back, but the ground around him gave way, and he fell.

Ghost snapped his eyes open, chest heaving with sobs. He felt the tears well up, closing his eyes and ignoring the pointed stare he felt in front of him. That was...awful couldn't even cover whatever that was. Nothing could have prepared him for something like that. It was too weird, too real. He was acutely aware of Gonzalo getting up slowly, walking up to him. A hand grabbed his hair and lifted his head up, Ghost wincing and opening one eye slightly to see Gonzalo with a wild look.

"Seven hours. This last trip seems to be the one that finally broke you. I will allow you rest, however, tomorrow will be your last." He gave a wide smile before letting go and walking out, leaving Ghost to his own thoughts.

...yeah...it's a bad time for Ghost.

Not gonna lie, this was a bit harder to write just because of how much shit he goes through when he gets home. Ghost is kinda getting better, some stuff I didn't touch on in the comics in this story, but then like...goddamn does it go bad.
Anyway...lemme know how it's going, what needs to change or whatnot. I have two more chapters done and edited that I should drop soon, not too sure about final chapter count yet. It's getting there.

ALSO
What the HELL is up with Soap in Warzone? Does he look...shorter to you? And like, discounted? You know what I mean? Like...it's bad, right? ._.