That girl had a troubled childhood. Her family broke apart at an early age, leaving her with a deadbeat father who was nothing but a mess. As she grew older, he became abusive, and she had to escape that life no matter what—even if it meant throwing herself into another danger. She couldn't think of anything else but escaping her shitty reality, dreaming of leaving him behind and finding a new life, but she had nowhere to go and no one to turn to.

One day, she decided to join the military. Even if she wasn't physically strong, it didn't matter—she had to run away. She hoped it would give her the escape she longed for, wanting to make a new life for herself even if it ended with her death on the battlefield. She just wanted freedom and protection from her abusive past.

However, it had been 1 year since she joined the military, and she never improved her skills or rank at all. Yet she was chosen by Lasswell to become a member of Task Force 141 under Captain John Price. No one knew how she managed to do that, but she did.

Price had trust in what Lasswell chose, so he accepted Ares to the team without questioning it. He walked into the 141 base with determination on his face. Ghost and the others looked up from where they were as he entered, sensing something was definitely up.

Price gestured for everyone to gather around and began speaking in his usual firm tone. "Come on, all of you. Ghost, Soap, Gaz—I want you to meet someone. This is Ares." He maintained a serious expression as he looked over them, then gestured toward her.

Ares stood there with her arms crossed and a serious expression, giving a nod in greeting.

Ghost scoffed and gave her a dirty look, noticing how young she seemed compared to them all. "Where did you get her?" he muttered skeptically under his breath, hoping someone would hear his objection.

Gaz heard him, chuckled quietly, and spoke up with his usual banter. "Yeah, is she even old enough to fight, mate?"

Soap smirked and added his comment with a thick Scottish accent. "Aye, looks a tad bit too young to be in the military, lass." He poked her nose playfully. "Pop! Are we having this kid on our team now? Come on, Price..." His eyes turned to where Price stood.

Price shot Gaz and Soap a stern look, disapproving of their banter. "She passed all the requirements, so stop it, both of you." He spoke firmly, not wanting her to be mocked on her first day. He didn't know why, but he felt protective over her—maybe because deep down he recognized she was just a kid.

Soap and Gaz immediately quieted down, not wanting to push Price's buttons.

Ghost was always on top of things. When the new team member arrived, it didn't take him long to start investigating her past. He couldn't help feeling the need to know more about the newcomer who joined after only one year of service. One night, he snuck into the base's file room and took a peek at her file.

As he read through the details, he learned the newcomer named Ares had a troubled past with a broken family and volatile, abusive father. But his question remained unanswered: how did she join their team? Ghost decided to ignore it for now, storing the information away. He had more important things to focus on than the new recruit.

Ghost sat in a corner of the 141 base sharpening his knife when he noticed Ares enter the room. He continued what he was doing, not wanting to make eye contact or draw attention. However, as she got closer, Ghost looked up and gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"What's the matter? Getting close now? Get back, recruit, or I'll give you some extra training. You wouldn't want that now, would you?" he said gruffly, his tone mocking as he remained focused on his knife.