A/N: Hit 10 favorites and 2100+ views since last time. thanks for reading this far if you have :)

CW for derealization, switching, and symptoms of a panic attack.

Enjoy!

Mike woke up in a dark room he didn't recognize at all. He was restrained again, this time with metal as opposed to cloth or rope, and when he tried speaking he felt his mouth gagged. There were no windows and the floor was cold under his bare feet.

He could tell this wasn't jail again. Jail wasn't dissimilar, but the atmosphere was somehow more oppressive. The room was also way too big to be a jail cell.

Where am I? he wondered. Why is my heart beating so fast I can't breathe?

"You shouldn't be out here. You're too weak," he heard someone say. "You need to come back inside. Now."

When he woke up again the shackles had been frozen off, just like before, and the gag had been pulled away from his mouth. He was standing, had control of his muscles again, and his breathing was normal. The chi-blocking had worn off but that just made the storm inside his head worse. "I thought you didn't like me," he muttered to whom he thought was listening.

There was no reply.

He took a few steps forward but couldn't tell right from left. It oddly reminded him of meditation, only there was certainly no sense of calm here. When his vision was further obstructed by strands of black, he pushed his hair out of his face and recoiled at how freezing cold his hand was against his skin.

"Not so grateful now, are you?"

He turned around. Still no one appeared. He couldn't tell if he was in the real world anymore or not, which happened more often than not. Why does he sound so close? he wondered.

"Go on, try to escape. You won't get two steps out of this room without breaking down."

"Why don't you shut it for once? I can't see anything, it's hard to concentrate when you're yelling-" Mike talked back aloud.

"Oh you can't see very well? I'm sorry, should I call one of the others to open your eyes for you? Deal with it; some of us don't have two eyes to not use."

"Sorry, I've never seen what you look like-" he apologized.

"Yes you have. You know exactly what I look like, you insensitive, imbecilic human."

"No, I don't—wait." Mike stopped moving for a second before he sat on the floor. He checked for any sound—nothing in his surroundings. He sat the way Tenzin taught him to and closed his eyes.

At first there was nothing. You're right there.

He felt a chill; suddenly a massive wall of ice was in front of him. When he pressed a hand against it it repelled him back and he fell.

You can't be here.

He could just barely make out something through the layers of frozen water. Whatever it was was also huge, but its form wasn't nearly as clear as Vito's had been.

In the real world, his body was trembling as it sat there. It started to sweat despite feeling freezing cold.

It's not worth seeing him. Leave now or you'll never know peace.

"I can make my own decisions," Mike said steadfastly to whatever was trying to convince him to stop. Maybe it was himself.

He tried again.

And again.

And again.

Eventually he stopped his hand right before the surface of the ice. His arm felt suddenly heavier, as if the entire weight of the structure was pressing into his palm.

"It's useless to keep trying, Mike. You're not meant to see beyond here," a distant voice spoke to him. It sounded very familiar.

"Why not? This is my mind, I should be able to see what's going on!" he protested, straining against the force that held the wall and falling onto his knees. "He's only ever torn me down when I'm at my lowest. At least let me see him for real—"

"Now is not the time, mate. It's for your own good you keep your distance 'til we're safe again. It'll only make things harder to handle—"

Mike's arm swiped downward under the weight, hitting the floor and causing him to breathe heavily.

A small fissure appeared in the wall, hissing as the ice cracked.

A black tendril reached through it and grabbed him by the throat.

He woke up with an incredible feeling of fear consuming his entire being. His muscles were tense to the point that moving anything was painful. Tears were escaping his wide-open eyes, freezing on his cheeks halfway down, and his heart was pounding. The air was frigid; he could see every breath as he took it. His body was curled up on the floor as small as possible.

"I told you you were weak."

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