Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'I'm in? I did it?'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Yes! I recognize those beeps. I'm definitely back in my world. Okay, now what? Do I just stay here long enough for them to see it on the machine?'

Beep.

Beep.

'What do I listen for? There's no one here. Nothing except that damn monitor.'

Beep.

Beep.

'Okay, keep calm. No need to panic. I just need to stay here for awhile and then I can go back.'

Beep.

Beep.

'But...'

Beep.

Beep.

'...How do I get back out?'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'What if I can't get out? What if I'm permanently stuck here? What if Present Mic can't wake me up? I don't want to leave them just yet. What do I do? What do I do?! What if this doesn't even show up on their machine? How do I let them know I'm here?'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Come on, come on. Think! There's got to be a way to signal that I'm here.'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Wait! Didn't Aizawa say that he heard me screaming in their world when I was here last time? What if I scream my thoughts loud enough that they can hear me in their world now?'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'I've got to try. It sounds stupid, but I've got nothing to lose...well, except my sanity. Here goes nothing...I'm here! Can anyone hear me? I'm here!'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Nothing. Shit. Maybe I should try again?...Nezu! I'm here! I made it! Bring me back out! I don't want to be here like this! Wake me up!'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'Fuck. Fuck! They can't hear me. I'm not waking up. I need to keep trying. I have to scream my thoughts louder. I can't stay here like this...'

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

'...alone.'

***

(Aizawa's POV)

"She's been out for over two hours and we haven't seen any changes. We should wake her.' I said, pacing impatiently.

"Patience, Aizawa. We need her under for at least another hour." Nezu said, eyeballing the information carefully.

I let out an exasperated sigh, growing more irritable as we waited. I knew patience was a virtue that I didn't entirely have, not when I felt that time was of the essence.

"You can't let your care for her make you do something foolish or reckless. I want the answers just as badly as you do." continued Nezu, a little more sternly than before.

"How do we even know if she hasn't been stuck in her world more than once already? We haven't even asked her!" I said as I took a firm stance in front of Nezu.

"Whoooooa, Shota. Take it easy." interjected Hizashi as he stood in between us both, "We'll ask her after I've been given the signal to wake her up. It's no big deal!"

"I understand your frustrations, Aizawa. Truly, I do." said Nezu, "but we can't help her if we don't go through with this correctly the first time."

"And how do we know this is even going well? Are we just going to treat her like some guinea pig indefinitely? This is no way for a person to live." I could feel my hands balling into a fist.

"Hey, man. You told her she can let you know if she wants out at any time. So far she hasn't tapped out. You know we wouldn't do this without her consent. We're not the bad guys here." said Hizashi, trying to calm me down.

I turned away from them both in order to give myself a moment to breathe. I hated that we were doing this, even if the intentions were good.

"Don't mind Mr. Lovebird over here. He's just sensitive." I heard Hizashi whisper to Nezu.

"Will you knock it off?!" I shouted as I turned back around to Hizashi, my quirk fully activated.

Hizashi flinched away in fear as he saw my anger out in full force. My eyes blaring red and my hair flying away from my face.

"Hey, you guys," said Nemuri as she pointed to the glass, "you might wanna take a look at our subject here. She's becoming quite fussy."

We all looked at Doe through the glass, and noticed that she was indeed starting to fuss around in her sleep. Her face started to scrunch up in discomfort as her head began to turn from side to side. Her cheeks started to flush red as mumbled moans escaped her lips.

Nezu then immediately took a look at the polysomnogram's reading.

"Fascinating." I heard him say with awe.

"What is it?" I asked, as I went beside him to look at the data.

"Her readings aren't showing any change. Her delta waves are still very present. Her brain activity is still in stage 3 and 4, yet her reactions are like those of someone experiencing a nightmare." Nezu said.

"LET ME OOOOOUT!"

We all looked up in shock. Doe was screaming in her sleep.

"I'M HERE! SOMEONE PLEASE LET ME OUT!" she screamed in agony.

We all stood there in horror of what we were seeing as her cries for release echoed through the halls.

"That's it, I'm waking her up!" I said, on my way to rush back into the room, until I felt someone grab my arm.

"What about the test?!" shouted Hizashi as he tried to hold me back.

"Fuck your test!" I said as I kicked him in the shin, which instantly made him let go, "She wants out and I promised I'd get her out."

I ran into the room, where Doe's screams amplified.

"SOMEBODY HELP!" she cried out.

I started to undo all of the sensors and belts around her, despite her bucking around. Her face was beginning to be covered in sweat as I tried to wake her by shaking her.

"Doe, wake up! Doe!" I shouted back, trying to forcefully nudge her awake.

"AIZAWA! HELP ME!" she screamed as tears ran down her cheeks.

I stopped. It was then that I felt my heart shatter. She was calling for me and there wasn't anything I could do. I felt helpless and it was shaking me to my core.

"AIZAWA PLEASE LET ME OUT!" she screamed again.

I couldn't just stand here and let her be stuck between two worlds. I needed to wake her up.

"Doe! I'm right here! If you can hear the sound of my voice, follow it! Come back to me!" I screamed at her, cupping her face, hoping her mind could hear me in there.

She continued to sob in her sleep and shake.

"Please help me!" she she cried out again less forcefully, her voice quivering and filled with pain and hopelessness.

"Jane!" I yelled, starting to feel hopeless myself, "Please, follow the sound of my voice! I'm right here! Just listen to my voice and follow it! Come back to me!"

Just then, her flailing started to subside little by little, though her tears kept flowing.

"That's it! Just keep listening to me! I'm here! I'm right here!" I said, trying to lessen the shaking from the both of us.

Suddenly, her eyes flew wide open, looking around in panic, until her eyes met mine. Before I could say anything, she flung herself at me and held onto me. I was a bit shocked by the abruptness of it, but after a moment or two, I felt myself relax into her hug as I held onto her.
I could still feel her shaking as she wept into the crook of my neck. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I thought I lost you there." I said quietly, rubbing her back, trying to soothe her.

"T-thank you." she whispered as she held onto me a little tighter.