"Jack!" Merida yelled again, pushing aside leaves and twigs in her way. She heard Rapunzel holler from far on her right in the forest. Merida called for Jack again. Hiccup's voice came from the sky, yelling the same name as they were. They'd begun searching for Jack moments after Pitch disappeared. Rapunzel yelled his name again. Toothless's shadow passed over Merida as he turned another direction, still looking for their friend. The sun had set completely now, and darkness was all around them in the forest. Merida opened her mouth to call again before she felt as though the earth vanished from under her and she fell into the shadows. "Help!" she screamed before her bright head of hair disappeared.

Toothless turned his head to the shriek. Hiccup urged him and he dived down towards it. He got as low as he could before Hiccup dropped off his back into a narrow gap between trees. "Merida?! Rapunzel?!" he couldn't tell which one had cried. He darted back and forth in the small area before a rustling startled him and he turned to see Rapunzel looking terrified. "You heard her, too," he said quietly. It was more of a statement than a question, like that proved that it was real. That Merida was gone just like Jack.

"Hiccup, what are we going to do?" her voice strained, tears welled in her eyes but did not fall. She had her hair pulled in front of her, holding it close to her body nervously.

"I- I don't know…" his voice cracked as well while he looked down. "Come on, we should find Angus and Max." He took a deep breath as he returned his gaze to Rapunzel. "Make sure they're safe." She sniffled and nodded. He started walking, and she grabbed his arm just above the elbow. She didn't want to lose another friend. Though Hiccup wouldn't admit it, he was grateful for her touch. It comforted him when the darkness pulsated all around them.

They emerged from the thick carpet of trees back at the clearing where the horses and dragon waited. Angus was pacing and had clearly recognized something was wrong. Max grazing and Toothless searched for any sign of Hiccup. When he saw them, he darted up to the human like a cat. He pressed his head and nose against Hiccup's chest and the boy hugged him close. "It's okay buddy, everything's gonna be okay." Toothless opened his eyes and turned his head towards Angus, who was walking to them.

Rapunzel petted his nose softly and answered his distressed neigh. "I'm sorry, boy, we couldn't find her." His head hang low and he turned away from them. Max looked from Angus to Rapunzel, confused, but didn't make a fuss. Rapunzel sat in the grass, her shoulders slumped and a sigh emitting from her chest. Hiccup knelt next to her and put his hand on hers.

"We will find them, Rapunzel," he whispered in the dark.

Her eyes moved to his face before she replied simply and softly. "I hope so."

They sat there in silence for a while; at some point Toothless inched up behind them and snuggle his side against their backs. Rapunzel was started humming something to herself moments ago but was asleep now. Hiccup sat awake staring at the stars, wondering what he could do now. He turned to Toothless and lay on his side facing his pal. The dragon's eyes were closed and his nostrils flared out with every breath he took. This felt like the time Toothess had been drowning on his dad's ship as it sunk. He'd felt panicked and scared for his best friend, but he'd actually been able to do something. Here, he could do nothing but sit and think. This surely felt worse. "I'll figure something out," he muttered.

Suddenly, he felt as though he was falling, dropping through the air towards the ground. He sat up and scrambled from the dark blotch opening up below him. Hiccup panted, terrified that what happened to Jack and Merida may happen to him. He managed to clamber to his feet and turn to run. Just as he reached the edge of the clearing, he froze. Rapunzel. He whirled around and raced towards her, only to see the darkness consume her completely as she dropped into the abyss. "No!" he yelled and dived, his arms outstretched in an attempt to reach her. He sank down into the pit after her until there was nothing but darkness all around him.


Jack lay still for a moment before he opened his eyes. He was somewhere fairly dark with only faint beams of light from above cast shadows everywhere. The stone floor below him was cold, but he didn't like it. It didn't feel like the refreshing kind of cold or the kind he would bring; it felt like death. Shuddering, he stood up, looking around him. He spotted his staff a few feet away from him on the floor. He stepped over and grabbed it quickly. He felt safer and stronger with his shepherd's crook. He took in his surroundings again to see these stone pathways, staircases, and bridges crisscrossing all throughout the underground expanse. His icy blue eyes widened in realization. He remembered this place; this was Pitch's home. Jack needed to find a way out of here and back to Scotland and his friends. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be easy. Pitch's cavern was like an enormous labyrinth, nearly impossible to navigate.

He walked to his left instinctively, and leaned his staff on his shoulder while stuffing his right hand in his hoodie pocket. It was very quiet here, which was strange. Wouldn't Pitch have started antagonizing him already? He saw a flight of stairs nearby on his right side, and some sort of shape laying on them. His brow furrowed, he floated over to the stairs and circled around the shape, unable to see it very well in the dim light. It was then that the shape groaned and rolled onto its back.

"Hiccup, what are you doing here?!" Jack asked in a panic. Hiccup peeked at him through nearly closed eyelids.

"How am I supposed to know?" He sat up and rubbed his back, looking around. "Jack, where are we?"

Jack hesitated, he didn't want to scare Hiccup, but at this point they were both probably going to end up afraid anyways. "This is where Pitch lives." He looked around and added sarcastically, "Really gives you that homey feeling, doesn't it?" He offered his hand and helped Hiccup stand up.

"So how are we gonna get out of here?" he asked Jack, looking up around at the tangle of the hollow. Jack just shrugged and gestured towards a random path with his open palm. Hiccup shrugged, too, and they walked along, looking around them at the web of trails. Eventually, the path they walked on became a stairway spiraling somewhat upwards and to the left. They went up it and Jack finally asked what he'd been trying to figure out since he found Hiccup.

"So how did you get here, Hic?"

Hiccup felt nervous, Jack was acting fairly laid back right now, and he didn't want to worry him. He tried to avoid the question by just walking alongside him in silence, but that didn't work out, he kept getting expectant glances from Jack. Sighing, he explained how he'd tried to catch Rapunzel before she'd fallen into the darkness, but he'd failed and ended up here like the others probably did. Jack halted mid-step.

"We have to find her." He then realized that if three of them were here… "Hiccup, was Merida with you and Rapunzel when you two fell in?" Hiccup looked away, his face fallen. Jack's mouth hung open in shock and he flew up the staircase as quickly as possible. "Merida!" he called from the top of the steps into the chasm. "Rapunzel!" His eyes searched the maze below, above, and around him for golden blonde or scarlet hair in the grayness. He heard a voice.

"Jack!" It was a girl's voice, that much was certain. It sounded young, though, very young. It sounded like it came from very far below him, although it echoed throughout the walls. He dove down, forgetting about Hiccup, who arrived at the top of the stairs just in time to see the Guardian falling down through the bridges and corridors.

"Oh don't mind me, I'll just go all the way back down on foot," he said cynically, throwing his arms up halfheartedly. Hiccup sighed and turned around, starting back down the stairs in disappointment. Meanwhile, Jack touched down at the floor of the cavernous abode of Pitch Black. The voice rang out again, saying his name, however more softly this time. It came from behind him.

He turned slowly to see a little girl, only around eight or nine years old, sitting on the stone floor, staring at her brown boots. She had rusty brown hair brushing her shoulders and big tawny eyes. The girl wore a chocolate colored dress with a crimson belt and a red and white pattern along the bottom. Jack frowned as he froze in place.

"No," he whispered. She looked up at him, and her face lit up with a smile. She said his name again, she sounded happy, too. Jack's hand shook as he held it out, as if to hold her away. He took an unsteady half step backwards. "No, you aren't; you can't be…" his voice trailed off in denial of what he was seeing.

"Jack, I've missed you!" She hopped to her feet and started towards him, her arms outstretched. Jack held his staff up defensively and moved away from her. "Come here!" she called again excitedly. He just shook his head, unable to respond as he back onto a steep straight stairwell. Her expression changed. She looked angry. Her gaze narrowed and she frowned. She blinked and it was as though a pen had bled into her eyes. They were a shiny black, and seemed as hollow as her voice then sounded. "Jack, didn't you miss me?" He shuddered and moved up and backwards a few steps. She started screaming her question at him, over and over. It rang in his ear, even when her mouth stopped moving. The voice distorted into a shrill high pitched wail and yet a low snarl at the same time. It made his head pulse and throb, especially where he had been cut by the nightmare sand. He groaned in pain. It went on endlessly. He couldn't tell how much time had passed. Was it a minute? Or was it an hour? He clutched his head, trying to block out the voices. He gasped very high pitched in agony again; it was too much.

She reached her hand out to him one last time, black veins lacing under the pale skin, and smiled at him. "If you come with me, Jack, I can make it stop. Just take my hand." Her mouth moved this time. With tears nearly rising in his eyes, he looked back to the little girl who was so much like his sister. He looked down to her hand, then back to her empty eyes. "I promise, Jack." The pain and voices still howled in his mind. His hand, shaking violently drifted down from his head, reaching outwards. It would stop, he would be okay, she would stop the pain, she would end the voices. His fingertips brushed hers.

Abruptly, a figure appeared by him and swatted his hand away from her. A voice, thick with accent, was yelling at the little girl. His vision blurred and his hand relaxed. As the blur intensified, the voices and pain became muffled and distant. The smear over his vision intensified so much that everything became grey. Then, it just disappeared. The ringing and pain ended, and he could see. Blinking away his tears from earlier, he looked to the little girl. She was gone. A hand turned his head, and he saw Merida. He smiled. Jack's head became buried in frizzy hair as she hugged him tightly. "You saved me… thank you."