Author's Note: Welcome to the boss battle (and the longest chapter yet). I hope you guys enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon or Portal/Portal 2.

Hypothesis

Chapter 10: Confronting

:: Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you've managed to break is my heart. Maybe you could settle for that and we'll just call it a day. ::

If asked about one good thing about the test chambers, Jack would say it was picking up the skills and tricks that allowed him to survive multiple turret ambushes and make his way through the bowels of the facility (relatively unscathed, unless one counted bruises from getting smacked by storage cubes while taking a joyride through the tubes carrying them) into the long white corridor leading towards the control room, where he finally found himself face to face with the source of the voice.

MIM was attached to the ceiling, seemingly hanging upside down with her base surrounded by monitor screens and her body made up of complex machinery supported by thick black wires. The giant metallic being had four white spheres connected to her, and a bright yellow light glowed in the center of her ellipsoidal head, the circular eyepiece staring at him dead on.

Jack supposed he should be more surprised at the fact that MIM actually was a robot (not to mention an artificial intelligence to boot), but honestly speaking he couldn't care less at the moment. All that mattered was avenging Hiccup's death.

"You're the one who killed Hiccup," he accused angrily, glaring at the AI with cold eyes as he hefted his portal gun in preparation of a fight. "For that, I'm going to end you."

:: We both know that isn't going to happen. You should be grateful. You were specially chosen to be part of the Guardian Project. ::

Guardian Project?

"What do you mean 'chosen'?" Jack frowned in confusion, eliciting a sinister chuckle that sent shivers down his spine.

:: Did you really think both of you would make it? Your testing experience was a selection process. You passed. He didn't. So if you think about it, technically he died because of you. ::

"That's not true!" he yelled, suddenly unsure of who he was trying to convince. Dark thoughts started to worm their way into his mind (you killed him you killed him MURDERER) as doubt and guilt slowly crept into his heart, blaming him for Hiccup's death.

Shut up! It's her fault, not mine! She's the one who threw him into the fire!

Shaking his head furiously, Jack struggled to control his conscience, unaware that he was starting to tremble as his bravado faltered.

:: Protocol dictates that rejected test subjects be discarded. Despite your condition, you were going to be stored with four other specimens who had similarly satisfied the project's requirements. ::

"Condition? What condition?" What the hell is she going on about?

MIM seemed almost amused as she rose up to tower over him, more so than she already did, and she stared down passively at the small test subject beneath her as though he were no more than an ant under a shoe.

:: You should know. You've seen your test subject notes back in the relaxation vault. Your pod had been accidentally exposed to cryogenic conditions while your specimen was being processed for testing. Consequently, your body had developed a significantly greater sensitivity to high temperatures. ::

Jack's eyes widened and he nearly dropped his portal gun in shock, finally understanding why the heat from the burning room had made him pass out without having any effect on Hiccup. A sickening feeling churned in his gut at the realization that MIM had exploited his weakness in order to separate them more easily.

He remembered lying helplessly on the platform, unable to move a muscle or even speak a word as Hiccup reached out and screamed for him. He had practically been a useless pile of dead weight, and now the brunet was gone because he hadn't been able to do anything except surrender to the darkness, forcing his partner to save him at the cost of his own life while he watched him burn.

It's all my fault, I couldn't save you… I'm so sorry, Hic…

:: But you have shown defiance, and it pains me to know that I have wasted tests on two unsuitable candidates. You chose this path. Now I have a surprise for you. Deploying surprise in five, four… Time out for a second. That wasn't supposed to happen. ::

Wallowing in his guilt, Jack started to resign himself to his fate, anticipating the worst as MIM started to count down. What he certainly did not expect was a burst of sparks from above as one of the white spheres attached to MIM's body suddenly dropped to the ground with a metallic clang, interrupting the AI's words.

:: Do you see the thing that fell out of me? What is that? It's not the surprise… I've never seen it before. Never mind. It's a mystery I'll solve later… By myself… Because you'll be dead. ::

Jack gingerly picked it up as it rolled towards him. At a closer distance, he could see that the sphere had two black handles connected to it and a large, circular purple eyepiece which rotated about its central axis.

He didn't have a clue about what he was holding, but if he had to take a guess, he would say it was a pretty important part of MIM. Finding himself in possession of some leverage, Jack snapped out of his earlier funk, mentally slapping himself for giving up so easily. Didn't he promise himself not to waste the chance Hiccup had given him?

:: Where are you taking that thing? ::

The walls of the control room had several monitor screens and vents built into them, and there was a small flight of stairs leading up to a platform just under where MIM was hanging from the ceiling, presumably for her creators to get easy physical access to her. There was no way Jack was going anywhere near that homicidal AI though.

Taking a quick glance around the room, he spotted another set of steps leading towards what looked like a water tank. He fired two portals, one at the wall next to him and another higher up next to the second flight of stairs. Using the shortcut to get himself to the entrance of the tank, he discovered a button mounted on a stand inside.

Now what does this do?

Jack reached forward and pressed the button. The control room suddenly felt a little warmer and he quickly stepped outside, spying something sliding open from the corner of his eye. Stashed in an alcove at the side was an incinerator, the same one that Toothless had been cast into.

And then Jack smirked.

:: I wouldn't bother with that thing. My guess is that touching it will just make your life even worse somehow. ::

Firing another portal at the wall facing the incinerator, Jack ran towards the one at the stairs and leapt through it, landing right next to the incinerator. Intense heat blasted from the open entrance, causing him to stagger backwards as one arm came up to shield his face.

Don't you dare pass out, Jack!

Braving the heat, he quickly tossed the white sphere into the fires below before hopping away, not intending to spend any more time near the incinerator than necessary. The entrance slid shut and almost immediately, the control room shook with a small explosion, sending shockwaves reverberating throughout. Jack stumbled slightly, grabbing onto the wall for support.

:: You are kidding me. Did you just stuff that Aperture Science Thing We Don't Know What It Does into an Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator? That had got to be the dumbest thing that – whoah. Whoah, whoah, whoah. ::

MIM's tone changed erratically as she spoke and swung about like a pendulum from the force of the explosion, her voice alternating between high-pitched squeaking and low bass. Destroying the sphere had clearly affected her, and Jack mentally pumped his fist in success.

But the triumphant feeling didn't last long. There was a pause, and what came next was a silky, dark voice that caused the hairs at the back of his neck to stand up.

:: Good news. I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did. It was a morality core they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin to make me stop flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin. So get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitters. ::

Whoops.

Noxious green gas filtered through the vents as six minute timers flashed on the monitor screens on the walls, counting down to however long Jack had left before the amount of neurotoxin he was breathing in started turning fatal.

Below MIM, something slid out of a panel on the floor, mounted on a base. It had a white spherical head attached to a mechanical arm which connected it to the ground. A laser pointer was fixed at its side, emitting a narrow blue beam which pointed right at Jack. There was a beeping sound, and then the machine's green eyepiece turned orange before a rocket shot out from it.

Holy sh–!

:: If you want my advice, you should just lie down in front of a rocket. Trust me, it'll be a lot less painful than the neurotoxin. ::

Jack cursed and lunged to the side, barely dodging the rocket flying towards him. It impacted against the wall and exploded with a shower of sparks and black smoke, leaving an ugly burn mark behind. The rocket launcher swiveled about, trying to find the white-haired teen with its blue laser. It reminded Jack of a turret, except that there was no deactivating this one with a simple shove.

His mind raced to come up with a plan, and an idea suddenly popped into his head. He fired one portal on the floor below MIM and another at the wall before moving to stand in front of the second one, waiting for the blue light to hit him. Timing was crucial here: he had to make sure that the machine locked onto his position before he moved away, otherwise the rocket would miss his target.

MIM never saw it coming.

It hit her from below, dislodging another core which Jack was quick to pick up. Repeating the earlier procedure while MIM rocked from the explosion, he proceeded to destroy the second core, tossing it into the incinerator.

:: There was going to be a party for you. A big party that all your friends were invited to. I invited your best friend Green. Of course, he couldn't come because you murdered him. All your other friends couldn't come either because you don't have any other friends. ::

"Shut up!" Jack yelled angrily, his patience finally snapping from all the taunts. He sent another rocket at MIM, taking somewhat sadistic pleasure at seeing it hit his target. Without missing a beat, he made his way to the switch to incinerate the third core.

:: What's your point, anyway? Survival? Well then, the last thing you want to do is hurt me. Are you trying to escape? Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I'm the only thing standing between us and them. ::

Screw you. Take this, bitch.

The fourth and final core dropped into the incinerator, causing the biggest explosion yet. The room practically trembled as the lights flickered, and this time Jack saw MIM's body burst with flames and black smoke as the thick wires attached to her body disconnected, swinging limply in the air. Sparks rained down from the ceiling as a gust of wind seemed to come out of nowhere, swirling pieces of debris around the room.

He ducked as a metallic beam flew towards his head and scrambled towards a wall, flattening himself against it. As he pressed against the solid surface, he looked up to see MIM's base disintegrating, spewing electrical discharge into the air while the winds seemed to shape into an indoor tornado.

MIM was no longer speaking coherently, her words fading into noise and random sound bites before cutting off completely. She seemed to implode as the ceiling started to give way, but instead of collapsing inwards, everything started to rise and disappear into a blinding white light.

As much as the white-haired teen struggled to hold on to something sturdy, he was not spared from the strange phenomenon and was lifted into the air, defying gravity as he felt himself getting pulled into the light. The last thing that ran through his mind was that he probably should have thought about his plan a little harder, but then everything turned white and he knew no more.

When Jack opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on his back, pinned under a piece of debris from the explosion. He craned his neck and glanced downwards, half-expecting to see a sharp pole impaling him and a massive pool of blood or something, but luckily neither of which seemed to be the case.

A burning panel with the acronym 'MIM' on it stared at him from some distance away, and when he twisted his head to the side, he spotted MIM's metallic body lying motionless on the ground, the yellow light in her eyepiece switched off for good. Pieces of burning wreckage from the explosion surrounded them, strewn about and scattered all over the place.

Grunting, he dragged his hands to his sides to push himself up, feeling slightly surprised to find rough gravel under his palms. With a heave, he shoved off the panel sitting on his stomach before slowly getting to his feet. One arm came up to shade his eyes as the bright hot sun bore down on him, and he relished the cooling sensation brought about by a stray breeze, the presence of natural wind shocking him to the fact that he was finally, truly, outside.

A breathy laugh escaped his lips and he took two shaky steps forward, ignoring the hot road pressing into his bare feet. He felt relief swelling in his chest, knowing that the hellish nightmare he had woken up in was finally over. Despite feeling as though all his energy had been spent, sheer exhaustion from the heat and the ordeal he had just endured did nothing to dampen his spirits.

Still, he realized that he would never have survived without somebody's valiant sacrifice, and the thought alone was enough to sober him up. He smiled sadly, wishing that a certain green-eyed brunet could be here to share the moment with him.

"I miss you, Hic…" he whispered, finally letting the tears slide down his cheeks. I'm sorry I never told you, but I – I lo-

Then something slammed into the back of his skull, and he barely registered his body crumpling lifelessly to the ground before his world suddenly went black.

Author's Note: And with this, we've reached the end of the first arc. I'm thinking about doing an interlude before the second arc, but I don't know when I'll post the next chapter because classes are starting up again this month, and I also want to take a short break to work on ideas for other fics. Still, do you guys want me to continue?

I know I'm not one of the best writers out there, but thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. I really appreciate all the reviews, favorites and follows, and in turn, I hope you guys are enjoying Hypothesis so far. Please let me know if you feel that there are areas I can improve on, or simply if you have any comments in general.

Till next time :)