Author's Note: I'm not sure if I've mentioned this somewhere before, but just to be safe, I'll say it again. Hypothesis follows the main events of Portal/Portal 2, but I'll be tweaking some details in the storyline to accommodate the crossover. Also, the second arc will have fewer chapters than the first, so I apologize in advance if the plot is too rushed. If you feel that I need to slow down, please do let me know.

Happy New Year! :)

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

Hypothesis

Chapter 12: Recurring

:: It's been a long time. How have you been? ::

Jack took a step back in fear as MIM loomed over him, feeling helplessly trapped with nowhere to run. It was his worst nightmare all over again, but this time he no longer had the element of surprise to help him defeat her.

:: I've been really busy being dead. You know, after you MURDERED ME. ::

Two extended claws fell from the ceiling and Jack cried out in pain when one of them clamped around his neck and lifted him off the ground. His hands scrabbled desperately at the metal appendage to free himself as he gasped for breath, frantically kicking his legs to no avail.

/ Oh no no no… No! Nooo! /

"P-Pitch!" he rasped when the other claw violently yanked the black core out of the panel and crushed it in a shower of sparks before carelessly tossing it aside. MIM ignored Jack's yells to let him go as she dangled him above a closed chute like a rag doll.

:: Since you went to all the trouble of waking me up, you must really, really love to test. I love it too. There's just one small thing we need to take care of first. ::

With a soft hiss, the entrance to the chute slid open, and Jack screamed as he was dropped into the darkness below.

:: Do you know the biggest lesson I learned from what you did? I discovered I have a sort of black-box quick-save feature. In the event of a catastrophic failure, the last two minutes of my life are preserved for analysis. I was able – well, forced really – to relive you killing me. Again and again. Forever. ::

Jack panted with exhaustion and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He winced as he rolled his shoulders around, trying to relieve the ache in his muscles.

MIM had really gone all out this time. In addition to the usual toxic floors, lasers and storage cubes in the test tracks, there were a handful of new features like the catapult plates that would send him flying across the room when stepped on. The first time he used them didn't end well, if the darkening bruises on his back had anything to say about it. It took several tries before he was able to land on his feet instead of crashing to the floor.

:: You know, if you'd done that to somebody else, they might devote their existence to exacting revenge. But the important thing is you're back. With me. And now I'm onto all your little tricks. So there's nothing to stop us from testing for the rest of your life. ::

Here he was, back at square one and losing hope fast, because this time there was no way out and no one to help him. Jack worked through the test chambers in a daze, barely registering his surroundings as his body moved automatically for him. He tried to think of a plan, anything to help him escape and get out of there, but it was impossible with MIM monitoring his every move. It was a no-win scenario however he thought about it.

Another new feature in the test chambers were the light bridges. MIM said that they were made from natural light, and indeed they were warm to the touch when he stepped on them. Some part of Jack was curious to know how they were able to support his weight without letting him phase through to the ground, but while the warmth was a welcome relief from the cold and stale air, he was too numb from the futility of his situation to care anymore.

:: This next test involves turrets. You remember them, right? They're the pale spherical things that are full of bullets. Oh wait. That's you in five seconds. Good luck. ::

The mention of turrets only dampened his spirits further. They reminded him of when Hiccup had saved him from getting killed by one, and Jack's heart clenched in pain at the thought of the brunet's sacrifice being in vain. Hiccup had died to give him a chance to escape, but now he was trapped inside all over again and forced to test without his partner. It was a crushingly lonely experience.

Jack had all but resigned himself to his fate, and as he fired a portal across the room to create a light bridge in front of him, his mind started to contemplate the idea of staging an 'accident'. It wasn't the first time he had thought about it, to be honest. He had been testing for close to twenty chambers now, and he had lost count of the number of times he had been tempted to just end it once and for all. He could just stand still when the next turret's sensors landed on him, or he could simply step off a light bridge into a sea of poison. Either way, he would be with Hiccup again.

Pressing the button next to him, Jack watched as a storage cube was released onto the other end of the bridge, suspended above a section of the floor covered with toxic liquid. He walked towards it slowly, almost as if in a trance, trembling as the dark voices in his head whispered silky promises of everlasting freedom and the sweet reunion with the green-eyed brunet he loved dearly if he could just let himself tip over the edge when he finally crossed into the threshold over the poison below.

Wait for me, Hic. I'm coming...

He was tired, so very tired and ready to let it all go, but before he could reach the point of no return, the room was suddenly enveloped in darkness as the light bridge disappeared, dropping him safely onto the ground while the cube fell into the toxic waste with a splash.

:: What's going on? Who turned off the lights? ::

/ Hey, Jack! It's me! I'm okay! /

"Pitch?" he gasped, whirling around to see the damaged and slightly dented black core behind an open panel in the wall near the ceiling. He looked worse for wear, but he was definitely alive.

/ We need to go now! /

But Jack shook his head in defeat. "It's no use," he murmured sadly. "We'll never get out of here."

/ Listen, Green is alive. If you come with me, I can save you both. /

"What?" Jack's head snapped up with shock, and a glimmer of hope began to spark in his eyes.

/ Shh! Keep it down, or – /

:: Look – metal ball, I CAN hear you. ::

/ Well, in that case… /

There was a whirr of moving metallic plates as more panels opened up beneath Pitch, revealing a hidden path beyond the walls of the test chamber.

/ RUN! /

And run Jack did.