As Jack helped Toothless to regain his footing, Hiccup stood stock still. The darkness inside the forboding corridor was absolute, but it was far from silent.

Infront of them came the scritching sound of nails on metal which sent shivers down Hiccup's spine.

"We need to get out of here," whispered Hiccup into the stagnant air. Behind them footsteps echoed.

"No." Barked Toothless. Hiccup spun to face him as the red emergency light flickered into life. Toothless stood tall now, appearing much larger and stronger than he had previously, as if a weight had been lifted from him.

Jack however looked uneasy. "Did you hit your head? These creatures, things, are here because they cannot be controlled! They are going to eat us!"

"But who contols them?" Asked Hiccup at the same time Toothless said; "There's someone we need to get out of here." However both of their words were drowned out as suddenly Astrid screamed "Hiccup!"

Immediately he started towards the call, but both Toothless and Jack held him back. "That's not her!" Shouted Jack over the cacaphony of cries.

"But it is!" Argued Hiccup. "That's Astrid! She needs our help! Can't you hear her!?"

"Hiccup!" Toothless grabbed the younger man by the shoulders. "That is not her!"

"Then what is it?" From his touch on his shoulders Toothless could feel Hiccup's frantically beating heart.

"It is a crocotta." Was all he said. Hiccup frowned and tried to peer around his shoulders but Toothless roughly pulled him back.

"Don't look at it!" Reprimanded Jack, even as his wide eyes darted around nervously. "That thing will eat your soul."

"Stop exaggerating, you're scaring him," murmured Toothless. His mouth was down turned at the corners and a frown creased his brow as he looked at Hiccup. Jack didn't argue.

Hiccup was at a loss. The imitation had stopped as soon as Toothless had told him that it was not really the prision guard calling for him, and now they were left standing in an eerie silence. "Toothless we need to go."

Relinquishing his hold he nodded and raised his head. In a very reptilian way he appeared to taste the air before grabbing Hiccup and purposefully striding forward, in the opposite direction. "This way."

Nevertheless, both Hiccup and Jack followed him. Try as he might, as they walked past the open cell doors, Hiccup couldn't help but look inside; but they were all empty. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified.

A ways behind them, the door that was marked 'DMN' began swinging and banging wildly. Hiccup flinched in fright.

"Ignore it," Reassured Jack, although he appeared to be scared himself.

Meanwhile, slightly ahead of them, Toothless was anxiously scanning the corridor, peering into open cells, and occasionally darting away when something stared back.

The dim corridor really did seem endless, but what worried Hiccup the most was the surprising lack of monsters. Yes, he could hear them all around; the click of their claws on the concrete and their puffs of air as they breathed. Occasionally something would brush his leg, but wjenever he looked down there was nothing there, and nothing came of it.

It was obvious that they were circling around them, and from Jack's worried expression he could tell he knew it too, but he saw nothing, except for the faint outline of half hidden beings in the distance and deep gouges on the walls.

They were encircled, but it felt like there was a barrier that they could not cross. Almost as if Toothless' presence was keeping them at bay. He wandered how long they would keep their distance.

Throughout his musings, Hiccup's mind wandered to Toothless (as it often did). He really didn't know him at all. And why, now, did he suddenly appear stronger, why was his presence more commanding? From the trip over, it felt like this wing was the furthest wing away from the centre of the facility. Maybe that had something to do with it.

It was obvious now, when he thought about it, how calm and restrained Toothless had been before they had rescued him. Even though they had only been here for just a few minutes, there was more about him than there had been previously.

To Hiccup, dragons should be fire and rage, untameable and unchangeable - not eating porridge and building sheds.

There was something wrong here.

A dragon, in his full form, would easily be able to break these walls and climb out of this prison. So what was stopping Toothless and all of the others here? Why were they in human form?

What was contolling them?

Whatever it was, it had to be at the centre of the prison complex.

'Come on Hiccup," Jack nudged him. Toothless had darted into an open cell without sparing a backwards glance.

Cautiously, Hiccup peered around the door frame, while Jack stood at the entrance. Inside, Toothless was kneeling next to a man who was sat with his legs crossed on the floor. Toothless was fiddling with the manacles that were attached to his wrists.

The man had light brown hair and a lean but firm build, although he couldnt see his face properly as the man was watching Toothless. What he could glean, however, was that he appeared neither sad or angry and he had a few faint laughter lines around his eyes.

"Who's that?" Hiccup whispered to Jack, who just shrugged. He was overheard by Toothless and his friend however, and they both turned to look at him.

Toothless only spared a glance, but the shackled man stared silently and intently at Hiccup. It was like he was searching for something.

Whatever he was looking for, he appeared to find it, as after a while a small smile graced his features, one that he shared with both Hiccup and Toothless.

With a sharp clack, the shackles broke into two pieces, and Toothless helped his friend to his feet, sharing a significant look as he did.

Hiccup was the first to break the silence. "Toothless?" He asked with a confused frown.

After apparently making up his mind, he spoke; "This is an old friend of mine," he revealed, gently clapping the man on his shoulder. "When we were free he was called Cloud Jumper." They both walked over to join them at the door.

Cloud Jumper smiled serenely at Hiccup again as he stolled past him to wlk next to Toothless as they headed towards the exit. To Hiccup, he looked very at ease - too at ease. In his opinion, they should all be screaming and running for their lives, like his family had done when he shared with them his love for inventing.

Nevertheless, they plodded along. A few metres from the exit, the air suddenly dropped dramatically in temperature. Toothless glanced questioningly at Jack, to which he replied "This isn't me."

As they walked, the air got colder, so much so that Hiccup could see his breath fogging infront of him. The hair on the back of his neck and arms rose, and he had to battle with his incancessant need to flee and hide like a frightened rabbit.

By now, they were walking past the cell that Toothless had been held in, uncomfortably close to where the Crocotta had been.

However, it was when they walked past the open door labelled 'WNDG' that things took a turn for the worse.

Razor sharp talons reached out of the cell and latched onto the collar of Hiccup's shirt, tearing it with the force of its grip and pulling him inside.

"Hiccup!" Jack shouted as both Toothless and Cloud Jumper spun to face the cell. For a second he managed to grab Hiccup's hand, but he was roughly snatched away from him.

Inside of the cell, no light permeated the darkness, not even the red emergency light which had taken an unearthly crimson tone. Looking into the room was akin to staring into an abyss.

Cloud Jumper held back both Toothless and Jack from charging inside. "Do not go inside blind," he spoke for the first time since his rescue.

Toothless pulled a silver lighter from his pocket and handed it to Jack - the dragons wouldn't need it, who clicked it into life.

Even to Toothless' ears, there was no sound of Hiccup, only a shuffling and scuttling from deep inside the cell.

Toothless plowed inside. With his first steps, the darkness that loomed around them appeared to shift and dissipate, just as the noises quietened, like they were futher away.

Whatever had been causing the darkness had left, as quickly as it had snatched Hiccup. The only thing remaining in the cell was a large black crater in the corner that had been dug into the floor.

The hole went through both concrete and the dirt foundations beneath, and mud as well as numerous horrible stains covered the walls. The parts of the floor that had not been excavated were littered with scratch marks and riddled with vein like cracks.

"He's down there?!" Whispered Jack in horror. "Hiccup!" He shouted into it, before Toothless had a chance to stop him.

"Idiot!" Toothless hissed, his entire form was tense and his eyes had turned into slits. "Now it knows we're following it!"

"What it it?" Jack flicked the lighter closed as he asked. He refused to be intimidated by Toothless - Hiccup was his friend!

"This is the den of a Wendigo," stated Cloud Jumper quietly, "and Hiccup is inside."