Jack seemed to melt against the ice, becoming one with the frozen lake. He appeared in front of Riley, stretching his limbs.

"You have no idea how long I've been trying to find you!"

Riley chuckled and gave her friend a hug. Frost gently spread across her face in a snowflake pattern, but she didn't care. Somewhere behind her, Jamie gasped. Jack stared at Jamie with wide eyes.

"Wow... you're so big."

Jamie looked down and nodded.

"Turned fourteen not to long ago."

Riley looked at him then. She was still thirteen... still had four months to go. Jack gave Riley another squeeze and went to hug Jamie. Jack looked to Riley, and then back to Jamie.

"You've been filled in?"

Jamie gave a nod.

"Good. We could use your help."

"Jack, what's been going on?" Riley asked worriedly.

"It's not going so well. We've scoured the globe and still can't find it. Manny hasn't reported any of his beams going dark, so we know Pitch doesn't have the dagger. But it's just a matter of time."

"How can we help?" She asked with a straight face.

"We're going on a new lead... one that makes a lot of sense. There's a cave somewhere in the Amazon. Legend says that only a pure heart can enter and leave."

"I don't have a pure heart," Riley stated simply.

"Yeah, you do. Not only does North say Katherine had a pure heart, but I've seen it in you. You can do this Riley."

She gulped, staring at his face. Finally, she gave a curt nod. Jack smiled, "Then what are we waiting for?"

He took the two of them to the outskirts of the town, where Bunny was leaning against a building. He looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"It's about bloody time," he murmured.

Jack gently set them down and took a step back. Riley's eyes widened. Fear started pressing buttons at random, making her almost panic. Joy tried to calm him down, but he was going too fast.

"You mean you're not coming?!"

"Sorry, Riley. This is the Amazon rain forest. I won't last ten minutes in that kind of heat."

Jamie looked just as shocked and scared as Riley felt. Bunny took their hands and brought them to the center of a clearing. Tapping his foot, the ground beneath them caved into a spiraling tunnel. They shot down, twisting and screaming as they went. Disgust shrieked.

"The vomit has activated! Oh my gosh, so gross!"

By the time they reached the forest, Riley was swerving and spinning. The emotions bit their lips.

"That's going to leave a mark," Joy commented to herself.

Riley held her head and gazed at her surroundings. They were on a river bank looking towards the jungle. It was dense... dark. Pitch could be watching them right now, and they wouldn't even know. Animals scurried in front of them. Bunny held up a commanding hand.

"Stay close. We don't need you getting lost."

The two obeyed, never losing sight of their guard. They passed through some thick underbrush, traveling deep into the jungle. After a couple of hours of walking, Riley was gasping for air.

"Couldn't you bring us closer to the cave?"

"It would've been too dangerous. The river could've provided an easy escape route."

Riley narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything. Anger's head sizzled.

"Listen to him and his fancy Australian accent! He's having fun watching us suffer!"

"Simmer down."

Anger reluctantly obeyed. At that moment, Bunny made a motion for them to stop. Up ahead was a marble cave. There was a heart engraved at the top. It seemed to glow as they stepped forward.

"It basically scans the goodness in your heart. Your heart's considered pure once it glows yellow."

Bunny took another step forward. The heart pulsed with a rainbow of colors, eventually dulling into a baby blue. Next came Jamie. He almost had it, a bright orange that could've easily been mistaken for yellow. When it was Riley's turn, the heart paused, as if considering. A bright yellow cascaded over her. She stared at the light in wonder and laughed. Was this real? She walked over the threshold into the cave and giggled, spinning. Bunny quickly told her to get the dagger. She shrugged as jumped through the cave. In front of her was a dagger glowing brightly. A smile formed on her lips. She had done it... it was over. Her hand wrapped around the handle and picked it up. It was beautiful, but she expected... more. She thought it would be more spectacular. She thought the moonbeam would feel alive. It was probably nothing. She turned on her heel and sprinted towards the exit. Suddenly, she was thrown back. Pain shot up her back as she landed with a thud. Her companions outside gazed at her in confusion. From the darkness of the jungle outside, the shadows gathered and warped into Pitch's form. Bunny held up his boomerang defensively. Pitch sneered at the rabbit.

"Oh, go to the pretty little garden you came from."

He turned to Riley with a cruel smile.

"My, my, my. How silly! I can't believe you didn't notice it was a fake."

Bunny snorted.

"Please! You don't have a pure heart, how could you have put in a fake?"

"I know because I have the memory. It was Nightlight's plan to put a fake in a believable place. You see, he thought Katherine would recognize it as a fake. His faith in her was unnerving. He wanted to trap thieves."

"But I'm not a thief," Riley began. Pitch snarled at her, silencing her.

"Foolish girl! When you stole this dagger from the cave, you became a thief. You tarnished your pure heart... and now you will be trapped inside the cave forever."

Sorry for another cliffhanger XD. I know I probably put way too many of these things in, but they're just so fun lol.