Inside Out-The Dream Must Go On! Chp. 2

Joy had never realized until today how good it felt to cry. Before, she thought crying served little purpose: an annoyance to everyone at best, and a danger to Riley's physical and social health at worst.

But the past few days had changed all that. She understood just how significant, even vital, Sadness was: to signal when one needed help and comfort. She knew now her friend was incredibly gifted, more so than even Joy.

As she held Sadness in mourning of Riley's beloved imaginary friend, Joy realized that she was grieving for two reasons.

One being Bing Bong's sacrifice.

The other...the other being that she had misjudged Sadness for the past 11 years. All this time, Joy had prevented her teardrop-shaped companion from going near the console, doing everything she could to make those shelves of memory orbs glow with as much gold as possible.

She had been stifling the others—Sadness most of all—this whole time. She had thought she was doing the best for Riley, but it turned out she had been so selfish.

If Joy had continued on such a domineering path...what might have become of Riley then, if worse happened?

Trying to blink away her waterfalls of tears, Joy looked down. "Sadness?"

The blue emotion chanced a look up at the yellow emotion, her glasses fogged up with droplets of tears. "Y-Yeah, Joy?"

Joy sniffled, trying to have her expression and voice show her regretful sincerity. "I'm...I'm so sorry for for everything. I accused you of hurting Riley, but really... after the move, you were trying to help her more than any of us."

Sadness's eyes widened at hearing that. She almost hadn't expected Joy to ever say anything like that to her.

"You helped me see how much you're needed, and Bing Bong helped me get back to allow you to help Riley. If I had just listened—"

It was then that Sadness put her hand on Joy's. "What matters is that you're listening now. So we can all help with what Riley needs most."

Sadness looked at where the screen normally was, vanished as Riley had entered her dreamless sleep.

"Healing."

Joy sniffed, almost wishing some image could dance before their eyes and make things more comforting. But, like themselves, the people of Dream Productions needed to put off their own desires and focus mainly on what was best for Riley.

No sweet dreams, just rest.

After a few more moments of silent mourning, both emotions began to relax in each other's arms. Their hearts were still heavy due to the loss of a friend, but they were feeling much more at ease now.

It then occurred to Joy that she and Sadness had lacked sleep for the past few days they had been absent. It was incredibly perplexing that they managed to travel Riley's mind without any shuteye.

Or a meal for that matter.

True, Joy had sampled the salty taste of larger-than-life fries while chasing down a distressed Sadness earlier. But it suddenly popped into the yellow emotion's head that she was harboring for food in her belly. And a lot of it right now.

She peered down at Sadness, the blue emotion's tears having subsided as she aimlessly watched the blank screen. Although she was doing a great job of hiding it, Joy was certain her friend was exhausted and starving after all they had experienced.

It was a preferable moment to placate both those problems as her arms slowly loosened.

"I'm a little hungry," she told her gently. "And I feel like I could sleep for a week. How about you?"

Sadness shyly looked up at her, unable to conceal the bags that were evident under her eyes.

"I could eat," the blue emotion mumbled. "And I am sort of sleepy."

"I got that all taken care of!"

Both turned to see Fear coming down the stairs with a large tray of assorted foods and snacks. Wearing a wide grin, he placed them down on a nearby coffee table. Anger noticed that one of the dishes was a bowl of pretzels. Grinning, he reached over to claim at least one piece.

Disgust immediately smacked his hand away. Pulling it back, the red emotion glared at her while Fear set two cups of coffee on the table.

"Eat up!" the purple emotion insisted cheerfully. "Seriously, I'm worried either of you is going to pass out right now."

Sadness gave him a smile of gratitude, to which he returned with a sheepish one. However, he did notice her expression change the moment she glanced down at her cup of coffee.

"Is something wrong?" he asked nervously. "Did I do something wrong here?"

"No, no," the blue emotion assured him in her usual mellow tone. "It's fine. You...you really didn't have to go through all this, Fear."

She didn't want to dent his pride with the fact she hated coffee. Keeping that her little secret, she forced a tiny smile on her lips, just to keep the one on his face.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all!" he promised, smiling proudly to himself. "I'm always willing to prepare a meal for my friends!"

"Hey, beanpole!" Anger called out. "I'm starving here, too!"

Disgust frowned. "You're forgetting us! Like, rude!"

Before Fear could try and make a decent response, Joy popped in front of them smiling her usual cheery self.

"Hey, hey, relax!" she told them, especially at Anger. "There's plenty for everyone! Let's all just eat, alright?"

She reached over and took Anger's hand, the latter flinching a little at suddenly being touched. He tried not to growl, especially as Joy dragged him over to the table with everyone gathering around it.

Fear had prepared a variety to which everyone was impressed by (although some sickened Disgust, given that her appetite did not consist of anything that had lettuce in it...or something that smelled like a dumpster to her nostrils): mini sandwiches, cheese curls and other chips in small bowls, lemon squares, corn (to which Disgust would truly avoid) and even after-dinner mints.

"Mints?" Anger asked, almost offended. He often thought those things were just so meaninglessly contributed in a restaurant; that they ruined the after-taste of a good steak and fries.

"I'm just being a good provider here!" Fear retorted.

Sadness idly swished the coffee in her cup, trying not to grimace. She then put it down before placing a hand on Fear's side, causing the latter to look down at her.

"It's perfect," she told him sincerely. "Thank you, Fear."

The purple emotion gave her an appeased smile, that same proudness returning on his face. As everyone surveyed the tray, trying to decide which to decide first. Sadness settled for a lemon square, lightly nibbling on it.

However, she lost her sense of appetite the moment Joy began to please hers.

The yellow emotion wasted no time grabbing food off plates and shoving them into her mouth. She grabbed a sandwich, it was down her throat like a garbage disposal; and Joy's grunts made it sound like one as well. She clawed handfuls of chips and slapped them into her mouth, the crunches far louder than metal. And when it came to the lemon squares, she grabbed more than three pieces before tearing at them like a predator with its carcass, and bits of lemon zest flew in all directions.

The others just gawked at the sight. They knew Joy was hungry, they didn't think she would abandon all manners for her stomach. Disgust took a step back while Anger just raised his eyes toward the sight. Fear winced, edging away from Joy and a little close to Sadness, who placed down her barely eaten lemon square.

The blue emotion felt almost nauseous, watching as Joy drank her coffee in large gulps. The liquid trekked down the side of her lips, but the golden-skinned emotion didn't even care as she grabbed another sandwich.

Sadness blinked, feeling almost as if she were watching a movie on fast-forward. Joy was always such a hyper bouncy ball of energy, and with that amount of boundless energy combined with a lack of food, it was no wonder she was so hungry.

She did wish Joy would slow down a little though...

Disgust's face scrunched up as she flicked a stray bit of sandwich away that had landed on her face. "Joy, did you lose your manners down there or something?"

"Nope!" Joy exclaimed with her mouth full of food (which caused Disgust to step back so as not to risk being pelted with any more stray particles). "Just super hungry!"

"By the looks of it," Anger said with a grimace, taking a sandwich for himself before Joy could snatch it, "you almost seem to get more energy when you're hungry!"

"Well," Fear added, quickly picking out a few cheese curls for himself one by one, "technically you do feel more tired when you have a full stomach so—"

The red emotion looked like he was on the verge of punching him, causing the nerve-like being to flinch as a reflex and nearly drop his snack.

"If we want a health lecture, we'd go to health class!" Anger growled.

"Sorry," Fear said in a hasty apology. He turned his gaze over to Joy, who at the very least seemed to be slowing down a bit after her fourth sandwich. Or was it her fifth? He wasn't sure at this point.

He honestly couldn't blame her though, none of them could. Whatever had happened down there in the recesses of Riley's mind the past few days had caused some sort of change in Joy. It seemed that food was a great way to help comfort her after the ordeal she and Sadness had been through.

Maybe Fear could take advice from Sadness as to what foods would be best "comfort foods". After all, chocolate could only do so much for them...

But seeing Sadness actually smile for once, Joy seeming to have regained her spunk, and Anger actually enjoying his food and not wanting to set something on fire relieved Fear. The purple emotion felt that things were at least starting to look up from the pit of a downward spiral, one that they had been falling deeper into ever since the move.

Now they had their chance to climb out and help make things right. It would take time, true, but there was confidence among the emotion group that things could improve, for Riley and themselves.

Fear resigned himself contentedly to the energetic chaos that brought life back to headquarters that was long-welcomed, munching on a chip and scooting closer to Sadness. He saw Joy smile at the blue emotion too, the golden-skinned girl offering her companion part of yet another sandwich she had been about to devour herself.

Sadness, much preferring this over coffee, accepted the offer with a grateful nod and murmur of thanks, to which Joy gave her a thumbs up.

With the five of them back together again, the emotions made a promise to themselves that, when morning came, they'd be able to resume their job of what they did best: helping Riley.

And this time, they would let Sadness take charge when she felt she was really needed.

After all the food was gone, Joy and Sadness were so full they nearly passed out on the couch. After missing so much sleep, the two could hardly move toward the stairs to their bedrooms.

The other three emotions watched as they laid on the couch. Fortunately there was no Dream Duty, because any of them who was to take it would accidentally wake Joy or Sadness in the process. They couldn't help but smile, watching as Joy sat back with her head leaning onto the arm of the couch. Sadness slept in that same position she often made when she was having a particularly "overly sad" moment, her cheek pressed onto the cushions.

It was Disgust who brought out the blankets, placing them over the slumbering forms of her friends. Although to most it seemed like a rare thing for someone like her to ever do. But the green emotion was certain she would provide a little extra work for her friends. Like right now.

"Should we stay with them?" Fear asked, eyes looming from Joy to Sadness.

"This ain't a sleepover!" Anger snapped at him. "Look, let's leave them alone. They've been through enough. We'll check on them in the morning when Riley wakes up."

The purple emotion played with his fingers. "When Riley wakes up...she's still not going to feel good, is she?"

Both Disgust and Anger glanced in his direction. The three of them had been watching over their kid for the past few days. During that time, they had seen how she had handled changes, followed by interaction with her parents, like at dinner.

No doubt those same things would occur again, especially since Joy seemed so persistent now that happiness needed a break. Riley was going to show her more uncertain side, followed by the displeasure to interact with San Francisco itself.

Or her parents.

What happened downstairs was just the start for them. Now that mom and dad were aware of her true feelings for this city, they couldn't react like what happened at dinner. They needed to understand their own daughter was not as accepting to the new home as they already were.

They needed to understand Riley needed solitary time. Her space. That especially went for school. The three still awake emotions recalled how she had eaten lunch by herself the day after Goofball Island had fallen apart.

Making friends wasn't as easy as one believed. Especially when that person really didn't want to make new friends right now. Meg was not here, nor was any of Riley's teammates.

Friendship Island, Hockey Island, every island was gone except for the new Family Island. That was the only thing that would make up Riley's personality right now. The rest would take time.

But they were up for it. All of them.

Although Riley was still hurting, and still desired to just be on her own, they knew they could pull through this one way or another.

"No," Anger muttered, his usually hardened expression softening a little. "But that's alright. Tomorrow will be pretty weird, I guess, but at least we got our kid back safe and that's all that matters."

Disgust looked at him carefully, folding her arms. "Last time we're ever going to ask you to give Riley an idea."

The red emotion glared up at her. "Hey, zip it, seaweed head! I regret what I did, alright? No need to bring it up!"

"Just a statement for future reference," the green emotion snapped as they slowly went up the steps toward their sleeping quarters.

Fear made one glance back at the two slumbering emotions of the couch, then proceeded after his friends.

Maybe tomorrow would be better.
_

The next morning, Joy felt her consciousness shift back to the waking world. Not opening her eyes right away, at first she felt perplexed by what she was laying on. It didn't feel like her head was on her perfectly-plushy pillow, nor was her body surrounded by the gentle wrapped water of her bathtub bed. She stretched her foot up and out, trying to feel around for where she was.

"Ow..."

Joy's eyes shot open, energy of the morning fully coming to her as her consciousness was jolted out of sleep, the light that signified Riley's wakefulness shining in her eyelids.

The first thing she realized was that she was laying on the couch in the main console room. The second thing she realized was that her foot had nearly whacked Sadness in the face.

The golden emotion's eyes widened, and she scrambled to her side of the couch, waking up immediately. "Oh, my gosh, Sadness! Are you okay?"

The blue emotion groggily sat up, rubbing her cheek and pushing up her glasses. "Well...I'm up."

The smile that manifested on Sadness's face instantly relieved Joy. It wasn't the kind of sarcastic expression she would get from Disgust, followed by an irritated quip. The look on her friend's face was warm, genuine, and harbored no ill will.

That was one thing that Joy—and hopefully the others as well—were starting to realize about Sadness: she spoke what she thought when it was something she could express, and she never seemed to hold a grudge. Even during their adventure together, the teardrop-shaped emotion had never sent a hostile glare in Joy's direction.

Only concern. A concern that Joy only wished she had appreciated before.

Joy helped her companion to stand, hearing the other emotions start to come down from upstairs. "You ready for the day?"

"I think so," Sadness admitted. She then glanced up at Joy with an uncertain look behind her large glasses. "Can I...can I really take charge of the console this time?"

Joy placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down a bit to her level. "Sadness, Riley needs you now more than any of us. You deserve this."

The look of hope on Sadness' lit up face reminded Joy of her expression back on the first day of school. "Really?"

Joy smiled down at her. "Really.". She patted her companion on the back and led her toward the console. "You ready?"

As the others came down the ramp, Sadness looked toward them, then the screen of Riley's eyes, and finally at Joy. With a solemn look, Sadness nodded.

The other three emotions witnessed their teardrop-shaped friend confidently stroll over to the console. None of them were questioning the sight, knowing that a lot had changed since Joy's and Sadness' faces smacked right into HQ's window. In fact, the three were smiling with gratitude, relieved the blue emotion was taking over.
~

The moment Riley woke up, she had hoped she was lying on her bed, surrounded by her hockey posters. She had especially hoped outside her window was the sunny morning that was Minnesota.

However, as soon as she was met with chipped walls and her sleeping bag, Riley wished she had never woken up. She would have rather remained in a dreamless sleep than be reminded she was in San Francisco.
~

Sadness glanced up at the screen, her fingers caressing the main button, causing the entire console to lighten with blue. The others joined behind her, watching as Riley gazed at her surroundings with dejection.

"Look, I'm glad Riley's back here safe," Anger muttered, tapping his fingers upon the console. "But this room still stinks! And that stupid truck with our stuff is nowhere closer to coming over here!"

They watched as Riley reached for her backpack, which she had never emptied since coming to her bedroom. After she unzipped it, she pulled out her laptop before sitting down cross-legged.

"At least we had the laptop with us during the car trip," Fear mentioned nervously, keeping some distance between him and the fuming emotion.
~

Riley slowly opened it before gazing at the familiar webpage. The bus schedule and everything made her bite her lip. She couldn't even look away when a new time popped up, informing when the next bus to Minnesota would be.

Disgust and Fear turned toward Anger, the former rather accusingly which caused Joy and Sadness to look at him as well. Of course, the yellow and blue emotions were more in question than contempt as their green friend.

"Oh, come on!" the red emotion raged, the top of his head nearly enflamed.

Joy reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down.

"Anger, relax," she told him gently. "No one holds it against you. You were only doing what you thought was right."

The red emotion gritted his teeth tightly, then regarded the delicate golden hand that laid on his shoulder. Looking up at Joy, the flames that threatened to emerge somehow disintegrated. Letting out a loud sigh, he placed his own hand upon hers. Not to fling it off or anything, he would never do that with her, but rather just to know this was, indeed, comforting physical contact.

Even though he mostly hated it, but he wouldn't bring that up right now. Especially when Joy was assuring him.

Joy offered him a silent smile before both looked toward the screen. Disgust and Fear leaned from behind Sadness as the blue emotion kept her hands on the controls.

The screen that was Riley's eyes turned toward the door the moment they heard a click.
~

Riley made sure the bus schedule page had been closed the moment her mother's head slowly poked into the bedroom.

"Good morning, sweetie," Mrs. Andersen greeted.

Although she was smiling, Riley and her emotions could tell she sounded a little concerned. Followed by a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Riley forced a smile, but it didn't last long as she closed her laptop.

"Morning," she murmured, eyes wandering from her mother to her lap.

The brunette woman slowly opened the door all the way, revealing to have not changed from the sweater she wore yesterday. She studied her daughter carefully, unsure of what to say next.

"I...I called your teacher," she told Riley gently. "You don't have to go to school today."

That caused the blonde child to look up at her, blue eyes raising in surprise.

"I said you weren't feeling well," Mrs. Andersen explained. "And don't worry, I didn't mention one thing about how you..." Her voice trailed off, unable to allow those certain words off her tongue.

Thankfully, she didn't need to say more as Riley offered a nod.

"Okay," her daughter muttered. "Thanks...I guess..."
~

"Oh, thank gosh!" Disgust exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "No school! Now Riley doesn't have to deal with that dull teacher of hers or eat gross lunch from the cafeteria!"

Joy ignored her as she laid a hand on Sadness' shoulder. The latter looked up at the golden-skinned emotion curiously.

"Let's try to get through breakfast without any more awkwardness with mom and dad," she told her friend. "I'm pretty sure Riley wants more of her space."

Sadness nodded before working the buttons and switches.
~

"Coming to breakfast?" Mrs. Andersen asked hopefully.

Riley was silent for a moment. Her mother was almost afraid she would hear no more out of her than she did last night.

"Yeah," Riley replied, sounding rather despondent. "I'm coming."

Soon the screen began to move as Riley followed behind her mom. The stairs were almost like falling into a pit as Riley trudged down each step.

Riley's eyes fell on that single table, the dining room looking more dilapidated than ever before. None of the emotions made one comment about the house. After all, their stuff was still missing, and Mr. Andersen promised the house would get refurbished.

Speaking of her dad, he was sitting at the table, newspaper in front of him with a cup of coffee. As soon as he spotted Riley, he almost wanted to rush over and give her a hug. But he held himself back, not wanting to frighten her in that rather despondent state of hers; she still looked the same as she did last night.

Both parents looked at one another momentarily as Riley sat down. Mrs. Anderson went over and grabbed that special box of cereal from the kitchen counter. She just remembered how Riley had fallen in love with the stuff days ago. It still astounded the woman that something coated with caramel was healthy for kids; she never found anything like it back in Minnesota.

But she made sure not to mention their old state as she set the box down before Riley. She placed a bowl and spoon in front of her as well, before sitting beside her husband. Both tried not to glance at their daughter every second as she just poured a small amount into her bowl. It was then Mrs. Andersen forgot the milk and quickly got up from her seat.

Pouring it into Riley's cereal, she was disheartened when her daughter still remained silent. She said nothing as she picked up her spoon.

That expression of giddiness she displayed the first time she tried the cereal was not present. Instead, Riley just ate, her face unchanging. Even when she took a moment to savor the caramel goodness, the smile was short and lacked any real joy.

Mr. Andersen couldn't focus on his newspaper, watching his daughter just eat. Finally, he cleared his throat.
~

"Uh-oh..." Fear swallowed. "What's dad up to..."

"Maybe he's going to tell us there are rats in the kitchen," Disgust scoffed. "Probably explains why mom's new San Fran recipes are gross."

"Maybe he got fired," Anger muttered.

"Guys!" Joy hushed them.

Sadness remained unaffected by what she saw on the screen. Whatever it was, she would make sure Riley would be okay.
~

"Riley," Mr. Andersen began.

When she looked up, she noticed he was giving her a tender smile.

"Say, kiddo," he began, trying to sound cheerful, "how about we all go to the park? Maybe play some ball and enjoy the sun?"

Riley fiddled with her spoon, looking at him in confusion. "They have parks here in San Francisco?"

The question baffled her parents. But they knew she was yet to see the popular city for what it truly was. So far she had only witnessed the Golden Gate bridge, but they were positive there were other things that would impress her just as much.

"Of course they do," Mrs. Andersen said, chuckling a little. "The brochures say Californian parks are so beautiful. And here in San Francisco, it's just gorgeous."

Riley's dad grinned at her. "So how about it, kiddo? Want to spend this day off from school doing some hardcore family fun?"
~

Disgust made a face, leaning back. "Uh, hardcore family fun? Is he joking right now? There is no way Riley is going out in public with mom and dad!"

Before she could even reach for the controls, Joy stopped her. Just as the green emotion was about to retort, the yellow one jerked her head in Sadness' direction.

Disgust's expression softened. To Anger and Fear, she looked rather remorseful even.

She said nothing, averting her gaze as Sadness took over Riley's next response.
~

The blonde girl was silent, taking all this in. She loved her parents so much and she really appreciated their efforts.

But this all seemed so fast and she honestly didn't want to play sports right now. And she quit hockey, certain her love of it was left behind back in Minnesota.

"Actually," she said slowly, "can I just go out by myself? I think I'd rather just go for a walk. I'll do a little exploring of my own probably."

Riley's parents both looked at their daughter in surprise. But it wasn't long before their expressions softened into that concerned but caring understanding that they had showed to her the night before.

They wanted to try to reform their bond with Riley, but both realized that a typical family outing wasn't the right way to go at this point. It would take time for Riley to adjust. Much more so than for the both of them.

However, for a moment they feared if they allowed Riley to go by herself, there would be a chance she would run away again. But other voices in their heads assured that she would never do that, last night's events repeatedly playing in their minds.

"Of course you can go, Riley," Mr. Andersen said quietly, a pained smile on his face. "Just...be safe, okay?"

"And please call us at least one," Mrs. Anderson added in a solemn tone.

Riley could sense the hurt in her father's voice once more. Her mother's was evidence that she felt the same way from their daughter's rejection. But despite Riley's ongoing despondence and refusal to spend time with them, they knew they could not just ask for their "happy girl" back.

And she probably might not ever return depending on how things would carry on...

Riley just nodded, saying nothing as she finished her breakfast. She didn't even look at her parents as she rose from her seat, making sure her phone and wallet were in her pockets.

Heaving out the door, there was no goodbye kiss, not even a wave. Just shutting the door behind her without looking back, to which her parents watched, their hearts breaking once again.
_

As Riley walked through the streets of San Francisco, Sadness worked diligently at the console, only gesturing vaguely to the others whenever their emotional responses were needed.

Joy, when the Golden Gate Bridge came into view again. Or Disgust when they passed that Yeast of Edin place that served only one kind of pizza a day; maybe today it wouldn't be broccoli. Anger, when some jerk on a skateboard rode past, nearly colliding with Riley (he had to fight the urge to use that "curse word" during the transaction). And Fear, when some stray dogs were in Riley's direction, and he had to make sure she was nowhere near touching them.

But even with those memories, the resulting colors of the memory orbs more often than not had a touch of blue to them, the colors blending like a marble.

None of the others protested, not even Anger. Sadness was simply doing the job she was meant for all along, expressing when something was wrong and support was needed.

Internal support was the best the emotions could give. The steps were likely to be harsh at times, true, but Joy hoped that eventually things would get better. Or at the very least Riley would be able to tolerate San Francisco.

But even though Joy's optimism for the future often acted like a fast-forward button rendering everyone else in slow-mo, she had to admit that in situations like this, a funny dance and "stay happy" attitude weren't exactly the best way to go.

In fact, it could be one of the worst things.

Riley took a deep breath, able to smell a little bit of the salty water that wafted from the air, the wind carrying it. She tried to tell herself that this was one pleasant thing to put on a list of "Good Things About San Francisco".

But the attempt at that happy thought faded as well, Sadness calling up a memory.

Riley remembered the smell of the forested trees that were around both her house and the lake where she and her parents used to skate on and play hockey. Not even the smell of the beach could compare to the natural scents she was used to.

It reminded her of those times she would sit outside on the swingset and rock back and forth as the breeze flew by, gazing at one of the towering cities that could be seen several miles away from her home suburbia.

She missed those times, those moments of relaxation where she felt free to just imagine and dream big (and send quite a few things to form in Imagination Land in the process).

There were some things nice about San Francisco. But it wasn't Minnesota and it never would be.

Joy dared herself to place a hand on Sadness' shoulder, prompting the teardrop-shaped emotion to look up. The yellow emotion's expression was pained as she noticed the barest hint of tears forming in Riley's vision like water on a glass pane. But at the same time her expression was understanding.

Riley needed to let out her feelings if she was ever going to truly get better.

The emotions watched as Riley trekked down the pathway connected to the sandy beach beside her. Hands in her pockets, her vision drank in the various people who were having a great time. Californians who surfed the waves, got perfectly tanned in the sun, or enjoyed the piers that provided food, fun, and luxury.

The sight of gift shops that sold actual things from the ocean intrigued Disgust. Although she was a little unnerved that some things like crab shells and dry starfishes were literally from the ocean, the beauty made her think otherwise.

Back in Minnesota, the beaches were often quiet, none of this noise Riley was hearing right now. All around her people were chatting, laughing, texting, and eating their ice cream cones loudly. In her old state, the only sounds she heard were the waves, and she hardly ever seen a crab outside its domain. The gift shops back there were often hand-crafted to look realistic.

She stood to the side as kids her age went in and out of the shops, buying souvenirs while texting on their phones. The girls especially looked pretty, like that one with her long dark hair and green eyes, sporting a blue shirt and jeans. And here Riley was with her black hoodie from the night before...

"OMG!" Disgust exclaimed, watching as the raven-haired girl rushed away with her friends. "The outfits here are cute! How did I not notice that before?"

Sadness couldn't help but smile, seeing her green friend becoming impressed once in a while. She herself had to admit the beaches were a lot more lively than back in Minnesota. And with people around, Riley would be more safe and secure.

Slowly lifting her hands from the console, the blue aura that surrounded it faded. She turned to her friends, who looked surprised (Fear looked frightened, actually), especially Joy.

"Something wrong, Sadness?" the yellow emotion asked nervously.

The teardrop-shaped being offered them all a gentle, loving smile. She shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong," she assured them like a mother to a worrisome child. "I think we can leave Riley alone for now."

She gestured toward the screen. Through their kid's eyes, she was simply drinking in the actual beauty that was of a San Franciscan beach. The view was honestly too nice to turn away from. And Riley hardly moved as she sat upon a nearby rock, its surface smooth enough for her to relax on.

There didn't need to be anything to be happy about. Or grossed out about. Or even be angry, sad, or scared about.

Riley could just relax, and just think.

Soon the emotions were sitting on the couch, gazing through her eyes as the sight of those crashing waves enticed them. Even Disgust hadn't made one glance at her nails during the time.

"I can't believe people can actually make money off finding stuff in the water," she commented. "As gross as that is...that's some quick cash right there."

"Hey, is Riley going to have lunch anytime soon?" Anger asked, leaning his head back against the couch. "Because if she's eating by herself, the food here don't look too bad. At least I hope not."

As the others talked among themselves, Joy sat cross-legged by her blue-colored companion. Sadness sat back with her legs splayed in front of her. Belly slightly tucked out, she and Joy were drinking in the view as much as Riley was.

Both glanced at one another. No words needed to be said as they simply smiled, then looked back toward the screen.

Fear was about to say something to either of them. However, the moment he opened his mouth, a loud banging erupted through HQ.

He let out a terrified yelp, arms flinging around before he hopped onto the closing thing he could cling to.

Which turned out to be Anger.

"What was that?" the purple emotion exclaimed, barely realizing his hands were wrapped around the tiny frame that was the red emotion himself.

Anger growled, glaring daggers at him. The top of his head was crisping with orange flakes, wanting to burn Fear on the spot.

"Get off of me!" he shouted, shoving the worrisome nerve out of his space.

Fear stumbled to the ground, having difficulty getting up as his head whipped around HQ.

Sadness turned her head to the side. "I think that was the front door."

Disgust and Joy looked at her in utter confusion, as if the word was completely foreign to them.

"We have a front door?" the green emotion asked.

"I always knew we did," Joy mentioned sheepishly. "Although I forgot where it was. We've hardly ever had company over here."

"I'll go get it-" Sadness offered.

"No, no!" the yellow emotion assured her, gently holding the blue emotion back. "Allow me!"

The glass-sporting girl was rather doubtful of her friend, especially since Joy had never read one manual. But she knew the other blue-haired emotion just wanted to contribute the tiniest bit, and save Sadness the trouble. After all, she had been on the console since last night, and no doubt she was going back to it when Riley was done gazing at the ocean.

"Okay!" Joy said cheerfully as she wandered off. "Now where's that door?"

The others watched as she stopped in front of a wall. Her body stiffened, feeling rather ridiculous. She whipped herself around, forcing a smile as she walked in the opposite direction.

"Okay, door's not there!" she said, trying to keep her confidence intact.

Sadness played with her fingers timidly, watching her friend go from one wrong place to another. She wanted to voice out where exactly the door was, but she decided Joy needed to figure this out on her own. Like that time with the "shortcut".

"Okay, not here..." the yellow emotion muttered.

She was about to turn and hit her side against the console, nearly toppling over. She quickly picked herself up, smiling wearily at the others. No one said a word, not wanting to dent Joy's pride more than it already was.

"I think it's over-" she began hurriedly, running toward another end of the room. "No, wait, I was just here..."

The banging got louder, making Fear nervous, Disgust irritated, Anger wishing to just punch a wall, and Sadness worried for her friend.

"Okay..." Joy muttered, rubbing her scalp. "Maybe I don't exactly got this..."

"Hey, is anyone home?" called a voice belonging to none of the others.

Her head whipped toward beneath the stairs. Toward the platform where deliveries were often sent through a wide doorway. Banging echoed from outside it.

"Oh, what?" she exclaimed in shock. "How could I have missed that?"

"That's where our deliveries are made," Sadness spoke up. "There's always a door right next to the mail slot."

Joy rubbed her face, feeling even more like an idiot. However, she gave her friend a worn out smile, grateful for her assistance even though it came too late.

"Let me guess," she said rather teasingly, "the manuals?"

"I'll go get it and show you," the blue emotion replied as she walked off toward the small library. "You just go answer the door."

Once she left, Joy glanced toward the base for where their packages were always brought. She scratched her head, wondering how exactly she was supposed to answer the door.

Frankly, Joy felt bewildered that she had never noticed the door before. How many times had she grabbed a bulb delivered from the Idea Fields and placed it in the console, with the door being right there in plain sight?

It was like her own mind had edited it out from her sight like what was done with the nose—a fact that Fear found out to be the freakiest thing ever. How could something be there and the mind declare it "Not Important: Forget It!" until it was paid attention to?

Maybe that was the case with her own blindness to how badly she had treated Sadness...

She could see some figure trying to peek through the window at the door. Wondering who in the world could be coming here—though the timing was impeccable, since they weren't needed for Riley right now—she managed to discover the knob for probably the first time ever.

She opened the door to greet whoever their visitor was.

Joy was met with two Mind Workers who both bore a dark transparent shade of blue. She couldn't remember the last time these people had arrived at HQ, mainly because the emotions had wanted the place to be spruced up a bit. It was probably when Riley turned 8 and Disgust demanded her bedroom to be redecorated.

However, the moment Joy noticed the black belts and officer caps, her yellow complexion paled.

"Oh..." her voice trailed off, eyes widening.

She was unsure of what to say, especially since she and Sadness had crossed paths with these officers at least twice. Joy was certain that they must be here to "discuss" the chaos that occurred back in Dream Productions, especially with the involvement of a certain terrifying clown.

Behind her stood Anger, Disgust, and Fear, all regarding the guards with surprise. For the purple emotion, he was chewing on his nails, worried someone was going to end up arrested. Police officers sometimes made him nervous.

For a moment, the two guards peered at Joy, as if studying her. However, their questionable expressions slowly transformed into ones of utter delight.

"Hey, Flora!" the one with the large mustache called over his shoulder rather excitedly. "They are home!"

Joy blinked in confusion, wondering what exactly was going on if she wasn't going to be reprimanded. However, she didn't have time to question the moment a plum-colored Mind Worker with sparkling purple hair, glasses, and a brown coat came into view.

It was the director from Dream Productions.

The yellow emotion swallowed, unable to find her voice even as the woman beamed at her.

"Oh, thank Imagination we found you!" the director known as Flora exclaimed.

"Um, okay?" Joy said uneasily, becoming even more confused.

"Uh, can we come in?" Flora asked, gesturing toward the interior of HQ.

Joy blinked, before looking over her shoulder toward her three friends. They all just shrugged, Anger appearing rather reluctant to have uninvited guests over.

"Of course," the yellow emotion responded quickly before motioning the three to enter.

Her heart just beginning to steady, she let out a deep breath she didn't know she had, still feeling uncertain as the Mind Workers came into their base.

"Um, hey," Joy began, "about what happened at Dream Productions-"

"That's exactly why I'm here," Flora cut in, grinning.

Joy felt her insides squirm. "Well, I'm so sorry we wrecked your set last night. We just really needed Riley to wake up so we could take the train to-"

The purple-haired Mind Worker raised a hand, stopping Joy in mid-sentence. She didn't appear the least bit mad over what had happened to her work the night before. Her smile never changed as she regarded Joy in a friendly manner.

"It's fine," she told the emotion.

Joy stared at her. "What? You mean...after we had Jangles crash through the studio...you're not angry?"

Fear, standing to the side with the others, as the Subconscious Guards watched, overheard this. His eyebrows raised. No wonder a fear of Riley's had suddenly popped into her mind despite how many years it had been!

"Okay, I was a little angry about that," Flora admitted. "However, it got me thinking."

She pulled out a lightbulb from the pocket of her quote. Making her way toward the console, she found the special port where bright ideas were inserted.

Joy's eyes widened, realizing what Flora was about to do.

"Um, wait!" she called, stopping the Mind Worker. "What are you doing?"

"Showing off images taken back at the studio," the director responded nonchalantly.

"But...but..." Joy stammered. "If you show them through the screen, Riley will see them!"

Flora glanced toward the blank screen, the San Franciscan beach breathtaking to her. She shrugged at the emotion.

"It's not exactly the weirdest thing Riley's seen so far," she assured Joy. "Trust me, seeing pictures of you won't bother her too much."

The golden-skinned emotion froze as Flora said that.

Riley? Seeing something within her mind? Possibly taking an actual look at what one of her emotions looked like? That was if she did believe those were her emotions...

Was that even allowed?

Joy didn't have time to question as Flora inserted her bulb into the port.

Soon, images of everything that happened in the studio came flashing onto the screen. Seemed the camera workers had done a great job, having taken a shot of every moment that occurred on the set. From when the dream was just beginning, right to the point where Jangles came crashing in...
~

Riley blinked, breaking away from the view of the beach. Her mind suddenly felt jumbled, odd pictures crossing her vision.

Not entirely sure if they were a blur or not, they seemed almost familiar. But her thoughts were completely mixed as she didn't even remember last night's dream. Except for the clown, nothing else.

However, the images in her head kept showing not just that unicorn she dreamed most nights. She thought she saw a little yellow person. Followed by a blue one and a pink one.

That last one made her ponder a bit more.
~

The red, green, and purple emotions approached the console, staring up at the screen. They had yet to question Joy and Sadness what exactly happened outside HQ.

The pictures themselves gave them more answers than they expected.

"The dog was you?" Fear cried, pointing at one image. "You scarred Riley doing that...thing?"

Joy rubbed her arms sheepishly, glancing at a few others pictures. She couldn't help but admire the ones of Rainbow Unicorn; she wished she had seen that dream.

"Uh, Jangles!" Disgust gagged, seeing that painted face and scary green eyes come into view. "I thought I'd never see that guy again!"

"Yeah, the guards managed to take care of him," Flora mentioned, gesturing to the officers standing aside. "It wasn't easy, and we're still shaken up by it. But at least he's back in the Subconsciousness where he'll terrify no one with his balloon animals and cheesy slapstick humor."

Joy spotted a few pictures showing her face. She really liked how the workers captured her perfectly. She couldn't help but grin as she flashed her happy smile while donning the dog costume. Or the way she ran, dress twirling, as she and Sadness made a run for the train.

However, it still didn't answer why exactly the director of Dream Productions was here in HQ.

"I still don't understand," Joy said, turning to Flora. "What's this all have to do with you here?"

Flora's expression softened. "Look, last night got me thinking. Rainbow Unicorn's Fairy Dream Adventures are great."

"Yeah, right..." Fear muttered to himself, averting his gaze to the floor.

"But Riley deserves something different," she went on. "We'll still have the Fairy Dream episodes going, but we want to give her something with a little more...heart."

She carefully took ahold of the controls. Joy almost wanted to stop her, worried she might not realize she was tinkering with their kid's mind. But Flora seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she used one of the switches like a mouse and zoomed into one image in particular.

Joy looked up. It was the image of when she first met Rainbow Unicorn. She would forever treasure that moment; but she still wished she could have gotten an autograph.

"RU mentioned to us about a certain emotion who talked to her that day," Flora explained. "When we saw the images of that certain emotion, it made me think further over what Dream Production really needs."

Joy slowly nodded, trying to piece together where exactly this was going.

"She said she was kind of taken by the niceness and sincerity that certain emotion had showed," Flora resumed. "True, it was only a few words, but RU as well as myself noticed that the emotion in particular seemed to show something. Something so special that the emotion didn't even notice it herself."

Joy's heart quickened. She had a feeling she knew where this was going...and she was growing excited.

"And when we talked about it, it made me think 'Huh, this beautiful lady with the blue hair and blue eyes seems interesting...'."

Joy was unable to contain herself, feeling the suspenseful atmosphere growing stronger.

"Uh-huh..." she murmured, nodding vigorously.

"And we really want some new person coming in to liven up our works, maybe throw in her own ideas..."

It was then Joy immediately let out a scream. Not a terrified scream like the one Fear emitted as he hunched over, arms over himself. It was more of an excited, fangirl-meeting-celebrity kind of scream. Everyone else leaned away, wincing and covering their ears as Joy's voice nearly broke glass.

Flora stood back, her side pressed to the console as she watched the emotion continue to scream. Her lips tweaked in an uneasy frown, eyes hardly blinking.

After Joy finally stopped screaming, she rushed over and shook Flora's hand. The Mind Worker could barely feel her arm, with the way Joy gripped it and handled it like a jumprope in action.

"I would be honored to star in your upcoming dreams!" the yellow emotion cried.

Before Flora could say anything, Joy was already in the zone, imagining everything at the studio with her inclusion.

"Okay, I will have to try and balance between here and Dream Productions," she rambled, "but that's okay! It's not like Riley actually needs me 24/7!"

She turned to her three friends, who all just stared at her, unable the believe what was going on.

"And my friends can come too!" she continued happily. "They can work as recurring characters for all the dreams I'll star in!"

Flora wrung her hands nervously. "Uh, Joy..."

"I hope I'll be part of Fairy Dream Adventures too," the emotion added. "I mean, then Rainbow Unicorn and I can actually talk, and a talk with her is all I ask for!"

"Joy-"

"I might need a new dress if I'm going to star in my first ever dream," she stated, hands smoothing over her outfit. "But then again, if Riley's actually going to see me, she'll have to see my favorite outfit and-"

"JOY!"

The emotion stopped, then turned to Flora. The director gritted her teeth, eye twitching as she tried to keep herself composed. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Joy. Her expression appeared rather remorseful.

"I wasn't talking about you," she said gently.

It felt like an anvil fell on her foot as Joy just stared at Flora. The image of her walking down that aisle, showered with adoration as she waved to her fans, immediately came crashing down.

"What?" she gasped. "But then who-"

Flora sighed. "The cute blue-haired, blue-eyed lady I was talking about is-."

"Oh, Joy!"

Everyone turned the moment a certain blue emotion came into view. Having gone to their little manual library to pick up some things, she made her presence known behind the wall that completely concealed her from what was actually going on. She couldn't even see what was going on due to carrying a large stack of manuals that covered her view.

"I found that manual I was talking about," Sadness said, wobbling with all the books in her small hands. "I also found a few others I'm sure you would want to look at."

However, she stumbled a bit, thus dropping all her manuals to the floor. Grunting, her blue eyes blinked at the sight of the familiar Mind Workers before her.

"Uh...um..." she swallowed. "H-hello..."

Flora's face broke into a delighted grin as she approached Sadness.

"And there she is!" she exclaimed happily, gesturing toward the emotion.