(1.1) Carve

Joy tried to open her eyes, but the light carved into them like a blade, and she clenched them shut. She curled up a little more and groaned.

She felt like someone had taken her brain, pulled it apart, inspected it by poking it as much as possible, and put it back together backwards, upside down, and in a total mash. Her hands gripped at her head as if trying to pull her bright blue hair out by the roots.

"Are you okay, lady?" A voice floated down into her ear, and she winced.

"No," she managed to choke out through her moaning.

"Huh. Do you need some help?"

Joy let that thought ruminate for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure."

"Oh."

There was a pause, during which Joy recognized the loud sounds of a party going on in the background. She tried to open her eyes again, and found it slightly more bearable. Some sort of person filled her fuzzy vision.

"Where am I?" she asked, scrunching her eyes shut again.

"Well if you're talking about the alley name, I have no idea. But if you want the name of the city, it's New Orleans."

"Hmm. Okay." Joy went back to groaning - until she realized what the voice had said. "Wait, what?"

"New Orleans. Seriously, what did you drink last night? It must have been pretty stiff." The voice sounded slightly sarcastic. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Her headache (if you wanted to call this utter annihilation of her mind that) had not abated since she became aware of her surroundings, and her surprise only aggravated it. She started to moan again.

That was when she was hit with a bucket of water.

"Gah!" She sat up instantly, trying not to sputter. "What was that for?" She looked at the water thrower.

He had a mop of brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and was smiling slightly at her. He was also shimmering slightly, a sort of golden aura. However, that was all irrelevant based off of one fact…

He was a human!

She could feel herself coalescing.

Blue.

It was an odd sort of feeling, but it also felt right, like she was supposed to do this.

Crying.

Her parts were coming together.

Greif.

Sadness burst into existence.

Disgust awoke with a splitting headache.

Her eyes blinked open, and she winced, the stark light of consciousness lighting the pile of memories she was laying on to an almost unbearable glow. She pushed herself up, and blinked rapidly to clear her head.

"Urgh…"

Her feet shook slightly, then steadied.

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

She looked about, and saw the sign for Dream Productions.

"Well, at least there's civilization here." She stood and walked towards the building.

Disgust walked underneath Dream Production's archway.

It was as silent as the Dump. On one wall, the lights over some of the posters flickered. Tons of random set pieces lay up against the walls on either side of the roadway. One light had fallen over, and was sparking near its bulb.

Disgust walked over to the side of the road and picked up a woolen sheep costume. She sniffed at it.

"Ugh. I don't know how they wear those things." She dropped it next to the wall. "And where is everyone?" She stepped over the lamp and continued down the barren hall.

It was then that she heard a noise. She twisted, and looked over at the lounge like building across the street. She quietly walked up to the door, gulped, and pushed it open.

Fear stood in front of the mind manual bookshelf, his eyes slightly glazed over.

"You don't need to be here. You could move on. Find somewhere else to be."

But I need to help her! She's broken!

"But you can't fix her."

Fear's hands started to quiver.

I can try. And that's what counts.

"But it's not logical to try to do something impossible."

Joy once told me that nothing is impossible. He leaned his hands on the shelf in front of him. It just seems that way from your perspective.

"And see where that's gotten her."

Do you think I care?

"I think you care too much."

So what if I do?

"It's not logical! Why do you care?"

Because if I don't…

"Yes?"

...no one will.

Fear grabbed the first book on the shelf and flipped it open to the first page.

She was… on fire?

The flames didn't really hurt, though.

Sadness stretched out a hand and stared at the blue… light refraction? She wasn't entirely sure. It kept her warm for some reason. As she lifted her hand, it seemed to shimmer the light slightly, many shades of blue shimmering over the papers and filing cabinets of the Library.

She looked up to see Bing Bong. It was then that she realized that she couldn't hear anything, since he was obviously saying something, but she couldn't hear it. As she made this realization, she found that the voice was coming through. It faded in and out, fizzing slightly.

"...to concentrate! You haven't-" - a break - "solidify! Focus on your Individuality! It-" - a break - "-sane and-" a break - "together!"

She got the gist, and started to focus. She meant something. It was her that helped Riley when she need comfort. She couldn't make Riley happy, and she wasn't good at keeping her safe.

Because we all have a purpose…

But she helped those that needed it.

...even if we don't know it yet.

She

was

Sadness!

The Flames of Imagination condensed in a spectacular blue light show.

The blue light reached Headquarters, where a red brick was staring at the console. He looked up when he saw the light flickering over where the screen would be through the window. His chair turned around, and he walked over to the window.

He watched the blue light slowly flicker away into a faraway point.

Across the room, a purple emotion hardly noticed the pyrotechnics. He was too busy reading.

Memories

Memories are an efficient method of recall for the host. They hold thoughts on a scene coupled with an emotion.

They are generally made when a notable event happens and an Emotion uses the Console. (See pages 232 and 765.) They should come out of the Memory Shute when this action is performed.

Memories are the most efficient method of recall in comparison to other forms of transport, since they are linked to an emotion. The more emotional a scene, the easier it is to recall it from Long Term Memory. (See page 277.) If a memory is important enough, it can come as a Core Memory instead. (See page 455.)

If you experience problems creating memories, the Mind Space may default to using Facts and Opinions as the normal method of informative travel. (See The Factual Mind Manual, Vol. 2, page 13.) Please attempt to restart the memory making process as soon as possible. (To see a list of possible problems, turn to Appendix II.)

He flipped the page, and continued reading.

If he was going to do this, he was going to do it one step at a time.

Disgust peered into the room. It had the look of a lounge that one would use to get away from crowds. A coffee machine stood in one corner, and a couch lay against one wall. It was much darker then she would have suspected, even considering the decrepit state outside. She stepped into the room.

Or she would have, if a blade hadn't been pressed to her throat.

Disgust froze, and stared down the length of the blade at the offending arm.

A Mind Worker stared back at her. It's arm shook slightly. "What are you doing here?" It's voice quavered slightly.

"I… I don't mean any harm! I just didn't know where everyone went!"

The Mind Worker stilled for a second, but the blade started quivering faster. It blinked at her.

Then, it fell on the floor laughing.

Disgust stared down at the purple grape-like figure, trying to figure out what exactly she had done.