Inside out: Joy's last watch
Joy could feel a sting of an emotion she had never felt before. It caused great pain in her stomach, and brought shivers across her body, which had begun to lose its shine. Joy knows what it means; the end is approaching. The thought of the end brings a sense of mystery to her, but it also brings her a strange sense of joy too, knowing that she has done her duty to keep Riley safe through all these years. And it has been many years indeed. Riley, the once buzzling and mischievous girl, have grown into a fine old lady, having reached the very ripe age of 109. Joy has seen Riley go through the stresses and up and downs of puberty, had seen the girl have her first kiss in secret behind the local concert hall, had seen Riley give birth to five beautiful children who had all grown up to become wonderful people, and had seen Riley not only become a grandmother, but also a great-grandmother, and even a great-great-grandmother only two months ago. She has seen Riley being visited by the President of the United States when she turned 100years of age, and she has seen the dramatic changes to the world that Riley has had to witness over the course of her long life. But Joy has also seen the pain that Riley has gone through. When her husband died when they lost their sixth child to sudden death syndrome, and the pain of losing so many friends and family members when the Third World War ravaged the planet. But despite how much pain Riley has been put through, Joy has always been here for her, helping her through it all, and lifting her spirit during the war when she only felt like she wanted to die to escape the terrible nightly bombing raids that killed so many friends, family members, and neighbors. She has helped Riley in the most difficult of times and has left her very own imprint that will forever live on in the DNA of Riley's descendants, having been the author of numerous Instruction Manuals that she and the rest of the Emotions would pass on to Riley's children. It was busy times indeed when Riley decided to have children of her own; every single little piece of chromosomes and instructional manuals required for the future Emotions of the child had to be made by hand by Joy and the others of Riley's emotions. It brings a tear to Joy's eyes to remember back all those years to the times when Riley was at her peak.
But this time, there is nothing Joy can do to bring Riley back from her downfall. Riley had suffered a serious fall down the stairs, which had caused a chain reaction that had left her in a terrible state, her health only continuing down a downward spiral. Despite the best efforts put forth by her emotions and the bodily workers, Riley's health soon reached the point of no return, and the Death Alarm began to ring, signifying that the end had begun. Joy had spent numerous hours reading through the manuals of the Endtimes but seeing as no Emotions has ever been able to see what happens after the person, they are station with dies, the manuals offered her no answer to her questions; they only provided her with instructions on how to give Riley as much comfort and pain-relieve as she possibly could in those final minutes. It also told her something else, something that instantly sparked a fear she never knew she had. The manual told her that as the end approaches, Riley's Emotions will gradually fade away into oblivion one by one, until only one remains, whose job it will be to shut Riley down when the time is right. This process had begun a week ago when Disgust faded away and died. Anger was next, swiftly followed by Fear. Sadness faded away two days ago. Even Riley's youngest Emotion, Love, the Emotion who had turned into such a close friend to Joy, had faded away only hours ago. Leaving Joy, the final emotion, and she could feel her strength seeping away from her body, and she could also sense that Riley was on the verge of passing on. Where to exactly Joy could not know. All she knew is that the end was inevitable, regardless of how much she did not wish to shut Riley down. She knows that if she does not do it, Riley will only linger and linger until such a time that her nervous circuits finally give up, causing a short-circuit that will violently and painfully throw her into the grasps of Death. No, it would be better for Riley to find her final rest in a peaceful and pain-free manner, one which could leave her family with a sense of peace.
The minutes ticks by, as Joy can feel her strength weaken by the second. Finally, the alarm began to ring. The alarm notifying Joy that it was time. With her final bout of strength, Joy forces herself onto her feet, and staggers her way over to the control console. She finds the key that had been dropped when Love faded away, removes the protective covering over a keyhole marked with "Death", and turns the key three times to the right, followed by on quarter to the left. The console splits in the middle and begins to slide open. Out comes a new console, in all black, the Death Console. Joy takes one final moment to check Riley's vital signs, hoping for a last-minute glimmer of hope, but she finds none of it, Riley only becoming weaker by the seconds. She takes a deep breath, before she starts pushing the four buttons on the Death Console. The first big red one is covered covered by a protective covering to avoid accidental activations and marked with "Endorphins". Joy pushes the button, and a shiver ripples through Riley's entire body, causing the Control Center to shake. Joy wastes no time in pushing the remaining three in order; "Nervous system Master Control", "Dream Finale Show", and "Death Shutdown Procedure", all designed to give Riley as much comfort as can be provided in the final moments leading up to Death. As soon as the last button is pushed down, Joy feels her final strength give way, and she falls to the floor, gasping. She looks out the window of the Control Tower; Riley's seemingly endless plains of Memory Banks begins to turn their lights off and fade into darkness. Bodily Workers can be seen running around in panic, knowing that the end will come for them all now that Riley is dying. Joy looks at her hand; it has already begun to fade into non-existence. Her eyes look up at the Control Console and is barely able to see the screen showing Riley's vital signs. She can see Riley's heart rate begin to drop dramatically, as the endorphin levels skyrockets. No, her entire arm has faded away, and she loses her sense of feeling in her feet, signifying that they had begun to fade too. Finally, after about two minutes, Riley's heart stopped pumping, and everything around Joy was thrown into darkness, only the Control Console still bring weakly illuminating. Her legs are gone now, and Joy knows it is only seconds left before she too will pass on. What will be next? Will she ever meet Riley again? Will it be painful? Joy could only wonder as her body fades away, eventually only leaving her head left. With her final strength and breath, she mutters; Bye Riley, thank you… For everything.. But just as she can feel herself falling into a state of unconsciousness, she can suddenly hear a voice echoing through the control tower; Thank you Joy, for everything.. In her last moment, she realizes that the voice belongs to Riley, and the greatest sense of joy and relief she has ever felt washes through her as darkness takes hold over her, and she passes on into Eternity…