"Alright, you guys ready?" Joy rubbed his hands together, excited.
"I don't think this is going to work." Sadness shook his head.
"Oh, come on. This plan is foolproof."
"Yeah, Alegría, that's what you said about the other 95, and they've all failed." Disgust remarked.
"Trust me. No one can say no to a celebrity. Here we go!" Joy began driving the console.
Héctor stepped up to the monitor, disguised as Frida Kahlo. "Yes, it is I. Frida Kahlo. Shall we skip the scanner? I'm on so many ofrendas, it'll just overwhelm your blinky thingy..."
The monitor scanned him, but an "X" appeared, accompanied by a negative buzzing sound.
"Well shoot. Looks like no one put up your photo, Frida..." The Departures agent said.
"Quick, lose the disguise!" Fear cried.
Héctor peeled off his unibrow and threw off his frock. "Okay, when I said I was Frida... just now? That... that was a lie. And I apologize for doing that."
"No photo on an ofrenda, no crossing the bridge." The agent reminded him.
"You know what, I'm just gonna zip right over, you won't even know I'm gone."
"Run for it!" Fear shouted, taking the controls.
Héctor bolted for the bridge. A security guard blocked the gate. Héctor split in two and slid past the guard, half going over, half under.
"Ha, ha! They're not gonna stop us this time!" Anger cheered.
Héctor reached the bridge at a sprint but began to sink right into the petals.
"Oh no! Not again!" Fear cried. "We gotta get across! We have to see her!"
The guards came to the bridge and casually pulled Héctor back toward the Land of the Dead.
"Can't you let us cross just once, you stupid flower bridge!" Anger shouted, shaking his fist.
"Well, that went well." Disgust rolled his eyes.
"I knew it wasn't going to work. We'll never get to cross over." Sadness whined. "This was our last chance."
Joy sadly walked away while the other emotions took over the console. He glanced at the wall of multi-colored memories and sighed. Héctor barely had any happy memories since he died. Joy then looked out the window at the Islands of Personality. They were still connected to their light lines, but had lost most of their color. A side effect of being forgotten.
Music Island was one of Joy's favorites. He remembered when Héctor first learned to play guitar as a child. Music was his way of showing his feeling. He had such a passion for it that soon he began writing songs, and then music eventually became his career.
Another favorite was Goofball Island. With his gangly body, large ears, and nose, Héctor wasn't traditionally attractive, but he had a knack for acting goofy and funny in life. He loved making Imelda laugh, no matter how annoyed she got. Oftentimes, he even wore a dress to make Coco stop crying.
Joy also used to love Friendship Island. It was created from a Core Memory of the first time Héctor became best friends with Ernesto. But now, since Héctor was angry at him for stealing the songs, the two hadn't spoken in decades, and so the island was on the brink of collapse.
Then there was Family Island. In life, Héctor loved Imelda and Coco more than anything. For decades, he felt a deep sense of shame and regretted leaving them. He had tried many times to talk to Imelda after her death, but she always turned him away.
Surprisingly, the only island that had retained its color was Compassion Island. Being a very emotional person, Héctor could never bear to see anyone looking upset. He's always gentle with children and even cares for strangers. Anytime he's watched one of his shantytown family members face the final death, Héctor always did his best to comfort them before they faded away.