Joy opened her eyes. Nothing met them. Literally.

She was standing in an expanse of grey that went on for as far as she could see. Her own glowing aura, although it had faded significantly since Puberty had struck, provided a bit of light, but there was hardly anything there to illuminate. Joy was able to recognize this landscape from previous dreams. This dream was turning out to be kind of boring so far.

Help me...

Or perhaps not.

The cry she'd fallen asleep hearing had returned, weak and distant, but just ahead of her. Joy broke into a brisk trot towards the mysterious cry. As she ran, an even fainter glow than her own revealed itself. Joy slowed her pace and continued towards that glow. A figure slowly took shape. It was humanoid, but tightly curled into a ball. Soft whimpers - the precursors of full-blown sobs - escaped from the little bundle. More details unveiled themselves as Joy came closer. The figure's arms, wrapped tightly around its knees, appeared to consist of particles. These particles, though, were a shade of yellow. Long black hair blanketed most of the body. The face was completely hidden.

"Um, are you okay?" Joy asked quietly.

The figure looked up, revealing a close-to-carbon copy of Joy's own face. Tears filled her deep blue eyes, which widened instantly upon seeing Joy.

"Who are you?" the girl whimpered. "Are you... an angel?"

Joy couldn't help but giggle. "No, silly! I'm just Joy. I heard you crying and... wanted to help out, you know?"

"No one can help me..." The girl began to cry again. Joy half-wished Sadness would find her way into this dream - Sadness was the resident expert on tears, after all. Joy eventually sat down beside the girl.

"No need to cry," Joy ventured. "It's gonna be okay."

The girl shook her head, tears still flowing freely. "Please... just leave me be," she gasped. "I have to hide this during the day, dreams are my only respite..."

"At least tell me your name," Joy suggested. "If things are that bad for you, maybe I can help you out in reality." And you can help me, she added silently.

"I'm Ecstacy. I live in the Subconscious, so good luck finding me. I'm a worthless Extreme who can't even do anything..." The tears were literally making puddles on the ground by this point. Joy was starting to get uncomfortable, but knew she'd found an opportunity.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?" Joy ventured. Ecstacy nodded, which was a good sign. "There's a friend of mine who'll be in the Subconscious soon. You'll know her when you see her. If you can, give her a message from me."

"I think I can do that," said Ecstacy, perking up considerably.

Joy took a deep breath. "Tell her I'm doing everything I can to get her back where she belongs, and I'll just need a little time. If it goes as planned, you'll be out of the Subconscious yourself. Sound good?"

Ecstacy smiled for the first time. "Sounds great."

"Ah, the Core Memories," sighed Hatred almost wistfully as the podium spiraled up. "Joy's prized possessions, the crown jewels of the Mind, yadda yadda yadda."

Terror gazed in awe at the gleaming orbs, brighter than any she'd ever seen in her life. So this was what she'd been missing. Even the brightest Subconscious Memories were lifeless rocks compared to these. 'Crown jewels' was a fitting term.

Terror twisted the podium until her eyes fixed upon a solid blue memory. The image inside showed a ten-year-old Sarah sitting on an unmade bed, hugging a teddy bear and bawling her eyes out. "Greif Island," Hatred answered the unspoken question. "Sarah lost her dad and never really got over it. If you want to claim the CMs, that one's a good place to start. The Island could use some rejuvenation anyway."

Terror smiled darkly. "As much as I would adore claiming this right away," she said, "I'd rather not arouse suspicion immediately. Better to make it a gradual process..." She laid her palms on the memory and closed her eyes. Almost instantly, her essence was aroused, coursing through her into the memory. When she opened her eyes, a thin stripe of purple, nearly invisible to an unaware eye, had wrapped itself around the orb. Outside, the Island itself had shifted slightly. The single statue of Sarah embracing her father was now surrounded by what appeared to be tiny gravestones. Again, from this distance, one could barely tell. "Perfect," said Terror with another smile. "A subtle change, really, but enough to establish a hold in Headquarters.

"I must warn you," Hatred added, "Greif Island really is on its last legs. Joy's changed a lot of memories of Sarah's dad back to yellow. The loss isn't really affecting her anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if it collapses within a month."

"Exactly why I started with it," Terror clarified. "It shouldn't affect the important aspects of Sarah's personality, but it will allow me some more prominence. And I can always claim the others eventually, can't I?"

"Good thinking," Hatred admitted. "But you'll have to convince everyone you belong here first. Let me fill you in on how things operate..."

Terror sat down in a swivel chair, spun around, and pressed her fingers together. "Please do."

Fear bounced like a pinball through the hollow tubes, yelping with every impact. As she was beaten up physically, she beat herself up mentally. How could she have been so stupid? The wardrobe was the most obvious hiding spot in Joy's room - heck, maybe even in all of Headquarters - and she should have known that. Under the bed would have been so much safer. She was just lucky that Joy had bluffed for as long as she had. And trying to fight back against Terror, of all people? Terror?! The equivalent of freaking Maleficent?! Worst idea ever. Fear had made herself one powerful enemy. An enemy who would stop at nothing to remove her from the equation entirely. The Subconscious was only the beginning. Besides, if there was anyone she should have confronted right away, it was Anger - no, Hatred now. She should have raised the alarm as soon as she'd heard that stupid phone ring. Granted, no one would have believed her, but it would have derailed Hatred and Terror's plans - and made herself even more of a target.

Well, either way, Fear had picked the wrong path, and she couldn't just flip back to page nine and start all over. She was paying the price for her stupid mistakes. Unceremoniously ejected from Headquarters, now headed to who-knew-where, with little to no chance of a safe return.

Suddenly, Fear felt suction give way to gravity, and before she could yelp again, she was buried waist-deep in a pile of the day's memories.

And she wasn't alone.

Surrounding the bin on every side, creatures Fear knew all too well. Monsters and villains from Sarah's worst nightmares, most mounted on beady-eyed, bloodthirsty, probably-equipped-with-lasers chickens. Fear shuddered as she gazed around at the crowd. Where had they come from? What did they want with her?

She was getting the feeling she was about to find out, whether she wanted to or not.

"Ah, good evening, Fear. We've been expecting you."

Fear's heart skipped a beat. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"No... it can't be..." she stammered. "G-g-Grinch?"

The greenish creature grinned in a way that churned Fear's stomach. "It most certainly is. And now that the matter of identity has been settled, we have a job to do. E.T., if you will?"

A short, squat pile of folded skin waddled up to the edge of the bin, extending a glowing finger towards Fear's forehead. Fear knew exactly what was meant by this. When Sarah's mother had selected the film for Movie Night two years ago, Joy had tried to help Sarah enjoy the classic, but Fear had quickly taken over. E.T. was terrifying, but not simply because of his appearance (although that may have been a factor). No, what had secured a memory of the little alien in the Subconscious was his apparent psychic power. The Subconscious version had taken this to an extreme, as Fear had dreaded and was now about to experience.

"No," Fear gasped. "Please - please, no... don't - you can't - no!" It was too late. The finger had made contact. Fear blacked out.