(A/N: The next chapter is here. I didn't know if I would get it out in time since I was on vacation. Went to Florida for a week. It was nice, but MAN did I get sunburn. So, in this chapter, we'll be getting a look at I.B.'s plans for Riley. They won't be good. Hope you like it. Easter Eggs ahoy!)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 8: Inner Workings

Riley felt a little funny after having woken up. She didn't know what was wrong, but she felt a bit… off, like something was missing from her life. The last time she felt like this was back when she first moved, only not as intensely, like only a part of her was missing instead of all of her. Had anyone she knew had taken notice, they would have said that she just didn't seem like herself.

Deciding that she was just having an off day, she put on a happy face and went to school. She'd feel more like herself once she saw Jordan and her friends.

I.B. smirked as he rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Don't bet on it, my dear. Your friends might help, but not Jordan. Lets recall a few bad memories." He pulled out the blank slate. "How about the time he cancelled your date."

He pressed a button and recalled the blue memory. The time when Jordan got grounded for failing his math test and was unable to go on the date he and Riley had plans for began playing. With it, a feeling of sadness washed over Riley, and her walk lost a bit of its spring.

"Or how about the time he forgot your one month anniversary," I.B. continued, recalling that memory as well.

The red memory began playing, making Riley scowl. A month after she and Jordan had started dating, he hadn't done anything for their one month anniversary. Riley had been very upset about that. Worse, he hadn't even considered the day to be monumental, thinking it was only the yearly anniversary that was important.

I.B. snorted. "Amateur. Everyday with Riley is a precious gift from up above."

He quickly stopped the memory from playing before Riley remembered that Jordan had made up for his ignorance two days later with a wonderful gift; there was no reason to remind her of the good times she had with him.

"Ooh, how about the time a fan-girl kissed him."

He pressed the recall button, and… "TripleDent Gum, will make you smile-"

"Come on already!" He could see why that memory got on Anger's nerves.

After pressing a few buttons, the correct memory began playing, showing the time when Jordan's band had a gig, after which one of the fan-girls in the crowd had suddenly latched onto Jordan and kissed his cheek. He'd quickly pushed the girl away, but Riley had been jealous with a capital J.

Sufficient to say, by the time Riley made it to school, she was both sad and angry, namely at Jordan. The poor boy didn't know what hit him as he was met with hostility when he greeted her at the gate.

"Hey, Riley."

She hardly spared him a glance. "Hi," she grumbled, marching past him.

Jordan blinked, caught off guard by her tone. "Um, how's your morning going?"

I.B. grinned. "I think a snippy sarcastic response would work best here. Thanks for showing me the ropes, Disgust."

"Oh, it's fantastic," Riley replied irritably. "It's all sunshine and rainbows."

Smirking, I.B. nodded along with what she was saying. "Good one. I liked the sunshine and rainbows remark. That's my girl."

Jordan, however, was taken aback. "Um, ok. Hey, did you hear about that team of super heroes that showed up in San Fransokyo?" He held up a newspaper that showed a team of five humans and what seemed to be a robot. "They're the biggest news story since that old man with the flying balloon house."

I.B. tapped his chin. "Hmm, superheroes, huh. Lets use that."

Riley barely glanced at the paper. "Great, maybe they can come save me from this crappy day."

Jordan's face fell. "Hey, Riley, you feeling ok?"

"Alright, now let him have it," said I.B., punching his palm. "Come on, listen to that little voice in the back of your head."

"I feel great!" Riley snapped. "I just need to get to class! I'll see you later."

I.B. nodded. "Nice. Very nice. Now lets improve your mood with some thoughts of what a real boyfriend should be like."

He recalled the memory of when he was thought up. "I would die for Riley!"

"And be happy," he said, pressing the button.

As Riley walked away, Jordan was left standing at the gate, wondering what he did wrong. Inside his own head, his own Emotions were just as lost.

"What happened?" his Disgust asked. "She just snapped at us for no reason."

"Maybe it wasn't for no reason!" his Fear cried hysterically. "Maybe we did something wrong, like that time we didn't get her a one month anniversary present!"

"I tell you," his Anger grumbled, "girls are crazy."

"Wait, wait, wait," said his Joy, "maybe it's a different kind of anniversary. You know, that type of anniversary that all girls get every month."

The other Emotions' eyes widened in understanding. "Oooooh," they chorused.

"Tell me again," said his Disgust, "why did we decide girls are no longer icky?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The loud rumbling drew the Emotions' attention. Hanging over the Memory Dump, the powered down Island for Romantic Love tried to function in response to Riley's interaction with Jordan. Yet without the Core Memory powering it, the Island could not start up.

"Romance Island!" Joy cried in horror.

It was the same as last time. Unable to power up, the Islands would eventually collapse and crumble to pieces, dropping into the Memory Dump. Joy's hands went up to her mouth as she watched the Island tremble. She couldn't bear to watch it fall; yet she couldn't look away.

Finally, the rumbling stopped. Though a little worse for wear, the Island still stood, much to the Emotions' relief. But there was no telling how much longer before it and the other Islands lacking their Core Memories would collapse.

They could still fix it though. All they had to do was get back up to Headquarters and plug the Core Memories back in. All the damage done to the Islands would be fixed, and any that collapsed would be remade. But there was no telling what irreversible damage would take place in Riley's life in the mean time. They had to get back up to Headquarters, and they had to get back up there now.

"When is the blasted train going to get here?" Anger demanded, his head steaming. "Riley's been awake for hours, and so far, we've seen the train stop at every single station, except for this one!"

"There's really no telling," said Sadness gloomily. "The train goes everywhere, so we can't say or be sure when it will come here, just that it will."

Disgust scoffed. "Well that's stupid. Shouldn't there be a schedule?"

"Different thoughts occur at different times, and in different situations," Sadness explained. "So the train goes to wherever the thoughts are to pick them up."

They fell silence after that. Fear tapped his fingers together anxiously while Disgust examined her own. Anger would occasionally grumble about all the different ways he was going to hurt I.B. while Joy hummed to keep herself distracted. She noticed Sadness sitting off to the side by herself, drawing imaginary circles on the ground with her finger.

With a sigh, she approached the blue Emotion. To say that she and Sadness didn't understand each other was a bit of an understatement. Oh sure, they were friends, and they got along well enough, but being literal opposites, it made it difficult to comprehend many things relating to the other.

Which posed the question, how should she approach her? She knew Sadness was hurting from I.B.'s betrayal, so how did she make her feel better? It was already hard enough to cheer up the always sad blue Emotion, or at least make her less sad, how was she supposed to help with her broken heart?

Sitting down beside her, she watched as Sadness continued to trace circles with her finger. "Sooooo, how you holding up?"

The blue Emotion didn't even glance at her and simply shrugged. "Oh, ok, I guess. As well as can be given the situation."

Joy sighed. So much for small talk. "I'm sorry I.B. turned out to be such a jerk."

Sadness shook her head. "No, it's my fault for not realizing that he was using me. I should have known better. No one would want to be with someone as gloomy as me."

"Sadness," Joy exclaimed, putting an arm around her, "that's not true. Don't say things like that. He just didn't appreciate how special and important you are. Even I didn't realize it until we got lost together and I got to know you better. We're all needed; we balance each other out. I'm an idiot for not figuring that out sooner, but I realized my mistake while I.B. didn't. His loss."

She received a sad smile from the blue Emotion. "Thanks, Joy. You're a good friend." She frowned again. "I just hope we can reclaim Headquarters before anything really bad happens."

"Think positive. Whatever damage I.B. does can be undone. We are the perfect team after all. He doesn't know who he's messing with. Just you wait, we'll be back in control in no time."

"But what about I.B.? He won't just give up."

"Oh, don't worry about that. When Anger gets his hands on him, he'll be begging us to lock him away in Riley's Subconscious for his own protection."

Sadness smiled slightly again, and the two fell silent as they waited for the train. As Fear's anxiety and Anger's impatience grew, the train finally pulled into the station.

"It's about time!" the red Emotion thundered. "Doesn't Riley ever use this parts of her brain?"

"People only use 10 percent of their brain at a time," Sadness told him as she walked by.

They climbed on board, setting down amongst the crates full of thoughts. Soon enough, they were off. The tracks materialized as the train rode along them, disappearing shortly after. Headquarters was in sight, and they were getting closer.

"We'll be there in no time," Joy assured them.

Anger cracked his knuckles. "Good. And the first thing I'm going to do is tie that miserable excuse for an imaginary character to the tracks and watch as the train runs him over."

"Yeah," Disgust muttered, "about that. How exactly are we going to get into Headquarters? I.B.'s not going to open the door if he sees us."

Joy tapped her chin. "Hmm, good point." She snapped her fingers. "I got it. Wait here."

She hurried to the front of the train. A few minutes later, she came back with a Mind Worker.

"So what's the plan?" Fear asked.

"This," the Mind Worker replied lazily, and dumped over a box, spilling its contents on the floor. "You guys will hide in these boxes, and we'll deliver them."

Sadness looked down at the spilled contents. "But now everything is unorganized."

The Mind Worker just waved it off. "It's just the presidents and who their vice presidents were. Stuff like that gets mixed up all the time anyway. Now come on, hop in; we're almost there."

Two more boxes were dumped to make room, and the Emotions hid inside. The train pulled into Headquarters' station, and the Mind Workers unloaded the train.

"Ok, now keep quiet," said the Mind Worker who was helping them, and rang the doorbell.

Inside, I.B. glanced at the door. Looking out the window, he saw the train. He knew it would come, had seen it stop by periodically throughout the day when he and the Emotions "worked" together. He also knew that it was the only way to get to Headquarters.

"Hello," the Mind Worker called from the other side of the door when he didn't open it. "Got some more deliveries for Thought Processing."

Which would require him to open the door. How stupid did they think he was? "Open the boxes."

The Mind Worker froze. "Um, what?"

"I said open the boxes. I want to see what's inside."

There was hesitation on the Mind Worker's part. "It's just everyday thoughts and knowledge. Nothing important."

"Then there should be no problem in opening them."

It was clear that the Mind Worker was trying to think of an excuse. "Um, I don't want to accidentally mix up the information, so-"

"Don't worry about that. I'll handle it if anything gets mixed up. Now open the boxes."

"I… uh… look, I got a lot of deliveries here. I don't have time to open every single-"

The box closest to the door opened. "Ah, just forget it!" Anger snapped, his head flaming.

Joy popped out of her box too. "Anger, you ruined it!"

"Oh, please! The guy was totally on to us."

Sighing, Joy climbed out, as did the other Emotions. They walked over to the door as I.B. peered at them through the peep hole. "Welcome back, my friends."

"Friends nothing!" Anger shouted. "You better let us in right now!"

"Or what, grandpa? Your buddies will use you as a battering ram?"

Disgust smirked. "Hey, that's not a bad idea."

"Shut up!"

Joy went right up to the door. "I.B., this has to stop. I understand how you feel, but-"

"No, you don't," the imaginary character snapped. "You Emotions could never understand how we imaginary characters feel. You're always there for Riley. She always feels something. You don't need to worry about never having Riley think about you or being forgotten. Tell me, Joy, that time you ended up in the Memory Dump, did you disappear? No, you didn't fade away in the least while poor Bing Bong, Riley's once beloved imaginary friend and companion, vanished completely."

Joy winced as she remembered how the friendly imaginary cotton candy-animal combination faded away before her very eyes, and she realized that I.B. was right, she would never know how he felt. Emotions never would fade away, for they were always needed. Even if Riley didn't feel one of them for a while, they would always be there, and would never be forgotten.

"I won't give up Riley," he continued. "She may forget about me, but I will never forget about her."

"I.B…" she said. "I'm sorry. I feel bad for you, I really do. But we all have a role to play. It's our job to be there for Riley when she needs us, not for her to be there for us when we need her. We're meant to make sure Riley has a happy and fulfilling life, no matter what that means for us."

I.B.'s fists clenched. "And I'll do that. I'll make Riley happy. I'm all she needs to be happy."

"Having an imaginary boyfriend is not the same as having a real one," Disgust added.

Throwing his hands in the air, Anger pushed his way past the others. "Enough of this! I don't buy your whole 'woe is me' act. The bottom line is that you're being selfish. You can't accept the fact that Riley's moved on, that she doesn't need you anymore, that she's happy without you. So you're forcing yourself into her life however you can, and forcing the illusion of happiness on her. She can't truly be happy with a fantasy. She needs something real. But you don't care what she needs or what she wants, just as long as you get to have her. You're just a jealous, selfish fool. Now get your butt back to Imagination Land, and let us do our jobs before you screw up Riley's life even more!"

I.B.'s eyes narrowed. "You're wrong. I would die for Riley-"

"Is that your catch phrase or something?" Disgust asked.

"-I will make sure she's happy," he continued. "Riley doesn't need a boyfriend to be happy. Many people remain single throughout their entire lives and are perfectly happy."

"That may be true," Joy admitted, "but Riley wants a boyfriend. She wants someone to love. She wants to be with Jordan, and you're trying to ruin that."

"I'm all Riley needs. I'm her perfect ideal boyfriend."

"This guy's a broken record," Fear whispered to the others.

"No one else can measure up. Anyone other than me is incompatible, and will lead to an eventual break up anyway. You can't beat perfection."

"I.B." Anger growled, massaging his forehead. "You can not go through life holding out for a literal fantasy. That's why it's called a fantasy, because it's not real! You're imaginary! Riley needs something real! Do you plan to turn her into a schizo or something, so that she can't tell the difference between what's real and what's not? Because that's the only way you're going to be able to have any type of relationship with her?"

I.B. rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous; that would be hazardous to her health."

Anger exploded. "You're hazardous to her health!"

Joy placed her hands on his shoulders, wary of his flames. "Whoa, calm down, big guy."

As she tried to hold back the red Emotion, Sadness slowly approached the door. "I.B., was everything between us really a lie?"

Through the peephole, I.B.'s eye narrowed. "You know the answer to that, Sadness."

She slowly lifted her head. "I know you used me, but I need to hear you say it. No more dodging the question. Did I really mean nothing to you?"

There was silence from the imaginary character, followed by a sigh. "I'm sorry, Sadness." And it sounded like he meant it. "It's always been Riley. I would do anything for her. Even if it means playing with her Emotions. But I meant what I said when I told you that it wasn't personal. I never wanted to hurt you. If there was a way to get to Riley without going through you, I would have taken it. But to answer your question, yes, I never felt anything special for you. I saw you as a way to get to Riley, and I took it. I'm sorry, but that's all you ever were to me."

Disgust made a sound of… disgust. "That is so wrong. How could you possible be Riley's ideal boyfriend? Do you really think Riley would go for someone who toys with and uses others like that?"

I.B. nodded. "You have a point. It may be a little contradictory, but Riley created me to be someone who would do anything for her." His tone became more serious. "Anything."

Joy placed her hands on her hips as Anger's annoyance affected her. "You know, Sadness is a part of Riley. Why couldn't you just be happy with her?"

"I can't be content just with Riley's Sadness. I need her, all of her, as much as I can get, and she needs me. And now I think it's time to say goodbye."

He rushed over to the control panel and pressed a button. Outside, a trapdoor opened beneath the Emotions' feet, and they found themselves falling to places unknown.

I.B. released the button and the trapdoor shut, sealing the Emotions inside. "Goodbye."

(A/N: Ouch that's rough. Poor Sadness was totally slammed. And poor Jordan too. He's got no idea what's going on. I.B. is really screwing things up. And where did he send them? You'll have to stay tuned to find out. I've got big plans for the next few chapters, so look forward to them. Oh, and one more thing, Joy and Sadness' interaction was not meant to be a hint at pairing. I know that there are people that ship them, but to me, any of the Emotions hooking up seems kind of incestuous to me, so there won't be any Emotion couples. But to those that do ship them, that's cool. To each their own. So, did anyone spot the two Easter Eggs? There were two of them. If you didn't here's a hint, they were during Riley's interaction with Jordon. Props if you find them.)