(A/N: Another fun chapter to write. I got to work a little bit with Riley's imagination a bit. You'll see what I mean when you read it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 12: The Subconscious

Gargled cries emitted from the Emotions' mouths as they were sucked up the tube. This was one ride they didn't want to repeat, and really hoped would end soon.

Like a drainpipe pouring into a large body of water, the Emotions were spat out of the tube. They splashed down into a river and were immediately swept away by the current, which wasn't much of an improvement over getting sucked through the tube.

Joy kicked for the surface. Her movements stirred up a series of bubbles around her, and she saw reflecting in them images of Riley's subconscious thoughts and feelings that she had yet to realize herself.

Breaking the surface, she looked around, spotting the other Emotions swimming close by. She saw that they were in what seemed to be a canal of some sort. She realized that this must be the Sea of Subconscious.

Along the sides of the canal, she spotted ladders hanging down the sides, and she called to her fellow Emotions. "Come on, this way!"

She and Disgust swam for the nearest ladder as Sadness doggy-paddled after them. Anger was left to tread water as Fear clung to him, wailing all the while, even as the red Emotion climbed the ladder.

"Get off me!" he snarled once they were on dry land, and Fear yelped as Anger's head ignited, jumping away from the flames.

Ignoring them, Joy looked down at the river. The 'water' was multicolored, as if it were oily, only the colors were much more vibrant and noticeable. And further down the river, she saw that it branched off into different directions, the water of each branch different shades of the same color, and even those branches broke off into even more branches into single shades of the same color.

"Uch, my hair is a mess," Disgust grumbled, ringing out her green locks. "What is the one thing I said I didn't want to happen? Not to mess up my hair. Just look at it." She looked around with a scowl on her face. "Where are we?"

"Weren't you listening?" Anger growled. "We're in Riley's Subconscious."

"It's fine," Joy assured them. "Sadness and I have been here before. This is where we found Jangles."

The color instantly drained from Fear's face. "J-J-Jangles…?" He fell back in a dead faint.

"Don't pass out here!" Anger snapped. He lifted the unconscious Emotion and began slapping him. "Wake up, you useless nitwit!"

Joy sighed. "Just carry him. We've got to get back up to Headquarters."

"Yeah, just one problem," Disgust pointed out as she placed a hand on her hip and waved around a finger. "I.B. still isn't going to let us in. We're just back to where we were before." She glanced around the Subconscious. "More or less."

Sadness flopped facedown on the ground. "It's hopeless. We're doomed."

"We're not doomed," Joy insisted. "Think positive. And don't say that you're positive that we're doomed."

"Ok, how about I'm positive we're finished."

She ignored the blue Emotion. "If we can't get I.B. to let us in, then we'll just have to break in."

"Oh, great," Anger snarled. "How exactly are we supposed to break in?"

That was a good question. Perhaps there was something in Imagination Land that could help. Or maybe she was just being extreme and breaking in wasn't necessary. If I.B. thought they were stuck in Heartquarters, maybe he would lower his defenses. Perhaps he even removed the blank slate and they could take a recall tube. If not, they could possible take the train back up and hope I.B. was no longer checking deliveries.

But if either of those plans failed, then their only option left would be to walk across the platforms of the Islands of Personalities that hung over the Memory Dump. But that was very dangerous, and even if they did make it across, how were they supposed to climb up the tall support beam of Headquarters and then break inside once they reached the top?

Thinking about it, when that had been her plan two years ago when she and Sadness had gotten lost, it hadn't been all that well thought out. How exactly had she planned on getting up there in the first place, especially with her arms full of Core Memories?

"Uch," came Disgust's complaining groan, bring the yellow Emotion out of her thoughts. "What is that smell? It smells like broccoli."

That was probably the giant broccoli tree, Joy recalled. She remembered coming across it and the much scarier version of the stairs to Riley's grandmother's basement when they went searching for Bing Bong after Jangles took him away.

Her face suddenly lit up. "That's it! Jangles! He can help us!"

The others turned to her. "What are you blabbing about?" Anger demanded.

"Jangles the Clown," Joy explained. "He's one of Riley's earliest fears. Sadness and I found him the last time we were here."

"Um, yeah, we know who he is," said Disgust. "You mentioned finding him here too. So what's your point?"

"We can use him to help us get back to Headquarters!"

The others stared. Cutting her eyes and crossing her arms, Disgust glared at her. "Ok, you are out of your mind."

"Yeah," Anger agreed. "Just how is that candy-gobbling freak supposed to help us?"

A little too enthusiastically, Joy began explaining. "Jangles isn't a bad guy; Riley's just afraid of him. All we have to do is tell him that there's a party up in Headquarters and he needs to get there to see the birthday girl. Then we can ride on his shoulders as he climbs up to Headquarters King Kong style. He smashes his way through the window so we can get in, and we tell him that I.B. ruined the party, but can show him where another one is in Imagination Land. Jangles grabs I.B., takes him to Imagination Land with him, and we get everything back to normal."

Anger and Disgust were staring at her, completely flabbergasted. Even Sadness was looking up at her from the floor with a raised eyebrow.

"You're right," the red Emotion told Disgust, "she's completely lost it."

Disgust nodded. "Mmm hmm, totally."

Joy sighed. "Guys, come on. We're seriously running out of options and time. I.B. could make Riley and Jordan break up at any moment. We have to do something."

The other three Emotions shared a look. Finally, Sadness spoke. "Well, we're doomed either way, so we might as well try it."

Disgust scoffed. "Whatever. At this point, I don't even care anymore."

"Fine!" Anger growled. "I'll wake Fear." He marched over to the purple Emotion again and gave him a sharp kick in the side. "Hey, wake up!"

Fear grunted and his eyes cracked open. "Ooh, what happened?" He sat up. "What's going on?"

"We're going to find Jangles," the red Emotion replied impatiently. "Now come one, let's go."

This was apparently the wrong thing to say. It took a few seconds for Anger's words to register to him, but once they did, Fear fainted again.

"Oh, come on!" Anger bellowed.

"Just bring him," said Joy. "We have to get a move on. Sadness, get up."

The blue Emotion grumbled. "I can't, I'm too sad."

She rolled onto her back and lifted her leg. Joy sighed, taking hold of her ankle and began dragging her. Anger looked at Disgust expectantly, but the green Emotion just held up her hands, closed her eyes, and walked after Joy and Sadness. Grinding his teeth irritably, Anger threw the unconscious Fear over his shoulder and went after them.

It wasn't that hard to find the broccoli tree, they just had to follow their noses. Once they found it, there was the distinct laughter of the giant clown nearby. The laughter got louder and louder as they followed it, eventually came across Riley's embodiment of her fear of clowns.

There was just one problem. It seemed that after the clown's last escape, more precautions had been made. A metal cuff was clamped around his ankle, attached to a ball and chain far too big for even the giant clown to move. He didn't seem bothered by it as he happily juggled, but he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Great," Anger grumbled. "So much for that plan."

Sadness finally got to her feet. "Maybe there's another fear we can use."

"What'd you have in mind?" Joy asked.

The blue Emotion pointed. Joy looked at what she was pointing at, and gulped. It was one of Riley's childhood fears from when she was younger. She may have gotten over it as she grew older, but the remnants of that fear still remained buried deep in her Subconscious.

It was a giant bed, but that wasn't what was frightening. It was what lay beneath it. It was a common childhood fear, but nearly every child was afraid of the monster in the closet, or in the attic, or in the basement, or under the sink, or whatever. In fact, one of Riley's friends at school claimed that they used to have a monster in their closet that used to scare them, but was later replaced by one that tried to make her laugh. Riley wasn't sure she believed that though. And while she had never been afraid of anything in her closet, for her, there had been a point in time where she had feared the monster under the bed.

Disgust held up her hands. "Whoa, whoa, hold up. Jangles is one thing, but I'm drawing the line at the monster under the bed."

Under normal circumstances, Joy would have wholeheartedly agreed, but she was getting desperate. This wasn't like the time she and Sadness had gotten lost and couldn't be there for Riley when she needed them. I.B. was actually keeping them away, and was out to sabotage Riley's love life. They'd wasted too much time already. They had to get back up to Headquarters, now.

"We have no choice," she said with determination. "Riley needs us."

"Fine," Anger grumbled stubbornly, dropping the purple Emotion on the floor, "then you go get it."

His suggestion sent a nervous shiver through her. On her own, Joy wouldn't really feel fear, that was Fear's purpose, but since this was something Riley had been afraid of, that fear was projecting onto her, even though it was an old childhood fear.

But Riley needed her, and Joy was determined to see this through. "Ok…"

Gulping, she took a deep breath and hesitantly approached the giant bed. The underside was pitch black, as if all the shadows and darkness had gathered there, hiding the monster beneath it. She got as close as she dared, not wanting to get within the monster's reach. Now she just had to lure the beast out.

As long as Riley's parents had been in the room, the monster wouldn't come out, or so she had believed. But as soon as they kissed her goodnight and left, that's when it came out, and the only safe place had been under the covers.

Struggling to find her voice, Joy called out into the darkness the words she knew would draw the monster out. "G-Goodnight, Mom! Good night, Dad! I love you! See you in the morning!"

And then, just for good measure, she made a sound similar to a door creaking shut. Then she fell silent and waited, staring into the darkness. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear breathing.

"Joy…" Sadness whispered worriedly.

The yellow Emotion looked back at her. As if waiting for her to turn away, a pair of bright red eyes opened and became visible in the darkness.

"Joy!" Sadness shouted, this time in panic as she pointed behind her.

Joy spun around as a large clawed hand, both scaly and hairy, shot out. She jumped aside as the hand slammed down where she had been, grabbing nothing but air. She scrambled back to her fellow Emotions as the monster emerged. Mostly green in color, it resembled a scaly toad, with a yellow lion-like mane and a series of spikes going down its back. It had long hairy arms that reached for the Emotions as it crept forward on short stubby legs barely visible beneath its large striped gut.

The Emotions back away as the monster approached. Its tongue darted over its shark-like teeth, spilling drool down its chin and onto the floor. It eyed them hungrily, its crimson gaze darting from one Emotion to the other.

"So, what was your plan again?" Anger asked as they continued to back away.

Joy seemed uncertain. "Uh, right, the plan." She didn't step forward, but she stopped backing away. "Um, h-hi, Mr. Monster. I don't know if you recognize us, but we're Riley's Emotions. My name is Joy."

Licking its big pudgy lips, the monsters approached. "Pleased to meet you. I am the one hiding under your bed; teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red."

The yellow Emotion gave a very forced smile. "Hey, that rhymes. Real cute. But, you see, um, we kind of need your help, if it's not too much trouble."

The monster grinned, showing off its deadly teeth. "Oh, I'll help alright. Help myself that is."

Joy laughed nervously, once more backing away. "Right, because helping Riley means helping ourselves. Anyway, we need you to help us get into Headquarters. So, if we can convince the guards to let you out for a bit, could you give us a ride up to Headquarters, and maybe help us break in."

The monster continued to grin as it stalked closer. "I'd be happy to give you a ride… In my stomach!"

It charged at them, and the Emotions fled. They ran right over the conscious Fear, who grunted back to consciousness. Dazed, he looked up at the giant monster lumbering towards him on its stumpy legs, and he let out a high-pitched scream and ran after the others.

"Quick, this way!" Joy shouted, hoping she was remembering the right way to the exit.

"Hasn't your judgment gotten us in enough trouble?" Anger demanded as he hurried along.

"She's right," Sadness replied, "the exit is just up ahead! Look there!"

Before them were the giant doors of Riley's Subconscious. Speeding past them, Fear beat the other Emotions to the doors and began pounding on them. "LET US OUT! PLEASE, HELP US!"

A few moments passed and the sound of the lever on the other side of the door being moved was heard. The door creaked open, and a Mind Worker security guard stuck his head in. "What's going on in here?"

"Out of the way!" the Emotions cried as the monster pursued.

They slammed into the door, forcing it open. The security guard was knocked away, as was his partner, as the door slammed into him. They ran out of Subconscious, the monster right behind them.

The moment the monster passed through the door and stepped into the light, it grabbed at its head and roared loudly. It immediately began to shrink and change shape. A moment later, all that remained of the monster was a fuzzy green sweater with a zigzag pattern across the center and a line of red circles above it, and a yellow collar.

The truth had come to light long ago when Riley's father had checked under the bed and found, not a monster, but a fuzzy green sweater. In the dark, hidden in the shadows, Riley could have sworn the zigzag pattern were teeth, and the red circles were eyes. It was so strange how different things looked in the dark.

Taking a moment to catch their breath, the Emotions collapsed to the ground. The security guards were not happy with the situation, especially after having been trampled and knocked over. At first they thought the Emotions had escaped from Subconscious, but after having the situation explained and having their identities confirmed, the five were released. The sweater was tossed back into Subconscious again, and the door was quickly closed as it began to revert back into the monster now that it was in the darkness once more.

"You kids be more careful next time," one of the security guards told them.

Anger stared at the Mind Worker in disbelief. "Kids?!" he roared, his head igniting. "We were around long before you manifested!"

"Please," Fear begged, "just let it go. I can't take anymore excitement right now."

Disgust waved her finger at him. "Um, reality check, we're pretty much back to where we were before; stuck outside Headquarters." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Joy. "Oh, but I'm sure our so-called leader has another brilliant plan for that."

Anger cut his eyes at the yellow Emotion and asked sarcastically, "Yeah, Joy, what wonderful idea do you have in store for us next?"

They all looked at her, Sadness and Fear with hopeful anticipation, Disgust and Anger with mocking scorn. But a feeling of suddenly being completely overwhelmed hit her, and she slowly slid down the wall she had been leaning against. This whole thing suddenly seemed utterly hopeless. Events were so of her control, and she didn't know how to fix them. I.B. was ruining things for Riley's relationship, and the only way they could reverse the situation was to get back up to Headquarters.

And therein laid the problem. They couldn't get back up to Headquarters. They weren't even supposed to be out of Headquarters, so why would they even need a way to get back in? True, there were ways they could get there, but I.B. had closed them off. They couldn't take the train, they couldn't use a recall tube, they couldn't climb the tower. What was left?

Realizing that Joy was losing hope, Anger and Disgust's hostility decreased. Fear was beginning to get nervous while Sadness felt for the yellow Emotion.

"Joy…?" she whispered.

It was happening again, just like it had that time in the Memory Dump. Due to I.B.'s interference and his refusal to let the sadness inside Riley be expressed with what was happening with Jordan, it was reflecting onto her, overpowering the happiness that she was.

Pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them, she buried her face into her knees. "I don't know what to do. I have nothing. I.B. is going to destroy Riley's happiness and fill her with a false sense of contentment; like some drug providing fake happiness. And there's nothing we can do to stop it."

The other Emotions exchanged looks, each of them feeling sympathetic to their co-worker.

"Hey, that's not true," said Anger, sounding unusually calm. "All we have to do is get back to Headquarters and kick I.B.'s imaginary butt, then we can fix all this."

"Yeah," there's got to be another way up there," Disgust added. "We'll get there somehow."

Joy sighed, not looking up. "We might as well be on another planet," she whispered, using the same words a certain imaginary character once spoke.

As she continued to sit there in despair, she became aware of footsteps approaching her, followed by gasps from her fellow Emotions.

"Perhaps I could help with that," said a familiar voice.

Joy tensed. Slowly she looked up, her mouth dropping open in surprise at the sight of the very imaginary character she had just quoted. "Bing Bong?"

(A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger. Is it really Bing Bong? You'll have to wait for next chapter to find out. So, for this chapter, who liked the monster under the bed and how it turned out to just be a sweater? Confession time, I got the idea for it from an old Rugrats and Fairly Odd Parents episode from long ago where something similar happened. I thought it would work well here. So how'd I do? We also had two Easter Eggs this chapter, though they were a little harder to spot, did anyone find them? The second one is harder and more easily overlooked, but props if you find them both.)