(A/N: Hee, hee, I guess last chapters Easter Eggs were a little tougher to spot, but congrates to ErinMilne for spotting them both. Both were in reference to the monster, as Joy is approaching the bed, she reflects on one of Riley's friends having a similar fear of monsters until it stopped trying to scare her and tried to make her laugh instead. That was a reference to Monsters Inc. The second was what the monster under the bed said when it came out. It was the same line sung by the monster under the bed from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Good job to those that spotted them. We've got three more Easter Eggs in this chapter.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 13: Heartbreak

A smile grazed the newcomer's face. "Nice to see you again, Joy." He waved at the blue Emotion. "Hey, Sadness, it's been ages."

It was indeed the pink, fluffy imaginary character. Well, almost. His body was transparent, as if he were a ghost. More visible around his head and upper body, he seemed to be even more transparent at his lower half, his feet barely visible at all.

"Bing Bong!" Joy shouted happily, jumping up and throwing her arms around him.

A light chuckle escaped the fuzzy elephant-like creature as he patted her back. "I missed you too, Joy. Looks like you're in a bit of a pickle again, huh?"

She pulled away, looking him up and down. "But you're here. How are you here? Riley forgot about you completely; I saw you disappear. But you're back? How? And why are you see-through?"

Bing Bong laughed. "Whoa, one question at a time. To answer you're first one, it seems that Riley came across something that reminded her of me, and presto!"

Joy's face broke out into a grin. "Does that mean she remembered you and you're back to stay?"

The imaginary character's smile faltered, but still remained. "No, just temporarily I'm afraid. Riley doesn't remember me, she just knows about me. But there's no recollection of me at all."

Joy's face fell, and she looked at his transparent body. "Is that why you're not all the way here?"

He nodded sadly. "Afraid so. With no memory of me, I'll soon be forgotten and disappear again without having to go to the Dump. Right now, I'm no different from something Riley saw in a memory. Those memories never last long because they hold no significance to her life. Once that memory is forgotten, I'll vanish with it once more."

Joy felt tears prickle her eyes. "Oh, Bing Bong, I'm so sorry."

To her surprise, the imaginary character smiled. "Ah, it's not so bad. I'll just go back to where everything that Riley forgets goes. It's actually kind of nice. I mean, sure I don't get to be with Riley anymore in the here and now, but I'm surrounded by all of her memories and everything else she's forgotten. In a way, I get to be with the Riley I know, the one from the past when we played together all the time. And new memories that she forgets arrive everyday. We call it the Forgotten Zone. In some ways, it's even better than before, because I'm not just some random forgotten thought leftover from something that happened too long ago for her to remember. It's almost like old times again."

He looked to the other Emotions. "Hey, speaking of old times, I didn't get to meet you three when I ran into Joy and Sadness." He walked over to them, looking at each one curiously. "Let me see if I can guess. You're Anger, you're Disgust, and your Fear.

The green and red Emotions exchanged a bored look. "Gee, what gave us away?" the former muttered sarcastically.

Bing Bong chuckled. "Just a hunch." He wrapped an arm around Sadness. "And how's little blue?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Sadness muttered. "Sorry you were forgotten. I feel like it was all my fault."

"No," Joy said loudly, "it was my fault. We fell into the Memory Dump because of me. I'm sorry, Bing Bong. I'm so, so sorry."

Looking concerned, Bing Bong went back over to her. "Joy, it's ok, really. It was my decision to remain behind. Sure, it's not the same, but things are still pretty good. I've got other forgotten friends to interact with, countless forgotten memories to occupy myself with, and plenty of other forgotten things Riley thought up but eventually forgot about. Remember when the Mind Workers destroyed Princess Dream Castle and tossed the pieces in the Dump? Well, that's in the Forgotten Zone now too. I live there with my girlfriend."

Five mouths dropped open at this revelation. "Wait, you have a girlfriend?" Anger demanded.

"Sure, and you know her quite well. It's Rainbow Unicorn."

"What?!" Joy shouted, truly astonished.

Bing Bong's cheeks turned red in what was clearly a blush. "Yeah, we kind of hooked up after she arrived."

A look of understanding crossed Sadness' face. "Oh, so that's why she doesn't appear in Riley's dreams anymore."

Bing Bong sighed. "Yes, unfortunately Riley 'outgrew' her," he said, making quotations with his fingers. "She got less and less roles to play in Dream Productions, until they eventually had to let her go. In her despair, unable to accept that her career was over, she threw herself into the Memory Dump. After she was forgotten, the two of us met and eventually got together. She can be rather vain and stuck-up at times, but we get along great."

Anger held up his hands. "Ok, this is just too weird. Bing Bong, it's nice to have you back, for however long it lasts, but we've got more important things to worry about, like, oh, I don't know," his head ignited, "finding a way back into Headquarters before I.B,'s interference completely ruins Riley's relationship, and breaks her heart!"

The imaginary character's eyes widened. "Ooooh, yeah, that's pretty serious. You know, I saw a few memories of Jordan that appeared in the Forgotten Zone after they were thrown out. He seems like a really nice boy." He suddenly looked confused. "But, um, who's I.B.?"

As Anger threw his hands in the air and screamed in aggravation as the others quickly explained the situation. Bing Bong nodded in understanding as they concluded their tale. "I see. Yes, that is a problem. We need to get you guys back to Headquarters, a.s.a.p."

"Yeah, no kidding, Ding Dong," Disgust mocked. "Yet therein lies the problem. I.B. won't let us back in."

But Bing Bong just smiled. "Not to worry. I said I could help with that. Follow me."

He led them away, Joy eagerly following while the others dragged their feet, uncertain of how much they could depend on the eccentric imaginary character.

They eventually came to Imagination Land. At first they thought that Bing Bong was going to suggest using something here to get to Headquarters, but it was such a big place that it could take them forever to find something useful.

Bing Bong, however, found what he was looking for right away. "Ta-da!"

Sadness pointed. "Hey, isn't that your rocket?"

The imaginary character nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, seems like whatever Riley saw that reminded her of me also reminded her of my rocket. You can use it to fly right up to Headquarters."

Joy bit her bottom lip, looking uncomfortable. "Um, Bing Bong, that's a good idea, but remember what happened the last time we tried to use it. It didn't really work that well. It couldn't even carry the two of us. How is it going to carry all five of us? We'll just end up falling into the Dump."

Bing Bong waved his hand. "No, no, no. It wasn't working before because Riley had all but forgotten about it. Now that she's been reminded of it, it's still fresh, so it's got some of its juice back. Watch." He turned to the rocket, that was really nothing more than a red wagon with cardboard wings and two broomsticks attached to it, and began singing. "Who's your friend who likes to play? Bing Bong, Bing-"

He stopped singing, but only because a stream of rainbow burst from the back of the rocket from out of the ends of the broomsticks, causing it to shoot forward and run him over.

"See, it works like a charm." He got up and dusted himself off. "As long as the rocket remains in Riley's thoughts, it should run just fine. But once she forgets about me, it too will disappear, so you better hurry."

Disgust cut her eyes at him. "Do we really have to sing that stupid song to make it fly?"

"Oh, no, any song will do. The more prominent the song is to Riley, the greater the power."

Joy went over to the green Emotion and nudged her. "Come on, it's a good song. Real catchy."

Disgust just rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Anger held up a finger. "Just one problem." His head ignited. "How exactly do you expect all five of us to fit in that little thing?"

Bing Bong just smiled. "Don't worry, I have a plan for that too."

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

The doorbell rang, but Riley ignored it as she worked on her homework for the lesson on the Salem Witch Trials they were learning about. She was currently reading a case from a few hundred years ago where a woman suspected of being a witch had kidnapped a princess and locked her in a tower, or so the records indicated. It was better than the one with the witch whose skills revolved solemnly around bears.

She clicked off an ad stating how Buy Yogurt was being upgraded to Buy & Large as the doorbell rang again. Her mother answered the door, and a few seconds later called up to her. "Riley, Jordan's here to see you!"

I.B. frowned. "Jordan? What does he want? Oh, right, they had a date planned for today." A smirk crept up his face as his fingers crept over Anger's controls. "I think we should feel annoyed by this."

Riley scowled and replied, "I'm doing my homework."

"What?"

Another flash of annoyance flowed through her. "Fine, I'm coming."

"Yes," said I.B., glancing at the break up idea plugged into the control panel that she still had not accepted, "lets end this once and for all."

Mrs. Anderson waited by the door for Riley to come down. Her smile faltered when she saw the scowl on her daughters' face. She glanced at Jordan and noticed that the boy seemed uneasy. Her mind began to buzz as her own Emotions analyzed the situation and tried to come up with the best course of action.

"You girls see this, don't you?" her Sadness asked.

"Oh, we see it, alright," said her Joy. "What is up with her? Riley's usually so happy to see Jordan."

Her Disgust tapped a finger against her chin, and suddenly gasped. "Wait, I recognize this! The scowl on her face, the uneasy look on Jordan's. This is like when we and the husband argue."

Her Fear inhaled sharply. "Could this be their first fight as an official couple?"

"Well, that would certainly explain a lot," her Anger replied, motioning to the screen. "Remember ours with the husband?"

They broke out in chatter, talking loudly amongst themselves. Finally, her Sadness raised her hands. "Ok, everyone, calm down. The first fight is an important part in any relationship. We should monitor the situation, offer advice when needed, and help guide her through it. They'll work things out on their own. Lets just act natural and stay out of their way for now."

Mrs. Anderson smiled and clapped her hands together. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Peace out, my posies."

Riley rolled her eyes at her mother's attempt to sound hip before the older woman strolled out of the room. Riley turned to Jordan and crossed her arms as she fixed him with a glare. Jordan offered her a nervous smile in return and held out a flower to her. She hesitated before taking it, but continued to glare.

Still looking uneasy, Jordan scratched the back of his head. "I didn't know if we were still on for tonight."

"I have homework," she told him coldly. "Gotta do a report on different cases of people accused of witchcraft throughout history."

Jordan looked away. "Oh. I wasn't sure after what happened in school if you still want to do something tonight, and you wouldn't answer my texts."

I.B. sighed in aggravation. "It's called the cold shoulder. Riley doesn't need someone like you in her life."

"I turned my phone off so I wouldn't bet distracted," Riley replied.

This made I.B. frown. "Why are you offering him an explanation?" He pressed a button. "Get angry."

She felt her anger spark, but she said nothing more.

Jordan glanced at her again. "I'm sorry about earlier today. I really do want to go to your game."

Riley felt some of her anger drain away, much to I.B.'s frustration as he attempted to keep it bubbling. "Then will you come?" she asked hopefully.

Jordan fidgeted. "I told you, I really can't. The gig. It's really important."

Scowling, I.B. decided to change tactics and switched over to Sadness' controls.

"So is my game," Riley insisted disappointingly.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not saying it's not. And I want to be there for it-"

"It's not just being there to see the game," she interrupted, suddenly feeling like crying. "It's about being there for me. I've never come this close to a championship game. I'm really nervous. I would have thought you'd want to be there to support me."

Jordan looked shocked. "I do want to be there for you. I wish I could be, but the guys need me. I can't blow them off. They won't be able to do the gig without me. Don't you understand?"

A sneer spread across I.B.'s face. "Ooh, bad choice of words," he said pressing a button. "Don't you know that in a relationship that the girl is always right? That's standard dating 101."

Riley's sadness quickly gave way to anger. "So you care more about your friends then you do about me then?"

He shook his head. "No, come on. Why do you keep saying that?" He began to sound like he was getting frustrated. "You're really being unreasonable-"

"Don't tell me I'm being unreasonable!" she shouted.

Jordan took a step back. "I didn't mean it like that. But, Riley, you can play your game whether I show up to watch it or not. My band can't play without me. I know, the situation sucks, but cut me some slack."

"Some slack? All I ask is that you come to offer your support for me in the semi-finals. You're sister's playing too; you should be there for her as well."

Jordan threw is hands in the air. "And I keep telling you, I can't. My friends need me. And I also need the money."

She rolled her eyes. "Right, the money. What could be so important that you need to buy? Something for your band?"

He shook his head. "No, it's… Well… I can't say."

I.B. was grinning broadly, and he began pressing buttons. "Perfect, now lets go in for the kill."

Riley felt her temper snap as she threw the flower back at him. "Well, if you need money so bad, then maybe you shouldn't have spent it on this!"

She slammed the door in his face and stormed up the stairs to her room. From around the corner, her mother watched in concern. "Oh, dear."

In her head, her Emotions were equally as worried.

"Well, this isn't good," her Fear mumbled.

"Not good?" said her Anger. "That was a total disaster, and so out of character for her."

"Yes," her Sadness agreed, "that wasn't like our Riley at all. What is wrong with her?"

Her Disgust crossed her arms. "Hormones must be flying."

Her Joy looked at the others. "Girls, I think it's time for a mother-daughter talk. Let's give her a few minutes to calm down, and then go up there."

The others nodded in agreement.

Back in Riley's head, I.B. was thrilled with this latest interaction with Jordan. Things couldn't have gone more smoothly if he had planned them himself.

"Oh, that's right, I did," he chuckled.

As Riley stormed into her room and threw herself on the bed, I.B. began fooling around with the controls again. "Don't worry, my dearest. That mean old Jordan isn't good enough for you. Let me remind you again what a real boyfriend should be like."

"I would die for Riley!"

He smiled up at the memory that played across the screen. As the scene flashed through Riley's mind, she let out a loud sigh of resolve.

That's when it happened. The idea of breaking up took hold. The broken heart-shaped light bulb sank into the control panel as Riley accepted the idea.

I.B.'s face lit up. "Alright! Now we're talking! All that's left to do now is make it official. After we kick Jordan out of our life once and for all, it will be smooth sailing." He leaned back in his seat, putting his feet up on the control panel and placing his hands behind his head. "Then it'll be just me and Riley, together forever."

Smirking, he glanced at the control pad. His smile quickly shifted to a frown as the entire consul started turning black. He leapt away from it in surprise, afraid he had accidentally hit something with his foot as the shadow slowly spread from one side of the control pad to the other.

"Wait, what is this?"

He grabbed the controls as he began pressing buttons and pulling levers. To his surprise, nothing happened, the controls remained unresponsive. No feelings got through to Riley, and no thoughts or memories other than the ones that were currently going through her mind came forth.

"What is going on?" he wondered out loud, still flipping switches and turning knobs.

Giving up, he rushed across the room and snatched up the Never-Miss Stick and began whacking it against the control panel as if it were a defective wash machine. This accomplished nothing as the shadow continued to spread.

"Why isn't anything working?" he demanded, tossing the golden hockey stick on the ground. "She needs to feel something." He glanced at the light bulb embedded in the controls as the blackness crept along. "Is it this? Did this idea do something?"

He grabbed the light bulb and tried to pull it out, but it didn't budge. He wasn't too concerned about that; he still needed it until Riley actually broke up with Jordan. But the control pad, he had to have access to it. Not just for his own plans, but for Riley's sake, in order for her to feel anything. Otherwise she would just run on autopilot, not feeling anything.

What do I do?" he cried, beginning to feel desperate.

There was no answer to be had as the black shadow completely consumed the control pad.

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

Down in Heartquarters, an alarm was sounding. Heart Workers ran around frantically, trying to find the problem. Both Love and Hate were covering their ears to block out the alarm, the latter looking as if he wanted to commit murder.

"I hate that stupid alarm!" he snarled. "What's the problem?"

"Hold on, I can't hear you!" Love replied as she worked the control panel. "I'm trying to find the problem!"

An image came up on screen, which quickly identifying the issue. Both Love and Hate ran outside to find the giant heart beginning to deflate. The generator that powered the machine to keep the heart inflated was smoking and sending sparks flying as a few nuts and bolts fell lose and a crack appeared on its side.

"It's her heart!" Love yelled, "it's breaking!"

"I can see that, you idiot! It's just like what happened two years ago when Riley tried to run away from home! Looks like that I.B. fellow really screwed things up!"

Love had to agree. The way Riley reacted when Jordan stopped by was not like her. I.B. must have still been manipulating the controls, the Emotions had failed to get back into Headquarters. Now Riley's heart was breaking. If they didn't get it fixed, she would remain depressed. Hopefully the damage wasn't too extensive, or else it could take a very long time to repair.

At least I.B. wouldn't be able to screw around with her feelings anymore. As long as Riley's heart wasn't working, the controls up in Headquarters wouldn't work either. This would hopefully give the Emotions enough time to get back in and resume command.

"Come on, people, get to work!" Hate shouted as the Heart Workers ran towards the malfunctioning heart with tools to repair the damage. "We've got to fix this thing before it breaks down any further! Hurry up, I hate delays!"

As Hate barked orders to the repairmen, Love looked worriedly at the tube they had sent the Emotions through that led to Riley's Subconscious. "Please hurry, guys. Riley needs you."

(A/N: We've got trouble. Riley's heart is broken. Looks like I.B. really screwed up. But this isn't just about I.B. interfering. One of the things I really liked about the movie was how the internal things went hand in hand with the outer things. For example, Riley's unhappiness and mood swings from the move are incorporated with not having Joy and Sadness in Headquarters, as well as not having her Islands of Personality working. Likewise, I.B.'s interference incorporates with the problems most couples face when they get into relationships for the first time, like first arguments, jealousy, uncertainty, misunderstandings, unrealistic expectations, etc. On a happier note, it looks like Bing Bong is back, at least for a while. Hopefully his plan will get the Emotions back into Headquarters, and Love and Hate will be able to repair Riley's broken heart.)