(A/N: Ok, so, funny story. I was really struggling to come up with a title for this chapter, but was coming up with nothing. A couple days ago, I got a really bad headache, and it came to me, the perfect title. Kind of funny where we get inspiration sometimes. So, here's the next installment. We're getting close to the end. A lot of things that have happened over the course of the story are coming to a conclusion here. I hope you like it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 14: Headache

A loud rumble shook the land. The Emotions turned to the source and watched as Romance Island crumbled. The entire structure collapsed as the ground cracked apart all around it, and pieces of the Island fell away. The only thing they could do was look on in horror as the entire Island broke apart and dropped into the Memory Dump.

Joy took a few steps forward. "No…" she whispered in despair. "We lost Romance Island."

Anger cleared his throat. "Hey, Joy, I know this is a tragedy, but… can we get a move on here?!"

Knowing he was right, she took a deep breath. "It's fine. Once we plug the Core Memory back in, the Island will come back."

She turned to her fellow Emotions. Each of them was on a cloud they had obtained from Cloud Town within Imagination Land. Upon climbing onto them, each Emotions' cloud began to react differently. Sadness' cloud had begun to rain, Fear's had begun to snow, Disgusts had begun to hail, and Anger's had grown dark and begun to thunder and lightning.

"Typical," Disgust had muttered at the time.

Joy didn't have a cloud. She would be riding in the rocket since she was the only other person who had rode in it before aside from Bing Bong, who, unfortunately, would not be going with them.

Hurrying over to the others, she hopped into the imaginary rocket. Bing Bong came up next to her for one last reminder. "Ok, this should take you right to Headquarters. Just make sure you keep singing."

Sadness sank into her cloud. "We're doomed."

"Think positive," Joy told her.

"Ok, I'm-"

"Positive we're doomed," the others chorused.

Bing Bong chuckled. "Don't worry, you can trust in my rocket. You'll be back up in Headquarters before you know it."

Joy suddenly couldn't take it anymore, and she threw her arms around the imaginary character. "I'm going to miss you, Bing Bong!"

Smiling sadly, he returned the hug. "I'll miss you too. All of you." A few pieces of candies fell from his eyes. "Now come on. It's time to go."

Joy nodded. "Right." She sat down and called back to the others. "Everybody ready?"

Anger grabbed the back of the rocket. "I'm ready already!"

Hesitantly, Fear wrapped his arms around him. "R-R-Ready…"

"Yeah, whatever," Disgust grumbled, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Lets do this."

"Hold on," said Sadness. She placed her hands on the green Emotions hips. "Ok, I'm good."

Joy smiled. "Alright, everyone start singing!"

Altogether, and quite out of tune, the Emotions began to sing. "Who's your friend who likes to play? Bing Bong, Bing Bong! His rocket makes you yell 'Hooray'! Bing Bong, Bing Bong! Who's the best in every way, and wants to sing this song to say, Bing Bong, Bing Bong!"

Streams of rainbow burst from the back of brooms on the rocket, passing by on either side of the red, purple, green, and blue Emotions. The rocket took off, dragging them with it as Joy sat in the seat.

It sped along, going up the makeshift ramp and soaring out over the Memory Dump, heading for Headquarters. Bing Bong waved to them as they got closer and closer to home, the dark abyss of the Dump stretching out beneath them.

Joy was singing with everything she had, but couldn't help giving a report. "Who's your friend who likes to play? Bing Bong, Bing Bong! We're doing great, guys! Just don't look down!"

It was practically a reflex to look at something once someone tells you not to look at it. And so, practically against his will, Fear glanced down into the darkness of the Memory Dump. "B-B-Bing… Bo…ong…"

He fainted again, his grip going slack. Disgust cried out as they began to fall, but Anger whirled around, grabbing the purple Emotion's hair swirl, now only holding onto the rocket by one hand as Disgust clung to Fear and Sadness to her. The rocket began spewing out less rainbow. The speed slowed down, and they began to lose altitude.

"Keep singing!" Joy shouted.

"Fear fainted!" Disgust snapped. "Of all times!"

"Just keep singing! Who's your friend who likes to play? Bing Bong, Bing Bong!"

But the rocket was losing more and more power. The rainbow coming out of the back was now shooting out in small bursts rather than a continuous stream. These small bursts kept the rocket airborne, but it was slowly but surely dropping down towards the Memory Dump.

"This isn't working!" Joy cried. "We need a stronger song! Time to go with the backup plan!"

Anger's eyes widened, then he glared. "Oh, no! I'm not doing it!"

Joy looked back, giving him a pleading look. "We have to! You heard what Bing Bong said! The more prominent the song is in Riley's mind, the more power we'll get! The Bing Bong Song just doesn't have enough juice anymore! Riley needs us, now sing!"

With great reluctance, they began singing their backup song. "TripleDent Gum, will make you smile! TripleDent Gum, it lasts a while! TripleDent Gum, will help you, mister, to punch bad breath right in the kisser! TripleDent Gum!"

An explosion of color burst from the back of the rocket, launching the Emotions forward so fast they broke the sound barrier. They slammed into Headquarters, smashing straight through a window, and crashing into the control room.

I.B. jumped, turning to the broken window. He looked from the shattered glass to the cloud of rainbow on the other side of the room. A lone wheel rolled over to him from whatever it was that had come crashing through. He stared at it as it came to a stop beside his foot, then glanced at what had crashed through the window.

There was as groan from within the rainbow cloud as it began to disperse. The crash had caused Fear to regain consciousness, and he tried to gather his bearings. "What happened?"

I.B.'s eyes widened in disbelief. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Anger snarled, punching his open palm. "We're back, and we're going to give you such a beating."

"Cool your jets, Anger," Joy told him. She fixed I.B. with a glare. "It's all over, I.B. Your days in command are at an end."

An arrogant smirk crept up his face. "So you think that just because you made it back here that I'd surrender? I've come too far to stop now."

Disgust rolled her eyes. "Uch, get over yourself. We're going to undo everything you did."

But the imaginary character's grin never left his face. "You might find that to be a little harder than you think."

He stepped away from the control panel, presenting the blackened consul to them. The Emotions gasped and rushed over to it. They began fiddling around with buttons and knobs, but there was no reaction.

"It just turned black and stopped working," I.B. explained as he continued to back away towards the window.

Joy recalled what Love and Hate told her. "Riley's heart must be broken. The controls won't work until it's fixed."

"Great!" Anger barked at I.B. "Look what you did, you punk!"

"Can't we do something?" Fear asked desperately. "We were able to fix it last time."

Sadness shook her head. "Last time the controls hadn't turned completely black yet. Riley's heart was breaking, but hadn't broken yet. We were able to stop what was going wrong up here before any damage was done down there. This time, we're too late."

"It'll be fine," Joy insisted. "Once Love and Hate fix her heart, we'll get control back."

Anger slammed a fist down on the control panel. "Do you have any idea how long it can take to mend a broken heart?!"

She sighed. "I know, but we don't have a choice. In the meantime, lets focus on getting things back to normal." She glanced at the breakup idea. "First, lets get this idea out of her head."

Before she could pull it out, I.B. cleared his throat. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you want to get things back to the way they were before, wouldn't you be needing these?"

He held up a familiar bag. It was the bottomless imaginary bag they had used to carry the Core Memories around two years ago. Joy had kept it as a momentum of Bing Bong.

I.B. opened the bag slightly to show that he too was using it to store the Core Memories he had removed, then moved over to the broken window and held it up, his threat obvious.

Joy slowly held up her hands. "Now, I.B., don't do anything crazy."

"Stay where you are," he told her, "or I'll drop these into the Dump, and you'll never see them again; unless you want to go jumping in after them."

Anger began grinding his teeth together, his head steaming. "Of all the rotten, cowardly, no good-"

Fear grabbed him. "Don't tick him off! He'll drop them!"

"I will," I.B. confirmed. "I swear I will. And once something goes into the Dump, it never comes out." He smirked. "Or maybe you'll get lucky again, Joy. Care to risk it?"

Disgust placed her hands on her hips and cut her eyes at him. "So, what's your plan then, brainiac? Are we just gonna stand here in standoff indefinitely? What good will that be to Riley?"

I.B. glared at her. "It's not like we can do anything anyway. The controls aren't working. We can't make Riley feel anything right now. Look."

He motioned towards the screen where Riley stared at her laptop, streaming an episode of Bolt rather than doing her homework. While she normally loved the show, right now she felt nothing, just a numbing depression as she stared at the screen, barely focusing on it.

Anger looked back at him. "And whose fault do you think that is? Everything was fine until you started interfering!"

I.B.'s glares shifted to him. "I'm not going to let you undo all my hard work. Jordan isn't good enough for Riley. No one is good enough; no one but me!"

Disgust threw her arms in the air. "Uch, you're so conceited!"

Next to her, Sadness held up her hands non-threateningly and slowly made her way over to the imaginary character. "I.B., listen to me."

He moved the bag closer to the window. "Don't try anything, Sadness. I'll drop them, I mean it."

She made no aggressive movements, but continued to inch closer and closer. "I know you do. I also know what it's like to feel useless and unwanted. For the longest time, I felt like I wasn't wanted or needed. I thought I was a useless Emotion that didn't contribute to Riley in any way. At least not in a way that's meaningful. I thought she would be better off without me. But I had a role to play. You did too. You helped Riley to find the right kind of qualities to look for in a boyfriend in order for her to have a good relationship. Someone who loves and cares for Riley very much and would do anything for her."

"Yes!" I.B. insisted. "And Jordan doesn't measure up. No one does."

"You're right," Sadness agreed. "No one can possibly live up to a perfect, imaginary fantasy. But that's because a fantasy isn't realistic. It's not reality. No one is perfect. But it does give Riley an idea of what to look for. You did your job, I.B., now you have to let her move on to something real."

A pained look crossed the imaginary character's face, but it quickly gave way to fury. "Never!"

"I.B.-"

"One more step, Sadness, and these are going out the window!"

That's when it happened. Occasionally when streaming videos online, one would come across a commercial ad. And as Riley watched her show, a very familiar one began playing.

"TripleDent Gum, will make you smile! TripleDent Gum, it lasts a while-"

I.B.'s head snapped towards the screen on reflex, a look of annoyance crossing his face. "Seriously?!" he thundered.

Joy made her move while he was distracted. She grabbed the golden Never-Miss Stick I.B. had rested against the control panel, the one that never missed the shot the wielder intended to take.

Lying on the floor in front of her was the wheel that had broken off of Bing Bong's rocket. Using it as a hockey puck, she hit it with all her might, knowing that her shot would be made.

The wheel flew through the air, striking I.B. in the head. He stumbled back, going right out the window, taking the bag of Core Memories with him.

"No!" Sadness cried, lunging forward.

She grabbed hold of one of the bag's straps, but was pulled out of the window as well. She managed to grab hold of the window frame, keeping hold of the bag. The broken glass dug into her hand, but she held on as she and I.B. hung over the abyss of the Memory Dump, the latter clinging to the bag containing the Core Memories.

Wincing against the pain in her hand, the blue Emotion held on as tightly as she could, but she was not that strong, and quickly lost her grip.

Joy's hand closed over Sadness', nearly pulling her out the window as well. Anger, Fear, and Disgust quickly grabbed her waist and legs before she went out. They tired to pull the yellow and blue Emotions back in as Sadness hung on to the bag of Core Memories, but it was difficult with I.B. weighing them down.

"Hold on!" Joy called. "We'll pull you up!"

"Hurry," the blue Emotion pleaded. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on."

A whimper escaped Fear. "It's hopeless! We're all going to fall into the Dump!"

"Will you shut up and pull!" Anger snapped, his head igniting.

The three of them slowly pulled Joy inside, who in turn pulled Sadness and I.B. But as they pulled, a loud rip was heard. The bag holding the Core Memories was starting to tear open, the precious glowing orbs at risk of falling out.

Sadness gasped. "Wait, stop! The bag is ripping!"

The Emotions froze, yet the bag ripped further as both Sadness and I.B. pulled it in two different directions.

Despite the situation, I.B. couldn't help but smile as he saw that the Core Memory that powered the late Romance Island was about to drop into the Memory Dump.

"Looks like Riley and Jordan won't be making up after all!" he called up to the Emotions. "Not once that memory falls!"

Sadness glanced at the bag. The rip wasn't big enough for the Core Memory to fall out yet, but if it got any bigger, Romantic Love would be the first to go.

With sad eyes, she looked at the imaginary character that had used and discarded her, who she once believed cared about her before betraying her and crushing her heart. "Why are you doing this, I.B.? Can't you see you're hurting Riley? Her relationship is a mess, we lost Romance Island, her heart is broken, the controls aren't working, and now we're about to lose her Core Memories."

I.B. glared at her. "It's for the best. I have Riley's best interest at heart."

"Why can't you just let her go?"

"I can't let her go!" he insisted. "I would die for Riley! I'm the only one who can make her happy!"

"Then why is she more miserable now than ever?"

Her words echoed all around him, and they seemed to strike a chord in him. His aggressive expression melted away, and he began looking around. He saw the powered down Islands of Teenage Boy Band, Tragic Vampire Romance, and Friendship, as well as the place collapsed Romance Island once was. Then he looked up at the broken window of Headquarters as Anger, Fear, and Disgust tried to prevent Joy from falling out as she clung desperately to Sadness.

Finally, his gaze drifted to the bag of Core Memories. Through the rip, he saw the Core Memory for Romantic Love. The scene was of Riley and Jordan on a date together, laughing and having fun. Looking at the two of them like that, I.B. realized that since he had taken over, Riley had never once shown this type of happiness, not even when he had sent feelings of joy through her.

It was a crushing revelation, and he turned away, unable to look at the happy scene any longer. But the sound of the rip getting bigger once again drew his attention. One last tear, and the Core Memories would be lost.

He looked down, into the blackness of the Dump, then slowly up again. He locked eyes with Sadness, a determine look on his face.

Somehow, Sadness understood what was about to happen, and her eyes widened. "I.B.?"

He held her gaze and whispered, "For Riley."

Then he let go, falling from Headquarters and disappearing into the darkness of the Memory Dump.

(A/N: Who saw that coming? I.B. sacrificed himself for Riley. He said he would die for her, and he meant it. I.B. may have been a villain, but he was a tragic villain. His motives were based on the pain of neglect and wanting to be with the person he loved rather than malice or greed. But in the end, Riley's happiness was what mattered to him the most, and Sadness finally allowed him to see that he wasn't making Riley happy. It's one of the hardest things you can do, but if you love someone, sometimes you have to let them go. By the way, having the TripleDent Gum song play so many times wasn't just for comedic purposes, it was also meant to annoy I.B. enough to become a distraction, allowing Joy to get the upper hand on him. But it's not over yet. I.B. may be gone, but Sadness and the Core Memories are at risk of falling, Riley's heart is still broken, the controls aren't working, and her relationship with Jordan is a mess. There's still a lot to do. Lets hope Love and Hate can finish the repairs quickly before it's too late for Riley and Jordan's relationship.)