Chapter 3: In the Ruins

Author's Notes: This chapter was the second thing I was dying to add my own twist into once I decided I wanted to do this. Which I think goes along with the themes that PPK was trying to create. That said, this is also my first big point of bringing in additional materials that wouldn't have been available at the original time of writing. I don't plan on making "the new 5" main characters as well, but I do plan on having them meaningfully contribute in the story to come. Putting them in places where they logically would have something to do.

The emotions gradually shook their heads after being thrown clear of the Train of Thought. Pulling themselves up shakily. But when they stood up, everyone was shocked and horrified at what they saw before them.

Headquarters was gone. There was no white column at all. They rushed over to the edge of the memory dump, looking down into its dark depths. They saw the very top of the building, slowly sinking under the memories, flashing like a sinking ship, and then…nothing.

Joy and all the emotions around her briefly looked at each other, then they all screamed out, "RILEY!" Their collective cry echoed over the area, but nothing replied.

Joy then stood up, and looked like she was about to jump into the memory dump. But Fear, Disgust and Sadness grabbed her.

"No Joy! You can't!" hollered Fear.

"LET ME GO!" screamed Joy. "I HAVE TO SAVE RILEY!"

"Joy, Stop!" Disgust held tight as she called out. "You'll destroy yourself too!"

"SHE NEEDS ME! LET ME GO!"

"JOY!" Sadness was in front of Joy, right in her face, holding her arms, forcing her to look into Sadness's eyes. "If we're going to save Riley, we have to follow the manuals! And we can't do that if we're stuck in her same situation!" Joy struggled some more, but Sadness kept her eyes on her. "I'm terrified and devastated too, but if any of us disappear down there, we won't be here when Riley gets better! We'll be forgotten, and what good will it be if Riley doesn't remember us then?"

"HOW IN THE MIND'S EYE CAN RILEY RECOVER FROM THIS? Jiminy Mother Hubbard Toaster Strudel, I HAVE TO FIX THIS! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" And then all the fight went out of Joy as her legs gave way and she collapsed into the arms of those around her. "I….I was the one who wanted to talk to Riley. I made a mess of the move, and I couldn't help her after she learned the truth. I have to make it up to her! I….I want my mom!" And Joy started weeping into her hands right there, surrounded by mind workers and emotions.

Everyone was quiet. Watching their "leader" cry. For Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness, it was a moment of sober pain. Remembering what Joy said about when she landed in the memory dump. For everyone else, it was a shock to imagine the source of their happiness crying. Nobody quite knew what to do next with the shock of everything still all over the mind world. Until at last, Disgust stepped next to Sadness in front of Joy.

Hesitantly, Disgust spoke up. "Joy? We're emotions. Why do you want a mom?"

Joy slowly worked on calming herself down. Nobody said a word, even as they looked up at the sky as if they expected it to start falling. But, there was enough respect to wait for Joy to explain herself. Even as Joy felt sobs continue to wrack her body. "I…It's…It's nothing. I don't know where that came from." Disgust gave her a slightly disbelieving look. And Joy felt her tears coming right back. She gave a staggering sigh, then felt the words flow out of her mouth with nothing left to lose. "I just…I always hoped I could have a perfect family in my life. With Riley and Bing Bong and a Mom and Dad I could please. To make sure I'm doing things right." Joy sniffed again. "And right now…." She could barely hold it together. "It feels like I messed up too badly to ever get things fixed again. I want a mom to fix this."

Disgust briefly shot a glance to Sadness, who looked down in grief. Realizing their resident sad person wasn't going to give Joy something to get herself back on her feet, Disgust knelt down so that she and Joy were at eye level. This definitely didn't come naturally to her, but she was here, and none of the other emotions had stepped up. All of them were wondering what exactly Disgust was going to say.

Disgust placed a hand on Joy's shoulder, so she was looking Disgust in the eyes again. "Joy, you're taking this way too personally. Sure, you've made mistakes at different times, but we all have. And sometimes we do things we can't take back, like the time we accidentally shoved a plate of broccoli into Jordan's face." Disgust cringed at that. They hadn't spoken to Jordan for four days after that incident. "But don't forget that part of making it through is making sure others are there to help when we need it." Disgust then gestured to herself and the others. "And don't forget, we played just as much of a role in what's happened to Riley as you did, so don't try to take all this onto yourself."

Joy looked at her miserably. "But, I've always been there to direct you all. I have to make it work. But I can't fix this like I would normally. I…"

"Joy, Enough. Yes, we're emotions. No, we don't have natural parents. But you know what we do have? SIBLINGS!" Joy blinked, not quite understanding what the green emotion was saying. "We're emotions, but we're not just a business group. If there's one thing I've learned with all this face to face time with Riley, it's that we work best when we're working together. We get on each other's nerves, we argue, and we get up the next day still ready to get right back to working together. That's not something anyone would do. Only a family would put up with this much of a mess. It's why I will NEVER think Mom and Dad are poisonous because I know they're more valuable than any friend that may or may not last." Disgust then held both of Joy's shoulders. "And you and me? We're going to be doing this work together FOREVER! We're already your family Joy." Disgust then gave a serious frown. "So don't talk to your little sister like we can't help you fix this just as well as your ideal family. We need to pull together to save the most precious person in the family. It's the only way we'll save Riley and get back to something close to normal again."

Joy shuddered a little. But, took a deep breath and then slowly nodded her head. "Okay. Okay Disgust." Then in a tiny voice, she looked at the 4 emotions closest to her. "Can I get a hug, please?"

The emotions all almost gave a chuckle to each other, since Joy was always the one who would give the impromptu group hugs rather than receiving them. But they acquiesced and all hugged Joy on the ground. Joy could still feel her tears flowing, but it was a pain that was slowly being dulled. She wondered if this was how Riley felt when she ran back home.

After about 20 seconds, they broke off, and Joy shakily got to her feet. "Okay," she spoke with a bit more firmness in her voice. "So as long as we're still here, Riley isn't brain dead." Joy caught herself and looked at Sadness. "Right?"

Sadness looked down, trying to remember everything she read. "I think so? It's the only hope we have until we have more information." Sadness then looked out over the mindscape they could see. Everything had gotten much darker without Headquarters to anchor the space, but from what she could tell, the only thing that was changing was that the memory dump was starting to slightly expand with tiny rocks falling in spots. "If we're all here, we can figure this out." She then raised her voice. "First, I need everyone in this area to gather up all the mind manuals you can find. If we're going to save Riley, it has to start with us having all the information possible!"

Suddenly, an orange tornado was running all around the area. And before long, stacks on stacks of books were to the side of Sadness. Standing in front of the 5 emotions was…someone. Someone Orange with a puffy stalk of hair, wearing a sweater and semi-formal pants with big eyes and a big mouth that was currently frowning. "Please tell me that's all of them! I would run into long term memory to search for more, but I don't want us to waste time."

Sadness looked over the stacks. "Well this is a good start."

Joy blinked at the being in front of them. "And you are…?"

The being let out a puff of air. "We're…not really supposed to meet for at least a year, but with the emergency ejection, I got shot out from downstairs." She then gave a light smile. "I'm Anxiety. I'm supposed to protect Riley from what she can't see, although I never could've seen something like this happening. But since we're in a mental emergency, we all need direction to make sure Riley lives long enough for us to keep doing our best for her." With that, Anxiety gestured out to the many mind workers, as well as one other emotion who were standing there uneasily of various shapes, colors and sizes.

Fear looked at the huge stack of books before them. This was right up his alley too. "Okay then." Fear then raised his voice. "Everyone who can read, pick a manual and start searching to see if there's anything that might relate to this situation. If you find something, call it out. If you can't read, start spreading the word across Long Term Memory that we need to preserve as much as we can. And if anyone finds another manual in your wanderings, please return it to this spot!"

Anger then chimed in. "And unless your eyeballs are literally falling out of their sockets, we can't sleep until we can figure out next steps. We don't know how long we have to save Riley, so time is our enemy until we're done."

With that, everyone began to move. Emotions reaching for books, mind workers running for Long Term, and a flurry of activity all around. They all knew they had to find something that would point them in the right direction. For Riley.

Next time: Joy gets caught up on happenings the day before. Some conversations are held, and a plan is formed.