Work Text:
"This is so much fun, isn't it, Riley?"
"Faster! Faster! Faster!"
Sadness and Joy both smiled as they watched one of Riley's old memories: the first time her mother had pulled Riley around in the old wagon. She had laughed and laughed, urging her mother to make it faster.
"Joy, you really are amazing," said Sadness. "Riley's all happy during her toddler years, thanks to you."
"Aw, it's nothing, really," Joy said with a sheepish grin. She patted Sadness on the head. "It's thanks to you that I get to cheer her up so much."
"I…guess I'm glad I could help," Sadness mumbled, and Joy smiled reassuringly at her.
It had been about a year since Joy and Sadness' little mishap with the core memories, and Riley was having a great time as a twelve-year-old. Anger, Fear, and Disgust had come to respect Sadness for helping them through the crisis, and had turned the console over to her many-a-time. Joy had discovered that she and Sadness actually made a really great team, despite the fact that they were polar opposites.
But suddenly, the sound in the memory faded—in fact, the entire memory turned a light shade of grey as Riley began to sing. Or, at least, it looked like she was singing; they couldn't hear her.
"What in the world is going on?" asked Disgust, causing the other two emotions to focus more on the memory.
"Oh no," Fear said, his voice rising. "The memory's fading! Get it out of here quick before it spreads to the entire room!"
"Oh, stop it, Fear," Joy answered, standing up. "It's not going to spread—!" But Fear had already taken the grey orb and sent it back to Long Term Memory.
"Phew," he breathed, sitting down in relief. "That was a close one."
"But…oh well," Joy muttered, and sat down by the console. "There was something about that wagon, though…reminded me of something…"
"Yeah, me too," chimed Sadness. "Something incredibly sad…" She sniffed, and her eyes filled with tears. "I don't even know what it is but I just feel so…depressed…" She covered her face with her hands.
"Oh, great job, Fear," snarled Anger, turning on the purple emotion. "If you haven't done that, Joy would remember and Sadness wouldn't be boohooing! You know it's getting harder to calm her down nowadays!"
"L-let's talk about this!" Fear raised his hands, which were already shaking. "There are two ways this could end, and I really think we should go with the way where you calm down…"
Fear and Anger stopped as a golden memory zoomed in through the recall tube and displayed itself on the screen: "TripleDent gum will make you smile…"
"AAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" yelled Anger, his head bursting into flames. Fear screamed and ran for it, and Anger ran after him, shouting obscene things.
"O-kay," Disgust said after facepalming herself a couple of times. "I'm going to go calm those lunatics down. You two get Riley ready for bed." She began to walk up the ramp that led to the emotion's sleeping quarters before she turned back. "Oh, and don't make Riley wear those embarrassing elephant pajamas—they look horrible on her."
"Okay," said Sadness gloomily, reaching out to a few buttons on the console.
Joy held her back. "But I like those pajamas," she pouted, punching in some commands to wear said pajamas. "The sweet little elephants, and the rainbows, and…" Joy's glow faded a little as her mouth turned down in confusion.
"What's wrong, Joy?" asked Sadness.
"I just…" Joy threw her hands up, frustrated. "It's that thing with the wagon, again! It's like it's jumping out at me…! You feel it too, don't you, Sadness?"
"I guess." Sadness shrugged. "Must be important, if you're worrying over it. I have a pillow you can hug if you're getting sad…"
"No, thanks anyway," Joy answered. "That's it, I'm searching long term memory for anything regarding a wagon, an elephant, and rainbows!"
"Okay," Sadness answered. "I'll just sit here…feeling lost and droopy…" She bowed her head and began to hum.
Joy punched in her search words and watched as a single memory came up the recall tube. The orb was a dark, stormy gray, the image was a bit fuzzy, and there was barely any sound, but Joy could hear Riley saying something as she ran around the house.
"Who's…friend……play?" Joy made out. "Huh," she muttered. "Wonder what that means…" Joy looked over at Sadness to ask her, but heard Sadness humming. "Hey…where'd you hear that tune?" asked Joy. "Kind of upbeat. I like it!"
"I don't know," Sadness said. "I was just thinking back to when we were in Long Term Memory and you sang a song with someone to cheer yourself up…"
Joy's eyes lit up; once again, Sadness was proving herself to be useful. "What were the lyrics, Sadness? Do you remember?"
"Um…" Sadness scratched her head. "I think it went…Who's your friend that likes to play…but that's all I can remember…I'm sorry…"
"No, that's great!" Joy answered, grinning as new memories—long-forgotten ones of a elephant-cat-cotton-candy creature—swam before her eyes. "Who's your friend who likes to play? Bing Bong, Bing Bong!"
"Yeah, that's it," Sadness muttered, tears streaming down her face again. "I helped him get over the loss of his wagon…but then he gave up his freedom to help you escape the dump…that's sad…I feel sorry for him…"
Joy gasped as that part of their mad rush to headquarters came back. He had sacrificed his own life to help Joy get back to headquarters...she wanted to help him, but there was no reaching him after she was free…
"Take Riley to the moon for me, okay?"
Joy wiped a stray tear from her cheek and took out a piece of paper. "Sadness, you finish getting Riley to sleep. I'm writing a script for the dream she'll have tonight."
"I don't think you can do that," Sadness said between sobs. "That's Dream Productions' job…"
"I don't care," Joy answered, scribbling furiously. "I'll tell them it's directly from headquarters. They can't say no to that!"
"Okay, Sadness, up we go!" said Joy, lifting the depressed emotion onto a chair. "I want you to watch my masterpiece!"
"Okay," Sadness echoed as the screen turned on, displaying a wide, barren wasteland with a gray stone ground and a black sky filled with twinkling stars. "I like it so far. It looks so desolate…"
"Wait for it," Joy said.
Suddenly, Bing Bong came on screen, dragging what looked like the handle of a wagon. "Look, Riley," he said, gesturing with his trunk. "We're on the moon! I promised you a ride, didn't I?" He looked up at the stars, and the camera panned up as well. The stars sparkled and shimmered while comets raced each other across the sky. "Isn't it beautiful?" Bing Bong asked. "Let's sit and watch for a while."
The camera remained fixated on the sky as it came alive. The stars spiraled around Bing Bong and the supposed Riley, and other stars exploded in colorful bursts of cosmic light. Nebulae and galaxies shined above them, and constellations connected themselves and danced around the moon, their laughter like tiny bells. "Don't ever forget me, Riley," said Bing Bong. "And don't ever forget this dream, all right?"
The camera nodded, and Bing Bong grinned. "What do you say we sing my song one more time?" he asked. "Who's your friend who likes to play? Bing Bong, Bing Bong! Got a rocket-ship that flies away, Bing Bong, Bing Bong! Whenever you just need some fun, if it's only you or anyone, you'll never want to remain done! Bing Bong, Bing Bong!"
The dream faded as Riley woke up, and a golden orb came out of the projector. "You changed his song," Sadness noted. "What if Riley doesn't like it and she pushes him away and never remembers him?"
"I made it better; you'll see!" said Joy earnestly. "Nothing better than a throwback to your childhood for some good memories!"
"You're right," Sadness replied and put Joy's hand on the console. "Should we get Riley ready for school?"
"You bet!" answered Joy.
Bing Bong opened his eyes and sat up, wondering where he was. Well, he knew he was in Imagination Land, but it looked older, different. Suddenly he remembered: he had been turning to dust! He had been forgotten! How did he end up back here?
His eyes lit up as he remembered Joy's promise. She must have finally fulfilled it! "Thank you so much, Joy!" he shouted. "I'm so happy! Riley remembers me again! Riley remembers me! Hooray!"