Hey, it's been a while since I updated any of my fanfics. My mom's funeral back in January was beautiful, and my dad and I are beginning to adjust to just us two at home. My friends and family are awesome as usual, and Zootopia was everything I hoped for and more. And I'm currently taking a Pharmacy Tech class, a suggestion my mom made because she and dad know I wouldn't enjoy nursing. I'm still clinging to the writing and animation dream, and being a pharmacy technician seems pretty cool from what I'm learning in class. :)

Again, I would like to thank PotterPhantomKitten for being my co-writer, and making this story awesome.

Also, feel free to visit the TV Tropes page for this fanfic. :)

Happy belated Easter!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! :D
_

At Dottie's words, somber looks crossed Joy and Sadness's faces, the pair of emotions feeling as if a knife had been being driven through them instantly. Especially as they gazed at the bag that represented memories of their very own.

The owner of that satchel had been Sadness' first real friend. The one that contributed to helping save Riley. The person that made such a sacrifice to get Joy out of the abyss of the Memory Dump, so she could find Sadness and return to Headquarters, so everything would be fixed.

He was practically their hero. And neither Joy nor Sadness ever had the chance to tell him that, or even managed a word of thanks before leaving him.

Anger, Disgust, and Fear shifted their gazes toward the duo who knew the imaginary friend better than anyone. True, they had known Bing Bong as well, but that had been in the past, back when Riley had been very little and they would watch him play on their screen. This was a story to be told only by the two who had witnessed everything in the final moments of Riley's first best friend.

Joy and Sadness glanced at one another, as if mentally debating on who should be the one to speak up. Finally, Joy placed a hand on Sadness' shoulder, giving her a nod.

With that, the blue emotion stared at Dottie, who was now sticking her head into the bag and trying to reach further down.

"It belonged to a friend," Sadness said finally, her voice sounding almost too soft and incredibly broken. "Bing Bong."

"Bing Bong?" Dottie's voice was at first slightly muffled by the bag before she got herself upright, looking at Sadness with widened eyes and a broad smile on her face. "I remember mommy telling me about him!" she said, growing excited. "He was Riley's imaginary friend when she was really, really little! Even more little than me! Mom always told me stuff about him, but she never met him..."

Hooking the bag around her shoulder, her eyes glanced from left to right, grinning with anticipation.

"I didn't know you met him! I want to meet him! And I want him to meet mommy too! Where is he?" Her gaze lifted toward the stairwell. "Is he upstairs?"

There was that internal pain again.

Sadness swallowed hard, coming over to Dottie and placing a sincere hand on her shoulder. Dottie regarded this in confusion before her eyes met the emotion's, and her smile slowly began to drop.

"Bing Bong..." Sadness uttered forcefully, trying not to tear up. "...isn't around anymore."

The child raised a brow, appearing even more confused. "Isn't around? Where did he go?"

Sadness gritted her teeth. She turned to Joy for guidance, the yellow emotion gesturing with a hand for her to resume. Looking back at Dottie, the teardrop-shaped being slowly got on one knee, her eyes directly in front of the young girl's.

"Dottie," she began carefully, "do you know what the Memory Dump is?"

The child nodded. "Yes," she murmured. "It's what this place is standing on." She pointed toward the window. "Down there are memories Mind Workers say Riley doesn't want anymore. Where they get thrown away and just...fade."

Her voice trailed after that last word, contemplating how hurtful it was to learn that memory orbs could just be discarded at a whim. She still couldn't understand what Sadness was trying to tell her. However, she sensed something was wrong as a lone tear fell down the blue emotion's cheek.

"Dottie," Sadness spoke woefully, "Bing Bong was in there."

At that moment it all immediately sank in, and Dottie's eyes flew open in horror. "What?" she cried out. "You mean he's..."

Sadness held her breath as she nodded.

Dottie's shoulders slumped, her expression melancholic at the realization that she would never get to meet Riley's childhood friend. That her mom would never meet the person she would often talk about and describe to her daughter. What hurt the most was that he had been forgotten, just like that. As if Riley no longer cared about him, and he was just some little memory not worth remembering.

The child's heart broke, wondering if that was just how a human's mind worked. A person could have millions of people working inside his or her mind, and that person wouldn't care if one suddenly faded away. Like a precious memory that was merely insignificant and garbage to that person. It was something her mom tried to persuade her not to think about. Even though she was only 5, Dottie was already aware of reality.

But did reality have to be this?

"Mr. Bing Bong..." Dottie choked, although she had no tears to shed. She looked at Sadness, her expression paining the emotion even more. "But how?"

It was then Joy stepped forward. "Remember when..." she took a deep breath, "when Riley ran away the other day?"

Dottie nodded. "Yeah. I got scared when the sky was turning all dark..." Her expression fell. "I thought everything was going to disappear, and I wouldn't see mommy again."

Sadness noticed the child's distress, and carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders like a caring mother. The blue emotion then glanced at Joy and nodded for her to resume.

"When that happened," the yellow emotion went on, "Sadness and I were trying to get back to Headquarters, and Bing Bong and I fell into the Memory Dump. I kept trying to climb out, but I just kept falling back down."

Dottie leaned more against Sadness, her eyes sorrowful for the imaginary friend's fate and with rapt attentiveness at Joy's story.

The yellow emotion swallowed, stepping closer and kneeling down to be more on Dottie's level. "When I was down there, I found a memory that both Sadness and I considered our favorite, and I realized that I was wrong to try to tell Sadness to stay away from the console." Her eyes then trained on the blue being with an apologetic expression. "Riley needed Sadness."

The teardrop-shaped emotion in question managed a half-smile at Joy's sincerity.

Joy then turned back to Dottie again. "That was when I knew that we had to get back up there, and Bing Bong and I found his song-powered rocket. We kept trying to launch it up and almost making it out of the Dump, but no luck..."

Joy took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Then...Bing Bong said for me to try one more time, and he told me to sing louder. I was singing at the top of my lungs and I finally landed on the cliff above the Memory Dump. I thought we both made it, but..." Joy realized that she could feel tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "I realized that he had jumped out of the rocket to give me enough lift to get out. He told me to go on and save Riley... and he said..."

Dottie felt Sadness squeeze her shoulder, and the child pressed deeper against the emotion.

"...'Take her to the moon for me, okay?'"

Joy hardly realized that she was crying now, but Dottie definitely noticed. She could see how special Bing Bong was to these two emotions. Even though Riley forgot him, that didn't mean he was nothing. If Dottie had only met the imaginary friend...he wouldn't just be an imaginary friend.

He would have had real friends.

The young girl then carefully reached forward and took Joy's hand, pulling the three of them into a tight group hug.

Joy didn't think the child liked her enough to bring her into an embrace. But as she learned last night when she had been trapped in that dump, with nearly fading core memories and a dear companion: help came because of sadness.

Tears fell down the yellow emotion's cheeks as Dottie pressed between her and the blue emotion. Joy almost feared the child would cry as well, over this painful news for someone she had wanted to meet so desperately, possibly as much as she did for Sadness.

But Dottie was calm, her expression as empathetic as Sadness'. The hug reminded Joy too much of the one Bing Bong gave to the teardrop-shaped emotion, his candy tears spilling out, and all his distress slipping away.

If Joy could turn back the clock, she would have been more comforting to him. Instead of trying to cheer him up and force him to feel happier despite his dilemma...

Pulling away, Joy gave a pained smile, wiping an arm across her face. Dottie's lips pressed in a thin line of a grin, her blue eyes ever sympathetic. She glanced over at Sadness, who held no smile, but a light nod of her head toward Joy. There were tears in her eyes, making her sparkle, but she wiped them away as well.

"My mommy always told me that when things are forgotten," Dottie spoke softly, a slight lisp to her tone, "they aren't entirely forgotten. That there's always a way to remember them. Like that time I lost my favorite stuffed animal at the park, and I was really sad over it."

The little girl held her hands together, eyes falling to the floor.

"It took a long time before I eventually forgot about missing it," she sighed. "But there were times I could still dream about having never lost it." She looked up at Joy and Sadness. "It sort of hurts, but it makes me a little happy...right?"

Both emotions had to admire the child for providing some comforting words. If she was trying to be more like Sadness, she was doing an outstanding job. Emotion or not, she truly knew how the make the workers of HQ feel. Anger, Disgust, and Fear watched from the side, hearts mending a bit over a child whose presence brought some light on their friends' emotional agony.

Joy forced a smile, wiping her nose. "I'm sure it does, Dottie," she told the child. "Thank you for that..."

Sadness laid a hand on the little girl's shoulder, looking at the bag that hung from it. Her personal core memory fit so perfectly inside it.

"You really would have loved Bing Bong," the blue emotion told her. "You two really would have gotten along together."

The daughter of a Mind Worker stiffened, wishing that could still happen. But she just bit over a smile, nodding.

"I know I would," she said. "Mommy would too."

After a few moments of silence, the tears had finally dried up. Joy's lips slowly eased into a more gentle smile, one especially appearing sincerely cheerful.

"Okay, I'm feeling better," she breathed. "Now how about we go show you around HQ?"

Sadness gave a genuine smile at this, wrapping an arm around Dottie. She glanced over at the three other emotions. "Fear?"

The purple emotion suddenly yelped in surprise, having not expected his name to be called, especially after what just occurred.

"Uh, yeah, Sadness?" he asked, wringing his hands rather nervously, cheeks growing a bit red.

"Could you make a snack for Dottie?" the blue emotion requested. "I'm sure she'll get hungry later."

His eyes rose in surprise, then his mouth hung open in a pleased grin.

"Well, sure!" he said with delight. "I'll make her a nice, safe snack for her to have in a bit!"

"Don't kids just eat the same thing we do?" Anger said gruffly, looking over at Disgust. "Or better yet, just give her candy?"

"As long as it isn't mints," the green emotion huffed.

"Come on, Dottie," Sadness said gently, taking the child's hand. "You can play with the orbs later. How about we show you upstairs?"

The child's eyes lit up. "Really?" She held onto the bag that hung at her side. "Can I bring this with me too?"

The blue emotion glanced once more at what was the only thing left of her dear friend. Although her heart tightened, she gave a nod.

Dottie grinned. "And just so you know, your memory core is safe with me!" she said proudly.

Sadness and Joy shared a tender glance, both smiling at each other. Leading her up the ramp with the others following behind them, they reached the second floor.

Dottie was greeted by a wide hallway, doors on both sides. Blinking, she didn't need to think twice over whose room was which, the doors coded with the trademark colors of the emotions.

"So which room do you want to see first?" Joy asked, excitement creeping back into her tone. "You want to see my room first and save Sadness' for last?"

The child glanced from the yellow and blue doors, then her eyes fell on the last three colors. She peered at a certain red door, clutching Bing Bong's bag even tighter to herself.

"Is Anger's room really a dump?" she couldn't help but ask curiously. "My aunt told me he can dress nicely and probably has exercising stuff, but is just a slob."

The red emotion tried not to burst into flame at such a disrespectful assumption. He never even met the child's aunt! Who was she to judge him like that? Unless she and her niece shared more in common than he was afraid to believe.

"Hey!" Anger exclaimed with an indignant scoff. "Yeah, I have exercise equipment, but my room is NOT a dump!"

"You sure about that?" Disgust asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, no offense," Fear spoke, keeping some distance between himself and the red emotion, "but you're not exactly the tidiest person here."

Just before Anger could yell at both of them, Joy lightly shoved the red brick forward, directing him toward her door. The yellow emotion shook her head with a smile before ushering the child to her room, swinging the yellow door wide open.

"Welcome to my room!" she said proudly.

Dottie stepped over the threshold, papers crinkling under her feet at the first step. She looked down, noticing the forms of sealed envelopes, which she quickly lifted her foot off of. "Oh, sorry, Joy."

"Ah, it's okay," the leading emotion said, picking up the mail and tossing it aside. "Most of the time it's junk mail."

Looking past the four flat stones from the door, Dottie beheld the rest of Joy's room. Just beyond the stones was a green fuzzy mat, with flowers dotting parts of the edges and a pair of sandals to the right of it. She took notice of a smaller white mat that looked like a cloud with Joy's name on it, fluffed and placed like a pillow.

Dottie tilted her head, noticing it was positioned on the left rim of what was the most unusual bed she had ever seen.

"You sleep in a bathtub?" she asked aloud.

Joy shrugged sheepishly. "It's relaxing to wake up to. Then I feel refreshed and ready to start the day!"

"I was expecting it to be a bit more bouncy," Dottie murmured, trying to find the right words, staring at what could have just been the bathroom.

None of the other emotions dared say a word. They just continuously gawked at the bathtub, wondering what on Earth their friend was thinking.

"Well that's what that place is there for!" Joy exclaimed, pointing to the window behind the bathtub, pink curtains draped along the sides.

Through it, Dottie could see what appeared to be an entirely different setting, with a bright sky and a grassy field with a path that led straight to a familiar-looking house. In fact, it looked like a replica of Belle's house from Beauty and the Beast.

"Hey!" Dottie exclaimed. "I think I know that house!"

Joy beamed. "It's from one of my favorite movies, except it's for my happy place. The inside's way different!" A broad grin lit up the yellow emotion's face. "I ought to show it to you sometime! There's a bed that's like a trampoline—I sleep there when I'm really in a bouncy mood—and a ball pit and so much other awesome stuff!"

The others peered straight out the window, just as surprised as Dottie was. Sometimes they just really couldn't understand Joy...but it was still a wondrous sight!

Dottie grinned at the thought, her eyes then trained on the final major feature of the room—the framed pictures and paintings that hung on the wall facing the bathtub. "You paint?"

"Yup!" Joy exclaimed. "I make my paintings in that house over there, then when I finish them, I bring my favorites and hang them on the wall."

Dottie looked in astonishment at all of them. One of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Joy trying out ballet, and Disneyland. Her eyes then fell on one to the lower right of the recent picture. It showed Joy smiling and hugging someone that looked a little familiar.

Upon further analyzation, she realized that the person in the picture appeared to be an "older" version of the yellow emotion.

"Um, Joy? Who's that lady in the painting with you?"

Joy turned, and stopped at the picture Dottie was indicating. The broad smile on her face slowly fell, but then noticing Dottie's look, she quickly tried to put on her cheery expression.

"Oh, that just, um, uh, no one important!"

But Dottie wasn't convinced. She saw the expression that flickered on Joy's face. The others took great notice, staring at the picture before turning to their friend expectantly.

The young girl planted her feet firmly on the ground, looking pleadingly at the leading emotion. "Joy, come on, who is that hugging you?"

Joy gazed down at the child, then at the picture. It had been perfectly positioned on the wall, just above the faucet so it was among the first things that Joy saw when she woke up. The yellow emotion still smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"That's what I imagine my mom would look like."

The others remained silent. Sadness regarded her golden-skinned friend sympathetically, recalling the painting too well.

It was when Riley had turned 2 did Joy's painting take a different turn. Before having created such a piece, she often watched Riley as her mother raised her, from the most adorable playtimes to moments when Riley was cranky and in need of a hug.

Joy had been firm in her belief that she was, indeed, a mother to their growing girl, despite what Anger, Fear, and Disgust have often told her. When Riley was alone, the yellow emotion took those chances to give her sweet thoughts, and just being able to make her know someone was, indeed, watching her. She even sang to her when the moment was right.

And she never stopped believing she was Riley's mom, just like the rest of the emotions were her family (although Daddy Anger was rather questionable, but mainly just a joke made by Disgust...).

It took some time for Joy to wonder: how come emotions don't have parents?

When she had first been brought into Riley's mind, she sought no mother or father, mainly exploring the interior of what was her home. Through the eyes of baby Riley, she saw her parents, and Joy had been in awe when they cooed over Riley's gentle first laugh.

In some way it felt as if they were cooing over Joy. And for the moment she thought maybe she could call them her parents.

But that could never be, even though they were within the head of the couple's daughter. And they obviously had emotions of their own, with probably a Joy that coddled over Mrs. Andersen like her own child.

None of the others ever imagined what their parents would look like. But Sadness, to herself, did often wonder if there were those in relation who would love and accept her. Like a mom, a dad...a brother...a sister...an aunt and uncle...possibly someone that could become very special to her...

She blinked away those thoughts before glancing over at Joy, whose eyes never left the picture. The blue emotion had caught sight of it on the way to her own bedroom. The yellow emotion's door had been slightly ajar, and Sadness had peaked out of curiosity. It wasn't like she had much to be done, having all the liberty in the world during that time.

The woman looked like Joy, only what possibly could have been her if she was "older". Emotions never aged, but that didn't stop the leading emotion from ever wondering if.

Like what could have been if nature, science, or whatever allowed their existence granted them families that would have raised them...

To Sadness, it was a nice, comforting thought. To Disgust, she would rather eat broccoli every day than associate with a mother she could never agree with; or Anger who didn't want to butt heads with someone that was his dad; or Fear, who would constantly live in worry if he had parents he believed would never be proud of him.

Dottie kept staring at the painting, being reminded of the portrait featuring the child and her mother.

When she was 3, she asked her mom if one day, if she ever visited HQ, she would play with the emotions. She had presumed they were kids her age, with parents of their own. Agnes had gently broke the news that emotions "arrived" as adults, that they never started out as babies like Dottie did.

Emotions don't have families. They could love and possibly marry if they desired to like anyone who was a non-emotion. But overall, they weren't fortunate enough to have what Dottie did.

Although Dottie was only 5, she was smart enough to realize how much it secretly must hurt to not have a mom. Even though Joy was not her favorite emotion, not even close to Sadness, the child felt for her. Although she was bossy, Dottie did prefer her over Disgust or Anger.

"She looks really pretty, Joy," she complimented politely, remembering the manners her mother had taught her. And she was being honest.

The yellow emotion forced out a smile that was quite sincere. She felt guilty having started off Dottie's tour with the mourning of a forgotten friend, and then topping it off with the mourning of never having had a mom.

"Thanks," she told her softly. She began to perk up, glancing over at Sadness who gazed at her sympathetically. "So what do you think of my room?"

Dottie beamed. "I like it! It reminds me of Imagination Land a bit."

"Imagination Land?" Sadness spoke up. "Oh, Joy and I were there not too long ago. Right, Joy?" she asked, turning to the yellow emotion.

"Our first experience was pretty fun," Joy stated. "You go there a lot?"

"On some weekends or when I don't have school," Dottie confirmed.

"School actually exists here?" Disgust whispered to Fear and Anger who just shrugged.

Dottie's smile faded for a moment. "My mom told me they tore down some things there...like the castle and even the teddy museum..."

Joy gazed at her sympathetically. "Aw, it'll be okay. Maybe they'll replace it with something better, more fun. Right, Sadness?"

The blue emotion stood to attention. "Uh, right, Joy!"

Dottie's smile slowly came back, looking at Joy before beaming at her favorite emotion.

"Maybe you're right," she said. "I do mostly like the giant fries, anyway."

"Hold on, you like the fries?" Joy asked excitedly.

Dottie nodded. "My mom sometimes cuts a big one into pieces, and we take some home for snack later. Did you and Sadness try them?"

"I haven't," the blue emotion admitted.

"Well, I've had a small taste," Joy murmured, recalling that little stunt she pulled to catch up to her friend who floated away on a cloud.

As Dottie and Sadness conversed a bit, especially about saving the latter's room for last to see, Joy snuck over to Fear.

"Please tell me we have frozen fries in the fridge!" she whispered frantically. "Or at least some potatoes to cut them into!"

The purple emotion tensed. "I don't know! Disgust keeps hogging the chicken nuggets!" he whined, jerking a thumb toward the green emotion.

"Well, maybe if someone ordered more groceries, I wouldn't have to!" Disgust spat.

Joy groaned and rolled her eyes before turning back to Dottie. "So...this is my room, whose do you want to see next?"

The child pondered for a moment. However, before she could reach a decision, Disgust stepped in. She put on her friendliest face, hoping Dottie would realize that the green emotion was far too fabulous to look like Riley's most hated vegetable.

"Hey, how about seeing mine?" she asked cheerfully, bending toward her.

Dottie looked at her thoughtfully. "Is your bed made of broccoli like you?"

The green emotion fought the urge to scream with frustration, already aware Anger was smirking. Even Fear was actually trying to hold back a chuckle at her!

"Uh, no," she said through gritted teeth, her left eye twitching.

"Are you sure?" Dottie asked innocently. "I mean, I kind of thought you use broccoli shampoo to make your hair look like that stuff too."

Disgust's teeth clenched tighter. "What? No, I don't! I would never let anything related to broccoli get near my hair, let alone my mouth!"

"Then why does your hair look like it?" Dottie asked with that innocent expression again.

Disgust groaned, certain the child was just trying to annoy her. "Okay, does my hair honestly look like broccoli to you?"

"Well, it's kind of shaped like it, the color's the same too..." the child murmured casually.

Disgust wanted to facepalm. "My hair naturally goes this way! I don't sleep on a bed of broccoli, I don't shampoo my hair with broccoli, there is nothing related to broccoli in my room whatsoever!"

Dottie grinned. "Okay then! I wanna see your room next!"

"Gladly," Disgust said, managing to plaster on a smile despite her irritation at the whole broccoli comparison (especially with Anger snickering at her).

The group exited Joy's room, the yellow emotion herself momentarily glancing back before closing the door behind her. The group went down the hall, past some of the other doors before they reached Disgust's room.

Anger leaned close to Dottie. "She secretly has a stash of broccoli hidden in her closet!"

Disgust fumed, hearing Anger's words and his subsequent snickering. "I do not!"

Dottie giggled a little, but still glanced at Anger with an expression that clearly said, "I still really don't like you."

The group filed into Disgust's room, and Dottie's eyes widened. Alongside the wall was a large vanity the same color as Disgust's scarf, and the mirror appeared very much like those she recognized from Dream Productions.

Over by her bed to the left, some cut-outs from Disgust's favorite magazines were pinned to the walls, with a stack of undamaged magazines sitting next to her bedside table. Her open closet was filled with various clothes, as well as different-colored scarves. While her bed was decorated with green shades, it certainly didn't look like it was made of broccoli. Just a gentle green that was somewhat similar to grass in the summer.

Dottie's eyes rose in amazement. "Wow, nice room!"

"See, what I did tell you?" Disgust asked with a smug grin. "No broccoli in sight!"

"Wow, Disgust, I'm impressed," Anger said. "You actually cleaned up the place for once!"

"Hey, I'll have you know I keep my room neat and orderly all the time! Unlike a certain someone"

Anger huffed. "I have moments of organized chaos when I need to vent at something dumb, okay?"

"Admit it, you're a slob!"

"I keep my room just as organized as yours!"

"Oh, what, books categorized in order of idiocy?"

"Hey!"

Joy shook her head, laughing. "Come on, we all have our little quirks in our rooms! They're expressions of ourselves!"

"And this one expresses Disgust's always wanting to barf," Anger grunted, jerking a thumb at the green emotion's direction.

"Oh, like your room would be any better, you stump!" she retorted furiously.

"Okay!" Joy intervened, smiling sheepishly at Dottie. "So, what do you think of the room?"

The child looked around, somewhat reminded of the dressing rooms back in Dream Productions. She did appreciate that Disgust was, indeed, interesting in fashion...yet green simply was not Dottie's color.

"It's nice," she admitted.

"Really?" Disgust said, smiling hopefully that the kid would finally adore her the way she did with Sadness.

"But there's just so much green," Dottie added, looking at her with a grimace. "It feels like I'm walking through a vegetable garden."

Disgust's expression fell, fighting the urge to retort and nearly rip her own hair out with frustration.

"Hey, I got color!" she pointed out. "You've seen my clothes!"

"Do you have anything interesting like in Joy's room?" Dottie asked, gazing around.

Disgust's frown slowly lifted up. "I do, actually."

She led the child toward another door at the end of the room. Gesturing for the child to halt, the green emotion jiggled the knob before opening it. Swinging the door aside, she flipped a switch before the lights came on.

Dottie's, as well as everyone else's, expression was full of awe as she stepped into the other room. It presented itself like a warehouse, only fancier, and the walls were designed mint green. There were aisles, with each shelf containing either cosmetics or accessories, something the emotions have often seen Disgust have with her on some occasions.

Even the shelves were painted in fuchsia, much like Disgust's scarf. Everything was organized, from where the powders were to the lip glosses, and there was a vanity mirror at the very end of the room where one could pose and test out the products.

"Wow..." Dottie murmured as if she was entering an emporium.

Disgust grinned, satisfied with the child's reaction. "You like it? I never have enough makeup and accessories. So I just keep ordering and stock up. I spend my time here, especially after when I just protected Riley from eating some nasty broccoli omelets her dad sometimes makes, hoping it would 'liven the Monday'." she said, making air quotes with her fingers.

Dottie gazed at the aisle closest to her, peering at the accessories she was even lucky to see in Dream Productions. As the daughter of a costume designer, her mother was always creative when it came to producing accessories, especially for Fairy Dream Adventures. She designed bows, hats, and even scarves, anything that would be perfect for Rainbow Unicorn's next production.

But all this that Disgust had could develop that series even more colorful than it already was!

She stopped in front of a shelf that had large tubes containing some type of liquid, which was green. Dottie reached over and picked one up out of curiosity.

"What's this?" she asked, holding it toward Disgust.

"Oh, that's my mascara," the fashioned individual of the group explained. "It helps keep my lashes naturally long."

Dottie peered at her, particularly those large, tadpole-shaped extensions that protruded from the emotion's face. She held back the urge to ask if Disgust had ever frightened anyone at night with them, maybe even hang something on one just because those lashes were so large and thick.

"How about I give you a makeover?" Disgust asked excitedly.

"Um, mommy says I'm too young to wear makeup," Dottie said sheepishly. She looked at the tube in her hands, playfully unscrewing the cap. "But I sure do want to know what this stuff can do!"

Disgust smiled, feeling more satisfied before turning to the others.

"See?" she said proudly. "All it takes is a little bribery with materials just to get into a kid's heart."

Fear was about to respond. However, as soon as he noticed Dottie, he emitted a yelp of fright, the others appearing especially horrified. Disgust watched them in confusion, before turning back to the child.

"Oh, my gosh!" she cried.

Dottie had apparently taken advantage of the mascara, more than Disgust would have permitted. The child, whose mother always took care of her face, had applied an excessive amount of the gloppy green stuff, thinking that it was some kind of special face cream. She had applied onto her cheeks like blush, around her lips like gloss, and even on her eyebrows, thinking they deserved it just as much as her eyelashes.

She giggled to herself, enjoying the ticklish feel of the brush on her face. Although she wished the content she was applying was more blue, much like Sadness.

Disgust gasped. "Dottie, you're not supposed to wear it like that!"

Fear flinched. "It won't poison her, will it?" He was on the verge of racing to get towels to clean Dottie up himself, with the inclusion of a hazard suit.

Disgust shook her head in exasperation. "Of course not!" She returned with a white cloth, bringing it close to Dottie's face to wipe off the excess makeup. "I use it to help make my eyelashes longer and straighter, so if you don't get it off fast it tends to stick."

"You can get it off, right?" Dottie asked, immediately becoming worried. Her mother wouldn't be pleased at all if she returned from her adventure looking like some horror film monster.

"Don't worry," Disgust assured, wiping off the mascara from the younger girl's face. "It's going to be fine."

"Maybe you can put some on again another day and scare everyone at Halloween!" Anger joked.

Disgust fought the urge to roll her eyes, as she wiped the gooey makeup from Dottie's forehead.

"So, Dottie," Joy said, laughing a little at the child's makeup-covered appearance. "Whose room do you want to see next?"

"Anger's!" the child immediately replied once Disgust had succeeded in removing the last of the makeup from her face. "I wanna see if it's really as messy as Disgust says!"

"It is not!" Anger argued.

There were a few chuckles from the group, Disgust placing the cloth on her vanity before filing out of her room with the others. The red door leading to Anger's room was a little down the hall from Disgust's, and Dottie eagerly swung it open.

The walls of the room were decorated in red tones, preferably antique due to the color. Off in one corner of the room was a series of weights and exercise equipment, with a bookshelf against the wall displaying stacks of articles from The Mind Reader beside it.

The red emotion's bed presented itself similarly to a square, the trademark colored blanket on top appearing enough to keep him warm at the night.

"Did you take my advice to get fireproof stuff yet?" Fear asked timidly.

Anger rolled his eyes.

Dottie surveyed the room, her eyes falling on the exercise equipment. "Is that why your hands are so big?"

The expression on Anger's face turned smug. "As a matter of fact, these babies are all muscle!"

"You liar!" Disgust scoffed. "Your hands look the same now as they did when you first showed up!"

Anger scowled at her, his hands forming into fists. "Yeah, maybe I did arrive looking like this. Just like you came here looking like broccoli just as you do now!"

Fear trembled at the comeback, he and the other emotions glancing over at Disgust nervously. Her eyes widened in distraught, no doubt having felt the jab deeper than any would have expected. The purple emotion quickly bent down, holding Dottie by the shoulders should the argument grow more intense. He especially stood close by Sadness, who also hovered over Dottie much like her mother would.

Disgust's green face merged as red and heated as Anger's, producing a scowl scarier than one glance at Jangles the Clown.

"You take that back, shorty!" she screamed.

"Make me, you overgrown weed!" he spat.

Joy rubbed her temples, unable to believe Dottie was seeing all this. If the child was permitted to visit HQ again, the yellow emotion only hoped things would be much better a second time. While Fear and Sadness stood protectively by Dottie, Joy quickly intervened.

"Hey, hey, hey!" she called, stepping between Disgust and Anger.

She laid a hand on the green emotion's shoulder, surprising Disgust who stared at her in confusion.

"Okay, first off, you don't look like broccoli," Joy assured her. "You're just so green people just think you are." She laid her fingers on the hem of Disgust's skirt. "Maybe add a little more color so people won't get the wrong impression. Huh, maybe put something in your hair! You have lots of stuff for your head, right?"

Disgust paused, thinking over what Joy said. Satisfied with the results, the yellow emotion zipped toward Anger, taking him by surprise.

"Also," Joy informed, turning from Disgust to the other emotions, especially Dottie, "Anger here is all natural."

The red emotion's eyes widened in surprise when she suddenly reached down and grabbed his arm. He remained stunned as she jerked it upward, nearly lifting him off the floor.

"See?" Joy said, waving his arm to show one of his large palms. "All natural! He was big and strong when he first came here. He's still big and strong now!"

She looked down at him, smiling appreciatively.

"Although he has gotten stronger since then," she added with a chuckle.

Anger regarded her, unsure of what to say. His mouth just hung open, taking in what Joy had spoken of him.

It felt...nice.

The red and yellow emotions glanced at each other for a few moments, before Joy finally let his arm drop.

"Okay, that settles that!" she said cheerfully. "So, Dottie, is there anything here you like about Anger's room?"

The child was quiet as she peered at their surroundings. The red reminded her of the color from Rainbow Unicorn's mane, only Anger's was more crimson and, ironically, peaceful to the eyes.

To add more to the irony, the red walls seemed almost tranquil. As if this place could be a meditation room of some sort, or where someone could go to relax. Anger's bedroom was perhaps the only place where he could really vent out. Probably using his exercise equipment to let out some steam and toughen himself up more than he already was.

Dottie was rather intrigued by the equipment, especially the round weights that laid beside the workout bench. She also noticed that next to it were dumbbells, organized from heaviest to lightest.

Her eyes drew toward the heavier ones, which sported colors different from the red walls. She raced over and gawked at the heaviest set, which were colored yellow.

"These look so heavy!" she said with awe. "You can really lift these?"

Anger grinned smugly, waltzing over beside the child he was yet to win over.

"'Course I can," he said proudly. "I work out with those babies every day."

"Um, isn't it kind of dangerous if those things fall?" Fear couldn't help but ask.

"Relax, stick man," Anger said, rolling his eyes. He didn't notice that Dottie was reaching for one of the yellow dumbbells. "I've never gotten injured just for working out, alright?"

However, unlike Joy who was about to call to him frantically, he failed to notice that Dottie had tried to bring the dumbbell down. But her tiny hands and minuscule strength were unable to do it properly. Fortunately, she managed to be out of the way when the workout device fell.

Right on Anger's foot.

"YEOW!"

Dottie leapt back as Anger managed to kick the equipment off, his head spouting fire as he clutched at his aching foot. He fought back uttering curse words for her sake.

"Ugh, dang it! Dumb dumbbell!" he grunted fiercely.

Dottie winced in sympathy, feeling bad for what she had done but giggling slightly at his wording.

"Don't, ow, pick up things that are too heavy!" Anger scolded, cooling off but still angrily clutching his foot. "You could've gotten hurt!"

Fear yelped. "He's right, that was a very dangerous thing to do!"

Dottie gulped, guiltily thinking it over. Her mom would be upset if she resumed performing actions like that.

"Sorry," she said shamefully.

"Aw, that's okay," Joy said, coming over and patting Dottie on the back before looking at Anger. "You'll get over it soon!"

The red emotion just grunted in reply.

"Anyway," Fear quickly said, ushering the group out before anything or anyone was set on fire. "How about we go see my room?"

"Great idea!" Joy encouraged.

"Is it filled with safety signs?" Dottie asked innocently.

Fear couldn't help but grin proudly as they reached the purple door. "Not quite, even better!"

When the group entered the room, Dottie was met with a room of similar hues to the rest of Headquarters. A bookshelf lined the wall near his bed, organized by subject of potential dangers—including earthquakes.

Hanging from the ceiling was a sprinkler system in case of fire hazards, and any potential sharp points around his room were covered in plastic. When the child's eyes rested on his patchwork-quilted bed, she noticed that it seemed like it was made of the most comfortable material imaginable.

Over by his closet to the far right of the room, there was also a helmet, a heat shield, a paper bag, and anything that might be needed for an emergency.

"Wow," Dottie murmured in awe. "You have more fire drill stuff than my classroom does!"

"Seriously, school literally exists inside Riley's head?" Disgust whispered questionably toward Sadness.

"Uh-huh," he blue emotion nodded quietly.

"You can never be too prepared!" Fear proclaimed as he approached the child, holding a purple helmet.

Before Dottie knew it, he strapped it around her head, adjusting so it wouldn't be tight on the child. Once he was done, she looked up at him in confusion.

"Uh, Fear?" Joy said, glancing from Dottie to him. "Is that really necessary?"

The purple emotion chuckled rather forcefully. "Oh, Joy...we've seen a pattern here."

He reached over and picked up the small child, which immediately delighted Dottie. Fear carefully carried her to the bed, in which he sat her down, while making sure she wouldn't be able to fall off the edge.

"No accident is going to happen in my room!" he declared. "I've already established a list of possibly dangers for any visitor that comes here!"

"Oh, boy..." Anger muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Do you always make a list for everything?" Dottie asked curiously, hands on her lap.

"Never too careful!" he told her with a smile, before quickly searching and coming back with a big stack of papers. Joy almost assumed those were from Riley's first day of school.

Dottie picked up the top one before reading it. "What's spontaneous combustion?"

"Something Riley will never do," he assured her, taking the paper from Dottie's hands. "At least, I hope not..."

Dottie gazed around the room. "So what do you do in your room? What do you play?"

"Oh, just my favorite game," he told her cheerfully. "The Staying Safe game!" He picked up a nearby pencil before tapping it atop the pile of papers. "I sit down and carefully read a book-while also wearing protective finger gear to avoid paper cuts. And then usually I do a bit of reorganizing when something looks a little out of place, which happens every day." He beamed. "That's what I do with my free time!"

The child raised a brow at him. Although the purple walls intrigued her just as much as the emotion's complexion, she couldn't help but realize...it was rather too safe that it was considerably dull.

"That sounds boring," she admitted with a drawl.

Disgust's eyes lit up, wondering if Fear was slowly losing his fan. She bit over her smile, crossing her fingers as she noticed the slight hurt on the other emotion's face.

"Unfave him...unfave him..." she muttered quietly to herself.

"Okay, I admit..." he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe it's not exactly fun, but it is safe."

He sat on the bed beside Dottie, while making sure the impact didn't cause her to tumble off. He smiled pleasantly in her direction, relieved the helmet fit her perfectly.

"You're the guest," he told her, "so what do you prefer for fun? And please let it be something a little safe." he added timidly.

Dottie grinned. Before Fear knew it, she quickly climbed to the center of the bed. Just as the purple emotion was about to call her, she began jumping. The springs were much bouncier than she thought, bringing her higher with each dive into the mattress. The bed creaked every time her feet landed and lifted off, and she was getting higher with her efforts.

"Jumping on the bed is totally safe!" she insisted, her brown locks swinging up and down as she did.

Fear gasped in alarm, frantically trying to place himself as a barrier between the child and the floor. In case she fell, at least she would land on him and nothing else. He mentally chided himself for not bubble-wrapping around the floor of his bed.

"No, no, that's not safe!" he screamed.

"Aw, come on!" Dottie said, grinning and only seeming to kick off more from the mattress to propel herself higher. "I do it a lot!"

"Well, that's dangerous!" the purple emotion protested frantically, his heart pounding every time Dottie hit the mattress. "You could fall and hit your head and get a concussion!"

"She's got the helmet," Anger grumbled.

For once, Dottie grinned at something Anger mentioned, while looking at Fear with an expression of delight on her face. "He's right," she laughed, "you gave me this helmet!"

Fear nervously played with his fingers, his entire body trembling. "But you could break an arm! Or a leg! Or—"

Dottie smirked. "You'll have to get me first!" she sang in a teasing tone, bouncing more toward the opposite side of the bed.

Joy chuckled while Sadness smiled, same for Anger and Disgust as they watched their purple companion fret more than he usually did. They all had expected some point during her stay that Dottie would give Fear a hard time. This was better than they imagined, a personal memory for all of them to cherish.

Fear frantically climbed up the bed, nearly stumbling a bit from the springiness that was making him lose his balance. He frowned in disapproval as Dottie kept bouncing, laughing at his attempts while he began to pursue her.

"Okay, that's enough!" he barked, trying his best to sound like a stern parent. "You are getting off this danger zone, young lady!"

He stretched his arms forward to grab Dottie, intending to get her off the bounciness of the bed and onto the safety of solid ground. Fear tried to handle the springs under his feet as he reached for her, failing every attempt and earning another laugh in the face.

However, after the fifth, he finally took ahold of the child. She giggled, trying to squirm out of his grip. Unfortunately, his momentum from the springing did cause them to tumble off the bed. Luckily, Dottie was perfectly fine, in fact, grinning as if she had just soared over California in one jump. Not only did the helmet protect her head, but Fear helped cushion her fall.

Dottie beamed, getting off of Fear and smiling. "See? That was fun!"

Fear winced and rubbed his head, picking himself up from the floor. He had to admit, for what he felt was carelessness on her part, Dottie really was a good kid.

"Y-You're okay, right?" he asked worriedly.

The child beamed up at him and, to Fear's surprise, hugged him. "I think I should be asking if you're okay." She paused. "You are, right?"

Fear laughed gently. He may not have had much experience with kids, aside from looking out for Riley, but Dottie really wasn't all that bad. Perhaps a bit reckless in his opinion, but sweet.

"I'm fine," he responded, giving her an affectionate gaze.

"Yay!" Dottie giggled, hugging him tighter. "I wouldn't want you getting hurt! That wouldn't be good at all!"

"Hey," Anger said, his voice sounding accusing, "you didn't seem nearly as concerned when that dumbbell slammed on my foot!"

Fear looked at him, trying not to appear smug as Dottie kept holding him. "You were like a fire hazard then, of course she didn't!"

"Hey," Joy said, hoping to refrain Anger from punching the bow tie off the purple emotion, "she's good, we're good!"

Sadness casually walked over to Dottie, blue eyes looming over every part of the child, making sure she was, indeed, alright.

"She's good," the blue emotion declared in that usual mellow tone of hers. Sadness turned to Fear. "Nice save."

The purple emotion smiled sheepishly, feeling rather pleased despite having nearly suffered a concussion from falling.

"That was really fun," Dottie said with a giggle, allowing Sadness to help her remove the helmet. "HQ is even more fun than the playground!"

Joy winced through her smile. "Uh, yeah...let's not get ahead of ourselves..."

"What? I took care of Bing Bong's bag, didn't I?" the child asked, showing off the accessory that hung from her shoulder. "And Sadness' memory core." She opened it, revealing the orb that undoubtedly belonged to the blue emotion.

"And that's very responsible of you," Sadness told her.

"Why do I get the feeling she's going to take that home with her?" Disgust whispered to Joy. "If she, like, stays with us again, she might take more orbs Sadness made."

Joy rolled her eyes, chuckling at Disgust's assumption. Last time the yellow emotion recalled someone taking memory orbs without their acknowledgement, it was in Long Term Memory when they met-

She stopped right there. Joy didn't want to cry again, especially while Dottie was becoming more delighted every moment. And she doubted the child would take orbs from them without asking! All she wanted to do was play with them, and then afterward she would let them be!

"Hey, Sadness!" she called cheerfully, turning to the blue emotion. "Isn't it your turn to show Dottie your room?"

"What?" the teardrop-shaped being said, quickly lifting her head in surprise.

The child's eyes widened excitedly. "Oh, yes!" she exclaimed. "Saving the best for last!" She reached over and took Sadness' hand. "Can we do it right now? Can we? Can we?"

Although nervousness was evident in the blue emotion's features, Sadness, nevertheless, slowly nodded.

"Sure," she said quietly. "Although I don't know if it's as interesting as everyone else's..."

"Oh, come on!" Joy encouraged, patting her friend on the shoulder. "I bet it's super interesting!"

The blue emotion was yet to believe so in herself. While she had confidence in aiding Riley and producing dreams now, her room was yet to be on the list.

But Sadness still led them out of Fear's room, the purple emotion closing the door behind him as they followed. The final door was at the very end of the hall. From afar, it looked like a waterfall, its gentle blue tone pleasing to the eyes. But once up close, Dottie couldn't have been more in awe.

For a moment, the child thought the blue exterior was made of stone, the door so shiny it could possibly be a portal to a more magical realm. The golden-plated knob made it look like any regular entrance. But the overall design, especially as she noticed white marks along the side, reminded her of raindrops that fell so gracefully on glass.

Maybe Joy wasn't the only painter among the emotions.

Dottie wheeled toward Sadness, her grin so wide it could stretch across the hall. The blue emotion managed a shy smile before she reached toward the knob.

As soon as she turned it, she carefully pushed the door open so Dottie would enter first. The child ran inside, almost expecting to walk into a place far more spectacular than Imagination Land.

What she received made her jaw drop.

Joy and the other emotions simply gawked, the walls of cerulean majestic to their eyes.

But it wasn't just the tones of the walls that made them gaze in astonishment. The fact that the bedroom was large, much larger than the size of the control area of HQ, was what amazed them even more.

And that didn't stop there. While Joy had assumed most of Sadness' bedroom would consist of a bed, a coffee table, and a whole library for the emotion to enjoy reading, it was beyond what she expected.

The bed, which Disgust could not stop staring at, was a queen-sized four poster furniture. The columns that held the rectangular panel were made of glistening antique wood. Royal blue curtains were held back, probably having been released at times for Sadness to hide within her own slumber. The beddings consisted of the same incredibly light arctic color as Sadness' sweater.

Only it seemed like the beddings almost sparkled, as if snowflakes had been sprinkled on them...

The pillows, which were as large and squishy as a giant marshmallow, were softly toned blue. As if big blueberries were the things Sadness was willing to rest her head on, especially the rectangular ones that reminded Joy of the blueberry pop-tarts Riley liked to eat.

Just as Disgust daringly reached a hand toward the beddings, which shone in her green eyes, she immediately turned to regard the rest of her blue friend's room.

She didn't realize that the floor beneath them was of polished mahogany wood, and violet carpet that laid before a hearth and fireplace. Dark green furniture like a couch and few fancy recliner chairs stood in front of it, along with an antique coffee table where a manual laid.

Further across the room were other wondrous things. On the side was a slightly open door, and within they could see it was Sadness' private bathroom. They didn't need to go inside to see how completely flawless it was, with its noticeable tiled floors and marble walls, and a tub that looked like it could also work as a jacuzzi. Disgust nearly drooled as she gawked at the vanity mirror where bulbs hung over it, no doubt to brighten up Sadness' complexion every time she gazed at herself.

As the emotions followed behind Dottie to tour the bedroom, they looked up to realize the hanging lamps were teardrop-shaped. Yet the design was gorgeous, with bright lights that lit the room more than even Joy's glow.

There was just so much space in here that they could fit aisles of Riley's memories in it!

Sure enough, there was, indeed, a library that was right beside the fireplace. Complete with a ladder since the shelves nearly reached the ceiling. And on the opposite side of it was, to their amazement, a harp. The golden exterior glistened, with a small stool beside it, which indicated that the device wasn't merely for show.

And just when they thought it was Sadness' significant instrument, they noticed that right beside a floral display area of beautiful potted flowers, was a piano. Not the kind Riley had been doomed to attempt with when she first took lessons, but a much grander type. It was large and jet black, just like the types shown in movies, and so fancy.

No doubt Sadness was a master at playing it. Unlike Riley, whom Joy recalled no longer harbored the memories of even how to play a piano anymore. Those orbs had faded horribly as she recalled; maybe it was for the best that they had been sent to the Memory Dump.

Dottie's eyes widened as she sat herself at the bench, gazing at the white and black keys in front of her. The instrument was so big she felt even smaller than she already was!

"You play piano?" she asked, turning to Sadness.

"A little," the blue emotion murmured, tracing her fingers over the craftsmanship. "I tend to mess up on a few notes sometimes."

Dottie's fingers lightly pressed a couple of keys, unable to produce the tune she had in mind.

"Mommy says I should take up piano when I get older," she sighed. "It looks hard, and I don't know how to play any instruments."

"How about accordion?" Joy suggested before Sadness could even speak. A wide grin played on the yellow emotion's lips, recalling the moments she had with her very own instrument.

Dottie cringed at the thought. "I was kind of hoping for something that played sweet music. Like the harp Sadness has."

While Joy's shoulders slumped with disappointment, Sadness led Dottie towards the other instrument. Sitting on the stool, the blue emotion plucked a few strings for the child to witness. And she produced a tune Dottie had imagined she would make.

"That was pretty," she murmured, laying against Sadness' side.

The blue emotion smiled tenderly, before resuming a note on her harp. The others gathered around, even more in awe by this gift they had no idea Sadness had, especially Joy.

11 years and it was only now they knew just this much about her...

And the room! Even though Disgust was the fashionista, Sadness had far better taste in terms of interior design!

Fear stood close by the harp, watching as Sadness continued playing. He never felt more at peace in his life, especially after Dottie nearly got hurt in his own room. Seeing Sadness' bedroom, and these talents he never learned she had, just seemed to put all his worries on a backseat.

After Sadness had finished, she pushed a strand of her slightly long blue hair back before smiling at Dottie. Taking the child's hand, she led her further down the room, the others following behind.

"You know, sometimes when I feel really sad," Sadness began, "I read. Or, like Joy, I can paint, but I usually draw. Or focus on my flowers." she added sheepishly. "I like a little indoor gardening."

Dottie nodded, completely enamored by everything in this bedroom, more than the other rooms combined.

"Or I could simply just cuddle with my dolls."

The child's eyes widened. "Dolls? You have dolls?"

"You have dolls?" Joy asked Sadness in surprise.

The blue emotion smiled pleasantly before leading them toward an alcove where shelves and cabinets had a variety on display. The toys looked similar to some Riley had when she was younger, although most consisted of what Riley had watched over the years.

Not all of them were human-based, some were of the animal variety, or simply little yellow guys with adorable blue overalls. There was a pony-based one with a violet horn, but that was crushed between plush vehicles with faces.

Just when they thought Sadness' collection consisted of one focus, her displays were even more varied. For Joy, she assumed Sadness' would consider plush horses and that was it, but the blue emotion had dragons mixed with snowmen and even cute vegetables.

Dottie let out a squeal of delight before throwing herself into a nearby display, sending dolls onto the floor. Fear almost wanted to call out that Sadness possibly put a lot of work into organizing them, but the blue emotion's smile lessened his worry. Meanwhile, the others decided to explore them as well, picking up random plushes and wonder since when Sadness had an interest for them.

At least she and Riley had something in common.

"Ooh!" Dottie exclaimed as she dove into a pile of stuffed animals. "I like this one!" she cried, pulling out a cucumber with a goofy face on its front. "No, wait!" She quickly tossed it aside, in exchange for a snowman with a top hat and blue scarf. "This one! No, wait!" She dropped it and found a little, round-shaped green monster with tiny horns and a big, adorable greenish blue eye. "This one!"

One by one she went through plushes she would temporarily deem the greatest of all. But with every cute doll came in another, and Dottie wasn't sure which to choose at this point.

"For goodness sake," Anger muttered, "you can't declare all of them your favo—"

The red emotion was stopped by a nudge from Joy, who frowned slightly at him. "Be nice, she loves it!"

Anger fell silent, resigning himself to watching. As much as he thought the child's hyperactive logic was a bit silly, even he couldn't deny that it was pretty cute.

Dottie hugged yet another doll close to her chest, a teardrop next to a cloud. "This one's adorable!"

"I like that one," Sadness said with a tender smile. "Even the clouds have comfort sometimes."

Joy couldn't help but smile at her friend's words. She had never realized before just how empathic her blue friend was...likely because she hadn't given her the attention she deserved. The yellow emotion swore she would find some way to make it up to Sadness eventually. And seeing her friend's face actually seem to glow at how much Dottie appreciated her room, and everything about her, caused Joy to smile as well.

Dottie then pulled another from the shelf, a little apart from more of the plush dolls, this one appearing a bit different from the others. This one seemed to be made of carved wood, and presented itself almost like the form of a woman merged into a mountain.

"Oooh, this one's pretty!"

Sadness nodded. "There's a key on the back you can turn."

Dottie turned the figure over, and noticed the golden key that shone on the side. Curious, Dottie gave it a few turns. A slow tune began to play, oddly soothing, and a song emitted from the doll:

I have a dream,

I hope will come true.

That you're here with me,

And I'm here with you.

I hope that the earth, sea, and sky up above-a,

Will send me someone to lava...

Dottie grinned, stroking the figure before hugging it close to her.

"Now I like this one a whole lot!" she said with a giggle.

"Wasn't that the thing from that stupid movie-ACK!" Anger was about to mention. However, Joy thumped her hip against his side, wanting him to keep quiet.

"It's one of my favorites," Sadness murmured, gazing at the figure lovingly. "I got it as soon as Riley watched the preview for it. The doll is beautiful, right?"

"It sure is!" Dottie agreed, before handing it back to the blue emotion.

She wanted to keep it, but realized it was far more precious and memorable to Sadness than ever for the 5-year-old. Looking around at the wide assortment of dolls, the amount exceeded beyond even her own collection at home! Yet, if she could compare, Sadness' were far better, and much cuddlier!

Dottie bent down and searched through more that fell on the floor, finding among them a gray bunny with a blue suit and a brightly red fox with a weird green shirt and tie. Nevertheless, they were cute, and Dottie couldn't stop herself from hugging them. Dropping them in search of others to hold, she glanced over at the display cabinet where each one was organized and stood up for show.

However, her eyes drew to a certain doll that seemed to stand out. It was squished against the side panel, hardly being noticed with other dolls in its way. Dottie crawled over and carefully tugged it out, spilling other plush toys doing so.

Holding it in front of her, she noticed it was a turquoise blue teardrop with a face. It didn't smile, its lips thinned like a straight line, and a blank slate of an expression. Arms and legs protruded from it, slightly small in comparison to its curved frame.

"That's one of my very first," Sadness explained. "Doesn't look that cute, huh?"

"No, it is!" Dottie insisted hugging it close. "I love this most of all! Even more than all the other ones!"

Watching the child embrace the doll very close, Sadness slowly made a smile.

"You can have it if you want," she told Dottie softly.

Dottie's eyes flew open, looking in awe at the blue emotion she admired so much. "Really? I can have it?"

Sadness actually smiled, giving a slight nod, appearing cheered up at seeing the young child so happy. "You seem to really like it, and I have a lot anyway."

Dottie let out a squeal. "Thank you, Sadness!" She hugged the small doll to her chest, then practically tackled Sadness in her enthusiasm. "Thank you, thank you!"

Sadness nearly had the wind knocked out of her, but managed to keep herself upright and hug Dottie back all the same. Dottie really did remind her a little of Riley when she was around that age. Seemed the roles given to them in Dream Productions were well-chosen.

"You're welcome," she said lovingly, the rare smile still on her face.

Dottie looked happier than ever. "Mommy's gonna be happy when I show her!" She broke away from Sadness's grasp for a moment, beaming all the while. "She's gonna love it!"

It was then Dottie's enthusiastic bouncing slowed somewhat. She stared at the group of emotions.

"Dottie?" Joy asked. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The child was frowning slightly as she looked up at them. "I don't have to go back home yet, do I?"

Sadness reached over and gently stroked the child's brown locks. Dottie leaned into her touch, clutching Bing Bong's bag with the core memory inside as well as her new doll.

"Your mom said you'll be staying for the night," the blue emotion reminded her soothingly.

"I know..." the little girl moaned. "But then tomorrow morning I'll have to leave! But I don't want to leave, I want to stay here with you!"

Sadness carefully pulled Dottie into her arms, embracing her before looking the child in the face.

"I know you want to stay here, sweetie," she told her. "But you have school."

"Seriously," Disgust whispered toward Joy. "Those actually exist here?"

"And you can always visit and stay over another time," Sadness pointed out, offering Dottie a soft smile.

The child's eyes lit up at the thought. "Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Really?" Fear asked nervously, glancing at the blue emotion.

"Of course," Sadness said, turning from the purple nerve to Dottie. "And besides, Headquarters isn't the only place there is. I mean, outside these walls is a whole new world."

She paused for a moment, recalling how being out there by accident had been the very first time she explored Riley's mind.

True, it had been scary at first, and Sadness had immediately grown hopeless and helpless. But if having read those manuals all these years taught her anything, it was that everything out there made everything within HQ seem rather...boring.

And Dottie, Flora, Rainbow Unicorn, and everyone else she met were far from it.

The little girl hugged the doll close to her. "We'll really see each other tomorrow night, won't we? When we make another dream for Riley, right?"

Sadness patted her head, blue eyes tender as paint strokes on a canvas.

"Of course," she promised.

Joy smiled, satisfied to see how well the blue emotion had dealt with this. She seemed to have such a way with children. But Joy was sure she did as well, even though she wasn't Dottie's favorite.

After all, Joy had been there for Riley ever since she was a baby, and had seen Riley grow up along with Meg since even before Dottie was born. Taking care of kids and getting them to like her could be easy!

Joy couldn't help but look over at Sadness as the young child gazed admiringly at her. Just because Sadness was the most empathetic of them, didn't mean empathy had to be everything, right?

Maybe she could at least help both Dottie and Sadness find more fun. Then she could be Dottie's cool fun aunt or something.

Joy had to admit she liked that thought. If she herself couldn't have a cool parental figure to help guide her, maybe she could at least serve as that to Dottie.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Disgust said, breaking Joy out of her thoughts and causing the others to look at her, "where's Dottie gonna sleep?"

"Ooh, I'd like to sleep in Sadness's room!" Dottie said instantly.

Anger crossed his arms. "Hey, who made you boss?"

Dottie frowned back, feeling like she had another reason not to like the red brick. She stuck her tongue out at him, earning a shocked expression from Anger.

"Oh don't be such a stick-in-the-mud!" Joy chided, giving Dottie a smile that she hoped came across as kind as her blue friend, though she wasn't entirely sure if she was nailing it. "Of course you can stay with Sadness!"

The child's sparkling eyes lit up like the memory core she kept in her never-ending bag. She rushed past Joy, throwing herself against Sadness with a tight embrace. The blue emotion nearly tumbled back, but she kept her balance and accepted the girl.

The envy came back, just for a moment, but Joy managed to push it down. The child wanted to sleep in Sadness' room, not hers. And Joy doubted Dottie would prefer a bathtub to a queen's bed. Especially with all the stuffed animals she could hug and cuddle with.

The yellow emotion did smile, happy to see Dottie was satisfied. Maybe she would never get as many hugs as Sadness, but one would come once in a while for Joy, she was sure of it.

"Can I, Sadness?" Dottie asked, gazing up at the blue emotion. "Can I? Can I? Can I?"

The aforementioned teardrop was quiet for a moment, before gently caressing the child's brown lock's.

"Well, sure..." Sadness murmured. "I mean, I don't mind. I, uh, never really thought you would want to sleep here...I don't know if it's as great as Fear's..."

"Are you kidding here?" Disgust intervened, a stuffed bunny dangling from her fist. "Like, seriously? Are you kidding right now?"

"Yeah, um, despite the lack of helmets provided and the fact that bed is just asking for a springy disaster..." Fear added, shifting his gaze over to the queen-sized mattress across the room. "I really think this would be more Dottie's liking."

"She's less dangerous here than in all our other rooms, that's for sure," Anger muttered, rubbing his elbows.

"And Joy sleeps in a tub," Disgust added briskly. "So no."

Sadness blinked at them before gazing down at Dottie. The child had never let her go, rubbing her cheek against the emotion's belly. And the way she held that doll to her body as well.

That and Bing Bong's bag. She just held onto them both with such innocence and care.

"Of course," the teardrop-shaped individual crooned as she offered a small, tender smile.

"Yay!" Dottie cheered, flinging the doll she was given upward before bringing it back down.

Joy beamed before trotting over to the child.

"So," she began cheerfully, bending down to her level. "Now that we got your room settled, what do you want to do now?"

"Can I play with the orbs again?" Dottie pleaded. "And I want to see what else Riley is going to do!"

"Well, you heard the girl!" the yellow emotion said, turning to the others. "Come on, let's go check on Riley!"

As she took the lead, she extended her hand out behind her, awaiting Dottie to take it. However, as she peered over her shoulder, her excitement deflated a little when the child slipped her palm into Sadness'.

For a moment, Joy lost her ability to smile. However, she pushed it aside as she led everyone out of the bedroom.

Like a hug from Dottie, holding her hand might take some time before it occurred. Those would probably never happen excessively for Joy. After all, she was not Sadness.
_

After Dottie was sat on the floor with some memories, the emotions reached the console to see how Riley was doing.

Their kid had finished lunch, trash scattered on her tray and completely ignored. Riley sucked the last remains of soda from her straw, shaking every so often to get a bit more liquid.

"Ugh, watery soda is the worst..." Disgust tried not to gag.

Once the cup had eventually been finished and left among the trash, Riley merely stared at her tray. She didn't bother to pick up her phone to play apps, just let her face fall with her hands in her pockets. The cookie was churning a little in her belly right now, probably too much chocolate, but she didn't care.

"This is so boring!" Disgust gripped. "So bored I could just barf!"

"Don't say that!" Fear cried. "What if Riley throws up her lunch? It'll be embarrassing! And she's wearing a black jacket, that is not going to be pretty!"

Anger frowned before shoving him aside. "The only way a chocolate chip cookie is going ain't up, you dimwit! It goes down. Way down."

Joy tried not to snort. "Wow, Anger, you really know how to get to the 'end' of that joke, am I right?"

"I wasn't trying to make a joke!" the red emotion snapped, albeit not wanting not to blow up too hard in her face.

"Well, either way, you were being funny right now," the yellow emotion giggled.

"Do I look like I'm laughing?" Anger growled. "Because I ain't!"

He grunted before throwing his hands up in the air, startling Fear. Disgust just rolled her eyes while Joy merely smiled, able to see right through the red emotion.

"There nothing I hate more than lame jokes!" Anger shouted. "Absolutely nothing!"

At that moment, an orb had been picked up by the recall tube. A familiar golden sphere immediately played on the screen.

TripleDent gum will make you smile...

"EXCEPT THAT!" Anger roared, the top of his head becoming alight with flames to the point he looked like a living campfire.

Dottie, however, immediately looked up, recognizing the tune and singing along. "-will make you smile! TripleDent Gum, it lasts a while!"

Anger stared at her in disbelief. "Wait, you know this song?"

"Know it?" Dottie asked with delight. "I memorized it! I love this song so much!"

Anger blinked. "You are kidding...AGH!".

The fire manifested once more, but it simmered out, the red emotion merely clenching his fists as the annoyingly familiar jingle began to play again. He instantly slammed a button to send the offending memory back down to Long Term Memory.

Dottie narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, I wanted to hear the rest of that song!"

"Well, I don't!" Anger retorted. "This isn't meant to be happy fun-song-time, and even if it was, that song is so da—"

"Hey, Anger," Joy said, speaking up and practically dancing over to him in an attempt to win Dottie's favor. "Come on, lighten up a bit, okay? Dottie's our guest!"

Anger glanced from Dottie to Joy before finally throwing up his hands in irritation. "Agh, fine! But if you start trying to have us all sing 'Be Our Guest', I'm out!"

"Not like you could sing it, anyway," Disgust commented with a smirk.

"Quit it, broccoli—"

"Ookkaaayyy, I have a better idea!" Joy quickly said. "How about instead we see if Riley wants to sight-see, go to a museum or something, feel the wind blowing in her face, that sounds like fun, right?"

The others stared.

Dottie stepped forward a little. "I haven't seen much of what San Fran is like..."

"Oh, San Francisco is a big place," Fear informed the child. "Big and really scary!" he added tensely.

"Well, sure it's a huge city and really different from our small town back in Minnesota," Sadness stepped in. "But we've hardly seen much since we came here."

"Except for that pizza place that serves gross garbage," Disgust mentioned. She shifted her gaze over to Anger. "Although we saw a little more thanks to him."

Before the red emotion could retort, Fear intervened.

"We hardly saw anything because we were too busy looking for the bus stop!" the purple emotion cried. "I was freaking out the whole time, thinking there was a bear or something out there to get us!"

Dottie blinked up at him before turning back to Joy and Sadness. The former shrugged.

"Well, yeah..." the yellow emotion muttered. "I guess you can say we were a little busy to see anything. But the beach was really cool, right?"

The others murmured in agreement. So far everything they had seen of the big city had been impressive. And that food shack at the beach sort of redeemed their judgment with better pizza than at Yeast of Eden.

Dottie turned back toward the screen. After having left the beach, Riley found herself amidst so many people walking around, shopping, seeing the sights, followed by a little traffic occurring as well.

The Mind Worker child took the time to glance at all the stores and restaurants Riley regarded on her travel. They were so fancy and beautiful, not to mention some with an Asian theme that was incredibly exotic. Dottie had to smile at one particular tea shop with a giant cat on its roof.

The people around Riley were especially interesting. In Minnesota, she had seen memory orbs of snow, nature, and moments with a few people in Riley's life.

Everything in San Francisco replaced the natural settings with something more lively. And fun. Being around people always made Dottie feel more secure.

And, boy, were there a lot of people beautiful in their own way as well! Like that one tanned woman in the light blue top and shorts, jogging her way past Riley with headphones on. Her dark hair swished back and forth, earning the eyes of a few men in her path.

When Dottie glanced back at the emotions, she realized the woman had earned Anger's eyes as well. The red emotion grinned a little at the imagery, only to return back to the conversation with the others.

"Okay, so what do we do?" he asked gruffly. "Stand around and just watch people walk all over us?"

"We could go shopping," Disgust mentioned. "Maybe her mom wouldn't mind Riley using her card just a few more times. I mean, her parents owe her big time."

"Absolutely not!" Fear protested. "We can't do that to them and you know it!"

"Guys, guys!" Joy tried to cut in. "I'm sure if we just come up with more positive suggestions, we could figure out how we could plan the rest of our day."

Sadness merely stood there and watched as they all bickered. Sighing, she turned back to Dottie who looked at her rather worriedly. The blue emotion offered her a gentle smile, one that was wary and assured her that this often happened.

"What do you think Riley should do?" she asked the child.

Dottie pondered before turning back to the screen. Down the street, there was a souvenir shop where tourists were present. Outside laid a slot where brochures were displayed.

"We could look at those," the child said. "And figure out what's good to see."

Sadness nodded, smiling appreciatively at the idea. "Sounds good. Great thinking, Dottie."

The little girl beamed proudly. As soon as Sadness approached the console, the others stopped talking. They observed in question as the blue emotion worked some switches.

Soon, Riley's eyes wandered toward the box. Approaching the exterior of the store and picking up a brochure, she opened it, showing everyone a list of features and sights significant to San Francisco.

Dottie's eyes widened as she noticed a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Oooh!" she squealed. "Let's go there!" she pleaded, pointing at the picture. "I want to see the bridge! Let's go there!"

"Oh, great idea!" Joy said. "I mean, I still remember the first time we saw. It was amazing!"

"Amazing?" Fear argued. "Those beams could have fallen right on top of us!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Anger groaned. "If that were the case, people wouldn't drive on it!"

"Doesn't mean we can't get a good view though!" Joy exclaimed, hurrying over to the console. "We ought to—"

"A-Actually," Sadness said, "I should probably do this."

Joy stared at her.

"Riley needs her healing," Sadness pointed out, looking at the brochure through their girl's eyes. "Let me do this."

Joy looked at her carefully for a moment, then finally sighed. She understood the blue emotion now, and knew where she was coming from, but it still hurt all the same.

"Okay," the yellow emotion finally said, trying to maintain her usual happy demeanor despite this. "To the bridge!"
_

"Why's it called the Golden Gate Bridge?" Dottie asked as Riley headed over to an outlook that was said to have the best view of the sight. "It looks orangey-red."

"I don't know, Golden State, I guess?" Disgust shrugged. "Not really a fitting name."

Eventually, Riley stepped off the path and headed up toward a nearby cliff, stepping closer toward the edge.

"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall!" Fear said anxiously, fighting the urge to rush toward the console and guide her away.

Anger punched him in the side, and they finally stopped debating enough to look at the view.

Despite the circumstances, with the sun beginning to set, the beings in Headquarters, and Riley herself, watched in awe.

The bridge, despite its distance, seemed so large it towered over everything, the cars beneath it looking like tiny ants. But how big the structure towered wasn't all that left them in intrigue.

With the sun's setting rays shining in the sky, the light caught on the bright metal of the bridge and did, in fact, make it appear almost golden.

"Wow..." Fear murmured.

"It's beautiful!" Dottie exclaimed.

Disgust smiled. "Now that's a Golden Gate Bridge if I ever saw one."

Joy looked over at Sadness, and noticed that even the blue emotion was smiling at the sight. And was beckoning Joy herself toward the console.

Carefully walking forward, Joy and Sadness both gave their console input at simultaneously. The device glowed yellow, with blue angelically merging like two rivers.

Riley couldn't help but smile as she gazed at the bridge.

However, it was a sad smile. One that resulted in her eyes nearly tearing up. Fortunately for her, no one was around to notice a young girl on the verge of crying. So the tears slowly slid down her cheeks.

"We're crying!" Fear exclaimed frantically.

Dottie's eyes widened before turning to Joy and Sadness. The former gave the latter a nod, her heart slightly heavy but satisfied with the result.

The tears stopped. Just a couple fell before Riley's eyes began to dry. She wiped a sleeve across her face, sniffing loudly as she kept watching the bridge.

At that moment, everyone in HQ turned around to see a memory orb roll down the rail. The combination of yellow and blue made it gleam brighter than the other spheres, even though it wasn't a core memory like the night before.

Dottie's eyes widened further before she raced toward the rail, watching closely as the memory made its way into the large library. The moment it clinked into its slot, she couldn't stop herself from reaching for it. Fortunately for a small girl like her, the orb had landed in one of the lower shelves, giving her access.

With Bing Bong's bag slung from her shoulder, the little girl held the orb in both her tiny hands. She watched in awe as the image of the Golden Gate Bridge came into view.

And there stood Riley, her hair blowing in the breeze as she watched the historical landmark quietly. Dottie replayed the scene where the smile slowly came to the human's face, widening the one on the Mind Worker's child.

"Okay, seriously," Disgust said before turning to Joy and Sadness. "I did not know we could do that."

Joy smiled sheepishly. "Neither could I."

Sadness adjusted her glasses, blushing a bit. "It's actually possible. Emotions can mix with each other to create other forms of feeling. What Joy and I made was Riley able to feel sad, while retaining some happiness to even it out. It's feeling both sides in order to have more balance."

"Come again?" Fear asked, only getting less than half the information.

Dottie lightly rubbed the orb cradled in her arms. "She's a little sad while thinking of happy thoughts."

The other emotions turned to the 5-year-old, who merely smiled as if the answer had been obvious. Sadness couldn't help but swell with pride, while Joy especially appeared impressed.

"So how does that work again?" Disgust asked aloud. "Do two of us, like, touch the console? At the same time?" Her nose twitched at the thought, her face in a grimace.

"Ain't no way I'm holding hands with Tootsie Roll over here!" Anger spat, jamming a thumb in Fear's direction.

"Oh, please!" the purple emotion fought back, his expression genuinely a sneer. "You and Disgust would be the last people I'd hold hands with!"

While Anger fought the urge to slam his fist across the nerve's stomach, Disgust let out an offended gasp.

"Okay, rude!" Disgust snapped, hands on her hips.

"Why, you little..." Anger growled, glaring at Fear.

Sadness mentally sighed, rolling her eyes. Dottie lost interest in the three emotions as she joined the blue one's side. Joy merely ignored the trio, having always been used to the arguments that usually occurred in HQ, especially if she was involved in it.

She smiled, glancing over at Dottie, and especially Sadness. As long as they were okay, the others would be as well.

The blue emotion would never argue severely, only try to make peace and suggest a gentle compromise. The more Joy thought about it, the more she understood why Flora adored her so much.

Sadness really wasn't like the others.

Gazing back at the screen, Riley had moved away from the cliff to sit down on a nearby rock. Folding her arms to rid the slight chill, she watched as cars entered and exited out of the bridge. Its orange exterior continued to glitter as the sun beamed down at it.

Back in Minnesota, Riley had often seen sunsets after a day of skating, or even when the snow melted and she would roll down hills. She had never seen a sunset like this before. And she had to admit, it was truly majestic.

It made her remember how she and Meg gazed at one last sunset before she had to leave their state...

The smile faded, all her happy thoughts resorting her to feel a heavy heart again.

She missed Meg. But she doubted her best friend's feelings were mutual anymore. Especially when she had that new teammate who could hit a puck better than Riley...

Anger lifted his palm from the console, earning the disapproving looks of the other emotions. Only Sadness appeared supportive, yet slightly uncertain. No one bothered to turn around as a red orb rolled into the mass library.

"What?" the red brick argued. "Oh, like you're not upset Meg's not seeing this with us? She's too busy hanging around with that new jerk that completely replaced our kid in her life!"

Although Dottie was dismayed once again by the attitude of Anger, she raised a brow at the mention of Riley's friend.

"Replaced?" she asked curiously.

"No, no, no!" Joy insisted, sidling beside the child. "No one's getting replaced! So Meg made a new friend right when Riley moved. So what? She's still Riley's best friend!"

"Oh, if she's Riley 'best friend'," Anger said sarcastically, "then how come she hasn't called us since?"

"Um..." Fear stepped in nervously. "Because we slammed the laptop on her?"

"She saw that coming!" Anger roared. "What, just telling us how cool this new girl is while Riley hasn't made a single friend since she got here?"

"Riley doesn't have friends?" Dottie asked, turning to Sadness.

The blue emotion sighed. "We're working on it. It's just complicated."

"Why should it be so hard to make friends?" the little Mind Worker questioned, her expression brightening a little. "I mean, it's not hard for me."

Sadness patted her back. "Well, everything in San Francisco is just so different from where Riley was from."

"And city kids," Fear muttered, shaking his head. "Really acting like they're better than us Midwesterners."

"Well, maybe they are," Disgust huffed. "I mean, you saw the cool girls. Riley doesn't even know how to put on lip gloss without looking like a clown. And her ears aren't even pierced!"

"Really, Disgust?" Joy rolled her eyes. "Are we really going to compare them to Riley?"

"As if we hadn't been judged on the first day," the green emotion mentioned.

While the others were too busy talking and looking at the screen, Dottie raced over the library of memories. She found the red orb that bore the image of the bridge. The moment she touched it, she could practically feel everything Riley had been thinking in the small sphere.

And for a second she felt Riley's pain of missing Meg, wishing she hadn't been replaced.

"Okay, we're so done here!" Disgust said as she made her way into the console. "I think we should go shopping. We've never done that since we got here!"

As the green emotion began to guide Riley, Joy turned in Dottie's direction.

"Dottie, you want to watch Riley go to the stores?" she called.

The little Mind Worker, cradling both the red orb and the mixed one, glanced back at the yellow emotion and smiled. "Sure!"

As soon as Joy returned to the screen, as everyone was else was occupied, Dottie peered down at the orbs in her hands. She cradled them gently, fingers rubbing over the mixed one, then the red one. She pursed her lips for a moment, quickly glancing in the emotions' direction once more. They were all still occupied.

Quietly, she slipped both orbs into Bing Bong's bag.
_

Author's note:

1. Yes, Joy's bedroom is like a bathroom, and outside its quarters is most definitely Belle's cottage from Beauty ad the Beast. It was featured in the art book for Inside Out, including the painting featuring "Mommy and Me". That answered my question about if emotions really do wonder what it would be like to have parents.

2. Sadness' room is based off of Queen Elsa's room, with a few other things to add to her haven. However, Pixar came up with the harp first, as originally they were going to have the emotions featured with their trademark instruments. It's also featured in the art book. The idea for Sadness' room is basically exemplifying "You can have all this space, all these wonderful things, yet you're still alone. And the only person that respects and listens to you, is just you.". After all, 11 years and she finally starts seeing eye-to-eye with Joy and the others...even if it's starting small from the incident.

3. I'm pretty sure you got the obvious references in here. :D