Inside Out reImagined

Joy vs. Dream Theatrical Studios

Joy had limited options for dealing with Dream Theatrical Studios. At night, they held all the power, and could make Riley see whatever they desired — and also had the strings to manipulate emotions, too. However, they were still thought forms, malleable to direct manipulation. There was still a Mind Worker, somewhere, who had to physically turn the camera on, and Joy was to make sure that they would be incapacitated.

She was already planning the entire trip out "ahead of herself" — a task much easier than planning out Riley's day, she immediately noted. She couldn't rely on the Train of Thought, which generally didn't run during the night, but she could rely on Imagination, her oldest friend, to conjure whatever she needed: a wingsuit to fly from Headquarters to Dream Theatrical Studios, a backpack to gather Daydreams, whatever. Right now, only those two sufficed.

She thus ran from the console's vicinity to the back of Headquarters, put a hand in front of herself to make the Headquarters window disappear, and before she knew it, she was in the air, greeted to a sight prettier than anything in reality.

Somehow, it never got old. The Consciousness Grid above her perfectly matched the layout of the Memory Lanes below her, and though most structures were too small to distinguish, Joy nevertheless knew what was where. Looking over it all was almost like looking over a map of the place, and though this map didn't have any labels, Imagination could probably help with that, too.

At first, she glanced directly below Headquarters, at the structure most essential to Riley's status as a human: Values and Connections. Each of the little triangular islands there was dedicated to an important person in Riley's life: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Meg, Jordan, Mrs. Lewis and so on, as well as bridges between them, built appropriately as Riley saw a connection between the two people. Of course, it all connected back to Headquarters, as the mind was centered around Riley and needed to reflect that.

Then, the area became a bit of a mess to figure out at a glance. Surrounding Values and Connections were three types of structure: the Islands of Personality, Areas of Interest, and Fields of Expertise, each of them essential to Riley's status as an individual. In particular, Joy needed to fly over Goofball Island, easily her favorite in the whole section, with easily recognizable totems, such as the likeness of a monkey, as well as a box with an R written on it in a childish font. If Joy wanted, she could also recognize Hockey Field to Goofball's left and Tomboy Island to Goofball's right, but that was not where she was flying right now.

Finally, past the Islands, Areas, and Fields, there was relatively less shining. For the most part, only the towers at the intersections of the Memory Lanes shone, acting as little beacons that continued to be aligned with the Consciousness Grid. Among them, searchlights easily stood out, and from those alone, Joy knew that she was flying in the right direction: towards Dream Theatrical Studios.

These were the thought forms who wanted her to suffer during the night, even though she had already suffered plenty during the day. They were absolutely going to pay.

As she was approaching the red carpet and gate marking the entrance to Dream Theatrical Studios, Joy pulled up and graciously landed on her feet. She then proceeded to dissipate the wingsuit and run the remaining distance. She already knew the facility inside and out, including both the stages for dreams and the stashes for Daydreams.

As she ran past the closed gate, no matter how careful she was not to hit anything, she was still aware that she would be a target from now on. The guard nearest her no doubt noticed and shouted towards the other guards, but once she had made a single turn, no one could tell where she was, anymore. And even if that hadn't worked out, she could always have disarmed them with more generous use of Imagination.