Inside Out reImagined

Shattered Hope

Sadness really didn't want to let go.

Each successive hug was both more comfortable than the last and more difficult to break out from. It was almost shocking to which extent neither Sadness nor Riley, as a whole, had received this much physical comfort in a short time. It even felt a bit like hugs were the solution to all of the problems plaguing Riley — even those which weren't due to relationships, like learning Chinese.

Yet, Bing Bong's very presence reminded her that only half of his promise to her was fulfilled. Though he didn't really do anything to fix the comms tablet he broke, he got her to think about getting it fixed on her own, which was great — but he still didn't manage to convince Joy to take her back in.

Reluctantly, the two separated, and Bing Bong immediately asked: "So! Got the phone thingy fixed?"

"Yeah..." Sadness said, showing her comms tablet to her cotton candy companion.

"Okay, awesome! That's... that's one thing done, we got the thingy fixed, but I feel like I promised you something else..." Bing Bong suddenly worried.

"Oh... um... yeah... you wanted to take me back up with my... my friends, let's just say..." Sadness managed to remember.

"Your friends, of course! Although, if they kicked you out, they don't sound like very good friends, if you ask me... but yeah. And you're absolutely sure that Joy was behind it all? The best one?"

In turn, Sadness only silently nodded — even though she wanted to shake her head at the insinuation that any single emotion was "the best one".

"Okay, and she's in the phone? So I can talk to her?"

"Yeah..." Sadness said, handing the comms tablet over to Bing Bong.

"Okay! Then let's talk to her! I think I got this time, don't worry!"

"Just... try not to break anything again, okay? You did a great job, you got me to think about fixing the comms tablet, just don't take everything away from me immediately... the way Joy took everything away from me..." Sadness lamented, as she watched Bing Bong starting to get a hang of navigating the comms tablet's menus.

It took about a minute, but he managed to get to the option to call Joy all on his own.

Once she saw her face, Sadness knew that it was her cue to leave, as she probably couldn't make the case for herself. Yet, she knew that for the moment, she couldn't return to The Mind Reader, as it would probably tell her nothing interesting — just the broad sentiment almost summarizing all of Headquarters — while Joy could show her true colors, and whether or not Sadness was in any way missed. So, she took a step back, found a bench, and sat down, feeling confident that she didn't just trigger a massive wave of changes throughout Imagination Valley.

Sadness would much rather it was a book in her lap, instead, though.

Eventually, she did manage to hear the familiar voice of Joy, along with an intonation that almost reminded the edgy emotion of the good old times. "Oh. Hello again! You'll have to excuse me, you kind of interrupted me at the worst possible..."

Joy trailed off, as though she were looking around on her own end, then returned, saying: "Nevermind! We have all the time in the world!"

It definitely took a lot out of Sadness to even be able to hear the whole conversation, including Joy's end. Yet, if she focused hard enough, she managed to make it as clear as if she were right next to Bing Bong, and the only difficulty was in not focusing too much so that she lost herself.

"No no, do tell me! I thought we were catching up on everything that has happened, right?" Bing Bong asked, staying in roughly one place, knowing how to hold Sadness's comms tablet, and most importantly, didn't spin around without even looking where he was spinning around.