[Joy & Sadness] That moment when you want to say 'please stop invoking Murphy's Law...'

[isadrag]

Joy may not have actually asked 'what could happen' when they got that new console installed, but if there was one thing they all had learned by that point, it was that if something can go wrong, it's probably going to.

That's what they were for though, right? To help Riley through any troubles she went through in her life.

Unfortunately, it's something completely different when the trouble is history repeating itself - this time, however, Sadness wakes up one morning to find herself... not in her room. Not even in Headquarters. ... And nowhere in the Mind World. Instead, she was lying on something rather soft, and green, and leafy...

Grass. She was lying on grass. But grass didn't exist in the Mind World! She slowly tried to sit herself up, if only to try and see where she was... and saw a building in front of her. With multiple kids staring at her from in front of it.

The sign read something about a Middle School.

School. In the human world. With actual people staring at her. Staring down at her hands, they were still blue... and she was still wearing her sweater... but she was human-sized too?

Whatever the kids were thinking, they started covering their mouths and giggling, which caused Sadness to back away a little, putting her hands together and lowering her head a bit. They thought she looked funny, didn't they? Oh, this is bad... This is so, so bad...

Was this really a dream? Or was it reality? Were any of the others here? What was going on...?

Comments

[isadrag]

Squeezing her friend's hand back, Sadness contemplates their situation. Even though she feels safe, the questions they were needing to answer soon, such as where they would sleep, begins to weigh heavier and heavier on her mind. After a little bit, she ends up leaning on her friend, mostly because the last thing she wanted to do was roll forward off of the bench onto her face. As optimistic as Joy was, Sadness couldn't keep that up for very long in any situation.

awww, ahahah

[letssaveourgirl]

"Right," Joy decides. "There's no use sitting and being afraid. That's not who we are!" Quite literally; that's Fear!

She slips from the bench and tugs Sadness to her feet (not her face) and looks around. "Let's find Riley's house."

Can't help her being adorable like this XD

[isadrag]

She almost lets herself fall forward onto her face, but it looks like Joy isn't letting that happen. Sadness ends up off the bench on her feet.

She starts walking with Joy; they knew where Riley's house was by memory. "B-but Joy... what do we do if Riley's there? We didn't see her at school..."

[letssaveourgirl]

"There were a lot of girls at school! I bet we didn't see them all," Joy says. "We'll just ... look in a window, or something."

[isadrag]

"I meant she won't know who we are at all if she's still there..." She was trying to be the voice of reason with that.

"What would we do if she was there...?"

[letssaveourgirl]

One person's voice of reason is another person's wet rag. "I don't know, Sadness! But we can't very well sleep in the park, can we? We have to find a place to sleep," Joy says, her shoulders slumping.

[isadrag]

Sadness stops in her tracks, halting herself from nagging Joy any further about it. Clasping her own hands together, she looks down a little. "I'm sorry... I know we can't sleep in the park, but... but..."

She isn't sure they can handle it if Riley is there.

She knows she's being a wet rag about it. But what can she say? "...I'm sorry." She's getting rather uneasy about it, and conflicting matters with her wanting to be the pessimist but not hinder Joy like she has in the past. "I'm just holding you back by being me..."

[letssaveourgirl]

"You aren't holding me back! We're in this together," Joy says with resolve. "We have to find a solution. That's all. So, if you think of anything, just ... tell me, okay?"

she's trying so hard, she really is

[isadrag]

Part of her isn't sure why she expected to try and leave herself behind. That wouldn't do any good. And Joy wouldn't abandon her here, not after everything they've been through. But being Sadness, she couldn't help remembering the time they were stuck in the Mind World. She was only a hindrance there...

But here she knows she's been useful. Even Joy has mentioned that. She's gotta get those thoughts out of her own head. It's not good to dwell on the past.

Looking back up to her friend, she nods slowly. "Okay... I'll try, Joy... Let's go to Riley's house, I guess..."

/pets her

[letssaveourgirl]

"Okay!" Off they go!

The only question is which direction ....

Hrm.

It's a work in progress. And she's made quite a lot of it so far. :3

[isadrag]

Looking at where they were, Sadness thought back to their return to HQ. She had driven that time, paying attention to the route Riley had taken back home.

She pointed to the right. "I know the way there. This way."

[letssaveourgirl]

"Great job, Sadness!" Joy breathes a little easier as she walks with her friend. She knows Sadness can be trusted, so she's happy to follow.

[isadrag]

She has pretty great memorization skills, it's true. The path was winding as they went through the streets of the city and it got darker, and it almost seemed like they were going in circles... but Sadness was confident they were getting close.

[letssaveourgirl]

It's good that Sadness is sure, because Joy is a little less sure, though she keeps that to herself. "This city has a lot of hills," she notes, because she's a little tired, she won't lie.

What? It's been a big day.

[isadrag]

"We're almost there. Just another right... and a left... another left and a right..."

She looks over to Joy. "It's a bigger city than it looked from Headquarters..."

[letssaveourgirl]

It is. And perhaps they missed a few turns somewhere? Joy doesn't know.

But by seeming chance, there's the pizza parlor! Joy has never been so glad to see a pizza parlor as she is to see this one. Just a little bit to go! Uphill of course, but still!

[isadrag]

It's strange. Usually by now Sadness would just... give up, be too sad to walk. But she was determined to get herself and Joy to their destination. What they would find where Riley's house was... she didn't know. And she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

But whether she wanted to or not, it was the only lead they had. So, onto the final stretch they went!

[letssaveourgirl]

Holy ... cow ...

That is a lot of hill. But here they are! At Riley's house! And there are lights on and everything! That seems reassuring, doesn't it?

"We should just ... " Joy starts, feeling just that little bit hesitant suddenly. "... knock on the door. Right?"

[isadrag]

"R-right." There was nothing more they could do than knock. She looks over at her friend. "Are you ready?"

Cause once they knocked there was no going back.

[letssaveourgirl]

There's no choice, really. Sadness and Joy are kid-sized and not in headquarters anymore, so something needs to be done, right?

Right.

With one hand in Sadness's, Joy uses the other to knock on the door.

[isadrag]

Sadness squeezes Joy's hand, both to help comfort her friend... and comfort herself that Joy's there. Was Riley there? Or was it someone else...?

Footsteps. She heard footsteps. Any second now, their question was going to be answered...

[letssaveourgirl]

Joy's mouth drops open when the door opens, too. It's not Riley, but Perry!

"Oh, hi!" she all but gushes out. "Wow! We thought someone else lived here, but here you are! Isn't that great? Hi!"

Nudging her glasses up her nose, Perry blinks at them. "You came to see me?"

[isadrag]

On the one hand, that means Riley really isn't here... which could be a good or a bad thing.

On the other hand, it was Perry, who they knew (kind of), which was a definite plus. So all in all, it was still a positive thing, right?

"Hi, Perry." She offers a small smile, before nodding. "We... we need a place to stay for the night..." Sadness figures getting right to the point is the best option.

[letssaveourgirl]

Oh, geez. Joy winces a little.

"... you don't have a place to stay?" Perry's eyes are impossibly wide. "I need to ask my mom. Come in, okay?"

She steps aside, letting Joy and Sadness in before shutting the door and scooting out of sight to talk to her mom.

[isadrag]

"O-Okay..." Sadness walks in with Joy, messing with the collar of her sweater a little bit. She lowered her voice a little. "S-Sorry... it was better to go ahead and ask instead of stretching the truth..."