[Rehabilitation Document]
Subject name: Starglaze
Subject ID: J-S-M-001-C
Age: Unknown
Height: 1′5 feet.
Weight: 6 kg
Recovery progress: Well
History:
J-S-M-001-C is a tiny-based Joyling with the size merely of a human and resembles a five-edged star. He was a companion for J-P-F-001 and the only friend she had during their confinement in Joylingers. The subject was found together with J-P-F-001 in the vault during extraction.
J-S-M-001-C is capable of floating without any thrusters and is shown to have even control his own levitation at will. When he floats, J-S-M-001-C excrete a cloud of yellow dust from his body that vanishes instantly after contact with objects, except for glass. A study is needed for this dust to be examined for further knowledge. Might be useful.
Notes:
It is unknown if J-S-M-001-C is one of J-P-F-001′s relatives or if he was cloned using parts of her. However, J-S-M-001-C shows a high level of trust and bonding towards J-P-F-001 as part of their lives, even showing as far as comforting her during her troubled times.
Unlike his companion, J-S-M-001-C shows no trauma or grief towards his six years in Joylingers.co. This makes a recovery unnecessary and helps Funtakers study the excreting dust he emitted instead. But J-S-M-001-C seems to be reliant on Joylings, and could not process things or complete objectives without the guidance of one, especially J-P-F-001.
Through a few recovered tapes of Joylingers, J-S-M-001-C has been shown throughout the series as J-P-F-001 companion and possibly the only one J-P-F-001 trusted more throughout her years in Joylingers.co. For this, J-P-F-001 had to be accompanied by J-S-M-001-C every day to boost her therapy progress.
When J-P-F-001 is ready to be launched back to the world, J-S-M-001-C needs to be on her side. Any samples should also be contained in glass to prevent its originality degradation.
"What?" She glances.
The suitcase Pearl carries shakes by itself. As it seems too suspicious to let loose, she approaches closely to inspect. Something slips inside while Pearl was out of her sight and now lying inside like a hostage.
"Woah! What a silly place to sleep!" Said the creature.
A creature shaped like a star exits the suitcase with relief, trapped for a long without air and is now free to fly. He floats happily before realising he may not be too happy around the unfamiliar place. The star was unhappy, and his face turned grim as he saw humans.
"Starglaze!" Pearl yelled with joy.
The creature looks around, "Hey, this isn't Funtakers Institute. Where are the Joylings? Where are the scientists? Where's the fun?"
From his tone, he is more of a narcissist Joyling than a frailed one. He seems indifferent to his surroundings and only looks upon his friend under his foot. The shimmering star floats with a cloud of glowing dust, giving a smile to Pearl's heart after the doubtful thought of losing one.
But now that the missing friend has returned to Pearl, relief showers through her skin and washes her doubt away. No one could separate the two anymore in their introduction to the real world. And the flashes from the journalist light cease as the vehicle rows away into the north, outmatched by a man's feet.
"Starglaze, where have you been? Didn't you know I've been looking for you?" Pearl grasps his two edges tightly.
"What? You didn't wake me up like I told you? I told you I was sleeping in your suitcase yesterday because I don't want to waste time."
"You didn't tell me anything."
"I did! Well, in my dreams."
"*Sigh* You've worried me a lot today. Don't do that again, Starglaze..." Pearl grasps him by his edges.
"Today was an important day for us. Our family is waiting for us, and who knows what would they see forward. Maybe they'll love us, or maybe they not..."
She sat on her chair nervously, wrapping herself up as she tapped her hands with a pearl-like echo.
"I have a bad feeling they would hate me..."
As chatter slips through the time, numerous footsteps pass through the Institute, all heading her way and then leaving faintly. But it is not long until a few footsteps approach way too close in their direction while Pearl and Starglaze are still in their talks.
"You look like you don't even try to imagine having a mother." Starglaze squints doubtfully.
"No, I mean...don't you remember what they said about—"
A door slams heavily, interrupting their talks.
"*Gasp* Pristine Pearl!!!!" Yelled a girl from the other side of the waiting room.
"Woah! Ah!" Pearl backs off.
A few girls appeared in the waiting room, wearing clothes that only a few Pearl had seen. One is wearing a striped black and white shirt, the second is wearing suspender jeans, the third is wearing a tuxedo, the fourth is wearing a sweater, and the last one is wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Luckily, these five girls couldn't pass through the window barricaded between Pearl and them.
"It's her! It's Pristine Pearl! Mom! She's here!"
"Chica! Don't called her that! She's your sister!"
"Sister? Are they...my family?" Pearl approaches from the window.
"Ooh...just in time..." Starglazes teases.
A woman with a long straw hat and sunglasses, followed by a man with a suit and a fedora, joined the waiting room along with the five girls entering before. They stood in unrest until they saw Pearl from the other side of the room.
"Oh...oh my..." The mother breaks into tears.
"H-hi? Uhm...are you my family?" Pearl greets them with a weak wave and an awkward stare. But she didn't know what the family felt on the other side.
The mother fell to her knees, crying as she broke down emotionally.
"Aah! I didn't mean to scare you! I'm so sorry!" She raises her arms with panic.
The room turns awkward, unlike what Pearl had expected from her family. The mother can't stop crying while her husband consoles her, and the five sisters are perching at her like an animal in the zoo. They had never seen such beauty from her, especially as their lost sister. She was very different from the family.
"She's alive! She's still alive...*sobs* Six years..." The mother cried.
"Wow, you ruined it, Pearl! That woman must have fallen ill looking at those blisters on your face." Starglaze presses on her cheek.
"What?? Where??" Pearl pulls her handheld mirror quickly, searching for the said blisters.
"Oh, Christine...How I missed her so much..." The mother cleans her tears.
The family lingers, with the mother slowly recovering from her breakdown along with her husband, all while the sisters spend their eyes at the sight of their lost sister and her star companion. There are many things the sisters see from Pearl that they can't describe with words. She doesn't even look much too resembling.
"Woah, I can't believe it. Our sister is a superstar! And she has a beautiful face a woman could've asked!" The striped shirt girl said with envy.
"She even had a flying friend!" The tuxedo girl said.
"He's called Starglaze. Don't you watch Pristine Pompous Hour before?" The suspender girl said.
"I don't watch that child cartoon! I'm not for that show! And neither should she!"
"Her life must have been amazing. Look at her ballet skirt..." The sweater girl envy.
"She must be lucky when she gets that role. Look at her growing up still without us..." The long-sleeved girl said.
"Do you think she'll remember us? It's been six years..."
*Faint* "Aah! Starglaze, don't embarrass me with them!"
*Faint* "Oh, you're such a newbie, Pearl!"
"Maybe not." The striped girl said.
Carolina appears from the other side of the room, where Pearl and Starglaze are.
"Pearl, there you are! I've been looking for you—oh, Ms. Starstuhm! You're early..." Carolina helps the two into the phone booth.
"Ms. Carolina!" Pearl stood out to her.
"Well, shall we start the reunion? You look confident enough on your own..."
The family and the Joyling reunite again, with Pearl taking her first step at calling out for them. With the booth set, the call was on, and the first to take her call from the other side was the mother, whose mascara had wept over her cheek. She was in a hurry, and Pearl was too nervous to hear her panting.
"H-hey, uhm...mother. It's good t-to...see you! H-how are you doing—"
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??" The mother breaks out again in tears.
"Eek!" Pearl ducked.
"YOU WENT INTO THAT FACTORY SIX YEARS AGO AND NEVER CAME BACK. DON'T YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FOR ME AND YOUR FATHER WHEN WE HAVE TO BURY YOU?"
"WE WENT INTO YOUR GRAVE FOUR TIMES PRAYING YOU WOULD'VE FOUND AN AFTERLIFE! NOT ANOTHER LIFE!"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make your life harder!"
Carolina sighed at the family and pity for Pearl. The call was then given to the father.
"Ehem, what your mother said is that...we've missed you, dear. All those six years, we couldn't move on with your death. You were our precious daughter, and the last time we saw you in that factory..." The father shed a tear.
"You were just ten. And you were looking for that ballet class from Pristine...the mascot you were taking as. But you never came back afterwards..."
"We were so heartbroken...all of your sisters too. Your cousins, your grandparents, and my brothers and sisters were there..."
"Starstuhm stopped performing for two years because we had nothing but a sadness in our face."
"P-performing? You guys are a...performer...?" Pearl pauses in horror.
The family continues talking, with the father taking the lead as he shares more about Pearl's life. The name Pearl still hasn't yet comprehended is the name Christine being uttered by the man. Yet somehow, it was a name given to her, and she couldn't feel even more bothered to be named such.
"The day we've heard your voice from the phone of Ms. Carolina, many of us nearly had a heart attack." The father continues.
"We thought it was impossible. But we've heard the news, the Joylingers' downfall and we now know clearly it wasn't a lie. We didn't even know how...we thought you were a turned puppet for them..."
"But to be an innocent girl gutted out into the face of a pretentious job while he profited off your misery? What a bastard that man Chrome was..."
"It's not...pretentious...it's me..." She looks into her handheld mirror.
The more Pearl learns, the more she feels out of touch. The name, the history, and the sound that calls her name are just stale air in her eardrums. But the only thing she could tell was close is how Starstuhm is a family of performers. Yet the performer was not her liking.
"Christine, you still remember your sister, right?"
"Y-yeah...? Uhm...six—I mean, five sisters! Five sisters...hehe?"
The parents' stare was saddened, knowing Pearl didn't remember.
"Well, in case you didn't remember—let me introduce you..." The striped girl took the phone.
"I'm Belle. The oldest and the first..."
"This is Tina, the second and the funniest sister you'll have!" She introduces the suspender jeans girl.
"I have one! Why don't skeletons fight each other?" She took the call.
"W-why?" Pearl answer.
"Because they don't have the guts! Haha, get it?"
"I don't." Starglaze took the phone.
"This is Vicky, she's a main performer of Starstuhm little show. We haven't picked yet for the name..."
"Performer? Yes...yes...that's amazing...ehem..." Pearl stares nervously.
"This is Terri, she's the smart one. Mostly reading books, but she had some wits..."
"You read a book while you were in the studio, right? You better be."
"I...do..."
"And lastly, this is Chica, the sweater girl and the youngest. She used to be just a baby when you were...Christine."
"Hi...sister." Chica waves faintly.
"H-hi..." Pearl replies nervously.
The conversation was swift and perfect for Pearl, but it had to be cut short as time passed. She couldn't linger for long in the Institute for another time, especially under the watch of the family and her caretaker. So, as the phone call was cut and the two Joylings stood together, they left and prepared to reunite with the family on the other side.
Just as it seems everything is calm and warm, lots of cameras are set on her face with a flash. Dozens of journalists are standing by the front to capture a sight. The news of her emergence was too important to be ignored.
*Flash* *Flash* *Flash*
"AH!" Pearl backs off with a horrified face.
"Woah..." The mime sister mumbled.
"Hey, take a pic of me, too! Me, too!" The clown sister mumbled.
"Look, mom! We're famous! We're famous!"
"What the...why are journalists here??" Carolina looks around the guards. But they were all confused.
"Ms. Carolina! We have a bad news!" Yelled a guard running towards her direction.
They bring out their cameras, the brightest ones. Pearl was a shining display on a glass, and everyone wanted a piece of that view from the grasps of Carolina. She stands nervously in the centre of a spotlight while Carolina searches for the root of the problem with other humans. But all they could do was go forward with the plan.
"What is it? And it better be about this whole mess you've made."
"A random internet user hacked into the document for the release of J-P-F-001 and leaked it to public. I'm afraid it's beyond late..."
"Ugh, have the guards kept the journalists away so J-P-F-001 can pass through."
"Got it. Everyone, stay off the facility!" The guard raises his guns.
The journalists backed off, and the guards set a line for Pearl and Carolina to pass to the gate. However, the journalists are still holding their cameras tight. The flashes were blinding, and Pearl was lost in its light. The only time she had ever seen this light was in one place.
"Come on, Pearl! The world awaits you!" Yelled from the darkness.
"Huh?"
"Where's the beautiful pearl who awaits the moonlight?"
"No! No! No!" Pearl clutches on her...head. But nothing could help her.
"Pearl..." A faint call from the audience.
"Pearl."
"Pearl!"
When Pearl struggles, it's hard for her to differentiate the world until a call from Ms. Carolina echoes through her daydream. She finds herself again with the flash, but with her hands covering through and Ms. Carolina standing afar with a few guards. It was a call for her to reach her.
"Pearl! Let's get out of here!" Carolina reaches out by the metal gate as the guards nearly lose control of the crowd.
"Young lady, are you okay? You look pale...and even you didn't change a color..." The woman chuckled.
"Eek! Right! To the gate!" She snaps to reality.
The guards escort the family safely into their cars, while the journalists are set in line with the additional reinforcements. Never had Pearl seen such havoc and flashes again, with the only reason for her to be reminded was to be terrified of such.
A train awaits on the gateway.
"Over here! Get in!" The security opens the door.
"Come on, come on!"
"Dang it! Just when I thought we could stay a while longer!" The mime girl scowled.
"Come on, kids! Don't waste your time here any longer! Last time a papparrazi was on my foot, it was horrible." The mother commented as she climbed up to the train.
Pearl and Starglaze were the last to be put, with the crowds heading like a tidal on their way. But Pearl was a good runner, with enough vitality to last for the first cabin on the train, following her family. But Carolina couldn't join them, with her hands swinging to seal the train's door. It was such a tragic end, and Pearl couldn't even say a proper goodbye.
"Ms. Carolina, I know this isn't a perfect time to tell you, but I wanted to say thank you for assisting me throughout my two months! You are the best caretaker I'll ever have!" Pearl rushes.
"And the best one to watch over my friend, too!" Starglaze added.
"Aww, that's sweet! But this won't be our end! I'll make sure to keep a contact with you!" Carolina closes the train door.
*Speaker* "All aboard!"
Bwoosh!
The train departs, the journalists can't catch in time, and Carolina stands in relief yet pity for not joining in. They were all frowned upon Pearl, but not like her. As the smokestack burst with smoke, the train accelerated to the North. Carolina waved her last goodbye with a smile.
"Phew...that was...close..." The father relieves.
"Never had an act putting me on that level before." The mother jokes.
"Yeah, Dad! We should've seen more action from Starstuhm like that."
"As if we ever have!" Belle said.
And Pearl lay in relief and confusion as she left the Institute, with only Starglaze as her last companion in the room. Throughout their trip, they watched as the sun shimmered through the rail, and the town of Wiltham was only two miles ahead.
"Starglaze, are you okay?"
"Never been better. Too bad Ms. Carolina wasn't coming with us..." He perched through the window. A sight not even to catch.
"I know. But we're better than this, Starglaze. This is what we've been growing for..."
"This is what Ms. Carolina wants for us, remember?" Pearl comforts.
"I guess so! But now I miss the concrete on the Institute..."
And so began the journey, as Pearl and Starglaze left the Funtakers Institute at once and met in the real world. A world with living humans, a world with people unlike them, and a world that never sees such wonders in a concrete bunker.
"Alright, you two! Feast your eyes on the world of humans! Welcome to Wiltham!" Carolina opens a small window.
"Woah..."
The daylight welcomes the two like the light they have never seen before and a road long as the factory they once dwelled in but not as lively as a bypasser to fill. Wiltham is a big town for Pearl, with people she's about to meet as one and only Joyling in the world. How long has she ever interacted with the outside world? Has six years of absence changed everything?