Pearl is restored! Er... sort of.

Consecutive waves pass through Pearl's body.

Color returns to flesh. Her eyes turn a pretty shade of blue. Her lips and nipples go pink, and a curtain of raven-black hair cascades from her scalp.

Your tired manhood jerks at the glimpse of Pearl - as you know her - naked. But it's only a brief look.

Another wave travels through Pearl, and underclothes spread over her body. With another, she gains socks and sneakers, a skirt, and a shirt, all plain.

The next wave shortens Pearl's skirt (you have never seen Pearl wear a skirt) into a brief black cargo skirt with a tattered hem and big pockets, adorned with a bunch of little decorative chains. The wave also adds black and green stripes to her socks and stretches them up her legs till the tops disappear under the skirt hem.

Simultaneously, her white shirt darkens to black, weathers till it looks well-loved, and develops an intense graphic of a lich wielding a skull staff in one hand, and a ball of lightning in the other. The words GLORYHAMMER appears above the lich in jagged orange lettering - a band name? You've never heard of them (you would know, you listen to every band Pearl likes so you can go to concerts together).

The last transforming wave throws a thin charcoal-gray zippered hoodie over Pearl's shoulders, adds an inch-tall platform to her sneakers, and darkens her eyes and lips with black makeup. Her hair lengthens slightly, partly occluding her right eye.

The process ends with changing the fringe of Pearl's hair to a bright neon green.

Pearl burps unceremoniously and checks the empty can. "So that's Pearl Juice?" she says. "It's kinda spicy. What is that, ginger?" She smacks her lips with approval. "I like it."

Pearl doesn't look exactly right, but the second she opens her mouth, you breathe a sigh of relief. She's back. The rest, that's just a detail. You were scared you'd never see her again.

You step forward and pull her into a full-body hug.

"Woah, what the hell?" laughs Pearl, patting you awkwardly on the back. "Okay big guy, I love you too."

A part of you notes she's wearing fingerless net gloves, but that doesn't matter.

Pearl, chuckling, squeezes you for a second before making it clear you should let her go. "What's up with you?"

"What, I can't spontaneously hug my best friend?" you ask, unable to keep a smile off your face. You can't believe you really turned her back (well, she's basically the same compared to before).

Pearl directs a puff of air to clear her green fringe from her eye. "You tell me, dude. You're not usually a hugger. Actually, you've been acting weird ever since me and Yutong showed you the Juicer Max - you're not having some kind of Popple Quench-fueled existential crisis, are you? I mean, the soda's good, but it's not that good."

You wipe your eyes, still beaming. "A guy's gotta dream, Pearl."

Pearl gives you a funny look and pushes your arm. "Don't mock me just cause of a soda. We were having a moment."

You're confused. "I'm not mocking you."

Pearl arches an eyebrow and folds her arms. "Uh-huh."

"I'm serious, Pearl."

She scoffs. "Always a fucking joke with you, Chase. Who are you, my mother?"

You're even more confused. "I literally have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh ho ho, don't play dumb with me."

"Well, pretend I am dumb!"

Pearl squints at you. "Pretend, or...?"

You give her a look, exasperated, but you did walk into that one.

She makes a frustrated sound and stomps her foot. "My name is Rose, dumbass. We've been over this a million times. And I don't fucking care what it says on my birth certificate."

You vividly recall pounding the fuck out of a bald chick named Rose who was most definitely not your best friend just 30 minutes ago, but there's no way in hell that... influenced...

Oh no.