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Part I: DiscoveryIt was the summer, shortly after the going-away party for Ba Nee who had been united with her father, Martin O'Carolan. Jem and the Holograms were embarking on a 6-week tour with the Stingers. Unfortunately, Rio woke up sick with the flu the day before the tour was scheduled to begin. Fortunately, Starlight orphan Lela Reed had begun apprenticing with Rio and travelling with the Holograms when it didn't conflict with her studies; she had learned all the different responsibilities he had as their road manager and technical director. As the Holograms and Stingers set to leave together, Rio thought (in his fevered state) about How Stingers frontman Riot had tried to steal Jem away from him. To himself, he said, "If he couldn't keep her away from me when they were isolated on that tropical island, he'll have no chance with Kimber, Shana, Aja, Raya, Minx and Rapture on hand to intervene. Just focus on getting well, Rio."
By the seventh day of his illness, Rio was becoming antsy. He wasn't allowed to leave his room. Mrs. Bailey and the other Starlight girls waited on him hand-over-foot, and he could barely get out of bed. Finally, when he knew all of them were outside in the backyard playing volleyball, Rio found one of Jerrica's bobby pins on the floor under his dresser and picked the lock on his bedroom door. Once he was out in the hall, he found himself climbing the stairs into the attic. "Good," he thought, "I can regain my strength just from climbing the stairs and I won't have the others pestering me all day." Once upstairs, he found himself looking at an open trunk containing the possessions that had once belonged to Jerrica and Kimber's mother Jacqui Benton. Even though he was familiar with Jacqui's music between the album Starlight Music issued and hearing the Holograms play the songs live on LinZ's show, Rio was still curious to know what was in this trunk. Reaching inside, the first thing his hand found was their father Emmit's diary.
Sitting down on the floor next to the trunk, Rio began to read. He read about many things that he had witnessed, how Jerrica had latched onto him when his family came to Southern California, how she struggled to keep his attention, how the Starlight Foundation and Jacqui's revived career took shape together, how destroyed Emmit and all the girls were when her plane crashed but were determined to pull themselves together - and something different, something almost otherworldly. Emmit had pioneered a new kind of technology that he had intended to use for broadcasting live music performances holographically into people's homes. It was an audio-visual system he dubbed Synergy. He had told nobody about it, including his own daughters.
The more Rio read, the more he understood. Emmit had deveoloped Synergy (using Jacqui's voice and physical likeness for a template) and discovered as he did so that it could possibly be used for ill-gotten gains. The amount of time and energy he gave to it cost him his health and also led him to hire that cheat, Eric Raymond, to help him manage Starlight Music. "Ha," Rio said to himself, "If Emmit only knew what that creep tried to do with his franchise." He read on and eventually reached the part where Emmit wrote about the plans he had set in place for Jerrica and Kimber and how Synergy needed to be kept secret, for he knew he wouldn't live long enough to secure the patents for her, along with the earrings he designed for Jerrica.
As he closed the diary, Rio sat back against the trunk, stairing blankly into the distance. He was almost in a dreamlike state, and he didn't know why. When he almost dozed off, he pulled himself together, put the book back where it was and went back down to his bedroom. As he sat back on his bed, he began putting 2 and 2 together. Emmit had designed this system for projecting audio and visual, been unable to get it pattented before passing away, left it to Jerrica and Kimber and presented Jerrica with the earrings she always wore from the time of Emmit's death. Rio then came to the realization that that was literally when Jem materialized.
All this time, the answer was right in front of Rio, and he didn't even know it. Then, he remembered the incident on Countess DuVoison's yacht when the Misfits attacked. Jem waw about to tell him something important when that had happened, but the moment had been snatched away. "She wanted to tell me!" he grimmaced to himself, "She was probably desparate to tell me, but she couldn't!" Then, Rio burst into tears and burried his face in his pillow.
The sound must've carried out into the hall. There was a knock on the door. "Rio?" It was Ashley Larsen's voice. "Rio, is everything alright? I heard strange sounds coming from in here."
Rio pulled himself together and stopped crying. "Everything's alright, Ashley," he responded, "You go back out with the others. I'll be fine."
After Ashley left, Rio reached for a handkerchief and wiped his face. Then, he realized that he wasn't crying because he felt betrayed or deceived. He understood that was what Jerrica was frightened of, becuase she had been so good at making it look like Jerrica and Jem were two different people. "That was also," he reasonded with himself, "why she tried to make it look like they were separate people, something she couldn't have pulled off if I knew about Synergy's existance. I wonder if she's here in the mansion."
He took another look at all the girls outside (Ashley had rejoined them), then went back to his bedroom door. He crept downstairs to the ground floor and into the downstairs den. Looking at the nondescript north wall, he reached over and put his hand against it. Instead of touching solid matter, the young man found himself pitching forward through a holographic environment.
Immediately, a benevolent voice addressed him. "Hello, Rio Pacheco."
Rio did a double-take and looked in front of him. He saw a huge computer terminal with multiple keypads, both alphanumeric and piano-style. On the monitor was a gentle-looking woman with purple hair, smiling a welcoming smile. "Hello - Synergy," he responded.
"How do you come to know about me and to be in this part of the mansion?" Synergy asked him.
"I read Emmit's diary," said Rio, "I know all about you now. You can trust me. So can the girls. I know what they were afraid of in not telling me about you - or that Jerrica and Jem are the same."
"Jerrica was terrified that you would leave her if you knew," said Synergy, "She never considered one part of your personality that her father shared with me."
"Loyalty!" esclamed Rio.
"Precisely," said Synergy, "Jerrica may have understood how much you dislike being fooled, but she overlooks what you've told her time and again, that you still care."
"Tell me, Synergy," said Rio, "Has your connection to Jerrica through the earrings ever shorted out?"
"It has," Synergy replied, "There have been two instances in which she was unable to project Jem's identity. One of them involved dense concrete."
"Could you show me your own schematics by any chance?" asked Rio, "I think I know a solution to that. It would also give me a way of informing the Holograms that I know about you - and them."
Immediately, Syntergy's face was replaced on the monitor by a diagram. Rio poured over it for nearly half an hour, asking her to enlarge specific sections involving her transmitting system. She described various aspects of the system to him. Finally, he said, "I think I've got it. I can build a module that will enhance your transmission and projection capacity by a factor of 100."
As he headed back toward the holographic wall, he turned back to Synergy. "Thank you for being what you are, Synergy. I think you'll be seeing more of me in the future."=========================When the Holograms and Stingers returned from the tour, Rio was well and fit again. He was waiting at the front door with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates for Jerrica. He held her tight and kissed her deeply. He'd never been so pleased to see her.
As everyone was settling in, Rio told her he would meet her in her bedroom in 15 minutes. He excused himself while she went to put her clothes in the wash and unpack her perosonal items. When she got to her room, she saw another gift from Rio on her bed, a flat, white box in a blue ribbon. She opened the card on top and read:
"Dear Jerrica, inside this box is something which should be helpful in boosting Synergy's output signal so you can change into Jem from any distance and in any conditions. I'll never leave you, even when we're apart. Love you doubly from before, Rio."
Jerrica collapsed on the bed and began crying herself. The sound carried through the mansion. Aja made a beeline from her own bedroom into Jerrica's and shut the door tight.
"Jerrica, pull yourself together!" Aja insisted, "What's the matter, dear?"
"Rio knows," Jerrica gasped, trying to control her sobbing, "He knows about Synergy. Read this."
Aja read the card, then she pulled her best friend up against her chest. "Settle down, Jerrica. Yes, he knows, and he's still here. Didn't you always fear that if he knew, he would desert you? And yet, he was here with flowers, chocolates and a possible way to make Synergy work better."
Both girls looked at the door. There was Rio, the knight, the loyal lover.
"I understood how it happened, Jerrica," he said, "and I meant what I said in that card. Now, stop boo-hooing and get over here."
Jerrica bounded up to the love of her life and flung her arms around him. She was laughing and crying simultaneously.
Rio took her face in his hands. "I loved your father," he said, "Emmit would've been so proud of you all for what you've done. Now, let's unwarp your gift and see if it does what it should."
Kimber, Shana and Raya were in the den waiting for the others. When Jerrica and Aja appeared with Rio, the others were momentarily puzzled. "Rio is coming in with us," said Aja, "He knows about Synergy."
After a moment of shocked surprise from Kimber, Shana and Raya, all six of them entered Synergy's holographic domain.
"I've learned that you and Rio have become acquainted," said Jerrica smiling.
"It's nice to see all of you together," said Synergy, "and it may be about time you showed Rio how it's done, Jerrica. After that, he and Aja can turn their attention to that module he's built."
"Absolutely," said a jubilant Jerrica. Happier then than she had been since the loss of their father and benefactor, she touched her Jemstar earing with her right hand and almost crowed the phrase, "SHOWTIME, SYNERGY!"=========================Part II: AssistanceShortly after the Holograms returned from the tour with the Stingers, they received a letter from Martin O'Carolan. He and Ba Nee had settled in Bakersfiend, and he was eeking out a living as a house painter. Although she missed living with the Starlight girls, Ba Nee was otherwise happier than she'd ever been to be with her father and doing very well in her new eschool (Mrs. Bailey and Jerrica hadn't let her underperform as a student). However, Martin was concerned. He made just enough for them to keep the bills paid, and he feared he wouldn't be able to save any money to send her to college when she came of age. He had an idea that Ba Nee approved of, but he wanted to visit her former guardians to talk it over.
When the O'Carolans returned to the Starlight Mansion in August, they brought with them three watercolor paintings that Ba Nee had done herself right after they settled in Bakersfield. Everyone was impressed. Their girl had clearly inherrited her father's abilities with a brush.
"Ba Nee, these are outstanding!" exclamed Jerrica, "I always knew you could paint and draw, but this is streets beyond the last picture I saw you do for art class!"
"Aw, thank you, Jerrica!" gushed the former Starlight orphan, "I owe it to Daddy, in more ways than one."
Martin blushed. "I could never paint this well, Ba Nee," he said sheepishly.
"I don't know, Martin," said Aja, "You did pretty well at bringing her mother's face from your subconscious mind to the canvas, didn't you?"
Martin smiled even more sheepishly, then became solem. "I hate to ask anything of you, Jerrica, after the way you and the others cared for Ba Nee," he said in a plantive style, "but I'm worried about her future. I've never had to take care of a child before. I know I can provide for both her and me, but I won't be able to plan for her future."
Kimber was holding up one of the paintings, an image of Jem and the Holograms against a seaside background. It looked incredibly lifelike. "You know something," she said, "This painting would make a fantastic album sleeve."
Everybody's mouths fell open. Ba Nee and her father's eyes were popping. "Are you serious, Kimber?" Ba Nee asked, "You'd like to use my painting of the Holograms on a record?"
And then, it hit Jerrica. Pointing upwards, she said, "I've got it! Jem and the Holograms are cutting an album as we speak, Stranger on the Shore. It'll be ready to go on Labour Day Weekend. If this picture is the cover art and you've got a whole stock of other pictures we could exibit, we could do a press conference that Friday to release the album and an exibition out in the backyard to help you capitalize on the release of the album.
"We could market the paintings to a select group of guests," interjected Kimber, "and you could put the money aside for Ba Nee's college education."
"Wow, that's a magnificent idea," said Martin, "and I appreciate you suggesting it. Ba Nee's got more than enough pictures for an exibition, and all of them are just as good as these. But - " Martin halted, looking for the right turn of phrase, then proceeded, " - what sort of fee would you charge for this event?"
Jerrica giggled and winked at the young father. "Martin, Martin, Martin, this isn't a gallery. This was Ba Nee's home. No fee is necessary. All the proceeds will go to her."
Martin blushed again, then leaned forward to hug his daughter's former guardian, as did Ba Nee.=========================Part III: JusticeEverything went swimmingly at the press conference. Stranger on the Shore was already pushing platinum status before the day was out, propelled by the title song being issued as an advance single. People loved the new album, and many were impressed with the cover art. (Ba Nee would receive a Grammy nomination for Best Album Cover.) That afternoon, a telegram arrived at the mansion from their friend and videogropher, Vivian "Video" Montgomery:
Arriving shortly for exibition STOP
Constance with me STOP
Wants to bury hatchet STOP
The girls looked at each other bemusedly. "Does this mean that Video and Clash have settled their differences?" asked Shana?
"I hope so," said Raya, "even though it always looked like their differences couldn't be reconciled."
"That was because her father kept turning her against Video's father," said Kimber, "I imagine Clash has had enough of that. Their relationship always reminded me of the one between Mr. Gabor and Pizzazz."
"You know, Kimber," said Jerrica, "I think you may be on to something."
Sure enough, Video arrived 5 minutes later in the same car as her cousin, Constance "Clash" Montgomery. They approached the backyard together, where everyone observed as Clash symbolically pulled the cymbols-on-bracelets she had always worn off her wrists and flung them in the nearby wastebasket. "I'll always be Clash," she announced to the Holograms, "but I'll no longer be your enemy."
Right behind her came both the Stingers and the Misfits. As they approached, everyone saw Riot kissing Pizzazz on the cheek.
"Wow, that's different," Jem and Kimber said together.
"When did this begin?" asked Shana.
"After you all came home in August," crowed Pizzazz, "Riot called me for a change and asked if we could go for a drink."
"Did you play hard to get?" teased the nearby Starlight girls?
Pizzazz laughed out loud. "Hard to get? Me?" When Riot kissed her cheek again, she said, "Okay, just a little."
Now, everybody laughed.
As everyone was settling in, enjoying the refreshments and admiring the paintings, Pizzazz (who wanted to get a gift for her father Harvey) lifted her hand to point out one painting and ask what it would cost, when someone ominously approached her from behind and grasped her hand.
"Any money you're hoping to spend is going into my pocket, Pizzazz!"
The Misfits frontwoman whirled around to face Eric Raymond.
"Eric, who invited you here? I know it wasn't Jem and the Holograms, and I'll tell everyone here it wasn't one of us!"
"Do you think I needed an invite?" Eric Raymond responded, "I am here at my own council."
"That counts for nothing," snapped Rio from behind Eric, "If the Misfits and the Stingers are here and none of them presumably brought you as a guest, that means you aren't welcome. That should be enough to make you leave."
"Think again, Pacheco," growled Eric, "I'm here to take what's mine. I bailed all of you out when you were about to go bankrupt. The Starlight franchise is mine."
"Are you talking about when you turned and ran when you were faced with the task of caring for 12 orphans?" said another voice. And, Harvey Gabor materialized at Pizzazz' shoulder.
"Harvey?" stammered Eric, "What do you mean?"
"You see, pal," said the hardened, old tycoon, "while I was the owner of that label you've been trying to hornswaggle from Emmit Benton's daughters, I had plenty of time to bond with Kimber. She and I talked at length about what it means to really care about someone. It not only helped me to connect recently with Phylis - your Pizzazz - but it also helped me to understand how you have always been in it for yourself and basically used everyone. Me included. Now, that's over."
"W-w-w-what do you mean, Harvey?" Eric was now frightened, something he hadn't felt in his whole life.
"It means, if you don't cooperate and exit this property immediately - " Kimber began, glancing at Pizzazz' father.
" - I'll be sure to have you arrested and dragged off the property," finished Harvey, "And, that, my one-time friend, will be the beginning of the end for you. Your days as a showbiz mogul are done, Eric Raymond."
A great cheer errupted. Eric flushed crimson and turned on all of them, faching Ba Nee-s paintings. Kimber and Stormer saw him dart to a butcher knife that was being used to cut cake. "Eric, don't even think about it!" Stormer called out.
"If you touch any of my daughter's paintings, Raymond," snarled Martin O'Carolan, "it'll be the last thing you do! Don't mess with a war veteran!"
Eric went pale just as fast as he had gone red. Backing away from Martin, he began to inch his way toward the outside gate. All at once, people began pelting him with appatizers and drinks. He cried out and couldn't make a fast-enough exit.=========================Not only did Stranger on the Shore go 5x platinum in the US, but the exibition of Ba Nee's pictures was a sellout. The Holograms raised $65,000 dollars for her college fund. Every guest who purchased a picture enjoyed the idea of owning artwork from the same hand that had provided Jem and the Holograms with cover art.
The week after the record release, Eric Raymond was indicted on charges of defrauding First National Bank and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. He took a plea bargain in the hope of reducing his sentence, but the judge (who knew about him and anticipated this move) denied it. After Eric went inside, his fellow inmates got a thrill out of singing the Jem and the Holograms song "All's Right with the World" after lights out every night for over a month.
Early in autumn, the Holograms and Rio travelled to the Wasatch Mountain Range in Utah, where they explored underground passages to try testing the capability of Rio's transmitter retrofit for Synergy. When they got to what they knew was the lowest spot, Rio told Jerrica to test out the earrings.
"Showtime, Synergy," said Jerrica.
The image of Jem flickered briefly, causing everyone in the cavern to tense up in fear. Then, she came completely into view. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The Synergy hologram herself materialized nexst to them in the cavern. She said, "Jem, Kimber, your father would be so proud of what you've done. And Rio, he would also be proud of you. You've come through in many ways."
"Emmit's work is not finished yet, though," said Rio, "I'm going to make out those patents, and I'm going to do it in his memory. Until then, you can rely on me."
Everybody hugged in unity and resolution. They even included Synergy, even though she was a hologram without solid form.