Now, to the update. Last we left our heroes, Amos was explaining to Miriam and was interrupted. What could they need now? Find out!

I bolted over as fast as I could.

Where was this going? I wasn't sure whether Papa was counting on me or not. I had heard this from DJ, after all, when I should have heard it from the horse's mouth. If Papa had really wanted me there, he would have told me himself. But I guess he'd picked up that I didn't want to talk to him. And after our argument, I wasn't sure he'd keep me if it wasn't helpful for me.

When I reached the Hangar, I noticed something off. I recognized a car in the driveway. A white Ford Focus. It was exactly the sort of car José drove, when he wasn't taking us.

"Amos! Wait up!"

Of course Miriam would follow me there. So much for her taking a hint.

I stopped – partly because I was so confused, partly so that Miriam could catch up. Setting aside our different fitness methods (she wasn't getting workouts from avatars, after all), Miriam had never been good about exercising, and was very likely quite bent out of shape. I was surprised she'd caught up enough to shout at me.

"And why do you come along?" I asked her.

"I want to see them," Miriam said. "Your friends. I want to meet them. Know what they do. How do they operate? What's the goal here? I'm going to find out."

Brave words, but I was 95 percent sure she didn't know what she was getting into this time. She'd certainly tuned out the barrio and library incidents. She'd asked about the girls, sure, and paid attention to every single detail, but she didn't know about the danger that came with being a VLADJI – and being connected to one.

"It's not as fun as you think," I told her. "There will be danger. We're checking out the reunion because José – Vinny Lee's dad, the guy whose car is in the park – is there and I dunno, I don't want him getting hurt in the off chance a monster attacks?"

"And because your papa wanted you there?"

"I don't even know if he does or not. He sure as heck didn't tell me."

"Even more reason for you to figure it out. And why not have all your friends in the same place?"

I hated to think she had a point.

"Fine," I said. "But keep a low profile. And an open mind."

With Miriam in tow, we headed over toward the Hangar's front door.

Tails must've made a few modifications while I was out, because when I spoke the passcode – "Justice does not sit still" – the voice that came out sounded more like Kevin Hart. Quite amusing, but not the most professional.

"Does Tails even know what a proper vigilante's doorbell sounds like?" Miriam asked as we went in.

"You're one to talk," I muttered, wishing I had a toolset that could fix Miriam's squeaky voice.

I glanced around. I didn't exactly know where we were meeting. The Hangar had so many rooms. Then Vinny Lee emerged from the library.

Indeed, she'd switched to female – and stayed that way over the weekend. I could tell from the shift in her wardrobe – yellow sweater, blue top with a fox's head on the front, yellow leggings, mismatched yellow and blue striped socks and gold ballet flats. She looked as skippy as ever, but that's Vinny Lee for you. She doesn't shake easily.

"Well, who's this?" she asked. "Love the shirt. And ooh, what's that shade of hair dye? ¿Ariel? ¿Azul cielo? ¿Turquesa?"

She ran all that off in five seconds before she took a moment to breathe.

"Wow," Miriam said in awe. "Hey, um, name's Miriam Stegner. I'm a friend of Amos's."

Vinny Lee's eyes widened in awe. "Cállate. How'd you come by the voice? It must be a wonder of genetics. What's with the stuffed animals?"

Miriam glanced down at her shoes.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to insult you, Miri," I said, using my old nickname for her. "She's just curious. She does that."

"Oh, is that your crazy friend? The girl fighting to stay cis?" Miriam asked me.

Vinny Lee stood up on her tippy toes. "You told her about us? Tú diablo."

I smiled. "Where are we meeting?" I asked her.

"The library. Everyone else is."

"Ah, figures. And your papa is there, as well?"

"How'd you guess that?"

"His car was at Cione."

On that note, we headed to the library.

The place, like pretty much everywhere else in the Hangar, was simultaneously preserved from its past life and rehabilitated for our use. There were still the children's books, stacked up in their places and mended by Amy's magic touch, as well as some philosophical reading for us to study. There were also the two computers Tails had managed to fix up – the one at the checkout desk and one of the resource computers. This was our main resource room, aside from the Cyberoom, the computer lab Tails had converted into a Wi-fi hub for tracking activity.

And presently, it was the meeting place for our little conundrum of the reunion.

José, indeed, was there, glancing around in awe. DJ and Imira were conversing with Sonic, perhaps trading strategies in case of a monster attack. Shadow and Amy were standing off to the side. Judging from Amy's gestures, she was definitely giving him quite the lecture on stalking me. Tails was a little off to the side, explaining something to Rouge. Your basic VLADJI emergency meeting.

Vinny Lee got everyone's attention with a loud Prrr-eeet!

Imira turned around to face me. "And you brought in an outsider?"

"Lovely day to you too, Imira," I responded.

"Who's this?" DJ asked as she approached.

"Maybe I should introduce you myself," I said to Miriam. "DJ, this is Miriam, an old friend of mine. Miriam, this is DJ, and here's Imira –" I pointed toward the Fadjir girl. "And those guys –" I indicated Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Rouge – "I think you can guess."

"Whoa." Miriam looked ecstatic. "You have amazing friends."

"Thanks."

DJ folded her arms. "So, the thing we were here to discuss…" She glanced at me. "You were invited to your father's high school reunion but not told about it until this morning, we're suspecting José might be put in danger, and Shadow volunteered first to start out. Care to explain how it fits together?"

Her tone conveyed that she'd already figured it out. She'd been the most intuitive out of all of us, after all. She just wanted me to put the pieces together.

Amy spoke up. "I just told Shadow off for stalking Amos," she said. "Apparently he's been following the boy around on account of some magic in his pendant."

"Really," Imira responded. "That gift from the Doctor? Care to explain what you saw, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog stood up, glancing in my direction. "The pendant recharged when he sang or played an instrument," he said. "Otherwise, it was languishing. I sensed that off the bat. I –" he sighed – "I tipped Amos's uncle off so that he could get a head on it before it was gone forever."

"You're kidding, right?" Miriam asked.

"I'm afraid he isn't," I responded. "When the Doctor gave me the pendant, he said it would activate when I discovered my talents. If it's there…"

I had to pause.

"So, is it running the risk of fading?" José asked.

"It will if I don't do something," I responded.

Miriam whistled. "Intense."

"Maybe you should try a little music," Rouge said. "It might help, if it's in danger of défaut. Is it really your talent?"

"I –" I wasn't sure what to say.

"You never told your father about it, did you?" Vinny Lee guessed. "¿Por qué?"

"What is it to him?" I snapped. "Why would he care? He thinks I'm useless!"

"¿Es verdad?"

It wasn't Vinny Lee. It was José.

I wanted to ask how José knew what my father really thought. Then I remembered the conversation in the car – which I had stupidly pulled away from. I must've missed something between them – something that might have confirmed my father's true feelings regarding me.

Wow. I was a terrible son.

José patted me on the back. "I wasn't aware that you eavesdropped," he said. "But I also didn't know you wouldn't stay for the whole truth."

He glanced at me. "We should talk in private."

Now what's José going to tell Amos? Verse for the update: Joel 3:1. Stay tuned!