Whew, long time updating this.

Nathan Drake and Crash Bandicoot belong to Naughty Dog; Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails belong to Sega Corporation; and Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper belong to Chuck Lorre Productions and CBS. But why am I talking?

The thing about avatars – they have excellent timing, and they're quick on the draw.

Nate jumped down from the building, carrying Hollins, who had duct tape on his wrists, ankles and mouth ("He cussed me out," Nate said, which I thought was a better explanation than the avatar simply not wanting to hear it). Hollins also had a black eye and some split knuckles, suggesting he'd tried to fight Nate when the avatar jumped on the roof. (Pro tip: Just don't.)

Hollins' helpers, upon catching sight of their capitan looking like this, tried to move to help, but Kori was too quick for them. She flew down to the street, turned back into a humanoid avatar and, once she was standing up, pulled out her pistols on the guys.

All of that, by the way, in the space of five seconds. Aren't avatars awesome?

"One more move and you idiots get the slugs," she snapped.

That made them still. Very still. Lunatics or otherwise, one didn't generally tick off a woman bearing firearms.

Crash was presently slumped against the Princess Pet van. I guessed that all the windstorms he'd summoned must've really taken it out of him. I could understand the power being exhausting to use, but the crowd's current state – still very agitated – made me wonder if the bandicoot had picked a bad time to run out of steam.

Knuckles had arrived on the scene – a little late to be of any use, which Sonic was ribbing him for right now.

"Hot date?" he was presently asking the echidna.

"Shut up," Knuckles muttered, his hands igniting.

"Looking for something, Thomsen?" Nate asked the mayor, holding up Hollins, who was still wrapped up like a birthday present.

The mayor approached, still looking mad as a wet hen. Not that I blamed him. First, he had to deal with all the complaints about the unauthorized flag in Fairview that were showing up at his office. Then the cars started going out of control for two days on end. And now he had to deal with this disruptive behavior from Mitch Hollins, who'd initiated it.

"Care to tell me the meaning of this?" he asked.

Mitch glanced at the scene – the teenagers with signs; the cars in a haphazard array – and very much not in the Pride flag design he'd wanted (the dragons had done their work well, en mi opinión); the three dragons circling overhead, blasting at anyone who got too close to the street; his two companions on the ground, in front of Kori, who had pistols in each hand, pointed at them. (I was personally thankful I did not make a habit of ticking off that one.)

Nate ripped the duct tape gag off Hollins – very forcefully. Hollins let out a yelp before he finally replied to the mayor.

"It was only a little protest," he said, his mouth now free.

"Little?" DJ muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, right!" Tails growled. "You must be crazy – and not the good kind of crazy. Believe me, I've run into both types of people."

"I'm afraid reckless driving doesn't compute here," Thomsen said. "Nor does trespassing, which you did on more than one count. Setting a Pride flag where no one wants it up? You wouldn't believe the complaints I've gotten over it! And not all of them were very complimentary, I'll say."

He did not sound pleased by it at all. I was quite surprised that he had an issue. Most Donkeyheads would be perfectly willing to let Hollins get away with it. But the mayor was running for Senate, as far as I knew. I guessed that letting things slip into that infierno wouldn't be good for his image. You have to prove you know how to run things.

Papa arrived at Orianna, taking in the whole scene.

"What have you all been up to?" he asked.

Hollins caught Papa's eye and suddenly flinched, squirming away from him. I guessed Mitchie was still remembering Papa throwing him out after he'd attacked me.

"Wow," Amos observed. "What did your Papa do to scare him so badly?"

I gave him the basics – how Hollins had hit my leg, causing me to scream, and Papa pulling a steak knife on him and throwing him out after that.

"Yeah, I don't blame him," Amos replied. "Either of them."

The mayor wasn't finished excoriating Hollins. "And now I come down here, and it's a disaster area. Do you even care –"

"The cars got pushed up – it wasn't my fault!" Hollins' voice was no longer smooth. I decided the role of desperate man did not really fit him. His voice was starting to break as he strained to explain.

The mayor surveyed the crowd, still ill at ease but falling in line at the sight of the mayor. Some set down their signs. Chickens. "And I'm guessing they came here in response to your video?" he asked us.

"We didn't mean for it to get out of control," I replied. "We were just trying to protect our school's integrity. Hollins was compromising it."

The mayor nodded. "I can understand that. But upsetting the weekends of so many people has consequences on every –"

Sheldon chose that time to step forward. When the mayor saw him, he jumped back in shock. Leonard approached similarly, glaring at Sheldon for breaking protocol of secrecy. I didn't figure survey guys would want to be so aggressive about their job. It's best if people don't know they're being tested.

"Mayor Thomsen," Sheldon said. "They have every right to push back on GABAFFS and Hollins. It's their territory and Hollins is violating it. I think you know this."

Shut up, Sheldon, I thought in spite of myself. I'd gotten acquainted with Sheldon's tactlessness pretty quickly. But then I'd heard some insufferable things from Imira, so I was used to people speaking their mind exactly. The mayor, however, might not be used to such brutal honesty. And Sheldon was book-smart, too, which with such an inconsiderate nature, wasn't a good combination.

"You're lucky your reputation precedes you, Cooper." The mayor said this with a note of derision, as if he wasn't sure that was his real name. Carmel gasped in shock. Christina frowned. "I don't think it was very civil. Attacking the cars –"

"– which were coming at them," Sonic replied. "What makes you think that's illegal?"

There was another murmur – yes, Sonic had a very good point. He wasn't using Sirensong presently, but he did bring up some good points.

Hollins stared up at the mayor in shock. "So you're just going to take the word of a bunch of fictional characters?"

The dragons snarled, probably reacting in response to Kori's anger. Crash snarled audibly, and I imagined he would have blown Hollins to Pittsburgh if he'd had the strength. Stryker let out a low, threatening growl. Knuckles' hand fires grew even brighter. Fair warning: never use that f-word to describe an avatar – especially in their hearing. They have weapons, if not powers that can blast you into next month.

"Those 'fictional characters' just saved a bunch of lives," the mayor replied. "And one of them helped save me from Camford – at Fairview. I owe a great debt to this school. I didn't ask for someone to use it like a bathroom wall to write graffiti on."

So he remembered the avatars' grace. Good. I hoped it would be enough. And he hadn't forgotten Amos shoving Phillips to the side to get him away from that explosive during the Camford incident. Some memories die hard. The memory of someone who saved your life was one of those things.

I turned to Papa, remembering something else – another attack.

"Did you tell him about–?" I gestured toward Hollins, then pantomimed a shove.

Papa smiled at me. "That's for the one wronged to expose, mi mañosa."

I took his tone to mean, you have to find a way to tell him. And that he hadn't. But why not? And how did I do it?

Mayor Thomsen frowned at Nate. "At least untie him–"

Then I had an inspiration.

"¡No! ¡Aléjate!" I cried. "Don't let him out of that duct tape! Please don't!"

What's her big plan? I can't say.

Verse for the update: Luke 9:23.

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