IT'S FINALLY HERE, THE CHAPTER EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR

...and so is my three-week writing break! Or to be exact, my three-week break that I set up so that I don't post any chapters on the fridays.

HOWEVER, I am almost complete with writing Round Three of Chapter writing, all I have to do is finish up Chapter Fifteen and check it through with my fabulous editor Suomi (aka Author Espanya)! Then, I'll start work on writing the drafts for Chapters 16-18 (Round Four) in my notebook.

That doesn't mean there's nothing Eagle's Cross related to do when I'm on chapter break!

Check the tumblr blog of this story for a little something I've been planning over the past few days, and provided that I'm not lazy, I may do a contest! Maybe.

Just to be clear, (LIKE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN EVERY PAST CHAPTER PANDA /slapped), I only own the plot, Cora and Emily. Everything else belongs to the respective owners!

Also, this fic is fed on reviews. Please don't let it starve.

The thing that has me, my neighbours and the rest of my crew up at 7AM in the morning is the crossbreed sound of a cat, whale and Godzilla screeching loudly while dying up in the attic.

I'm not surprised to see that Matt is dancing all around his pile of junk, hollering the lyrics to YMCA, even though Em and I have earmuffs on. Groaning with disgust, I find an airhorn near my feet and cringe as it blares out through the attic, silencing the crazed performance within seconds. I yank the earmuffs off Em and me.

"Matt," I sigh, facepalming, "I hate to say this, but your addition of dying Godzilla and creating the holy trinity of the Death-Screaming Animals has woken us all up. Please, just…learn to keep it down, would you?"

When I mention the trinity of the said animals, Em bursts out laughing and this time, it's not her usual loud giggle. She's collapsed on the floor and clutching her chest while her it rises up and down rapidly. Unfortunately, it's infectious and soon enough, everyone, including Matt is laughing alongside Emily. I'm the only one still standing with a serious face and folded arms. Is my honesty really that hilarious to them?

Jeez.

"Trinity of Death-Screaming Animals-" Tom wheezes, "I can't even!"

"I am honestly so done with the lot of you." I sigh before heading downstairs, leaving the laughing eight behind as I make my way to the bedroom and checking my calendar.

I gasp in surprise.

Today has been one full month that I have moved into Durdum Lane.

My mind goes back to the conversation I had with Em a few days ago and I know exactly what to do.

For the occasion, I get dressed into something other than my usual outfit: Three-quarter khaki shorts, my science-y shirt with the elements Bromine and Oxygen in periodic-table form and four bracelets, two on each wrist. Blue and green on the left, purple and red on the right.

When I head out, I'm greeted with seven mildly stunned faces and one curious one. The last one belongs to Emily before it's replaced with realisation. The crews however, are still stumped on why I'm like this.

"What's with the outfit, Cor?" Jon pipes up, before being shot a glare from Eduardo. I shoot one back at the latter of the two before shrugging nonchalantly.

"Oh, it's just been a month since I moved into Durdum Lane. Em and I decided we should have a break from research, from the day I arrived to the day she did."

"That means…five days of no research," Tord calculates, "Cora, are you serious?"

"Tord, we need this. And an excuse to have a barbecue going."

"Cora has a point," Em backs me up, "I HAVE to try my hand at my family's extra-spicy butter chicken and sweet-and-sour naan bread. Plus, it's a barbecue. I'm getting pretty desperate for sausages."

The crews' mouths begin to water at what Emily has described, even Tord's eyes looking like they're staring off into a space where the stars are made of naan bread and the planets look like chicken.

"Alright, it's a barbecue and a five-day break."

The rest of us sigh in relief.

"Where should we set it up?" Matt asks.

"Edd's backyard. It's closer and I'm betting that there's something in that junkpile of yours that we can use."

Two hours later…

Just as the barbecue from Matt's junk has been cleaned out and set up by Eduardo and Tom, multiple tables from the attic (though irregular) finally being set out by Mark and Edd and two cases of finely aged regular and diet cola down in the basement discovered by Tord and Jon, Em finally comes out dressed from 25, balancing two full wooden trays in her hands.

"What took you so long?" I ask, firing up the barbecue and taking one of the trays off her, now seeing clearly that they have a rack of spices, creams, seasonings and a whole plucked and uncooked chicken. My eyes widen at the sight.

"Did you order these off the teleporter supermarket? Em, the amount it takes to ship this stuff instantly costs a bomb!"

"Not if your dad's paying, one. Two, my mum also works in that supermarket and she only borrowed one of them to send the spices and seasonings from the pods for free. I borrowed your dad's credit card to pay for the chicken and creams for the sauces, but I still got a discount anyway from mum."

"How do you-never mind, forget I tried to ask. Also, is that the exact top half from the year 12 prom that you're wearing?"

Em smirks and I roll my eyes. Of course I would recognise that lilac t-shirt, dark green 1950's neckscarf and navy blue short-sleeved button-up outfit from that dance two years ago. This time however, she's kept the black leggings instead of going for the swing skirt.

"I'll admit though, you do look very cute in that."

"Thank you, sugar-plumps." She winks teasingly.

"Oh, don't bring that up AGAIN."

"I also ordered sausages, but I've gotta make a start on this butter chicken, so d'you think you can grab them from my kitchen for me?"

"Done and done!" Matt calls out from behind us before he plonks a third tray onto the table and falling on his back, puffing. "How many sausage packs did you order? They're heavy!"

"Um…12?"

Matt groans, "That's all of them alright. Consider me out for the rest of set-up. My face hurts."

"You didn't do anything with face, you did stuff with your hands." I deadpan, "That's no excuse to stay out of helping us. Now can you please help Jon and Tord with getting those cola jugs set up?"

"Fine," he grumbles, expression clearly grumpy, but appears to soften a little, "Y'know…you kinda remind me of Tom or Edd sometimes…"

I move my arms across myself and bite my lip, partially from nervousness that Matt is onto something, partially from embarrassment that I remind him of his friends.

Then I realise.

I saw Matt's expression clearly.

Come to think of it…

I look around in tense excitement at the crews who are working on the table and hauling chairs through the door. I see their faces and bodies with a sort of clear solidness, any traces of transparency are next to nothing.

"Em," I whisper, "Are you looking at what I'm looking?"

She turns her head from the sauce that is now filling the air of spices, making my heart cry to be melted into the scents.

"Yeah…they're opaque."

"Ooh, this looks tasty."

The both of us turn around to see Tom swipe a little of the spiced sauce with his finger, before licking it off to our astonishment and dropped jaws.

"What?" He asks, as if nothing weird was happening to him.

"You didn't tell us that you guys can eat!" I exclaim.

"Of course we can, it's just-ahhHHHHH! HOT! HOT!" Tom screams before running off from the barbecue and into the house, cursing something about bloody murder.

I don't know whether to laugh or not, but sharing a glance with Em leaves the both of us howling with tears on the grass.

"I…told you!" Em manages out through laughs, "It was…hot!"

By the time Tom finally comes out from ultra-heat recovery, the table is set, the food is waiting fresh and we're all sitting down, waiting for him to arrive before we dig in. He looks kinda stunned at the rest of us patiently taking our time for him.

"You…you really waited for me to come over and say grace?" He asks, stepping back slightly. "I mean, we don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"What's grace?" I ask, frowning.

"He's a Jehovah's Witness," Tord explains, "It's a sort of thing they do before every meal to give thanks to some guy up in the clouds named God."

I notice Em shifts around a little uneasily to my confusion before remembering.

Oh. Yeah.

Sorry you had to hear that.

"I'm not a Jehovah's Witness any more, Com-"

"Zip it you two." I butt in, "We're saying grace. Tom, what do we have to do during this?"

"Just…hold hands, close our eyes and bow our heads, I think. You do that until I finish the prayer. That's gonna be difficult with you two…ah, well…"

"We'll pretend we're holding your hands. Works anyway." Em shrugs.

"Will do."

The nine of us hold hands in a large circle-ish shape, bow our heads and close our eyes. Well, I attempt to hold hands with Matt to my right and Em with Jon on the left, but I peek one eye open and notice it. It's a good thing Tom is taking his time to think out his prayer.

Pixels are flickering around Matt and Jon's hands as we attempt to hold them.

The longer we do it, the bigger the pixels get and the more they flicker, parts of the hands even disappearing. But Tom then begins to pray.

"God…if you are there…I know I haven't talked to you at all…but I wanna give thanks.

"I wanna say thanks for today, this month with Cora and Emily staying in Durdum Lane, my friends and yes, even those neighbours.

"Thank you for this break, this food and you being here, basically. I pray that we can get to a breakthrough on the Eagle's Cross research and…yeah. Amen."

"Amen." We all repeat before letting go and digging into the sausages and butter chicken.

"You know," Edd remarks, "The butter chicken isn't that bad. I don't know what Tom was screaming about earlier."

"I tamed the spices so that it wouldn't murder everyone on first taste." Em snickers, "Thanks to Tom for taking the first test."

Some of us snicker at the said guy while his eye sockets shift around.

"Hey, I didn't know it would be that hot!" He protests.

"Hot damn," Em smirks.

"Oh don't be bringing that meme back!" Eduardo groans.

"Call the police and the fireman, this meme is too hot not to bring back!" I retort, laughing.

And so the conversation keeps rolling.

Three hours later…

Jokes are passed around, plenty of aged cola drunk excessively, and almost dozens of stories, from both me and Em and the crews are shared. It's not long really until everyone begins to pack up at the sight of the two hovertrucks flying in closer to the road.

"I wonder who it is…" I mutter as I make my way to the front of the house as the trucks land and the windows open, revealing the drivers to be-

"Jasper and Ted?" Em asks, stunned, "What are you two doing here?"

Jasper grins and presses a button on his dashboard, opening the back doors of the trucks before Clearside hovercrates fly out onto the front yards of 25 and 27, containing…our furniture, posters and cola stashes from the pod suburbs?

"What's going on?" I question, surprised, "What's our stuff doing here?"

"Good news, kiddo," Jasper answers, motioning me to come to the window before handing me an envelope. "Open it."

Tearing it open and pulling out the letter inside, I can't believe what's written on the simple piece of paper.

'I, Edward Earnest Duncan Gould IV, release the rights of 27 Durdum Lane to my second-eldest daughter, Coraline Gould, as she is now come of adult age to own the family home. And on the behalf of Emily Brock's parents, I release the rights of 25 Durdum Lane to her as well.

'Signed,

'EGIV'

My eyes widen and my hands start shaking in excitement. I don't believe it, it's too good to be true, but I start squealing, laughing and hugging Emily with joy running through my veins.

"Cora! Calm down! What's-"

"How can I be calm if my dad's given me the rights to the house, and your parents with yours?!"

"WHAT?!"

"We're staying, Emily! We're staying in Durdum Lane! We're officially moving into Durdum Lane!"

And that's when she starts squealing and hugging in joy alongside me.

"Oh my god, oh my god! We're finally living away from the business!"

"Yeaaah, about that," Ted butts in, "You're still gonna have to work from here when your vacation's over. That's an order."

"Not that I care about it now," I shrug, "We have a long time before we head back into it anyway. By the way, Jasper?"

"I've gotten a lot of info, but that firewall is a real piece of stubborn ass." The doors of the trucks shut when the dashboard button is pressed again.

"Are we talking about the animal or the human anatomical part?" Em asks.

"The former." Jasper shrugs, "Ted, we should get going. I'm getting a little desperate to try that new AirJeep Y-88 you keep ranting on about."

"See you at the finish line." Ted smirks before zipping off into the air and Jasper tailing behind, which is a weird thing to describe when it's hovertrucks speeding away.

"What were you two screaming about over there?" Edd asks, popping up next to us, "And-"

"Don't you dare." Em glares.

"WHAT ARE THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE?" He yells, pointing at all the hovercrates in the front yards, making Em facepalm and sigh.

I stare at the letter in my hands and I feel nerves rising in my chest. If I give Edd the letter, the cat will be out the bag and he'll know the truth. Then, the others will connect the dots and I'll be entirely found out.

But if I don't…I'll lose trust in them.

Taking a deep breath, I make my decision.

"I…I should mention that…you'll fully know who my family comes from if I hand you the letter…" I manage out, clenching my fists and visibly taking deep breaths.

"What do you mean?" Edd asks, concern evident in his voice. "Cora, are you alright?"

"Just…please don't be mad at me for not telling you earlier…" I let go of the letter, hold Emily's hand and Edd catches the paper.

The silence after is long and agonizing. I actually count ten minutes of it in my head before something happens.

His eyes are wide as he reads the entire passage again and again. When he's done, the letter slips through his fingers and lands softly on the grass.

"You're…you're staying. You're really moving in."

I nod slowly.

"Edward Gould IV...that's your dad?"

"Yes." I manage out, strangely sounding somewhat confident.

"Which means…you're my descendant. Golding is a nickname for Gould."

I nod again, fear in my chest rising, forcing me to blurt out something that I wasn't able to find words for a long time.

"Edd, why do you seem so proud of me and my family?"

My voice begins to break, tears starting to spill from my eyes.

"We're against the law, we're criminals and smugglers."

I fall on my knees.

"We've harmed people, captured them and blackmailed them. How can you still show love and pride in such people who've done horrid things? I'm terrified of my cousins and uncles, because how can I try to have a family love for them while they are working on the side of the law?"

My body shivers and shakes, teardrops falling onto my knees and the grass, my gaze unable to meet his. I notice another three shadows join behind Edd's and I await the first angry and stunned blow of disownment.

"P-p-please…I-I-I just…" I bury my face in my hands, shame washing and drowning me, "I wasn't ready to tell you. I-I-I thought that you wouldn't-"

"Believe you and instead get angry? Cora, I don't care about what your family did or has done. I'm beyond happy that you're my descendant."

"Wha-what?" Isn't he supposed to be angry at me that my family has gone down the wrong path? Like all those movies and stories had taught me?

"You really thought that I'd be mad at your family? Cora, that's all wrong. Your family is mine, too. They have to do what they have to do to keep you and your siblings safe and going to better places, you know that." He tries to reassure me.

I don't believe him.

"Let's all head inside," Em suggests, "We can talk properly there and get this all out. It's going to be okay Cora, trust us."

'Us.'

Not just 'me' any more.

'Us.'

I take her hand and don't stop shivering, silently hyperventilating and fresh tears still falling down my face as I stand up and gently make my way to the living room before hugging my knees and curling up on one of the couches' corners. As everyone is coming in, I stare at the giant gold-framed mirror hanging on the wall with a terrified resentment. If I had never found that thing in the first place, I would never be here, confessing to my ancestors and awaiting the angry blows.

Em sits next to me, pulling me into a hug of temporary relief and slowing my breathing down, but it speeds up again as I let go and Edd sits down next to the both of us. Tom, Matt and Tord plonk down on the other couch and stare at me in disbelief. Mark and Jon have the same expression as they stand from behind said couch, but Eduardo has a look of sympathy for me as he leaves a glass of icy water on the armrest to my right.

"Coraline Gould." Tom manages out, "Wow."

"Tom, shut up. We're all stunned here, but now's not the time." Tord snaps and I flinch. He gives me an apologetic look as I turn away from his gaze.

God, it reminds me so much of dad…

"I-I-I should mention that Edd's not my only ancestor…" I manage out. This has the others perking up.

"Who?" Matt asks in a gentle voice, giving me déjà vu of my mum.

"I mentioned that Golding is the family nickname for Gould, right? My cousins were Ridgies, Harts and L's. You figure out the rest."

I relent to a tiny sip of the ice-cold water as I try to tear away my gaze from the three, but my eyes can't seem to let go of the expressions of Tom, Matt and Tord as they go through confusion, stunned realisation and then a mix between joy and sympathy.

"Oh my god…" Tom manages out after a short silence, "We're related. The four of us are related through Cora." The comment swipes at my crazily beating, terrified heart. I know he means well by it, but it hurts instead.

"I-I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Edd asks, gently. He sounds like dad on one his best days.

"For not telling you earlier. The research could've gone-"

"Cora, please," Again with the same gentleness, "It's okay. We're not mad at you at all. You weren't ready to tell us who you are and we respect that."

"I'm still not and I went ahead with it…" I reply in a small voice, "And the research-"

"That's a very brave thing to do. Actually, who gives a faen about the research now? It's a break!"

"Yeah! You're related to me! Life can't get better than that! I'll admit, I had stuff like this a few times."

"Wha…?"

"Me too, on both things Matt mentioned." Tom admits.

"Cora, you need to get that the idea of us being mad at you is just not true. Y'hear that?" Tord furthers on.

"Now that you've told us, I think life's gonna get easier and better for the lot of us. All of us have, well… a sort of love for you, Cor. It's especially true for the four of us now since it's official that you're family." Edd explains.

"I-I-"

"Coraline, you're a part of our family and we love you. We're damn well proud of you, even."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right." Eduardo interrupts, "I admire your badassery with all that gaming. For someone who lives in the future…you know the past pretty damn well."

"Cor, I know I've said this a million times over," Em adds, "But you're a sister to me. You've saved my behind multiple times, smuggling or not, and I am so grateful that we can trust eachother on huge secrets our parents aren't allowed to know."

"Also," Eduardo continues, "Just because you have four losers as ancestors, doesn't mean you're one of them."

All four of the said ancestors raise their sole middle finger to his line of vision and I don't hesitate to join them before wiping my face and drinking more water.

"See what I mean, Cor?" Edd points out, a hopeful smile on his face.

I sniffle.

"God, I wish I could hug you."

All of my crew nods in agreement, a tinge of sadness evident on their faces. My heart slows down to a melancholy-filled pace as Em hugs me in their place. I don't hesitate to return it, but I do hesitate to let go for a long time.

"We should keep it quiet for the rest of the day," She suggests and we all agree, "Watch a few movies, listen to some audiobooks. Just give you enough time to recover from the shock and allowing me to explain my heritage to the other three nerds."

"Wait a minute," Mark begins to realise, "Are you hinting that-"

"My last name is Brock. Isn't that Jon's last name? Also, I mentioned that I was quadracial a long time ago: Indian, Black, Polynesian and White. Where do you think I got the last one from?"

I don't hesitate to giggle as all three of Emily's ancestors faint and my forefathers' jaws drop.

"A benefit of being dark-skinned and quadracial," Emily continues, "Is that I'm able to trash on racist views with my mere presence, before throwing them out the window and into the depths of Atlantis when I speak." She holds out her hand for a high-five and I oblige.

"Can all of you stick around as we watch some movies?" I ask, "It would feel better that way."

"You bet, kiddo." Tom winks.

"Our kiddo." Edd corrects him, smiling.

For the first time since my attack, I feel like my heart is actually happy again.