'OH MY GOD PANDA YOU'RE POSTING ON THURDAY AUSTRALIAN TIME, NOT FRIDAY!111!'

Hey, I'm heading to Sydney for a long weekend and I'm unsure if there's internet at the hotel room. You can't blame me for that!

The songs for this chapter are:

Golden by Fall Out Boy

The Kids Aren't Alright by Fall Out Boy

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

The explanation for these songs will be on the end of the chapter since they'll be kinda in-depth. And I don't want spoilers at the start of this thing.

Once again, Cora, Em, Jaxx, Laurie, Lauren, Ed, Ell and the plot belong to me. Everything else belongs to the respective creators.

Three weeks later…

"Cor?"

"Yeah Tom?"

"Isn't it Matt's turn to do the dishes now? He says it's mine but that's not till after dinner."

"Yeah. Is he lazing in his junk again? Gah! Dammit Tord, I thought we said no knock-offs on Rainbow Road!"

"Well, I lied. Matt, get your behind down here before-"

"Fine, fine, I'm coming! Edd, Emily and Eduardo were helping me repair the broken stuff and sort out what to sell online!"

"Matt Hargraves repairing and selling his junk on the internet in the 22nd century? Coraline Gould wearing her hoodie around her waist? Emily Brock having her hair out? What is this world coming to?" Tom sighs dramatically.

"OI!"

I can't help but burst out laughing. Mainly at the pouty face Matt has as he stomps down the stairs, because it looks exactly like mum when she's in a grump. Except the creases in his face would make him look about 80 years older and the bright ginger hair kinda shatters all relation to mum.

"HA! Got you back, Tord!"

"Argh! Faen! Looks like Edd's hand-me-down glasses are working way too well for you."

"Matt and Tom's pairs didn't do anything for me. I'm actually surprised that Edd's are working, especially since it's literally a hundred years since anybody last used them. Plus, all the clothes I'm wearing are hand-me-downs from you guys anyway. These are a pair of Matt's jeans and Tom's shoes, so I've discovered. Even my hoodie is actually Edd's."

"Speaking of Edd-DAMMIT, not again-how's the sleeping arrangement going between you two? Is one on the floor and one on the bed or are you sharing it? I haven't been paying much attention since I'm trying to process all my memory that I just got back. Also, you sure you're not cold with that hoodie around your waist?"

"We're lucky it's a king-sized double and we have decent PJs. Awkward the first few nights but we're surprised that Eduardo's idea worked well for us as for him and Em. And…I'm fine without it on."

"You don't sound alright." He pauses the race, just as we're on the edge of the finish line, "Any news from Laurie recently?"

"No. I'm not entirely alright and there hasn't been any news from her since she told us that Felix was the mole. I'm worried about her. I told her that she had to keep her head up to survive two months with our dad before I left, but she's 16 and hasn't seen what I've seen in the business so far. How dad blackmails people to send and hold cola, the multiple times we've nearly been caught by one of my uncles or their colleagues and…"

"And what?"

"…how he punishes us if he thinks we're slacking off."

He looks concerned, but whatever I've just told appears to have somewhat little effect.

"Your dad isn't here right now, we are. And I know you're concerned for your sister, but there's grey circles under your eyes. You sure you're getting enough sleep?"

I grip on the controller and stare at the buttons, but he places a hand on my shoulder and gently lifts my face to meet his. I sigh in small defeat and shake my head.

"Ever since we rescued you from down there…I…I keep getting nightmares that make me wake up bolt upright with a pounding heart…sometimes I even scream…"

"Does Edd hear you when you scream?"

"Always. He's a better parent than my actual dad," I smile a little, "He hugs me and rubs my back a little before I calm down and fall asleep dreamlessly. And I don't wear the hoodie because every time I do…I feel like I'm putting on my fear and terror I had back down there on me and it makes my heart pound. I just kinda feel a little free-er without it."

He raises an eyebrow.

"Is that why Em is wearing a t-shirt instead of a turtleneck, as well as pulling up her sleeves and letting down her hair?"

I nod.

He ruffles my hair with a warm grin before kissing me on the forehead, unpausing the game and winning the race. I don't care though, life is definitely better than it was a month and three weeks ago.

"Nine more days," I mumble, "And two months are up. I'll be able to really get out the business. If I can convince my dad, I can even pull Laurie out of this. That disownment threat means nothing now since the house is in my property and I've got you guys."

"Are you saying that we could disown your dad?"

"Why not?" I giggle, "It'd be hilarious. Also, how much money d'you think Matt's gonna make out of that pile of crap up there?"

"WE JUST GOT 50 MILLION POUNDS FROM THE SALES AND OH MY GOD MATT'S ROOM IS SO MUCH CLEANER THAN BEFORE!"

"Holy emergency on a hovercar, Em! Did you just-"

"I just did~!" Em sings as she slides down the bannister and sweeps me up from the couch in a hug, me squeaking in surprise as she giggles uncontrollably.

"Are you serious Em?! 50 million pounds?!"

"Matt's hoarding payed off! Payment for the teleportation and restoration whipped away 5 million, but who cares? The real big boys that brought in the dough were the mirror's frame, the 19th Century wedding dress, the pool table-"

"Em, Em! Calm down! I still need to get my head around 50 million pounds in our bank accounts!"

I steal a glance back at Tord, Tom and Matt, their jaws wide open at the new fact of being 50 million pounds richer than before.

"Did you know that mirror frame was 24-karat gold-plated over platinum? That's the thing that REALLY got us up to 50 freaking million."

I stare at Matt, who's just passed out on the floor at the fact that he had hoarded a mirror worth who-knows-how-much-money for nearly the past century.

I'm shivering in excitement, a giggle escapes from my throat.

"Dad is totally going to lose it."

"No he won't, we'll never tell our parents that a shared 50 million pounds are in our possession and that we've probably bankrupted the economy."

"That's not gonna stay secret for long," Edd points out, also sliding down the bannister of the stairs before falling on his face, "The news are gonna go crazy over it once they get the first sniff of a big-dough scoop."

"And then once it's out…we're really baked." I finish. Everyone groans. Edd and I share a grin.

"So we gotta blow enough of this before it's too late."

"Maybe we could-"

The sounds of hovercars landing outside wipe the excited mood to nothing.

"There's four of them landing in," Em reports from the window, frowning. "One is Jasper's. Two of them belong to the twins and Jaxx, don't they? The other, I don't know. Someone's just jumped out."

That's odd.

"What's going on?" Edd asks.

A rapid knocking on the door doesn't give much of an answer.

"No idea. Guys, head up to the attic and don't come down here till I say so. Keep quiet as you can and try to listen out for anything wrong. Em, you're sticking with me, right?"

"Cora? I-i-is that you in there?"

Laurie.

It's Laurie outside the door.

She doesn't sound good.

"Go!" Em hisses, but the boys don't need it when they bolt up the stairs as I open the door and am nearly tackled down by a 5'5 figure.

"Cora!"

"Laurie! How-" I don't finish the sentence as I take a better look at my little sister and my jaw drops in shock.

Laurie's curly browny dark-blonde hair has three streaks of vibrant, bright blue.

Her jaw drops as well when we break from the hug and she stares at my hair.

"Where's your streak?"

"I quit, Laurie. Man. Looks like the tables have turned."

"I hate the streaks, Cor. I hate them so much! Dad almost…" Her voice breaks and she's burying herself in my shirt.

"Mrs G? Jaxx? Ed and Ell? What are you guys doing here? It's not two months over yet! Where's dad?"

Mum's weary face still allows a warm smile as Jaxx helps her with bringing out her luggage, but even from a distance I can tell that her blue eyes have some sort of alarm and worry in them. For a few seconds, I can see streaks of grey popping out amongst the long and wavy brownish-strawberry-blonde hair, wondering where had the years flown by when they seemed so agonizingly slow.

The sight of Jaxx's cracked lenses is what pulls me out of the temporary relief.

"Um, Jaxx?"

"Before you go on Cor, I can see just fine. It's just that the riots at Ox and Cambridge have just gone too out of hand. Pity that we couldn't grab our assignments…"

"Guys, this isn't giving Cora or me any decent explanation-"

"Em! Was there anything in your house too?"

"Ed, you're not betting on this still, are you-"

"Can everyone just shut up?"

All eyes are me now, stunned looks evident on faces that the shy and anxious sister/daughter is now in a leadership position. I'll admit, I've stunned myself too, but it doesn't show on my face.

"Look. I know a lot has happened on both sides and that Em and I have shaken up appearances, but we all owe each other an explanation, don't we? Leave your bags at the front door and we'll head in and talk this over one by one. We've both missed out on a lot of things and we all need to know."

As Em takes in Laurie to the living room, I help my siblings, mum and Jasper with grabbing the bags from the boots of the cars when the latter pulls me to the side and hands me a package.

"Once I got through the firewalls-"

"Firewalls? Plural? Dad has multiple firewalls?"

"-It was a real piece of cake. I had to get through the family one to get to the main one that you would've been hacking at. Anyway, that's the journal and folder that that your dad was looking for from the past two months, but the book had only one entry from him and a lot of pages were torn out. The other author has some really bad handwriting. Loads of good stuff from the folder though. Funnily enough, I found them in my room with a box of things that pop Paul left for me before he passed."

Opening the package, I see that a hardcover A5 book is on top of a manila folder, the book having the title of:

EG IV

DIARY

20 OCTOBER 2088

—

Underneath it, I can see that the folder has been stamped with a red 'TOP SECRET' on it, as well as black, large writing with the name 'EAGLE'S CROSS.' Peeking through the journal, I notice that a large amount of pages have been torn out and something begins to click into place.

"How did he get his hands on those?"

"I don't know, but if they help you, I guess you better take them."

"Thanks Jas."

"Take care kiddo."

I smile as I watch Jasper fly off into the sky for the fourth time in my Durdum Lane life, before it's quickly wiped off as I follow Jaxx back into the house.

There are just some things that research can't solve.

"So, let's get this from the top: the three of you received an assignment all at the exact same time time, one each from the police force?"

"Yes."

"Definitely."

"Absolutely."

"And there was the strong implication that we weren't going to be able to bail out of it." Jaxx furthers, "At Oxford, they all kept talking about how I was so sure that I'd want to do that and not my other projects. Also, they said they saw a large amount of potential for me when I tried to tell them about the other kids who had higher grades and better papers than me. Those who had forever straight A's. But no, they wanted me."

"Same deal for you two at Cambridge?"

The twins nod.

"Topping it off, they cancelled our other assignments that we were so close to handing in."

"How long were you guys given?"

"They didn't specify, only said 'a while.' Same thing on Jaxx's side, I think. I'm gonna bet that they wanted us for a few decades." Ed mutters.

"Stop exaggerating. Jaxx, you first. What sort of assignment were you given by the cops?"

"Well, since I had done that course on atom structure, I learnt a lot about all sorts of atoms, and the photons, or atoms of light, were a major part. My assignment was to find a way to have a sort of laser or force of energy coming from a semi-concentrated gamma ray beam topped with a little electricity and Ultraviolet light that could somehow activate certain genes to do certain things to a human body. The Gamma part was for emergencies though since it's kinda uncontrollable and invisible, so it was mainly made out of the ultraviolet light and electricity combo."

"Like, when you mention genes can do certain things to a human body, you mean genes that burn people up or…?"

"Kinda. Genes that could somehow activate a cold sore or even maybe the Black Plague, if I'm going too far. I think I mentioned that last one because it's REALLY getting to my head. But basically, they wanted to see if they had some sort of laser that's seemingly harmless on first contact, but actually can kill them within a short amount of time."

"I can't believe they forced you to do that…"

"Don't get me thinking on it again. I managed to finish up some blueprints, notes and a few tests within the week before the riots got too much and I had to ditch all work behind to speed home, only to find that Laurie's-well, you know."

"…I think Ed and I should explain our assignments now. I was lucky enough to catch some slack because I had my period and pretended I always had cramps, but the assignment I had was to create a sort of handgun that would extend out the wrist and fire a concentrated shot at will on targets. It also had to be freely moving, 360-degree movement in every direction, but I never got to do that part before the riots started getting REALLY rowdy. I only had what Jaxx had too: blueprints, notes and a couple tests. It's almost the same for Ed, I think. But well…his is more…disturbing, from what he's told me on the ride here."

Ed twiddles his thumbs and bites his lip, legs crossing each other as his face is lightly a little more in the colour-co-ordination of his light pastel-blue hoodie.

"Ed, you gotta tell us."

"I…I was forced to make the T-1000 from Terminator 2, basically."

"What."

"Actually, they told me to make some sort of android that can look human and morph itself into different forms to avoid suspicion, but I took it as the T-1000, so yeah."

"Did you actually do it?"

"No, not really. I had a few lame bits and pieces of a skeleton and facial emotions made out of crappy metal, and tonnes of blueprints and notes taken down, but it was nothing compared to what I've heard from Jaxx and seen from Ell."

"Okay. So to recap: You all had received an assignment from the cops all at the same time; Jaxx had that…laser thing, Ell had a sort of inbuilt wrist handgun and Ed had the Terminator. One question I forgot to ask earlier: Did ANY of you receive word from your uncles during that week?"

"…No, actually. Is there any meaning for that though?"

Em and I share a glance.

"I've got a theory," Em starts, "I think it's safe to assume that the police force is corrupted by what Thor Larsson's doing in politics these days. With his police connections, he's also influencing them too. Through brute force and threat, either one or both. Therefore, with this police corruption, he's trying to get the smartest people he knows into his plan, directly and indirectly."

"…Of course he would choose us."

"Exactly. You're the most scientifically smartest people that he knows of. He sent you guys those plans in the hopes that you would follow along and ship off the prototypes to him, so he can assemble possibly the worst killing machines of all history."

Em doesn't need to say anything else as the trio's faces grow pale. She only turns her head and looks at my little blue-streaked sister.

For a while, Laurie just stares at her feet, hugging herself while she tries to keep a straight face.

"If you want," Mum offers gently, "I can tell them what happened- "

"You weren't there when it all came crashing down on me, Lauren." She snaps back, "You don't know half of what went down there."

Mum's eyes narrow and her jaw tightens. If I don't step in…

"Both of you, enough. Laurie is a first-hand witness to what dad's done with her, but I know you mean well, mum. Laur, you ready to tell us?"

She takes a few deep breaths before sitting up straighter and leaning into the seat.

"It…it all started when he found out that I was trusting Felix with the Eagle's Cross research, but he didn't know it was the research at all. He thought it was mail secrets, but I protested that it wasn't."

"He didn't believe you?"

"He did. I was lucky. He gave me a pretty harsh warning though."

"Why would you start searching up Eagle's Cross-"

"Not now, mum. Laurie, please continue."

"Then later on…he found out that I was slacking on deliveries because I was more focused on school."

"Of course he'd be annoyed that you chose education over work. But it's the right choice, Laur."

"I don't know if it is…"

"It is. Just go on…"

"He…he didn't buy it and said that you managed to balance out the two without a hitch."

"Balderdash. He lied to you! I still remember having to finish assignments at one in the freaking morning just before the due date because he gave me so much work!"

Laurie's face is one of shock. Mum sadly nods in confirmation.

"Mm. I let her get away with it every time, Laur. I saw how many websites and articles she had up the first time I found her at her desk, so I let her off the hook since. I…I assumed you'd do the same…"

The guilty looks exchanged between both Laurs gives me big déjà vu of Matt, so I nudge the younger to continue her story.

"And then…I got so stupid..." Her voice catches in her throat and tears start to stream again, "I left the evidence that I forged the swapping of house rights on my desk and screenie while I took a nap."

"Wait, what?!"

"I forged the papers that said the ownership rights of the house are swapped to you. I knew that you needed to get out of the business somehow, so I thought I would kickstart it."

"You forged those papers? For me?"

"Took me…oh god…it took me ages to do it, all in the free time alongside the Eagle's Cross research…but I did it. Stole dad's credit card. Found a copy of the papers online. And a bunch of stuff I can't remember now…but the deadline for him to nab 'em back went off on the day I sent you that letter through Jasper…I read the confirmation email a week after and took out all the files that I used so I could delete it all off my hard drive…but I was so tired from working so hard on my math homework that I passed out…and…and…" Her voice breaks and she plunges herself into my arms, sobbing.

"Cutting a long story short…" Mum sighs, "It took him three weeks to think of a 'punishment,' but he gave her the disownment threat and forced a hair dye against her will. He was gonna do all of her hair that blue, streak by streak, like he said the original Laurel had…"

I shake my head in disbelief, sneaking a glance behind to see if the boys are watching.

"He's gone off the deep end. I mean, what he did to me before with all those stupid hours…but now it's too far. He's definitely gone too far. I would ask how you managed to get away, but…I guess…"

"It's time to talk about what you and Em did." Jaxx folds his arms, an eyebrow raised in curiosity, "Did you actually do anything else apart from playing video games with static?"

My throat clenches up, eyes darting around my family members, chest tightening.

Uh oh.

"Well?"

"Cora, can we come down n-ow! Why'd you hit me Tord?"

Em facepalms.

"Well, NOW you can come down. All of you. There's no holding back."

"HA! I TOLD YOU SO ELL!"

"Shut up. Cor, why do those guys look like our dad and uncles? And who's the one wearing one of Em's spare flannels?"

"Button-ups!"

"Whatever!"

"Edd, Tom, Matt, Tord and Eduardo O'Niell, meet my family, minus one asshole. Guys, meet your ancestors, minus Eduardo. He's Emily's ancestor."

"You're kidding me."

"Nah."

It takes a while, but Em and I manage to give a decent explanation on what had been happening at Durdum Lane. My direct family looks utterly gobsmacked, especially with the Cryo-Virt discovery, but mum has a look on her face that's a mix of satisfaction and some sort of grimness I can't quite put. Only as something that she knew what dad had been doing and what's been spilled out just now is the final confirmation.

As Em and I explain everything, I notice that my ancestors are taking a liking to certain family members, and vice-versa.

Laurie, for instance, is trying to warm up to Tom, sitting very close to him and leaning her head on his shoulder, but he looks relatively unconcerned. (Pun intended.)

Edd and Tord however, have squished mum in a sandwich on the larger couch, the twins are on both edges and squeezing the three even tighter.

Jaxx is the only one who looks somewhat uneasy sitting next to Matt and I don't blame him. The ginger looks like he's about to lay some heavy flirting, but if it's Matt's nature to sit like that in front of someone new, I can't stop that.

The day wears on as my mum and siblings settle themselves in, the twins sharing the attic with Matt, Tom being okay with sleeping on the floor while Laurie takes his bed, mum pulling the spare mattress to sleep nearby Tord and Jaxx taking the spare bedroom for himself.

Unfortunately, by the time that's all sorted, it's getting late and everyone's agreed to hit the hay early to get some extra sleep. Em and Eduardo head home as the others pass out into dreamland, Edd even snoring a little as he collapses on the pillow.

However, I'm being kept up again. I just can't seem to close my eyes, no matter how annoying the blurry darkness is.

Something inside me is just begging to stay awake.

But this time, it isn't some sort of nightmarish fear.

Pulling my glasses back on as I manage to sneak out of bed, I hear my phone gently vibrating on the bedside table. Yanking it off the table and managing to silently plonk myself into one of the couches of the living room, I roll my eyes when I see it's a text.

A text from all people…

Uncle Matthew.

He's asking if I could call him sooner or later, but I'm not ready to do that just yet.

I sneak close to Tom's open bedroom door and a smile faintly passes on my face as I see Laurie's chest slowly rising up and down.

Plopping back onto the couch, I find myself pushing the 'call' button next to Uncle Matthew's name.

"Cora! Long time, no see, eh? What are you doing up at this time of night?"

"You're lucky that I couldn't sleep."

"Heh. How's life been? I've heard you've moved out the pods and into the family home, right?"

"Yeah, I have."

"Lucky that your dad gave you the rights, huh?"

Oh Laurie. You'd be laughing now.

"I know, right? Hey, is Uncle Thomas with you?"

"Yeah. We just came back from a graveyard shift. Hey, is your dad around visiting?"

"No…"

"We've also been hearing rumours about him. Something about him being off the hook."

Oh great.

Hang on…what if I could…oh.

OH.

"You still there, Cor?"

"I'm here. Look, I know that you've been trying to arrest dad for a while because of, ahem, certain charges, I'm not stupid."

"Dammit, how did you-"

"So what if I said that you could arrest him on totally different charges? Charges he wouldn't be able to worm his way out of?"

"Oh?"

I smirk before I reply and set my instructions.

I know I've lit the sole match. I know that the tiny flame just hit the fuse.

All I have to wait for now, is the explosion.

Why 'Golden' by FOB?

I like this song because it's a sort of flashback song. It's a flashback of Cora's shame of her streak and her ties to Cola-smuggling. This time, it's Laurie who sings it within her shame. 'I saw God cry in the reflection of my enemies/...all of the mothers raise their babies to stay away from me/and pray they don't grow up to be.'

Why 'The Kids Aren't Alright' by FOB?

It not only relates to what happened back in 13, 'Blessed be the boys time can't capture,' but the title of the song itself is a clear enough reason when we relate it with Laurie. It's a feeling of disbelief that Cora experiences when she sees her little sister emotionally battered by their father. She also finally accepts the new light that her father and uncles are seen in, stirring her anger: 'the black banners raised/and the crooked smiles fade/former heroes who quit too late/who just want to fill up the trophy case again.'

Why 'Fight Song' by Rachel Platten?

It's a song of Cora's rising anger. Anger at her father, anger at her uncles, anger at the cola-smuggling business and the effects it had on her family. The lyric 'take back my life song' in the chorus is what deeply resonates with Cora, as well as the first verse/bridge. Especially the version of it near the final chorus, so softly played, waiting to blow it's top. 'I only have one match/but I can make an explosion.' Laurie is the match, Cora's anger is the fuse, and the confrontation in the next chapter is the explosion.

When Cora gets mad, whoever's on the receiving end, they're definitely going to have a bad time.