Dusk's head pounded as the blaring of the alarm clock filled the room. Subconsciously, her hand slammed down on the snooze button, and she pulled the sheets off her body and sat up. Without warning, a loud groan escaped her lips as it felt like someone was playing jump rope with her intestines. "What the hell?" She muttered, looking over to see Klaus was still sound asleep, seemingly not in pain. The second she stood up, she immediately dashed to the bathroom, overcome with a wave of sickness. She hadn't felt this sick in a long time, not since she and her siblings caught that nasty stomach bug that left them confined to their rooms for two weeks.

Dusk's gagging continued as she continued to throw up. While it went on for a few painstakingly long minutes, it felt like she had been stuck there for days. The brown blonde took a deep breath as her stomach finally settled and she lifted her head from the toilet. Was it the food from last night? Maybe one of the parents brought their sick kids to the party? Dusk wondered as she washed the taste out of her mouth. I wonder if anyone else is feeling this terrible... Five and Victoria left for work nearly an hour ago, so there was no point in asking them. But as she started hearing some rustling coming from her and Klaus's bedroom, maybe she'd get the answer she was looking for.

"You okay in there, hon? I can smell vomit from in here!" Klaus plugged his nose as he crawled out of the bed. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Dusk brushed it off, stepping back into the connecting room. Klaus blinked furiously, adjusting to the sunlit room, and he finally saw a clear image of his wife, his eyes widened. "Jesus, doll. You look like death!" He slowly backed away, not wanting to take any chances. Dusk squinted as she leaned up against the wall. "Thanks, feel much better now!" she responded sarcastically. "But anyway, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, I've never felt better! Why do you ask?" Klaus asked as he slipped on his gloves and face mask. "I just woke up and I started feeling sick. I don't know what's going on," She explained. "Probably that Chinese food, you can never trust those restaurants nowadays, everyone getting their hands all messy!" Klaus gagged at the thought of it. "You sure you don't feel anything?" Dusk double-checked. But Klaus shook his head insistently, telling her he'd like to keep it that way. "I'm gonna call the others, see if anyone else is feeling bad,"

But as Dusk walked into the kitchen to grab her phone, Klaus's voice echoed throughout the empty home, trying to convince her maybe she was overthinking it and that it could just be a minor bug or maybe her time of the month. But as Dusk dialed Victoria's number, Klaus's ramblings only continued. Without much of a wait, the redhead picked up and it sounded like she and Five were in the middle of driving. "Vic, are you feeling alright?" Dusk asked but was only greeted with the sounds of sharp inhales and clenched teeth.

"Dusk?" Five's voice called from the other end, as Victoria seemingly handed the phone off to him. "Are you both feeling alright? I feel like-" "-Like someone injected motor oil into your veins?" Five interrupted. "Yeah... that's exactly how we feel right now," Before Dusk could even begin to ask any questions, Five dropped a bomb on top of her. "Dusk, I don't know how, but we got our powers back!" The brown blonde nearly dropped her phone in shock. "I'm sorry, what?" Dusk croaked. "They're back..." Five repeated through a stifled groan.

Klaus leaned over the granite countertop, concern spreading on his face as Dusk locked eyes with him for just a brief moment. "H-how do you know that?" Dusk questioned. "It's a long story, we're heading back to the academy right now, maybe we can all get to the bottom of this," Five replied. "Is Klaus feeling any different?" Dusk looked back at her husband, who was currently in the process of spraying every inch of the room with disinfecting spray. "I don't think so, he said he's never felt better," Dusk shook her head. "Just try and get him to the academy, okay? Even if he's not feeling anything, this still concerns all of us,"

With a confirmation they would be there soon, Dusk hung up and looked down at her hands. Why is it happening now? After all these years, we finally got them back. "This can't be happening; I don't feel anything..." With her inner phoenix came a presence that made her feel whole. But as she desperately reached out to her inner self, she felt nothing. The fire that once burned bright within her had fully extinguished. But she wasn't about to give up, not yet.

"Klaus," Her voice immediately stopped him in his tracks. "Yes, hon?" He slowly turned around, a few chills running down his spine. It had been a long time since he heard that familiar tone. "I need you to do something," She requested. "Okay, what?" "Say something. Anything that'll make me angry," Klaus slightly cocked his head, wondering if heard her correctly. "Uh, why would I do that?" He questioned. "It's important. Don't think, just say something! Anything!" Dusk grew insistent. She didn't need a mind reader to know he wasn't comfortable with the idea of insulting her. At least, not in a joking manner. But if a single insult towards her was all that was needed to rile her up and regain her powers, then so be it.

"Okay fine! Uh... you're a really bad cook?" Klaus stammered. All Dusk could do was raise a brow at his pathetic attempt. "Seriously? That's all you've got?" Klaus wrung his hands, trying to come up with a better insult. I'm not good at insulting people on command, it just happens! Klaus began to pace back and forth. "Alright, alright! I think I got one! Your song lyrics are bland and cringeworthy!" Dusk's body began to shake, the harshness of his words building up in her chest. But it still wasn't enough. "Keep going!" Dusk demanded. "You can't sing for shit! Your singing voice sounds like a dying crow!" Klaus spat. Dusk gripped the edge of the counter, her nails clawing at the stone as she continued to absorb his words.

"You know what? I'll tell you the truth! Your album was a complete snooze fest! I couldn't listen even if I tried!" Suddenly the kitchen started shaking as if it was in the midst of an earthquake, and as Dusk slowly lifted her head, Klaus gasped and started backing away into the living room. "What... did... you... just... SAY?!" Dusk's voice grew lower with every word, lower than it ever had before. The corners of her eyes ignited into flames, and just as she stormed towards him, purple smoke ignited in her hands. "Dusky! Dusky! I didn't mean it, baby! I actually love your album!" Klaus pleaded as his back hit the wall.

Through the glowing eyes, Dusk could see the fear within her husband, and as she slowly pulled away, the surge of anger began to diminish as she calmed her breathing. And just as suddenly as they appeared, Dusk's flames disappeared. The brown blonde blinked slowly, struggling to believe this wasn't a dream. "Holy shit... Five was right!" Klaus inched closer to her, still a bit shaken by her explosive reaction. "You got your powers back!" His voice filled with awe and concern. "But it's so different now," A fireball ignited in Dusk's hand, and there indeed was a change. "How is this even possible? They're supposed to be orange, not purple!"

"Does it matter what color they are?" Klaus asked. "Yes, it does! They've never been like this before! What about my wings? Did you see any?" Dusk inquired. Klaus shook his head sadly. "Not gonna lie, you looked pretty hot with those! No pun intended," Dusk scoffed and shook her head. "We don't have time for this! We gotta get to the others and figure this out right now!"

~~~~~~~~

The combination of her arguing siblings and her still churning stomach was enough to drive Dusk to the point of snapping again. There seemed to be no escape from the chaos. Diego and Lila bickered in one corner of the living room, while Luther sat in another corner, covering his body with a robe, ashamed and embarrassed. Allison and Dahlia sat on the opposite couch across from Dusk, Victoria, and Five. Out of everyone in the room, they seemed like the only ones who weren't that affected by the return of their powers, aside from Klaus, who leaned back against a pillar, watching all the chaos.

"Someone better explain what the hell is going on here quick!" Viktor growled as he stormed into the room. "Well, Viktor, that's what we're all trying to figure out," Five gulped, trying to suppress the growing urge to throw up. "Oh god, don't look at me!" Luther covered his face. "No one's blaming you, Luther!" Diego glared at him. "No! I mean don't look at me! I'm hideous!" The Ape-man snapped before covering himself up once more. "At least you're back to your old self, the rest of us feel like someone injected motor oil into our veins," Victoria rubbed her temple. 

"It's so strange, because I, for one, feel fantastic!" Klaus bragged, slightly adjusting his mask. "Yeah, you've made that perfectly clear a dozen times, Klaus!" Dusk squinted as she leaned her head back on the couch. "Yeah, well you all think you've got problems? Watch this!" Lila's eyes started glowing green as Lazer Beams shot out of them and she aimed them all around the room. "Get down!" Dahlia shouted over the noise as they all quickly ducked behind cover. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, not inside!" Luther yelled as the beams cut through the room, slicing lamps in half and leaving marks on the walls.

"What the hell?!" Luther gaped at the damage as Lila's eyes turned back to normal. "I'm sorry," She apologized just as the beams turned on again and made another round throughout the room. "TURN IT OFF!" Victoria yelled, covering her ears. "I DON'T KNOW HOW!" Lila shouted in reply. Just as suddenly as it began, the beams shut off as Lila closed her eyes, hopefully stopping them for at least a minute. "There. Sorry about that," Lila inhaled sharply as she saw the damage she caused. "Be careful!" Five stood up and glared at her. "How the hell did you do that?" Diego questioned his wife.

"A gun to my head, I couldn't tell you," Lila answered. "Oh come on! It took me months to find these original sconces!" Luther groaned in dismay, picking up some of the broken pieces. "Who gives a shit about your sconces? I WANT ANSWERS NOW!" Dusk's eyes started glowing as her voice grew deeper, startling them all. But unbeknownst to Dusk, it wasn't just that that made the siblings fear what she was now capable of. Her inner phoenix had returned, but it wasn't the same as Dusk left it. 

Sticking out of her back, her wings had taken on a new form. At the tips, black blood dripped down onto the carpet as purple embers glowed within her fiery feathers. Her right wing glowed brighter than the other, having all its feathers, while her left only had half. "Dusk... take it easy..." Klaus breathed as her glowing eyes pierced through the souls of everyone in the room. "Relax, discount Maleficent," A voice came from the top of the staircase. The Hargreeves turned towards the entrance hall as Ben came down the stairs, his tentacles limp and sticking out of his back. And he looked as if he hadn't had an ounce of sleep in weeks.

"It was me," Ben admitted through his tired in his voice. "I know you're all too terminally emo to do what had to be done. So, I made the executive decision and spiked your sake with Marigold," Luther gasped at the admission, while Allison just rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?" Five scoffed, noticing his girlfriend's pissed-off expression, and gently squeezed her hand. "You had no right to do that, asshole!" Viktor scolded Ben, but the Squid boy continued to smile smugly. "Trust me, you'll all thank me later!" He argued, not in the least bit afraid. "You motherfucker..." Dahlia stormed over to him with a ball of ice and water and threw it right at his face.

But Ben didn't even flinch, still proud his sneaky and underhanded accomplishment had gone so well. He walked over to the couch, throwing one of his tentacles onto it, and Allison quickly got off the couch as Ben plopped down. "What is with the tails?" Diego asked. "I don't know, they won't go back in!" Ben grumbled as Luther poked at one and was hit in the face a split second later. "Why is it cold?" He touched the impact point on his face, and everyone looked at him in disgust. "The real question is, why would you touch it?" Lila folded her arms across her chest.

"Forget about my tails, alright? I haven't felt this good in years. Maybe you guys need to take some more," Ben suggested. "Okay, you know what? Give me that!" Victoria stood up and snatched the quarter-full jar of Marigold from his hands. "Wait a minute. Klaus, why aren't you sick?" Allison inquired. "Yeah, you're acting strangely normal!" Dusk added. "Well, because one sake bomb is too many, and a thousand is just never enough!" He explained. "So, you didn't drink it?" Allison double-checked. "Nope! No Marigold touched these lips!" A proud smile formed on his face.

Looking back on it, Dusk was glad he didn't give her his sake bomb. She didn't know how much Marigold one person could manage in their system. But just from seeing how sick her siblings had become from one shot, the answer would most likely lead to an overdose. "Do you realize what you've just done?!" Viktor ran up to the couch and started landing punch after punch on Ben. And while Diego and Luther were trying to put an end to the fighting, Dusk and Dahlia watched on with twin smirks. "I'm surprised you're not defending him," Dusk whispered. "At this point, I'm tired of condoning his actions. If he stirs up shit and gets his ass whooped, that's on him, not me," Dahlia answered. 

Just as they managed to pull Viktor off, black liquid shot out of Ben's mouth, flying across the room and hitting the fireplace. "Dude! I live here!" Luther screamed. "The fact is you're all too busy living in a loser mindset to realize we're much better off this way!" Ben spoke. "That wasn't your decision to make!" Viktor argued. "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't have our powers back!" Ben challenged.

"Maybe because we ended the world three times?" Dusk answered. "We also saved it three times," Diego mentioned. "Well, that part is highly debatable, Diego," Five spoke up. "Forget about saving the world! I just spent five years building a life for myself! A real life! Away from all this, away from Dad, away from our past. And you had to go and fuck it all up with one sake bomb!" Viktor snapped. The room filled with silence as everyone absorbed Viktor's rage, even Ben looked stunned. "I was just trying to help," He reasoned. "Help us? The only person you're helping at the end of the day is yourself!" Dahlia scoffed.

"Dahlia and Viktor are right! None of us asked for this!" Luther agreed. "I could've lost my job!" "Did you?" Victoria asked, with just the tiniest hint of interest. "Actually no, my boss bumped me up from brunch buffet to prime time," Luther clarified. "And I've been booked in Atlantic City next weekend. But still!" Ben rolled his eyes as he patted Luther's chest and walked over to where Allison was standing.

"Come on, Allison. You can't tell me you're not a little bit glad to have your power back after all these years?" The Rumor glared daggers at him, if looks could kill, Ben would be six feet under already. "Why would I be, Benjamin? Why would I want my powers back?" She snarled. "Maybe you can rumor your way out of those corny-ass laundry commercials you have to do and get off the B-list," Ooo, she's not gonna like that! Dusk shook her head, swearing she saw Allison's eyes red with rage. "The B-list? Excuse me? I... I am the face of a national campaign, something that I made happen out of nothing, while you were too busy playing backgammon with Bernie Madoff!" She retorted.

"Don't play the 'I did it all by myself!' card, Alli! We all know how you really got to where you are now!" Dusk smirked. "Why you..." Allison was tempted to choke the living daylights out of her sister, but just as she was about to make one step towards her, Victoria stood in front of her, piercing into her soul. "I wouldn't if I was you..." the redhead warned. Allison slowly put her hands in defeat and sat back in her chair. "Alright, alright, Klaus. Come on, Klaus. My brother, it's not too late for you to get in on this action," Ben tried to touch his shoulder, but Klaus squirmed around, trying to avoid any potential germs.

"I told you, it's not gonna happen!" Klaus insisted. "Why not? Maybe with you won't have to keep living life like a human sippy cup," Five reasoned. "It's a slippery slope, okay?" Klaus argued. "Into what?" Five quirked a brow. "Power, ghosts, drugs, sex, oblivion. It's one big spicy gumbo of bad, and I'm not going back to that old Klaus. I like this Klaus! 'Hey, he collects coupons! He's frugal, respectable, reliable. And most importantly, he's a Klaus that Claire likes. And trusts and looks up to!" Klaus explained.

As Klaus continued his rant, Ben's face contorted as he clutched at his stomach, its growl loud enough for the siblings to hear. "Guys, Ben doesn't look so hot," Lila pointed out. The moment the words escaped her lips, Ben puked all over the carpet and Diego and Luther instantly got him back to the couch. But his vomit didn't stop there, as Ben flopped around like a fish out of the water, vomit still pouring from his mouth. "Whoa! What do we do? Should we call 911?" the men jumped back, concerned for the well-being of their brother.

"No, no, no, no! No cops!" Ben gagged. "We need to go back to the dry cleaners and get more information," Five offered his hand to Victoria, who took it, and he pulled her to her feet. "Agreed, I'll drive," Diego volunteered. "I'll take my car. Anyone want to join me?" Dusk asked. Victoria and Dahlia's hands instantly shot up as they remembered how cramped they all were on the first drive over. "Guys, come on!" Diego whined. " Sorry Diego, but I'm not gonna be a sardine in a can again!" Dusk apologized as she slipped on her coat, following Five and the girls out the door.

~~~~~~~~~

"Damn Dusky, this car is nice!" Dahlia gaped as she sat in the backseat. "Well, when you're offered a great deal on your dream car, you can't resist it!" Dusk smiled. While many had specific models and designs in mind for their dream vehicle, Dusk never held high standards and took great pride in her used silver Toyota Corolla. "Honestly, I'm glad we're not riding with the others," Dusk grinned as she buckled her seatbelt. "Trust me, if I felt Allison's elbow in my ribs one more time, I was going to punch somebody!" the redhead insisted.

The laughter continued as followed behind Diego's van back to the dry cleaners and for the first time, the three of them were finally getting along being in one another's presence. And as Dusk turned on the radio and they started singing along to the oldie but goodie hits, the fun only skyrocketed from there. But as the radio hosts took a commercial break and introduced their sponsors, Dusk couldn't help but notice out of the corner of her eye, that Victoria's hands were shaking furiously. At the next stop light, Dusk hit the brake and looked over to the passenger seat.

"You okay?" Dusk asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. The redhead's hands stopped shaking the moment the brown blonde made contact, and Victoria looked over to her, her heart racing in her chest. "I'm... I'm fine," Victoria assured. "You positive?" Dusk repeated. "Don't worry, Dusky. It's probably just my body getting used to having my powers back," Victoria insisted. Dusk wanted to press the issue further, but when Victoria got irritated, bad things usually happened, so it was best to not push it.

When they finally reached the dry cleaners, the girls and the rest of the Hargreeves piled out of their vehicles and reached the front door. "Just... just let me do..." Diego opened it, pushing past his siblings to open it. But as they walked inside, everything looked vastly different than the night before. The revolving racks of clothes were now barren and empty, the only trace of Sy was a few stray clothing rods and a marked map. "Well, looks like Sy flew the coop," Allison sighed. "Or somebody got to him," Five grabbed the map from the rack. "He did say he was in danger," Diego recalled. "Look at this. New Grumpson, Maine," Victoria pointed to the red-circled city.

"The hell's in New Grumpson, Maine?" Diego questioned. "Maybe Sy's daughter, Jennifer?" Lila speculated. "Or maybe that's where our dry cleaner scampered off to," Allison added. "Or maybe this is all one big setup!" Viktor looked exasperated. "Well, there's only one way to find out," Five spoke, Diego instantly knew what his brother meant by that. "Time for a road trip!" Diego grinned. As insufferable as many of their family gatherings were, being cramped together in a van for many hours would surely drive them all to the point of murder.

"Really? Are we really doing this?" Viktor sighed. "Hell yeah, we're doing this!" Diego nodded. "You do realize we have three small children, right?" Lila reminded him. Diego pulled his wife to the side, just as the other started to pile back into the van. And as Victoria gave Five a quick peck on the lips, her eyes widened with realization. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Shit, I completely forgot I left my staff at work!" She gaped. "I need to go grab it!" Even without her powers, Victoria never forgot about the staff she carried with her for so many years, and now that she had them back, she'd never let that staff out of her sight again.

"Do you really need that silly thing?" Allison eavesdropped on the couple, and Victoria only glared at her in response. "Alright, I'll let Diego know, okay?" Five nodded. With a smile, Victoria leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek before joining Dusk and Dahlia back in the car.