After a long while of swerving and arguing about their next destination, Klaus reluctantly agreed to let Five see the big ball of twine in exchange for the birth mother and son visit. They pulled to the side of the empty road, and the retired time traveler excitedly got out and rushed to the mounted brown ball while the junkie briefly stared into nothingness. "I don't know why, but I thought it'd be bigger," Number Four finally spoke, turning and walking towards his brother.

"Seems pretty big to me," Five responded as he slightly adjusted his hat. "Hey Klaus, I got a question. How do you know your birth mother is in Pennsylvania?" Klaus took off his sunglasses, wiping the dark lenses before tucking them into his V-neck black shirt. "Well, I was on the ass end of a two-week bender, and I can't tell you the exact date because we were boofing Xanax and the whole business. But Amy Winehouse was at the top of the charts. So, that puts us somewhere in the mid to late aughts?" he rambled as Five waited for him to get to the point.

"A few years ago, I was looking for the key to Dad's safe in his office since he had Pogo lock up all the stealables. And instead of finding it, I found something else... an entire treasure trove worth of family secrets. It was all told in expired check stubs," Klaus watched the events replay in his mind like a movie he couldn't stop watching over and over. He recalled his fingers trembling as he flipped through the tiny pages, reading all the info he could find not only about himself but also his siblings.

"All of our birth mother's info were there, names, addresses. I was scared to look mine up. But in the back of my mind, I wondered why my mom sold me off for three grand. She could've held out for five or six." Five glanced down at the gravel, slowly nodding. Just like his brother, he had wondered about the identity of his birth mother. If he hadn't been adopted by Reginald, what life could he have lived?

"You said you read all our info? What did some of it say?" he inquired. "Mmm... Luther was born in Sweden. Diego's from... Mexico? Allison's from Africa, obviously I'm from Pennsylvania, Viktor's from Russia, and you and Dusky were born in New York!" At first, Five nodded. But as Klaus's last words echoed in his head, his eyes widened. 

"W-wait, what did you say?" He questioned. Klaus exhaled a sigh, hating the idea of having to repeat himself after the lengthy explanation. Just as he started repeating their sibling's original birthplace, Five interrupted. "No no, you said me and Dusk are from New York. What do you mean?" "What I mean is... that night I read through your check stub, I saw another baby's info under yours. Labeled Number 8," the junkie clarified. Five scoffed and tried to deny it, thinking it was some sick joke. He thought there was no way Dusk could be his twin. And even if he did have a blood-related sibling, how was he supposed to believe it when he never felt a connection? "That's not even funny, Klaus," He spoke lowly.

"I know what I saw, Five!" Klaus insisted, a hint of whining at the end of his sentence. "Alright, explain to me this. Twins are supposed to have a bond. If Dusk is even in the slightest chance my twin, how come I never felt it?!" Through all those years keeping this a secret, Klaus never thought he'd have to convince Five or Dusk to believe this discovery. He had never been good at it, but surprisingly the explanation came out smoother than butter.

"One, Dad always kept us separated when he conducted his... experiments. And two, you jumped into the future and got stuck, so that bond never connected you both." Klaus stared at his brother, watching the look on his face change. It seemed like Five was starting to believe it. He tried searching through his memories, hoping to remember the day he was born, perhaps even uncover the mystery.

~~~~~~~

FLASHBACK BEGINS...

October 1st, 1989...

In the middle of the local grocery store, screams of agony and fear rang out as a woman around twenty had gone into labor, clutching her bulging belly. She backed up against one of the shelves, knocking over a few cans of pasta sauce before falling onto the ground. One of the employees that happened to be nearby ran towards her, asking if she was okay.

"NO! GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME! " the woman shrieked, nearly shattering the employee's eardrums. "It's okay, ma'am. We're gonna get you to the hospital, and everything will be okay!"  The labor quickly progressed within about two minutes as her screams grew louder and louder, and she kept insisting that the ambulance wouldn't make it in time. Around this time, a few more employees rushed to her side.

"I think this is happening now!" She sobbed. They quickly helped her lay on her back, reassuring her that she would be fine while they kept the crowd of shoppers at bay. The woman soon started pushing, feeling ripped apart by a baby she had no idea she was carrying. "One more push!"

As the woman compiled, giving her all in that last push, the baby slid out and immediately started crying. "It's a girl, ma'am. A beautiful little girl," The employee placed the raven-haired infant on her chest, and as the new mom looked down at her, another wave of pain crashed over her. "Ow ow, what's happening?!" She groaned. Confused, the employee looked down and was stunned to see another baby's head coming out.

"You're not done yet. There's another one coming!" Before she could say anything, the pain became even more intense as the second baby made its way out. As she kept pushing and biting her lip to muffle her screams, the baby girl's crying grew louder and louder until her mother's pain finally subsided. It went completely silent as the second baby wasn't making any noise.

With a solid pat on his vernix-covered back, he finally cried, relieving everyone watching. "And here's your baby boy!" the employee smiled, placing him next to his sister. The two looked almost alike, with the same dark raven hair and face shape. The only difference was their color of eyes, hers being ocean blue and his being emerald green.

A cold breeze blew through the aisle, and the little girl whimpered at the foreign feeling of the outside world. Slowly opening his eyes, the boy had an instinct to help her. He reached his chubby hand out and placed it on top of hers as if trying to tell her, I've got you. She instantly quieted down and looked at him, cooing a thank you before they slowly fell asleep.

FLASHBACK ENDS...

Five shook his hands, bringing himself back to reality, realizing that the junkie's words were true. "For once in your life... you were right," he spoke up. "Right about... Dusk being your sister?" Klaus queried, making Five nod. "You know, finding out all these family secrets... it's strange. But I guess now's a good time as any to find out what we could've been if we didn't grow up in this stupid family,"

"Can you really call what we had a family?" Five inhaled sharply. Klaus took a second to think about it. Sure, they may have been taken in by a billionaire, and to the outside world, he appeared to be a wonderful father raising supernatural children. But if only they knew about the man he really was. Neglectful, Cold, and always risked their lives by sending them on dangerous missions.

"Not really. It's more like an-" "Institution for Snarky Delinquents. And not a good one at that," Five chuckled. "But what is family? It's like some giant... ball of twine that can never be untangled," Five chimed in, claiming it was a ball of obligation he had been pushing uphill his entire life, claiming the more you tried to untangle it and watch it roll back down a hill you begin to wonder what's the point.

The two brothers looked at one another, feeling at ease as they finally opened up about the constant struggle, something all the siblings had kept inside them for a long time. "I'm glad you came along. You're a good brother," The old man was stunned and happy by the compliment but couldn't find the proper words to say something back. Klaus looked worried, silently hoping he didn't make it sound weird. "Uh, let's go find your mother," Five patted his back as he walked back to the car. 

"Love you too, tiny dancer!"

~~~~~~~

Right around 3:00 in the afternoon, Klaus and Five drove down a road leading past dozens, if not hundreds of trees. It seemed to continue forever, and part of Klaus worried that he took a wrong turn and that they were heading to some cursed part of the woods. But eventually, his anxiety was put to rest as he saw a few people dressed in old-timey clothes walking up the road. They heard the sounds of chickens and laughter as they stepped out of the car.

"Son of a bitch! Klaus is Amish," Five quirked an eyebrow in slight surprise. "This explains everything," Klaus smiled. His brother looked confused, asking him to elaborate. "Look at this place! This is everything my childhood was missing," As he walked in the direction of some of the wooden cabins and barns, desperate to find his mother, Five shouted for him to wait up.

"Doppelganger check, do you feel anything strange? Itching, sweats, gas?" he questioned. "No, I feel great. Apart from the old rash on the tackle, but what can you do?" Klaus responded nonchalantly. The corners of Five's lips formed into a straight line, wishing he didn't hear that last part. "Good luck," he said, making Klaus turn around once more. "Are you not coming?"

Five shrugged his shoulders, informing him that he had to do this on his own. This was Klaus and his mother's moment, and Five didn't want to ruin it. Klaus looked disappointed, but the thought of seeing his mother again gave him a bit of confidence. "Okay, I can do that. I'll see you in a bit."