Author's Note: This is a mostly dialouge short story that I thought of last night. It is from the mixed POVs of Speed, X and Spritle. I will get to work on finishing Rage Fever, but for now my muse is fried on it. This takes place somewhere between The Secrets of the Engine and The Return. Enjoy! :)

The tent filled with a dim light as Speed flipped open his cell phone. No reception, but it was the time that he was interested in. 12:26 pm. The young racer flinched at the snap as he closed the phone, returning the tent to its original darkness.

His brother stirred a bit behind him, and he hoped that he didn't wake him. Speed sighed as X resumed his gentle and quiet snoring. His mind flooded with thoughts, he carefully got up and slipped out of the tent and into the small clearing outside. After the gasless engine had been completed and the winter race was over, there were still a few days left of winter break. Just enough to go camping with Uncle Spritle like he had planned. It was just the three of them, and it was almost fun despite the lack in electronics.

Speed stretched a bit and sat on the ground in front of one of the logs, his knees hugged to his chest. His hoodie was welcome relief from the mild yet biting chill that cut through the air, and he stretched it tightly around himself, putting up his hood to protect his ears. He stared blankly at the fire pit and Spritle's tent which was almost directly across from him. A small bit of smoke danced up from the charred wood and ash.

His head popped up as he heard rustling from he and his brother's tent. X peered out of it drowsily. "Speed?" He sighed and rested his head back on his knees, not responding.

X must've figured out that something was bothering him because he climbed out of the tent and walked over, sitting on the log that had served as a bench earlier next to his brother. "Alright, you've been acting depressed for hours. What's wrong?" he demanded, looking down at his brother. Speed glanced up at him. "Nothing. I've just been thinking," he replied, having mixed feelings about saying his troubles out loud. "About what?"

"I dunno… Dad, I guess."

"Is that all?"

Speed looked up at his brother, a bit startled and confused. X just had this way of reading him like a book. He couldn't tell if it was a pure guess or just curiosity, or maybe even a mixture of both. "Just our family in general; You're so lucky." "What makes you say that?"

"You actually knew them. I grew up in an orphanage. I could only dream of having a family…"

X frowned. He could understand why that was making him miserable. Speed had been a secret his whole life, while X had nearly the whole world on his side. "You have a family now."

"But it's different now!" Speed exclaimed, lowering his voice as he realized how loud it must've been. He stretched his legs out halfway in front of him and looked his brother straight in the eyes as he continued. "You grew up with a family! I'm 16 for god's sake, and I'm just now learning that my dad's alive and that he was there my whole life."

X sighed. "I know. I can't possibly imagine living without a family entirely. Even when dad left, I always had Uncle Spritle, even though I was more attached to our parents." Speed looked away. "Things would've been much easier if I had had a little brother back then."

"Would've been better for me to have a big brother back then…"

X smiled slightly and looked up at the stars, his expression growing curious. "What was it like?"

"Hm?"

"In an orphanage. What was it like?"

Speed thought for a moment. "For me it was normal. It's kinda like having a babysitter every day of your life, I guess," he blinked. "What was it like?"

"Having parents?"

"Yeah."

"I guess you just have people around you that love you all the time, and would be ready to sacrifice themselves just to keep you safe."

"That's what I have now, isn't it…?"

X thought about how close he was to Speed for a moment. The thought of him getting kidnapped or tortured was too much for him to even think about. "Yes."

"It makes me feel selfish, sometimes," Speed confessed, looking at the ground.

"You just aren't used to it."

"Maybe… It's just that you and the others have saved my tail so many times, and I don't really get the chance to give it back."

"You saved my life when VIC kidnapped me."

"But that was just once. I notice how jealous you get; I feel like I owe most of my skill to you, Connor and Lucy, then I hog the spotlight."

"Of course I get jealous," X admitted. "That's a natural brother thing. I'll get over it."

There was a pause where both brothers were silent, seeming to digest what the other was saying. It was Speed who finally broke it, though he was quiet and unsure. "Who is… Who's our mom?"

X was startled by the question. He took his time in replying, thinking about how to answer. "Trixie."

"Do you know what happened to her?" Speed pressed on cautiously. He didn't want to upset him, but he felt as if he should know. He backed up a little, almost scared of the answer as he saw the pain reflected in X's eyes. He gave a firm nod and avoided his little brother's eyes, his heart thumping. The day flashed back in his mind vividly, and he pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezed shut. Speed was alarmed and raised himself to sit next to his brother on the log, attempting to comfort him by setting his hand on his brother's leg.

Finally, he seemed to rid the flashback from his mind and he faced his brother, accepting Speed's attempt to comfort him. "Do you really want to know? It's more than just what happened to mom…" Speed hesitated, but nodded. "Only if you want me to know."

X shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat, giving a curt nod. "You deserve to know. It's the only day I can remember from when I was that young," he said, gulping as he began his story.

"I was probably about a year and a half old. Mom was pregnant with you, and dad was down in the garage working on the gasless engine with Sparky when she went into labor. We went to the hospital, and the birth itself went fine, but dad was nervous. He even forced the doctors to let him stand outside the door. After it was over, we were allowed in to see you and momma. About an hour later, you were being taken care of by the doctors while Trixie recovered when there was a big commotion. Dad told me to stay with mom, and he ran out of the room."

X blinked back a few tears and paused to take a breath before continuing, his voice quivering. "There was a bunch of yelling and crying. Dad ran back into the room, holding you. He looked terrified, and it made me freak out a little. He grabbed me by the wrist and we ran out to the Mach 5. The last thing I remember of mom was her slowing down these weird guys in bulky black and blue clothes. I had to hold you, and we drove to this building with a bunch of other kids. He scribbled on some papers and handed you over to them. Then he picked me up and we ran home. He told me that he was going away for a while, and Sparky raised me for a few years until he took me to the academy and Uncle Spritle started to take care of me. He's the one who raised me most of my life."

Speed felt bad for making his brother explain it, and he saw a single tear slide down his face as he remembered the day. He almost looked smaller than he normally did. Desperate to make him feel better, Speed wrapped his arm over X's mostly bare shoulders. On a normal day, his brother probably would've protested and shoved him away, but he solemnly allowed him. "It seems like none of this messed up stuff would've happened if I hadn't come along. Dad wouldn't be in hiding, you would be top racer at the academy, you and Annalise would still be together, and all of the sabotage and crap that seems to happen on a regular basis wouldn't happen at all."

"Yeah you're right. Things would be normal. Boring ol' normal," X said, chuckling.

Speed frowned and lowered his head a bit, receiving a frown in return from X. He put a hand firmly on his brother's arm. "Speed, listen to me; you can't go around feeling sorry for yourself all the time. If something's bothering you, just talk about it. Get it off your chest. Things are the way they are, and you can either get used to it or go die in a hole. Personally, I'd rather you got used to it."

"Why is that?"

"Because I love you."

Speed raised an eyebrow and smiled. X smacked his hand onto his face. "Like a brother!"

"Well if you're that mushy feeling, I love you too, bro."

X laughed, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "You feel better?" he asked, smiling. Speed nodded. "Much better. Just one more thing..."

X became curious. "Promise to be completely honest?" Speed said after a moment. His brother was confused. "Ok."

"What do you think of me?" X had to think for a minute before answering. "Well, for starters, I think you're pretty brave considering what you go through in a day. I'm glad to have you as a little brother." Speed blinked. "...So you don't think I'm annoying or anything?" His brother shook his head. "Maybe a little paranoid, but no. What do you think of me?" Now it was Speed's turn to think. "Hm... Well, I think you're probably the coolest person I know, and I guess I look up to you. You're just there for me."

His brother smiled and exaggerated a yawn. "See you in the morning?" Speed nodded and stayed where he was on the log for a bit longer as X crossed the clearing and crawled into the tent. After a few minutes, he followed after him. He felt better, his mind cleared as he fell asleep almost instantly.

In his own tent, Headmaster Spritle smiled and layed back down. He had heard their whole conversation, and was happy that the two already shared such a close bond. His goal with the camping trip was to bring all three of them closer to each other. Satisfied, Spritle closed his eyes. 'Mission accomplished.'