Scott looked warily at the man in front of him. There was something desperately familiar about him, the scar on his forehead, the set of his jaw. It was just out of the reach of his memory though. Before he could react he'd run up and hugged him. Scott recoiled and the man released him, giving him a strange look.

"Scott?" he repeated.

He shook his head.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Something like devastation crossed his face. Scott immediately regretted telling him that he didn't know who he was, but how could he pretend that he did? There was nothing in his head about the man in front of him, and he could see that the man had known him before his memory loss. That much was obvious. The man's fists clenched at his side. He tilted his head slightly and his eyes narrowed so that he was glaring at Emma.

"What the hell did you do to him?" he demanded.

Scott frowned at the tone; Emma hadn't done anything wrong. He didn't see any reason for her to be blamed for his condition. Emma narrowed her eyes in turn.

"Don't blame me for the amnesia," she said coldly, "I'm just the salvager. Blame the idiots who left him for dead at Alkali Lake."

Color drained out of the man's face and his fists unclenched. His head hung low and he didn't look at Scott.

"Oh God Scott…I should have gone down there and looked myself," he said, "I shouldn't have trusted that Logan asshole about it. I should have asked more questions but Ororo said, and I…never mind. I should've…I'm really sorry Scott, it's not enough, but I am."

He looked up and Scott saw the despair in his eyes. He felt the urge to forgive him, to say something to make him feel better. Scott felt like he knew the man in front of him and felt his eyes going over his features again and again. Certainly at one point he had known him but he didn't know in what capacity. A lump formed in his throat that he swallowed before saying;

"I don't…I don't know who you are."

"For God's sake!" Emma snapped, "He's your brother! It's obvious from that little light show back there."

Her sharp tone felt like a stab to his ribs. She had been acting oddly ever since they departed her home. Even her manner of dressing had changed. Over the past months she had done away with most of her white clothing, clothing that had always reminded him more of armor than actual clothes, armor against the world.

Slowly that had disappeared around her. He'd even seen her wear jeans once. Then, suddenly, the armor had gone back on. She'd only shared a few clipped words with him during the trip and it hurt to feel her pulling away from him. Scott hadn't done anything to push her away and it felt unfair.

Then the meaning of her words came through. They made sense, clicked in a way. A faint memory surfaced from somewhere far away.

A hand ruffled his hair as his brother walked past, a bag slung over his shoulder. Scott stared after him, realizing that his brother was leaving again. The only difference was that he didn't know when he'd be back. Before there had always been a date, six months, a week before the hearing, or when summer happened. Now he didn't know when he'd see him again.

He didn't want that; didn't want his brother to leave. Scott didn't know how to stop him though, didn't even know if he should. Why should he shackle his brother to a life he didn't want? After what he'd seen their father do he felt like hiding somewhere upstairs and crying. However, he was going to be strong; just like his brother.

His parents went to the porch but Scott started to put on his shoes. He threw on his jacket and ran to the door just as Alex started up the engine of his motorcycle.

"You don't want a freak for a son?" Alex asked, "Okay, fine. You won't."

"Where do you think you're going?" demanded their father.

"Home," he said, "Also known as upstate New York."

Alex kicked the stand of the bike and got ready to pull out. Scott wormed his way out of the door, feeling too trapped and lost to say anything. He wanted to beg Alex not to leave him behind, to take him with him, but somehow he couldn't get the words out. Alex looked over his shoulder at him and Scott tried to say something. Slowly his brother lowered the kickstand.

"You wanna come with me boy scout?" he asked.

Scott paused. How had he known? It wasn't that surprising when he thought about it; Alex knew everything. He nodded.

"Scott!" His mother said.

As he started forward she tried to hold him back. Angrily he struggled until he was able to slip through her arms. Still moving fast he clambered onto Alex's bike. No one was going to stand in his way. Too many people had taken his brother, the only reliable person in his life, away from him. He wasn't going to get left behind again.

Scott sat in front of Alex who ruffled his hair again and gave him the helmet.

"Buckle that on and hold on tight," Alex said.

"So you're just going run away?" snapped his father, "For all your lofty words you haven't changed at all."

Alex gave a cursory glance back.

"Running away implies we don't know where we're going," said Alex, "But we know where we're going. And I never had the guts to leave before. So actually, I've changed a lot."

The words sounded like something a hero would say before riding off into the sunset. Scott gripped the front bars of the bike, excited to go on this adventure. No matter what happened, he had Alex looking after him. Alex kicked the stand again and pressed the acceleration.

The motorcycle revved into life and started forward. Scott had never ridden with Alex on his motorcycle before; he'd said it was too dangerous. It felt like flying.

"Looks like we're starting school early," Alex said to Scott.

The next few nights weren't anything like school though. It was cold and food was scarce. He knew that Alex was going without to give him more but it still wasn't enough. The cold snap that the northern states were going through weren't helping either. He shivered so much that Alex began to wrap his own coat around him over his own. He'd even had to wear some of Alex's clothes when his got muddy.

They kept moving a lot, stopping only for gas when it was absolutely necessary. Scott was unused to riding for so long on a motorcycle and he got the feeling Alex was too. Road rash had started to form on his skin, so much that it was hurting. His face was getting it particularly hard and he'd started to turn his face away from the road when they rode.

One night he'd burst into tears from the pain and Alex had held him close.

"I'm so sorry Scott," he said, "I should have known better…I shouldn't have done something so stupid and brought you with me…I should have left you back at the house…"

Scott had jerked his head up.

"No!" Scott said, "I don't want you to leave me behind…not anymore, please!"

Alex stared at him and Scott wondered if he'd known what it had done to him each time the police had come to take him away. He hadn't known how empty the house was, how distant their parents had become, especially after he'd needed the special glasses. Alex didn't know what it was like to be left behind continually by your hero.

"I won't leave you behind," Alex swore, "We'll make this work. I swear. We'll get there and I'll never leave you behind again."

The next night, filthy and exhausted, Alex parked his motorcycle. Scott was nearly asleep in front of him. He watched dreamily as his brother slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. Alex gave him a tired look before scooping him up in his arms. If he was more awake he would have protested, but as it was he fell asleep in his arms.

When he woke up he saw that they were inside a building. Lorna, the girl his brother was always with, stood there in her nightgown and bathrobe. Scott looked around, dazed.

"We're here?" he asked.

"That's right boy scout," Alex said.

Swallowing Alex asked Lorna;

"Kitchen still stocked?"

"Yeah, it is," she said, sounding strange, "Do you want me to get the Professor or-?"

"No," said Alex, "Not yet."

He carried Scott into the kitchen and set him down on a chair. Lorna started pulling a box of instant macaroni and cheese out of the pantry. As she put it into the pan Alex had grabbed cokes out of the fridge. He opened them and set one in front of Scott before sitting down. Scott began chugging his, desperate for the sweetness.

"Boy scout, wanna go a little slower?" Alex asked, "You're gonna get sick otherwise."

Scott nodded and Lorna started stirring the concoction. She poured both of it into bowls.

"Again, slow," Alex cautioned him as she put it on the table.

The smell nearly sent him into a delirium. Hot food was right in front of him after so long in the cold without it. It seemed like a miracle. He began shoveling it into his mouth despite what his brother said, noting that he was doing the same. It seemed like they couldn't help themselves. Alex finished first.

"Thanks," he said to Lorna, "We haven't exactly had the best eating over the past few days."

"I see," she said.

Alex patted Scott on the back when he finished.

"Your old room's vacant and I know the bed's made up," Alex said, "Why don't you go upstairs? You get to sleep in a real bed tonight."

Scott's face lit up as he slid down the chair.

"Night Alex," he said, "Night Lorna."

He slid upstairs, wondering how his brother could be so strong. He was a rock, always telling him what he needed to hear. As he snuggled into the soft, clean sheets, he decided that was the kind of man he wanted to be; responsible and strong. He'd make sure that was how it was going to be.

Scott blinked at him, his eyes wide.

"Alex?" he asked.

Alex blinked at him.

"You remember?" he asked, "Please…tell me you remember."

"Not everything," Scott admitted, "But…enough. Enough to remember who you are…and don't be sorry-"

"I should have looked," Alex said fiercely, "I should have known better…"

"No, it's okay, you didn't-"

His brother cut him off by pulling him into a fierce hug. Scott put an arm around Alex's shoulders in turn and looked over at Emma. Something unreadable was on her face as she drew herself up.

"I'll be going then," she said, her voice stiff.

He blinked at her. He didn't see why she needed to leave, what was going on. Furthermore, how could she just leave after everything they had been together? Scott couldn't believe it had meant nothing to her so he couldn't fathom why she was acting this way. From what he'd heard of her he'd thought cruelty was a defense mechanism, but he didn't know what it was she was defending against.

"No, you won't."

Scott and Alex turned. A blue mutant with a tail stood supporting a thin, sickly-looking man wiping hair out of his eyes. The blue mutant teleported away quickly but the man remained. He seemed familiar too, in more ways than one. The young man looked at Scott and widened his eyes. He turned his gaze to Alex who nodded quietly. The man nodded in turn.

"Alright, tonight has been very strange," he said, "I'm willing to accept a little more strangeness."

He turned towards Emma.

"My name is David Xavier," he said, "I believe that you are familiar with my name."

The name Xavier clanged painfully in Scott's head. He shook his head to clear it.

"Once upon a time," Emma said, tilting her head.

"And I know you know my mother; Moira MacTaggert," said David said, his voice sharp.

Emma's face hardened.

"I believe I tortured her once, yes."

Scott felt his look of confusion as he looked at Emma. If possible her expression hardened even more.

"Then we're acquainted," David said, "You owe my family White Queen."

She smiled her hard and glittery smile, a smile that let Scott know that she was far from him now.

"Oh really?" she asked.

The blue mutant teleported back with a woman with green hair and a man with red. Seconds later a blue furry mutant appeared as well as another woman with her hair plaited back. They were all familiar to him, the girl with the green hair who stared at him especially. He remembered her as Lorna from his regained memory and wondered if she was still with his brother.

All of them looked ready to fight though. Scott could see the calculation in Emma's eyes as she took them all in. Megan, who had become increasingly tense as they appeared, gripped the dagger tighter. Emma shook her head and motioned for Megan to put her weapon away. Scott started forward, concerned, but Alex put out a hand to restrain him.

"Yes, really," David said, "Now, I believe you and I need to talk."