AN: Sorry for the lack of updates, I seem to be cursed with the inability to finish stories but I'm trying to snap myself out of that funk and post on all the stories that I've abandoned. I know this is a short chapter but I hope it will rewhet the appetites of all the people that have read this story in the past. Please don't hate me! Please still be interested!

"…There's no one to trust except maybe the two of us
But that's in the past the place where I'm living…"

--Third Eye Blind

Brennan is silent on the plane ride back to Sanctuary despite Jesse's upbeat chatter.

"I'll be upstairs," Brennan says once they step off the plane in Sanctuary's hangar.

"Brennan." Shalimar catches up to him on the stairs, leaving the others stunned.

"Shal, please…" He turns to her with his eyes flashing too rapidly to identify the colors. "I need a minute."

"Just tell me you're okay and I'll give you a minute."

"I'll be okay in a minute," He replies, electricity trickling down his arm.

"Brennan…"

"Shal, just chill." He turns and rushes up the stairs.

Shalimar turns to Adam and the others that have just entered.

"What, Shal? Is Brennan okay?" Jesse asks.

"No. But he'll be okay," Shal replies, shakily.

Brennan drops his bags in his room as a tremor of blue energy engulfs his body. He makes it to the bathroom and turns on the water with his telekinesis.

He loses his tenuous control in a burst of flame that he manages to direct at the running water.

Cursing his weakness he grabs a straight edge razor from the sink before slumping to his knees. As the energy building up in his system starts to cause him to convulse violently, Shalimar and Jesse rush in.

"Stay back…" Brennan manages, his flashing eyes dulling his vision as he loses all control. He gives in to the pulsing forces building in his mind.

Adam and Emma have joined Shal and Jesse in the doorway.

"He said to stay back," Shal explains to Adam.

Emma blanches, stepping from the room. "It's…he's got so much power…" She gasps, sitting down on the carpet in the bedroom, stunned.

Adam, Shal and Jesse watch in horror as Brennan's body starts to fade as flame engulfs him.

Brennan gasps suddenly, finding his way out of the darkness and focusing on the core of his power. He has been struggling with his control for days now, and this way is the closest he's come to finding control. He clenches his fists and harnesses all the different forces that are battling for release inside him. He closes his eyes and forces the power back down, deep inside of his mind. When he opens his eyes again, he isn't in Sanctuary. He is in a white room.

"Oh shit. What have I done?" Brennan gasps.

"Why are you killing me?" Britt appears and Brennan knows that he must be trapped inside his own mind. Again. Damn.

"You're dead."

"I know. But you're not. Why are you killing me?" Britt repeats.

"Why are you confusing me?" Brennan retorts.

"It's your head, you tell me."

"This is useless," Brennan sighs.

"Maybe. Why are you killing me? Let me go. Let me be free."

"You're dead, Britt. I felt the bullet go into your head," Brennan says, quietly.

"I'm not Britt."

"Who are you?"

"I'm you, stupid."

Brennan is confused.

"Release me, Brennan, or I'll die," Britt says.

"I…I…"

"You can't just shut me out. You can't stifle me, I'll die. I'm wild…" Britt's hair turns to flame. "I need to live, I need to breathe…" His hands turn to flame as he starts to smoke.

"Stop it…"

"Can't you see you're killing me?"

"Who are you?" Brennan demands.

"I'm you, Brennan, and I'm dying…"

Brennan sits up with a jolt on the bathroom floor. Adam, Shalimar and Jesse are standing, worried, at the edge of the room.

"Brennan?" Shalimar calls.

"I'm back. I'm here."

"What the hell just happened?" Jesse questions.

Brennan drops the razor that he has been clenching in his fist. The pain didn't help him this time. The blood that pours from his sliced hand is only that. Blood. It's not sizzling or smoking. It's all he has left of his humanity. He doesn't answer Jesse. He stares at the dripping crimson that is his life.