Parallel Dimension Chapter 5 Sappy Therapy
I know this isn't the greatest SI FanFic out there, there are problems with the story but what story is perfect, anyway if you're still reading this story I am grateful for it. So without further delay here's chapter 5 enjoy
I don't own Bioware.
30 minutes later
The feel of snow was the first thing it felt as I began to wake. I stood up to see that the whole garage was practically destroyed, the roof was gone and so was the left and front wall revealing the snowy terrain and as snow was now piling on the floor. I looked around to hear Shepard stir; I ran to her side and helped her up letting the snow fall off her armor.
"What was that?" Shepard asked holding her head
"I'll explain everything on the ship but first we need to awake Garrus and find Brent." I say worrying about how his body took the incredible release of biotic energy. Then almost on cue Garrus stood up letting the snow that has built up in the room fall off his body.
"Before you ask any questions Garrus we need to find Brent." I say cutting off any chance of more questions being raised.
After a few minutes I found Brent buried under a few inches of snow and unconscious.
Shepard turned her COMM on and radioed Joker for a pick up and to have the medical bay ready.
On board the Normandy
We walked into the ship with Brent on a stretcher and brought him to Chakwas but along the way we picked up a group of worried team mates.
We entered the Med Bay and loaded him onto the beds as Chakwas began to check his body. I turned to see a group of faces looking at me… expecting answers. I looked across the group and found Jesse who was observing Brent. I figured that he knew what happened too.
"Would someone please tell me what the happened out there?" Tali said as she entered last sounding rather sad
"Yes Joseph you owe us an explanation." Ashley rudely said
"I'll explain but only to Shepard." I said looking at the ground
"Understood, crew dismissed." Shepard said signaling everyone to leave
"But ma'am we deserve to know." Kaiden said
"I said dismissed Lieutenant." Shepard said giving Kaiden a glare
Soon everyone was out of the room except me, Jesse, Shepard, and Chakwas who was still running tests on Brent. Shepard turned and locked the door behind her…
"Alright now tell me what the hell happened." Shepard said getting serious
I looked over to Jesse to see if he would explain but I knew he wouldn't. I sighed and started…
"Well, Shepard…. Brent…" I stammered trying to put this into words she would understand
"I'll tell her." Jesse jumped in "You see Shepard, Brent's rage is something not to take lightly. He usually has control over it but in rare situations… he loses all control and when he does he becomes something else. His rage makes him crazy, merciless, brutal, and a little scary. We've seen it happen only once, it took ten people to restrain him, and that was before he could control his biotics."
"It happens when something breaks the control over his rage. Something must have happened in the garage that set him off. It usually happens when someone he cares for is hurt by someone else." I jump in
"We're not saying that he is dangerous and should be put down, he is a nice guy who cares greatly for people hell even people he doesn't know. However in these rare cases he becomes the opposite of himself and it takes a great deal to stop him." Jesse continues
"Like we said this is only the second time this has happened since we knew him and he always seems to be able to control it. We just hope that this incident doesn't affect yours or anyone else's opinion of him." I finish up
"So you're saying that this happened because he lost control." Shepard said trying to absorb all this information
I sigh, figured this would be a lot to take in "Yes that is what we are saying but it is extremely rare."
"Do I need to worry about it happening on the ship or him hurting any of the crew?"
"No… but please don't let anyone say anything about him being dangerous." Jesse stated
Shepard looked at Jesse "Why what would happen?"
I sighed again hoping to avoid this one, it is always hard to say "You see Shepard" I say looking at Brent "When this happened for the first time someone made the comment that he is a danger to those around him."
"He secludes himself from anyone he cares about for days to even weeks. He feels that until he can regain control or fight this he must isolate himself from anyone so he doesn't do them harm." Jesse interrupted
But before we could continue Shepard raised her hand to stop us. "I understand…" she looked at Brent as Chakwas finished up "Chakwas anything odd?"
"Yes I did Shepard… he has no implants."
The news seemed to take everyone aback except me I kind of figured this was a possibility.
"How is that possible, I thought Humans needed implants to properly use biotics?" Shepard asked
"Well it would seem that he can control the eezo in his body. I have never heard of any species other than asari that can control this naturally." Chakwas said looking at Brent
"What should we do? He might be the first human who can do this." Shepard responded
"Well actually neither of us has received any implants." I say trying to draw attention away from Brent
"What! Why didn't you mention this before?" Shepard said sounding frustrated
"Well we don't like to talk about it. It makes us feel like freaks being human and having this natural ability."
"Why didn't your parents report this to the Alliance?" Chakwas asked
"We are the only humans that can do this that we know of. Our parents didn't want anyone to take us and use us as weapons or run tests on us to see what causes this."
Silence snared the med bay with only the sound of the beeps from the machine that read Brent's heart rate. Then the sound of knocking came from the other side of the door. Shepard walked over to the door and unlocked it. The door opened to reveal Kaiden in his casual wear.
"Commander I need to talk to you." Kaiden said glaring at Brent
"What is it Kaiden. I already told you that you are dismissed." Shepard said clearly annoyed
"It's important it is about Brent… please Shepard" Kaiden said removing his glare from Brent and looked at Shepard
Shepard sighed heavily before nodding and walking outside with him letting the door close leaving me, Jesse, and Chakwas in the room.
"Anyway I think I'm going to head down to get some sleep." Jesse said as he walked out
As Jesse approached the door I realized what he was doing he was leaving to catch what Kaiden was telling Shepard. Jesse left and the sound of an argument could be heard.
I looked at Chakwas "I think I will head to bed too, please keep me updated on him." She nodded as I turned and left. The moment I approached the door way I stopped as Shepard came back in steaming.
"What was all that about?" I asked guessing it had to do with Brent's breakout
"Kaiden insists that I remove Brent from the mission and the two of you along with him."
"Why would he want that?"
"Garrus told him what happened at Noveria. He thinks Brent is a… abomination." Shepard stated hesitating to say the last word
"What, how could he think that he's a biotic too?" I say getting angry "He should understand…"
"He says that Brent can't be human if he can unleash that kind of biotic power. Kaiden doesn't even know that Brent has no implants and he is already accusing Brent of things he has no control of. This is so unlike him…"
"I don't know what to say. I wouldn't think Kaiden would act like this either."
"Well we have to keep this whole thing a secret for now." Chakwas said surprising the both of us "If the crew knew it would make things incredible tense. I will run some tests to see what I can find out."
"Understood we'll let no one know… for now anyways, thank you." Shepard replied before she turned to me "I want you to get some sleep it has been a tough day."
I nodded and left for the elevator to see Jesse waiting for me as he leaned against the wall…
"What did they say?" Jesse asked looking frustrated
"I'll tell you everything on the ride down to the Living Quarters."
As we entered the elevator I explained everything that happened even what Kaiden said.
"Man things are getting too complicated for me." Jesse said with a sigh as we exited the elevator and headed for our beds
"I know I told Chakwas to keep us updated so if anything happens we will know."
Jesse nodded before getting into bed and falling asleep seconds later. I however stood awake, thinking about all that has happened and how things are already changing.
"Well, can't worry about it right now." I said as I slowly drifted into sleep, letting the world around me to fade away.
It seemed like only seconds since I fell asleep only to be awakened by Shepard. I lifted my eyes open to see Shepard standing over me with Chakwas positioned behind her.
"How long have I been asleep?" I ask as I rubbed my eyes
"You've been asleep for fourteen hours." Shepard said
"What do you want, is it about Brent?" I ask looking at both of them
"Yes there is something we need to tell you." Chakwas said
"What?"
"Well I was running some tests when I noticed something strange about the eezo in his body. So taking a shot in the dark I decided to examine his body and found something… strange."
"What is it?" I ask getting impatient
"Well I ran some test and found out the biotic power he has been using in his normal state is only two percent of what he can do."
"Wait, two percent!" I say shocked at this news
"Yes, I examined the eezo but that is not the strange part…" Chakwas said as she trailed off
"Tell me!" I say losing any patience I have left
"As I examined his eezo I also did a full body examination and found that if he was to use even twenty percent of his power he would experience organ failure, and his muscles would begin to tear apart."
"So what happened at Noveria wasn't even twenty." I say looking down "What would happen if he used one hundred percent?" I regrettably ask looking at Chakwas
"In the most likely scenario… he would die. The human body can't handle that kind of biotic release. His brain would shut down and with that so would his heart and lungs not to mention that his insides would be torn apart."
I looked at her, my brain trying to figure all this out. "Does Jesse know?" I ask thinking of how he would take it
"We told him and had a similar reaction that you did." Shepard stated
I nodded "What should we do?" I ask being clueless for the first time since we entered this world
"We don't know there is nothing we can do that wouldn't affect him negatively. We can only hope that he doesn't go above twenty percent." Chakwas said
I released a heavy sigh as I rubbed my temples. "Does anyone else know of all this." I say looking at Shepard
Shepard looked down "Yes they know I couldn't keep this secret from my team… I'm sorry"
With this news I put my face into my hands and closed my eyes trying to figure out how Brent will react to this. "Shepard you're killing me here." I say with a chuckle. "Well I guess I can only hope that the team accepts him still, and if they have a problem they'll have to take it up with me and Jesse." I say being very serious
"You're a good friend Joseph." Shepard said
"Yea well being a good friend won't help Brent wake up." I say looking down
Silence fell into the room, until Jesse came running in…
"Jesse what is it?" I say jumping up
"It's Brent he's waking." Jesse said while breathing heavily
I didn't let anyone say or do anything as I jumped up and ran to the elevator with Shepard tracking behind me. In a moment's notice we were running into the Med Bay to find Brent sitting up already.
"Brent you're awake!" I said as me and Shepard walked up to him. It was at the moment that Shepard did something that even I wasn't expecting she hugged Brent
However Brent didn't seem to register the hug or anything he just sat there looking blankly into the room. I began to worry immediately and walked up to Brent. "Brent… Brent do you hear me. It's me Joseph and I'm here with Shepard." I say calmly but still received no reply
"Brent do you hear us?" Shepard asked
Still no reply then he motioned his head and looked at us. His eyes looking different, they were darker now.
"It happened again didn't it?" He said guilt filling his voice
I was surprised by his question. I didn't know he could tell when he enters that state, since it only happened once. I looked at him "Yes it did. But don't worry no one was hurt." I say trying to comfort his conscious
"I need some space." Brent said blankly as he turned to get up
I knew at that moment what he was going to do but I wouldn't let it happen again. So I grabbed him to keep him from moving. "Brent you know you don't have to do this anymore. You have friends who will help you and follow you through anything."
He looked at me with the same expression. It wasn't until Shepard approached that things changed. She walked up to him and slapped him. He looked at her holding his hand over the spot where she hit him.
"Why did you do that?" He asked still with no emotion
"You need to snap out of it. Your friend is trying to help you and you're ignoring him. I understand that you feel guilty but you can't seclude yourself. We are here to help you through anything, all of us." Shepard said with a hint of hurt
Brent sat there for second but what felt like hours as he pondered everything we said. He didn't reply and continued to stare out in the distance. Then Jesse walked in with the team following behind him.
"Sorry Joseph but I couldn't get rid of them." Jesse said motioning his head towards the whole team that filled the small room.
As I watched the team enter I thought "Oh shit this is not going to end well" but then Tali of all people stepped up first.
"Shepard we all know about Brent, we have been discussing it and have decided that we are ok with this. We have no reason to judge Brent and his team based on who they are, right Kaiden." Tali said looking at Kaiden who was hiding in the back
Kaiden pushed through the crowd to face Brent "I realized that I have been acting like…" but he was interrupted
"A dick" Jesse said putting his own words in
"Yes I guess you could say that. I just wanted to say that I'm… I'm sorry" Kaiden stuttered
All eyes were on Brent who after all the words spoken still remained blank, but then he turned his head to face everyone with tears flowing from his eyes.
"I'm sorry everyone." He said crying
"For what, we've said we won't judge you for who you are." Kaiden said confused by Brent's reaction
"Your acceptance still doesn't erase the that I am this… monster" Brent said looking away wiping away his tears
Not able to stand anymore of this I walked up to Brent and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Listen Brent, you are not a monster you are an extremely gifted biotic. You are no different of a person than Shepard, me, or Jesse. You have to accept that you are a powerful biotic but still a person. No matter what you can do or what you become you are still our friend and a good hearted person." I say trying to lift his spirit
Brent sat there momentarily before looking at us…
"You're… you're right. I have been acting very badly and inappropriate to all of you." Brent said looking at us before his face suddenly changed to a huge smile "I'm happy to have friends like you." Brent said as he jumped out of bed and stretched before thanking everyone and leaving.
We all stood there before I started to laugh…
"Wait, what happened I don't understand?" Garrus said
"He does that kind of thing. He will be depressed one minute and then back to being happy again in a moments notice, even after something like this." I say as I catch my breath "It cracks me up how his mood changes so fast. I'll probably never understand it." I say again before leaving for the Mess Hall, figuring that he is probably hungry after not eating for all this time.
Sure enough I find him and he has already eaten through four bowls of was looks like noodles.
"Hungry" I say as I sat down next to him
"Yea I feel like I haven't eaten in days. You know you would think that as strong as I am I wouldn't get my ass kicked so much."
I was laughing until he said something that caught my attention…
"I heard all the things you guys talked about." He said as he took a breather from eating "So Chakwas said if I use all my biotic power I will die huh. I guess my biotics are one of those things that you can't give it your all." Brent said chuckling
"I need you to answer something for me… how can you be so relaxed and happy after all this. I mean I would feel drained or something. You broke down and then suddenly you were ok."
Brent looked up "Well the first moment I blacked out I had a dream. My dad was there and he told me that anything broken can be rebuilt bigger and better if done right. So the moment I woke up I felt broken and all my emotions flushed out causing me to forget his words. However through the course of the discussion I remembered and realized that I must be strong. I must be strong because people depend on me and I won't fail them." He finished before getting up and taking his bowls to the sink. "Well, all this sharing of emotions and heartwarming moments has left me tired. I'll be going to bed."
As he turned to leave Shepard approached but before she could say anything Brent spoke first "Hey Shepard thanks for everything. So just let me know when you're ready to go I'm fit for duty anytime." He finished as he smiled and walked into the elevator
Shepard watched him leave before turning to me
"I don't think I'll figure him out. He gets shot, blasted unconscious, erupts his biotics blowing up a garage and gets knocked unconscious again, and he acts like nothing happened." Shepard said as she took a seat next to me
"Yea that's Brent for you, no matter how serious things get or how much punishment he takes he just shrugs it off." I reply chuckling
"Well I just hope he really will be ready for duty in a week we are heading to Virmire for a mission and I think…" But I interrupted her
"Wait did you say Virmire?" I say trying to make sure I heard right
"Yea the Council said that they have a STG group there and the lost contact with them. They want us to find them. I think I should turn in for the day well see you later Joseph." Shepard said as she left leaving me to collect my thoughts on… Virmire.
This is where Kaiden or Ashley will die. It was then that I realized that maybe we can change things, maybe they both can live. I began thinking of how this can happen without anyone dying but I turned up with nothing.
I slammed my head on the table from trying to think of a good solution to this but my brain couldn't come up with a solution. I felt stupid for being not able to figure out this. As I thought about this whole deadly and negative moment I failed to notice Liara sitting next to me. Liara… a person who makes all my troubles go away with just a single smile. Even though she is alien to me I already know so much about her. I lifted my head to look at her
"Liara, how are you doing today?" I ask smiling
"I'm good, but I'm more worried about you and your friends."
"Why, we're doing great."
"How can you be so calm your friend was just in a temporary coma?"
"Liara there is one thing you need to know about Brent, no matter how badly he is hurt he always pulls through, one way or another." I say as I look into her eyes her beautiful eyes
"I suppose you humans are tougher than the other races give you credit for." She said giving my stare back
We stared at each other for a few moments before I noticed her leaning towards me and so I leaned forward to meet her. As our lips neared Joker came over the Intercom announcing that he need me over in the Engine Room to assist in some upgrades. With his little announcement he ended up killing the mood.
I stood up and waved Liara bye as I regretfully walk away into the elevator. As I descended I thought about the moment I almost shared with Liara. As I stepped out of the elevator I saw a sight that both shocked me and made me laugh. Over in the corner huddled together was Jesse reciting Ulysses to Ashley as they kissed. I couldn't help but laugh at this strange sight as I made my way into the Engine Room. I would never have thought that Ashley would fall for Jesse… well it make sense now that I think about it. Both are skilled soldiers and both enjoy many of the same things, and now I'm getting distracted. I walked in to the Engine Room and am greeted by the massive core of the ship and I also find Tali working away on her Omni-tool while multitasking with the engines control panel.
"What do I have to do?" I say ready to assist in any way I can
AN: That is the end of Chapter 5 I thank everyone who read this. I am also sorry if this chapter was a little too… soft or emotional. If you have any thoughts about this chapter or story send me a message or leave a review. I'm always looking for ways to improve. Thank you and see you next time.