A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for stopping by for this, it means a lot that you would even open this up :) I just want to say a few things before you continue…

Okay, so this isn't my first story, but I haven't written anything in a REALLY long time, so I apologize if my writing is, erm...distasteful? Anyway, I have been wanting to start this for about three years now, I just never did because I was always busy with school and everything.

I'm honestly not expecting this to be as big a hit as Masses to Masses, Welcome to the Family, and or Mass Vexations. Because (in my opinion) they're definitely the greatest of all the Mass Effect SI's around. I take heavy inspiration from them as writers and if you haven't already read their stuff, I think you should give it a looksie :)

And time for the Disclaimer: I do NOT own Mass Effect (including any characters/plotlines), the smarties at Bioware do. Oh and I also do NOT own anything famous related to the real world for that matter...

Now then, this is going to be a bumpy ride...


Chapter 1: Just...Why?

"Dude, I'm telling you!" my friend Tyler yells into his mic, "this is exactly what the kid looked like!"

I open the link he posted in the Skype chat, Michael (my other friend) does the same. Oh dear god...You know Tyler is a little shit when he compares some pudgy kid with Jabba the Hutt. Fortunately for him, however, I have a varied sense of humor. Unable to hold it back, Michael and I start to laugh, "You're an ass dude," I say in between breaths, "one of these days, someone's gonna roast you for looking like a chipmunk and you're not gonna like it."

Tyler lets out a screeching laugh, "I don't give a fuck dude! They can roast me all they want, it doesn't matter to me."

"Yeah, but you gotta big ass mouth Tyler," Michael adds, putting his two cents in, "in a Skype call it's fine, but you say this shit out loud in public, dawg. It's gonna get you into trouble one day."

"Pfft, I know, I know, you keep saying that." He drifts off for a second and then continues, "But name one time where it's gotten me into trouble so far. ONE!"

'Yo, how does this kid not remember?' I mentally ask myself, "Okay, how about the time we were leaving Walmart? That one guy and his girlfriend were trying to sell us entertainment systems from the back of their car, remember?"

"Hey, that man just didn't know how to take a joke," he explains, "and besides that whole thing sounded suspicious as hell, and don't you say it didn't!"

Well yeah, of course it did. I mean the guy was driving on the wrong side of the parking lot to talk to us, and was offering to sell us entertainment systems he got from his "job", even willing to drive us over to an ATM if needed. It doesn't exactly spell "trustworthy" to me you know? When Michael and I walked off, Tyler said something he shouldn't have, and the man jumped out of his car and blew smoke into his face. He said a few threats and then got back into his car. It was pretty funny afterwards, but it could have gone a lot worse…

"Yeah, but still dude," Michael replies, "you could have gotten your ass kicked there, that guy was crazy."

"Okay, you're right, sorry." There's a bit of a silence before he continues, "Hey so uh, Marcus, when are you going to get better at Counter Strike?"

Way to change the subject you ass. I chuckle, "What are you talking about? I'm pretty good."

Michael speaks up now, "No you're not, you're garbage bro! you need to work on controlling your spray."

I hear Tyler silently add, 'see? Even Mike agrees.'

I never thought I was that bad, I only seem to do horrible when I'm playing with them. But then again their ranks are much higher than mine…"Hey, I'm a Nova 3, that's not too bad."

"Well, yeah, because I carry you half the time." Michael says, ruining my self esteem.

"Ah, screw you guys! I prefer playing story games anyway…" It's true, I find more enjoyment in a story based game then I do with actual combat. I mean, hell, I'd play the game Catherine over Call of Duty any day!

"Mmhmm, you suck, okay." Tyler finally says. Such scum, my friends... "Well, I'm gonna get some sleep, I'll catch ya'll boys tomorrow."

"Yeah, same here," Michael says, "Goodnight guys."

And with that I'm left alone now...I get up from my computer chair and stretch my muscles that have been doing nothing for the past couple of hours, letting out a soft screeching noise as my back cracks. And yes, I'm one of those people who do that when they stretch; I think I caught it from my cousin truthfully...I walk over to my bathroom and start brushing my teeth. Once that's done, I put on my retainer. It's annoying to have to put on all the time, but I definitely prefer it over braces.

I exit the bathroom and walk back into my room. I start heading over to the bed, but the realisation dawns on me that I'm not actually all that tired…

With that, I plop myself down on my chair and begin browsing my subscription list on youtube. Hmm, the Jaws of Hakkon just came out on everything else? It's about time, maybe now my cousin can stop complaining about how I've already played it and he hasn't…

I continue to scroll down until my screen suddenly turns pitch black and my computer stops making noise. Ah shit! What the hell happened? It couldn't have turned off, it didn't give me any warning messages and there's no way it overheated...Maybe there's something wrong with the power outside itself? I shrug at thinking of the possibilities. Well I guess now I can force myself to get some sleep I guess.

Just before I start to get up, I suddenly jump and let out a yelp when I feel two hands grip my arms from behind me.

Um...I'm alone right now...

I'm about to turn my head to see who it is, but I close my eyes. Do I really want to see who it is? My family is asleep right now, so there's no way this is some practical joke by my sister.

I hear a small giggle, as if from a child. OKAY, this has gotten much creepier! Wait, that's weird...I don't feel the hands anymore. Come to think of it, I'm not even sitting down anymore. I don't feel anything. Should I open my eyes now?

I start to feel a big rush of wind pushing against my body. As if I were standing in front of a big fan. Actually, it feels more like…

HOLY SHIT! I'M FALLING! Oh my god! What in the fucking world of fuck? Why am I falling? I start to tear up but the sheer force of the wind as I fall blows them away. Oh my god, is this how I'm going to die? By one of my worst fears possible? Oh god, it's because I didn't go to church last Sunday isn't it!?

"hee hee." A voice giggles

"GOD!?" I shout while in the air.

I don't have time to hear what it says as I'm now about to hit the ground. I shut my eyes for the upcoming impact. Oh fuck, okay, this really sucks!

Ten seconds pass. Still no splat...Then again, I don't think you're supposed to hear a splat are you? So what happens then? I slowly open my eyes and realize I'm not falling anymore. In fact, I'm floating...It's short lived however for I am abruptly dropped on my ass. Ah shit, it feels like I landed on solid metal rather than the grass I was seeing on the way down. A feeling that I just got punched in the gut settles and I heave on the spot next to me. God, I hate heights…

I wipe the bile from my mouth and put my hands on the floor under me, and as it turns out what I'm standing on is metal. But that doesn't make any sense. Why was I falling Hundreds of feet in the air, and now I'm on the ground? Hold on, better question is: Why am I not standing in my room right now? I'm outside.

Wait a minute! Even better question! I look up above where I fell. 'Why is the sky red…?' I move around a couple of boxes from where I landed and then down a ramp. All of this looks strangely similar. Suddenly, a loud cry, echoes throughout every nerve in my body, almost as if it's in my head itself. My hands by themselves immediately clutch my head and cover my ears. Agh, what in the hell is that!? I look up and see something all too familiar strike fear into me as it comes crashing down through the clouds.

It's...No. It can't be...but...it is.

That's a Reaper! And judging by the red sky, I'm on Eden Prime! So that means...I'm dreaming that I'm in Mass Effect. Yep, now it all makes sense! This isn't real! I can just close my eyes and come to this conclusion. Then, when I open them, I will be—

I open my eyes, "Still on Eden Prime." I finish out loud.

"What the hell is that?" A voice behind me says, but I don't look. Honestly I'm too shocked at what's happening right now. I mean wouldn't you?

"I think it's some kind of ship," another voice says, this one sounded like a female. "I have never seen a ship that big before.

A small swarm of ships come flying out of the Reaper, and from the look of it, they're Geth ships...So that Reaper is Sovereign, and that means it's my cue to high tail it on outta here! But for some reason, my body just won't move! The Geth ships keep getting closer and closer and soon enough they fly over above me and Geth troopers start dropping down from them with some other equipment.

The blood curdling cry from the crowd around me (something I just noticed) breaks me from my frozen state as the first bullets start to fly. Oh shit, they've opened fire! God, I'm so screwed! I duck down and start crouch running toward a rock. Once I reach it, I use it for cover as I witness the slaughter of all the people in the middle of the chaos. This isn't a dream, it's a nightmare! Some of them are managing to get away, others are using what I can only guess to be farming equipment and trying to fight back with it, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. Poor bastards…

One woman seems to stand out in particular. The Geth that aren't shooting at people are setting up dragons teeth in the back. Taking their time as if the slaughtering of all these colonists don't matter, it's rather sickening. I was all for equality with synthetics back when I was playing the games, but as I'm watching this, I honestly don't know what I was thinking. The woman gets caught by a Geth trooper and is pulled onto an already assembled dragons tooth. Oh no, is what I think is going to happen about to happen? As if in a millisecond of the spear pushing up, I turn my head to shield myself from the horror. This is not what I remember playing in the game...!

"Hey, Kid!" I turn to the direction of the person shouting, and as it turns out he's shouting to me, "Over here! Quick!"

Not wasting a moment to even think about it, I run as fast as I can towards the guy and he leads me to a shed with two other people. At least it looks like a shed, I mean it's the future for crying out loud! I put my hands on my knees as I struggle to catch my breath. The door closes after the guy enters.

"Hurry, lock it before those things get to us!" One person says. The girl behind him nods acknowledging his words. Are these people serious?

"There are still...people...out there," I say still trying to get my heart rate back to normal, "you just wanna leave them out there to die?"

"Fuck 'em! It's safe in here, too many people will draw attention to ourselves."

I look to the one who led me here and he gives me a concerned look, "I'm sorry, but the man is right. We need to save ourselves." As he finishes saying this, the green panel next to the door turns red.

I'm about to say something but I just groan and put my back against the wall. As much as it sucks, I'm no fighter. Even if I wanted to go and help fight, what am I going to do? Punch them to death? They're machines, and I'm not a very muscular guy...I guess I don't really have a choice...


We all sit in silence for a good while just hearing the noises outside the door. The mechanical clicks from the Geth, sounds of gunfire raging from a distance, and worst of all, the screams. Oh god, the screams...Why won't I just wake up already...?

This is all so real. The people look and feel real, and so does the environment. This sense of fear and anxiety. I look down to my hands, making them into fists. This sense of helplessness, all feel real. If I'm actually here, then what purpose do I have of being here? Maybe I'm supposed to help take out Saren...? So I guess there's only one thing I need left to confirm this. I need to meet him/her. I need to meet Commander Shepard. That's the only thing I can think of that really makes sense right now. I mean, I'm pretty sure I wasn't put here to be a farmer, right?

"What the hell are those things? They don't look like any alien I've ever seen." The woman in the room comments.

The scared guy speaks up, "I don't know, but that ship they came from is something else. I've never seen anything like it. How about you, Cole?"

That must be the name of the man who led me here. Whom, by the way is searching through a couple of crates in the corner of the room. "Got me, Blake," he replies, while pulling out a pistol, "hopefully they'll die when you shoot 'em though."

Wait a minute. Cole? I know that name...Yeah, he's that guy who was getting paid by Powell to store smuggled packages in his shed. I guess this must be it. Hmm, I really don't want to be here when Shepard stops by... "I think they're, um, Geth." I say, trying to put my two cents into the discussion. The three of them give me this awkward look as if I was crazy, though that might be because it's the first time I've spoken in an hour.

"Geth? But I thought they stayed in the Persius Veil?" the woman comments.

"Sabrina, calm down," Blake begins, "It looks as if the kid just got out of High school, he doesn't know jack."

I glare at the man, and just before I speak, Cole starts first, "So, what's your name kid?"

He's being awfully friendly for someone who may have locked out innocent people from having a chance to live. But then again, he saved me, I guess…"Marcus," my eyes set on his pistol, "How did you know there was a gun in here?" Might as well ask, I can't exactly say that I already know why can I?

"Well, Marcus," he starts, "I have it kept here for a friend. And don't worry, I only have it out in case we need to use it."

A nearby gunshot goes off, but it didn't sound like a Geth pulse rifle. Now's my chance to get out! "Looks like you found your case, let's see if we can go out there and help someone!"

He scrunches his brow, "What, out there? No way! It's in case anything gets in here. The Alliance can deal with what's going on out there."

I get up closer to him, "Look, whoever is out there is in grave danger and needs our help. The Alliance may not get to them in time, and we may be the only ones who can do something about it. Now if you're not going to go out there, then I will." Hopefully I've put up a convincing argument enough that he'll go out there with me.

He thinks about it for a moment. Looks to the door, to me, to Blake, and then to his pistol. After a few seconds of pondering, he shakes his head, "There's no way I'm going out there," he gives me his pistol, "but if you're going out there—and you really don't have to by the way—but if you are," he grabs a harness of some sort out of the package behind him, "you're better off with this then we are."

Are you serious? You fucking ass hole! He's making an 18 year old go out into a war zone by himself with a gun he's never used before? These people truly are pathetic...I grab the harness and strap it on myself. Once I do, the orb in the center glows a bright blue. I turn towards the door and unlock it, "Cowards," I mumble in my breath to them before I press the door panel and run outside.

The first thing that hits me is the smell of ash and dead flesh. It is utterly repulsive! I don't think I've smelt anything like this in my life! I get behind a rock and take in my surroundings. This looks so much worse than it does in the game. There are dragons teeth in several different parts of the area, each one with a husk in it, along with Geth on the sides of them. It's only now that I recognize this area to be the spaceport.

Hmm, so that nearby gunshot I heard must have been Nihlus and… This thought unconsciously makes me move quietly all the way down to the ramp of the spaceport and just as I arrive, I see him walking away with his Geth. And that's Saren. Enemy of the galaxy, ladies and gentlemen!

Just as I finish this thought, the dragons teeth next to me starts to go down. Oh shit! I quickly get behind the cover of another rock. fuckfuckfuck okay, I can do this! It's just a zombie Marcus. It's just a zombie. You love killing zombies! You do it all the time in Dying Light and Resident Evil, this should be no different! Except for the part where, you know, this is real and I can actually die...Ah shit I'm so fucked! I pull out of cover to see where it is, but I'm distracted by the sound of the reaper ship leaving in the distance behind me. Once it disappears, I turn my attention back to the husk—OH SHIT!

It tackles me onto the floor, catching me by surprise and just starts pounding on me with great force. I dropped the pistol a little bit away and I'm struggling to get to it. I'm using my arm as a shield to block it from hitting my face. Come on, pick up the stupid pistol dammit! As I flail my arms around I grab on to something, a rock I think. It's better than nothing. With as much force as I can, I hit it in the face with it, knocking it off of me. Quickly, I get up and—I let out a mental sigh, one step and I fall flat on my face.

Really? Of all the times to trip, it's now!? I flip over on my back and see the husk coming straight for me, and I'm crawling backwards up until I reach the wall. Shit, I can't move…! The husk continues charging towards me when all of a sudden, it gets thrown head first into the wall, it's head smashing as it does. Very sudden, but certainly not unwelcome. I'm breathing heavily as I stare at what could have been my death, all in the meanwhile, gunshots are going off for about a minute until the fighting ceases.

Oh my god...I almost died. But someone killed it. Who?

"It's okay, you're safe now."

Now I realize there has been someone standing in front of me watching me shit myself. I look up to see the person's face. She's a woman engulfed in a blue aura, with red hair and beautiful emerald colored eyes. Is this who I think it is?

She kneels down to me with a smile and says the exact words I needed to hear, "I'm Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy. We're here to rescue you."


A/N: And there you have it! Hopefully you enjoyed reading it. It took a lot of thought as to how I wanted get put in the universe. I knew I wanted it to be Eden Prime, but it also had to be in the right moment as well, you know?

Either way, thanks for stopping by! R&R if it's not too much trouble. I'd love some feedback as to how I can make the story better (even if it is the first chapter :P)

Well then, that's it for now. Til next time! :D