I always told myself, 'Once in my life I'm going to go out and do something meaningful.' What I had meant by this was to climb Mt. Everest, or on a more smaller and safer option of writing a book.

What, I had definitely had not meant was to be sucked into a entirely different universe to fight giant squid robots, and save the galaxy.

Yeah, I really should've started that book.

Now, I'm getting ahead of myself here. First and foremost, my name is Austin Bell. I came from an ordinary home in the upper east coast of America. Where exactly is no longer important seeing as how I'm most likely quadrillions of light years away from home.

Or is there an infinite amount of time and travel between dimensions? I never really stopped to ask myself the question, probably because I never thought I would really need too.

So you're probably wondering 'What the hell is this guy talking about?' Well, your guess is as good and most likely better than mine for I was asleep when it happened. Flashback!

Spam. Spam. Spam. Whats this...? This looks-Nope, Spam.

I clicked away the spam in my inbox. For some unknown reason I seem to get an immeasurable amount of it. Oh wait, no, the indicator clearly alerts me to the 300 emails that I currently have. See if I didn't use this email for school and work, then I wouldn't even bother with doing this, but alas life isn't fair….

-301-

The indicator blinked a alarming yellow notifying me of the new email. I sighed expecting the worse, if I received one more stinking message about a new miracle drug I'm going to throw the computer out the window.

Upon opening I was surprised to see that this email didn't incorporate the usual tidings of 'Hello Lucky Consumer' or '1000th Person to'.

I looked to see who had sended it but the bar which where it was supposed to say such information was blank. Curious I continued to scroll through the message.

At first it was as if someone held down the space button for several minutes as I had to repeatedly scroll down a seemingly endless blank email, until at last I ended up at the bottom which had only one sentence in contrast to the amount of scrolling done.

'Do you want to play a game?'

Needless to say, I was puzzled. 'Saw?' I immediately thought but then quickly pushed that out of my thoughts because that was just a figment of someone's imagination turned into a major motion picture.

For some reason I decided to be snarky to the email and responded with 'You know what pal? Sure! I'd love to! Sign me up Compadre! Just can't wait!'.

Lesson 1 of Internet Use: Never invoke someone or feel their wrath!

Unfortunately I, who had several years of internet under his belt had forgotten such an important rule.

After that I decided to order chinese and go to bed seeing as classes started ripe and early next morning. As I slipped into my sleep coma I glanced at my computer and saw that it was still on and that it was blinking once more. Deciding that sleep was more important I laid my head back down and let myself sleep, oblivious to the challenge I had issued.

The computer opened the email itself, it's content relaying two simple but all the more powerful words.

'Game On'

This was the point black tendrils flooded out of the computer screen and speeded out towards me, which at the time I was snuggled into my pillow till the tendrils latched onto me and pulled me towards the screen.

I screamed thinking not about what was happening or how it was happening only that the computer screen was only 18 inches wide (half that vertically) and that I wouldn't be able to fit into it.

Honestly, I have to blame sleep for that one, it leaves my senses muddled and groggy, but it seemed that physics had backed off for a second and allowed the impossible and implausible occurrence to occur.

I went in feet first and was horrified as I not only felt but saw myself get sucked into the computer screen. Which had to enlarge itself to account for my arms, which currently were on their own path as I had yet to fully awaken and grasp the situation.

Before I knew it I had been fully engulfed into the screen traveling through a pitch black tunnel with not end in sight, though soon enough there was an end and not only was it in sight but it was coming into going through distance and fast.

Not only the second time I screamed today as my body seemed to race faster and faster into the white light. I tried to scream but no sound had come out and the light was coming closer. I continued to silently scream into I hit the light.

"-AAHHHHH!" I had screamed until a hand clamped around my mouth silencing my pitiful yelps.

"Quiet! You fool you're going to make them come back!" A light but firm voice whispered to me, obviously the one who clamped the hand around my mouth.

"Cindy! Shut him up! You know what happens when we're too loud!" A gruff voice whispered loud enough for me to hear, which shockingly had an almost pleading sound to it.

"I know! Just give me a second! And you, guy who won't stop screaming! Open your damn eyes before I peel them open!" The voice holding me down commanded.

My eyes flashed open and what I saw horrified me.

There was dozens of people in ragged clothing, who looked scared beyond belief hands on top of their heads silently hoping the blubbering fool that is me would shut up. That wasn't what had terrified me. What it was the immense metal bars which were barely big enough for a weasel to fit through, they surrounded everyone and even separated them to prevent too much crowding, which efforts to were in vain as many people had no choice but to huddle up with one another.

There was 5 people in my cell, which seemed to be one of the more roomier ones, which didn't mean it was any better than the other cells, this cell contained only a bucket, which I really did not want to know what contained but had a faint idea of what had due to the petrified odor coming from within. I eyed the people around him most of them had their heads down or faced away from me except for the one in front of me. Which obviously was the one who had silenced me from before.

I examined her. Her hair was matted down and short which look like it was done by a rusty knife,upon further thought it might have actually been so, in the room there was only one light in the center of the room which seemed to be a mile away so the light I was getting made it hard to see the color of her hair.

Despite this one of her features stood out in the dark, her bright green eyes.

"Okay good, you're awake and you're not screaming. Thats always a good sign." She raised her hands in an effort to reassure me. "I'm not going to hurt you even if i did there's no point anyway, we're stuck here together so in the mean time, calm down…" she reasoned.

If I had not been just manhandled in a hundred ways by my own computer and flown through a dark tunnel I probably would've listen to reason.

Too bad. I screamed again, and the second I did she grabbed me again and did her best to cover the noise. "Great! NOW I have to hurt you" she said.

And hurt me she did, when I finally yielded and stopped yelling I was sore on all parts, this girl sure packed a punch! She laid on top of me, in a effective effort in silencing me.

"I'm going to ask you again, this time not so nicely. Will. You. Shut. Up?" her hand still over my mouth. Silently I nodded, for an extra effort she made me pinky promise which I had found childish and even giggled a bit but received a painful punch in the ribs for it.

"Alright! I'm sorry!" I whispered not looking her in the eyes.

She sighed and shaked her head, "It's okay, as long as you're quiet everything will be fine, I don't think they heard us." She whispered leaning against the bars to see if anyone was entering.

Deciding to get more answers on where I am I went to ask questions. "W-Where am I? And why do I have to be so quiet?" I asked.

She looked at me, and came to a conclusion that I was undeniably hopeless and required any help I can receive. "You're on a ship, you have been for a past few days. We all thought you were dead, you were lying on the floor for a while it was kind of creepy, and why we have to be quiet isn't just to be courteous to those around you, it's because if you're too loud they will come out here and stir up some trouble." She explained in a hush tone, glancing to the side every so often.

'I'm on a ship? How'd I get from my room to a ship? And for days..? Mom and Dad must be pulling their hair out! Or lack thereof...dads kinda bald. One question though in particular I deemed more important.

"Who are they?" I asked her hoping for an answer to my liking. Before she could respond a door hissed open and a voice yelled which contrasted to the whispers that were deemed necessary

"Wakey, Wakey! Alive or Dead time!" A group of individuals armed with what appeared to be weapons which seemed way too advanced for the time and age. From the distance and angle I couldn't see them completely even when I leaned on the bars.

The girl had cursed under her breath and quickly whispered to me as she pointed to the newcomers. "Them! Now be quiet and follow my lead." I nodded and did as she did and slowly stood up.

They started counting people off in numbers.

"One...Two...Three….Forty-One...Forty-Two...Forty-Oh well! Lookie here! Seems like this one, what's the human expression...ah yes! Kicked the bucket. Take him out of here boys." Commanded the counter, instantly the lackeys picked up the man and dragged him outside the room.

Soon enough they reached us. "Fifty-Two Fift-,Well! Seems like you have finally woke up! Bout time, I was about to have them throw you out the airlock today!" He said in a sadistic tone.

I was stunned, my knees buckled. I couldn't believe my eyes...eyes! This man had two pairs of eyes! I now knew who and what these guys were, "B-B-Batarians!" I gasped not only in surprise but also the fact that I had done something I shouldn't have.

The Batarians smile, which was feint at the least, faded and was replaced with surprised anger. "What'd you say, slave?" He spat out the word slave as an insult which I guess it was. Due to my incompetence I couldn't form any words as I stared in unbelieving awe.

"I can't hear you, slave!" He was obviously getting annoyed.

The girl from before stepped in front of me and intervened. "What he meant to say, was 'Batarians! How amazing! A powerful and important species that is vastly superior to my own! But he has only just regained consciousness so the words haven't come to him yet" She looked at me and feigned the most honest smile she could to convince the batarian what she was saying was true.

Still at a loss of words I quickly nodded. The Batarian stared me down all eyes unblinking. "Damn right, filthy slaves…". He clearly disinterested in me and continued the count.

"Fifty-Three...Fifty-Four….."

Once finished the Batarian left with little words and only small mentions of food.

I finally began to reflect on what I had just saw. 'A BATARIAN?' I inwardly screamed to myself, never considering the fact that I was actually in the mass eff-no! Don't even say that it's not possible all of this has to be a joke...right?

I've read about things like this! How a man gets trapped in a universe which he knew most and had awesome adventures with his favorite characters. Only thing was I'm 99% sure that most of those sources were from a massively popular fanfiction site and had no credible evidence on the actual truth of them. 'But from what I'm seeing right now...Maybe everything I've read is actually true?'

Maybe people are actually trapped inside parallel universe and have somehow had their stories published onto a website for all to see? The insanity of the thought is laughable, how could any of this be real? 'I'm probably in a coma, or worse dead…' I had crossed out the ideas of a dream, i'd become familiar with my dreams that I knew whether or not they were real.

Yet the question still lingers, why here? Why in the Mass Effect universe? What could any mystical being or twist of fate see in sending a regular ol' Austin to save the day. My mother always said that everything has a purpose, upon further reflection I think that it wasn't my mother who said that but my father, or was it something I heard on tv? Nevermind. The only important thing is that the words still ring true. I should stop panicking and actually start figuring out precisely what's around me before jumping to anymore conclusions.

Snapping out of my midlife crisis I released a sigh, "Thank you..." I said to the girl with the green eyes shifting my gaze and trying to act more calm, as if I fit into the universe.

"Have you ever seen a batarian before? Once you get past their ugly faces you find….even uglier insides. " I laughed, the shock and tension of my situation finally numbing to the point where I could concentrate. "It seems that we're going to be in the presence of one another for a while, so just to get introductions out of the way, My name's Austin Bell."

She smiled at me glad to see that her joke had taken on the intended effect, the batarians had turned on some more lights and left them on allowing me to grasp her features a lot more clearly. Her hair was a filthy but despite the dirt and grime her hair was bright red, and her eyes were even more clear and green then I had first thought, though this, was where my panic had started to settle back in.

"Nice to meet you Austin, you can call me Cindy….Cindy Shepard."

DUN DUN DUN!

WHAT IS THIS? PLOT TWIST? BUT THERE IS NO REAL PLOT SO IT'S JUST A SIMPLE TWIST!?

Haha~ Did you like it? I hoped you all did! It took me a day at least to write this and that was with finals during the week! I really hoped that it was well and you all liked it!

I have high hopes for this story! (Like the 20th time i said hope) But it's a perfectly contextual fitting word so I'll use it as many times as i want!

Review! Favorite! Follow! Review!