Author's Note

So, this is my first ever fan fiction. This will cover the events of the Mass Effect series of video games. I will be sticking to the general canon of the games for the majority of my writing. However, this will not be a exact re-telling of the games, so don't expect the dialogue or content to be identical. I wanted to create a Shepard who is a bit darker and far more unpredictable than the one in the games. Unhinged may be the right word. He will be a paragade throughout the story, but his renegade side will be far more well..renegade than in the games.

This will be an eventual MShep/Liara romance. I will be also be adding OCs as well. Also, this Shepard does not look like default MShep.

I expect that the people who read this have played the Mass Effect series.

So expect bad language, adult themes and lots of violence throughout. It's rated M for a reason people. Here we go...

Consuming Darkness

"I told you something a long time ago kid."

A pair of eyes stared back at him. Young in life, but filled with the anger of a tortured and fractured soul. How could a boy, no older than his dog, cause this. How could this boy be filled with such anger, such animosity...such strength. The boy almost snarled as he lifted the knife up, preparing to strike. Vengeance was almost his.

He smiled up at the boy. The innocence he used to have, now forgotten. Claimed by a thirst for bloody vengeance and fueled by his recurring nightmares. He wasn't looking at the face of a boy anymore. But the face of a killer, a haunted monster. His eyes, too dark to read. Almost devoid of life. Just one thing in his mind. He let out a small laugh of acknowledgement as he tried to prepare himself for his inevitable fate. Nothing was going to save him here. Not even himself. He had finally been outsmart, overpowered and...beaten.

"What did I tell you?" The man asked as he coughed up more blood. He was almost completely covered in the stuff. The boy above him at little droplets dotted on his face. His shirt, once white, was now a dark crimson colour.

The boy snarled. He looked his victim, a man who was once his mentor, in the eyes. "Never trust those who don't respect you."

The man smiled. Giving his killer the respect he'd earned. Then he shut his eyes. He felt the blade enter him swiftly. Then again...and again. The boy repeatedly stabbed him in the abdomen as he took out all his aggression. Finally achieving his vengeance. He finally stopped, running out of energy. He ripped the blade out for the last time.

The man opened his eyes and looked up at the boy. He leaned up as far as he could. "A killer today..." The man coughed up more blood, his last vital drops. "A leader tomorrow." The man fell back to the ground. His life ended.

The boy stared down at the man. A man he once trusted with his life. A man who taught him everything he knew. A man who betrayed him. A man who caused him unimaginable torture and pain. The man who haunted his dreams, his every thought. He had finally destroyed him. Finally rid him from the world.

The boy stood up, dropping the knife next to the bloody corpse. He walked out of the small office sized room. He walked towards the railing. His lack of breath finally catching up with him. The adrenaline had stopped. He had come back down with a crash, a realization. The boy looked up at the clear night sky. The stars twinkled in the night, illuminating the dark sky. The stars always relaxed him. One day, he would travel to them. He would get in adventures and save the day. That's what he told his parents. They both normally laughed it off and rustled his hair, telling him to watch is siblings. He realized now that he was young and naive then. The world wasn't a nice place. People weren't nice. He'd learnt that the hard way...the hardest way.

His naivety had cost him dearly. He would move on. He would become someone who everyone respected. Everyone knew. Everyone feared. He went back into the room and approached the corpse. Kneeling beside it. He noticed a faint glow. A chain. He pulled it off the man's neck and stood back up, leaving the room again.

He flipped the pendant around in his fingers, trying to clean the specks of blood off. He inspected it closer. The pendant was gold. Pure gold has far as he could tell. It was fairly large for a pendant. The design was of a man sitting upon a horse. The man must have been a great warrior, maybe a king or emperor. He gripped it tightly in his hands. Whoever it was, it belonged to him now.

He noticed a sky-way in the distance. Sky-cars travelled at high speeds. The lights from the vehicles made the giant buildings in the background look radiant. A place where he had only been once. He remembered it being exciting, huge and...terrifying. The boy smiled as he remembered holding his mother's hand for dear life. To scared to let go, terrified he would lose her in the giant crowds. A tear trickled down his face as he remembered his mother. She had a smile that could warm any heart.

When he would have a nightmare. He remembered she would always be the first one to his side. Never his father. Sometimes she would look radiant. Other times she would look hurt... badly beaten. But she would always smile at him the same way. She would stay with him until he fell back asleep. That smile. He missed it more than anything. His mother was the only light in his life. She was took from him. He hated that he would never see her smile again. She would never be there to keep the demons at bay. To comfort him.

No, he was on his own now. He wanted this. He would lead, not follow orders from people who he didn't respect anymore. He was the rider upon that horse. The boy finally left the upper balcony and headed off into the consuming darkness. Taken his first step in a long journey.

Little did he know how important he would become.

"Hey, Ryder". The young alliance marine turned as he felt a familiar voice call out to him.

She smiled as she reached him, having run the length of the mess hall. "Hey, heard you got picked for squad training." She nudged him on the shoulder as he nodded, a faint smile forming on his face.

"Ye. Kind of a shock if I'm honest." He smiled at Jessica. She was his training buddy for much of the training program. "Didn't think these Alliance types really gave two fucks about me," he said, gesturing to a table across the hall. Alliance officers were taking their seats, tucking into their food. He could almost guarantee, that the food was better than the horrible shit he had to eat.

"Well shit Shepard. You know you're a better soldier than half of them already," she said, smiling at the officers. "They are all probably jealous." She smiled again. Shepard returned her smile and watched as she went to get her food.

"Jealous. Ye right. Most of them laugh at me every fucking chance they get. Fucking bunch of self-absorbed washed up cunts." He cursed them under his breath, his anger threatening at the most recent ordeal on the training ground.

A simple operation in physical physique and fitness. He was one of the fittest marines in the sector, if not the fittest. He was confident that he would pass with flying colours, top of the group. But no, they had to have a partner. To simulate keeping up with your squad mates. It didn't bother him, until he discovered who is partner was. The worst fucking candidate in the division. Pvt. Perry Coombs. An overweight, lead weight who couldn't even pull his own weight. Shepard knew Perry didn't want to be a marine, he had been forced to make something of himself by his parents. He even went as far as to tell Shepard that he would try his hardest. It wasn't really Perry that annoyed Shepard. It was the smug look on the Drill Sergeants face as realization dawned on him. That smug bastard had tried to find a way to fail him from the moment he had arrived. Shepard was beginning to despise the Sergeant.

Shepard looked at him from across the hall. "Sergeant Polaris. Prick." He whispered under his breath.

Many other alliance marines had begun entering the mess hall. They seemed to come out of everywhere. Soon the hall was full. The noise volume increased greatly as the more experienced marine candidates entered.

Shepard saw a group approaching him and smiled. He hadn't made many friends since he had joined. But the ones he had made, he considered kind, genuine people. All privates like him. There were three of them, not including Jessica. Darius Frederick or 'Freddy' as they called him. He was a large man, the biggest Shepard had ever seen. Even at seventeen years old he dwarfed most of the marines in the facility. His size had some negative impact though. He was far slower than nearly all the group, but what he lacked in speed, he made up for in strength.

Anastasia Richards. She usually went by the name Anna. She was a gorgeous blonde bombshell. A natural communications officer. Often found with her other half, or so he liked to think, Jake Brown. Jake was a small person, but he had a sense of humour that no one could match. He was quick with a omni-tool, but quicker with a quip. That was his saying. It never caught on. The last person in the group was Sarah Daniels. The youngest by a few days, she was also the shyest and most reserved. Only ever interacting with the group she was sanctioned with, she was generally considered a quiet and genuine person by the entire division. She was the best at diffusing situations and negotiating, her calm and sweet voice could lull anyone into doing her bidding. Luckily she was a calm and gentle person herself.

Together they made up Charlie squad. They were the highest ranking squad on their section, by a long stretch. Freddy was the leader, with Shepard as his Executive Officer, or XO. They made a solid team, proven on a training drill out in the woods. Shepard referred to them as the boonies. Jake and Anna dealt with communications and electronics. Sarah dealt with the locals, calming and reassuring them if need be. Freddy was team leader and had the last say in every decision. He was good at it, good at keeping people in line. Shepard was the man with the plan so to speak. He was in charge of tactics, reconnaissance and recovery. Or TRR for short. He basically acted as a scout. He could come up with quick strategies that the crew couldn't even see, even on the most detailed of maps. His accuracy with nearly every weapon automatically put him as the support sniper, a place which he detested.

As a team, they cleared a local town of hostile insurgents and saved any possible casualties. The team was awarded for speed and precision. Shepard's tactics received particular praise from his peers. They got the job done, quick and easy. The way they had planned.

Unfortunately for the others, Shepard was selected for further squad training. They weren't. He would be leaving the team for the foreseeable future. A gap which they couldn't even hope to fill with one person. Every one of the officers knew that Shepard was capable of far more than they allowed him to show, and they couldn't wait for him to begin showing his true potential.

The group sat and began talking. Soon jokes were coming in from every angle. Shepard believed that Jake just tried to tell as many as he could think of, sometimes they weren't even in context with what the group were talking about. Jess soon came over and joined them, eating her food with a dissatisfied look on her face which forced a laugh from the group.

"So Ryder, you gonna miss us?" Freddy asked Shepard, before shoving a piece of bread into his mouth.

"Fuck no," Shepard said with a smirk.

"You'll be fucking useless without us Shep." Jake said as the group laughed. "Fuck man, you're bad enough with us. You been sucking Polaris' dick again huh?" Jake winked at Shepard, a sly grin creeping on his face.

"Fuck you Jake," Shepard said as he began laughing. "Of course I'll miss you guys. We make a good team."

"The best," said Anna.

Shepard smiled and raised his glass of water. "Yes, the best." The whole group clinked their glasses and returned to eating. The conversation soon returned to playful jokes and insults. Shepard finished his food and got ready to leave the table.

Freddy stopped him with a tap on his wrist. "Hey Ryder, see you in the field man. I'll always have your back, no matter what." Shepard smiled and nodded at his friend. He was glad he had people who he could trust again, people who he could rely on. He left the table, knowing it was the last time they would ever eat together as a team.

He turned to the group and smiled. "See you guys." He smirked."And don't get fucking killed without me." Shepard left the mess hall and headed back to his bunk. He had become extremely tired from the activities of the day. He quickly drifted off into a contented slumber.

Shepard watched Peter fall and fail repeatedly before he finally reached the end of the course, in what was possibly one of the worst times ever recorded. Luckily for Peter Coombs, his partner was determined to set a new record. Just so he could wipe the shit-eating grin of Sgt. Polaris' face. Set a record he did, completely obliterating every person that came and tried before him. The shit-eating grin was on Shepard's face as he walked back to his quarters, he didn't lose and wasn't planning on starting soon.

"Well if it isn't Private fucking Shepard. What the actual FUCK do you think you're doing in my squadron?" Shepard barely reacted as Sergeant Williamson screamed in his face. He winced slightly as spit fell on his face from the sergeant's screaming.

"Here to train sir. Be the best sir." Shepard gave a firm salute and stood his ground.

"Well boys...we have a fucking hero on our hands." The Sgt. addressed the rest of the squadron, most of them already fully affiliated with the Sgt.

The Sgt. leaned in close to Shepard, his voice a dangerous whisper, "I don't like heroes. They get people killed." He stood back, eyes burning a hole into Shepard's chest, or at least trying to.

Shepard just stood there, clenching his fists slowly. He knew that this was a test. The man would insult him. He would taunt him. He would even hit him if he felt like it. It all depended on the sergeant's mood and whether he liked him. So Shepard stood there, staring straight ahead. If he was honest, he enjoyed pissing the drill officers off. In the Alliance respect was earned, he also knew that he was one of the most recognized marines in the entire troop.

"Are you fucking deaf kid?" The Sergeant bellowed. "I said LEAVE."

Shepard just carried on staring at the wall ahead of him. Finding the sergeant's attempts at humiliation entertaining. He was trying hard not to let a smirk appear on his face.

"You are not ready for this boy, you're a fucking greenhorn. A rookie." The sergeant's face was bright red as he raged. Sergeant Williamson was impressed with the young man's resilience and patience. He desperately wanted to see what would create a reaction. There was always something.

Whether it was a physical or emotional problem. He didn't get any information on his candidates beyond the fact that they were bright prospects. Recruits who had excelled in nearly every situation given to them. He always knew when he had struck a nerve with a recruit. Said something that had crossed the line. He loved watching the red mist descend. He loved it when a recruit charged at him. He loved dropping them to the floor, pinning them and most of all...letting them know who was in charge. He was. His reputation preceded him. He gave the Alliance the best marines. Through his discipline, training and experience. His recruits were good soldiers. His marines were great soldiers. He just had to find what this private's weak spot was, what would make him snap.

"Are you fucking retarded?" Sgt. Williamson put on a mocking tone. "Are you a fucking idiot, a retard, a fucking dribbling pathetic piece of dog shit." Shepard remained silent.

"By your lack of answer, I'm guessing yes. You know, I wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire." The Sgt. laughed as he spoke.

Shepard just kept staring ahead. Steadying himself. Taking the insults, the officer came out with some golden ones as well. He knew he was fishing, fishing for any sign of weakness, something that would affect him. Shepard clenched his fist painfully tight as the officer found it.

"I bet your mother was a no good whore. She probably got fucking gang-banged by Krogan for a living." He knew he had him when he noticed him clench his fists. He now only had to carry on. Normally it was a girlfriend or a pet, someone's mother was unusual. He began pushing the buttons.

"Yep, she was definitely a red sand addict. So bad in fact, that she would eat that shit off the floor to get a fix." He laughed aloud. "Your mother...or is it mommy? She probably-"

Sgt. Williamson stalled as Shepard finally looked at him. The look in his eyes actually unnerved the officer. It was a look he was unfamiliar with. A look of someone who had seen things. Someone who had experienced the horrors that life sometimes dealt you. A look that he did not expect to see on the face of a rookie. But beyond that, there was a primal look. A look of someone who was extremely dangerous. Extremely unpredictable. For the first time, he felt uneasy. Unsure.

The Sgt. decided to back down a little. "You're in rookie. Don't let that get to your head though."

Shepard relaxed slightly as the officer moved on to his next target. He knew he would lose it if the man echoed another word about his mother. They would have had to mop him up off the floor, scraping his body into a plastic bag. Shepard finally let out a much-needed breath, unclenching his fists. He then realised that his inner turmoil had caused him to sweat. He wiped his brow and resumed his position, not letting the officer get to him, not letting his anger get the better of him.

As it had so many times before.