Author's Note: Hello readers! Throughout my time reading through stories on FanFiction, I came across a lot of these kinds of stories that interested me. Ones where a completely original character was suddenly and mysteriously transported from our world (the real one) into the world of Mass Effect. I am not going to lie and say I didn't get a lot of inspiration from other stories, such as Mass Effect: Raven by R3dRaven. But, as always, and call me an arrogant jackass if you want, I feel I can do a better job at making an unrealistic scenario more realisic. Muhahahaha xD
But I digress a bit. In this story, I am, essentially, throwing myself into the ME universe. The MC has the exact same personality as me and the exact same hobbies and interests. However, he isn't exactly me. So now, with that in mind, understand that this story is supposed to be a much brighter, more adventurous/funny one compared to my other story, The Hunt. That doesn't mean, however, the story cannot get dark and gritty at times. Again, I aim for realism and this story will be rated M. But, at the end of the day, this story is also supposed to be about having some fun. So, without further ado, enjoy!
Author's Note #2: For all who may be a current follower of The Hunt, now you know why the release of chapter 4 has been delayed. I was also trying to make a longer chapter to make up for the shorter than average CH3. Don't worry; I will be putting it up within the next day. The Hunt is still my primary story and the center of my focus. I won't let you fellas down!
A World Known
Prologue
It was as if I was suffering from the worst hangover of my entire life. A fairly short adult one at that, but that was besides the point. My head felt as if it was about to explode and my stomach was turning inside out. My vision was blurred; the crust in my eyes most definitely not helping. I felt groggy and cranky as my legs and arms fought against my commands. What the hell happened last night, I asked myself with an agitated groan. Scattered, unorganized flashes of the previous night began flowing through my head, but then stopped when the memory of a certain individual coercing me to do vodka shots popped up. Michael. My guttural noises became louder and angrier as I continued to think of my best friend's actions from the night before. I'm going to kill him for... the thought was cut off when I suddenly realized where I had been laying. A very hard and very cold floor. In a very dark and very smelly alley.
"Wha-... what the shit?" I rubbed away the crust from my eyes with the only hand willing to partially listen to me and attempted to focus my vision; however little I could in the apparent darkness I found myself in. "Mike," I asked out loud, still a bit slow and half asleep. "Bro, the fuck?" I became louder as I looked around at my surroundings to find no one other than myself. "Seriously, man. This isn't funny!" My voice eerily echoed through the long, seemingly endless alleyway for several moments. I continued to quietly listen in hope of a response, but found it to be a futile effort. At this point, it didn't take long for panic to begin setting in. My eyes were now wide open in an inherent fear of having being left behind ‒ in an unknown place and time, and with no recollection of prior events ‒ as they scanned the area around me with a newfound desperation. Not long after, I noticed a small ray of light out in the distance behind me. From what my hungover self could tell, the alley seemed to continue on for about a hundred yards in that direction. With the only hope of finding out where I was being that far reaching source of illumination, I raised myself up to my feet ‒ or at least tried to after failing several uncounted times ‒ and slowly began heading towards the light. I was practically limping at first, barely able to not trip over myself. However, after a short time of stretching my legs and getting my body back into practice, my pace turned into a slightly uneasy, but normal walk.
Okay... think hard and remember. As I got ever closer and closer to the end of the alleyway, with the originally small light gradually becoming a blinding glare, I attempted to focus as much of my attention on memory gathering as possible. You and the squad drove to Manhattan. Went to a night club. Ate at Planet Hollywood. Then you went to a bar and you were celebrating... I squinted my eyes and tried to put more brain power into the thoughts. You were celebrating... oh shit, that's right! A toothy grin spread across my face. I'm freakin' twenty-one! Those assholes got me wasted on my birthday, I thought in regards to my friends, now shaking my head and chuckling to myself. I love those guys, but I'm going to kill them! I was definitely angry at how they left me in such a sorry state in the middle of goddamn Manhattan, but at the end of they day I knew they were my best friends. To be honest, it was not as if this was the worst of our close-knit group's misadventures. With that in mind, it was pretty hard to stay angry when you'd done deeds that were just as messed up ‒ but nonetheless hilarious ‒ to the same people responsible for the current situation.
By the time I was within a few dozen yards of the end of the alley, the beaming light had virtually rendered me blind. However, the familiar sounds of a major city were as loud in my ears as ever. Dozens if not hundreds of people walking and crowding together, going on with their daily lives. The aromas of foods from various different cultures mixing together to form a unique scent. But... something wasn't right. A lot of the voices I was beginning to hear were not in English. And the smell in the air was... different. Having been born and lived in New York City for my entire life, the distinct smells of Manhattan, and all of its sub communities such as China Town and Little Italy, had become ingrained in my memory and senses. These foreign languages sounding off before me were none I had ever heard before. I may not have been able to speak anything other than English and some Spanish, but I knew what the other popular languages of Manhattan ‒ Mandarin Chinese and Italian for example ‒ sounded like. Everything now going through my ear was completely alien. I'm still in Manhattan... right? Because I swear, if I somehow find myself in Newark or Jersey City...
Then I once again realized something I had not noticed before. As the floor below me was the only thing I could have a clear view of without burning my pupils, it became impossible to not see that I was standing on metal. Nowhere in sight was there concrete or asphalt. As far as I had remembered, there were no streets or sidewalks in any North American city I had ever visited that were crafted from metal. Where... where the hell am I?! After a little more time of allowing my eyes to adjust to the light, I finally looked forward with confidence in my ability to see properly. And what I saw absolutely blew my damn mind. Standing a few yards in front of me, with a face displaying an obvious expression of utter shock, confusion, and suspicion, was a young-looking woman staring at me. Only she had dark blue skin, these... tentacle things sticking out of the back of her head, and there were these symmetrical tattoos on both sides of her face.
Yeah, I knew what she was supposed to be. I've definitely played the games a decent amount of times to know. I just didn't want to say it. I thought it must have been some kind of cosplay or something. Maybe there was a video game convention in the city I didn't know about. That train of thought ended, however, when I saw all of the other people passing by the alleyway entrance. There were dozens more blue woman standing in the street ahead, some even stopping to peer at me with the same expression as the first. And when I looked up to the skyline for the first time, I saw the countless aircars speedily soaring overhead. Once I finished staring for a number of moments in awe and disbelief, I then looked back down and, after focusing even more on the slowly growing crowd in front of me, noticed other strange figures scattered throughout. Some had green skin with ridiculously wide foreheads and large, amphibian-like eyes. Others were almost... bird-like, with tough looking skin, no lips, and 'spikes' sticking out of the back of their heads. To say I instantly sobered up was far from a lie.
Asari... Salarians... Turians... I thought I was dreaming. I must have been. What else could have explained it all? Believing this to be the case, I slapped myself across the face. Hard. But instead of waking in my bed, back at my home in Staten Island, I returned to the faces of aliens ‒ who's various species should not have even existed ‒ staring at me as if I was a looney. That was when it kicked in. That was when reality hit me in the face with the fist of Mike Tyson himself and I knew where I was. I was in the world of Mass Effect. And it was scaring the crap out of me.