Author's Note: Here we go again… hopefully this one will work out better than the other one. I plan to finish the other story someday… but for now….
I do not own Mass Effect, it IS OWNED BY BIOWARE… in this universe ^^ but I do own this story ^^
Chapter One: Alone
January 21, 2018
Philippines, Negros Oriental, Dumaguete City
I slowly opened my eyes, staring up at the roof blankly before realizing that today was the official start of my birthday. Rubbing my throbbing head gently, I knew that I shouldn't have stayed up playing Mass Effect till early morning, not if I wanted to meet up with my friends for the birthday dinner we had planned at Pizza Hut and then going to the nearby international carnival that was here for the week, but I wanted to finish the game, so I can continue on to Mass Effect 2 when I get back home. After finally upgrading my personalized game system last Christmas, I had gone back to playing my favorite games from the past. I had just recently finished the entire Final Fantasy series a week before my birthday and decided to replay the Mass Effect trilogy before moving on to Assassin's Creed. I hoped to finish the rest of Mass Effect when I get home from tonight's activities.
Knowing that time was ticking, I reluctantly stood up and left my bedroom and went to prepare a quick lunch for the day, noodles. After pouring water on the noodles, I went back to my room and retrieved the iPad from my backpack. I glanced at the wall clock before walking back to the dining room.
"Hmmm it's still 3:30 in the afternoon. I still have time before I meet up with my friends. I should probably do something to pass the time."
Sitting down on the table, I idly ate the noodles as I browsed through several websites on my iPad before settling on a website dedicated to my current gaming interest, .com.
"I should probably start making preparations for Mass Effect 2. Let's see now…"
I was thoroughly engrossed in browsing the website as well as making several files of relevant issues for my gaming plans tonight, it was only later that I realized that the constant ringing in the background was actually my cell phone announcing an incoming call.
I left the iPad on the table as I ran towards my room, "Shit! What time is it?!"
I pulled out my phone from the pocket of my pants and realized that it was my friend, Kelvin, calling me; I glanced at the wall clock as I accepted the call and realized that it was already 4:30.
"Ryan! Why haven't you been answering my calls? It doesn't matter, where are you? We're on our way to Pizza Hut." Kelvin said immediately.
"Oh… I've been busy… working. I'll be a bit late but I'll be there soon." I answered, as I tried to take off my shirt.
"Working huh? Are you sure about that?" Kelvin said before adding, "Well it doesn't matter much. Just hurry up."
"Alright, I'll see you guys soon. Bye" I said as I ended the call.
Dropping the phone on the bed, I hurriedly undressed myself and grabbed the towel hanging on the doorknob as I sprinted to the bathroom. Thirty minutes later, I drove up to Pizza Hut and parked my car.
As I made my way to the door, "I could be playing Mass Effect now… never should have let Kelvin convince me to celebrate my birthday with his friends." I thought to myself.
The dinner at Pizza Hut to celebrate my birthday was low-key; it only boasted a total of five people (aside from me) despite my numerous claims that I had a lot of friends. In attendance at my birthday party were Kelvin and his girlfriend, Grace, as well as their friend, Tina and my friend Thirdy. Nothing major happened at dinner although we did demolish four (pizza) before we left. It was then that Thirdy decided to go home since he had to go back to Cebu the next day. Kelvin and Grace tried to convince Tina to ride with me on our way to the carnival saying that it would be fun, or from my perspective, coerce her into riding with a boring guy. In the end, Tina agreed to ride with me. On our way to the carnival, we had an interesting conversation.
"Sorry about Kelvin and his girlfriend, they can be quite pushy sometimes." I apologized to her.
"Don't worry about it, I'm used to it. Besides it's the least I can do since I wasn't able to get you anything for your birthday." Tina answered.
"Well you shouldn't let them push you next time around into doing something you don't want to do."
"You know, I really wanted to ride with you…" Tina told me before she smiled.
"Really, that's nice to know…" I answered with a grin before adding, "If you want, we can go somewhere afterwards where we can talk more."
"I'd like that…"
After arriving at the carnival, we made our way to the entrance were Kelvin and Grace were waiting for us although we refrained from holding hands. The entire time we were walking around the carnival, I had an internal debate going over and over in my head.
"Ryan… Aren't you an idiot? Haven't you learned your lesson yet? Girls can't be trusted!"
"Well Ryan… Tina's a nice girl, I'm sure she's not like the others…"
"She might or she might not be… but didn't you already make plans for tonight already?"
"What plans? Spending the entire night alone at home playing a computer game? I'd hardly call that plans."
"I agree but you should honor your commitment to your inner gamer. Besides you already made preparations for Mass Effect 2!"
"Shut up Ryan. I'm spending the rest of the night with Tina. I can play Mass Effect tomorrow."
"But Ryan…"
Eventually we decided to end the night by watching the carnival's main attraction. On our way to the tent, we passed by a tent with a sign that said, "Change the Universe with your own Power!"
"I wonder what that means." I asked the others.
"Huh? Oh it's probably just a carnival theme or something, come on, I don't want to be late." Tina said after glancing at the sign briefly.
"Alright… let's hurry up" I told her, grabbing her hand before rushing to the ticket line.
As we arrived at the tent where the main attraction was housed, we paid for the entrance and watched several acrobats and several exotic animals perform for the audience. I was especially excited when I saw the Panda, since it was one of my favorite animals aside from a furry Bear. After the show, we decided that it was already getting a bit late so we would be leaving early. As we made our way to the exit, we passed by once again at the tent with the weird sign. Curious about what the gimmick was about, I told the others that I would catch up with them before approaching the tent.
I slowly entered the tent, wary of the lack of light coming from inside the tent. The inside of the tent held nothing of interest except for a table with a small ivory bowl and a young woman sitting on a chair. Taking a chance, I sat down on the opposite chair and faced the young woman. She was dressed in a simple red flowing dress.
She looked at me quietly for several seconds before talking to me, "So… you wish to change the universe."
"Uhm… I guess I do."
"Interesting… tell me… what do you do?"
"I'm the CEO of Crescent Storm Enterprise."
"So much power you hold… at a tender age of 20."
"Wait… how did you know I'm 20 years old?"
She looked at me steadily before answering, "Everything I need to know about you… the universe provides."
"What kind of answer is that?" I muttered softly.
"Apparently not the answer you wanted. Shall we continue?" She answered with a smirk, surprising me.
"Might as well…" I answered, intrigued by her and her gimmick.
"Now then… The universe has provided you with a chance…"
"What chance?"
"The power to change the future of the universe as well as the power to change your future…"
"Isn't that essentially the same?"
"It might seem that way… Now are you willing to take hold of that power?"
I briefly pondered on the implications of her words before shrugging my shoulder, "Sure, what the hell."
She smiled enigmatically at me before reaching down to grab a small bottle and pouring a crystal-clear liquid on the bowl.
"Drink…" She said as she motioned to the bowl.
Taking hold of the ivory bowl in both hands, I winked at her before drinking the entire contents in one gulp. In the back of my mind, I wondered as to why I willingly drank something that I knew nothing about before chalking it up to the list of stupid things I did.
"Good luck then in changing the universe… Ryan." The young lady said to me, as I realized to my horror that my eyes are starting to grow heavy.
"Wait… how did you know… my…. name?" I managed to croak out before darkness consumed me.
?
?
I felt hands shaking me as I slowly start to regain consciousness, "What the hell did that lady do to me?" I thought to myself as I tried to open my eyes. When I finally opened my eyes, I could see that I was in an alley as well as see two strange individuals standing over me as well as a third individual kneeling beside me. Staring at them in shock, I slapped my cheek in the hopes that I was dreaming but as I felt the pain on my cheek, I realized that this was real.
"Hey… what was that for?" the figure beside me asked.
"Nothing… just wanted to clear my head." I answered as I looked at the person beside me; she was dressed in a blue uniform that I unfortunately recognized.
The figure stood up and offered her hand to me, "Well I hope that helped since we have questions for you."
Grasping the offered hand, I looked straight at her eyes, thankful that she was human and speaking in English before answering her, "Before I answer your questions, mind sharing a translator with me, I seem to have lost mine."
She looked at me in surprise before pulling out a small earpiece from her pocket and giving it to me, "Here you, you can use my extra translator. Just return it when you buy a new translator."
"Sure. I'll be sure to do that." I told her as I'm placing the translator in my ear.
"Can we go on with the investigation then?" one of the figures beside us asked, the person's hand gripped firmly on the wrist of the other person.
"Hold your horses, Janus. Can't you see his not feeling that well right now." The human female said, gesturing towards me as I shake my head once again to help clear my head.
"Chelsea, I can obviously see that his condition isn't entirely reasonable but we have to determine as to whether a crime has been committed or not. Also how many times have I told you to NOT call me that?" The TURIAN male answered.
"What do you mean a crime? What do you mean?" I asked, curious as to what was happening.
"You don't know?" Chelsea asked in surprise.
"My head really hurts. I can't remember much after what happened last night…" I lied, deciding to be cautious until I found out more.
"Ah… You must have had too much to drink then…" Chelsea concluded before asking, "Were you celebrating something"
Deciding to be honest for the moment, "Yeah, it was my birthday." I answered.
"It was your birthday? That would explain the headache if you had too much to drink." Chelsea said.
"As to the crime, we were on patrol when we saw this suit-rat…" Janus started to say.
"Quarian." I said, surprising the two CSEC officers and the Quarian.
Janus looked up at me curiously before continuing, "… Right… This Quarian was bent over you and was holding some kind of miniature machine or something when we apprehended her."
"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything to him and I wasn't trying to steal from him. I was just curious as to what kind of machine was in his bag." The Quarian said.
Confused by what she meant, "machine?" I asked dumbly.
Janus glanced at me curiously before raising his other hand to show my iPad.
"Ah… you mean that machine." I muttered softly.
"So the Quarian admits to taking your 'machine' from your bag. Would you like to charge her with Theft?" Chelsea asked me.
I stared at the Quarian for a few moments before facing Janus.
"There's no need, I don't think she meant me any harm and I'm sure she wasn't going to steal from me." I told him.
Janus looked at me for a few more minutes before releasing the Quarian, "Understood. If there's nothing else, I suggest you go on home. You don't look that well."
Nodding my head at him, I smiled at Chelsea, "Thank you for your assistance. I'll be sure to repay you for the translator when I have the chance."
"It's no problem. I'm happy to help." Chelsea answered cheerfully.
I approached Janus and asked, "Can I have my property back?"
Janus looked at me carefully before handing over my iPad to me, "Of course. I suggest you take better care of your property in the future."
"I will."
"Well… we have to go on with our patrol. See you soon?" Chelsea asked as Janus started to go outside the alley.
"Of course, I still have to repay you for the translator. Before I forget, my name is Ryan." I told her with a smile.
"Alright then, Ryan, I'll see you around." Chelsea said before leaving the alley, leaving me with the Quarian.
The Quarian fidgeted as she stood still while sneaking glances at my iPad, during the entire conversation. Once the CSec officers had left the alley, she walked towards me.
The Quarian asked excitedly, "Uhm… Ryan? That is your name right? Can you tell me what kind of machine you're holding in your hand?"
I looked at the Quarian that was obviously fascinated with my iPad before answering, "Before I tell you, I'm going to have to ask for your help. Can you do that for me?"
The Quarian seemed to stare at me for several seconds before nodding her head, "Sure. I don't think you're a bad person and I think you're not a bigot against the Quarians, plus you helped me out of a jam with CSEC even though it was partly my fault."
I just stared at her in shock, surprised she thought up of all of that in just a span of minutes, "Yeah… first question though, what's your name and what year is it?" as I made my way to go out the alley
"You can call me Shani, if you're lucky I might tell you my full name…" Shani started to say as she followed me out of the alley before stopping suddenly, "Did you just ask me what year it is?"
I stopped and turned back to look at her, "Is there a problem, Shani?"
Shani just shook her head before walking towards me, "Nope, nothing is wrong. The year is 2173."
"… 10 years in the past…" I mutter softly, cradling my iPad tightly.
Shani stood silently beside me for a few seconds before grabbing my hand and pulling me out into the walkway, "You're not from around here are you." She asked as she's dragging me.
Surprised at her sudden action, I momentarily lost my footing before correcting it stopping me from falling fall flat on my face, I let her let me around. "Nope, as I said before, I'm here to celebrate my birthday. So it's kind of a vacation spot for me." I told her, "By the way, where are you taking me?" I asked her.
I caught up to her and we started walking around the ward side-by-side, holding hands.
"Hmmm I don't know. Where are you staying at, Ryan?"
"Not sure yet, I haven't found a place I'm interested in staying at yet."
"Well… if you want, you can stay at my place for the moment." Shani said quietly.
I glanced at her in surprise, "Thank you for the offer, but you don't have to do that for me. I'm sure I can find somewhere to stay."
"Oh… okay…." Shani muttered softly, as we continued walking.
As we walked around the ward, I admired several numerous stores that I knew I couldn't technically afford at all but I was enjoying the walk with my new companion as well as admiring the showcases of the various stores. I was especially envious of the omni-tool that were on show, but thankfully, Shani hadn't noticed yet that I wasn't wearing an omni-tool. Eventually we exited the ward and made our way to the elevator, when we passed by a console that excited Shani for some reason, as she let go of my hand and ran ahead.
"What is it?" I asked her.
"It's the Avina terminal, they just installed it to the wards a week ago and I've been dying to try it out for myself." Shani exclaimed excitedly.
"So why haven't you tried the other terminals in the other levels, like the Presidium?" I asked her.
Shani just looked at me before shaking her head, "I could but I can't deal with the stares from the other people."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked her, slightly alarmed at the possible implications.
"It's nothing really. I just can't handle as to how the other races look down on Quarians, in general. Treating us as thieves and outcasts, it gets on my nerves. That's why I tend to avoid the Presidium and hang out here instead."
"Alright… so would you like to use it now?"
"Sure… but I need to go do something first, so why don't you use the terminal first. I'll be right back soon after I finish my business… if you know what I mean…" Shani told me quietly, fidgeting slightly.
I just looked at her blankly for a few seconds before I realized as to what she meant, "Oh… alright. I'll be right here then. Take your time."
Shani nodded her head before turning around and dashed off to find a restroom. Knowing that it might take her awhile to come back, I decided to take the opportunity to try out the terminal.
Walking up in front of the terminal, I pressed the button and in front of me, a VI appeared in front of me.
"Welcome to Avina. Good afternoon, Officer McGee. It has been twelve hours since you have last used this network. How may I help you?"
I was slightly surprised as to how Avina addressed me when I realized that it must have assumed I was Chelsea since I was using her translator. I sighed in relief when I realized that this model wasn't updated yet with facial recognition software since I was clearly not Chelsea McGee. I chuckled softly at how her name sounded in my head before turning back to Avina.
"Yes, I would like to search for a name." I said firmly.
"Very well, name of the person?
"Ryan Cres D. Tan" I asked, slightly dreading what I would find out.
"Searching… Searching... Search completed. There is no one registered in that name in any known database. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, expand the search parameters for that name to include any news article found on Earth dating 2018."
"Searching… Search completed. I have found a hundred news articles about that person. Would you like to view them all?"
"… Is there a news article about him on January 22, 2018?"
"Yes, the article headline states the following, 'A Local Businessman Disappeared without a Trace on His Birthday.' Would you like to read the article?"
"No, there's no need for that." I answered, feeling numb from the realization that my disappearance was of great import at that time.
"Very well, how else may I help you, Officer McGee?"
I was still feeling out of sorts from what was happening, "I'm in a freaking computer game universe… What the hell is happening here? Have to remain calm… wait… my disappearance is apparently history in this universe so… is this universe even for real?"
I massaged my head as I was starting to get a headache from all the questions that were now crowding around in my head. Looking back at Avina, I knew I had to know if it still existed in this universe, "Yes, I would like a search made of video games released by BioWare on the year 2007."
"Searching… Searching… Search completed. On that year, BioWare did not release any video games"
When I heard Avina's answer, "Oh shit… it's not there... Mass Effect isn't there at all."
The implications of my 'discovery' of this universe meant that everything I knew might not necessarily be true.
"This cannot be happening…" I muttered to myself over and over again as I started pulling my hair out of anxiety.
"What's not happening?" A voice asked from behind me, a hand placing itself on my shoulder.
The situation I found myself, the startling discovery, and the unexpected intrusion from behind all resorted into one inevitable outcome. I freaked out uncontrollably by screaming hard.
"Hey… It's just me! It's Shani!" Shani said, as she turned me around to face her.
"Are you alright?" Shani asked, concern in her voice when she saw that I wasn't looking too good.
As we entered the store, I could see that it was actually a small diner. Shani led me to a nearby empty table and sat me down. Taking the seat across from me, she looked at me quietly for a few minutes.
I was grateful for her silence as I tried to keep myself together.
"What happened to me? What did that carnival lady do to me? Why am I here? Why wasn't Mass Effect created? What's going to happen to me? What the HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!"
I slammed my hand down hard on the table, causing Shani to jump slightly in shock. When I realized what I just did, I looked at Shani before muttering, "I'm sorry."
Shani looked at me quietly before reaching out to hold my hand, "It's going to be okay, Ryan. I won't just leave you alone like this."
I gave Shani a small smile before adding, "I know… but I'm sure my iPad has something to do with it."
Shani looked at me for a few seconds before giggling softly, "That might be true…"
At her response, I also chuckled as well until we were both laughing out loud, drawing the attention of the other customers who were curious what a Human and a Quarian would be laughing about.
Eventually Shani quieted down enough to ask me the dreaded question, I knew that I wouldn't be able to answer truthfully, "What happened?"
I looked at her for a few seconds before giving her the answer I knew that was the truth, "I'm all alone now…"
Author's Note: Well… this chapter sounds fun… Hope you guys R&R