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Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect.

Massing About, Effects Unknown

Chapter 1

The Turn

Hi there. My name is Tyler Banks, and well, I'm in Mass Effect. Yes, you read that right. Somehow, I'm in the Mass Effect universe. What's so wrong about that, you wonder? I hope you aren't seriously wondering that right now, because everything is wrong with that.

You see, I was born on March 4th, 1988 on a little planet you may have heard of called Earth. Nothing unusual there, yeah? Shouldn't be. Back then, I was just your average 20-something, even managed to go to college. The student loans were killer though. Ugh, but you don't need to know all those details. Suffice it to say, I had a normal life, or at least normal enough (you know how it is), all the way up until that fated night when it suddenly...wasn't. It all changed from there.

That's where this story begins, and considering I'm presently hurtling through the black of space on a spaceship in the year 2183, you can bet it's going to be a good, if not stressful, one. Oh yes...the stress. That's something I could do without.

But enough of that. It's time to start, and where else better to start than at the beginning of the night my life took the crazy turn that led me to where I am now. That nasty, godforsaken turn.

22:38:17 GMT-5
November 22, 2010
Earth, Sol System

"Hey! What's going on, man?" My friend yells into my ear, slapping me on the back and instantly jolting me out of my daydream.

Blinking, I shake myself a little. I hate it when he does that.

"Nothing, Shane, don't worry about it," my answer comes quickly, as I push him away and turn to face him. "Just thinking."

He watches me for a moment, a skeptical look settling on his face.

"Oh, c'mon Tye!" he tells me over the noise of the crowded pub, not giving up. "You've been quiet all night."

I roll my eyes, glimpsing the group we came to the bar with getting up from the table and chatting with each other as they start for the door.

"What? No, I haven't b-" I start, but stop at the pointed look he's giving me. I relent, my expression turning resigned. "Yeah, you got me. I don't know, I'm not exactly feeling the whole party vibe tonight."

My buddy regards me neutrally, but the glint in his eyes soon turns knowing. "What are ya thinking about now?"

I shrug. "Nothing really."

Shane laughs, shaking his head. "Don't give me that! I know you. I can tell when something is on your mind. So what is it? Tell me it's not about a game or something!"

A hint of a smile slips onto my face despite myself.

A game? Nope. Although I did find it rather funny how Shane still seemed bewildered over my newfound gaming habit. I mean, I always used to enjoy playing Xbox every once in awhile, and in my childhood Nintendo, Sega, and Playstation, but it was only just recently that I'd really gotten back into it. I didn't exactly have much going for me just then, and Xbox had taken up a lot of my free time for the last few months.

Even after I'd explained this to him multiple times, my friend just didn't get it. Really, Shane didn't seem to understand a lot besides drinking and having fun as much as you could. He was a good guy though, and I was glad to have him as a friend. Admittedly, he wasn't the type of person I usually spent my time with, but we'd been hanging out off and on for awhile now. He'd actually been a great friend to me over the last couple years.

Still, he couldn't seem to get over the idea that I was into video games. As I repeatedly told him, I'd been having a blast with my games. Ridiculous curb-stomping on Sera, noob-comboing Covenant Elites, plasmid-slinging my way out of the depths of Rapture, eagle-diving into stacks of hay in the medieval Dark Ages, plundering the Imperial province of Cyrodiil, vault-hopping across the Capital Wasteland, and necromorph-dismembering aboard the USG Ishimura were just some of the things I'd been doing lately. Oh, and of course, I'd done my fair share of mass-relaying through distant galaxies like it's nobody's business, massacring in every way possible geth, collectors, and any other fools that decided to get in my way.

Huh, sounds like I've been pretty busy, doesn't it?

It's not like there was anything better to do. I was fresh out of college and newly single, with only a meager part-time cashier job to tide me over until I got something real. I'd searched for six months in the hopes of finding a suitable career, interviewing at too many places to count. Yet, I always seemed to get beat out of getting the job by other interviewees with thicker resumes than mine. Even with a degree, I had no luck whatsoever.

That was actually what I'd been thinking about. Things weren't looking so great for my future, but here I was at a bar with friends like nothing was wrong in the world. Normally, it helped distract me from all my problems. That wasn't the case tonight, apparently, as those worried thoughts were stubbornly clinging to the forefront of my mind.

One of those problems involved the crippling student debt looming over my head. Financially, I didn't have a safety net like some of my friends did, who had parents who could jump in if needed. I was on my own in that regard.

See, I'd been brought up by my father, a good and decent man. He always did right by me, providing everything I needed on just a single parent's salary. My mother was out of the picture - left when I was just four years old. She left Dad to take care of me alone. I'd never really forgiven her for that, even if Dad never spoke ill of her. We don't talk. Hell, I don't even know where she lives now...not that I care. I didn't understand then, and truthfully I still don't understand now. How could a mother leave her own child like that? Anyway, whatever.

Then things got particularly bad when my father passed away three years ago. That was easily the hardest time of my life for so many reasons. I actually considered dropping out of college after that so I could work a full-time job, but ended up deciding I needed to finish. Massive loans be damned, Dad would have wanted me to continue on and graduate. So that's what I did, working part-time to help with living expenses along the way.

Now, however, it was all catching up to me. Repaying all those loans that had piled up while I got my degree was going to be tough without a satisfactory career. I knew one thing at least - if I didn't find anything soon I'd be in major trouble.

A fist bumping my shoulder interrupts my musings and I look up to see Shane raising an eyebrow at me. "Er, Tye? You gonna answer me or what?"

I sheepishly rub my eyes, "Sorry, man. Yeah, I guess I was just thinking about a game, after all."

It's just easier to say that than dropping all my problems on him. Yet, despite my words Shane doesn't look even the slightest bit convinced, which is actually quite shocking. He isn't exactly known for his shrewdness.

"Oh, now I can see right through that one," he chuckles, grabbing my shoulder as he becomes more serious. "I'm not stupid, Tye. Look, I know you're worried about finding a job and whatnot. You just gotta have faith that things will fall into place and you'll find the job you're meant to. I for one know you will - you're the smartest friend I have."

I blink at him in surprise. Shane has never been the type for this kind of talk, so it takes me a second to respond. "Uh, well thanks. That means a lot, but how did you know that's what I was thinking about? I didn't realize you paid that much attention to things like that."

"Yeah, I notice a lot of that stuff with people even if I don't say anything," he reveals smugly, shrugging it off as nothing special. "Don't think I'm getting soft or something though, got that? I'm the manliest man of all the men."

I snort, "Wouldn't dream of it. You're right up there with Chuck Norris and Paul Bunyan."

"Yeah bro, that's me," Shane snickers, before looking over to our group standing by the door. "Now that we've established that, you good? They're waiting for us before hitting the next bar. Come on, what do you say? Drink with us and go crazy, that should take your mind off things!"

I send him an amused look. "Isn't that your answer for everything?"

He smirks and takes the final swig of his beer. "Yeah, pretty much."

The corners of my mouth turn upward a bit and I take a big last gulp of my own, nodding appreciatively. "You're right, that's enough thinking for me tonight. I'm ready."

He lets loose a wild fist pump. "Yes, there we go! Next bar, first round of shots on me!"

I laugh. Always the eager beaver, that one.

"Sounds good," I say, still chuckling.

And it did sound good. Really good.

Several hours later, I'm home.

I yawn, lazily scratching my stomach. A charming sight, I'm sure, but I don't particularly care too much right then. It's 3:30 a.m., I'm still a little drunk, and I'm alone. My roommate, Bryan, evidently found another bed to sleep in that night. The guy tends to do that a lot, after all, so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

I managed to bum a ride back to my apartment from some old friends we ran into at one of the bars my group visited on our crawl, after shrugging off several ladies that were practically begging me to take them back to my place of course. Okay...so that was a bit of a lie, although I certainly wished I was that much of a playboy. But hey, a man could dream, couldn't he?

I make my way over to the couch in the living room, slumping down onto it with all the grace a mildly inebriated person could be expected to have. As soon as I drop into my seat, I feel a moist nose bump lightly against my leg.

His sniffing reflexively brings a smile to my face. I probably have a bunch of new smells on me after my time at the bars.

"Hey, Jax," I greet softly, reaching down to pet him. "How ya doing, buddy?"

He doesn't answer for obvious reasons. He's a dog, incapable of speaking English or any other human language for that matter, but he is man's best friend if there ever was one.

His full name is technically Ajax, but everyone just calls him Jax. He's still fairly young, not quite 4 years old, and his fur is for the most part all black, except for the white splotches splattered across the underside of his neck and chest. He's actually rather large for a pit bull, I've been told, compared to the average size. That isn't really important, I suppose, but I have to admit that it's always made me proud of the big oaf.

You see, Jax is a pimp. A p-

A pimp who loves to be petted, I'm suddenly reminded when he puts a paw up on my leg after I stop petting him. That's his way of saying, "More, damn it, more!"

I chuckle and give in, continuing my massage of his head, neck, back, and chest until he's finally had enough a short time later and wanders over to his doggy bed at the end of the couch. Maybe I should take the hint, eh? Laying down and sleeping does sound pretty enjoyable right now.

I sit there on the comfy leather piece of furniture for a moment, idle. Should I go bed now, I wonder, or should I do something else for a bit? I end up opting for something else.

Namely, Mass Effect.

I'm tired, sluggishly so, but I don't quite feel ready to pass out just yet. Plus, I've been wanting to start up my third playthrough of the two Mass Effect games, so that I'll be ready for Mass Effect 3 when it comes out. It's going to be my perfect-do-everything-right-super-Paragon playthrough, now that I've played through the games as both Paragon and Renegade Shepard.

Not much later though, I've barely made it past the opening scenes and I realize that it's indeed time for bed. I set the controller down, I'm just too exhausted to play anything seriously.

Sorry, Shep, I mentally apologize. You'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to kick some geth ass.

Groggily pushing myself up, I tap the power button on my Xbox 360 and hear the annoying telltale PING as it shuts off. For someone who is about to go to sleep, that sound is pretty much equivalent to nails on a chalkboard.

Stumbling back across the room, I halt, weighing my options. It only takes me a split-second to make my decision before I turn around and flop back down on the living room couch. My bedroom is just too far away. The couch is as good as any bed would be in my current state, I reason, perhaps even better.

As I haphazardly hit the soft cushions, it's instantaneous. Despite the fact that one of my legs is just hanging off the edge of the couch and almost hitting the floor, I immediately give in to the wave of relaxation that rolls over me. It feels amazing.

Sighing intently as the feeling settles into complete and utter tranquility, moments later I let myself fade away...

And then I'm awake again.

I raise my head slightly, eyes blearily opening. The darkness tells me it's still nighttime, so I can't have been out that long. But oh...I groan.

The room is spinning, and it's getting worse. I do not like where this is going. I've experienced this many times after nights of reckless alcohol consumption, and all of them have ended in me puking my guts out.

Ugh. Not good.

I try to ignore it at first, hoping beyond hope that I can just get back to sleep. In that instant I recall why I promised myself never to drink this much again. So much for that.

My attempts to disregard my nausea aren't working at all, unfortunately, and all of a sudden I get that feeling you get when it's all coming up and you know you're going to throw up in the next second, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. Definitely not a good feeling.

And then I vomit. Once. Twice. Three times.

I miserably retch several more times after that, but my stomach is empty by that point and nothing is expelled. When I eventually recover, I'm spent. I look down at the mess I've made all over the carpet with more than a hint of disgust. That isn't going to come out very easily, that's for sure. There goes our deposit.

I stand up slowly, seeing Jax laying in his bed, head perked up as he stares at me. Apparently I've woken him up with my bout of violent retching.

"Sorry, boy," I mumble. "Go back to sleep."

And that's when the room abruptly starts shaking. No, seriously, it's actually shaking.

What the...?

Startled, I flail about and try to keep my footing. What the hell is going on?! Is there an earthquake or something?

I have no more time to ponder possibilities as I'm finally swept off my feet, hitting the ground hard with a grunt of pain. Everything is vibrating sporadically now, and there's a loud roaring noise in the background, its origins I have no idea of.

Disoriented, and on my back, the last thing I see before everything goes black is Jax, jumping out of his bed and barking up a storm.

I hear voices. Two of them. Both male.

"-on't like this."

"What do you mean?"

"What I just said. We need to focus on finding somewhere better to hide. We're too exposed!"

"Why are they doing this? Why are they attacking us!"

"I don't know, son, but - "

"Shh!" A third voice interrupts, this one clearly belonging to a woman. "Grant, Rob, I think he's waking up!"

I shift groggily, my eyes shooting open as I fully awaken. I bring a hand to my face, rubbing my eyes. I feel...odd.

"Tyler!" the feminine voice says. Someone shakes my shoulder. "Can you hear me? Wake up!"

My eyes widen as the memories come flooding back. I...I'd thrown up, and then there was that earthquake. Or something. Then I must have passed out.

Sitting up, I look around...and immediately notice that I'm not in my apartment. I'm not in anywhere, actually. I'm outside somewhere. Laying on the ground of all places!

Coughing, panic rises within me as I take in everything around me. I can see a bunch of people standing around in the background, but there's only three near me. A woman, a man, and a teenager. Those must be the voices I heard as I woke up.

I glance in their direction, not recognizing any of them. In fact, they're wearing some weird clothing that I've never seen before. One is even in what looks like armor for some reason. Their costumes also look curiously futuristic, I decide after a moment of examination, but that just has me further labeling them as strange.

Why are they dressed up? Halloween was last month!

"Tyler?" the lady gently questions, kneeling down next to me. My confused eyes snap over to her. She's older, her black hair in the process of graying. "Are you alright?"

"Erm...I think so. W-Where am I?" I blink. Wait, how does she know my name? I've never met her before, I'm certain of it. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

The woman gives me an uncertain look as my questions come out one after another. The other two also have odd expressions on their faces. "You...You don't know? It's me, Dr. Mariel. Remember?"

My brow creases. "Uh..."

"Wonderful! He's lost his damn mind!" the man says gruffly, he's the one in armor. I shoot him a bewildered look.

"Well, he did hit his head pretty hard," the lady named Mariel muses aloud, holding a hand up to her chin. "When I scanned him earlier it didn't pick up anything physically wrong, but I suppose it's possible he's got some sort of amnesia."

"Amnesia? What?" I ask, now even more confused. What's going on? Where am I? And who are these weird people that are acting like they know me?

They don't say anything, only look between each other, two of them worried while one is clearly just impatient.

Finally, the teen, the one who hasn't spoken to me yet, steps closer and kneels down by the woman. He grabs my shoulders and brings his face close enough to mine that I can see desperation in his brown eyes. I'm a bit too stunned at my present situation to shrug away from the stranger invading my personal space.

"Tye! You know me, don't you?" he says, shaking me slightly. My eyes widen as he lets out a noise of disbelief when I don't respond. "It's me! Robby! Your brother! C'mon, you gotta remember!"

I balk, my face paling. Brother? He is obviously desperate, and believes every word he's saying, but...what? Brother! I don't have a brother. Pretty sure I'd know if I had a brother. What's going on here?

Eyes still wide, I look past his shoulder to the man and woman for help. This kid must be crazy or mistaken or something, surely they know I'm not related to him. I figure they're going to step in any moment now and tell him he isn't making any sense.

But they do no such thing. They just stand there. The woman's expression is pained, as if she finds the scene before her heartbreaking, and the man just has this blank, uncaring expression on his face. How can they just sit there and not intervene? They clearly know this kid, after all.

I swallow, my attention returning to the teenager front of me. His eyes are hopeful, desperately hopeful, but I can see them quickly filling with doubt. I furiously shake my head, scooting away from him a bit.

"I-I'm sorry, but I don't have a brother! I don't know you!"

And just like that, the teenager recoils as if he's been struck. The look on his face makes me want to apologize again at once, but I know that won't really do any good.

He, Robby, stumbles back and sits on the ground, still looking at me as if I've betrayed him somehow. It's not like I don't want to do something to help him, but what the hell am I supposed to do? I'm not his brother! Dr. Mariel rests a hand on the boy's shoulder in a comforting gesture, glancing at me with an indistinguishable emotion in her eyes.

As I'm staring back at her, a hand suddenly smacks me in the back of the head.

"Banks! Get yer shit together!" That same gruff voice barks as I shake away the sting left behind from the smack. Irritated, I turn around to find the older, armored man. Apparently he's moved closer during my distraction.

"Grant!" Dr. Mariel admonishes sharply. "Quit it!"

"Whatever," he replies unconcernedly, before scoffing in disgust. "I don't have time for this! We need to move before those things come back."

With that, he rushes off to speak with some of the other people milling about. My head swivels back to Dr. Mariel as she speaks.

"I'm sorry about that, Tyler," she says mildly, simultaneously patting Robby on the shoulder. "I know you don't know what's going on right now, but please just stay calm. Everything will be explained soon."

There's only a short hesitation on my part before giving her an equally short nod. She seems genuine enough at least.

Satisfied I'm calm, she continues. "You seem to recognize that your name is Tyler, which is good. It could have been worse. Now, dear, can you tell me your full name?"

I nod. "Yeah. Tyler Banks."

My gaze flits over to Robby, a bit surprised to see him no longer looking so upset. He's merely watching curiously now.

"And your middle name?"

"Everett."

Dr. Mariel smiles at me. "Excellent! I'm glad you haven't forgotten that, at least. Just a few more questions. What's the last thing you remember?"

I consider that for a minute, pushing myself to think of what I was doing before I ended up here. "Uh...well, I was at home. There was an earthquake or something. And then I blacked out, I think."

"Hm. Okay. Well then, do you remember how old you are?"

"22."

"Good, good," she mutters, studying me closely. "Do you know why you were laying here, Tyler?"

"No. No, I...I have no idea!" I tell her, suddenly frustrated. How am I supposed to stay calm when I've just woken up in some place that I've never been, with strange people I've never seen before, and with some kid claiming he's my brother? Nothing is making any sense!

"Please, Tyler," she begs softly. "I understand you're confused, but I need you to settle down. Here, let me tell you what I think has happened, okay?"

I gulp, take a deep breath, and nod for her to go on.

"You don't remember this, but you took the brunt of an explosion and knocked your head pretty hard on a rock. You lost consciousness, and well, it looks like you've also lost part of your memory. It would take more extensive questioning to identify just how severe your amnesia is, and I'm afraid we just don't have the time for that right now. But, with many situations like this, it's very possible for the patient to regain their memories over time, so I'm optimistic that you'll be perfectly fine."

I shake my head, closing my eyes as I unsuccessfully try to hold back my growing ire at the situation.

"No. No, that's not possible! I don't have amnesia, I'm sure of it!" I argue, quite certain.

I remember my life, I remember last night drinking at the bars with Shane and the others, and I remember that random earthquake after I vomited. What I don't get is where the fuck I am. All I know is that I don't have fucking amnesia!

"Tyler, you might be-"

"No," I cut her off, fuming as I stand up a bit unsteadily. "I don't know any of you. I don't know where I am. I don't know what's going on. I do remember my life though, and neither of you have ever been in it! This isn't amnesia. I just want to know why the hell I woke up this morning here in this field with you circus freaks instead of at my apartment in the city! What kind of sick joke is this?"

I'm breathing heavily by the end of my outburst, and I've attracted the attention of every other person in the small grassy field we're standing in. There are trees and bushes around the oval-shaped area, sort of enclosing it. Hiding these people, I realize in that instant, from something they're scared of. From whoever is attacking them, probably.

It's only then that I actually look down at myself and find that I'm wearing the same brightly-colored clothing as everyone else, except for that guy in the armor. And the odd tight feeling around my left bicep is some kind of hunting knife, the holster wrapped snugly around my upper arm.

The absurdity of seeing that just completely blows my anger away, replacing it with pure shock. What the-

A fist smashes into the side of my face, knocking me to the ground. Grant glares down at me as I hesitantly touch my sore cheek.

"Shut the fuck up, Banks! You want those bastards to find us?" he bellows at me, hypocritically loud I might add. "I don't care if you don't remember a damn thing! Get your sorry ass up and be quiet."

He stalks away, though several people continue staring at me. In pity, I discern after a moment. They're pitying me! What the hell! They think I'm the crazy one, don't they?

This is bullshit! I mean, there's just no way they're right...

Were...were they right, I wonder? I am completely lost as to what's happening right now, after all. But no, that's not right. And I already know I don't have amnesia, I have to stop doubting myself. Nothing is missing in my memories, otherwise I would have felt it, wouldn't I?

I slam my fist into the ground in frustration, ignoring the pain.

I just don't know. Everything is screwed up. Nothing is making any damn sense! And I don't know what to believe. Seriously, my mind is going to break if I keep second-guessing myself like I am now. Dr. Mariel helps me up, unnecessarily guiding me away to the other side of the crowded clearing. It doesn't really make much difference, however, since I can still see some of the other people watching me.

There are bigger things to deal with at the moment than what people think of me though. Such as figuring out whether or not I've gone insane, or if I truly have just hit my head and forgotten everything. I can't really discount either of those entirely, can I?

None of this looks good, but I have to find out what's going on. As soon as possible!

Brownie points if you can name those games.