Author's Note: Hellooooo! How are you guys all doing today? I'm doing great, cuz today, I'm going to be presenting you with a new Mass Effect story, but I'm not doing it alone this time! I would like to introduce to you my first proper Collaboration Effort with a friend of mine, but I think he would like to introduce himself! Go on ahead man!

Hello! This is SpikerWolf5896, the other author of this story. Though I only recently discovered the Mass Effect franchise in the past two years, I have become obsessed with it, it's that damn good in my opinion! This story will be the brainchild of both our wacky imaginations. So strap in everyone! This is going to be a duzy!

Ain't that the Truth, Wolf! In any case we are both glad to finally get this show on the road, or rather the star maps! Now a few quick things before we begin, this story will only stick to Canon of the Mass Effect Universe whenever it doesn't interfere with our plot. Secondly, this will be a Twin Shepard Story, so each of us has decided which of the Shepard Twins we will be controlling John or Jane, and then modify them to suit our tastes. Mine will be John Shepard, or technically Traves Shepard, an N7 Shadow Infiltrator with Biotic Capabilities, and the, unwilling, primary protagonist of the story.

The other is Nikita Shepard, an N7 Slayer Vanguard. Who also acts as the third wheel on all of Traves dates. Just kidding, but regardless, we hope you enjoy the story!

On a final note before we begin today, this story will be broken up into four different books, the first three detailing the events as the game progresses, and the fourth will be the After Story of what happens to everyone after the end of the Reaper War. And no it will not be a look into the upcoming Mass Effect 4 Game, or our speculations or expectations into it. It's still too early for that, and it will only be assuming as to the events of what we have scripted out and the ending of 3 plays out in our minds. No way in El Inferno will we be creating a book based on what could be Mass Effect 4, at least for right now. It will just be a closing book to end the series, and we will devote to each party member from the 3 games their own ending, as we deem appropriate.

Oh and before I forget, while this will be a spoiler for what will happen at the end of this particular book, it needs to be said: Spartacus is going to die, we're not going to say how, but that asshole is gonna die, and we have come up with some sound reasons for it, and a method as to how he dies. I will say nothing more, but I will be so happy once we kill that damned bird… BIRD IS THE WORD!

In any case that is enough out of us, be sure to Follow, Favorite, and Review, and be sure to check out Wolf's channel, he's got something that is absolutely insane in the works, and I just hope you guys like it! Also I will be taking a break from the Orthrus Chronicles for a while as I have to do some research for the Therum Mission before I continue further. Catch ya on the Flipside! Keelah Se'lai!

Prologue: WAKE UP!

Torfan: March 23rd, 2178

Rushing through dark tunnels, Traves stands next to a console, typing away, his thoughts racing. "Alenko!" Commander Traves Shepard says, "The area is secure?" His fingers are moving as fast as they can as he begins to draw up schematics of the base. They are in an underground base on the planet of Torfan, and above them, the alliance is holding off the majority of the pirates and slavers that are fighting in retaliation to the Skyllian Blitz, the battle in which his own father was killed. He is here with an advanced unit to cut off the head of the beast, killing the Pirate Captains and Slaver Lords that are holed up in this base. He and a group of about 20 people have been fighting their way through the base, killing everyone loyal to the Captains and the Lords with little to no tangible resistance, and it isn't making much sense. Why are they sending out small groups of people instead of activating the base's defense systems? Traves thinks, None of this is making sense… Not only that, the battle outside is a practical stalemate, or at least that is what the Alliance wants to make it seem like, to keep the Captains and Lords distracted. Still, I don't like this…

"Everything is clear, Commander!" Kaidan Alenko says, "You got anything, sir?"

"Yes, a schematic of the entire base… According to what it says here…" He projects the schematic as a hologram, "The bastards are holed up here…!" He points to a large chamber at the bottom of the base, "And there are two ways of getting in, one wider than the other…!"

"I think we should send a large unit through the wider space to cut off their retreat…!" Alenko says, to which most of the soldiers agree, while others give their opinions.

"Alright, then here is the plan…" He types on his Omnitool and creates a projection of the plan. "A smaller group including Alenko, myself, and three others will go down the right path, the narrow route, sneaking in and catching the enemy off guard. The rest of you will go down the wider route, in which you will not only cut off their retreat, but also get the drop on them should they try anything funny! It's a simple plan, and now all we have to do is pray and hope it works out…!" Everyone agrees and then gathers around as Shepard begins to pray in Spanish towards a figure of the heavens, holding a platinum cross in his hands, with a skeleton of silver, garbed in blackened gold, wielding a scythe in her right hand, a pair of scales in her left, and a companion owl on her shoulder.

"Oh Santa Muerte, por favor protege a estas almas orgullosas y honorables mientras avanzamos para poner fin al derramamiento de sangre que se desata sobre nosotros." Traves Shepard prays, "Te suplicamos que emitas un juicio justo sobre los malvados y que guíes a los justos que se paran y luchan aquí hoy en el paraíso divino de Dios. Te suplicamos en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.*" After this prayer, Shepard selects the best members of his squad to join him, and the two teams separate, making their way down their chosen paths.

Each path opens up with a small corridor that is wide enough for everyone to slip through comfortably, but that is when Shepard begins to notice something is odd. The corridor that he and his team are slipping into is far too wide than what the schematics state. "Shepard, something isn't right, this hallway is pretty damn wide."

"I know, I sense it too!" Traves says, the puts his hand to his communicator. "Omega team! Fall back, it's a trap!" Traves says, to which he doesn't hear anything but static on his end. "Oh no… We're jammed!" Traves's mind begins to race, his blood pumping, the stress building as he feels fear, anxiety, and fury filling his very being. "TO THE MAIN CHAMBER, DOUBLE TIME IT!" The group rushes through the corridor as fast as they are capable but as they come upon the main chamber they smell blood, burned flesh, and hear the sounds of fangs gnashing into meat as Shepard happens upon a sight most malicious. Omega Team had been brought in like lambs to the slaughter, their bodies riddled with holes, Varrens already eating their corpses, and the Batarian Slavers and Pirates laughing maliciously as they continue to riddle the bodies with holes, crush the skulls, and even urinate and defecate upon the corpses of the dead. However, their guns, poorly made as they are, have practically melted from the barrage they have unleashed, and Shepard can't take it anymore… With one deep breath, his eyes glow red and he screams with all his fury…

Arcturus Station, Wounded Warrior Project, April 11th 2183

Sitting up with a start, Traves roars with fury, only for something to smash into his head and then the man yelps in pain as he reels backwards, holding his head. Rolling around as he groans in agony, Traves rubs his forehead as he sits up, looking around, wondering who or what he had hit. However, what his eyes find is a sight for sore eyes, and a joy from one twin to another. "Nikita? Is that you?" Traves Shepard asks.

"Yeah" She says, voice strained from the impact. "It's me. Same one again?" These nightmares had been recurring for months now. Every last detail of the disastrous mission to Torfan kept replaying in Traves head like a film on an infinite loop. However, thankfully for his sanity, it always cuts off just before it gets to the worst part, where he would… No, it's best not to think about it…

"Why are you here?" Traves asks, not out of annoyance, but curiosity. "I'm not supposed to be released until our birthday this year!" It's obvious he's been too absorbed into his therapy to keep track of time. This happens every year, if he gets himself too deep into a project, he always forgets time and date, and it's a habit he has been trying to break for years.

She gives him a mirthful smile "It is our birthday bro!"

"¿Qué?" Traves asks, then begins to look around to his calendar, "¿Qué?" He sees it hanging on the wall and looks at the date and then he looks up, holding his head, "¿QUÉ?"

A laugh echos through the room. "Congratulations. You're now officially 29! Only another 365 days until we're both dirty thirty." Traves looks at his sister, completely shocked, but then he looks towards a case nearby and then slowly opens it, revealing one of their family's two monomolecular blades, this one he inherited from their mother, while the other one Nikita inherited from their father. He gently picks up the weapon and studies it.

The Weapon is a full 36in from the pommel to the tip of the blade, whilst the grip is carefully encased in a special synthetic handle that has an identity lock upon it, as well as a trigger mechanism for it utilize it's special Lightning Cutter mode, which generates a massive amount of electricity to allow the blade to throw waves of electricity through slashing motions or to increase it's already unimaginable cutting power to cut through even the thickest armor plating. The saya itself has a special sniper rifle-esque mechanism to allow the blade to be shot from the saya and then utilized in a powerful high speed Iaijutsu strike. The Blade itself is that of a black and red damascened blade, though the blade is primarily red with jet black waves markings rippling through the steel. The blade itself is 26in long from the base to the tip, and is beautifully balanced. The guard itself is a simple circular guard but is thick enough to withstand the punishment of the rifle system in the saya. Traves picks up the blade and draws it carefully, looking at his reflection in the steel, seeing a more subdued version of himself from that day…

Sighing, Traves looks to his sister, but then smiles at her, "So I'm free to go?"

"Yeah, you're a free man. You deserve it. Plus, uncle David has us assigned to the newest Alliance vessel, the Normandy. A prototype stealth vessel, he's the captain." She glanced around the room. "Just curious, what project was keeping you busy these past few days?"

"Rebuilding my swordsmanship… I've been stuck here for nearly 5 years… In the last 6 months I've been going through rigorous training exercises and kendo instruction to get myself back in fighting shape…" Traves explains, putting up a screen so he can change his clothes into something more appropriate for a free man. "It wasn't easy… Only a few days ago was I able to finally work up the nerve to get my hands back on the Akatsuki (Dawn)."

She gives him a light smile. "You know, despite that I'm pretty sure you'd still kick my ass to heaven and back in a duel. Any new tricks you've learned?"

"Not really, but you want to test that out? I've not had an actual sparring match since I got here… Not even my teachers want to test me out!"

"They have no idea what they're missing out on. Come on, we can spar in one of the empty gym rooms. They usually never filled to capacity, even in the morning." Traves smiles at his sister, and then begins to follow his sister towards the Gyms in the Wounded Warrior Project, smiling as one of them has a dojo large enough for them to actually take their sparring match seriously. The two of them change into training uniforms and pick up a pair of bokken, wooden swords, made from the hardest wood on planet earth, Australian Buloke, so that they can ensure if a hit lands, it will hurt. The two take their positions, bow to each other, then take their stances.

"Ready when you are sis!" He is going to take this slow at first to warm up his muscles.

Nikita smirks before assuming a Wushu stance. She paired this with her Sanda, Ba Ji Quan, and Muay Thai techniques. She favored Chinese forms while he mostly favored Japanese. This was reflected in their training uniforms, each reflecting the culture of the styles they used. Her's resembled a Wushu training uniform, though not as ornate compared to the ones used in performances. Primarily red with a thin gold trim around the color and center seem.

Traves's training uniform is that of a standard kendo gi, completely white save for the black belt that is around his waist, and the red headband around his forehead. However, he has been carefully changed to have the wrists and ankle cuffs secured to his skin. As for the Martial Arts that Traves studies, he has studied all 8 of the traditional schools of Japanese Kendo; Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu (Quick-Draw techniques), Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu (Dual Swords), Tenshi Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu (Multiple Weapons and Hand to Hand), Mugai-ryu (Traditional Strike sequences with Quick Draw surprise attacks), Ono-ha Itto-ryu (One-Strike Kill Techniques), Yagyu Shinkage-ryu (Non-Lethal and Disarming attacks), Jigen-ryu (Armor Piercing Attacks), Tamiya-ryu (Precision Strikes). Aside from this he has completely mastered ninjutsu, Capoeira, and Drunken Boxing.

Both circled the other, slowly closing the distance. Nikita sent a thrust towards his chest, Traves deflecting the attack with relative ease. Traves then unleashes a series of slashes, strikes and jabs from his various disciplines, attacks coming from every exposed angle. She deflected and dodged each attack, impressed that her brother's skills had not attrofied as much as she feared. Despite this, she was desperate to give a smile. Not yet she thought. He hasn't won this fight yet.

Now, dodge her left cut down towards my right shoulder… Traves thinks, allowing his sister's bokken to slide along his blade, Next, rotate fully to present an opening… He spins on one foot, exposing his back to his sister, the rotation completing as she begins to take another strike. End it by breaking her stance…! Traves blocks his sister's strike with his pommel, the force of her swing knocking her sword back, and Traves goes into an Iaijutsu stance, Yamata no Orochi-ryu: RAIU YOSHIN, MODORU KOGEKI! (Eight Branched Dragon School: Thunderstorm Aftershock, Returning Strike) Following the momentum of blocking his sister's attack, Traves moves his sword into an Iaijutsu stance and then uses and ascending slash that tears open part of her training uniform, exposing the strap of her bra, but that is common with their sparring matches. Whenever Traves holds back, he often settles with destroying his opponent's uniforms rather than breaking their bones with practice swords. If this were a real sword, she'd more than likely be cleaved in two. "Score one… For Traves…"

"Nice. Ready for round two?"

"Ready when you are…" Traves says, smiling, taking his stance.

"Very well then." A look of amusement fell on her face. She switched to a two handed grip, mirroring her brother. Traves fell back into his rapid sequence of attacks and deflecting every one of his sister's counters. This continued for another minute before Nikita sent a kick to his left thigh before grappling him and sending him over shoulder to the ground.

"D'OH!" Traves says as he lands. He quickly rolled over and got to his feet. Nikita continued her attack, stronger and faster than she had been the first round. Not only that, she sent physical strikes from her limbs in tandem with her blade. Each one hitting his body, too busy blocking her blade with his. Despite this he knew she was holding back. She never struck with her full strength, not even when they sparred in their armor. If she didn't, his body would soon look like a canvas of purple and black.

Her next attack opened with a kick to his shin and a punch to his forearm that misaligned his grip. Nikita struck the tip of his training blade hard enough to push the blade away from his body. A kick to his abdomen sent him floor, sword rolling away from his hand. Quickly seizing the opportunity she placed her knee and shin on his chest, and her blade to his throat. "Looks like a win this round."

Traves smirks at his sister and then starts to wobble, snarling like a beast as his eyes begin to glow red, "Pain… This is why I fight…" He was utilizing the pain to keep him in the game and from getting exhausted.

A small laugh escapes her mouth. She is proud of him. He's still the man that won't quit as long as he can still draw a breath. "Best two out of three?"

"Yeah… And this time, I'm going to try out something I've been testing out for the past few days…" He then takes his stance, "Let's see how well I can keep the Butcher in check!" Traves says, taking a European stance known as the Wrath Stance, which rests the blade against the shoulder to preserve stamina in the arms, and allowing them to rest for brief instances in a sword fight. Traves also has a unique variant of this stance that he is still testing out, due to the fact that it copies the movements of a Jaguar.

Traves smiles as his body begins to glow with Biotics, this time he's kicking it into high gear and getting serious, his biotics having taken on a crimson red hue from it's previous navy blue. He smiles at his sister, "Let's take this seriously now, at least as seriously as we can with wooden swords." Traves says, a menacing chuckle in his voice.

"Be careful. They don't call us Slayers for no reason." Her biotics glow the normal indigo associated with most others who can wield dark energy. "Any rules you want to set before we have one last fight?"

"No blows to the face or groin, no killing, and the first to land a sword strike wins." Traves says, he takes out a bullet, "We begin when this bullet hits the ground."

He flips the bullet much as one would flip a coin. It lands with a loud ping. Both rush each other in an impressive show of biotics, swordsmanship, and martial arts. Each one taking advantage of each other's weaknesses. Biotic detonations sounding off and echoing throughout the room. Traves uses his signature technique, Step, to dodge the biotic blasts of his sister, whilst barely being able to block her Biotic Charges, but aside from the workout he is getting, he's smiling, he's having fun, for the first time in years.

She too finds great joy in the duel. A particular joy she only got when she and Traves play-fought as children or sparred with him as adults. Something she hasn't felt in 5 years. She once again charges at him in a beam of blue, he side-steps this one again. All according to plan, she thought. Stopping right next to him, she charges up her fist with a warp charge. The punch detonates against his barrier, shattering it. The force sends Traves flying backwards towards the wall, but using his own momentum, he black flips and lands feet first against it, causing severe denting into the metal walls and shattering the mirrors in the gym, to which Traves closes his eyes and focuses on Nikita.

Alright sis… His body glows with his biotics as red lightning crackles around his body, This was fun, but I'm starving…! "LET'S FINISH THIS!" He rushes towards his sister with Step, aiming his sword in front of him and causing a biotic barrier to form from it's tip. "Yamata no Orochi-ryu Ougi: SHIHAI TO HAKEN! (Eight Branched Dragon School Secret Art: Domination and Supremacy)" Channeling his Step into his arms, if his sister doesn't stop him, he will be able to stab her eight times in an instant, before she can even react, and the barrier forming on the tip of his sword will force her to meet him head on blade to blade, as the barrier will deflect any ranged biotic attacks headed in his direction.

Nikita eyed the biotically charged blade with caution. Many offensive and defensive techniques could be used from a biotic charging their blade with dark energy. She lets him run at her, standing still while allowing her biotics to grow in intensity. She readies herself in the typical biotic charge pose, one foot back and both arms out in front. Once he is only 10 feet away from her does she charge. Not directly at him, but at an angle and stops just behind him. Blade cocked high above her head. Traves quickly turns to see his sister had duped him. "Heh…" He says, "I figured as much…." He turns around with the look of an angry Jaguar, "OUGI: GATOTSU! (Secret Art: Crashing Fang)" He thrusts his sword forwards as his sister's blade comes crashing down onto his shoulder, the two strikes landing as Traves groans from the pain in his shoulder, and Nikita from the pain in her stomach. "A… Draw…" He says, his voice a strained whisper from the pain.

"Fuck." She says while chuckling. "You're lucky I didn't use a phase disruptor on you. That would've been a beam of pure dark energy through you like a skewer."

"I know, I was actually expecting you to try it while I was charging at you…" Traves says, "Still that was a good fight…" He rubs his shoulder and his stomach growls loudly, and the station calls out that the Kilimanjaro is actually docking. "Wait, mom's here?"

"Come on, do you really think mom would miss our birthday without letting us know first?" She takes note of their training uniforms. "Let's get changes first. Both of us look like we just wrestled with a wild cat."

"Or a Varren…" Traves says, chuckling. The two siblings get themselves changed and cleaned up. Despite how things have been, it looks like everything is starting to look up, but little do these two siblings know that the good times must eventually come to an end… However, in the dark days to come, perhaps the Butcher of Torfan can really restore the Warrior within the Ghost.

Translations:

Oh Santa Muerte, por favor protege a estas almas orgullosas y honorables mientras avanzamos para poner fin al derramamiento de sangre que se desata sobre nosotros. Te suplicamos que emitas un juicio justo sobre los malvados y que guíes a los justos que se paran y luchan aquí hoy en el paraíso divino de Dios. Te suplicamos en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén = Oh Holy Death, please protect these proud and honorable souls as we go to end the bloodshed that rages above us. We beseech you to pass on fair judgement of the wicked, and to guide the righteous who stand and fight here today into God's Divine paradise. We beseech thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Author's Note: Phew! That was a tough one to write, but definitely a fun one! Now our dear audience, this chapter was merely us getting our bearings in writing out a proper collab, cuz this is actually my first time doing a real collaborative story, and while it will be posted on my page, I will give credit where credit is due. So thanks Wolf, I really appreciate you coming here today!

Of course! Thank you for letting me collaborate on this awesome story. Until next time, may the Force be with you. Always.

Well you heard the man, please be sure to Follow, Favorite, and Review, and we'll do our best to try and post a new chapter every 2 weeks to a month at a time, god be willing. So be sure to follow us both! Catch ya on the Flipside! Keelah Se'lai!