Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, if I did, I would have made a WAY better ending, and begin working on a Mass Effect MMO.

AN: This story takes place in the same universe as RebukeX7's 'Life is a Game' Series, so if you're lost on what's going on here, I suggest going to his profile and read his 'Life is a Game' fics.

Commander John Shepard stood before the starchild clutching his wound and holding his pistol pondering the choices laid before him. To his right a red path that would lead to the destruction of all AI's but would stop the Reapers from destroying his allies. To his left was two power nodes that would destroy him but allow his consciousness to take control of the Reapers, forcing them to go back to Dark Space. And to the center was a beam that would merge synthetics and organics together.

"You have a difficult decision," The Star Child said. "Releasing the energies of the Crucible will end the cycle, but it will also destroy the mass Relays."

Then the platform's that lead to the three choices acended "The paths are open," the Star Child said. "All that's left, is to choose."

John looked at his three options, weighing them, and considering which to take.

Just as he was about to make his choice, a new voice came "So that's it then?" A voice from behind him and the Star Child said, "You're actually believing the glowing brat here?"

Both Shepard and the Star Child whirled around, to see another man standing there. He was human, obviously, but John could 'feel' that there was something else about him. He looked to be in either his late teen's or early twenties, if he had to guess, he'd put him around 19-20 years old, standing at the same height Shepard was. He has short, spiked black hair, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of black shades, however the man took off the shades, folding them up and placing them in a pocket, revealing his left eye to be emerald green, while his right eye was silver. In attire, he was wearing all black, with black boots, jeans, shirt, even a black trench coat which had the zipper undone. To his side, John could see he was armed with a pair of swords that reminded him of ancient Japanese Katana Swords, and on his side he could see an old .44 Magnum Revolver, only it was colored red with black trimming.

"'Da hell are you?" John asked, with a risen eyebrow, "and how the hell did you get here?"

The young man chuckled "Ah, my real name is not important right now." He said, "But call me Jorn, that's what most of my friends call me by anyways. And how I got here…well, that's not important."

"How did you get in here?" The Star Child demanded, "You will answer-" However, before he could finish, Jorn glared at the glowing child, and in an instant he telaported in a flash of red, and reappeared right in front of the child, only he had his Katana Swords both drawn, but they were now fused together into a double bladed sword which he now held at the boy's neck, and his eyes had transformed from their original colors, to burning crimson red.

"I wasn't asking you Brat!"Jorn shouted as he rose his sword-

(AN: Me and RebukeX7 do not condone Child Violence…We do however find it hilarious.)

-and in one clean swing using the blunt side of the blade, shot the Star Child all the way to the other side of the room.

"Home Run!" Jorn shouts out with a fist pump "And the crowd goes wild!" He then mimicked the sounds of a crowd cheering him on, as John just sweat-dropped looking at the scene.

"Uhh…is there any other reason why you're here?" John asked, and Jorn stopped for a moment as he looked at him before smaking his head "Oh, right!" Jorn said, "Sorry…I've been wanting to do that for a while now. Anyways, before we continue this conversation, let's take this to a more welcome environment." And with a snap of his fingers, John and Jorn disappeared.

~Later~

John blinked as he suddenly found himself in his personal quarters onboard the Normandy, "What the…?" He asked as he looked around in shock and confusion, before his eyes came before Jorn, who was sitting down at one of the chairs, grinning at John's expressions "How the hell did we get here?" He demanded.

"Oh, we're not really 'here'," Jorn said. "I just made this room to look and feel exactly like your quarters on the Normandy so you might feel a bit more comfortable…I feel like I'm ripping someone off saying that…"

"But what about-" John said before Jorn interrupted him "Don't worry, time has frozen for you and your friends." He said, "No time will pass as long as we're in here…not that it will matter soon."

John was just getting more confused by the minute "Alright, I want you to explain to me just who the hell are you, and how the hell you can do these things!"

Jorn chuckled a bit "If I told you everything, we'd be here for days," he said, "So I'm just going to cut to the chase at what involves you." He then adopted a very serious look "Listen Shepard, John, Commander or whatever the hell you feel like being called, you and I both know the Reapers must be destroyed to save your galaxy. However, the Reapers are just part of your problem."

John rose an eyebrow at that "What do you mean their just part of the problem?" He asked, and Jorn sighed "A lot of thing are going to be happening soon, John." He said, "Events that will not just effect your galaxy, your universe, but also the infinite amount of other Universes out there. I need the help of you, your friends, and your allies in order to fight this threat, so I can't have you killing yourself over three meaningless choices that mean NOTHING!"

Jorn then paused for a moment "Besides, this was not how things should go." He said, "Think of all of the people who died before the battle…Kaiden, Nihulis, Mordin, Thane…them and more, so many people have died who shouldn't have died, who maybe might have been able to help you."

John looked down, as he remembers all of the people who have been sacrificed through the course of this war "I know…but what can I do about it?" He said, "I can't change the past."

However, he didn't see Jorn grin "Ah, but that my friend, is where you are very wrong." He said, and John's head snapped back up "I have many powers invested into me, powers similar to a…distant ally of mine has, some of these powers I will be able to grant you."

"Like?" John asked, wanting a better description than that. "Well," Jorn said as he kicked his feet onto the table "For one, I can send you back into time, right before the attack on Eden Prime. That will be a key moment where you can begin shaping the future in the way you want it."

"Secondly, are the powers I can give you." Jorn continued, "The powers I give you will basically allow you to…for a lack of a better description, Fuck the laws of Physics and allow you to do almost anything you want that's in the range of your imagination…in a sense, you will be turning your life…into a game."

"A Game?" John asked, and Jorn nodded "Yes," he said. "As my distant ally says, life is but a game. It always has been, but to the core, it just comes down to one thing: How you play the game."

He then reached into his pockets, and pulled out two pills, one red and one blue "So, I'm gonna make this simple," he said, "You take the blue pill, the story ends, and you return to the crucible just like you left it, and choose what you want to choose. Take the Red Pill, you continue the game, and I'll show you just how far the Rabbit Hole Goes."

John just looked at him incredulously "You took that from the Matrix…" he muttered, "Your insane!"

"Sanity is simply the absence of Original Thought," Jorn said, "Sanity is highly overrated, we each hold our own definition of sanity, so in reality, we're all insane in some way or another!" He then chucked a bit "An old friend of mine one said that…" he said before shaking his head "Anyways…what's it gonna be? Red? Or Blue?"

John looked at the two pills held out before him, once again debating over his choices. However, in truth…there was only one real choice.

John reached for the Red Pill, picked it up, and swallowed it with a glass of water. Jorn grinned a bit "And so…the game begins." He said, "That pill there will grant you the powers I promised, as well as the knowledge to use them. It will also help you resist the Indoctrinating effects of the Reapers, they were pretty much indoctrinating you through the whole journey. If you had picked any other choice aside from the one to destroy the reapers, they would have won. However at the same time, if you had chosen Destruction, they still would have won since the Relay's would have been destroyed, and trust me, we need those Relay's."

Jorn then stood up to his feet "I'll try to help you out as much as I can," he said, "But even with my powers…there are limits to what I can do." He then grinned a bit "Also, a bit of personal advice John…Fuck a lot of Women, your saving your fucking galaxy, your universe, hell you're part of saving the whole fucking multiverse, and after all the shit you've been through, I think you've earned the right to have a Harem."

John just stared at Jorn, shock written all over his face as he blushed while Jorn laughed "Hey, its true!" He said, as Shepard thought about that for a moment.

"Your right," He said, and Jorn stopped laughing "Damnit, your right! I'm saving the fucking galaxy, I am entitled my right to have a Harem!" Jorn could see the the grin that spread across John's face, which clearly said he was serious.

"...Alright, your game life." Jorn said, before he walked up to him "Anyways, your going to close your eyes, and when you open them, you'll find yourself on the bridge of the first Normandy just before the battle of Eden Prime." He said, as he placed a hand on John's shoulder "Good Luck Shepard." He said.

John nodded "Thanks," he said as he closed his eyes, and then Jorn snapped his fingers, and he disappeared from the room.

Jorn then sighed as he found himself alone in the room "This is it…" he said to himself as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out his sunglasses as he put them back on "It all starts here…I hope this works, 'cause Rebuke's gonna need all the help he can get."

AN: And bam! First chapter done! Special thanks to RebukeX7, he helped me out a bit here and there (also, the quote Jorn said about Sanity is inspired by a saying of Dragonknightryu's, so special thanks to him as well.)

Like I said, I am writing this fic will full permission from RebukeX7, and we will be working on this thing together.

Also, for a lack of a better description of what Jorn was wearing, just imagine was Albert Wesker wears in Resident Evil 5.

~117Jorn~