Who was she? Where was she from? How did she find herself in this… blackness? This eerie darkness?

That was what the young woman wearing slim grey framed eyeglasses asked her mind as she stayed where she was. But her mind was unable to answer immediately. Instead, it required her to stay in her spot for the moment to try and think through things carefully.

What was her name? What was her name? The young woman stroked her chin in thought.

… Dorothy. Dorothy Eve. Yes. Yes, that sounded correct. Very correct. The young woman allowed herself to smile. It was a small thing, but it was something she felt was worth smiling about in this domain. It made her feel a little complete already, just knowing she knew her name.

Now. Where was she from? That made the smile falter. She couldn't recall. But, it was a slightly minor thing. Given where she was, she wasn't sure knowing where she was from would make too much of a difference. At least with her name, she could tell it to people. That is, if there were any around here.

So what question was left? Ah, what had happened?

…

…

…

She grimaced and was only half aware when her hand went towards her head. Dorothy had spent a little more time thinking on this question, but she couldn't remember anything. All she got was a sense of pain in her head. Like she had been hit there.

So, to summerize what she could so far, her name was Dorothy, she couldn't remember where she came from and she from what tiny evidence she had, the reason she was here possibly involved the pain in her head.

… At least she knew some things. Better than nothing she supposed.

Dorothy looked herself over, just to make sure she was physically fine (she wasn't sure why she hadn't earlier). She saw she was wearing brown hiking boots, denim capris and a black off-the-shoulder top. Simple, but at least it was practical in a sense. At least to her. Who knows what could happen here. Bringing a hand to her head again, she felt her hair was in a wavy bob-cut. And brown when she managed to pull a lock in front of her eyes briefly. To check on it out of mild curiosity.

After that small check, Dorothy looked around again and folded her arms. Considering her next option. It was like she was standing in a black canvas of black. No sign of walls nor floors. No sign of when the darkness ended. It was definitely unnatural. Maybe a tad bit unnerving.

Would it make a difference if Dorothy stayed where she was, or started walking? She wanted to say no, though the simple fact that walking would give her something to do was a fairly strong reason to start walking.

So that's what Dorothy did. She walked. And walked. And walked. How long she did it for, she couldn't recall. But the young woman only stopped once the entire walked to rest, so it couldn't have been that long.

Could it? Dorothy had no watch on her, so time wasn't something she could keep track of right now. Hell, she could have been in the black place longer then she thought. Longer then before she gained consciousness here. It could have been days, weeks, months or years for all she knew.

"What is your name?"

Stopping, Dorothy looked around. The voice was definitely masculine as far as she could tell. Though not quite human as the words sounded a bit gargled. Like, an animal was just able to growl out each of the words into English she was just about able to understand.

"… Dorothy?" Since there wasn't exactly anyone to see her possibly make a fool of herself, there wasn't any hesitation in answering the question. Though the hesitance could be heard in her way of answering.

"Do you know where you are?"

"No, not at all." Dorothy folded her arms, eyes moving up above her. "Could you tell me?"

"I do know this is a plain between life and death."

"Life and death? So…" It shortly came to Dorothy as her eyes widened. "So I'm dead?!" That pain that had been in her head… Had something hit her so hard that she died?

"You don't appear dead to me. Perhaps you're just in a coma? And your soul just… wandered outside for the time being?"

Dorothy thought this over. Who was to say what happened to the soul after death? Maybe the voice was right. If that was the case, it was a fairly boring experience until the voice started talking to her.

"But whatever happened, I have a proposition."

"Oh?"

"Yes. With the offer I make you, it would give you something to do until you return to your body if you're in a coma. If you're dead, this can be your second chance at life. You don't exactly have anything to lose."

Dorothy's fingers fiddled with the hem of one of her sleeves. She could see the sense of the voice's words. Whatever the reason for her being here, it couldn't really get any worse. Could it? It couldn't hurt to listen to his (assuming it was male) offer.

"And… What would I have to do?"

"You'll be assisting in a holy mission," the voice went straight to the point.

"A holy mission?" Dorothy looked around again, on the off chance she might spot the speaker. "And… What exactly is this mission that is supposedly, 'holy'?"

"It won't exactly be you yourself that does this mission. Rather you will be leading. You will be assigned to a being called The Batter, and assist him in this holy quest."

Dorothy wasn't exactly sure what to make of this at first. All it made her feel was at least a little sceptic. Maybe even a little irritated. Who couldn't be?

"It sounds… interesting. But, you still haven't exactly said what I'm supposed to do exactly."

"The Batter is a puppet, a marionette," the voice finally started explaining, much to Dorothy's relief. "He cannot move from where he is in Zone 0. He needs a puppeteer. Someone to guide him, give him orders to attack, when to stand by so he may heal, and someone to aid in puzzle solving."

It sounded fairly simple enough. Dorothy didn't think that could be denied. But the guiding and puppeteer parts…

"So, am I supposed to be… hovering over him with those puppet strings to make him walk?" Dorothy asked awkwardly.

"Don't be stupid." Dorothy dropped her arms to her sides at the blunt reply as she gave an indignant cry. The question was a bit silly, she knew that. But there was no need for the voice to be so bluntly rude. "If you agree to my offer, there will be a binding connection between the two of you. Think of it more like an invisible perimeter surrounding you. The Batter will not be able to stray large distances from you."

"And outside that perimeter, he wouldn't be able to walk?"

"Like I said. He's a puppet. A puppet that can't walk without being near its master."

Dorothy couldn't say she liked the metaphor too much. It just seemed wrong. But she knew she wouldn't be so condescending towards this 'Batter' like the voice seemed to be. And thinking over the deal so far, there didn't seem to be too much wrong. Until one thing did occur to her.

"If I agree to be a puppeteer, can I be harmed?"

"Yes. But the Batter will keep you safe. Even if it goes against a previous order."

Dorothy had to give some points for honesty at the very least. Knowing she could be harmed could at least give some motivation to not be lazy and be attentive.

"Do you agree or not?"

"… I'm still not entirely sure…" Dorothy paused a moment. "What do you think the chances are of at least some of my memory from my life returning?"

"How should I know?" Dorothy sighed. She supposed he may have had a small point. Disembodied voice or not, she doubted it was some sort of omnipotent god. Well… Perhaps her memory wold return in time. She had some sort of head trauma, but that didn't guarantee that she had some kind of permanent amnesia.

"I'll ask one more time, and I want an answer. I hate delaying. Yes, or no?"

There was a certain to the speaker's tone this time. It actually made Dorothy feel a bit nervous. Swallowing thickly, she thought hard on it. Reviewing everything she knew.

The pros said that she didn't really have anything to loose, the cons said there could always be something the speaker left out. The scales were about even. Yes led to untold possibilities, adventures, glory and oh so many things children fantasize about doing. For all she knew, she could live the adventures one could only dream of.

But, fantasies did not mean it would all be perfect. She was susceptible to harm as the voice said. The question of why exactly she was picked also came to mind, or why this 'Batter' was a living puppet to begin with.

However, she was getting a chance Dorothy was sure not many got. Sure, there was a possibility she may come to regret it. But as thought and said again and again.

What was there to lose right now?

"… Yes. I'll… I'll take the role of Puppeteer." Even though her mind was made up, Dorothy still couldn't stop her voice from having a tentative tone.

"Good." Dorothy was almost certain there was a twinge of relief in the still growling voice. "Just remember…"

Dorothy felt invisible hands over her eyes, and her breathing quickened. The voice almost sounded like hissing in her right ear.

"The mission is all that matters.

"Good luck."

So, I've recently played and beaten 'OFF', and while I was listening to 'Over the Rainbow' in the credits, this idea came to me. Given how much 'OFF' fanfiction there is, I'll admit I'm a little uncertain about whether this story will be worth continuing or not (especially since I've been procrastinating from other stories XD). But, I decided it would be worth being optimistic and hope this will be an enjoyable series for you dear readers :3

Remember. Reviews are more then welcome, so if you have the time, please do so. I like to hear what people think :)