Heart of Steel (OFF fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Disclaimer : I do not own OFF!
The silence was almost deafening in this odd void of darkness. I felt that I had almost no form, feeling nothing- weightless. Breathing?...I'm not sure...it hurt... There was...pain. Blinding pain. White, hot, searing pain that engulfed my being though... I had no form.
Then I felt hands. Little, cold hands. And I was...breathing? Yes... breathing oxygen... Not smoke. Smoke? Why smoke? That's not normal. Where did that come from?
Then I felt weight. I felt my form. I was lying on a surprisingly soft surface and I felt those little hands on my form again. There were a pair of large, warm ones too, and they were wrapping something scratchy around my arms.
My arms...
I was then able to pick up sound and there were timid little voices and a very familiar one... but who?
Zacharie... but who is zacharie?
Where am I?
"Pla-.........-me to wake up," the voice said.
Wake up? How do I do that?
I suddenly felt that I was falling, crashing almost. The surface that I was lying on was no longer soft, but the cold material of a hard plastic floor. Everything hurt, everything burned. My lungs, arms, and even my eyes burned. I groaned loudly as I tried to sit up, my arms screaming in protest. I opened my eyes and they watered.
Please be home...
I looked around, surrounded by the walls of the office. I was still...here...
I am.... In... a game. Yes...that's right... OFF. Alma, zone 1. Home of the guardian of zone 1.
When my vision finally came to, Zacharie was kneeling in front of me but proceeded to get up as I began to take in my surroundings.
"Ah ah... The player has finally decided to join us once more!" Said zacharie as he hoisted his bookbag onto his back. "Please do keep those gashes clean, we wouldn't want to lose our dear player to an infection now would we?" He said ominously, walking to the door.
I got up off the floor with difficulty, the blood already starting to seep through the bandages.
No stitches...
I stood in front of the desk for a while, contemplating these odd thoughts when I heard a low growl behind me and felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of my head. I turned around slowly and met with the sight of the angry guardian.
It almost seemed like he was much taller than when we last met...perhaps it was due to the close proximity. There was also color to his body- a dark gray hue. His white coat appeared disheveled and had speckles of crimson blood on it.
"... Get...out..." he growled. "You've overstayed your.... "welcome",".
Odd... I couldn't seem to find words to speak...my mouth suddenly felt dry.
"I.. ah... don't have anywhere else to go.." I muttered, shrinking into myself.
He began to stand up. "Go anywhere else but here! I have enough problems with these damn elsen!" He yelled, standing up straighter, almost trying to seem intimidating.
Cute...
Ager suddenly bubbled up into my chest. "Maybe if you didn't treat them like such shit you wouldn't have a problem, you sack of dicks!" I yelled back with as much fevor.
Dedan appeared taken aback from my outburst but suddenly snarled.
"Who said you could tell me how to run my zone?!" He slammed his clawed hands on the desk, but his posture seemed to lax and that's when I saw it- a large gash in his left arm, his odd blood staining the area. He removed his hands from the desk with an over exaggerated scraping sound from his claws.
"I don't have time for this.." he said as he began to walk towards the door, fixing his coat. He whipped around.
"You...better be gone by the time I get back..." he turned, about to walk out, but my determination got the best of me.
"W-...wait! You're one of the queen's officers aren't you?"
He stopped in the doorway.
"What do you care of that information?" He growled defensively.
"M-....maybe you could help me... get back to my own...what..world? Realm? Agh you know what I'm saying...". I approached.
He looked at me from over his shoulder.
"I don't have those capabilities... those matters are to be discussed with the queen. Now..If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to." He turned towards the staircase. "Oh and one more thing.....Piss off," he said and walked away, leaving me in his office with a defeated look on my face.
Now what?
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Pov change: Dedan
I muttered to myself as I walked down the stairs, a headache beginning to make its home in my head. The player had been unconscious for what the merchant said was two hours. She lost quite a bit of blood and left a stain on the floor.
I'll get an elsen to come in and clean that shit up.
Once I got outside of the building, I teleported to The Room, where the queen and the other guardians waited. We had what one may call a "conference room", where conditions of the zones were discussed as well as the economic aspects. I walked in and took my respective seat, sitting next to Enoch the lard ass. Japhet was on the other side among others of "high authority".
Authority my ass... These elsen can't do shit. I huffed, clicking my claws on the white table with impatience.
The queen was at the head of the table, her form appearing to shine under the light from the tall, stained glass windows. Surprisingly, Hugo was next to her. I had not seen the boy in a very long time, he didn't change much though.
The queen cleared her throat and the conversations stopped at the sound.
"It appears that the tides have turned with the arrival of the player," she said, her powerful yet soft voice booming in the large room.
"I expect that you make our player feel... Welcome in her new environment...".
I felt her eye me up and I straightened my posture more than it already was. Hugo then shot me a smile of awareness.

(A/n: constructive criticism is welcome too guys! Let me know what you all think!)