An armored bus zoomed down the interstate, heading towards a massive bridge that passed over the crystal blue ocean water and led to a small island on the other side. The bus shook slightly as it hit a bump coming onto the bridge, shaking the passengers inside. Inside, sat eight people, four sitting on a bench on each side of the bus. Every one of them with handcuffs locking their wrists.
They were all different. Some were young, some were old. Some looked frighten, some looked threatening.
But, there was only one woman.
The woman sat at the end of the metal bench, her handcuffed hands lying on her pants-covered thighs. Her pink-hair was messy, looking as if it hadn't been combed in some time. Her spiky bangs fell over her face. Her blank blue eyes were locked on the dirty floor of the bus.
"Happy Birthday, Lightning!"
Suddenly, the lights flicked on, revealing the small group of people that were hiding behind the couch in the living room of her home.
Her eyes widened, just now realizing what today was. How could she forget her own birthday? No wonder Lieutenant Amador was adamant about letting her leave work early.
Her sister ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Happy birthday, sis! Hope you don't mind that we wanted to throw you a surprise party!"
A small smile appeared on her face. "Thanks, Serah."
It was a small party, only the NORA members were there. Over the past few years, she had grown to like the group. Now, they were the closest thing she had to a family.
"Well, what are you waiting for, Sis!?" Snow, Serah's fiancé, questioned her with a grin.
"Yeah, let's have some fun!" Her sister announced before grabbing her hand and dragging her into the kitchen, everyone else following them.
It was then when she saw something strange.
Even though the sun had gone down, she could see that something was outside the large glass window in the kitchen. Her eyes squinted, trying to get a better look at it.
It almost looked like a person…But, that would be impossible. Their house was on stilts. There's no way someone could be outside their window unless they were floating.
But, the closer she looked at it, the more she realized that it actually was a person.
"What the hell…?" She muttered, staring wide-eyed as she stopped while everyone else went into the kitchen, not noticing what she was looking at.
An eerie grin spread across the figure's face before it suddenly threw its arms out, strange streaks of crimson shot at the window, shattering it and sending giant shards of glass towards them.
"Get down!" She yelled and quickly pushed Serah down before her vision went black.
The bus began to slow down. Outside the barred window, a giant colorful building came into view. It had a very carnival feel to it. Majority of the building was painted crimson with various decorations on the sides. Flags waved from the strange towers attached to it.
"Ugh…" She mumbled as she regained consciousness.
When she opened her eyes and sat up, she saw that the kitchen had been completed destroyed. The window was blown out, glass all over the place. The island in the middle was knocked over and the cabinets were hanging off the walls.
She reached up to touch her forehead but paused, noticing the blood all over her hand. But, it wasn't hers.
She glanced next to her, only to see Snow's lifeless eyes staring back at her, shards of glass escaping from his body and a puddle of blood underneath him.
"Oh my god…" She jumped away from his body, her eyes wide in shock.
Her eyes shot around the room, noticing the bodies of the people who she considered family, scattered about.
"Is this really happening…?" She whispered to herself in disbelief.
Wait. Where was Serah?
"Serah!" She shouted desperately, stumbling to her feet and quickly turning around only for her mouth to drop at what she saw.
The man that was outside the window stood right in front of her, a tuft of pink bloodstained hair in his grip and hanging from that was Serah's decapitated head, the expression of fear frozen on her face.
"S-Serah?" She stammered, tears beginning to fill her eyes before they shot to the man.
Large shoulder plates rested on the armor suit that the man was wearing, each dark green and with a strange pattern engraved in them. A tattered white cape swayed as the gusts of wind blew through the shattered window. Most of his face was covered by a green plate that wrapped around his eyes and nose like a mask, leaving only that sadistic smile visible.
"You…monster!" She screamed as she rushed towards the murderer with watery eyes.
Dropping Serah's head, the man caught her incoming fist, his smile growing wider. Before she could react, a red light shined from the man's other palm before he slammed it against her chest.
"Agh!" She stumbled backwards, gripping her chest tightly, feeling an intense pain that she had never felt before.
The last thing she saw before she fell unconscious was the person disappearing.
The bus came to a halt. Seconds later, the doors flew open, revealing a large guard dressed in a dark blue suit that resembled a military uniform with a matching beret on his head. He flashed them a smirk.
"Welcome to your new home, inmates."
One by one, they shuffled out of the bus, jumping down to the concrete ground before heading towards the dark, underground passageway that lead into the prison.
The woman was the last in line. She glanced up, reading the massive sign above them.
It read in giant letters: "L'Cie Wonderland."
Her eyes shot open only to be blinded by the bright fluorescent lights in the room. She sat up with a jolt from the bed, glancing around the room as her vision began to focus.
She was in a hospital.
She looked down, seeing her hands locked in handcuffs.
"What the hell?" She mumbled then looked up when a group of men barged into the room.
A man in a suit and two Guardian Corps soldiers, one of them being Lieutenant Amador. Seeing her lieutenant further fed her confusion.
"Sir! What's going on? Why am I in handcuffs!?" She asked as she lifted up her cuffed hands, not understanding what was happening.
When the trio reached her, she noticed the grim expression on her superior's face.
"Bennett." Amador addressed the other soldier, seemingly ignoring her.
"Sir." Bennett acknowledged the lieutenant before stepping forward. "Lightning Farron, you are under arrest for suspected mass murder."
Her eyes widened in complete shock. "Mass murder?!" She clenched her fists, glaring at the soldier. "What the hell are you talking about!? I didn't kill anyone!" Her eyes shot over to Amador. "You don't believe this, Sir?"
Amador looked at her; she saw a flash of sadness in his eyes before they went cold. "You know, Farron, I didn't want to believe it at first. But, the evidence is there."
"What evidence!?" She shouted with frustration, not caring whether she was being respectful to her superior. She didn't commit murder. So, what evidence could they possibly have?
The lieutenant frowned. "The 12 bodies we found in your home, one of them being your own sister."
She froze as her eyes widened, images flashing across her vision.
Her birthday party. Broken glass. Dead Snow. Serah's decapitated head. The Green man.
"It was real…" She murmured to herself in disbelief, looking down at her hands.
She was knocked out of her realization when Bennett grabbed her out of the hospital bed, beginning to drag her out of the room.
"Wait! It wasn't me! Someone attacked us!" She desperately looked at Amador. "Sir, you have to believe me! Why would I kill them!? Why would I kill my own sister!?" She shouted as she dug her heels into the ground, trying to stop the soldier from taking her.
"I can't, Farron."
That was a blow to her.
Her commanding officer, the man that she looked up to as a father figure, didn't even believe her. He knew she would never do anything like this. She was a soldier, not a killer. But, why wouldn't he believe her?
Then she remembered the injury she received from the murderer. "I have proof! He attacked me!" She lifted up her handcuffed hands and quickly ripped open her hospital gown just enough so the top of her chest was visible.
"Look, ther-" She paused when she looked down only to see that there was no wound at all. It was as if she was completely unharmed.
Her face fell. "No…"
"That is enough, Farron!" Amador's voice boomed, his patience finally reaching its maximum. "Your trial will be in a few days. Until then, you will be in Guardian Corps custody. Take her away, Bennett." He ordered the soldier, shaking his head.
With that, the soldier dragged her out of the hospital and into the back of a Guardian Corps truck.
Lightning and the men that were in the bus with her all stood in a line against the wall of the hallway, their hands no longer in handcuffs. They were forced to change into a dark green jumpsuit with the "L'Cie Wonderland" logo - which resembled a barcode - stitched on breast of it. Each of them wore a thick grey collar wrapped around their necks.
"I hereby sentence the defendant, Lightning Farron, to death."
Her mouth dropped. "This can't be happening…"
The sound of heels hitting against the floor, echoed through the hallway.
"Ah, new inmates." A blonde haired woman said with a eerie smile as she stopped before them.
A beret covered most of her long blonde hair. She wore a dark blue guard jacket, a matching tie and a white undershirt underneath. Her white pants were tucked into her knee high heeled boots. And a holstered gun hung at her side.
"Welcome to L'Cie Wonderland. I am Jilh Naabat, chief guard."
She began to pace back and forth, gazing at them as she walked past them. "As most of you know, this private prison was built in the same place the Great Earthquake occurred. And, it isn't your typical prison either. It doubles as an amusement park which is run by you, the inmates."
She pointed to the bags that each of them held in their hands. "We were nice enough to give you the bare essentials in that bag."
"But, the most important thing I need to tell you is about those collars…They are how we identify you. But, more importantly, they constantly inject you with poison. In your bags, you have one piece of "candy." Eat it every three days and you will live. If you don't, you will die. It's as simple as that. " She smirked sadistically. "However, it's up to you to find out how to get more of it."
"Any quest-"
Just as Jilh spoke, a silver-haired boy with a cart full of boxes and crates rolled in front of them. The cart was so full that the boy was hidden behind all of the boxes, leaving him blind to where he was going. One of the cart's wheels rolled over Lightning's foot, knocking her out of her trance-like state.
Out of instinct, she grabbed the boy by his jumpsuit before slamming him against the wall, pinning him with her arm against his neck. The boy's light blue-green eyes were wide in fear and shock.
"Watch it…" Lightning growled.
"S-Sorry!" He quickly apologized with fear.
"Now, that's quite enough." She heard Jilh say before she felt a strong electric current flow in her neck before it traveled through her body, causing her to release the boy and collapse to the floor, her body involuntarily shaking.
Jilh's heeled boots came into view from her position on the floor. "Haven't even been here for five minutes and you're already starting fights…"
Lightning glared up at her only to see a smirk on Jilh's face.
"I think you'll fit in just nicely here."
Author's Note
I got this idea because I watched Deadman Wonderland recently. I thought it would be interesting to have Lightning and co. be Deadmen. For those who haven't watched Deadman Wonderland, let me explain and hopefully don't spoil anything just in case you want to watch it:
In the show, Deadman Wonderland is a private prison that doubles as an amusement park. The park is run by the inmates. For entertainment, the inmates compete in extremely dangerous games in order to prolong their lives in the prison. To the outside, it seems like just special effects. But, to the inmates, it is very real.
Deadmen are people that were effected by a certain explosion. The explosion was covered up by calling it the "Great Earthquake." They didn't want people to know the actual cause of it. The explosion caused them to develop the ability to use their blood as weapons. Some can turn it into blades or shoot it like bullets. The Deadmen are locked in a secret part of the prison.
In this story, the Deadmen will be called L'Cie instead but they will have the same kind of blood powers that the Deadmen do.
Also, Lightning will seem darker in this story because of what happened. It messed her up a bit.
Anyway, I love feedback so please review and let me know what you think!