DISCLAIMER:
I did not create any of these characters. The Brother Chaps did. I could not create characters even nearly as interesting as The Brother Chaps have. I just want to write a story about them, because I like them so much.
The Opportunity
Chapter 1: The Letter
Sunday
11:34 PM
Outskirts of Free Country
The wind was strong as a cold breeze blew through the air. The strange, uninviting atmosphere was only made less appealing by the darkness that the big shadow brought. Strong Sad was standing under the bridge. He wore a thick fleece jacket to help him cope with the putrid cold. He stood under the only bridge that led out of Free Country. His friends didn't usually go here. They didn't normally leave Free Country at all. The bridge was dark. Strong Sad was standing on the dark road under the bridge. The whole area was unknown to him. His surroundings frightened him a little.
In his hand, he held a single, crumpled piece of paper. He was a note, to him. He had found it in an envelope in the mail. It had no return address. It was just the address for Strong Sad's house and the word "Personal" on it. The paper that he was currently holding had been the only thing inside the envelope. He glanced at it again. It was written on the back of a page torn from the book War and Peace. It was obviously written very quickly, but the person it was from had such beautiful handwriting, that even if it was written in a hurried scrawl, it was still beautiful. The only person Strong Sad knew who could do that that he could think of was himself.
Strong Sad reread the letter, to make sure he was correct. It said this:
Strong Sad,
I sincerely hope that you get this letter. I would very much like to talk to you again. I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk to you since 1998. I have a proposition to make. Meet me under the Highway 43 overpass at 11:30 PM on Sunday. We can talk to each other privately there.
He looked at the signature. It did not have a distinct name. It was merely signed by "A Friend." He looked around. He was under the overpass on Highway 43, the only real road that goes through Free Country. He glanced at his watch. 11:37. He began to wonder if anyone would show. He looked around at the dark night. He began to suspect that this might have been a joke from one of his brothers. But then he remembered the beautiful handwriting. Neither of his brothers could write like that. I had to be someone else. He began to think of a friend that he hadn't met for a few years. Nothing came to mind. It was a mystery.
He slumped down on the ground, wondering who it could be. He began to feel tired. He thought that maybe he could sleep better if he had his eyes closed. For a brief moment, he began to feel totally relaxed. He began to try to think, but then everything suddenly went quiet for a moment.
Monday
12:53 AM
Outskirts of Free Country
A bright light shone through Strong Sad's eyelids. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on the ground, in the same place he had been standing last night. He looked around. It was now daytime. He suddenly felt a bad feeling. He looked at his watch. It was 1:17 AM. He then realised that the strange feeling that had overcome him had been sleep. He had missed his appointment.
"Darn," he muttered to himself. He looked around again. At first, he saw nothing different than the night before. But then, he saw a piece of paper on the ground. He looked at his hand. He was still holding the note from last night. He examined the second piece of paper. It was also a page torn from War and Peace. He looked on the back. It had a note written on it, in the same beautiful handwriting as the other note. He read it with haste.
Strong Sad,
I'm sorry to say that I arrived after slumber had overcome you. I know that you are probably used to sleeping, what with all the sleeping you do to get away from those terrible brothers of yours, Strong Bad and Strong Mad. I hope we can see each other again—maybe in a brighter vicinity? I could meet you at that restaurant your friend Homestar always likes to go to...what is it called? Marshmallow's Last Stand. Let's say, oh, 1:15 on Monday? I hope you can make it.
Hoping to see you soon,
A Friend
Strong Sad finished the note. He looked up. "I've got to get ready," he said to himself. He lifted himself up and headed down Highway 43 back to his house.
Monday12:56 AM
Strong Brothers' House
He did not look around when he got to his house, as he was there every day, and knew what the house looked like. But if he had taken the time to look around at his house, he would have seen a three-bedroom peach-orange bungalow.
When he walked through the front door, he turned left and walked into the door on the right side. It was the bathroom. He surveyed himself in the mirror, and decided that what he looked like now was the best he could get himself to look like. He opened the bathroom door, but just as he was about to step out, three people came through the front door.
Two of them were his brothers, Strong Mad and Strong Bad. The third was a strange friend of his two brothers, named The Cheat. The Cheat was in no way human. He was a tiny, yellow furry animal of some kind that spoke with strange, almost incomprehensible mew-talk. The Cheat was covered in bruises.
"Oh, man," cried Strong Bad. "I won by five and a half miles! That was the best Cheat-Kicking to-oo-nament ever! Which reminds me, I've got to check my email."
"I WANT TO WIN!" roared Strong Mad.
"I know, big guy," comforted Strong Bad, "But in every competition, there is always a winner (that's me) and a loser (that's you). Oh, yeah, and sometimes, like, people, like...in the middle."
The Cheat grumbled something angry under his breath.
Strong Bad turned to the left, and saw Strong Sad.
"Hey, dumpus," he grunted. He was about to walk by me, when suddenly there was a loud chiming. It was the sound of a grandfather clock. It chimed once, signifying that is was 1:00.
"We don't own a grandfather clock," commented Strong Sad.
"Who cares," muttered Strong Bad. "The point is, it's time to give you your hourly beating-up." He snapped his fingers. Strong Mad walked over and punched Strong Sad on the head.
When he woke up, he looked at his watch. It was 1:14. He made his way off the ground to the front door, across the yard and towards Marshmallows Last Stand.