[Strong Bad]

Mel sighed and leaned back in his seat. He seemed to be aboard some kind of passenger train, though he didn’t quite remember how he’d gotten on it. Everything seemed fuzzy to him. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his legs. The train was full of shadowy figures, grim expressions plastered on their dark faces.

”Passengers of the damned.” stated a rather large man sitting next to Mel. ”We all are. After all… this is the train to the afterlife. The Doom Train.” He continued.

Mel raised his eye brows. ”What? What are you talking about?” questioned Mel, a confused expression claiming his face.

A brief grin appeared on the stranger’s worn face, then quickly disappeared. ”This is the train to the afterlife. You’re dead my friend. Everyone onboard is.” He motioned towards the other passengers. Mel looked closely at them… they seemed to be missing something… Hope perhaps?

”Haven’t you noticed yet? I figured it would be obvious… Take a closer look at their physical features.” suggested the Stranger. Mel took another glance… They seemed to have a strange aura about them… wait a minute… They don’t have bodies! Horror took the place of Mel’s confused expression. He looked at the stranger next to him and then himself. He held his hands in front of his face. His skin had been replaced by a dark grey mist it seemed. He could see the bones of his fingers through the dark haze.

”No way…”

”Yes way. It’s true. We’re all extinct, diminished, done for, dead. And this is the train to the afterlife. We should be arriving shortly… Take a look out the windows and see for yourself.”

Mel took a deep breath, of what he figured was air, and gazed out the dark windows. He could barely see anything. He cupped his hands against the glass and peered through. Nothing….wait.. wait a second.. What the!?

Fields and fields of souls; chained and marching to an endless fate. Mel swiftly turned around and looked at the stranger.

”What’s goin’ on? What’s out there?!” Mel questioned.

”Those are the wastelands. Souls trapped in eternal damnation. Not a pleasant thought, is it?”

The lights flickered dimly as the train rattled, swaying back and forth. The door opened at the end of the carriage and a strange figure seemed to drift inside. He looked like all the other souls, but instead of having a dark aura about him his was green and burning brightly.

”We’ll be arriving shortly. Prepare yourself and welcome to San Gloria: City of the Afterlife. May The Creator’s judgment be fair. That is all.” with that, the green spirit turned and went back through the door.

”Who was that? And what’s this about ‘judgement’?” asked Mel. Things seemed to be getting weirder and weirder.

”That is a Gate Keeper, my friend. It is his job to transport all the souls to San Gloria, for the rest of eternity. We don’t have much time, quickly gather your things.” said the stranger.

”My things..? But I have nothing.” Mel stated.

”Are you sure? Check under your seat.” suggested the Stranger.

Mel reached under his seat and felt around. Nothing. Wait.. He felt a small box. He looked around and carefully lifted it up, placing it on his lap. He looked at the stranger then back at the box, then opened it. Inside was a gun. The Stranger’s eyes widened at the sight, he gasped.

”What? What is it? It just seems like an ordinary gun…” Mel said as yet another puzzled expression found itself on his face.

”Look closely my friend. That is no ordinary gun.” Suggested the Stranger.

Mel took another look. The word “Revolution" was engraved along the silver, steel shaft. There was also a clip in the package containting….23, 24, 25. 25 bullets. Mel held it in his hand and balanced it, it seemed quite heavy. Suddenly the door started to open again.

”Quickly! Put it inside your vest!” Urged the stranger.

Mel shuffled around quickly and put the gun inside his vest and the bullets in another pocket. He closed the case and put it underneath his seat again. The door opened and the train came to a screeching halt. The Gate Keeper entered the room. ”We have arrived.”

Mel, the stranger and the other passengers were guided off of the train and into a massive train station. Mel had never seen anything in his life… well.. in his afterlife anyways. Busy souls of all kinds of different colours rushing back and forth. It seemed quite hectic, especially with the new arrivals. The gate keeper formed all the passengers into two person pairs and got them to form a line. They proceeded to follow him through the crowd and out onto a busy street. Wow. The sight was breath-taking. Buildings as tall as the eye could see. In the center of the city was an even larger structure, so large you could not see the ends of it; it seemed to span on forever. The word “Judgment” was written all over it. It didn’t seem very inviting.

Mel looked up at the stranger, ”Say, I don’t think we were ever introduced. I’m Meliegent. What do you go by?”

”Barret. The name’s Barret. Pleased to meet you.”

The two went back into silence, gawking at all the sights to take in. As the line gradually made it’s way in the direction of the Judgment building, Mel thought to himself… “Revolution"…