After a long drive, Luna, Billy the cat, and Sunny step out of the RV. Luna glances at Sunny. "So... the Flesh Terror, huh?"
Sunny chuckles. "Yeah, not exactly my favorite monster!"
Luna tilts her head. "Wait, Nessie is real too?"
Sunny nods. "Yep, though I've never seen one. They're an endangered species, so they're all protected by Sanctuary and the U.S. government."
Luna groans. "But I bet they're so cute! I want to see one!"
Sunny laughs and pats Luna on the head. "Maybe someday, partner!"
When they enter the house, they're greeted by a stack of boxes. Luna blinks in confusion. "Huh, they sure work fast. Wait, how did the boxes get here so—"
She stops mid-sentence as she notices a note on one of the boxes. Picking it up, she reads aloud:
"Dear Luna and Sunny, before I headed out, I decided to drop off some essentials for your new home!
— Father Frederick"
Luna spins around to Sunny. "Wait, how the hell did he get into our house? Wasn't it locked?"
Sunny, already opening one of the boxes, shrugs. "Oh, I ran into him in town, and he offered to drop off some goods and stuff."
Luna blinks slowly. "That man eludes me."
As they unpack, they find a variety of items—mostly food, some appliances, pillows, blankets, and other essentials.
"Well, it was definitely nice of him to do this for us," Luna says. "I'll have to thank him if I ever see him again."
Sunny munches on some chips and grins. "I've got a feeling you will. Just a hunch, you know?"
After some time, Luna begins her training again outside, focusing on her will technique. As she pushes herself, unraveling more of her potential, she notices a strange little green creature standing in the garden.
The creature is wearing what looks like basic iron armor with leather padding. Luna tilts her head. "Uh, hello?"
The little creature approaches, and Alter suddenly appears beside Luna.
"What the hell is a goblin doing here?" Alter mutters. "Whatever—it doesn't look feral, so you're good."
Luna quickly turns to Alter, her thoughts racing. "Wait, I mean... I assumed it's intelligent? Or they're intelligent? Or—wait, is it 'he,' 'she,' 'they'? Also, you said feral—can they go feral? Are they born feral, or—"
Alter cuts her off. "Yes and no. They can be born feral, and they can go feral. For a goblin to go feral, they'd have to be trapped underground for a long time. If that happens, the only solution is... well, killing them. This one's a surface goblin, though, so it seems fine. But seriously, what's it doing this far north in the Americas? Strange. This world is so small."
Alter sighs. "Still, it's adorable, though," she adds with a smirk before fading away.
Luna approaches the little creature. "Hi there, cutie! I'm Luna, and you are?" she says with a smile, noticing the creature is barely two feet tall.
The creature tilts its head, grunting, and then points toward the house. It looks back at Luna with curious eyes.
"Uhhh, I guess... hold up! Let me go get my friend!" Luna says, her voice nervous but friendly.
She quickly runs inside, shouting for Sunny. "HEY, THERE'S A GOBLIN!"
Before Luna can say anything else, Sunny is already standing next to her. "Holy fucking shit, there is!" Sunny exclaims, her jaw practically hitting the ground.
The goblin tilts its head again, letting out a grunt and pointing toward the house. Sunny grins from ear to ear. "Yeah, of course you can come in!"
The goblin shrugs and strolls inside. Sunny follows closely, but Luna decides to stay outside to continue her training.
After about an hour of solid practice, Luna gets ready to head back inside. However, she notices a group of people emerging from the trees—three men and one woman.
One of the men, wearing a cowboy hat, speaks up. "Hey, did you see a little green creature around here?"
The woman raises an eyebrow, looking directly at Luna. "Well? Did you?" she asks in a calm yet authoritative tone.
Luna freezes in place, recalling the earlier attack in town. She contemplates whether to fight or flee.
"Oi, dumbass! You gonna say something—" one of the men snaps, only to be interrupted by a slap to the back of the head from the cowboy.
"Hey, idiot! Be nice," the cowboy grumbles.
The woman sighs and softens her expression. "Look, honey, it's okay. You can trust us," she says with a warm smile.
At that moment, Alter appears beside Luna. "Heads up—the guy who hasn't said a word is loading a firearm, and that woman? She's prepping a spell. Her mana's flaring up!"
Hearing this, Luna slams her hand onto the ground and shouts, "Earth's protection!" A large wall erupts from the ground, blocking the group off just as the woman hurls a fireball, which harmlessly collides with the wall.
Luna glances around in a panic. "Screw it! I've been practicing!" she mutters. Activating Unravel, she swings her arm around the wall, grabbing one of the attackers by the leg and flinging him into a nearby tree.
The woman leaps into the air while the cowboy follows suit, landing on the wall. He draws both his revolvers, but before he can fire, Luna slams her hand onto the wall again, rapidly increasing its size. The sudden growth causes the cowboy to lose his balance and tumble off. Luna then extends the wall even faster, the top slamming into the airborne woman and knocking her back.
Before Luna can catch her breath, a sharp punch connects with her face, sending her stumbling. She looks up to see a hooded man standing before her.
"F-fuck, he's fast!" Luna thinks to herself, her heart racing.
Luna points her hand at the hooded man and shouts, "Lightforce!" She fires a glowing ball of light at him, only to see him dodge effortlessly and disappear from sight.
"Oh, great. He's fast!" Luna mutters nervously, scanning the area. Suddenly, a fireball slams into her back, the explosion sending her sprawling to the ground. "W-wait, are these people actually trying to kill me!?" she thinks, panic flooding her mind.
As her breathing grows erratic, she begins to hyperventilate. Her unraveling intensifies until her arm completely unravels. But just in time, she stomps the ground and mutters, "Rubber ground!" The ground around her turns malleable and rubber-like, expanding far enough to amplify sound vibrations and help her listen for the sneaky attacker.
With her unraveled arm, she snakes it up the wall, wrapping it around the flying woman's legs. With a powerful yank, Luna slams the woman into the wall twice before flinging her into the nearby trees.
She feels the ground shift slightly beneath her. Reacting quickly, Luna unravels her leg and swings it in a rapid motion, delivering a devastating kick to the cloaked man's head. He crashes to the ground, dazed. Luna doesn't let up; she slams her unraveled leg onto his midsection, knocking him out cold.
Just as the cowboy sneaks around the corner, aiming his revolver at her, Luna's unraveled fist strikes the side of his head, sending him reeling.
Breathing heavily, Luna looks around, her eyes darting in every direction. She hears movement as the first man she had flung into a tree begins to stir. Gasping for air, he shakily rises to his feet.
"W-we y-yield!" he stammers, just as Luna's fist collides with the tree next to him, cracking it.
Sunny steps out of the house, revolver in hand, shouting, "What the hell is going on out here!?" She scans the scene, taking in the defeated attackers. Letting out a sigh, she holsters her weapon.
"Did Sanctum send you?" Sunny demands.
The cowboy weakly raises a thumbs-up. "Y-yes, ma'am," he groans.
After about ten minutes, the attackers are tied up together, with Sunny standing over them. "Alright, question time. I know Sanctum sent y'all, but how did you four dimwits find out about this place?"
"W-well, there was a g-goblin," the woman stammers in a panic. "We were following it, planning to capture and sell it for some quick cash, but it was fast, and we followed its trail all the way here!"
Sunny rolls her eyes. "I see. Well, you all got your butts kicked, so here's the deal: you're gonna go and forget this place ever existed, got it!?" Her voice is sharp with authority.
The group quickly shouts in unison, "Yes, ma'am!"
Roughly twenty minutes later, the attackers have scurried far, far away.
"Well, partner, you did great, but I think you should come in and take a break," Sunny says with a warm smile, placing a hand on Luna's shoulder.
Luna smiles softly, nodding. "Yeah, I agree."
As the two women head inside, their little goblin friend looks up at them.
"By the way, our little goblin friend here will be living with us," Sunny announces.
Luna freezes, turning to Sunny in shock. "W-wait, what!?"
"Yeah," Sunny replies nonchalantly. "He's actually been helping me with the wiring and plumbing in this place."
Luna looks down at the little goblin, who glances back at her and lets out a small grunt. She turns back to Sunny. "I see... How handy?" She tilts her head, still processing the information.
Just then, there's a knock at the door, and Luna freezes in place.
Seeing Luna's reaction, Sunny walks over to answer. "Luna's still on edge. Well, I don't blame her."
Sunny opens the door to see a man holding a clipboard. "Sign here," he says in a monotone voice.
Sunny quickly grabs the clipboard and starts reading it over. "Alrighty, thank you!" She signs the clipboard with her fake name and watches as the man starts unloading boxes.
Sunny looks a bit surprised as she sees him driving off. "Huh, what if this was the wrong house?" she jokes, tilting her head with a grin.
"Luna, come on out here! It was just the delivery guy, and we've got stuff to unpack!" she shouts.
Upon hearing this, Luna drags her feet to the front of the house. "Alright," she replies, her voice carrying through the house. To her surprise, the goblin follows her.
As they start bringing the boxes inside, Luna is shocked to see how strong the little goblin is, effortlessly lifting an entire couch on his own. Meanwhile, Luna surprises herself by lifting a box that's likely holding a recliner with ease.
"Huh, maybe I'm pretty strong too," she says, a confident smile spreading across her face.
After an hour or two, they've successfully unloaded all the furniture into the rooms. Sunny finishes setting up Luna's bed, and after about twenty minutes, Luna walks into her room to see her newly made bed. A wide smile spreads across her face as she throws herself onto it, bouncing up and down like a child and giggling.
"I can't believe I have my own bed again!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, her voice full of joy.
Sunny, standing around the corner, smiles warmly at the sight. "Aw, I'll let her enjoy herself. I won't tease her," she whispers to herself before walking away, her expression soft and happy.
After a solid thirty minutes of bouncing on her bed, Luna finally walks out of her room, only to find the goblin staring at her from the hallway. He points toward the bathroom, gives her a thumbs-up, and walks off.
Luna tilts her head in confusion but decides to check it out. As she enters the bathroom, she blinks in surprise, seeing that the shower is up and running. She smiles and murmurs to herself, "Well, I guess I've earned a shower."
Meanwhile, Sunny is in the kitchen preparing dinner. "I can't believe I actually have a growing team, Billy!" she says, giving the cat some affectionate head scratches while stirring a pot of stew.
She notices the little goblin approaching her. "Oh, hey there, little guy. What's your name, by the way?" Sunny tilts her head, curious.
The goblin walks up to her and hands her a piece of paper. Sunny takes it and reads the name written on it: Sronk.
"Sronk, huh? And it says you're a guy!" Sunny chuckles before giving him a thumbs-up. "Well, sir, welcome to the team!"
For the first time that day, Sronk smiles before sitting down and fiddling with some gizmos and gadgets.
Sunny glances at him with a warm grin. "Naw, I think this might be more of a family then a team!"