Sterling woke up when the bus went 'thump'. It just kept bouncing and lurching and thumping as it drove along. The roads had turned from the smooth paved roads of the city to the bumpy dirt of the country. Maple somehow slept an hour longer, and woke up to the sun rising over the trees and plains, illuminating everything. It was a beautiful sight.
"Final stop, Stardew Valley! Please wait until the bus comes to a complete stop! Thank you for riding Zuzu Bus Service!" The bus came to a stop at a familiar place.
"We're home, Sterling!" said Maple. The siblings got off the bus. Sterling was immediately bombarded with fresh air, birdsong, and all the sights of his former home that he'd nearly forgotten in the past two years. This was the bus stop next to the farm. Sterling saw daffodils and wild horseradish growing all over the place. "What should we do now? Do we just… go to the farm? Would we get in trouble?"
"We have the deed, so we should be fine." They started towards the familiar path home. They arrived to see that the farm, to their surprise, looked almost identical to the day they left. Sterling was half expecting overgrown fields and a caved-in house, but it seemed to be intact. "Whoa… why is everything the same?" he asked, awed.
"The golden clock!" said Maple. "It uses temporal magic to prevent decay! Look, even these fences are still standing!"
"How do you know that?"
"I don't know!"
They cautiously walked into the house where they were born. The door was unlocked, because it didn't have a lock. The house was empty. All the lights were turned off, and the curtains were drawn. It was very spooky. Sterling went over to the nearest window to let in some light, and was stopped when a green face jumped out from the shadows and screeched loudly. Sterling recognized it as a golem. A cacophony of screeches disclosed the presence of bats. The house was infested with monsters. Sterling backed against the wall and noticed green slime smeared all over. He frantically searched the immediate area for some kind of weapon, and decided to try to fight using his backpack. The golem just kept inching closer, until Sterling swung the heavy backpack. It screeched in mild pain, but quickly kept advancing. Maple was in a similar predicament with the bats. Sterling was preparing for death and/or immense suffering when suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.
"CONCUSSA FLUCTUS!" A magic purple shockwave erupted, decimating the bats and golems. Sterling looked to the door and saw Abigail. She was wearing a witch's hat with a purple band, and a cool dress with spikes. Maple ran over to give her a hug. "Whoa, hey there Maple, what are you doing here?"
"We have the deed for the farm, and it rightfully belongs to us, and our grandparents wanted to sell it, so we came back."
"Oh, that's good. The valley has been crying, wanting her grandchildren back."
"Huh? Since when is the valley alive? And why are you dressed up as a witch?" Sterling was confused, and he wanted answers.
"Okay, let me explain…"