Another day at Wartwood. Today, the Sundews and Johan were at the Grub & Go supermarket. Johan picked up some fruit and put it in Felicia's shopping cart. "Hey," Ivy called out. "There's a twenty percent discount on bug nuggets!"

"That reminds me," said Johan. "I'm getting a lice pie and cream." He realized what he just said. "Sono stato in questo mondo per troppo tempo."

"Okay," said Sylvia. "See ya outside."

Johan went down the pastries section of the mall and found what he was looking for. "Lice pie." He licked his lips as he took it off the shelf. But then Wally appeared, hopped up and snatched it right out of his hands. "Hey, that's my pie!"

"I don't see your name on it, skeleton," he said.

"MUDA!"

POW!

"Ow, my back!" Wally yelled as he was flung across the aisle and into a wall. The pie landed on his head and he groaned. "Hey, you break it, you buy it, skeleton," an employee shouted. Suddenly, he gulped as he was grabbed by the throat and was slammed into a wall.

"CALL ME A SKELETON ONE MORE TIME!" Johan shouted. "CALL ME A SKELETON!"

"You're a skeleton," he choked.

"MUDA!" With a great heave, Johan threw the employee into the bathroom door.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size, skeleton," a boy frog with his family shouted.

For a brief moment, Johan's eyes flashed red as he smiled. "Like you?"

"Oops."

"JoJo!" Johan stopped when Ivy blocked him. "What's gotten into you? What's your problem?"

"I'M NOT THE ONE WITH THE PROBLEM! THEY..." Johan gestured to the frog customers who recoiled in fear. "...ARE THE ONES WITH THE PROBLEM! I've done so much for this town and what's the thanks I get? People still point at me and shouting 'Aah! Help! Run! A big, stupid, stinky, smelly, ugly monster! I'm so scared!' They judge me even though they know me. Well," he shouted at the customers. "Why do you slimy frogs care anyway? Go on, have your fun! Laugh at me! Kick me now that I'm down! Go on!"

They didn't. Then one frog said coldly, "You're not even worth it."

That hurt even more than any name Johan ever heard. Felicia tugged on his arm. "Come on, JoJo," she said calmly. "Let's go."

They walked out and found the Plantars and Anne sitting next to Bessie. "Hey, what happened to you?" asked Anne when she saw the hurt look on Johan's face.

"JoJo had a meltdown in the supermarket," explained Ivy.

"Let me guess, people teasing you and calling you names? 'Cause the same thing happened to me earlier."

Johan said, "Apparently, I'm not even worth that."

"Ooh, even I felt that one," said Sprig.

"It's so unfair!" exclaimed Anne. "We've been here over a month now, and the townspeople still treat us crummy. I just wish they were a little nicer."

"Oh, that's just the way these frogs are," said Hop Pop. "Slow to accept, and even slower to respect. It's actually our town motto."

"We know," said Johan. "It's the first thing you see when you enter this town."

"You'll find a way to get their respect, in your own weird Anne and JoJo way. Now, who wants pill bug pancakes?"

"Ooh! My favorite," said Anne. She realized what she said. "I've been here too long."

As the two families hopped on Bessie and drove into the town's square, they noticed a new statue being erected. It depicted Mayor Toadstool kissing a tadpole being held by a frog.

"That statue is new," said Hop Pop.

"And tasteless," said Sprig. "Woof!"

Suddenly, Bessie stopped short and started barking in fear. Johan gently rubbed her neck. "Hey, girl. Easy. What's wrong?"

He got his answer when he looked up and saw something coming into town. It was a spider-drawn wagon carrying three large toads. The one that was driving the wagon was Bog, a large toad with red skin, an orange underbelly and a crest of horn-like protrusions on the top of his head. Behind him sat Fens, a green female toad with a light green underbelly, grass-colored hair with a feather tied in a braid with a headband. Next to her was Mire, a light-green toad with armor, and his face was hidden by a large helmet.

They all wore metal armor with leather pauldrons and a silver frog's foot emblem across their right shoulders.

Johan's eyes widened when he saw them and hid behind Bessie. "JoJo? What's wrong?" asked Anne.

"Toad Tower toads," he whispered. "They're the guys in charge of the law in Frog Valley. And I may have gotten on their bad side."

"What did you do?"

"I may or may not have killed a couple of them...stole from them...sprayed their houses with poop."

Anne's eyes widened. "Oh, dear."

"Yep. So, just pretend I'm not here, and don't mention Passione to them! If they find out about who is working with me, they'll use them to draw me out. I don't want anyone innocent involved."

The toads pulled up in front of city hall and hopped off their wagon. Bog cracked his neck and exhaled. "Ah! Nothing like cracking your neck after a long drive. Ain't that right?"

Instantly, Mayor Toadstool and Toadie burst out the door and greeted them. "Oh, good. You're here. Toadie, give 'em the list."

Fens held up her hand to stop him. "Save it, Toadstool. We're not here for the annual tax this year."

Toadstool looked confused. "Y-You're not?"

"We're looking for a murderer and a thief," said Bog. "A hideous creature with pale skin, golden hair and a thin frame. They call it JoJo."

"Hey, doesn't sound like-" Toadstool slapped his hand over Toadie's mouth.

Fen got up in Toadie's face and growled in a low and husky voice, "Oh? Do you know something about JoJo?"

"Us? No, no!" insisted Toadstool. He got a little closer to Bog and said, "But, if you want my opinion, I would ask the Sundews."

"Sundews?"

"The owners of the tea shoppe."

"Hey, Sundews!" snapped Bog as he approached the frog families, only to stop when he saw Anne. "Whoa! What is that? It's some kind of gangly new critter I've never seen before."

"I wonder what it tastes like," Fens said with a lick of her lips.

Sprig took out his sling shot just as Anne took out her tennis racket. "Whoa, whoa, hey. She is not for eating," said Sprig.

"Don't come any closer," growled Anne.

Fens chuckled darkly. "Is that a challenge?" She took out her spiked club and charged at her.

Anne took a deep breath, charged her Ripple and let it flow through her arm and into her tennis racket. Then with a great yell, she slammed it into Fens' chest plate, causing it to explode. Fens wasn't hurt, but her armor was completely destroyed. She let out a yell and covered herself with a sheepish grin.

Bog couldn't believe it. "Sh-She knows how to use Ripple? But, that technique is supposed to be forgotten!" Then he burst out laughing. "Well met, creature. I don't know what you are, but you've got fire."

Anne felt a sense of pride when Bog said that. It was perhaps the first time that anyone in Wartwood, other than Johan, the Sundews and the Plantars, showed her a sense of respect. Sprig, however, still had his slingshot pointed at the toads.

"Now where was I? Oh yeah." Bog grabbed Felicia and brought her to his eye level. "Listen up, frog. We've got word that you've been harboring JoJo. You know what the penalty is for keeping a criminal hidden," he warned as he slid his finger across his throat. She gulped.

"Hey!" Ivy shouted as she hit Bog with a stick. "Leave Mom alone!"

"Cute." Bog swatted her aside.

"JoJo's not home," Sylvia shouted. That got the toads' attention. Bog dropped Sylvia and loomed over her.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because..." Her eyes trailed to Bessie and swore she saw a strand of gold hair. "Because he left my house after he stole my food! He went into the woods!" She pointed into the forest.

"Did he now?" Bog pointed to Anne. "You! Creature! How would you like to go on a hunt?"

"Uh, hi. My name is Anne."

"Name's Bog. The silent one there is Mire. And Fens here you already met."

Anne glanced at the female toad who made an evil grin at her. Anne shivered. "Good to know. What are you guys doing in Wartwood?"

"Normally, this is the time when the annual tax. But due to this JoJo problem, we've decided to postpone it until we can find the creature. Actually, we can use someone like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You've got inside knowledge of this town. It'll make the whole job go a lot smoother," said Bog as he handed the girl a badge similar to the one he and his comrades were wearing.

Anne looked at it, feeling a little unsure. "Oh. Um...I don't know. I'm not sure any of this is my business."

"You know, the best part of wearing this badge is how everyone in this town will have to treat you with respect."

"Gimme that ding-dang thing!" Anne swiped it right out of his hand and put it on her chest.

Bog handed her a sword. "Don't forget this. You'll need it for the hunt."

"Ooh," Anne said with awe. A cough coming from Bessie caught her attention. "Uh, excuse me for a second. I have to pee."

Fens gave her a confused look. "Behind the snail? You know there is an outhouse here, right?" She pointed to it.

Anne shuddered. "No way. That's where they buried Charlie Bigbottom," she said as she ran behind Bessie.

"Who's Charlie Bigbottom," Fens asked Mire. "And how poor do you think he was that he had to be buried under a toilet?"

Mire just inhaled and exhaled deeply.

Johan grabbed Anne by the throat and hissed silently, "Are you insane?! You want to help these guys?! Need I remind you that they're pissed at me for killing some of their own?!"

"J'Accuse!" Ivy whispered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Anne. "I'm not doing that! I'm going to lead them away from you and you can hide. When the toads leave out of boredom, you come out of hiding."

"Wait, you want me to hide," snapped Johan. "I can take them on!"

"Uh, Johan, it's not just your life on the line," said Felicia. "If the toads see you and find out we were lying, we could ALL end up on the chopping block."

"But..."

"JoJo, you've done so much for us, but now you have to do nothing if you want to save your gang. Save all of Wartwood."

"Anne? What's taking you?" called out Bog.

"Hey, leave her be," said Fens. "It's a woman thing."

"Don't worry," said Anne. "I'll keep them off your trail."

Anne popped her head out from behind the snail and said, "Hello, guys! So, we are we going hunting again?"

"Into the woods," said Bog. "If the Sundews are telling the truth, JoJo is hiding there. Right?"

Anne sweated nervously. "Uh...sure. I think, I... LOOK, THERE IT IS!" The toads let out a battle cry and ran into the forest undergrowth. Anne chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. You go ahead. Suckers."

"Anne, that's not going to fool them for long," said Hop Pop.

"It's fine. I'll go with them, make them go on a wild goose chase, they'll get bored and go away! It's brilliant. Now if you'll excuse me," Anne said as she readied her sword. "I'm going on a 'hunt'." She let out a war cry and ran off into the forest.

"So..." Johan said awkwardly. "What's the best hiding place you got?" Sprig opened his mouth. "That's NOT Charlie Bigbottom's grave?" Sprig closed his mouth.

"Well, there is always the Plantar family tunnels," said Hop Pop. "Nobody knows about them."

"No, the last thing I want is to let Anne's family get in trouble because of me."

"Well, that kind of leaves only one option, I'm afraid."

"NO, NO, NO, NO!" screamed Johan as he was shoved into the spider coop.

"It's alright," said Silvia. "Nobody would ever think to look in there. Nobody ever wants to look in there."

"Uh...are you sure?"

"Just get in, you big baby," said Ram Bamboo as she and Polly shoved him in and closed the door.

Johan stared in fear at the spiders as they gave warning hisses at him. "So, this is what Zio Narancia went through," he said, scared of his wits. "Okay," he said to the spiders. "I don't bother you, you don't bother me, deal?"

"HISS!"

"Good! Glad we're on the same page!" He sat down with his back reclining against a wall.

A few minutes later, he pressed his ear against the door and heard people talking outside.

"I mean, he's done so much for this town! Why do we have to send him away?"

"You heard the toads! If they find out we're harboring JoJo, they'll kill us all! It's better to sacrifice him to save us all."

"I don't know."

"How dare you?! He saved me from being eaten by Blue Oyster Cult's lieutenant!"

"He only did that AFTER he brought BOC to our doorstep!"

"We took him and the Boonchuy girl in when no one else did! This is how we repay them?!"

"Face it, the only time he and that Anne girl do something nice for us is after they cause some kind of physical pain or emotional distress! If the Plantars and Sundews know better, they'd best let them go. They'll never be one of us."

Johan remained silent.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Anne was having the time of her life with the toads. Together they trudged through the forest, killing any animals they came across. They got attacked by a giant snake, but Fens rode it like a rodeo bull until it tired out, allowing her to smash its face with her mace. Later, she made a new outfit out of it to replace the one Anne destroyed.

Later, they encountered a giant mouse that popped out of the ground. Anne thought it was cute until it let out a horrific screech and tried to take a bite out of her. Bog saved her by bashing its head with his hammer.

At one point, they almost got caught in an ant lion trap, but Mire's helmet broke the ant lion's jaws when it tried to bite into him. This left it vulnerable for attack as Bog, Fens and Anne impaled it with their swords.

Anne laughed as they stopped to rest. "I gotta say, I had you pegged wrong. I thought you guys were gonna be these really mean bullies, but you guys are cool."

"I have to admit," said Fens. "I thought you were just a puny little pipsqueak like that pink frog." Anne frowned at that. "But, you really held your own. Perhaps you have what it takes to be one of us."

"It'll be even better when we capture JoJo," grumbled Bog. "By committing those crimes against us, he has insulted toadkind!"

Mire remained silent and kept breathing heavily.

"Does he say anything?" Anne asked. "I mean, like at all?"

Fens shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno. I never heard him speak." She coughed a little. "I got a bone to pick with JoJo myself. He sprayed my house in poop!"

Bog scoffed. "He also cost us money when he killed Blue Oyster Cult just before they were gonna pay us for protection money! It's like the freak is unstoppable!"

Anne said, "Well, with that Stand of us, it's like he is. Man, I wish I was a Stand user like Sasha. Heh. I remember when I found out she was one, I was, and maybe still am, jealous that she got a power straight out of manga and anime. But now that I have Ripple, I say it's even. Though, I still wish I had a Stand. It's not really fair that some people have attacks that you literally can't see coming."

"You know what I didn't see coming?" asked Fens. She pointed her club at Anne. "The fact that you knew that JoJo had a Stand when none of us ever mentioned that he had one."

Anne's eyes widened. "Oh."

Johan remained silent as he reclined against the wall. "Maybe they're right. Anne and I don't belong anywhere."

"Are you certain about that?"

Johan jerked up when he heard an unfamiliar voice. "Who said that?"

"I did. The all-knowing, all-seeing Jolly Llama!"

Johan shook his head and rubbed his eyes when he saw a brown llama wearing a spider web on his back. He chuckled with a little hint of madness. "Okay, I get it. The spider venom is making me hallucinate. I've gone totally insane!"

"Or maybe you really are seeing a llama. Or is it a Stand that looks like a llama?"

"I don't know anymore!" Johan shouted. "I don't even know where I'm supposed to be. You got it easy, Jolly. You live on your own, no hassles, you don't have to deal with people judging you for your appearance. And you don't have to worry about gaining the respect from a bunch of ingrates."

The llama cocked his head. "Respect? You mean to tell me you did all that hard work in the town for respect? Is that why you started your version of MY gang? If I recall correctly, you did it because you wanted to improve the town and find the means of rescuing your friends. You didn't ask for respect when you saved Ivy and Ram Bamboo. And if I recall correctly, Anne didn't ask to be respected when the Plantars took her in. She just wanted to stop living in a cave."

"But, you'd think that these people would like us after getting to know us."

"What was it that Hopediah said? You'll find a way to get their respect, in your own weird Anne and JoJo way. Besides, it doesn't matter who you are or what you are as long as somebody loves you."

"And how do I do that?"

"Your opportunity is coming now."

"Huh?"

"JOJO!" he heard Bog's voice shout out. Johan peeked his head out to see the toads in the town's square. He gasped when he saw Anne in Fens' arms, struggling to get out. "We know you're here, JoJo! Surrender now and maybe..." Bog held his sword up to Anne's neck. "...she won't be missing a head!"

"They're not bluffing," Johan whispered.

"Oh, and as punishment," Bog continued. "For harboring a fugitive, the taxes will be tripled! Which is a bit of a problem for you, considering no one has been paying their taxes in a while now!"

Anne made a confused look. "Wait! Hop Pop did HIS taxes! He... He made me watch." She shuddered as she remembered.

"So then you add up your deductibles and... Oop! Guess what, Anne? You're a deductible!"

"Kill me."

"The list Mayor Toadstool gave us doesn't lie," Bog said. "Nobody's been paying their taxes. And if you can't pay your taxes, we have to repossess everything you own!"

The frogs gasped.

"Last chance, JoJo!" Fens shouted as she grabbed Anne's head.

BANG!

Johan stepped out of the spider coop and fired his gun into the air. Then he pointed it at the toads. "Get the fuck out of my town."

Bog chuckled. "YOUR town?"

"Yeah. My town. I'm the one who renovated it. I'm the one who made improvements to it. I'm the one who saved it from Blue Oyster Cult. Something you clearly never did. These people are under Passione's protection now, not yours! And I know for a fact that these frogs did their taxes. Sylvia Sundew made sure I knew. Maybe if you actually got to know these frogs, you wouldn't be so quick to judge them!"

"Gero, gero."

"WRRRYYY!" shrieked Johan. "And you frogs may not like Anne and I because we're not one of you, but need I remind you that you took us in when no one else did in spite of your suspicious ideology? Can you really live with yourselves if we died just because you didn't like us?" He glared at the toads again. "Now, go home! This is over!"

Anne's body began to glow and she shouted, "RIPPLE OVERDRIVE!" She poked Fens in the stomach and the resulting Ripple made Fens take off like a rocket and she landed in a nearby tree. Mire charged at her with a large hammer, only for Anne to punch him in the helmet with a Ripple-charged fist. It cut perfectly in half and Mire let out a scream and covered his face.

"All I wanted was this town's respect," said Anne. "But just because these people treated me crummy doesn't mean I'm going let you to do the same to them. I'm done with this." She tore off her badge and sword. "I don't care if they've broken the law. You can't treat people like this!" She took out her tennis racket and pointed it at the toads. "Get out."

Bog glared as he materialized a flail with a head that seemed to be made of glass. He swung it over his head and slammed it down on Anne's right arm, shattering ball and making her scream in pain. Johan was confused. "Anne, why didn't you defend yourself from that?"

"Defend from what? It looked like he was pretending to swing a sword or something!"

When he heard that, Johan's eyes widened. "He's a Stand user!"

Bog smirked. All at once, the shards ignited, making the ground and parts of Anne's clothes ignite. She screamed again and did the stop drop and roll maneuver while Johan began to smother the flames out with his jacket. Bog chuckled. "Disco Inferno. When it breaks, the shards ignite everything they touch, even solid steel and stone! This is what we do to traitors at Toad Tower, creature."

Johan let out a growl and summoned DARE, who tried to punch Bog, but the flail regenerated and he blocked the punch with it, causing it to explode into fragments again. The shards landed on DARE and set it on fire. Johan let out a scream as the flames on DARE also appeared on him and he tried to put himself out.

"Sorry, creature. It's just business." Before Bog could finish them off, a ball of mud was flung into his face. "What the-"

"You leave them alone!" shouted Sprig.

"Yeah, you leave our Anne and JoJo alone!" shouted Wally as he grabbed a pitchfork.

"They're one of us," shouted Felicia as she, Ivy and Sheriff Leatherleaf summoned their Stands.

By now, the whole town was present, armed to the teeth and ready to defend the humans they took in and helped them. "If you got a problem with them, you got a problem with all of us," said Sadie Croaker as she raised her cane at the toads.

"And as for your taxes..." Ram Bamboo said as she dragged a battered and bruised Mayor Toadstool and a huge sack of cash before the toads. "I did a little investigating and it turns out this fat sack of shit has been stealing the taxes and hiding them in that ugly statue!"

Everyone; frogs, toads and humans alike, glared at Mayor Toadstool with anger. "People, I needed the extra money for my campaign. Do you have any idea how much it costs to buy your love?" The frogs grabbed their farm tools with the intent to kill him. "Uh... And as mayor, I hereby pardon myself of any wrongdoing. Thank you. Good day." He took off running as the townsfolk chased after him and began throwing eggs and vegetables at him.

Later that day, Anne's right arm was placed in a cast following Disco Inferno's attack on her. The toads returned to their cart, but before they left, Bog gave Anne a final talk. "If it was respect you were looking for, you sure lost mine. You've a lot of nerve, I'll give you that." Then he gave Johan a warning. "We'll be back, JoJo, and we won't be alone."

"Bring it on, you slimy little toad," growled Johan.

"HUH?! WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

"Ah, ah," Ram Bamboo warned. "You really wouldn't want to make us mad now, do you?"

"And they don't need your respect," said Hop Pop.

"Yeah. They've got ours!" shouted Wally.

The townsfolk cheered as the toads growled and drove off.

"So are we gonna tell the captain about JoJo and that other creature we found?" Fens asked Bog.

"Oh, we're gonna tell the captain everything."

"Three cheers for Anne and JoJo, defenders of Wartwood!"

"Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!"

Anne and Johan smiled. Well, Hop Pop did say they'd get the town's respect in their own way, and they did. After being called freaks for so long, they finally were accepted. "Aw, thanks, guys," said Anne. "Now who wants to sign my cast?"

Everyone crowded around Anne.

"Line up, line up," called out Johan. "One at a time! One at a time!"

"Me, me, me. I'm her best friend," called out Sprig.

"Me! Out of the way, you plebes," shouted Polly.

"Oi! I can't write," said Wally.

As they signed their names on the cast, Johan looked at the direction the toads went. "What's wrong?" asked Ram Bamboo.

"Why do I have the feeling I started a war?" he asked.

"You scared?"

Johan smirked. "Not really." The smirk faltered. "Okay, maybe a little."

"It's okay," she said. "We're all standing by your side now. Not just Passione, but ALL of Wartwood."

"She's right," said Sylvia. "When we first met you and Anne all we did was...uh, what was it you said? Point at you and shout, 'Aah! Help! Run! A big, stupid, stinky, smelly, ugly monster! I'm so scared!' We didn't even bother to get to know you. And yet even after the way we treated you, you were still willing to risk your lives for us and stand up for all of us. Now, we frogs aren't too keen about admitting when we're wrong. But I think I speak for everyone when I say we've never been more wrong about someone in our lives."

Johan smiled along with Anne before he said, "A llama told me something important. It doesn't matter who you are or what you are as long as somebody loves you."

Anne gave him a weird look. "Uh...okay?"

"What's a llama?" asked Ivy.

"Heck if I know," said Sprig.

"I think the spider venom's gone to his head," said Felicia.

Meanwhile, in the dungeon of Toad Tower...

To Be Continued...

Stand: Disco Inferno

User: Bog

Power: A

Speed: B

Range: C

Durability: B

Precision: C

Potential: D

Ability: Takes the form of a disco ball combined with a medieval flail. When the ball shatters, the fragments ignite everything they come in contact with.