A gathering was taking place in Wartwood's town square and a stage had been set up. "What's going on?" Johan asked Felicia. "Is there another funeral going on?"

Felicia chuckled before saying, "No. Today's the day they announce the Frog of the Year award."

"Frog of the Year? What's that?"

"You haven't heard?!" exclaimed Ivy. Then she realized, "Oh, right. You're not from here. Every year, the town gets together and votes on the frog they think best embodies the values of Wartwood."

"We all voted last week," said Felicia. "We didn't want to disturb your work, so Ivy voted for you."

Nearby, Anne was given the same explanation from the Plantars. "How come I don't remember that happening?"

Flashback to last week, to when Anne was sitting on the couch, listening to loud music on her headphones and reading a magazine. "Anne, we're gonna go vote for Frog of the Year now," called out Hop Pop. "Wanna come?"

"No, you'll never make me go!" Anne sang along to her music.

Hop Pop thought she was being serious and left with the kids. "Okay, then," he said.

"Break it down!"

Anne remained lost in thought until Mayor Toadstool came on stage and spoke into the microphone. "All right, folks. It's time! Heh, heh. As you all know, the Frog of the Year goes to the most selfless, noble, blah, blah, blah... Let's get on with it." He took out an envelope and tore it open. "And this year's Frog of the Year award goes to-" What he saw on the paper made his smile turn into a frown. "Well, this can't be right. Johan Shiobana?"

The moment he heard his name, Johan was shocked. The people cheered. Felicia gave him a proud smile and Ivy jumped onto his back and shouted, "THIS IS WHO I VOTED FOR! ME!"

He walked onto the stage and looked at the crowd, feeling a little touched. "Y-You all voted for me?" he asked.

"Actually," said Toadie as he carried the ballot box. "You were tied with Anne."

Johan saw Anne in the crowd, who was giving him a weird look. It made him feel uncomfortable. He gulped and asked, "Well, if that's the case, why didn't you make us both Frogs of the Year?"

"We only had enough time to make one medal, so we decided to flip a coin! It came up tails and you won."

Anne's eye began to twitch. "Anne, are you okay?" asked Sprig.

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth. "I just can't contain my joy right now because JoJo won due to a silly coin toss!"

"You don't look joyful," said Polly.

"I AM joyful! SEE?!" Anne pointed at her forced smile. "JOYFUL!"

Johan chuckled nervously. "Wow, I don't know what to say. I haven't even prepared a speech."

"I do," said Toadstool. He pushed Johan out of the way and shouted, "Are you people out of your frog-dang minds? He don't deserve to host a party!"

"Party? What party?"

"Oh, it's one of our oldest traditions," explained Toadie as he unrolled a scroll that read "Ye Olde Frog of the Year Bash!". "The Frog of the Year has to put on an incredible party for the whole town."

"Yeah. And that party is supposed to demonstrate the Frog of the Year's selflessness," said Mayor Toadstool. "JoJo may have done one or two good things for the town, but let's not forget," He said as he counted off his fingers. "He's a gangster, he's killed people, he's stolen from fellow toads, he's gotten into a lot of trouble with Anne! And let's not forget the time he drugged a certain mayoral authority figure's food with mystic mushrooms!"

"Get over it, will ya!" shouted Polly.

Something in Johan's mind told him to be mature, but another evil side won. "È così? You think I can't throw a party like you've never seen before?" he challenged as he tapped a finger on Toadstool's chest. "Anne Boonchuy!" Anne looked up. "I'm making you my party planner! Make fatty ding dong here eat his words!"

"Hey! I'm very sensitive about my weight!"

Anne grinned. "Don't worry, JoJo! I will plan a party that will blow everyone's minds!"

The frogs didn't like the sound of that. "I don't want my mind blown."

"That's a good thing!"

"Oh, okay!" Everyone cheered.

It was in that moment Johan realized something. He had made ANNE BOONCHUY his party planner. "Cosa ho fatto?"

As if he read his mind, Mayor Toadstool said as he left, "I'm looking forward to seeing this thing go down in flames."

Johan let out a scream as he slammed his head on the Plantars' coffee table. "Is it really that bad that Anne is your party planner?" asked Hop Pop. "Wait, of course it is. Knowing Anne, she'll probably take things to the extreme."

"I'm not worried about that. At least, not yet anyway. I'm trying to come up with a speech for the end of the party and I can't come up with anything!" He let out a yell and threw the paper aside. "I don't get it! I'm running one of the most influential gangs in all of Frog Valley! I killed Blue Oyster Cult with the help of my friends! I managed to do what Mayor Toadstool couldn't and renovated Wartwood! So how is it that I have a sudden case of writer's block?!"

"Maybe you should take inspiration from your adventures. Think about what you've accomplished, all the good times you've had..."

Johan thought it over, when suddenly Anne interrupted his train of thoughts by slamming plans onto the table. "Boom! Here are the plans for the party! I think it's my best work yet!"

Johan looked at the plans over. "Uh, this is pretty impressive," he said. "But isn't it a bit...er...much? I mean, where are you getting the money to afford all this?"

"Oh, I used the money from the lockbox."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, you're a stinking rich kid and the son of a mob boss, you're probably used to these kinds of parties. You deserve the best."

"Actually," Johan admitted. "Dad never really went this all out when it came to parties. He preferred to keep things subtle. He didn't want to make me look like a spoiled, pampered prince."

Anne was stunned when she heard that. "What? Dude, you're missing out! A party, a REAL party, needs three essential ingredients: entertainment, exclusivity, and spectacle. Hop Pop, you're in charge of entertainment. I dub thee Master of Ceremonies."

Anne handed him a microphone and he took it with awe. "I've been waiting for this day my whole life."

Anne pointed to the little pollywog. "Polly, exclusivity. It's your job to decide who gets into the party and who doesn't."

"Wait," said Johan. "You're making POLLY the bouncer?"

Polly smiled wickedly. "I can't wait to abuse this power!"

Sprig hopped on the table and asked in singsong, "And what about me?"

"Sprig, you have the most important job of all: the spectacle," said Anne.

"Oh, my frog, oh, my frog, oh, my frog!"

"At the party," Anne said as Sprig squealed with excitement. "You're gonna tell Ivy how you feel about her."

The instant she said that, Sprig's smile vanished. "Huh?"

Johan slammed his fist on the table. "Okay, as the host of this party, I have to draw the line somewhere. You are NOT playing matchmaker again! Or did you forget the incident with the love doves already?"

"Oh, I haven't forgotten," said Anne with disdain. "I also haven't forgotten how you nearly spoiled true love by telling Maddie's father!"

"Sprig was already engaged to Maddie! I..." Johan pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not getting into this argument. Sprig, instead of confessing your love to Ivy, I want you to go on stage with her and sing a duet as the grand finale."

Sprig stammered, "A...a duet? I don't know any duet songs!"

"Ooh, I got the perfect one! Boom, baby!" Anne showed him a song on her phone.

"The love song from Suspicion Island?"

"Ugh," groaned Johan. "I hate that show."

Anne ignored that little comment as she said, "Don't you worry, JoJo, I'll make this a party you'll never forget! Whoo-hoo! Come on, everyone. Let's bring the thunder."

Johan exhaled, realizing Anne was probably not going to take no for an answer. "Fine. Surprise me, Anne. As for me, I gotta work on my speech."

Johan, donning a "Frog of the Year" hat, looked around. Vendor stands were being set up, the decorations were being hung from the street lights and, to his surprise, there was a wooden statue made in his image. "I gotta say, Anne really came through. And here I thought she would go extreme like usual."

Anne, who was wearing a "Party Planner" sash, was going around with a clipboard. "All right, let's see how things are going. Stumpy, stew's lookin' good. Decorations are up, glassware's looking polished. Loggle, love that statue."

"Hey, Anne!" Johan called out. "This place actually looks good."

"Good?! GOOD?! It has to be great! Emcee!" She pointed to Hop Pop who was on stage. "Let's hear some jokes!"

The old frog looked at his cue cards. "Okay. Have you heard about the snail who went on a diet? He's a shell of his former self!" No one laughed at his joke.

"Hmm. Okay, okay. A little soft, but keep working on it," said Anne. "Sprig, my man. Let's see how that romantic proposal is going."

"Sprig?" asked Johan. "What song did you pick for the duet with Ivy?"

"Well, I found this one from Johan's phone. Ahem. Every time I close my eyes," Sprig began singing. "I wake up feeling so horny-"

"NO!" shouted Johan. "Too inappropriate! And Polly! That's not what those are for!"

The little pollywog was swinging a stanchion barrier like a pair of nunchaku. "Says you," she said with a chuckle.

Anne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, so, a lot of things need work. JoJo, how's your speech coming along?"

"What do you think?" he handed her a piece of paper.

Anne read it over, her smile slowly becoming a frown. "This is boring."

Johan snatched it from her and said, "Are you kidding? It's perfect! It's well-written, it's detailed, it's got no spelling or grammar mistakes, it bothers me, IT BOTHERS ME, IT BOTHERS ME A LOT! WRRRYYYY!" He screeched as he tore it up into shreds. "I HATE IT! AAAUUUGGGHHH!" He fell flat on his back and groaned. "What am I doing wrong, Anne? I can practically hear that fat mayor saying-"

"What'd I tell you, Toadie?" said the mayor smugly as he and Toadie walked by. "He's gonna be the worst Frog of the Year ever."

The words echoed in the boy's mind and he let out another scream. "AAAAHHHH! Mi arrendo!"

"Dude, I don't know what you said."

"I said, I give up!" SLAP! "Ow! Why did you just hit me, Anne?"

"Hey! I'm not giving up," she said as she pointed at him. "You, shut up with the quitter talk! As your party planner, I promised to make your party the best ever and I intend to keep it! Hop Pop, forget the written jokes. Go up there and so some improve."

"Improv? I've never done that before."

"Sprig, work on that duet. And pick a song that's family-oriented. Come on. Loggle! I'm gonna need you to re-do that statue. Make it cooler."

The poor woodworker had just put the finishing touches on Johan's statue when he heard that. "You serious?"

"Stumpy, throw that slop out and replace it with somethin' fancier," Anne said as she gestured to the pot of...whatever-the-hell-it-was Stumpy was stirring. "Like, I don't know. Sashimi."

"I don't like sashimi," said Johan. "How about lobster instead."

"Whatever," said Anne. "Everyone else, burn these decorations and get new ones. Replace that jug band with a deejay. And where the heck is that chocolate fountain?!" Anne panted heavily while every frog looked at her like she had gone mad.

"Anne," said Johan, a little uncertain. "I know I made you my party planner and I know I asked you to make this the best party ever, but, isn't this a bit much? I mean, this is taking a lot out of Passione's account."

"DON'T YOU HAVE A SPEECH TO PREPARE?!"

"...eek."

"Now, hop to it, everyone. We've only got 12 hours left. Hop! Hop!" Everyone took off running.

Night time fell. All of Wartwood was lit up and loud music could be heard playing. Polly was fulfilling her role as bouncer and allowing people in. "You. You. Uh-uh! Not you," she said to Wally, who fell to the ground and began crying. "I'm just kidding, Wally. Get in there."

"Validation!"

As the people entered the party area, they were greeted by Johan Shiobana. His hair was more tidy and he swapped out his Wartwood attire for an all-white suit covered in small black spoon-like symbols, with an open chest, zippers in random places and underneath his jacket was a lace top. According to Johan who commissioned the suit, he wanted an outfit that would honor the late Bruno Buccellati (though the guy who designed the outfit had no idea who he was talking about).

"Benvenuti, amici miei, alla migliore festa della rana dell'anno di sempre!" he said in Italian.

Anne, who was also wearing a white suit, a purple sash with "Party Planner" written in gold and carrying a gold-headed cane said with a raise of a cup, "That means, welcome, my friends, to the best Frog of the Year party ever!"

As if on cue, fireworks shot up into the sky, illuminating the party even more. All around there were vendors serving the best food Anne could afford, Passione Della Rana absinthe and in the center of it all was a chocolate fountain for the kids. Behind the fountain was a stone statue of Johan doing the dab pose, something Johan himself really did not want but Anne paid no heed. And floating all around were balloons with fireflies in them.

On one side of the party was a frog deejay playing the dubstep music that echoed across the village. "Yo, I'm a frog deejay." On the other side were dancers that reminded Johan of the Blue Man Group.

"So," said Johan as he sat at a table with Felicia. "How are you enjoying the party? Anne really went all out, huh?"

Felicia looked around and said unsure, "Isn't this a bit...much?"

"What? This is great! I mean, the lights, the music, the statue that's making a pose that I really hate. What's not to love?" Johan laughed before he sighed and took a sip of apple cider. "Truth be told, I think it is, but I can't tell Anne that! She's put so much hard work into this!"

"JoJo, isn't this YOUR party, not Anne's?" Johan didn't respond. "Look, sometimes you have to be honest about something even if it hurts."

Johan looked down at his drink. "You're right. But how do I tell Anne she's fired?"

"How about 'Anne, you're fired!'? And you may want to do it fast before something bad happens."

"Knowing Anne, it's probably too late for that."

Meanwhile, the mayor in was in front of Stumpy's food stand. "All right, Stumpy, what do we got here?"

"Lobsters."

"Ooh. And are they, uh, fresh?"

"Well, ya can't get fresher."

One of the lobsters jumped out of the tank it was in, began pinching the mayor and he ran away screaming. Meanwhile, Hop Pop stood on stage, sweating nervously in front of the crowd before him. "All right, folks. It's time for some improv. You, sir, where are you from?" he asked a random villager.

"I'm from the same town as you, buddy."

"Oh! Great." He remained silent after that.

Meanwhile, Sprig was looking around when he saw Ivy playing with the firefly balloons and popping them, setting them free. Sprig took a deep breath and said, "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this." Then he took off running toward her. "FOR JOJO!"

"Hey Sprig," said Ivy. "You ready for the duet?"

Sprig suddenly turned pale and ran away screaming.

Meanwhile, some people were at the dance floor, unsure what to do. "I don't know how to dance to this," an old frog asked.

"WHAT?!" another frog asked, unable to hear due to the loud music.

Frustrated, Anne began dancing The Robot. "Like this, you guys, like this," she snapped.

Suddenly, Hop Pop ran up to her and shoved the microphone into her hands. "Have someone else do your comedy, Anne! I can't go back out there!" He ran off.

"Hop Pop!" Before she could stop him, she saw the lobster going around pinching people's butts and smashing the food vendors' stands with its claws.

"That thing's gonna kill us!" shouted Stumpy.

"I know! It's loaded with mercury!" a random frog shouted.

"Anne?" Johan approached the girl and said, "Look, I don't know how to sugarcoat it, so I'll just say it up front. You're fuh...you're fuh...fuh..." He slapped himself in the face. "You're fired."

Anne sighed and handed him her sash. "You're right. Truth be told, I was jealous that you got to be Frog of the Year and I didn't. I got too carried away and made this party more about me than about you."

Johan looked at the sash before exhaling. "Santo cielo," he said. "Truth be told, I don't deserve to be Frog of the Year as much as you do. A Frog of the Year is supposed to be selfless and all I did let you turn the place into a mess and said nothing. Anne, I'm sorry. I should have said something." He looked over her shoulder and said, "And I'm gonna say it now. MOVE!" The lobster crashed into the statue and was about to topple over Anne when Johan pushed her out of the way and it pinned him down.

Johan struggled to get out from under the statue, but he couldn't. "Too...heavy!" He collapsed and panted.

"Hold on, JoJo!" Anne rushed to his side and tried to move the statue but couldn't. "Why did I order Loggle to make this thing so big?!" To make matters worse, the lobster began crashing into the light posts, setting the place on fire. People screamed and started running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Johan snarked, "Well this is a fine way to die. Crushed under a statue of myself in a ridiculous pose and burned alive. Yep. A fine way indeed."

But Anne wasn't going to let that happen. "JoJo, if you permit me to be your party planner one more time, I have an idea."

He looked up at her and said, "Well, I don't know what you're going to do, but, okay. You're rehired. But, what are you gonna do?"

"I'm fixing this right now." She took a deep breath and channeled her Ripple into her feet before she jumped up into the air. She dove down and landed on the lobster's back, then she tied its claws together with the sash before she sent a Ripple-fueled punch that knocked it out cold. Then she jumped onto the chocolate factory and channeled her Ripple into the chocolate, causing it to spray all over the flames, dousing them. When she was finished, she walked over to Johan and broke the statue with Ripple Overdrive. She helped him up and he said, "Thanks, Anne."

"Don't mention it."

The two kids looked around at the people groaning in pain and covered in chocolate. "I knew it," said the Mayor. "Didn't I say it'd be a disaster?" He licked his fingers. "Ooh! This is delicious!"

"Sorry I let the party get out of hand, JoJo," said Anne. Then suddenly, Johan let out a chuckle. The chuckle became laughter that became loud and crazy. Anne backed away. "Oh, boy. He's cracked. I broke him."

"I'll get the straight jacket," said Toadie.

"I've got it! I've finally got what my speech was missing!"

"You're still gonna do your speech?" asked Felicia. "Everything's a mess!"

"Hey, it's MY party and I'll decide if I want you to leave and I say..." Johan pulled out his gun. "...no one is leaving until they hear my speech, no matter how corny it may be!" Everyone gulped.

"Definitely cracked," whispered Ivy.

At the podium, Johan looked at the people before him. He took the speech from his zipper pocket, cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone. "When I first came to this town, you treated me like crap. You put me in a cage, treated me like a freak show and threw stuff at me. Then I revealed myself to be a Stand user and saved Ivy Sundew and her family took her in and I was still treated like crap. I started my own version of Passione, killed the previous gang that ruled Wartwood, established my own turf and made improvements to the town and was still treated like crap. Then I met Anne and the two of us went on all kinds of adventures and caused all kinds of chaos with the Plantars and the Sundews." He chuckled. "In all honesty, I'm surprised the town is still standing after all that. Actually, I'm more surprised Anne and I are still alive."

"Barely," whispered Anne dramatically.

"And yet, despite it all, we still earned your respect and you accepted us. And you know what? If you were to ask me if I were to do it all over again..." He looked up and gave a smile. "...I would say hell yes. And I just want to say thank you for taking us in." He folded the speech and put it back in his zipper pocket. "Can I be honest with you, though? I honestly don't know why you voted for me to be Frog of the Year, let alone me AND Anne."

The frogs looked at each other then Sylvia said, "JoJo, we didn't vote for you because you're flawless."

"Heh, heh. Far from it," said Hop Pop.

"We voted for you because of how far you've come. You've grown so much in your time here, and this town just wouldn't be the same without you."

"Hear, hear," shouted Wally. "That's why I voted for ya!"

Everyone cheered and applauded.

Then Mayor Toadstool said begrudgingly, "Gosh dang it, I tried to fight it, but I have to say, even I'm a little impressed with how you just saved the town from a raging inferno. Here. This belongs to you." He held up two gold medals. "Turns out we DID make two Frog of the Year medals. For some reason, the second one was in the toilet."

Johan gasped with excitement. "Anne, did you hear that? We both won after all!"

Anne, excited as Johan was, ran up to the stage and gave him a hug. "Woo-hoo!"

Toadstool placed both medals around their necks. "Wait," said Anne. "Which one's the toilet medal?"

"Dunno," he said with a shrug. "Now come on, everyone. Let's try to salvage this party, shall we?" Everyone cheered.

The party was back on only this time, things were simple. A band playing a banjo, bass and violin sat at the town's fountain playing a peaceful melody while couples danced to the music. Stumpy was serving his slop to the people while he gave his new pet lobster a good back scratch. Meanwhile, Johan and Anne (who were back in their normal clothes) were having a conversation with Sprig. "Sorry you couldn't do the duet with Ivy," he said.

"And I'm sorry I tried to rush you into confessing your love to Ivy," said Anne. "You do that when you're good and ready."

"Thanks, Anne," said Sprig. "When the moment strikes, I'll know it."

Johan looked behind the pink frog and saw someone coming. "Uh, I think that moment might be closer than you think."

"Huh?" Sprig looked around and saw Ivy.

"Hey, Sprig," said Ivy, looking really nervous. "There's something I've, uh, been meaning... to ask you. I, uh... After we do our duet, do you, um..." She cleared her throat and shut her eyes tight. "Do you think you'd wanna go out with me sometime?" She opened one eye.

Sprig gasped and Anne let out a squeal of joy while Johan said, "Vai ragazza!"

Ivy hid her reddened face and turned to leave. "Never mind. I'm stupid. This is stupid. This is stupid."

Sprig stopped her and said, "Ivy, wait. I'd love to." He pulled his hat over his eyes and went, "Mlep!" Ivy smiled. "So, what song did you pick?"

Ivy took the stage with Sprig. She took out Johan's cell phone and played a song Johan knew too well. Ivy sang one part, Sprig rang the second part and sang the last part together.

I'll be the round about
The words will make you out 'n' out
I'll spend the day your way...
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley...

The music dance and sing
They make the children really ring
I'll spend the day your way
Call it morning driving through the sound and in and out the valley...

In and around the lake
Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there
One mile over we'll be there and we'll see you
Ten true summers we'll be there and laughing too
Twenty-four before my love you'll see I'll be there with you...

In all honesty, it was beautifully done. Felicia and Sylvia held each other close, proud to see their little frog on stage singing with the one she loves. Hop Pop held Polly close as well then whispered, "We gotta get you a boyfriend when you're old enough."

"Shut up."

Johan and Anne smiled as they watched the kids. "They really came a long way, didn't they," said Johan. "Come to think of it, so did we."

"We sure did," said Anne. They took a glance at each other, then their cheeks turned red and they looked away.

"Ahem. Mr. and Mrs. Frogs of the Year?" They looked to the right to see Toadie. "There's someone waiting at the bridge for you. They say they're a friend."

"...a friend?" asked Anne. "Who do you think it could be?"

"Uh, maybe you can find out without me," said Johan. "I want to get my phone back when they finish the song."

Anne left the town's borders and arrived at the bridge that connected the town to the main road. There, she saw it: a figure wearing brown armor and a green hooded cloak. The figure saw her, gasped and lowered their hood. "Anne?!"

Anne recognized that face immediately. "Sasha?!"

Both girls screamed with joy and Anne ran up to her and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, my gosh! I can't believe that it's you!" They both laughed and almost cried with joy. "Oh, my gosh. You're here too? I wasn't sure. I woke up all alone and..." Anne suddenly gasped. "Is Marcy with you? Where have you been? I've missed you so much!"

Sasha chuckled. "I'll fill you in later. For now, I'm just glad I found you. Where's JoJo?"

"Anne!" Johan came running up to the two girls. "I got my phone back! You missed...the...end..." His voice trailed off when he saw who was with Anne. The instant he locked eyes with Sasha, they made neutral expressions. "Sasha."

"JoJo."

There was a moment's silence. Then Johan marched up to Sasha and grabbed her shoulders. "This is you, right? Not a dream?" Slash suddenly appeared behind Sasha and poked him in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"That feel like a dream to you? Down, girl," she said to Slash, dismissing her.

Johan paused. Then exclaimed, "SASHA!" He held her close. He then broke up the hug and asked, "Where were you? I looked for you and when I heard no news of you for months, I assumed the worst!" Then he asked, "Where's Marcy?"

"I'll tell you later," Sasha assured him. "For now, I'm just glad I found you. We came as soon as we heard."

That confused Anne and Johan. "Who's 'we'?" asked the latter.

"Just me and some friends of mine," Sasha said, pointing behind her. Johan's heart nearly stopped when he saw multiple pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness. Eyes belonging to a group of toads. In front of them, a dark green toad with a yellow left eye and a blind right eye, smacked a firefly with his tongue and said in a deep, baritone voice, "Nice to finally meet you, Anne Boonchuy and Johan Shiobana. Or, do you prefer JoJo?"

Johan slowly reached for his pistol...

To Be Continued...