Johan slowly reached for his pistol and was about to fire when he heard a scream coming from the village. He and Anne turned around and saw another group of toads rounding up the villagers. He let out a growl and fired his pistol at the closest toad, Grime. But the toad smirked as the bullets flew toward him and in that moment, his Stand appeared. A squat green toad with steaming slime oozing out of its pores. The bullets flew right through its body, slowing down as they did and then they popped out harmlessly out the other side.

"Damn," cursed Johan. "Another Stand user toad. Well, time to roll out the big guns," he said as he summoned DARE. "MUDA!" DARE gave a single punch into Grime's Stand, only to get its fist stuck in its belly.

Grime let out a chuckle. "Big mistake. There's a reason why it's called Toxic Avenger."

"Huh?" To Johan's horror, he saw that the bullets start to dissolve into puddles of melted metal. He looked at DARE, who was struggling to pull its fist out of Toxic Avenger's stomach, but its stuck hand was was starting to burn due to the acids and the same thing was happening to Johan and he let out a scream of pain.

"Grime!" shouted Sasha. "That's enough! He won't do it again. Won't you," she growled at Johan.

"Oh, very well," Grime grumbled as he dismissed Toxic Avenger. "And here I thought I was gonna get a real fight from the boss of Passione."

Johan fell down onto the ground, clutching his right arm, which by now was covered in burn marks and began making a sizzling sound. "Sorry about that," said Sasha. "Grime can be very overeager."

He swatted her hand away and shouted, "Al diavolo le tue scuse! Do you know this toad?"

"Yeah, Sash," said Anne. "Why are you so buddy-buddy with them?"

"They're with me," said Sasha like it was the most obvious thing.

"What?"

"Anne! JoJo!" The Plantars and the Sundews came running up to the humans.

"The toads are here," shouted Ivy. "We barely slipped out while the guards were..." She stopped when she noticed Sasha. "Who's this?"

"Holy toot, another Anne!" shouted Polly.

It was then Felicia saw the burns on Johan's arm and gasped. "Ah! JoJo, what happened to you?"

"Blame fatty over there," he said, gesturing to Grime.

"Hey! I'm not that fat! My armor makes me look bulky!"

The Sundews gasped. "JoJo, do you know who that is," Felicia whispered. "That's Captain Grime, leader of the Toad Tower!"

Johan narrowed his eyes at him. "Is that so?"

"Uh, hi," said Sasha. "This is Sasha being confused right now. Anne, JoJo, who are these frogs?"

"Oh. I forgot the introductions," Anne realized. "Guys, meet my bestie from back home, Sasha!"

"Hey," Sasha said indifferently.

"Sasha, meet the Plantars and the Sundews. This is Hop Pop, Sprig, Polly, Felicia, Sylvia and Ivy." The two frog families greeted her indifferently.

Sprig hopped up to her and said, "Hey, I'm her bestie too. I guess that makes me your bestie-in-law."

"Does it," asked Sasha, unimpressed with what she was seeing.

Sprig laughed awkwardly then coughed. "Did y'all feel that?"

"Walk it off, boy," said Hop Pop. "Yes, hi, nice to meet ya. Now, can someone please tell me why there's a toad army invading Wartwood?!"

Sasha looked the old frog over. "You're Hop Pop? Thought you'd be taller."

"Huh?"

"Relax, we're not invading anything. Come on, Anne. You too, frogs. We don't want to keep Grime waiting."

"Keep Grime waiting," snapped Johan. "Look what he did to my hand!"

"Okay, number one," said Sasha. "You attacked first, so that was purely in self-defense. And second, he's actually not so bad when you get to know him. Now hurry up, nerds," she said as she walked off.

Anne chuckled. "She's persuasive, right?"

"Sì, troppo convincente."

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

The toads gathered all the frogs in the town square and Captain Grime stood on a stone fence. "Frogs of Wartwood! We toads have come here to..." Everyone held their breaths. "...invite you to a banquet!" he shouted as he threw confetti in the air. A random toad blew a party horn. "The moment we heard that Anne and JoJo were here, we rushed over to reunite these three friends and hold a celebration."

"Group hug!" Sasha pulled Anne and Johan into a hug.

All the frogs went "Aww!" at that. Except Hop Pop, who asked Grime skeptically, "Really?"

"Yes. Despite my rough exterior, I really am just an 'old softy'." Sasha coughed and made a nonverbal gesture telling him to smile. He did so, revealing his sharp teeth. A few people gasped and babies cried.

Sasha pushed him to the side and said, "Uh, so, what do you say, Wartwood? You ready to party back at the tower?"

Johan shouted, "Hold it! Don't you frogs find this whole thing suspicious? Sasha, if you knew where we were for THREE MONTHS, why didn't you come to us right away?!"

The blonde girl folded her arms and said, "Well, it's kind of hard to reunite with friends when you're locked in a dungeon."

Johan balked. "You were in a dungeon?!"

"Well, I didn't exactly make a good first impression, so they...took me in. But, after I showed them what I can do with my Stand and gained Grime's trust, we became fast friends!"

Johan raised an eyebrow. "In other words, you used your silver tongue once again to save your hide."

Anne nudged him in the shoulder. "JoJo, you're embarrassing me..."

"Look, does anyone want to go to the party at Toad Tower or not?!" shouted Grime impatiently.

He was met with silence. "What does Anne think?" asked Sadie Croaker.

"Uh... Sasha's been my friend since kindergarten. If she says it's fine, it's fine."

Sasha cheered, "Whoo! All aboard the party barge!"

The frogs were led to a large wagon covered in streamers and banners being pulled by a tarantula. On top of the spider's head, a toad DJ was playing music. "Two parties in one night?" asked Wally. "Whoo-hoo!"

"Psst, Anne, JoJo, you're with me," Sasha said, gesturing to a gold and green coach being pulled by another tarantula.

"Wow, cool," said Anne. "Hey, mind if the, uh, Plantars and Sundews come along?"

Sasha gave an indifferent look before she smiled. "Of course, I don't mind. The more, the merrier. Although, there's not enough room in the cabin."

"Grownups on the roof!" shouted Ivy. "Kids in the cabin!"

"Ditto!" shouted Sprig and Polly.

"Oh, no," said Hop Pop. "There's no way I'm sitting on the roof!"

"I'm with you," said Sylvia. "I'm going on the party barge."

"NO!" Ivy shouted before she grabbed Sprig and disappeared.

"Holy crap, what was that," shouted Sasha.

Johan chuckled. "I guess we forgot to mention this to you, but the Sundews are Stand users."

"They are? This may complicate things," she said to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing!"

Felicia sighed. "Ivy, turn off Invisible Touch. I'll use The Rose to strap us adults down."

"Woo-hoo!" shouted Ivy as she reappeared along with her friends. "Party in the cabin!" She dragged Sprig and Polly into the coach.

"First class!" shouted Ivy.

"I call window seat," said Sprig.

"No, me! No, me!" shouted Polly.

"Kids, stop fighting in the cabin or I'll have you sitting in the party barge," shouted Hop Pop.

Anne chuckled. "They're fun," she reassured Sasha.

The coach and the barge arrived at Toad Tower and the gates closed. The humans hopped out the coach first. "So, here we are," said Sasha.

"Ominous," said Anne.

"The place reminds me of Sauron's fortress," said Johan.

"Oh, Percy," sang Sasha.

The young toad guard walked up to her and saluted. "Yes, Commander?"

"'Commander'?" questioned Johan.

Sasha ignored him. "I'm gonna give Anne and JoJo a quick tour. Escort these frogs to the banquet hall."

"Hey, I wanna go on the tour too," protested Sprig.

"Me three!" shouted Polly.

"Me four!" shouted Ivy.

"Come on, kids," said Hop Pop. "Give these three a chance to catch up."

"Don't worry," said Anne. "I'll find you guys later. Go have fun in there."

Sprig groaned as he walked in the tower with Ivy and the rest of their families. "We'll try."

As soon as they were in, Sasha turned to Anne and Johan. "So, JoJo, I hear you're running your own gang?" She chuckled. "And here I thought you were joking about that 'you being the son of a mob boss' thing."

"I pretty much modeled it after my dad's Passione," Johan said with pride. "Everyone knows not to mess with us. Just ask Anne. She's part of it."

"That so, Anne? You certainly seem close with those three. What happened to, 'Ew, frogs are the worst!'?"

"Yeah," said Johan. "I remember you telling me how Anne literally jumped out the window to avoid dissecting a frog in science class. But, she's not that girl anymore."

"He's right," said Anne. "They're actually pretty great once you get to know them. I've been living in their basement since I got here."

"And I've been using the Sundews' tea shoppe as my base of operations."

Sasha held up her hand. "Wait. You two have been living in a basement and a tea shoppe this whole time?"

"Gangsters in Italia aren't like in other countries. We like to remain discreet. Being conspicuous lends itself to assassination. Even the capos prefer to dress in civilian clothes," explained Johan. "And they do civilian jobs. Anyone on the streets could be a member. Whether it's the local barber, a passing taxi driver, even the owner of the toy store. That's their public life. In private, expect the sort of luxury lifestyle you see gangsters enjoying in Hollywood movies. Age means nothing to Passione, only skill and trust. You'll find there are several members our age in this gang. Hell, even younger."

"So..." asked Sasha, who was a little nervous. "Is everyone in Wartwood part of Passione?"

"Maaaaybeeee," teased Anne.

"Well, while you've been living in a mucky town like Wartwood," said Sasha. "I've been living like a queen! Come with me."

"This is where I've been living," said Sasha, showing the two humans her chamber. It looked like a penthouse, complete with fancy new furniture, red and gold curtains, giant stuffed animals, a statue of herself on a skateboard, and posters of her favorite boy bands.

Anne let out an impressed "Hoopa de boopa! Whoa!"

"Eh," said Johan. "Not impressive."

"Coming from you, I'm not surprised, rich boy," said Sasha, earning her an annoyed look from him. "But I bet you don't have one of these: a personal manservant!" She snapped her fingers and called out, "Yo, Brunton."

A teal toad in a chef's hat and apron walked up to her. "Oui, Commander?"

"Bring us the usual."

The chef returned later with trays of food. Anne could not believe it. As Sasha sat her down at the table, she started drooling at the sight of real human food. "Pizza? Tacos? Hamburgers? Whoa, you've got ketchup?! It just occurred to me I've been eating bugs for a month."

Johan took a slice of pizza and ate it. His eyes widened. "This is real Italiano pizza!"

"Yeah, I know how much you hate American pizza," said Sasha. "So I told the chefs to make the real deal."

"Anything else, Commander?" asked Brunton.

"Run the hot water, please. For the shower."

Anne looked at her with stuffed in her mouth and echoed the word. "SHOWER?!"

Johan took a whiff of Anne and scrunched his nose. "Damn, girl! When was the last time you actually bathed?!"

"Too long... And you're not exactly Mr. Clean either!"

"What?! For your information, the Sundews' had indoor plumbing, unlike the Plantars'." He paused to take a whiff of his armpit. "Whoo. Although, I could use a bath myself."

"LADIES FIRST!" Anne shouted as she pushed Johan down and ran into the shower room.

"Rude," Johan said as he got up and brushed himself off. "Guess some things never change."

"Yeah, that's my girl. Heh, heh," chuckled Sasha.

Down in the banquet hall, the frogs were having a wonderful feast while chatting with each other. Except for Polly, who was talking to one of the many toad guards present. "So, you experiment with other weapons or are you just a spear guy?"

Meanwhile, Sadie Croaker was busy taking samples of beetle mead. A whole lot of samples.

However, only two frogs were not in a celebratory mood: Sprig and Ivy. They walked over to Hop Pop and Sylvia and Sprig said, "Uh, hey, Hop Pop? Something's not right here."

Hop Pop wasn't really paying attention. "Not right, yeah, sure. Here, Sprig, load up on crab legs. These babies go fast."

"No, I mean it. Don't the toads seem a little... on edge?"

"Yeah, Grandma," said Ivy. "I don't like the way these toads are looking at us. It's like they're itching to knife us in the back." A toad scratched his butt. "Either that or they're just itchy."

Sylvia said, "Eh, they're a militarized culture, Ivy. I'm not surprised they don't know how to let loose."

"Ah, forget this. I'm gonna go find Anne and JoJo," said Sprig.

"I'm coming with you," said Ivy.

"Good idea," said Hop Pop. "She can carry more crab legs."

Ivy and Sprig walked over to one of the guards and the latter said, "Hey, pal, I'm just gonna go for a walk with my girlfriend, get some fresh air—"

"Sprig, we haven't reached that stage yet," hissed Ivy. "I think we didn't. Did we?"

"Aww, young love," said the toad. "Uh, I mean, no. Sorry. Uh, you frogs aren't allowed to leave this room."

That got the frog kids' attention. "We're not allowed to leave? Why's that?" asked Sprig.

The guard began sweating nervously. "Uh... I've said too much. Please just return to the party and remain calm."

"Remain calm. You got it, buddy."

"Whew, thanks, kid."

Suddenly, Sprig jumped onto a table and shouted as loud as he could, "Hey, everyone! This is a sham! We're not guests! We're prisoners!"

Well, let's just say pandemonium erupted in the dining hall when the frogs heard that. The toads tried to keep everything under control, though they were clearly failing.

Meanwhile, while Johan got in the shower, the girls, now garbed in bathrobes and hair curlers, sat on the couch and drinking hot cocoa. "Wow, Sash. This is so surreal. I can't believe you're really here."

"I know, right?" Sasha paused to drink her cocoa. "And once this is over, we can finally find a way out of this crummy, gross world."

This? Anne, confused, asked, "Once... what's over?"

"Oh, the gang activity and most importantly, the rebellion."

"The what now?"

"You don't know about the rebellion? Look, I'll explain. Just promise not to freak out or anything."

Anne, not liking where this was going, slowly nodded her head. "Ooooookaaaaayyyyy..."

"So you've probably already noticed that the toads in this valley have one job: to rule over the frogs. And lately, those frogs have been stepping outta line. And do you know why? JoJo's little gang activity. He may have control of Passione in Wartwood, but crime has skyrocketed throughout the rest of Frog Valley. Illegal substances are being pushed, innocent toads and newts are getting killed... It's no different than when Blue Oyster Cult was in charge. In all honesty, Grime wants JoJo dead for what he did."

"WHAT?!" screamed Anne. "But, Sasha! His dad is the most powerful MOB BOSS in all of Italy! If we go back home without him, his dad is gonna put a hit on our heads for sure!" She began to hyperventilate. "He might even put our parents' heads in a box and give them to us!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Anne, you're spiraling again. Deep breaths." The two of them inhaled and exhaled. "It's not gonna come to that."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because of two things: one, I managed to convince the toads that JoJo is too valuable to be killed. And two, the frogs don't look up to him as their inspiration. No, it turns out, they were inspired by a certain frog. Hell, some of them think he's the real boss of Passione while JoJo's just a figurehead. You might just know him. Stood up to some tax collectors, even ran for mayor against the local toad." When Anne heard that, she prayed to God that it wasn't who she thought it was. Alas, her fears were confirmed when Sasha held up a red and blue "Freedom Frog!" poster of Hop Pop. "This is the guy I'm talking about, of course."

Anne spat out her cocoa in horror and shock. "What?! Hop Pop's not a revolutionary, and he's not the boss of Passione!"

Sasha exhaled and placed a stack of newspaper on the coffee table, all of them baring Hop Pop's face and articles of frogs overthrowing toads in Hop Pop's name. "Doesn't matter. Word has traveled like wildfire, and we've got to make an example out of him. So, the toads are just gonna feed him to that thing." Sasha pointed out the window and what did Anne see? Grime and a few other toads trying to keep a giant Venus fly trap under control. She gasped in horror.

Sasha led her back to the coffee table and said like nothing was wrong, "Okay, here's the thing. I struck a deal with Grime. I'd help him capture Hop Pop and crush the rebellion, and Grime and his army will help us find a way home. The whole banquet trick- My idea, obvi. Now we've got those slimy frogs right where we want them. Isn't this great?"

Anne looked as though she was going to wet herself. "Uh... I have to, uh... go to the roomrest, uh, the restroom." She backed up only to bump into a bust of Sasha. "Whoa." She put it back upside-down. "Stay. BRB." She ran out the room.

Sasha drank from her chalice. "Oh, she's totally freaking out."

As Anne ran down the hall, she bumped into someone. "What the- JoJo?! What are you doing here?!"

"I climbed out the bathroom window," he said.

"Wha- How did... Ugh! Never mind! Listen! This whole banquet thing is a trap! The toads are going to kill Hop Pop because they think he started a frog rebellion and they think he's the boss of Passione-"

"I know," said Johan emotionlessly.

"-and to top it all off..." She stopped. "Y-You know about that?"

"I overheard some toads outside the shower room talking about how they'll put the frogs in their place." His fist clenched. "How could I have been so stupid?! Of course they would retaliate after all the activities I've done with Suave Rico! But, why do they think Hop Pop's the leader of Passione and not me?"

Anne exhaled. "Sasha. She convinced the toads not to kill you and kill Hop Pop instead."

Johan said nothing for a while. "Is that so?" His fist loosened and he said, "I got an idea. Get your clothes and put these on." He gestured to a sword, a pile of armor and a cloak sitting behind him. "We're going to get our friends out of here. I just hope they're not totally freaking out right now."

"I'm totally freaking out!" shouted Wally. By now, the frogs were rioting. The toad guards tried to keep them under control only to have food flung at them.

"They're gonna eat us!" shouted a random frog.

"Not on my watch!" Sadie shouted as she threw silverware at the toads.

"Ooh! I wanna riot too!" shouted Polly as she picked up a crab leg from Hop Pop's plate.

"Polly, don't throw that," said Hop Pop. "Throw this potato instead."

"Thanks. RIPPLE POTATO LAUNCHER!" She charged up her Ripple, channeled it into the potato and threw it at a toad, causing his armor to explode.

Wally tried to run only to be grabbed by two toads who threw him back. Angered, Ivy activated Invisible Touch and vanished, allowing her to push down the toads and give the rest wedgies without being seen. Felicia used The Rose to trap the rest of the toads in vines.

"Alright, that does it!" shouted one of the toads, ready to crush them with a mace...

Only for a figure dressed in a hooded cloak and armor burst open the door. "Enough! Guards, leave us. I'll get these frogs to fall in line." She pointed her sword at the frogs.

The toads chuckled menacingly. "You lot have made a huge mistake. Enjoy your time with Commander Sasha." They left the girl alone with the toads and as soon as they left, she took off her cloak, revealing not Sasha, but Anne.

"Hey, guys!"

Everyone gasped with happiness. "ANNE!"

"ANNE!" Sprig shouted, hopping into her arms and hugging her. "Boy, are we glad to see you. We've got a situation. We're not guests. We're—"

"Prisoners, I know. And it's worse than that. They're planning to execute Hop Pop!"

Everyone gasped again, this time in shock. When the old frog heard that, he dropped the crab legs and exclaimed, "Say what? But why?"

"Turns out Hop Pop's been inspiring rebellions all across the valley and they think he's the real boss of Passione. Blah, blah, it's some political nonsense," Anne said as she held up the poster.

Hop Pop took it and smiled. "Well, it's a good-looking poster, though." Then he screamed, "I'M GONNA DIE!"

"Don't worry, youngster. We won't let 'em get you," said Sadie.

"Nobody panic. JoJo and I are busting us out of here," said Anne. "Now hurry up, he's waiting for us in the sewer."

Felicia made a face. "Really?"

"Suck it up, Mom," snapped Ivy.

"Oy! What about my plan?" asked Wally as he opened his vest, revealing a whole bunch of familiar looking blue and white mushrooms. "What say we plant these boom shrooms around the joint? Blow the place sky high."

Anne quickly pointed out the one flaw in his plan. "With us still inside? We're not doing that."

"Right. We're not doing it."

"Seriously. No boom shrooms."

"Loud and clear."

Anne opened the manhole cover and gestured to it. "Alright, who's going in first?"

No one wanted to. "Big babies!" shouted Polly. "It's time to get dirty!" she cheered as she dove in.

Anne led the frogs down the stairs into the main sewage system where Johan, now garbed in toad armor like Anne, was waiting for them. "Everyone present and accounted for?"

"Present!" everyone said.

"Alright," said Johan as he took out a map. "We follow this route, we should get out of the tower in no time."

Johan led the group down a tunnel...and then ran the opposite direction. "WRONG WAY, WRONG WAY!" he shouted as an eel with mouths in its mouth burst out.

They continued down another set of tunnels when they heard the dreaded sound of a toilet flushing. "Uh, hello, there are people down here," Mayor Toadstool called out. "Please don't flush anything for a while!"

Too late.

The group screamed as they were carried down a river of shit five hundred yards long.

After climbing out of the river of waste, they continued down another set of tunnels where they encountered a group of giant rats. Johan and Felicia used DARE and The Rose to fend them off.

What the group didn't know was that the whole time they were traversing the tunnels, Wally was setting up boom shrooms along the way, and they were all armed. "Just a little gift for our generous hosts," he said with a chuckle.

Finally, they came across a stream of light in the ceiling. "This is it," Johan said. "This manhole cover should take us outside the tower." He climbed up the ladder and pushed open the manhole cover. "Yes! We're free!" Spoke too soon, JoJo. In that instant, he was face to face with dozens of toads pointing their weapons at him. "Merda."

"What's going on up there?" asked Anne as she climbed up to join him. She saw the problem immediately. "Oh."

Sprig hopped out to join Anne and Johan. "Boy, those toads really stink!" That's when he realized the situation they were in. "Did I say stink? I meant, are very handsome."

The group of soldiers parted to let Sasha (who was wearing her armor again) through. "Anne, JoJo. How disappointing," she said.

"How did you know where to find us," demanded Johan.

"Next time you make a sewer escape, don't make so much noise. Now let's move. Grime's waiting for us."

To Be Continued...