Some time after saving the desert-dwelling bitties from the Hassleback family, the group pulled over to eat. While the kids set up the table, which was just a stump, Hop Pop prepared the meal. "Okay, dinner's ready," said Hop Pop as he placed the covered plate on the table.

Sprig and Polly cheered while Anne said, "I'm starving."

"Now hold onto your butts." Hop Pop took off the cover. "Bam! Stick surprise!

Anne, Sprig and Polly groaned in disappointment while Johan slapped the plate away. "Hopediah! When are we going to eat some REAL food?! This is worse than the stick bug on a stick made of stick bugs!"

The old frog sighed. "Sorry, kids. This journey's been longer than expected, and we're out of food."

"No food, huh?" said Polly sneakily as she took out a hidden cookie from her bow. "That's what you plebes think."

"I saw that," whispered Johan.

Polly stared, then stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. "You can't have any!"

"This is all my fault," said a despondent Anne. "I dragged you guys out here to figure out how to get me and JoJo home, and now we're all gonna starve to death."

"Anne, we're not going to starve," said Johan as he took out his gun. "We're just going to have to find food the old-fashioned way. We're going hunting!"

"Hold on there, JoJo," said Hop Pop. "What do YOU know about hunting?"

"Well..."

"Exactly! We Plantars are both successful farmers AND hunters!"

"Let's not use the 'S' word so loosely," said Anne.

"Ooh!" said Sprig. "I can teach him and Anne to hunt the Plantar way, Hop Pop. Just like you taught me."

"Hmm, okay, but you three need to be careful," said Hop Pop. "We're not in the valley anymore. Who knows what dangerous predators could be lurking about? They could be poisonous or they could be psychic. They could be poisonous and psychic. You don't know!"

Johan said, "La tua paranoia non conosce limiti."

"I don't know what you said!"

"Better load up my gun," said Johan as he put bullets in the chamber only to be stopped by Sprig who said, "We won't be hunting with barbaric weapons or any weapons for that matter!"

"But how are we supposed to hunt without weapons?" asked Anne. "I wanna look cool with a bow and arrows."

"We're gonna hunt with Ripple!"

The moment she heard Sprig say her favorite word, Anne grabbed him by the shoulders and whispered, "Teach me..."

Anne let out a groan. "I take back what I said."

"Yeah, this seems," Johan said with a grossed out expression as he watched Sprig eat mud. "A bit much."

Sprig spat it out and laughed, "Oh, JoJo. If you were a Ripple user, you would know better." Johan growled at him. "Now then," said Sprig. "Hunting the Plantar way involves three main steps. The first, track your prey. The soil is a buffet of clues." He sniffed and tasted the mud again. "Oh, oh! I think I'm getting something. This way." He got down on all fours and began sniffing along the ground as he crawled along.

"This guy's part bloodhound, I swear," muttered Johan to which Anne nodded.

Finally, Sprig came to a stop and pointed at a nearby bush. A grub that resembled an eclair popped its head out, looked around, then buried its head in the ground. "See, guys? Nature provides. We found some grubbles. They're supposed to be delicious. Step two, use your surroundings." He dug a small pit next to the bush then placed a piece of bark into the hole, making a makeshift slide. "Perfect. And now it's time for the final and most important step... the dance."

"Dance?" asked Johan. "What dance?"

"The Plantar Hunting Dance! This dance has been in our family for generations. Now, pay attention, Anne. This is where the Ripple comes into play." Anne focused her attention on Sprig. "Now, Ripple is not just used for combat and healing and extending our lifespans. We can use it to control minds."

"Control minds?" asked Johan.

"This better not be like those mushrooms Hop Pop put on our heads," said Anne with disgust.

"Nothing like that," assured Sprig. "By channeling our Ripple into living creatures the same way we channel it through inanimate objects, we can control them. Watch me closely. This dance designed to both entice and disorient." He took a deep breath and activated his Ripple, causing a ripple effect to appear on the ground beneath his feet. Then he began to slap his knees and cheeks, flop on the ground like a fish out of water and slammed his fists into the ground. And the whole while the ripple effect spread out and moved in all directions.

When the Ripple made contact with the grubbles, they all came out of the bush and began to crawl into the hole as if in a trance. Johan watched, impressed. "Wow. I can't believe that silly little dance worked."

"Hey!" Sprig jabbed a finger in Johan's chest. "There is nothing silly about the Plantar Hunting Dance!"

Anne said, "Yeah, sorry. This is one Ripple technique I'm gonna skip."

"What?! I thought you loved dancing."

"Well, yeah, when there's music and a dance floor. I mean, is this even necessary?" Anne asked as she picked up one of the grubbles. "These little guys seem pretty easy to catch. I don't even think they have brains."

One of them squeaked. "I think it took offense to that," said Johan. "Anne does have a point. Why do a dance when you can do this?" He fired his gun at the pit, killing the grubbles and scaring the one Anne had away. Sprig let out a scream then shouted at Johan. "Stupid human! You ruined our food! And your gun has alerted every creature in the forest! Now their guards are up!"

Anne looked at the mess of bug guts and said, "Well, I can't say I like the guts everywhere, but at least they're not wriggling around so much."

"That's not the point, Anne! Hunting is about connecting to the harmony of nature. Let its rhythm flow through you. Can you hear the drums, Anne? Can you hear them playing the beat of the hunt?"

"No," said Anne bluntly. "Now let's split up and catch double the grubble. Don't worry about me. I've got the eyes of a hawk." Johan grabbed her before she could walk off a cliff without realizing it. "Totally saw that."

Johan sighed. "Well," he said as he pulled out the entrenching tool. "I might as well dig a pit and hope for the best."

Sprig exhaled. "All right. Just be careful, okay? We still don't know what's out here." He picked up some grubble remains and walked off.

Sprig's words were true as they didn't know they were being watched by something in the trees. Something elusive. Something alive.

Johan dug his tiger trap, laid spikes in it and covered it with leaves. Now all he had to do was wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...

"JoJo!" Johan, startled by Anne's voice, awoke with a shout. "Halifax! Anne? What are you doing?"

"Hunting," she said, gesturing to the sharpened stick.

"And what did you catch?" he asked.

"Nothing. What did you catch?"

Johan looked at the pit trap and saw that the leaves had not been moved. He exhaled. "Nothing. Hey, Anne, call me crazy, but maybe that weird dance might help?"

Anne scoffed. "You know what's better than a ridiculous dance? A stick. Time for some grubble satay." She was about to raise the stick to stab a grubble only to stop when she heard the Plantars scream. "Wha... Guys!"

They ran back to the camp, only to find it empty with no trace of the frog family. "Where is everyone?" asked Johan with the harpe at the ready. A sound of a chirp made him look and he saw Bessie. "Well, at least she's still here."

Anne raced over to calm the snail down. "Hey, hey, hey, girl. Shh, Bessie. Where's the family?"

"Uh, Anne," called out Johan. "I found them."

Anne looked and saw the Plantar family caught in the tail of a creature that resembled a manticore from Persian mythology. It had the head of a canine, the body of a lion with a scorpion tail.

"It came out of nowhere!" shouted Sprig.

"Careful, Anne! It still might be psychic!" shouted Hop Pop.

"I'm too cute to die!" cried Polly.

"Hold on, guys," Johan shouted as he fired his gun at the manticore, only for it to dodge and lunge at him. Johan took out the harpe and stabbed it in the paw when it tried to claw him.

"Look out!" shouted Anne.

SHUNK!

Johan's eyes widened. He craned his neck back to see the stinger impaling itself into his back. Almost immediately, he could feel the poison take effect. His pupils dilated, his body went numb and he dropped the harpe as he fell to the ground. The manticore picked him up with its mouth then took off.

"Guys! JoJo!" shouted Anne as she chased after the creature. Then she smirked when she saw the claw marks in the trees. "It left a trail. Super huntress instincts engage. I can totally do this."

"Yeah, I-I can't do this." She was lost, she had no idea where she was and she couldn't find any trace of the manticore. "The trail's gone completely cold. Sprig was right. I don't know what I'm doing. If only he were here with me."

"Anne..."

For a second, Anne thought she was hallucinating. She thought she heard Sprig's voice. She turned around and saw the young frog's floating disembodied head. "Follow the true way of the hunter," he said.

Anne started to panic. "Sprig! Holy cow, are you dead? Is this your ghost?"

"What? No. The real Sprig is still out there and needs your help. Me? I'm more likely a stress-induced hallucination."

Anne smiled. "So what you're saying is I finally snapped."

"Yep!"

"Well, as long as you're helping," said Anne as she stood up. "So what do we do?"

"Follow the steps."

"Right. The steps." She paused and said, "What was the first one again?"

The floating head face palmed with his tongue and groaned. "For the love of... TRACK YOUR PREY, ANNE!"

"Right, right. Track. How do I track again?"

"Ugh, sheesh. Smell the dirt, Anne."

"Oh, right. Got it. Got it." Anne got down on all fours and sniffed the ground.

"Now taste it." Anne gagged. "By all means, take your time. We're only about to be eaten by a horrifying creature!"

"Okay, I'm tasting, I'm tasting." She stuffed the dirt in her mouth. "Sprig, what is the point of thi..." Suddenly she stopped. "Wait a minute." She tasted some more. "I'm tasting something. I'm getting..." She gasped. "JoJo's blood! Which means it's this way."

"You're doing it, Anne!" said the head.

"With you guiding me, we might just be able to pull this off. Now come on, Hallucination Sprig!"

Anne ran through the forest. She tried to swing across with vines only to fall. She tried to cross a chasm using a tree trunk as a bridge, but it broke and she fell. Then she found some of the manticore's footprints. Finally, she stopped to glare at the hallucination, who was singing a song of encouragement the whole time. "You really need to stop that."

"Okay."

Anne then arrived at the monster's lair, which had many amphibian skeletons scattered throughout the place. At that moment, the monster arrived bringing the Plantars and the paralyzed Johan with it. It placed them on the ground and clutched them with its claws.

"What the heck is that thing anyway?" Anne asked the hallucination.

"It's a scorpileo, Anne. Half scorpion, half lion."

"Scorpileo? That is one messed-up horoscope. Okay, we don't have much time. Think. What was step two?" She and the hallucination answered, "Use your environment!" She begun to dig a hole with her hands.

Meanwhile, the scorpileo placed the Plantars on branches for later. Right now, its whole attention was on Johan. "Well, better him than us," said Polly.

"Polly!" snapped Sprig and Hop Pop.

"Hey! I'm just sayin'!"

"Okay, running out of time here," the hallucination said to Anne.

"Well, how 'bout giving me a hand?" she snapped as she dug deeper and quicker.

"Think about what you just said."

"Right. Right, right, right." Anne climbed out of the hole and covered it with leaves and sticks. "There, done. Okay, what's next?"

The hallucination grinned at her. "Oh, you know what comes next. The dance."

Anne REALLY didn't want to do it, but she had no choice. "Okay, but just this once because I like you guys a lot."

The scorpileo licked Johan's cheek and opened its mouth. "HEY, FURBALL!" shouted Anne. The creature looked back at her. She then began to do a rather pitiful dance. The creature lost interest and focused its attention on Johan. "Uh, it's not working!"

"That's because you don't believe," said the hallucination. "You have to feel the music."

"There IS no music!"

The scorpileo picked Johan up, ready to throw him into its mouth. "JOJO!" shouted the Plantars.

"This is it! You have to save them. Me! Us! Them! This is confusing!" screamed the hallucination.

"You're right. I have to do this," said Anne, getting serious this time. She inhaled, activated her Ripple and got down on all fours. The Ripple effect began to form beneath her as she listened to the music nature provided for her.

"Listen, Anne. Listen to the rhythm of nature all around you." Dripping water. Woodpeckers pecking wood. Beetles pitter-pattering on rocks. "That's it. Let it take hold of you."

Her body began to sway with the rhythm of the music, and the ripple effect reached the scorpileo, making it turn around and look at Anne. "I am the leaves. I am the morning dew. I am... The Hunter! " Anne shouted. She flopped around on the ground like a fish, smacked her head into a tree, slapped her cheeks and punched into the ground.

"Yes, you're doing it! It's so beautiful."

The monster dropped Johan and approached Anne. It watched her do her dance, quietly, but suddenly Anne kicked dirt on its head, enraging it. The monster pounced on Anne, but she bent down as part of her dance which caused the monster to go head first and fell into the hole she dug.

"You did it, Anne! You did it!"

Anne looked around and realized what had happened. She laughed as the monster tried to climb its way out. "Whoo-hoo! I did it! Danced in your face." The monster began to climb up the wall of the pit. "Whoop! Gotta go. Come on, family, let's skedaddle." She grabbed Johan and the Plantars freed themselves and they all ran away. "Whoa, you're surprisingly light, JoJo."

At the campsite, Bessie greeted everyone with a happy chirp, but her happiness turned to concern when she saw the limp form of Johan in Anne's arms. She set him down on the ground and asked, "Okay, what do we do with him?"

"We could use him as a dummy for a ventriloquist act," said Polly.

"Polly! You know dummies give me the creeps," said Sprig.

"Isn't there a way to use Ripple to expel the poison?" Anne asked Hop Pop.

Hop Pop thought for a moment, then nodded. "There is, but it will be painful." He inhaled and channeled his Ripple into his fingers. Then with a yell, he slammed them into Johan's stomach, making him cough up a purple bile.

"Huh. That wasn't so bad," said Anne.

"Oh, that was the easy part. When the paralyzing effect wears off and he feels again, the nerves will make it hurt." As soon as he said that, DARE appeared and began to use its power on Johan to turn off the boy's pain receptors. "I wouldn't use your Stand, JoJo, if I were you. The instant you turn off its effect, the pain will come crashing at you all at once. No, it's better to just let it happen."

Johan let out a muffled whine and dismissed DARE. He tried to say something, but he still couldn't feel his mouth.

"I think JoJo's trying to say, 'That was the coolest Hunter Dance I've ever seen!' Right?" Johan responded to Sprig with a groan. "I'll take that as a yes."

Anne made a smile. "It was, wasn't it? I heard the music, Sprig. I felt one with nature. You were right. And so were you, buddy." She said to the floating disembodied head, who gave her a wink.

Everyone gave her a strange look. "Uh, who are you talking to?" asked Sprig.

"Not important!"

Meanwhile, the robot continued to follow the fwagon, only to bump into a tree. It slowly moved out of the way and marched forward, only to bump into another tree.

To be continued ➟