In a forest, Sasha, still clad in her toad armor and in the process of regrowing her ponytail, was doing a run, did some pull-ups and ended up facing some homemade mannequins resembling Anne, Johan and the Plantars. She smashed the Plantar mannequins and then looked at Anne and Johan's. Memories of that dreaded night at the tower filled her mind as she looked at them.

Trial by combat!

It's over, Sash. You're not gonna push me around anymore.

You're not worth it. You never were.

Hey, Anne, maybe you're better off without me.

Sasha let out a growl and then a roar of anger as her hair and eyes turned fiery pink. Slash appeared behind her, also glowing pink. Sasha then proceeded to punch the Anne dummy while Slash sliced the Johan dummy to ribbons. "MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI!" Sasha took out her sword and aimed it at the Anne dummy just as a beam of pink energy shot out, reducing the dummy to a crater in the ground. She panted heavily as she dismissed Slash and her hair and eyes turned to normal. She took out the photo of herself, Anne, Johan and Marcy, looked at at for a few seconds, then put it away as she scoffed.

"Hey, Grime," she called out as she put her sword away. "I think I'm getting used to this pink mode thing. I'm not passing out as much as I used to anymore!" No response. She turned to the cottage she and Grime had been living in for some time now. "Grime?" She walked toward the door, ignoring Grime's Wanted! poster pinned on it and opened it. "Are you in here? Oh, my gosh!"

You'd say that too if you saw Grime's pathetic state. He had gained a considerable amount of weight since the Toad Tower incident and grown a long, unkempt beard. He was watching Suspicion Island on Sasha's phone while eating a bowl of stir fried beetles in his lap.

"Next time on Suspicion Island..."

"But Randy, I think YOU'RE suspicious."

"Noooo!"

Grime chuckled. "Wow. Randy too? Everyone really is suspicious. Though, I gotta say, I don't know which one I like more. This or Berserk." He looked up and realized Sasha was there. "Hey, what's up, Sash?"

She snatched the phone away and snapped at him, "Oh, I'll tell you what's up. You're sitting here binge-watching trash TV all day when we're supposed to be training." She pointed to the Wanted! poster and asked, "What are you gonna do when someone comes to collect the big, fat price on your big, fat head?"

Suddenly, two hooded figures burst through the boarded up windows and attacked with a sword and axe. Sasha kicked back the one with the sword and blocked the attacks from the one with the axe. "Grime, help me take these guys down!"

Grime reached for his sword...and then gave up. "Nah, you got this."

Seeing this, Sasha let out an exasperated groan. "Okay, guys, that's enough."

The two bounty hunters tripped on each other and their hoods feel off, revealing themselves to be Percy and Braddock. "Aw, man, I landed on my favorite horn," said Percy as he squeezed his bent bike horn.

Grime was a little shocked to see this. "Percy? Braddock? Why were you...?"

"Sasha thought a little action might help you get out of your rut," explained Braddock.

"So you staged this attack? Sounds like you two belong..." Percy and Braddock winced while Sasha smiled in hope. "...on Suspicion Island!" He laughed alongside Percy and Braddock. Sasha face palmed in annoyance. "Hey, you guys wanna join me? Season's just getting good."

They were about to join Grime when Sasha stopped them and said, "Ah, heck nah." She grabbed them and threw them toward the door before handing Braddock a moneybag. "You two go into town and get some food or whatever. I need a word with Captain Grime. Alone!"

"Okay."

"Suits us."

Percy and Braddock left, but they got stuck in the door for a moment, but broke free and ran off happily. Back with Sasha, she turned to glare at Grime. "Whaaat? Oop! Beetle fingers." He licked his fingers clean of grease. "You were saying?"

"Look at you! You're a mess," Sasha shouted as she poked him in the stomach. "What happened to the Grime I used to know?"

Grime groaned despondently as he sat down in his chair and said, "He's gone. Ever since Newtopia branded me a traitor, I don't see the point anymore."

"So you lost control of the valley and abandoned your post and now you're a fugitive. That doesn't mean we should give up. We can still put those frogs back in their place and reclaim what's ours."

Grime scoffed at Sasha. "Us and what army? All but two of my soldiers have abandoned us. We can't possibly retake the valley. Especially not with all the gangs that have popped up since Passione destroyed Toad Tower."

"Oh, so that's it then? You're just gonna sit here and do nothing?"

"Do nothing? Hello. I've been growing a beard."

"Yeah, don't remind me."

Grime pulled a soda can out of his beard and drank it down. "Look, Sasha, don't worry about it. I may be a little out of shape, but I'm sure I can still lick whoever Newtopia sends after me." He crushed the can and ate it, letting out a large burp that nearly knocked Sasha off her feet.

"You better be right about that."

Meanwhile, a female pink newt with blonde hair and wearing armor with medals on the breast plate and a pair of clawed gauntlets arrived in the city. And in the restaurant, while the customers are being served, a bartender cleaning some cutlery, a frog playing while another sings yodeling, the mysterious newt arrived slamming the wooden doors, so the singing and the music were interrupted. The pianist frog played a suspenseful tone as customers fell silent and watched her. The mysterious newt walked up to the bartender.

"I suppose you're wondering who I am?" she asked nobody in particular.

"Not especially," said the bartender.

The newt slashed the plate the bartender was cleaning in half and said dramatically, "My name is General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, aaaaaand...the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian army!" The whole while she made that introduction, she did a series of poses. But when she was finished, everyone went back to their business. A cricket chirped only for one of the patrons to eat it. Yunan made a groan in annoyance. "And this is why I hate coming out to the boonies."

"Don't feel so bad," said a male voice with a western accent. A green newt with a graying blonde mullet and dressed as a cowboy entered the bar. "It's not your fault nobody gives a damn about you."

All the patrons gasped. "Hol Horsefly!" the bartender shouted. Everyone screamed and ducked for cover.

Yunan glared at Hol Horsefly. "I hate it when you upstage me without even trying!"

Hol Horsefly shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? My reputation proceeds me. Anyway," he said to the bartender. "We're looking for this guy." He held up a Wanted! poster of Grime.

"Hey, ain't that the toad warrior that started out as a gladiator?" whispered one patron to another.

Yunan pointed at the patron who spoke, "So, you know of my quarry?" She grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. "Tell me, where has he last been seen?" Hol Horsefly slapped her in the head. "Ow!"

"You're not going to get any info like that," he said before he asked the patron. "Have you seen this criminal? According to eyewitnesses, he's supposed to be around here."

"Nope!" The patron ran for his life.

Hol Horsefly groaned. "Great. You scared him so much, he doesn't want to talk."

"Or maybe you suck at interrogation, Hol Horsefly!"

At that moment, Percy and Braddock entered the bar and took their seats. "Whoo... Do you think Captain Grime's gonna be okay?" asked Percy.

"I don't know, but talk about a workout. I'm starving," said Braddock.

"Hey, let's get the cheesy flies!"

"Okay. Hey, Gertrude!"

Instead of the usual waitress, General Yunan appeared and placed two bowls of cheesy flies on their table. "Mind if I join you?" she asked, showing her teeth.

"Uh, well..." Percy said nervously.

"Kind of 'party for two' thing here," Braddock said with a chuckle. "Wait. Who are you? Our server?"

Yunan growled in annoyance. "I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian army!"

"You're doing it again," Hol Horsefly said.

The moment they saw him, Percy and Braddock nearly sank in their seats. "Oh, poop," Percy whispered. "Not Hol Horsefly."

"It's not fair," Yunan complained. "How come people know you more than they do me?"

Hol Horsefly patted her head before turning to the two toads. "I know you two used to be in the Toad Army before Toad Tower collapsed, so maybe you know what happened to the cause of it. And by cause, I mean this guy." He held up Grime's Wanted! poster. "What do you say, lady?" He put a finger under Braddock's chin.

"Uh, nope. Sorry. Never seen him before," she said nervously. Percy began to fidget.

"Really? I could swear you were just talking about someone named Grime," Yunan said threateningly.

"That's not what I said." Braddock began to sweat.

"That's not what you said?"

"That's not what I said." Braddock sweated some more.

"Then why are you sweating?"

"'Cause it's hot." By this point, Braddock was a sweat waterfall.

"Hmm. Well, I've done all I can here. I will continue my search elsewhere. General Yunan, away!" Hol Horse shook her head as she cartwheeled out the door.

"Showoff," he muttered as he walked after her.

Percy and Braddock exhaled in relief. "Phew, that was close! Good thing we're such good actors, huh?" asked the latter.

"Yeah, now she'll never find them at the old mill, which is on the edge of town," said the former.

What they didn't know was that Hol Horsefly and Yunan were actually hiding and heard everything.

Later that evening, Sasha was setting up the practice dummies, still ranting to Grime who was relaxing nearby. "Okay, so first of all, this beard and burping situation? Unacceptable. Secondly..." The sound of someone whistling a tune made her stop. "Wait. Do you hear that?"

The two of them looked ahead to see Yunan approaching them. The sight of her made Grime stand up in worry. "Who's that?" Sasha asked.

"Oh, crud. That armor... She's Newtopian military for sure," Grime said warily.

"I found you at last," said Yunan.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Sasha.

Yunan took in a deep breath. "All right. Third time today. Let's do it! I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Rag..." She stopped when she saw the slob that was once Captain Grime. "Wait. You're Grime? The fiercest fighter of the colosseum?"

"Yep, that's me. You're here for my autograph?"

"Nope, I'm here for your head," Yunan said as her claws popped out.

"Well, that took a dark turn."

Sasha scoffed. "Some general you are. Where's your army?"

"I had an army once." Yunan slashed her blades, causing all the practice dummies along with four nearby trees to be cut in half. "They slowed me down."

Well, THAT certainly scared Sasha. "Ooooh-kay, we're leaving now." She grabbed Grime and the two of them ran.

Yunan chuckled as she took off her cape. "Eh, I'll give them a head start. Keeps things interesting."

"Just my luck!" Grime panted as he tried to keep up with Sasha. Emphasis on "tried". "They sent some psychotic glory hound after us. We'll never..." He paused to burp. "...escape her."

"Like heck we won't," said Sasha. "Follow me." She jumped down, bounced off 3 mushrooms and jumped across a ravine. She looked back at Grime, but to her disappointment, he was having trouble swinging across the ravine due to his weight.

"Just give me a minute," he said. Sasha had to use a log to help him cross before the two of them continued their escape. "Couldn't we take an easier route?"

"Maybe if you had trained with me once in a while, you'd be prepared for a situation like this!" Sasha snapped.

Grime didn't look where he was going and he hit himself in the face with a branch. Finally, he reached the end of his rope as he broke the branch with his hand and shouted, "Enough! At least be honest about why you've thrown yourself into your training."

Sasha stopped to look at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Hello! It's a distraction. You're using it to keep your mind off the real reason you're upset."

They heard Yunan approaching and continued to run. Sasha said to Grime, "Look, I know why I'm upset. I'm upset because I lost the duel at Toad Tower. A.K.A., the biggest fight of my life."

Grime only chuckled in response. "Oh, please. You're not upset because you lost the fight! You're upset because you lost your friends!" Sasha stopped. "You're upset that Anne stood up to you, that JoJo called you worthless, and that things between you will never be the same again."

Sasha grunted in frustration. "You don't know what you're talking about!" She was about to take off when a gunshot stopped her in her tracks.

"Heh, heh, heh. Wow, Captain Grime, and I say that term very loosely," said Hol Horsefly as he stepped out of the woods, carrying an unusual six-shooter pistol. "You've really let yourself go, didn't you? I'm actually surprised that bigmouth Yunan took this long to find you."

The sight of him made Grime's heart jump. "Aw, crud," he said. "Not Hol Horsefly!"

"You know this old guy?" asked Sasha.

"One of the most notorious mercenaries for hire," Grime explained. "And owner of one of the most dangerous Stands, The Emperor."

"Wait," Hol Horsefly said. "That monkey thing," he pointed to Sasha. "Is a Stand user, too? This got interesting."

Slash appeared behind Sasha and posed for a fight. Grime grabbed onto Sasha's arm. "Sasha, no! Your Stand is no match for his! Trust me!"

"Your friend is right," said Hol Horsefly. "No matter how strong your Stand may be, mine is superior. The gun is mightier than the sword, after all!"

Sasha began to laugh. "Is that so? Arrogant fools always talk big, but always come short when it comes to action!"

Hol Horsefly began to laugh along with her. Grime watched the scene, awkwardly. Were these two trying to see who got the last laugh? Suddenly, they both stopped laughing and said in unison, "Prepare to die!" Hol Horsefly fired his The Emperor and Slash charged at him. "Doesn't matter how fast you are," said Sasha. "Slash's movements are so unpredictable, you can't see it coming!" Slash lunged her sword toward the bullet.

But to her shock, the bullet changed trajectory and zipped past Slash and flew toward her. "What?!"

Hol Horsefly smirked. "Did I forget to mention that the bullets are also part of my Stand?"

"Look out!" Grime summoned Toxic Avenger who blocked Sasha. Seeing this, Hol Horsefly made the bullet change course and fly back into the gun. "Are you alright?" Grime asked Sasha.

"Yeah," she said. "We can take 'em. Two on two."

"No, our only option is for you to get out of here."

"What?!" exclaimed Sasha.

"These two mercenaries only want me. Go! Save yourself. Now! Before it's too late." Sasha refused to move. "What are you waiting for? Get going! LEAVE ME!"

"No!" shouted Sasha, startling Grime. "Listen, there's another reason why I've been training so hard. To protect the one person I know I can count on right now. You... You're right. I already lost two friends. I'm not about to lose another."

Grime felt flattered when she said that. "Wow. I did not see that coming."

"Ahem," said Hol Horsefly. "As much as I want this mushy side show to continue, I got a bounty to collect, so..." He stopped when General Yunan appeared.

"Ah! I see you have decided to submit to the great General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, the youngest newt ever..."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Hol Horsefly. "We already heard you the first time!"

Yunan glared at him. "Repetition helps it stick, you cowboy reject. Second of all, we may be working together, but this washed-up slob is mine!"

"Hey!" shouted Sasha as Slash appeared. "Only I get to call him that!"

Yunan looked at Slash. "You're a Stand user too?" She smirked. "Funny. I never had the real chance to use mine." A sword shaped like a shark appeared in her hand and it seemed to move as if it were alive. "Alright, Jaws. It's feeding time."

Sasha and Slash charged forward and the two of them locked blades with Yunan, who only kept smiling. "What are you so happy about?" demanded Sasha.

"I haven't fed Jaws in a long time. I'd say he's due for a snack!"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the shark sword lunged forward and bit down on Slash's left shoulder, making her scream. She backed off as she grabbed onto her bleeding shoulder.

Stand: The Emperor

User: Hol Horsefly

Power: B

Speed: B

Range: B

Durability: C

Precision: E

Potential: E

Ability: The Stand takes the form of a gun that the user can summon into his hand, allowing him to shoot his foes with controllable bullets.

"Got to help Sasha," Grime said as he tried to leave, only to get shot in the back by Hol Horsefly's The Emperor.

"Where do you think you're going, fatty," he asked. "Forgot me already?"

Grime got back up and said, "Oh, I didn't forget, cowboy. I just don't think you're worth it."

"Huh?! What did you say to me?!" Hol Horsefly fired his gun four more times, only to command the bullets to fly up as Toxic Avenger appeared and formed a dome of acid around Grime. Then it began to take pieces of the dome and flung them at Hol Horsefly, who dodged just in time. He watched as the acid hit a few trees and burned through them.

"What's wrong?" Grime asked him. "Did you forget that Toxic Avenger is both a defense and offense Stand?"

Hol Horsefly smirked. "Did you forget my bullets can go anywhere?"

"Uh..." At that moment, the bullets The Emperor fired shot down into the ground. "Oh. That can't be good." And then shot out from beneath Grime's feet and into his stomach. He let out a groan of pain as the dome began to disperse and the bullets flew back into The Emperor. Hol Horsefly smirked. "That acid shield of yours doesn't protect you one hundred percent, doesn't it? Like from an attack from underground?" He chuckled as he approached Grime and kicked him in the stomach. "Look at you. You used to be one of the greatest, now you're just a huge tub of lard."

Grime grunted, then chuckled. "Maybe. But how pathetic are you that you can't even beat me at my worst?"

"Huh?" That's when the cowboy Stand user felt a burning sensation all over his body. He looked down at his arms to see steam coming out of them. "What?!"

Grime said as he got back up, "The air in that dome was also acidic. Did you really think I wouldn't come up with a second defense in case someone penetrated the first?" Hol Horsefly only responded with a scream. Grime took this opportunity to punch him in the face, knocking him out. The sound of Sasha screaming made Grime look in the direction of her and Yunan's fight. "Lieutenant!"

Sasha screamed again as Jaws bit into Slash again, this time in the stomach. Yunan laughed. "Where's that fight you had earlier?" Sasha's eyes and hair suddenly glowed pink and she let out a roar as Slash pushed Yunan away. "What's this?! Now we're talking!" Yunan shouted in excitement.

Slash proceeded to jab at Yunan, who tried to block it with Jaws. "MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI!" Yunan crashed into a line of trees, making them collapse on top of her. Sasha panted, then fell to her knees as the glow disappeared. "No, not now."

Yunan punched her way free and made an evil grin at the human girl. "That's all? You were finally showing me something!" She threw Jaws at Sasha, who was just about to take a bite into her shoulder when a droplet of acid was flicked at the shark sword, making it and Yunan scream.

Grime appeared with Toxic Avenger behind him and said, "If you want me, General, you'll have to fight both of us."

"Why not? After all, two heads are better than one," Yunan said as she extended her claws.

Sasha smiled at Grime and said, "Welcome back, Captain."

"Thank you, Lieutenant, for reminding me that I've still got something worth fighting for," said Grime. He paused before continuing, "I'm talking about our friendship. Not sure if you got that."

"I got it. Now come on!" Sasha charged at Yunan, but the newt blocked her sword with her claws, then summoned Jaws to bite into her arm and send her flying into a tree. Grime attacked with a branch only to have it get bitten in half by Jaws.

"Oh, nuts..."

Yunan kicked him to the ground before he could summon Toxic Avenger and raised her claws. "You are gonna look good stuffed..." Before she could finish her sentence, Sasha kicked her in the side, but she quickly recovered and fought back against Sasha until the human girl manage to break the claws of the right glove with her sword. "Well, that can't be good."

Sasha pinned her down and smirked as she noticed Yunan start to sweat. "Ha! Are you struggling? Didn't think you'd meet your match out here, did you?"

Jaws appeared and bit Sasha in the arm, distracting her enough for Yunan to grab her with her tail and throw her onto the ground. She looked back and realized she was a few feet away from the edge of a cliff. She looked up at Yunan, then saw that Grime was sneaking up behind her. He made a "Shh!" gesture. Sasha smiled and asked Yunan innocently, "Shoot. What did you say your name was again? I forgot."

Annoyed, Yunan replied, "I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched and the youngest newt ever to be made..." And then she let out a scream as Grime pushed her off the cliff.

"Hope you can swim!" he said.

"THIS CANNOT BE! I AM THE GENERAL YUNAAAAAN!" she screamed as she landed in the river below.

"Oh, yeah! Well, I'm Sasha Waybright, captain of the cheerleaders, top scorer in Super Dance Fusion, and First Lieutenant to Captain Grime!"

"And I am Captain Grime, drinker of Bog Grog, grower of beards, and watcher of Suspicion Island!"

"WHAAAT? THOSE TITLES ARE WEAK!"

Before Sasha and Grime could celebrate, Hol Horsefly stepped out of woods with his The Emperor at the ready. "Alright, no more Mister Nice Guy! Yunan! You take down the monkey, I got Grime!"

"Hey, who are you calling a monkey," snapped Sasha.

"And for your information," Grime said. "Your partner is currently floating away down a river, AFTER I pushed her off the cliff."

Hol Horsefly laughed. "You, defeating General Yunan? I find that hard to believe."

"Why don't you go down the river and see for yourself?" asked Sasha.

The cowboy newt paused for a moment, then he did something unexpected. He dismissed The Emperor, turned tail and fled. "Okay, I will!"

Sasha was shocked. "What?! You're running away?!"

"Let him go," said Grime, stopping her. "He knows he's beaten."

Hol Horsefly looked back as he ran and thought, "I don't stand a chance! I'm at a total disadvantage by myself. I'm hightailing it out of here, wait for a better chance, or at least find myself another partner. It's all about being number two. That's the motto I live by!"

Sasha and Grime laughed and bumped each other on the chests while the latter let out a burp/roar of triumph. "I am fired up! Forget retaking the valley, forget serving the kingdom at all. How about you and I raise a frog dang army and storm the capitol? It's high time a toad ruled this world for a change."

"That's what I'm talking about!"

"But before we take over the world..."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "You totally want to binge the rest of Suspicion Island."

"I really do!" He laughed delight as he ran all the way back to the mill.

Sasha, meanwhile, lingered a little while longer. "Looks like I've got my own path now, Anne, JoJo. But it's not over between us..." She touched the scar Anne gave her on her cheek as her eyes and hair briefly shone pink. "Not even close."

To be continued ➟

Stand: Jaws

User: General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army (GET ON WITH IT!)

Power: A

Speed: B

Range: B

Durability: C

Precision: C

Potential: C

Ability: Takes the form of a living sword shaped like a great white shark and even bites like one. The downside is whenever it attacks, a membrane covers its eyes to protect them, rendering the Stand temporarily blind.