Anne grunted and strained as she sat in her bed next to Sprig. Johan watched with concern. "Are you constipated, Anne?"

"Yeah, it's starting to worry me," said Sprig, who looked up from Anne's phone. He was watching one of the movies she downloaded.

"No, I'm not," Anne snapped at Johan. "I'm trying to figure out how to activate my blue hair and eyes mode."

"Yeah, I still think you need to come up with a better name."

"How did you do it last time?" asked Sprig.

"I don't know how to describe it. I..." Anne remembered back to when Sasha was in pink hair and eyes mode and about to stab Johan. "Watching JoJo about to die, I felt anger and a rush of adrenaline. And then I felt this power flowing through me like it just popped up."

"Anne, maybe it might be best to wait until we find someone who might know what this power of yours is," said Johan. "Until then, it might be best not to try to activate it or even speak of it to anyone."

"Ah, maybe you're right," muttered Anne. "As usual."

"Hey, I'm not right all the time. There was that time when-"

"Can we just get back to watching this movie, please?" Sprig interrupted Johan. "This is getting good!"

"Don't you get it, Mother? I know you want me to be a ballerina, but my heart belongs to hip‐hop," said one of the actors on the phone. "Are you disappointed?"

"No, I'm proud of you. All that hipping and hopping was breathtaking."

"Oh, Mother."

"Oh, Mariah."

Johan groaned. "Ugh. How can you stand this crap, Anne?"

"Hey! From Pointe To Poppin is not crap! It's an emotional masterpiece!"

"It's an emotional roller coster-" Sprig was about to say before the fwagon suddenly jerked to a halt so suddenly, it sent him flying out of the bed.

"Sprig! You all right, buddy?" Anne asked before looking up at the skylight door. "What the heck is going on out there?"

"Sounds like Hop Pop is having snail trouble again," said Johan.

Hop Pop, with Polly by her side, was tying to get Bessie up a hill. "Come on, Bessie. Come on. Almost there." Suddenly, there was a loud SNAP! and the snail's reigns broke. "Oh, dang it! The ding‐dang reins snapped." The sound of a sheep fly bleating made Bessie look to her left and she saw a whole flock of them in a field. She made an excited chirp and chased after one of them, still carrying the fwagon.

While the others struggled to keep their balance and tried to stop Bessie, Polly giggled with excitement like a kid on a roller coaster. "We gotta get these reins fixed or we can't control Bessie," said Hop Pop.

Sprig popped out of the sun roof and held up a map. "Don't worry, Hop Pop. There's a town right down the road. See? Ribbitvale."

The old frog frowned at this suggestion. "Ribbitvale? The most expensive town in all Amphibia? No way!"

The fwagon came to an abrupt stop as Bessie managed to catch up to one of the sheep flies and cuddled it. "Looks like we don't have a choice, HP," said Anne.

Hop Pop sighed in conceit. "You're right. But when we get there, don't get sucked in by the fancy."

The whole group had to push the fwagon to Ribbitvale while keeping Bessie under control. They passed a shiny gold sign that read "Welcome to Ribbitvale, the fanciest town in all of Amphibia". They came to a stop next to the sign, panting. Polly pointed forward and said, "Guys, look!" They looked at what Polly saw.

Buildings with white walls and gold roof tiles, snails with polished shells and pulling carriages made of gold, people dressed in clothes straight out of Victorian England. "So shiny, so sparkly," Polly said in a trance before Hop Pop sprayed her with water. "Hey! Hey! I said look away from the fancy," he said.

Johan scoffed. "You don't like it here?" asked Anne. "I would have thought you would mingle with your fellow rich folk."

"Please. The way these blue bloods flaunt their money, they're asking to be fleeced. Mafiosi like me prefer to be more subtle and only show off their fortune in private. It keeps us from getting assassinated."

"Oh, come on, JoJo," said Sprig. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before. A ten‐tier fountain. A solid gold snail carriage. There's even a One-Eyed Wally. Wait. What?"

"ONE-EYED WALLY?!" everyone exclaimed.

It was indeed Wally across the street, only he was wearing the same kind of fancy clothes as everyone else in town. When he saw Anne, Johan and the Plantars approach, he immediately froze in shock and dropped his walking stick.

"You didn't tell me you were leaving the valley, you scamp," said Anne, giving Wally a playful slug in the shoulder.

"Oh, um‐" Wally said nervously before a frog who looked like an older version of Wally and with both eyes open said, "Walliam, you know these pungent common folk, do you?"

"Uh, yes, Father," Wally said. "I met them on my business travels."

"These must be your servants from Wartwood then," Wally's father said, gesturing to the Plantars.

"Servants?" Hop Pop echoed, offended.

"Yes. That's right, Father. These are my servants," said Wally as he patted Polly's head. She grabbed his hand and squeezed, making him groan in pain.

Wally's father looked at Anne and Johan and said, "And these must be some kind of exotic beasts you tamed. Though I sooner would have had them stuffed."

Anne glared at him while Johan warned, "Watch it, blue blood."

"Anyhow, I am Wigbert Ribbiton."

A shocked Hop Pop asked, "Ribbiton? As in Ribbiton's Ribbons? The finest web crusty floss in all of Amphibia?" He held up a bag of said floss.

Johan stuck out his tongue. "He runs a toe jam floss enterprise?" he whispered. "Ew!"

"That's us," Wigbert said in response to Hop Pop. "And when I retire, Walliam here will be head of the Ribbiton family empire. Right, Walliam?"

"Right, Father. Can't wait for that." Anne and Johan took note of the forced smile Wally was making.

Wigbert then saw Bessie. "Hello," he said, taking note of her broken reigns. "Looks like someone needs repairs. My mechanics will make her right as rain in no time." With a snap of his fingers, an army of tiny frogs appeared, lifted both snail and fwagon over their heads and carried them off.

"Oh, mighty kind of ya," said Hop Pop.

"You'll be joining us back at the mansion, of course?"

Anne, Johan and the Plantars shouted, "MANSION?!"

Wally immediately shook his head and waved his hands, "Oh, no. They couldn't-"

"OH, YES, WE COULD!"

The front gate of the mansion, which had a stylized letter R symbol on it, opened, revealing the mansion in all its splendid glory. It was white and gold like the rest of the city and it hurt Johan's eyes just looking at it.

"Here we are," said Wigbert as he led the group across the massive front yard, past three giant peafowls. "Some of my prizewinning birds. Ever seen a frog torn in half by a peacock? Grizzly stuff."

Johan muttered, "And I thought peafowls were scary before."

Wigbert brought the group to Wally's bedroom. "It's, uh, one of our smaller rooms but please enjoy," he said as he left.

When Anne opened the door, she, the Plantars and Johan gasped. "What the heck, Wally?"

"THIS is small?!" Johan asked, dumbfounded. "It's a room fit for a king!"

"Ah, you flatter me," Wally said, still making an uncomfortable smile.

"This place is magnificent," Hop Pop said with glee as he hopped on the bed.

"What happened to 'Look away from the fancy?'" teased Anne.

"It don't count if ya don't have to pay for it."

"Hypocrite," Johan coughed.

"Hey! I heard that!"

"Hey, let's go explore," suggested Sprig.

"Okay," said Hop Pop as he hopped off the bed and ran off with his grandchildren, leaving Anne and Johan alone with Wally.

"So," said Johan. "Why didn't you tell us that you were secretly rich? It certainly explains the hair."

"I didn't want people looking at me like I'm a walking wallet," explained Wally.

"I know that feels," Johan muttered.

"And the truth is, I live like a bum in Wartwood because... Well, it's what I love," said Wally shamefully. "This life may look nice but there's so many rules. And if my family knew the real me, well, they'd disown me for sure," he said as he slid down onto his rear.

Anne sat next to him and said, "Just be honest with them. Tell them the truth and I know they'll support you. Just like my favorite movie From Pointe To Poppin."

Wally grunted in frustration as he took an accordion out from under the floorboards. "It's just too risky, Anne. I have to hide these around the house, or I'd lose my mind."

"What about that time you told me not to care what people think about you?"

"This is different. This is my family we're talking about."

Johan scoffed. "Look at me, Wally! I'm the son of a powerful mob boss and I'm not afraid to speak my mind whenever I get angry at him."

"Really? How does he react?" asked Anne.

"Well, we'd get into an argument, but we come to an understanding...usually before he threatens me with his Stand." Anne and Wally stared. Then Johan laughed. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! But seriously, Wally, what have you got to lose for telling your family the truth?"

"Well, come with me and I'll show you." Wally got up and bumped into a wall. "Meant to do that."

"Yeah. Lack of depth perception is a bitch."

As they walked down a hall, Johan asked, "Okay, I gotta ask how are things in Wartwood since we left?"

"Oh, uh," said Wally nervously. "The town is prosperous, the absinthe sales are skyrocketing...mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble..."

"Dude, you're just saying the word mumble," said Anne. "What's going on?"

Wally rubbed his upper left arm and said, "Well, it's just that...we're doing fine. It's the other parts of Frog Valley... Scratch that, it's all of Amphibia that may be in trouble with the gangs."

"Gangs?" asked Johan, concerned

"Ever since we destroyed Toad Tower, criminal organizations have gotten bolder in their activities. Bank robberies, smuggling, laundering, etcetera... A lot of people are getting killed, both good and bad."

Anne exclaimed, "What?! Is everyone else okay?!"

"Oh, we're fine. We've got the best Stand users defending us. Although, it's pretty dangerous to walk at night, what with the highwaymen and all. But, nothing we can't handle," Wally said with a cheerful tone.

Johan shook his head. "I should have stayed in Wartwood, maybe I could have done something about the gangs. I mean, what if they're Stand users?"

Wally put a hand on his shoulder. "JoJo, you and Anne don't have to worry. We can take care of ourselves thanks to the two of you. Besides, if you stayed in Wartwood, you wouldn't have found the way home." This didn't really lift Johan's spirits. Wally then frowned sadly. "Truth be told, this whole gang thing is the reason why I'm here in the first place. So I can inherit Father's business should anything happen to him."

"But you don't want to, do you?" Johan asked.

"I don't have a choice!" Wally shouted in frustration. "If I refuse, my family might never let me out of their sight! Besides, I do have some fond memories here."

Anne frowned in thought about the situation.

So, what were the Plantars doing? They were in one of the many corridors with no idea how they got there. "Welp, we're lost," said Polly. "Probably gonna be stuck here forever."

"Oh, I know. Let's just open some doors at random," suggested Sprig. "One of them's gotta be an exit." Unfortunately, the first door he opened was a sauna, where dozens of fat frogs and toads were relaxing.

"Sorry, we're just‐ Carry on," Hop Pop said as he closed the door.

The next room they went into was strange: it had a bunch of masked frogs smashing furniture with bats. The third room had a bunch of peafowls in it and one frog disguised as one of them. He shushed at the Plantars. Creeped out, the family left without even closing the door.

Wally led Anne and Johan to the stables, where various bug steeds were kept. "So much of my past is here. It would break my heart to leave it all behind," he said. He opened one stable, revealing a blue ladybird beetle as big as a pony. "Meet Fiddle Leaf. I've been riding her since I was a wee tadpole."

"Hey, girl," Johan said as he knelt down and scratched the beetle's head. He fed her some aphids and she licked his hand.

"I think she likes you," said Anne.

"Well, Passione does have an affinity for ladybird beetles," explained Johan as he continued to pet the bug. He saw a picture of a young Wally hanging on her wall and smiled. "You really did like her, did you?" Then he looked back at the real Wally and saw how miserable he was. "Okay, enough beating around the bush," he said as he stood back up and confronted Wally. "Even with these 'fond memories', you didn't like it here did you?"

Wally sniffled. "No!" he cried.

Johan exhaled. "I get it. You have a lot of pressure on you, coming from a rich family. They have a lot of expectations for you and you're afraid of what they'll say if you don't live up to them."

"Well, if you're not gonna tell 'em, what are you gonna do?" asked Anne.

"Maybe if they could see how happy I was living in Wartwood, they'd understand and accept me for who I am," said Wally before he groaned in defeat. "Who am I kidding. Well, I better go get ready for dinner," he said as he left.

"Right. Dinner," said Anne.

This did not go unnoticed by Johan. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, if Wally doesn't have the courage to tell his family the truth, someone else will have to do it for him."

"Anne..."

At that moment, the Plantars came in. "Hey, where you guys been?" asked Anne.

"You were gone for a long time," said Johan.

"Around," said Sprig and Hop Pop in unison.

"Rich people are messed up," said Polly.

Johan scoffed. "Tell me about it."

Anne stopped Sprig before he could leave. "Dude, JoJo and I have just spent the last hour talking with Wally about how miserable he is. Well, tonight I'm gonna help him come clean."

"Oof. Are you sure meddling is a good idea?"

"Pfft. It's not meddling. It's the right thing to do because it happened in a movie. And movies are never wrong."

Sprig stared then said, "Okay."

"Life is not one of your movies," said Johan. "Wally has to be the one to tell his father the truth."

"Oh, come on, JoJo," said Anne. "You saw him, he doesn't have the courage to stand up to the old man! Someone has to do it for him!"

"Anne, while I agree with you, this is not the way to do it!"

"Don't care!" Anne said as she took off.

Johan shook his head. "Quella ragazza sarà la mia morte."

"You said it," said Sprig.

"You understand what I said?" Johan asked with a smile.

"No."

The smile vanished. "Aww."

At the dinner table, Wally barely touched his food. Wigbert clinked his glass and said, "A toast to Walliam's valet." He let out a shriek along with the other rich frogs at the table.

Anne cleared her throat. "Great segue." She stood up.

"Anne, don't do it," Johan warned.

"To thank you Ribbitons for your hospitality, I have prepared a special presentation."

"They talk," said one of the rich folk. "Oh, capital." DARE appeared behind him and slammed his face into his dinner.

"Nice one," whispered Anne to Johan before she said out loud as she held up her phone, "Now, please enjoy this video of Wally's life in Wartwood. Edited by me."

Wally dropped his spoon in horror. "Wait. What?"

The video showed everything he did in Wartwood including playing the accordion at night, sleeping in a chicken coop, bathing in the fountain, getting arrested by the law and shooting Johan's gun wildly in the air. The video ended and Anne said, "Cue emotional acceptance."

"Oh, there's going to be something emotional alright," said Johan. "Just not acceptance."

Wigbert glared at Wally as he shrunk in his seat and shouted, "Walliam! That is how you've been acting outside of Ribbitvale? Unacceptable. You have brought shame onto the house of Ribbiton. Worse, you've been lying to us." Hearing this, Anne's face fell in realization that she messed up.

"I-I only lied because I didn't think you'd accept the real me," Wally tried to explain.

"Well, you weren't wrong. We do not accept this. You are henceforth forbidden to leave this town."

Wally gasped, then made a brave face as he jumped onto the table. "Then you leave me no choice." He took the ribbon collar off, did an impressive ribbon dance before he used the ribbon to grab a fork and throw it at a gong at the far end of the dining hall, striking it.

"What? What does that mean?" asked Anne.

"Family challenge," said Sprig.

"Come on, Anne," said Hop Pop. "You've been here long enough."

Johan said, "You mean like that sumo thing you two did?"

"Exactly."

"If my family won't accept me for who I truly am, then I don't want to be a Ribbiton anymore," Wally shouted at his father. "I challenge you to a winner‐takes‐all duel."

"Very well. One‐on‐one Beast Polo. You win, you can leave Ribbitvale and live however you like. You lose, you take over the family business and stay in Ribbitvale forever."

One of the servants gasped.

"I accept."

Anne winced. "Kinda went off script there."

"Why did you do that?!" Wally shouted at Anne as he left the dining hall with her and JoJo.

"You told me this is what you wanted. You said, 'I wish they could see me in Wartwood.'" said Anne as she imitated him, complete with a jig.

"But I didn't actually mean it!"

"In Anne's defense," said Johan. "You did make it sound like a suggestion."

"It wasn't a suggestion!"

"So, what? You were just gonna pretend to be happy with this snooty rich life forever? He was gonna find out sooner or later!"

"I WAS gonna tell him...when he was dead."

Johan scoffed. "How?"

"I don't know, a seance? I HADN'T WORKED OUT ALL THE DETAILS!"

"Look, I just wanted to help you be proud of who you are," said Anne to Wally. "A poppin' lockin' fresh don't stoppin' hip-hop B-girl."

Johan slapped himself in the face. "Life is not one of your movies, Anne! How many times do I have to say it?!"

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" she snapped at him before asking Wally, extending her hand to him, "What can I do to fix this?"

Wally slapped her hand away and said dismissively, "You know what Anne, you've done enough already. I've got to face the music on my own." He took out his accordion and walked down the hall, playing a mournful tune.

Anne groaned in frustration with herself. All she wanted was to help Wally, not get him in trouble. Why was it that every time she tried to be the good girl, it resulted in somebody suffering physical pain or emotional distress? "I gotta make this right, even if he doesn't want it."

"How, Anne?" asked Johan.

"I don't know. I'm still working on it."

"Come on, let's just get to the polo field outside. Everyone's waiting for us."

At the polo field, the Plantars and Johan took their seats in the stands while a VERY familiar frog sat in the commentator's box. "Hi‐ho, Crumpet the Frog here, and welcome to the official Ribbiton family challenge. A ribbiting game of Beast Polo. Hey, see what I did there? Ribbiting, riveting? Because we're frogs?"

"Well, this guy's quite the character," said Hop Pop.

"TOO much character," said Johan as he eyed the commentator suspiciously. Then he saw Polly and asked, "Why are you wearing Wally's vagabond hat?"

"To show my support, also he wanted me to have it for safekeeping."

"Okay. Here comes the ball now!" said Crumpet.

"I don't see any-"

What happened next made Polly stop her sentence and made everyone in the stands nearly puke. Wigbert took off his monocle and plucked out his right eye, revealing it to be glass. Johan gagged and said, "I guess having one eye is a family trait." In the meantime, he was deep in thought. I could use my Stand to help Wally cheat, but there's no telling if there are any Stand users among these rich tycoons. I could slip some mystic mushrooms into the steeds' food before the game starts...

"And now the players will pick their beasts," said Crumpet.

Non importa.

"I choose Andromeda." Wigbert's steed was a large stag beetle with a skull painted on her head.

"And I choose Fiddle Leaf," said Wally as he patted the ladybird beetle.

"Not so fast. Fiddle Leaf is a Ribbiton family beast. Since you no longer wish to be a Ribbiton, you can't ride any of them."

"Well, then what am I supposed to ride?"

"I'LL BE YOUR BEAST!" Anne shouted as she popped out from behind Fiddle Leaf.

"Anne?!"

"Look." Anne put a hand on Wally's shoulder. "If you're gonna go down, you might as well go down fighting. Plus, I got you into this. At least let me try to get you out."

The vagabond thought it over, then nodded his head before placing a saddle on her back. "All right. You know how to do this?"

"No, but I'll figure it out," she said as she secured it.

"Well, here. Put this bit in your mouth."

Anne slapped the rein out of Wally's hand. "Not happening, bud."

Johan giggled to himself. "What are you so happy about?" asked Sprig.

"I'm not going to let her live this down."

"Okay, fellas. Let's keep this game cool and friendly-like," said Crumpet. "Three, two, one. Ee-eee!" Wigbert charged forward then slammed the glass eye with his mallet, sending it flying between Anne's legs and into the goal post behind her, much to her and Wally's shock. "Sir Ribbiton has scored the first goal."

"Turns out dad's still got it," said Wally nervously. "We might be in trouble."

"Well, then come on," Anne said in her gamer rage mode. "Let's step up our game and demolish this old man!"

"Steady. He's still my dad."

"Sorry, I'm just so competitive!"

Next score.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Wally swung the mallet, sending the ball flying. Using her Ripple, Anne charged forward, hopped over Andromeda and allowed Wally to strike the ball again, this time into the goal post.

"That beast may be small, but it sure is agile," commented Crumpet. "A goal for Walliam."

Wigbert let out a grunt of frustration. He was NOT going to lose!

What happened next was a marathon of Wigbert and Wally scoring goals.

Soon enough, the scores were tied nine to nine. "All right, folks. This is it. Next goal wins," announced Crumpet.

Both Anne and Wally, and Wigbert and Andromeda charged toward the ball, only for the latter to trip in a hole. Wigbert swung the mallet and hit the ball, but luck was on Anne and Wally's side as the ball hit one of their goal posts and flung across the field.

"Ah. He missed," exclaimed Wally.

"Second wind," Anne shouted as she got back up.

Wigbert had Andromeda charged after the ball with Wally and Anne chasing after them. "Come on, Anne. We're so close."

"He's too fast. We'll never make it."

Wally smirked. "That's what you think." He reached into Anne's pouffy hair and pulled out one of his accordions. Wait, what?

Anne was dumbfounded to see that. "Wally, how long has that been there?"

"A season at least," Wally said with a laugh. He stretched out the accordion, causing it to launch the ball into the air just before Wigbert could strike it and it flew across the field, through Wigbert's goal posts and into the boom shroom garden, resulting in a tremendous explosion that shook the whole field.

"Goal! Walliam wins," Crumpet shouted and everyone cheered.

Anne and Wally hugged each other. "We did it!"

"I can finally be myself," the latter said happily.

Hop Pop, his grandkids and Johan approached him and handed him his hat. "Can't be you without your signature hat," said Johan.

"Thanks, JoJo," said Wally as he put it on.

The sound of Wigbert clearing his throat got his attention. "Well, son, I concede defeat. I suppose this means goodbye forever."

He started to cry, much to Wally's shock. He wrapped his arms around him and said, "I don't want to leave forever. I just want to be able to be me, wherever I am."

Wigbert wiped his eyes as he asked, "You mean you still want to be a Ribbiton?"

"Of course, I do. But you have to accept me for who I am. Both Walliam and Wally." To pronunciate his point, Wally took out one of his accordions.

"I suppose we can do that. Ah, accordion, eh? You know, I used to love playing the jug, but I gave it up a long, long time ago."

Wally gave his father a look that said, "Oh, reeeeeeeaaaaally?"

"Oh, all right. You got me." Wigbert tore open a patch off grass, revealing a compartment full of jugs.

"You've been holding out on me," Wally teased him.

"Sembra che le corse pazze in famiglia," said Johan to himself.

"Aw. Isn't this great? I just love happy endings," said Crumpet, who by this point, had not moved from his spot in the commentator's box. "What do you say? How about a song? Always works for me."

"I don't see why not," said Wigbert.

Wally turned to the human girl and said, "Thanks, Anne, for everything. Well, not everything."

"Don't mention it." Anne suddenly felt fingers dig into her hair. She looked back to see it was Johan. "JoJo, what are you doing?"

"Checking to see if Wally put anything else in there."

"Get your hands out of my hair! I can check my own hair, thank you very much!" she stuck her hand in her hair and pulled out a bag of peanuts. "What the- Who put peanuts in my hair?!" Sprig pretended not to hear her.

"Hit it, Pops!" said Wally.

The Ribbiton father and son played a jig while Anne, Johan and the Plantars danced to the beat. And then a peacock came out of nowhere and shrieked, making everyone scream. Out of instinct, Johan manifested DARE who proceeded to pummel it. "MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA!" The peafowl was launched into the air and came crashing down into the boom shroom garden, where it blew up. A second later, its cooked body came crashing down on the field.

"Well, this is one heck of a way to wrap things up," said Johan.

"My word," said Wigbert. "You didn't tell me one of your tamed beasts was a Stand user, Walliam." He corrected himself and said, "I mean, Wally."

Johan gave Wigbert the stink eye. "Call me a beast again, and I may become untamed."

To be continued ➟