After Wigbert's servants fixed Bessie's reins, the Plantars and the humans were on the road again. A day or two later, they came to a new town called Stony Gulch. They parked the snail outside the town's gate and entered, chanting, "New town! New town! New town!"

"Food!" said Polly.

"Shops!" said Anne.

"Clothes!" said Johan. He and Anne were wearing hooded cloaks so no one would see they weren't amphibians and cause a panic, at least that's what Hop Pop told them.

"Let's see." Hop Pop opened his wallet and dust and some moths flew out. "Nothing. All we can afford is window-shopping, kids." Everyone groaned.

Then Johan saw salvation. A job board. "Hey, why don't we get some odd jobs? We can make some quick money that way. Let's see. It looks like there are only three jobs available today. Letter delivery, luggage transfer, and street performer."

"Hmm. Should be easy enough," Anne said. "With the money we make from these jobs, we'd be able to at least afford some food."

"Sounds like plan," said Sprig. "Money, money! Money!" He did a little dance.

Johan took the letter delivery job. Using an under carriage roller as a skateboard, he went down the streets, slipping envelopes into the pockets of the people they were meant for. "Jury duty, jury duty, jury duty, blackmail, pink slip, chain letter, eviction notice, jury duty..."

Sprig and Polly took the luggage transfer job, which consisted of pushing a huge cart up a small hill and into a storage unit. Which wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for the fact that the luggage weighed a ton. And every time they got it half way up the hill, the cart rolled back down the hill.

"That's it!" Polly shouted before she inhaled, charged up her Ripple and gave the cart a punch, making it take off like a rocket and crash into the storage unit.

"I think we did good," said Sprig, high fiving his sister.

Anne had the task of street performer. It was no rocket science. Job description? Entertain the crowd by knocking a ball in the air and keeping it there. Anne used her Ripple to keep the ball in the air. It took a while to find her rhythm, but she eventually found it and did an incredible dance, similar to the one that she taught Hop Pop.

"Let's see," Johan said as he counted the money. "With the amount we just made, we could probably afford a meal. Not a fancy one, but a decent one."

"Decent is good enough for me," said Hop Pop.

Anne waved a hand in front of her face. "Man, it's hot."

"I feel the same way," said Johan as he and Anne lowered their hoods. "Better." The sounds of people gasping made them turn around to see a crowd of frogs staring at them. He let out a growl. "This again. I hate being seen like a monster every time people look at me!"

A little tadpole started to cry. "Whoa, whoa. Don't cry. We're not monsters. We're just weird. See?" Anne wiggled her nose and ears and did a pose. "Ta-da!" She gave the crowd a wink.

The crowd made impressed "Ooh!" sounds. "Mommy, Mommy! Give the freaks money!"

"It was a lovely performance," said the tadpole's mother as she gave Anne some coppers. "Here!"

"Do it again! Do it again!"

Johan immediately reached for his gun, only to be stopped by Anne. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't do anything stupid!" She pulled him to the side and whispered, "Look, I know you don't like it, but I think we can make a killing with this 'freak show' thing."

"Is this really the kind of money you want to make," Johan asked. "Being seen as an oddity?"

"At least they're not chasing us out of town."

Johan sighed. "Fine. But if I seem them sharpen even a single pitchfork..." He approached the crowd and said, "You thought what Anne was cool? How about this trick my dad taught me?" He stuffed his left ear into the hole and then it popped out. "Ta da!"

"Ewww!" someone in the crowd exclaimed. "It's disgusting! It's amazing!" He placed a big moneybag at Johan's feet. "Take all life savings!"

Anne and Johan looked at the Plantars. "Milk it!" Polly shouted. She put a tip bucket at their feet. Anne did the next trick first. It was the classic "I pulled my thumb off!" trick. Not to be undone by her, Johan did a trick where he levitated a pair of rocks and spun them around. Of course, what the crowd didn't know was that he was using his Stand to pull it off.

The crowd was impressed.

"Ooh."

"Amazing."

"Incredible."

"Take my money. All of it!"

"This is so much better than that creepy oddities museum."

"Oddities museum? What the heck is an oddity in Amphibia? Am I right?" No one laughed at Anne's lame joke. "Stick to physical comedy. Got it."

"I can help with that." Johan summoned DARE again and had it give Anne a powerful wedgie. She let out a shriek of pain as she was lifted up in the air by her underwear. "AAAH! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Okay. DARE, drop her." DARE dropped Anne and she landed on her face.

The crowd laughed again and began showering the two humans with coppers. Johan began stuffing his pockets while Anne recovered and basked in the glory. "We're in the money..." she sang.

By evening, the bucket was overflowing with coppers. "Wow, guys," said Sprig. "You made a bucket of money! Literally! Whoo-hoo!"

"Whoo-hoo!" cheered Anne. "Now, how are we gonna spend all of this cay-esh?" She looked around, then spotted a building shaped like the Eye of Providence and with a sign that said "Curiosity Hut". "Ooh. That oddity place is still open! How about it?"

"Well, you made the money," said Hop Pop. "But only if you and JoJo keep your hoods up. Don't like you two drawing so much attention to yourself."

"Deal. Let's do it."

Johan said, "I'd stay away from tourist traps if I were you. They always change the prices on their merch depending on how rich the customer is."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

Johan thought it over. "Well, I am a fan of Ripley's. Eh. Why not. But stay away from the gift shop!"

Inside the building were wax statues of various monsters. The kind you'd find in Ripley's Believe It Or Not or a carnival freak show such as a two headed chicken, a mantis playing basketball, a rat-bat hybrid, a frog version of the Fiji Mermaid, and a bunch of gnomes.

"Uh, I think this place is closed!" said Polly. "So let's leave and never come back!"

"Are you kidding? Come on," Anne urged the frogs on.

As they walked in, Johan took notice at how the Plantars were shivering. "Looks like we got ourselves a family of chickens instead of frogs."

"Hey! I'm not a chicken!" shouted Polly. "I just..." She glanced at the statues. "...don't like the way they look at me."

"Same here," said Hop Pop, trying to sound brave.

"D-D-Ditto," said Sprig with an obvious shiver.

"Guys, it's all fake! They're trying to scare you! Whoa. Look at this hot mess! It's actually pretty lifelike." Anne pointed to a statue of an old red frog wearing a brown suit, a red fez with a gold frog foot symbol on it, an eyepatch and carrying an 8 ball cane. If any of you remember Tommy Cooper, that's what he looked like.

Johan looked the statue over and said, "I think he looks like a man Dad told me about. This happened years ago before I was born, by the way. He tried to con his way into Passione so he could take half their fortune and flee back to America. Poor bastard didn't count on the gang's members being Stand users."

"What happened to him?" asked Anne.

"Oh, Dad let him live. But he made it clear that he was not welcome in Italy and that if he ever saw his face again, he'll cut out one of his testicles and put it back in again."

"Ooh, I hate to be that guy," the statue said in a gruff voice. Everyone screamed and Johan punched the statue out of instinct. "Ow! Son of a slug!"

"Sorry about that," Johan said.

The frog chuckled and said, "The ol' 'mistaken for a grotesque lifeless being!' Works every time! A little too well in this case. Welcome to my Museum of Oddities. I go by many names, but you can call me 'The Curator.'"

Johan narrowed his eyes and said, "Your name wouldn't happen to be Stan would it?"

The Curator looked from left to right nervously then asked, "Do I owe you money?"

"No."

"Then yes!" Stan said cheerfully. "And if you chuck some of that cash into this here sack (and promise not to hit me again), I'll give you a tour of the greatest museum these parts have to offer!" Anne placed some coppers into Stan's bag. He looked at her and Johan suspiciously. "What's the matter, honey? You and your boyfriend's faces too ugly for public? Ha!"

"Non è la mia ragazza."

"I don't know what you said."

"Don't worry," said Anne. "Nobody does. And to answer your question Mr. Stan, wouldn't you like to know?"

"Oh. A mystery. I love it! But enough chitchat. Walk with me. I've traveled all over Amphibia, collecting its most rare and frightening creatures. Like the two-headed love dove. There's... I dunno, probably some kinda marriage allegory in there. Oh, and over here, the bugball playing praying mantis, Airbug! There's nothing in the rule book that says a mantis can't play bugball. I got the weirdest stuff right here. Feel free to look around. But keep in mind, breathing in the dust will be extra!" He threw down a smoke bomb and ran into the other room.

"We saw that," Johan called out.

"No you didn't!"

Polly looked at one of the wax statues...then let out a scream and hopped into Hop Pop's arms. "Its eyes! They're watching me!"

"Well, I had enough," said Hop Pop.

"Yep, me too," said Sprig.

"Anne, JoJo, this place is freaking us out. We're gonna wait outside." With that, Hop Pop took his kids and ran out the door.

"Chickens," said Johan. He walked into the "Artifacts" room and saw more strange exhibits such as a Hand Of Glory and a bunch of skulls. Then he stopped when he came across one artifact that was VERY out of place. "Anne? Would you mind taking a look at this?"

Anne joined him and gasped at what she saw. "Oh, my gosh. Is that an old Discman? My parents had one of these!"

"I think mine had one too. These things were all the rage in the 1980s and 90s. How did it get here?"

"That's a good question. Hey, Curator. How much is this Disc..."

Stan appeared behind Anne and Johan suddenly, startling them. "Ah! The Skip Man. It can be yours... for a million coppers!" He laughed.

"What did I tell ya," whispered Johan.

"Oh, come on, man," said Anne. "We can't afford that."

"Okay, fine," said Stan. "How about we trade for it then? Got anything rare or vomit-inducing I could display in exchange?"

"How about closeups of Hop Pop's feet?" suggested Johan.

"Ooooorrrrrr...something better that won't involve anything super gross?" asked Anne as she reached for her and Johan's hoods.

"Anne, what are you-"

"Tada!" she said as she took them off.

"Sweet tadpole Mary!" exclaimed Stan.

"That's right. We're the ultimate oddities, baby! I'll make you a deal. We'll be your special attraction for one day only."

"Say no more, kid. One day of you two in exchange for the Disc thing and everything I know about it. You got a deal."

"Seriously? This is hu-yuge," Anne said, shaking his hand. "You won't be disappointed, dude."

"No!" exclaimed Johan. "I've already had a taste of the sideshow business Anne. It was not pleasant."

"Come on, JoJo, it's just for one day."

"Anne..."

"JoJo, it's the only way we'll be able to get the Discman, it might be our only clue!"

Johan said, "Well, maybe not the only way..."

"If you even try to steal from me," warned Stan. "I'll sic Frog Soos on you."

Johan held up his hands in defense. "That's not what I was thinking at all." He raised an eyebrow and asked, "By the way, who's Soos?"

"The handyman." Stan gestured to a pear-shaped teal frog wearing a green shirt with a question mark on it and a brown cap. He made a friendly wave as he swept the floors. "He's not bright, but he's a nice guy," explained Stan.

Johan exhaled. "Fine. One day, Anne." He grabbed Stan by the collar and warned him, "If you try anything funny, I'll make sure to carry out Dad's threat."

"Dude, not cool," said Anne.

"Hey, watch the suit," Stan said as he brushed his clothes off. "I've already got some pretty elaborate plans for your exhibit. Come back tonight after closing time and we can discuss."

"Elaborate, huh?" said Anne. "I like the sound of that! See you later." She left with Johan but not before the latter gave Stan the "I've got my eyes on you" gesture.

As soon as they were gone, Stan made a wicked smile. "Looks like we just hit paydirt, Frog Soos."

Soos said, "Say, Mr. Ponds, do you get the feeling that we exist simultaneously in multiple parallel universes, completely unaware of the other's very existence?"

"You've been licking yourself again, Frog Soos? You sound like that weird newt in the pink suit that came here not too long ago."

Soos chuckled. "Caught me again, Mr. Ponds!" He began to lick his arm.

Anne kicked the door open and met with the Plantars outside the museum. "You guys! You won't believe what I found in there. A Discman!"

The Plantars made a confused "Uh..."

"It's a little device that plays music," explained Johan.

"Trust me. It's big," said Anne. "And that Curator guy's gonna give it to me. All I have to do is be the museum's main attraction for a day."

Sprig and Hop Pop gasped while Polly shouted, "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Anne, I really don't want to go through with this," said Johan. "And to be honest, you shouldn't either."

"What? But you said..."

"I lied."

"Anne, listen to him," said Hop Pop. "You cannot, by any means, do this."

"But th-this is the first time I've found something from my world! It could explain so much."

"I understand that, Anne. But that Curator guy is... Well, just look at him!" He gestured to Stan, who was making a creepy grin as he stared at Anne and Johan through the window before closing the curtains.

"JoJo, aren't you the least bit curious?" Anne asked.

Johan said, "I am, but there are better ways of getting it without degrading ourselves. I mean, do you really want people to gawk at you and stare at you like some kind of monster? I thought we were past this stage after our time in Wartwood." That made Anne pause for thought.

"Tell you what," said Hop Pop. "Let's sleep on it, come back in the morning, and see if we can get some answers, okay?"

"Okay, you're right. I can wait," said Anne. As soon as the Plantars left, she said to herself, "Until you fall asleep."

"Not if I steal it first," whispered Johan. Anne frowned at him. "Come on, the guy is clearly a conman. Stealing from a conman is less guilty than taking candy from a baby. Who knows if he even bought that Discman through conventional means and merely stole it? We'd be doing the world a favor by stealing from a criminal. Also, it's fun. What do you say?"

"I say... You're on."

Night fell and Anne and Johan smiled mischievously as the Plantars and Bessie fell asleep. Well, at first they thought Hop Pop was awake, but it turns out he learned how to sleep with his eyes wide open. It was kind of creepy. The two humans snuck out of bed and Anne slipped and landed on her face. The vibration caused one of Sprig's action figures to fall over but Johan caught it before it could land on Hop Pop's face. He put it back on the shelf and he and Anne left the fwagon.

"You know the plan, right," Johan asked as they approached the museum.

"Yeeeeaaaahhhhh...no," said Anne.

Johan face palmed. "You distract Stan and do your exhibition with him and I'll sneak in and take the Discman and we both run for it."

"You really think it'll be that simple?"

"No. But I'll try anything once."

Anne entered the shop while Johan waited outside. "Curator! Yo! Curator!" The lights turned on, revealing a smiling Stan. "Oh, there you are! That's not creepy at all!"

"Welcome, welcome. So glad my little star is here! And every star needs a stage." Stan pulled back a beaded door revealing a backroom with a shoddily made stage.

"Whoa. Fancy! So about that Discman..."

Stan interrupted her. "Bup, bup, bup. All in good time, kid. You'll get what's coming to you."

"Liking the sound of that!"

As Johan snuck into the room the Discman was in, he overheard what was going on. "Perché suona così minaccioso?"

Stan pointed to the red X on the stage. "Say, why don't you stand up there? Soak it all in."

Anne walked on the stage and said, "Whoa. Is this my mark? Should I hit it? I'm gonna hit it! Wha-bam!" She jumped onto the X and posed.

Stan chuckled. "That's the stuff. Now, since you're my main attraction, I'm gonna let you in on this museum's biggest secret. You see, truth is nothing's fake. Everything here is real. Real and frozen in wax. Just like you!" He yanked a cloth, revealing a machine with various levers and pumps. A tube dropped down from the ceiling and trapped Anne in it.

Anne nodded. "Ah, yep. Yeeep. This all tracks."

"I mean, it's crazy how easy that was!" Stan said. "Honestly, I thought I was being way too obvious about it."

Anne slapped herself in the face, "I can't believe this. I'm so stupid."

"Hey, hey. Don't talk about yourself like that! You're probably a very bright young lady who's just having a bad day."

"Oh, thanks. That's actually a really nice thing to say."

"Hey. It's what I'm here for. So, as you've probably guessed, you're not just the main attraction tomorrow. You'll be here forever!" Stan pulled the switch and laughed manically as the machine slowly started to fill the tube with wax, making Anne scream.

"MUDA!" Johan shouted as he jumped into the room and punched Stan in the face. "I knew there was something I didn't like about you!"

Stan got back up and rubbed his face. "What are you doing here? Wait, did you try to steal from me?"

Johan said, "Well, yes. But first, I'm gonna save Anne!" He pulled out his gun and was about to fire at the tube when Stan suddenly smacked it out of his hands. "Hey!"

"Oh, no, you don't! You're not taking away my mealticket!"

Back in the fwagon, Hop Pop's snoring caused the action figures to fall into his mouth and he awoke with a start. He spat them out and shouted, "Dang it, boy. Wait. Kids, where's Anne and JoJo?"

Sprig exclaimed, "Oh, no! They went back to the museum. We gotta save them!"

"Back to the museum? At night?" Polly timidly said. "You know what, I'll stay here and hold down the fort. JoJo can take care of it."

"Oh, no, you don't." Hop Pop grabbed her out of bed. "Come on."

The Plantars snuck into the museum with Polly holding a torch for light. As they walked down the hall, Polly paused to look at one of the statues. Or rather, glare at it. "Stop staring at me!" she hissed.

Hop Pop and Sprig peeked into the stage room to find Johan and Stan fighting. "Um, uh, then it hits me. Artifacts. You can charge people when they break 'em. Win-win!" Stan said as he grabbed Johan in an armlock.

Johan broke free and pinned Stan down and said, "It's the oldest con in the book!"

Anne, who was waist deep in wax at this point, asked, "Are you two having a casual conversation while fighting?"

"And Newtopia's got a ton of 'em. That's where I got that, uh, Disc guy you two wanted," said Stan.

When she heard that, Anne's eyes widened a little. "Newtopia. Of course."

Johan kicked Stan into the wax machine, causing it to stall. "Damn it. Time out!" he shouted. He walked over to the machine and banged on it with his fist. "That's what I get for going with a cheap machine."

Johan grabbed a wooden plank and began to hit the tube with it. Hop Pop whispered to Sprig, "Okay, boy. Here's the plan. First, I'll go in with a distraction. Then you come in behind..."

Stan got the machine working again. "I think I got it. Now we're cooking with gas, or whatever it is we frogs use." He saw Johan and shouted, "Hey! Get away from there!" The glass started to crack as he charged at him.

"There's no time! Come on!" Sprig yelled as he ran into the room with Hop Pop chasing after him.

Stan turned around and saw them. "Who are you? A cop? I ain't going back to frog prison!" He grabbed a snake coated in wax and held it up like a club.

"Oh, no," said Sprig.

That's when Stan realized they weren't cops. "Just a couple of common frogs. Ooh. I can stick 'em in the same mold. Call 'em the Two-headed Frog of Froglantis. It's genius!" He slammed the snake into the ground, but both Hop Pop and Sprig dodged out of the way.

Wax started to leak from the tube as Johan continued to break the tube. "It's working!" The glass broke apart, the wax splashed out and Anne was free. Sort of. She was coated in wax save for her face. "Are you okay, Anne?"

"I can't move, I have an itchy nose and I can't scratch it. DO YOU THINK I'M OKAY?! At least I can breathe."

"Hey!" Stan charged at Johan. "Get away from my money maker!" Quickly, Johan picked up his gun off the floor and fired at the Curator's right leg, causing him to scream in pain and fall flat on his face. He looked up at him and started to beg, "Wait, wait! Hear me out! I'll cut you all in on the profits. Ten percent. Okay, eleven percent. Eleven point five percent. I'm not coming to twelve. So you might as well just..."

Johan scoffed. "In the words of my cousin Jotaro Kujo, what you owe me..." DARE appeared behind him. "...can never be paid back with money!" And before Stan knew it, the boy's Stand proceeded to give him the beating of a lifetime.

"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 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 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 MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"

Stan was sent flying into the wax machine, smashing it. He groaned in pain as he watched Johan approach him. The boy then grabbed a valve and turned it, resulting in a shower of hot wax pouring out of a pipe and onto Stan. "Oh, the irony!" he screamed as it covered his body. Johan turned off the valve and resumed glaring at Stan. "Congratulations, you got your new exhibit after all," he said as he turned to leave.

Back with Polly, she continued to stare at the wax monster statue. Its eyes moved down to look at her. "I knew it! Enjoy being mush, you wax demon!" She threw the torch at the statue, causing the wax to melt, freeing the creature. "This is worse."

The creature turned to look at Stan and he whimpered in fear.

"Kids, melt the rest of 'em, quick!" shouted Hop Pop.

The Plantars grabbed torches and quickly freed the creatures from their wax prisons. The snake, the basketball-playing praying mantis, the gnomes (one of whom was named Schmebulock) and even the two-headed love dove. They all ganged up on the evil curator as he let out a muffled scream. They dragged him into a storage room and closed the door. A red liquid seeped beneath the door. "Calm down, everyone. It's just wax."

Johan exhaled. "Glad that's over. Now, let's get Anne out of here!" Sprig and Hop Pop lifted the wax-coated Anne over their heads and ran out the museum with Polly and Johan following them.

The following morning, Anne was partially free from the wax thanks to the fire the Plantars and Johan started. She sighed sadly. "I'll never get that Discman now."

"Oh, really?" asked Johan slyly as he held up the Discman. Anne's eyes sparkled with joy as she took it from him with her free hand. "No way! Dude, you're the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh. And the curator said he got this from Newtopia. Which means we're on the right track."

Hop Pop pointed to her and scolded, "You know what else is on the right track? You keeping a low profile and not jumping into things without us."

"I'm tired of facing my fears, Anne!" shouted Polly.

"And you!" Hop Pop pointed to Johan. "You shouldn't have enabled her like that!"

Anne said, "I know, I know. I shouldn't have gone off on my own. It was reckless."

"And I probably shouldn't have made that dare, knowing Anne could have gotten in trouble," said Johan. "It was stupid of me."

And besides, we work better as a team," said Anne.

"Well, the important thing is, we're all okay," said Hop Pop. "Except for that Curator. He's dead."

"Oh, sì, sicuramente," said Johan with a nod.

Sprig pointed to the horizon and shouted, "Onward family! To Newtopia!"

"Hey, guys. Wanna see something cool? Did you know that this thing has a laser? Wha-bam!"

"Anne, don't!" shouted Johan.

The laser shot out of Discman with a press of a button and Hop Pop screamed as it hit his eye.

To be continued ➟