The sound of seagulls indicated the Plantars, Anne and Johan were near the bay Newtopia was. Inside the fwagon, Sprig danced his fingers along the map until he stopped on Newtopia. "Doo, doo, doo. Newtopia! I can't believe it! It's been a long journey, but we're finally almost there." He looked at Anne and Johan, who were sitting across the table and looking at the latter's BFFs photo. "Anne? JoJo?" They looked up. "Uh, thought you'd be more excited."

"I am excited," said Anne. "It's just... we've been traveling Amphibia for weeks. I thought there'd be some sign of Marcy by now. But nothin'."

"Right now, Newtopia is the last hope we got left if we're going to find her," said Johan.

"Maybe it's for the best," said Sprig. "Your last friend was kind of..." He pointed to Sasha's image. "...totally evil."

Anne snatched the photo away from him. "Hey! Look, Sasha and I might be going through a rough patch, but that doesn't mean I don't care about her."

"'Rough patch'?" exclaimed Johan. "She tried to kill us and feed Hop Pop to a giant Venus fly trap! Oh, and she has red Super Saiyan powers as well, too. As if being a Stand user was bad enough."

Anne looked at him, a little hurt, "Aren't you at least concerned for her, JoJo? At all?"

"Well...yeah, but..."

"And since she got zapped here with me, it must mean Marcy did too. Also, Marcy is completely different from Sasha. She's harmless."

Johan scoffed as he pointed to the image of the Taiwanese-American girl with short black hair with a green clip. "She has the attention span of a squirrel from what I've experienced. She can't even strike a conversation for five minutes without looking at her video games. Oh, and she's as clumsy as a bull in a china shop. Always tripping on her feet and not looking where she's going."

Anne nodded. "Clumsiest person alive for sure."

"Wow, that must be horrible," said Sprig. He reached for his drink of water, only for it to slip from his hands.

Anne looked at the photo again. "Back home, me and Sasha were there to protect her. But here, she's alone, and instead of kickballs..."

"She could get mauled by an elephant scarab. Or crushed to death by a heron. Or worse, flayed alive by a..."

Johan slapped Sprig in the face before he could finish his sentence. "You're not helping!"

Suddenly, Polly poked her head in through the sun roof and babbled, "Guys! Come... It's... I... Not gonna believe... Ah! Just get out here!"

Everyone exited the fwagon and gasped in awe at what they saw. If Frog Valley is the Shire, thought Johan, then Newtopia is definitely Minas Tirith.

Newtopia resembled a castle, with turrets and towers with flags placed at the top of them which appeared to be shaped like red mushrooms. Likely made out of marble and gold, the castle was the most massive structure. There was a winding cobblestone path leading to the entrance and the location seemed amidst a shallow sea. There was a large golden gate and atop the castle was a large silver sculpture shaped like a stork's head pointing its beak upwards.

"There she is, gang... Newtopia," said Hop Pop. "If there's a way to get you home, it's in that city."

"Well, then let's get down there," said Anne.

"Whoo-hoo! Yeah!" everyone cheered as they jumped.

"Okay, lesson learned," said Johan as he, Anne, the Plantars and Bessie slowly walked through the ankle deep water toward the gate. "Never jump over a hill in excitement unless you know what's at the bottom."

"Agreed," said Hop Pop.

"Well, my feet are soaked," said Anne casually.

"Hey, Anne," said Johan. "I know we're here and all, but remember what I told you about your powers. Specifically, the one that makes your hair and eyes glow blue."

She scoffed in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Unless the subject is brought up, don't mention anything about it. Sheesh, way to kill the mood."

Polly gently floated by while Sprig played in the water. "Now this is the life," she said until she bumped into a hole. She looked down it and asked, "Hey, what do you think made these holes?"

Hop Pop looked down and said, "Mmm...Better not to ask. Come on!"

"I feel like this is going to come back later."

They approached the gate, hearts racing. "We're finally here. Yo! Anybody home?" Anne called out.

A slot opened and a newt popped his head out. "You can't come in here. Newtopia's closed."

"Seriously?!" Anne and the Plantars shouted.

"Hey! We traveled all this way only to be told not to come in," snapped Johan. "Listen, you little-"

Anne put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this," she said before asking the guard, "Like closed, closed? Or like closed for lunch?"

"The city is closed, closed to all outsiders."

An annoyed Sprig asked, "What the hey hey? Why? Till when?"

"Until the barbari-ants are gone, of course. Good luck out there!" The newt tried to close the slot, but it was stuck. "Stupid handle." He gave it a good hard jerk, only to nearly fall out. He crawled back in and closed the door with a hook. "I'm okay!"

Anne asked Hop Pop, "What's a 'barbari-ant'?"

"Beats me. We don't got 'em in the valley."

Sprig scoffed. "Psh, they close the whole city because of a few little ants?" Suddenly, an ant as big as a small card and covered in coral and barnacles popped out of one of the holes and charged toward him. "Ah! Big ant! Really big ant!"

Johan stood between Sprig and the ant and summoned DARE, who proceeded to rapidly punch the ant. "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 ant got flung into the air and came crashing down with its legs curled in. It did not move anymore. "I think we just found the cause for all these holes," said Johan.

"Who cares," Anne asked. "You kicked ant butt!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. "Uh, you guys feel that?" asked Sprig.

Five more ants popped out of the ground and surrounded toward the group. Bessie hid in her shell. "Starting to feel a bit antsy."

"Seriously, Anne?" snapped Johan. "You think this is the time to make a pun?"

"Every time is the time for a pun!"

Suddenly, bags dropped out of the sky, releasing what looked like oil into the water, then someone fired a burning arrow and it landed in the oil, creating a ring of fire that scared the ants back into the underground.

"Huh?" everyone asked.

A figure stood on top one of the gate's towers and pointed a crossbow at one of the fwagon's wheel and fired an arrow with a rope. "Hop Pop, can I get a crossbow for my birthday?" asked Polly. "Please, please, please!"

Hop Pop looked nervously at the arrow. "Eh, we'll talk."

The newt with the crossbow zip lined down the rope with a hook. "That's one cool newt," said Hop Pop.

And then the rope broke and the newt fell face first into the water. Everyone winced. The newt got back up and jotted down some notes. "Okay, so, Newtopian rope can hold an average human girl for, uh, 2.3 seconds. Maybe I could reinforce the rope with iron spider silk to increase the tensile strength."

Anne and Johan immediately recognized that voice. "Marcy?" the latter asked.

The figure lowered her hood revealing not a newt face, but a human one. A human girl with black hair with a green clip to be precise. And wearing a light brown chest plate, fingerless black gloves, a wrist-mounted crossbow, and brown knee high boots. She looked at the two humans and said with shock, "JoJo? Anne?"

With tears in her eyes, Anne ran up to her and the two of them hugged a big hug.

"Anne! Oh! Anne? Is that really you?"

"Marcy! I can't believe it!"

"You, me, here?"

"I know! I know! I missed you so much!"

"Oh, I missed you too!"

Polly went "Aw..." at this scene. Hop Pop smiled heartwarmingly. Sprig just narrowed his eyes at Marcy and folded his arms in suspicion.

"Look at you," Anne complimented Marcy. "Look at this outfit. You're like an Amazon warrior queen or something."

"I know, I know, right? It's nuts! This is real!" Marcy pointed the wrist-mounted crossbow at her in excitement.

Anne, a little frightened, pushed it away from her. "Yeah, very real."

"Ah, sorry."

Johan coughed loudly. "What am I, chopped liver?" he asked as he approached. "Where's my hug?"

Marcy teased him, "Feeling left out, girly boy?"

A vein popped out of his forehead. "Lo sai che odio essere chiamato così!"

Marcy giggled and pulled him into a hug. "Come here, you!" Johan froze for a moment, then returned the hug. And then he pinched her cheeks. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Just making sure this isn't a hallucination." Marcy flicked him in the head. "I deserve that."

"Did that feel real to you? Anyway, isn't this place wild? What an adventure. Aw, man! I've really grown out here, guys. Come into my own. Leveled up. No more clumsy, klutzy Marcy. Can you believe it?"

"This is the part where Anne says, 'Your cloak's on fire.'"

"Your cloak's on fire," said Anne. "Stop doing that, JoJo!" Marcy saw this was indeed true and began screaming and running around in circles frantically. "Don't swing it around!"

She stopped when Johan kicked water on her. "Thank you, JoJo." She jotted down her notes. "Note to self: nonflammable cloak, preferable."

He exhaled in exasperation. "You haven't changed, Marcy."

Hop Pop said, "So Anne, JoJo, who's your friend?"

"You guys, meet Marcy!" introduced Anne.

Marcy looked at them and almost squealed with excitement. "Oh, my gosh. Who are these cuties?" She gasped. "Are they your surrogate frog family? Did they find you and take you in? Oh! I love the found family trope! Gosh, this is just like the hero in my favorite game, Vagabondia Chronicles. The greatest JRPG of all time. Have you played it? Do you wanna play it, borrow it? Just say the word and I'll lend you my copy. Man, it'll change your lives!"

Johan coughed loudly and said, "Marcy, you're doing it again."

Marcy immediately covered her mouth. "Oops. I'm talking about my favorite subject too much again, am I?"

"Yep, the Plantars took me in. Another frog family took JoJo in," said Anne. "The one you got there is Hop Pop."

Currently, Marcy was measuring Hop Pop's head. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. As I thought, 62 centimeters!"

"Yep! All brain," he said.

She jotted down more notes. "Judging from the size of your cranium and flecks of sediment, you're from Frog Valley, right?"

Hop Pop gasped before saying happily, "You can tell all that from my head?"

"Oh, Anne. I'm so jealous you and JoJo found a farming community. I've been studying Amphibia history, and farm culture is super under-appreciated in my opinion. You're the backbone of society and do not get enough credit for it."

Hop Pop fell faint and he fell on top of Polly. "Get off of me!"

He got back up and shook Marcy's hand ecstatically. "Thank you, thank you!"

Then Marcy laid her eyes on Polly. "Hey, a pollywog!"

"Hi."

She picked up Polly and examined the inside of her body using the light of the sun. She used a magnifying glass to focus on Polly's developing legs. "Hmm. I'd say those legs should be coming in in about... bub, bub, bub, buh... two months, give or take."

Polly immediately smiled. "Can I get that in writing?"

"Oh, yeah, absolutely." She put Polly down and gave her a note saying "Legs in 2 months - Marcy". Polly took it and held onto it with glee. "Thank you!" she said.

Finally, Marcy turned to Sprig, who refused to look her in the eyes. "Oh! And hi there. Wow. I've never seen a frog your color before. You're not poisonous, are you?"

He shook her hand and said sinisterly, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I literally actually don't know," he admitted.

Marcy looked at her hand. "I will iodine that later."

"So what about you, Mar-Mar?" asked Anne. "Have you been in Newtopia this whole time?"

"Here and there, but, uh, mostly here," said Marcy. "I actually warped in right inside the city walls. Pretty lucky, right? Like, what are the odds... Oh, oh, okay! Oh, my gosh! Remember that game I tried to get you, JoJo and Sasha to play, Creatures and Caverns?"

"No."

"You mean that Dungeons & Dragons ripoff?" asked Johan. "You know I don't play tabletop roleplaying games."

"IT'S NOT A RIPOFF! IT WAS INSPIRED BY IT!" shouted Marcy before she recomposed herself. "It turns out newts are just like Cephalons, from Shadows of Xel'noth! Anyway, I just role-played like your typical artificer/rogue and the next thing I know... Boom! I'm the chief ranger of the Newtopian Knight Guard!"

Johan pinched her lips shut. "You're doing it again." Marcy frowned at him. "I gotta admit, you got a sweet gig, not as good as being the new boss of one of the most successful gangs in Frog Valley, but still."

Marcy scratched the back of her head. "I kinda already know that."

"Huh?"

"You're all over the newspapers. Not exactly the kind of thing I want people to know."

Johan shrugged his shoulders. "No such thing as bad publicity."

"So, Marcy, can you get us into the city?" asked Anne. "We tried the gate, but they won't let us in."

"Unfortunately, those gates will stay closed until the barbari-ants are defeated."

"If it's an ant problem that's keeping us out," said Johan. "Can't you just gas them out?"

"Not without poisoning the water in the process. Luckily, we've got a plan. Come on!" Marcy used her crossbow as a grappling hook to swing across the water.

"Yeah, we're going to follow you the normal way," said Johan.

Polly said, "Hop Pop. Birthday. Make it happen."

Marcy led the group to a tent located outside the city walls. Inside were three newts, purple, blue and pink, wearing black robes with tassels on the hoods.

"I'm telling you, Branson, what we need is a direct frontal assault," said the purple to the blue.

"And I'm telling you, Bartley, a sneak attack is what's called for."

"Yeah, well, you're both wrong. We need to learn how to communicate with our ant brethren and live in sweet, sweet harmony," said the pink.

"Ludicrous!"

"Shut up, Blair!"

"You shut up!"

The three of them started arguing and fighting with each other. "These are your master planners?" asked Johan to Marcy. "They're geeks!" That earned him a slap. "Ow!"

"Be nice!" She cleared her throat and said, "'Sup, triple B?"

The three newts stopped fighting and Bartley said, "Ah, Master Marcy. Are you lost?" he asked the Plantars when he saw them, Anne and Johan.

"No, no. They're with me. The Plantars traveled here all the way from the valley." Sprig and Hop Pop caught flies with their tongues and Polly let out an earthshaking burp.

"Ah. Welcome, dirty peasants," said Bartley.

"And these are my friends, Anne and JoJo." Anne poked Marcy's in the cheek. "Ow."

"Sorry. Just... still can't believe you're here," said Anne as she patted her head like a drum.

"Anne, quit it," Marcy giggled.

"All right, all right. Keep doing what you're doing."

"You'll be glad to hear we've agreed on a battle strategy," said Bratley.

"What?" exclaimed the other two newts. "We've agreed on nothing!"

"Well, no worries. I think I got it figured out," said Marcy. "Anne, do you remember when we studied insect migration patterns in biology class?"

"Nope."

Johan said to himself, "Probably because you were too busy looking at your phone the whole time." Anne seemed to hear him as she slapped him in the back of the head.

"Well, since the weather warmed up, those ants have been sending scouting parties deeper into our territory," said Marcy as she gestured to a map of Newtopia on a round table. It reminded Johan of a Dungeons and Dragons gameboard. "In fact, I predict a full-scale invasion is just around the corner. The king has asked me to stop them before they turn Newtopia into a giant anthill." She placed a model of said anthill on the map.

Sprig looked at her suspiciously. "Wait. You work directly for the king of Amphibia?"

"Sprig, behave yourself," Hop Pop whispered.

"I didn't even know you guys had a king," said Anne.

"Well, duh. We're not anarchists, Anne."

"Speak for yourself," said Polly.

"Or at least you didn't become anarchists until the gangs started popping up all over Amphibia," said Johan.

"Yeah, we need to talk about that later," said Marcy. "Right now, the plan is we're gonna sneak behind enemy lines and drive the ant queen away." She showed them a diorama of the queen in her book before closing it. "With her gone, the rest should retreat."

"Oh, yeah? And how are we doing that?" asked Sprig.

"Check it out!" She held up a belt with yellow and orange mushrooms hanging off it.

Polly's eyes lit up with excitement. "Boom shrooms?"

"Not quite. These are stink shrooms!"

Polly's smile faded with disappointment. "Oh. Carry on."

"They're designed to release pheromones that should drive the queen away instantly. But we will have to fight our way through a bloodthirsty hoard of ants."

Polly's smile returned. "My interest has been restored."

"We'll have to be extra careful. If one thing goes wrong..." Marcy leaned on the table and it fell on its side. She got back up and said, "Flimsy table."

Anne watched with uncertainty. "Uh, Marbles, this sounds pretty dangerous. Yeah, why don't you leave the mission to me, JoJo and the Plantars? We did stuff like this all the time in the valley."

She and the Plantars struck a pose. "To the max!"

Johan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Non eravamo d'accordo a farlo."

"I don't know what you said!"

"Ugh. Come on, Anna Banana. I'll be fine," insisted Marcy.

"Banana?" asked Sprig.

"Your cape's on fire again," said Johan.

Marcy looked down and indeed it was. She ran around in circles while the three B newts screamed, "Fire! Fire! Fire! Somebody do something!" Until Johan sprayed water on her. "Thanks, JoJo."

"Those capes sure are flammable," commented Hop Pop

"I'm sorry, Marcy, but you're not coming," said Johan.

"Hey! You don't get to say what I can and can't do, JoJo," snapped Marcy as she put on a new cape. "It's MY mission! The king appointed ME with it."

Johan scoffed. "He made a mistake."

"I have to agree with him on this," said Anne.

"Anne, JoJo, trust me. I can handle this," said Marcy. "Now let's get going. Mission, engage!" She ran out of the tent in a dramatic fashion. Anne and Johan exhaled in frustration and followed after her. The Plantars lagged behind as Polly asked, "What's your problem?"

"Me?" asked Hop Pop. "Well, to be honest, my cholesterol's been a little..."

"Not you. Frownzilla over there," she pointed to Sprig.

"Oh, come on, guys. Surely you don't trust this 'Marcy' person," said Sprig, clearly not letting go of his suspicions.

"I do," said Hop Pop.

"With my life actually," said Polly.

"I mean, look, Sprig, she's clearly harmless."

Sprig looked at Marcy, who was writing in her journal and surrounded by butterflies. "All right, yes, on the surface she looks harmless, but do you not remember Sasha?"

The memories of Toad Tower came flashing back to Hop Pop and Polly.

"Eh, I try not to."

"Now that you mention it..."

"Well, I say we watch 'Marbles' like a pigeon hawk," suggested Sprig. "That way we can be ready if she tries to pull anything funny. You guys with me?"

"Still no."

"Can't say I agree, but you do your thing."

Sprig grunted in frustration. "Fine. Thanks for nothin'." He left the tent with Polly following after him.

Hop Pop asked the three newts, "You guys coming?"

"What, us?" asked Bartley.

"Of course not. We're analysts," said Branson with a chuckle. "We don't do field work."

Offended, Hop Pop asked, "And what's wrong with field work? I'll have you know we farmers are the backbone of society!" He hoisted his pants up and left the tent in a huff.

"Weirdos," said Branson.

Marcy led the group to the entrance of the ant nest, located just across the water. "Okay, we should be arriving there shortly- AAAAHHHH!" she let out a scream as she tripped and fell headlong into the cave.

"Marcy!" Anne shouted, chasing after her.

"I still think this is a bad idea," said Johan as he jumped in.

"Well, down the hatch!" said Hop Pop as he and Polly followed them.

Sprig stayed behind to speak to the family snail, "All right, Bessie, we're about to be betrayed... probably. If we're not back in three hours, send for help." The snail purred and placed her mouth on Sprig's hat. "Good girl."

The group slid down the hole, going further into the cave. Glowing coral was sticking out of the walls and floor and puddles of salt water leaked out. Marcy was the first to get up. "All right! Let's go."

Anne held her back. "Hold up. Stay behind me."

Sprig eyed Marcy suspiciously (again) as they walked single file. "Behind, eh? Just where a maybe-backstabber would wanna be."

"Okay, if we can just stay in this formation- Wait!" Anne shouted as Marcy broke off from the group and walked ahead, her nose stuck in her book.

"This is gonna be a cinch, guys. Trust me, I know these tunnels better than anyone... Gulp!" Marcy choked as Johan pulled on her cloak to keep her from falling down a hole. "Whoo! That would have been bad. Note to self: Do not step in holes."

"Seriously, let us handle this," said Anne. "You'll be safer in the back."

"More like she should be back in the tent with those three newts," said Johan.

"I gotta say, I do feel pretty safe back here," said Sprig before an ant burst out of a hole and grabbed him by the leg. "Why me?! Ow! Why always me?!"

More ants appeared and surrounded the group. Johan took out his harpē sword and summoned DARE while Anne whipped out her tennis racket and charged it with Ripple. "All right, guys. Fight mode!"

"On it!" said Hop Pop and Polly, charged up with Ripple.

"Yeah, on it!" said Sprig as he popped out of nowhere, covered in ant mucus.

"Oh, Sprig, good," said Polly calmly. "You survived."

"Yeah, I Ripple Wave Kicked him!"

"Okay, Marcy, stay close."

"Uh, Anne," said Johan. "She's gone."

"WHAT?!"

"She's right- AAAH!" An ant charged at him only for it to get stabbed by him before getting punched away by DARE.

Meanwhile, Marcy was studying some strange plants growing out of the rocks. "Ooh! Nice."

Anne smacked three ants away with her Ripple infused tennis racket and shouted, "Marcy, what are you doing?"

While the Anne, Plantars, and Johan fought the ants, Marcy placed a bit of juice from the plant in a potion. "Essence of Heron's bane. Just what the doctor ordered." She shook it. "Steady, steady." When the potion changed from gold to purple, she said, "Done! Guys, this way!" She threw the potion into a wall, creating an explosion. "Come on!" Everyone ran through the hole and Marcy threw another potion at the wall that grew vines out of the ground and blocking the ants from coming in. "Insta-vines! Bred 'em myself."

Johan looked around and asked, "Where's Polly?"

Polly, who was still stuck with the ants, called out, "Uh, guys? A little help here."

"Whoopsies," said Marcy.

"Not the baby!" Anne, Sprig and Hop Pop shouted.

Johan summoned DARE who proceeded to punch the ants' heads in. "MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA!" He then cut the vines, allowing Polly to hop in.

Sprig grabbed her and whispered, "See? That could've been on purpose."

She said dismissively, "It was an honest mistake, Sprig."

"MARCY!" Anne snapped at her friend, angry that she let the little pollywog almost die.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. But it all turned out okay, right? And Anne!" She grabbed Anne by the cheeks and said with excitement, "Why didn't you tell me you know Ripple?! Where did you learn it? It's one of the forgotten arts!"

Hop Pop raised his hand. "Me. Me and my family taught her."

Marcy said, "No way! I've been trying to find someone to teach me stuff like this!" Then she scoffed and said, "It's hard because it's all about Stands these days."

"Hey," said Johan, offended.

"I know right," said Hop Pop as the group walked further down the tunnels. "I mean, Stands aren't everything!"

"You gotta teach me!"

"I'll be happy to."

"No!" said Sprig. "Ripple is a family technique! And she is not family!"

"Dude, seriously, chill," Polly said.

"Oh, yeah, I got lots of vegetables back home," Hop Pop babbled as they reached a large chamber.

Marcy looked ahead and gasped as she made everyone hide. "Get down! It's the queen."

In the center of the chamber was one great big, fat ant with a large piece of glowing green coral on its head. It sprayed out eggs from the end of its abdomen and coated them with green sticky saliva. It saw it missed one egg and made sure to spray it.

"Well, at least she's a good mother," commented Sprig.

"Here's the plan," said Marcy. "We're going to have to plant these around the room." She held up some stink shrooms. "That way she gets a nose-full. They're set to go off in five minutes, so move quickly. Also, the queen is nearly blind, but hears really well. So be very, very quiet."

"We know you're there, mammal things and amphibians."

Everyone froze at the sound of the high-pitched chittering voice. "Uh...did that thing just...talk?" asked Anne, completely dumbfounded.

"Impossible," said Marcy. "Insects don't have vocal cords!"

For some odd reason, Johan felt the urge to look up. What he saw startled him. Floating above the queen, looking down at them, was a black and blue humanoid with an ant's head and abdomen. "Oh, shit," he gasped. "The queen is a Stand user!"

When she heard that, Anne let out a yell. "OH, COME ON! EVEN INSECTS CAN BE STAND USERS?! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"

The queen let out a roar and dozens more ants appeared. "We are Alien Ant Farm," said the Stand.

Johan chuckled. "Alien Ant Farm? Couldn't you come up with a more cliched name?"

"Our brood saw you and your shade and realized you have a power similar to us."

Suddenly, he gasped in realization. "Oh, no! The ants in this colony are descendants of this queen!"

"Uh, yeah, that's like, basic ant biology," said Marcy. "So?"

"Marcy, when a Stand user has offspring, whether they had been born yet or not, they have the potential to become Stand users as well!"

When the group heard that, a shiver running down as the realization sunk in. "You mean, we could be dealing with a whole colony of Stand users?" asked Marcy with dread. "No wonder the barbari-ants have been acting smarter than normal." Her eyes narrowed at the queen. "Change of plans! We can gotta kill the queen before she can produce more offspring!" She pointed her crossbow at the queen, only for Alien Ant Farm to swoop down and rear its fist back to punch her.

"Marcy!" Johan pushed her out of the way.

"JoJo, what are you doing?"

"Why, yes Marcy, I am welcome for saving your ass from a Stand THAT ONLY STAND USERS CAN SEE!"

"I wasn't aiming for the Stand! I know I can't kill it! I was aiming for its user!"

Johan groaned. "You know what, Marcy? Anne was right about you, you haven't changed!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, underneath all that cool armor and weapons, you're still the same clumsy nerd with a short attention span who just got lucky! You should just stay with Anne because eventually, that luck will run out!" Marcy didn't respond. She just frowned at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an ant's Stand to squash." He pushed her out of the way, and approached the Stand. "Time to play exterminator."

DARE materialized behind him and threw a punch at Alien Ant Farm, only for the Stand to form a hole in its stomach, avoiding the attack. "What the?!" The hole closed in on DARE's arm and it struggled to get out. Tiny creatures crawled off Alien Ant Farm's body and onto DARE. Johan could feel it as well. He realized, "Oh, no! That thing isn't a single Stand! It's an entire colony!" The tiny Stands jumped off DARE and landed on Johan's face. He screamed as he tried to get them off only for them to crawl into his ears and nose.

Suddenly, the screaming stopped and Johan's arms went limp.

"JoJo?" called out Anne.

Johan slowly turned around like a zombie, revealing ants crawling around the inside of his eyes. He spoke with a drone, "The mammal is part of the nest, as you will be."

"That's not JoJo," said Marcy. "That has to be Alien Ant Farm controlling him!"

"Once we inhabit your bodies," said Alien Ant Farm. "We will have you trick the amphibians above that we had been defeated, making them unaware of our invasion! We will take what rightfully belongs to us and devour you all!"

"Huh. All this time I thought Marcy would betray us," said Sprig. "But it was JoJo. Not of his own volition, mind you, but still. Didn't see that coming. Wah!" he screamed as the mind controlled Johan grabbed Sprig and held him by the throat.

"We must feed!"

He threw Sprig toward the queen, who caught him with her tongue and swallowed him whole.

"SPRIG!" everyone shouted.

Stand: Alien Ant Farm

User: Barbari-ant Queen

Power: B

Speed: C

Range: A

Durability: C

Precision: A

Potential: B

Ability: A colony of ants that, when merged together, takes the form of a humanoid ant. The colony has the ability to invade a non-ant's body and take control, adding its consciousness to the queen's hive mind.

While Anne and the Plantars looked on in horror, Marcy said, "He's still alive! These bugs take a while to digest their food. Look!" She pointed to the queen's stomach, where they saw the outline of Sprig. "I can still save him, I just need someone to keep Alien Ant Farm off my back!"

Anne stopped her before she could go forward. "No! I'll do it. You just... stay here. Hop Pop will stop Alien Ant Farm."

"Anne," Marcy said as she put her hands on her friend's shoulder. "I may not be a Stand user or a Ripple user, but I'm the only one who's studied barbari-ant biology. It has to be me."

"No, it doesn't! I can handle it."

Marcy looked it Anne's eyes and asked, "Anne, is what JoJo said true? Do you think after all this time, I'm still just a clumsy nerd who just got lucky?" Anne didn't respond, but Marcy knew the answer. "Anne, I really have changed! Why do you insist on holding me back?!"

"Because I just got you back, okay?" Anne shouted with tears in her eyes, startling Marcy. "And I don't..." She paused to sniff. "I don't wanna lose you again."

Marcy's expression changed to that of a gentle smile. She grabbed Anne's hand and said, "You won't. I promise."

Anne sniffed again and smiled back. "Okay... go. You got this. I'll distract Alien Ant Farm."

"See you on the other side," said Marcy as she ran forward and bounced on the ants heads.

The possessed Johan let out a snarl as he spewed a column of Alien Ant Farm's drones at Marcy, only to be knocked off his feet by a small explosion. Anne, using Ripple, channeled the energy into the ground, keeping the Stand from attacking. Johan got back up and lunged at Anne. She took a deep breath and channeled the energy into her right fist. "Zoom Punch!" Her arm stretched out and plowed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Meanwhile, Marcy bounced on another ant and leaped up into the air. Hop Pop said, "Who knew these ants were so bouncy?"

"I did, 'cause I studied them," declared Marcy...just before the queen swallowed her.

Johan, still possessed by Alien Ant Farm, chuckled. "Tasty."

"I can't watch," said Hop Pop.

"Dibs on the crossbow," said Polly.

"Come on... Come on..." Anne pleaded.

Suddenly, the queen felt something strange in her stomach. It felt like something was punching her on the inside. Then, that something forced its way out of its stomach and out of its mouth. That something was Marcy, carrying Sprig under her arm. For a brief moment, her eyes glowed green. Sprig did not notice as he said in a trance, "Trustworthy." Marcy then used her crossbow and grappling hook to swing down to safety while Anne and the Plantars cheered her on. Until the queen cut her rope and she fell.

"Oh, no!" everyone screamed. "I gotcha! I gotcha!"

Marcy landed on them and they skidded across the ground. They got up to find themselves surrounded by ants and Alien Ant Farm. "It's not over," it droned through Johan's vocal cords. "We will devour all the newts! We will take our home back! We will make you mammals our slaves!"

Marcy chuckled. "Not happening, queenie. I left behind a little surprise in your gut while I was saving Sprig. And three...two...one..."

The queen suddenly let out a shriek of pain as the stink shrooms Marcy dropped in her stomach all went off at once. A cloud of orange gas expelled out of her mouth and began to fill the room. Alien Ant Farm screeched in agony as the Stand poured its way out of Johan's orifices and began to die alongside its owner. The ants in the colony made a retreat as their queen died.

Johan fell only to be caught by Marcy. "Wow, he's surprisingly light," she commented.

Sprig sniffed the air. "Huh, you know what? It actually smells kinda nice."

Marcy pinched her nose. "I mean, it will liquefy your lungs if you breathe too much of it, so..."

Everyone made a hasty retreat. "Well, time to go!"

As they ran, Johan's eyes slowly began to open. He weakly said, "Marcy...I'm sorry." She looked down at him. "I shouldn't have doubted you. You're pretty cool on your own, even if you don't have a Stand."

Marcy smiled. "Thanks, JoJo. And thanks for having my back, Anne."

"Not that you needed it. You're right. You really have changed."

"Marcy, I..."

Marcy put a hand over Johan's lips. "It's alright. You already apologized."

"Marcy, I..."

"Oh, I get it. You can walk now." She set him back on his feet.

"Actually, I was gonna say, your cape's on fire again."

Marcy looked down behind her and it was indeed. Quickly, she tried to stomp it out. "Oh, come on! There wasn't even any fire this time!" Johan splashed water on her. "Thanks, JoJo."

Everyone jumped out of the nest and Marcy landed on her face. She got back up and cheered, "Mission success!"

"Hey, uh, Marcy?" Sprig asked, "Sorry for all the suspicion earlier. I was wrong about you. You're no backstabber."

"Hey, I'm just glad you're okay. It's obvious you mean a lot to Anne and JoJo."

Sprig smiled, only to get sick and puke up some of the queen's stomach acids onto Hop Pop and Johan's shirts, destroying them. The former said, "Nyeh! Dang it, Sprig!" Everyone laughed, even Johan. "Oh, ha-ha," the old frog said sarcastically.

Polly saw something on Johan's left shoulder. "What's that star mark?"

"Oh, that?" Johan tapped it. "It's the Joestar birthmark. Everyone with Joestar blood has that. It's nothing special, really." He began to shiver. "It's chilly out here. Does anyone have a spare shirt?" Anne handed him one of her St. James Middle School shirts. He looked at it and said, "Isn't this part of a girl's school uniform?"

"Well, it's all I got, so..."

Johan put it on, seeing that he didn't have a choice. "Beh, dicono che il nero fa dimagrire."

"I don't know what you said."

Suddenly, a bell located in one of Newtopia's towers rang and the gates slowly opened. It was safe to go in now. "Now, come on. Who's ready to go to Newtopia? And write up a detailed report!" Marcy exclaimed as she ran inside.

Sprig and Polly chased after her, cheering, "Yeah!" Then they said, "Wait, what? A report? Boo!"

Anne and Johan watched, impressed. "Wow. Marcy hasn't just changed, she's flourished. I've never seen her so happy."

"I have," said Johan. "But only when she's playing one of her games. I guess living out her fantasy has brought the best in her."

"Always impressive what people are capable of, isn't it?" said Hop Pop as he struggled to put on a "#1 Hop Pop" sweater. "A little help, please?" Anne helped pull it down over his body.

The bell rang again, signaling the group's arrival into the city. The place reminded Johan of ancient Rome combined with Coral Castle in Florida. "Whoa, look at this place!" said Anne in awe.

"Mighty impressive," said Hop Pop.

"I want to touch everything!" shouted Polly.

"This is like a city, city," said Anne.

"What did you expect?" asked Johan.

Suddenly, the group found themselves surrounded by a group of newts armed with swords, spears and shields.

"What's going on?" asked Hop Pop.

Polly raised her hands. "I didn't do it!"

The guards pounded their spears and parted, allowing a new newt through. A female newt with teal skin, long black hair and wearing a silver and pink dress with a matching sea shell tiara.

She cleared her throat and Marcy made a bow. "Well met, Lady Olivia," she said.

"The king sends his greetings, Marcy," Olivia said in a posh accent. "He trusts you have succeeded?" Marcy responded by dropping a barbari-ant's head at her feet. "Ah, still fresh, I see. Excellent work. As expected of the great Marcy Wu." She snapped her fingers and two of the guards carried the head away, much to their disgust. Olivia then noticed the rest of the group. "I see you have... company."

"Lady Olivia," said Marcy as she dragged Johan and a VERY nervous Anne forward. "Meet Anne and JoJo, two of the friends I was telling you about. Turns out they got transported to Frog Valley."

"Uh-huh."

"A little town called Wartwood."

"It's a pleasure to meet the two of you, Anne and JoJo," Olivia said with a nod.

"Il piacere è tutto mio, signora," Johan said as he kissed Olivia's hand.

She drew her hand back and said with a blush, "I don't know what you said."

"Nice to meet you too, dude!" said Anne before she realized what sh said. "Oh, uh, I mean... milady," she said with a bow.

Marcy nodded before she introduced the frog family. "And these are the Plantars."

The Plantars bowed gentlemanly, only to fumble and land on their faces. One of the guards snickered at the sight of this.

"Yes, well, uh... Welcome to Newtopia, Plantars, JoJo and Anne," said Olivia. "This is an old city, but one rich in history and splendor. Please don't touch anything that looks important."

Sprig hopped on the statue of a newt warrior. "Hey, look what I did!" It broke. "I'm okay! Statue's broken."

Olivia's eye twitched before she turned to face Johan again. "So, Marcy tells me you are a Stand user and a gangster."

"It's Gang-Star."

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. "Were it not for Marcy's good word, I would have you arrested on the spot." Everyone's hearts sank. Olivia exhaled before continuing, "But considering the mess in Newtopia is the work of a gangster, perhaps using one gangster to destroy another might be a good thing."

Johan turned to Marcy. "Gangster? What is she talking about?"

"I'll tell you about it later," she whispered.

"Be that as it may," said Olivia. "I cannot allow you to enter the city until you are registered. Failure to do so will result in you getting expelled from the city."

"Registered?"

"It's the law," said Marcy. "All Stand users that enter the city must be accounted for and monitored closely, just in case one of them turns out to be deadly and powerful enough to, say, destroy the very fabric of reality."

Johan nodded. "Guess I don't have a choice, do I. Alright," he said to Olivia. "Where do I sign?"

Olivia snapped her fingers and a book and quill appeared out of nowhere. The book opened to reveal a bunch of names, all written in red ink. "My Stand, Book of Memories, will let me know where you are and whenever your Stand has been activated. Just sign your name on the blank space."

Johan hesitated. "I'm having second thoughts about this."

Olivia smirked. "Are you familiar with the phrase about the pen being mightier than the sword?"

"Yes, but what's that got to do with..." Olivia took the quill and stroked his cheek with it. "Okay, that tickled."

Anne gasped. "JoJo! You're bleeding!"

Johan looked down his left cheek to see a trail of blood coming where the quill stroked him. "Still need convincing?" asked Olivia.

"Okay, okay!" Johan took the quill and signed his name in red ink. He let out a gasp of pain when he was done. He looked at his right hand and saw his own name being carved into his flesh, as if by some invisible scalpel. He realized it wasn't ink that was used, but his own blood. This newt woman had a deadly side to her.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No." He quickly signed his name again and this time nothing happened.

"Well now that that's settled," said Olivia as she closed the book, making it and the quill disappear. "Do enjoy your stay." She left with the guards.

As soon as she was out of the group's view, she ducked behind a corner and summoned her Stand. "Book of Memories brings great pain to anyone who tries to write falsely. Marcy told me his real name is Johan Shiobana, and yet he felt pain when he wrote that name down. But no pain when he wrote this name down. This could be troubling."

Written in the book was the name "Giorgio Giovanna".

"She seems friendly... ish," said Hop Pop, a little intimidated.

"So, are you like a big deal here or something?" asked Anne.

"Let's just say I have a perfect record when it comes to missions," said Marcy with pride.

"No surprise there," said Johan.

"So, Marcy, I've got a couple of questions," said Sprig as he jumped on her shoulder. "How'd you get so smart? What's your cloak made out of? What's in this pouch? Where'd you get that wrist thing?" He then whispered, "What was Anne like back home?"

Hop Pop cleared his throat and said, "Kids, will you help me get the fwagon unloaded? Let's give Anne, JoJo and Marcy some space.

"Fine," Sprig groaned.

"Buzzkill," said Polly.

The three humans found a fountain to sit next to and skip rocks in, the perfect place to have a conversation. "So, you two haven't found a way home either, huh?" asked Marcy.

"Nope," said Johan. "Even with my gang connections, I couldn't find anything regarding the box. Well, we did find one way, but we kinda lost it."

"What?" asked Marcy.

Johan shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

There was a moment's silence. Then Anne said, "You know, it's funny. I've been hoping to find you for so long, but now that I actually found you, I have no idea what to do next."

"I know what you mean. First things first though. We have to find Sasha," said Marcy.

Ooh. Anne and Johan shared and awkward look. "Yeah, about that, we already found her," said Johan.

"And we kinda had a fight," said Anne.

"No... Was it bad?" asked Marcy.

Anne hissed. Johan said, "There may have been some swords. And Stands. And I may or may not almost died."

"Well, even if we find a way home, it's pointless without Sasha."

"So, what now?" asked Anne.

"I don't know," admitted Marcy. "Back home, Sasha always decided the plan."

Both girls turned to look at Johan. "What?" he asked.

"Well, you are the leader of a gang in Wartwood," said Anne. "What do you think we should do?"

Johan smiled and shook his head. "Anne, we had this conversation before. Stop being a sycophant and think for yourself."

"He's right," said Marcy. "I mean, it's worked out for us so far, right? Come on, stand up!"

"Uh... okay." Anne followed Marcy's direction.

"Come on, Anne. Let me see that power pose!"

Anne looked unsure, then she puffed up her chest and cheeks. "This good?"

"Good enough!" Marcy pointed to the sky. "I'm Marcy Wu!"

"And, uh, I'm Anne Boonchuy!" Anne pointed upwards as well.

Then both girls said together, "And together, we're gonna find Sasha and find a way home!" Then suddenly, both girls screamed as Johan pushed them into the fountain and burst out laughing. "JOJO!"

"I'm sorry! I could not resist! Wah!" he screamed as both girls grabbed him by the hands and pulled him in.

One splash fight later, Marcy asked, "Oh, my gosh. Okay, so I wanna know everything that's happened to you since you got here. You got any photos?"

"Do I?" Anne took out her phone and showed her the memories she had of the town. "Here's me and Domino 2. She tried to eat us. Here's me, JoJo and Sprig by the lake. There was a snake that tried to eat us. Oh, oh! Here's us running from a giant centipede that..."

"Let me guess. Tried to eat you?" asked Marcy.

Johan chuckled then said seriously, "A lot of things tried to eat us in this world. I still have nightmares."

A figure watched the whole scene from one of the castle's windows. "The pieces are starting to fall into place," he said in a deep voice. "It's time for the game to begin." He placed two pieces on a game board resembling Anne and Johan next to a piece resembling Marcy.

"The Joestar boy will cause us problems," said a second figure with a baritone voice with a British accent. "He's already disrupted order with that gang of his. If he finds out what we're planning..."

"Order had already been disrupted for the past one thousand years. Still, your concerns are warranted. Keep an eye on him, Captain Diego."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The second figure bowed and left.

To be continued ➟

Stand: Book of Memories

User: Lady Olivia

Power: D

Speed: E

Range: E

Durability: C

Precision: A

Potential: C

Ability: Takes the form of a book and feather quill that when written, uses a person's blood as ink. Doing so will allow the user to keep track of the person wherever they go. If a person writes falsely in the book, the quill will deliver an incredible amount of pain to them. The quill can also be used as a knife if needed.