The Newtopia mall complex was a lot like the ones back on Earth. It was located next to the sea, reminding Johan of boardwalk stores. He saw some stores that seem familiar, but with an Amphibia twist. Anne was in heaven. "Look at this place. It's just like the outdoor mega mall from back home."

"Yeah," said Johan as he looked at the Hop Topic store. "A little TOO much like it."

Hop Pop bought a frap and said, "Mm-hmm. Sure. Anyway, since we have an extended time in the city until Johan gets rid of the Bearded Dragons, I figured we could spend the afternoon shopping for souvenirs. Now get out there and buy anything you'd like!" Anne, Sprig and Polly cheered. "For two coppers or less." He tossed them all small moneybags, much to their disappointment.

"What? This ain't even enough for a candy bar," complained Polly.

"Yeah, what gives?" asked Anne. "Let's just use that sweet bling-bling from the king-king."

"Oh, yeah. The royal credit card," said Sprig.

But Hop Pop wagged his finger in disapproval. "Nuh-uh. Kids, souvenirs are only meaningful if you pay for them yourself."

"You could do what I always do: haggle," suggested Johan.

Polly raised an eyebrow. "Hag what?"

"You know, bargain with shopkeepers till they lower their prices."

A Grinch-like smile formed on Polly's lips. "You can do that? Oh, these newts aren't gonna know what hit 'em." She hopped away, laughing maniacally.

"Wait, Polly! Don't actually hit anyone!" Hop Pop yelled as he chased after her.

Johan chuckled. "Oh caro. Ho creato un mostro."

"Ooh, exciting. I guess I'd better get an item for Ivy, since we are an item," said Sprig with a snort and a laugh.

"We know," said Johan. "You won't stop bragging about it.

"Who are you two gonna shop for?"

Anne answered immediately, "My mom."

"Your... mom?"

"I figure if I'm gonna go missing in a different dimension, the least I could do is bring back a gift."

Johan said, "Same with me. Only, I'll get one for Dad."

"Seems reasonable to me," said Sprig, who unexpectedly had a bamboo walking stick.

Anne and Johan blinked in confusion before the former asked, "Wha... When did you? How did you?"

"Don't know. But isn't it perfect for Ivy?" Sprig asked, accidentally bonking Anne in the head with it. "It even whistles when you swing it. Watch this..." He gave a few swings, almost hitting Johan in the head. Then he made another wild swing, only this time, he smashed the merchandise a potterer was selling.

"MY POTS!"

Anne grabbed Sprig and made a run for it with Johan following after her. "Sorry, sorry! Bill the king! Bill the king!" she yelled.

Meanwhile, in Easy Street Chairs, Hop Pop was inspecting a massage chair's label. "'Massage your tuchus the right way with this chair full of rumble bugs. Your life will never be the ding-dang same.'" He scoffed. "Pfft. How good could it be?" He sat in the chair and the bugs worked their magic on him. Let's just say he was in heaven in seconds. "Oh, my frog!"

While Hop Pop was lost in the massage chair, Anne, Sprig and Johan browsed about the local antique store, looking for that perfect gift. "Now, this is for my mom, okay?" said Anne. "The lady who gave me life. So we gotta find something that's one-of-a-kind." She opened a spice jar and sniffed. She regretted it and started coughing.

"Well, I don't know what to give my dad," said Johan. "He's the boss of Passione! What could I give to the man who has everything? Well, maybe not everything."

"What do your parents like?" Sprig asked as he hung upside-down from a shelf.

Anne counted her fingers, "Antiques, butterflies, drinking tea..."

"Chocolate, pudding, octopus salad, ladybird beetles, Jeff Beck..." listed off Johan.

"Okay, well, how about this box of herbal tea?" asked Sprig.

"Nope," said Johan.

"Too formal," said Anne.

Sprig threw it away and went for two giant taxidermied bugs that were hanging on a wall. "Giant butterfly and ladybug taxidermy?"

"Nope," said Johan.

"Too creepy," said Anne.

"This antique vase?" It slipped from Sprig's hands and broke. "This broken antique vase?"

"Uh-uh," said Johan. "Besides, I can tell that's actually fake."

"Wait, look over there!" Anne pointed to a poster of a white jade teapot studded with sapphire butterflies.

Sprig was impressed. "Whoa. A butterfly teapot?"

"And it was made by a revered Newtopian artist?" Anne pointed to the label "Handcrafted by revered Newtopian artist Penny Paddock". "Sprig, it's perfect!" She immediately ran to the cashier and asked, "Excuse me, how much for the teapot?"

"Sorry, it's not for sale."

Anne slammed her hands on the counter and insisted, "What? No, 200 coppers. No, 600 coppers. I will pay 90,000 coppers."

Sprig reminded her, "Anne, you have two coppers." She responded by pinching his lips close.

"It's not for sale, because it's the grand prize in the market's annual Shopping Cart Smash and Mash Derby," said the cashier as he held up a poster that read "Smash & Mash! Win A Thing!" He placed a sign-up sheet before her. "If you want the teapot, you should sign up."

Johan raised his eyebrows. "A shopping cart demolition derby?" He exhaled, exasperated. "Only in Amphibia."

Anne immediately began writing down her name as Sprig asked, "You sure about this? We don't even know what this competition is."

"From the sound of it, it's just a bunch of idiots smashing each other with shopping carts," said Johan dismissively. "What's there to know?"

A gruff female voice said, offended, "Hey! It's more to it than that, shrimp!" Everyone turned to see a large female purple newt standing behind them. She was huge, muscular, had a beige mohawk, was covered in battle scars and bandages and wore dented and scratched armor with a blue butterfly belt buckle. "It is a battle royal where only the best of the best earns the prize! It's no different from the gladiator matches from ancient times!"

"Sembra il Black Friday," Johan said to himself before asking, "And who are you?"

"Name's Priscilla the Killa. Champion of the Smash and Mash Derby, 20 years running. This is my daughter Pearl." Sitting on Priscilla's shoulder was a young blue newt with blonde hair tied in a bow and wearing a purple dress with a blue butterfly brooch that matched her mother's belt buckle. And like her mother, she was covered in battle scars, which made Johan question what kind of fights she put her through.

"Hello," Pearl greeted in a sweet voice. Then she saw Johan and gasped. "Holy cricket, Mom! They're Passione!" She ran up to him and gave him a hug. "You're so cool, the way you take down those Bearded Dragons! You're gonna take down Hellbender, right? Can I have your autograph?"

Johan blushed and tried to free himself from her surprisingly very strong grip. "It's...nice...to meet a fan...you're suffocating me..."

Priscilla yanked her off him and said, "Sorry about that. She's been paying attention to you and your gang's activities ever since you began your war with the Bearded Dragons. They nearly cancelled this year's Smash and Mash by trying to forcibly buy the prize. I guess it's a good thing you showed up, otherwise my little girl here would have been very sad."

"Oh, uh...thanks?"

"BUT!" Priscilla jabbed a finger into Johan's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him off his feet and onto his back. "Don't think that'll let me go soft on you and let you win that teapot! It's mine for grabs!" She shoved Anne and Sprig out of the way and wrote down her and Pearl's name on the sign-up sheet.

"Hey, Mom, how do you spell 'winner'?" Pearl taunted Anne.

"Just put your name, sweetie."

Johan coughed a little, got back up and slowly backed away from her nervously. "Hey, you can take it. I don't even want it!"

Anne however, slammed her fist on the counter and said with determination, "Well I do, and I'm gonna destroy you in this derby thing, as soon as I figure out how to play."

Priscilla laughed. "This is gonna be easier than I thought. See you in the ring, Mop Top." Both her and Pearl laughed as they walked away.

"They seem confident," said Sprig.

"Come on, dude," said Anne. "We gotta study up on this game."

"You mean YOU gotta study up on this game," said Johan.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Anne. "What do you mean? That behemoth of a woman dissed you! And more importantly, she dissed me."

"I told you, Anne, I don't want the teapot! This is a gift you want to give to your mom. I want to look for something for my dad! So, you go do your shopping cart death match while I continue looking."

Anne was about to argue with him, but she stopped and nodded. "You're right. I have to do this for my mom. Come on, Sprig. We got training to do."

"Don't worry! I'll try to be there to watch and support you!" Johan called out. After he watched them leave, he resumed his search. But after several minutes of perusing through the aisles, he just about gave up. Then he saw something that caught his eye. It was a gold necklace with ruby ladybird beetles set in it. "Hey, how much for this?"

"That? That's just the display model," said the cashier. "You can have it for one copper."

Johan raised an eyebrow. "If this is a fake, what happened to the real thing?"

"Pfft. Those Bearded Dragon punks broke in and snatched it. Not surprised. Their boss is so greedy, he never buys what he wants. He just takes them."

Johan thought it over and said, "If I get it back, can I buy it full price?"

"Tell you what, kid, you get it you can keep it for free."

"So, where did they take it?" The cashier shrugged his shoulders. "Great. So, no leads." Johan leaned against the counter and thought. Then he remembered someone who might be able to help.

"So glad you decided to come back," said Billie as she and Johan walked down the street. "Though I'm a little sad Zeppy couldn't make it this time."

"Truth be told," said Johan. "I want to get this over with so I don't miss Anne taking on that beefcake Priscilla at the Smash and Mash."

Billie stopped dead. "Priscilla? You let her challenge Priscilla?! That woman is a monster in the derby! She's never lost a match. Hell, she won her first match at age ten!"

Johan gulped. "That's surprisingly scary."

Billie chuckled as they continued to walk. "I hope that Boonchuy girl is insured. She's going to need it to pay for the medical bills."

"Let's hope it won't come to that. Anyway, you heard that the Dragons are having a deal by the docks?"

"Yeah, from what I heard through a cousin of mine, they're going to give it to the toads from Toad Tower in exchange for weapons and money to fund their operations."

"Toad Tower? I thought it was destroyed that months ago." By Anne and I, he thought to himself.

"The South Tower. But not the North."

Johan's eyes widened. "There are two of them?"

"Yes. And ever since the destruction of the South Tower, gangs have been on the rise. They can't keep them under control." When Johan heard this, he began to worry. Did he and Anne make things more difficult for the rest of Amphibia by disrupting the toads' order? Then he shook it off and thought, no. Their tyranny had been around for hundreds of years, they had to be stopped. He didn't have more time to think as he heard Billie say, "Wait. I see them."

Johan and Billie arrived at the docks and ducked behind a large barrel. They peeked their heads out to see five Bearded Dragons talking with a toad in red armor. A few more toads were sitting in a boat nearby. The lead Dragon held out the necklace Johan was looking for. "So, what's the plan?" whispered Billie.

"They're too far away for me to use my Stand. Damn it, if only I joined Anne in Ripple training or learn that Spin from Marcy. I could probably use it to launch a projectile at the boat's engine."

Billie gave him a look that said, "Really?". "And you're supposed to be one of the smart ones? Use that!" She pointed to the gunblade in its scabbard hanging from his belt.

Johan looked at it and then face palmed. "Doy. But, I'll need a distraction." Billie grinned. "Oh, no. Don't even...and she's gone."

"OY! WART FACES!" Billie ran out from the barrel and began making very vulgar hand gestures and shook her butt at them. "How the mighty have fallen, huh? Having to resort to gangs to get your power back?"

"KILL HER!"

The Bearded Dragons fired their guns at her, but she dodged them with dance moves. With her distracting them, Johan saw his to get closer. Seeing the that the deal was going south fast, the toads quickly scampered to the boat, but before they could get far, Johan fired the gunblade at the engine three times, causing it to explode. The explosion distracted the Bearded Dragons long enough for Johan to fire the gunblade at them.

"Whoo, that was fun," said Billie with a laugh.

"Yeah," said Johan. "But it's a shame the necklace was lost." At that moment, the necklace, which had been launched from the explosion, fell from the sky and landed next to his feet. "Oh."

Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the city via the PA system, "Attention all smashers. The Smash and Mash Derby is about to begin."

"Oh, shit! I'm gonna be late!" He picked up the necklace and took off running. "I gotta hurry!"

"Wait!" called out Billie as she chased after him. "Take me with you! I don't want to miss the carnage!"

Johan and Billie ran to the arena in the center of the shopping center where a large crowd had gathered. They found Polly and approached her. "Are...we...too late?" Billie panted.

"Nope," said the little pollywog. "The fight is just about to begin."

"Good," said Johan. Then he realized something was different about Polly. "Polly, where did you get a solid gold bucket and a micro snail to pull it?"

Polly made a mischievious grin. "Haggling, my dear JoJo. Turns out I'm a natural. All you gotta do is expose a shopkeeper's weakness, and then exploit it until they're on their knees begging for mercy." She laughed maniacally then said cheerfully, "How do you like my snail chauffeur? I call him Micro-Angelo." The little snail chirped happily. "Well, nice chatting with ya, but I've got more haggling to do." And with that, Polly rode off on her snail driven bucket.

Billie inched away from her. "She's scarier than the Bearded Dragons."

"Tell me about it," said Johan before scoping out the competition. All the competitors, save for Anne and Sprig, were dressed up like something out of a Mad Max movie, wearing punk leather attire and makeshift armor. The shopping carts had various weapons sticking out of them. He gulped. "Questo è molto più intenso del Black Friday." He leaned in and whispered to Billie, "Has anyone actually died during this?"

"Not yet, but there's hope!"

Johan started sweating. "Sono morti."

Anne and Sprig, the latter being the one sitting in the cart, gulped nervously when they saw who they were up against. "It's okay, dude. We've got this," said Anne. "Look, even Hop Pop believes in us." She pointed to Hop Pop, still lost in a world of massage-induced pleasure. "Actually, I don't know what's going on there."

"Yoo-hoo. Ready to lose?" taunted Priscilla. She and Pearl, who was sitting in the cart, laughed. Anne and Sprig put on determined faces as the latter spun his bamboo staff.

The announcer said over a megaphone, "Players, on your marks... Get ready..." Then he fired his gun into the air. "All right, you crazy animals, smash and mash!"

Most of the contenders got into a free for all and started beating the tar out of each other. Anne and Sprig, however, charged forward with the latter using his staff to smack away any more challengers charging toward them. Priscilla used her fists while her daughter Pearl used a mace.

Anne charged at another contender and charged up her cart with Ripple energy. The moment the carts made contact, the opponent's cart launched into the sky, its pusher and rider screaming all the way. Anne shrugged it off. "He's fine."

As he watched the fight, Johan noticed something odd with Priscilla. It looked like she was wincing every time she used her tail as a whip. "She's hurt," he whispered. "Why is she in this death match knowing she can't use her tail properly?"

"This is it, ladies and gentle-newts," said the announcer. "Only two carts left."

"Come on, Sprig. We can do this..." But Anne didn't get to finish her sentence as Priscilla rammed her cart into theirs, causing them to be flung outside the ring. People jumped out of the way as Priscilla chased after them.

"Looks like this battle is too big for the ring," said the announcer.

Johan was gobsmacked. "How does that make any sense?! Normally, when people are outside the ring, they're out!"

Billie chuckled. "Not here. When they say last one standing wins, they MEAN last one standing." Johan went paler than normal when she said that.

Anne and Priscilla rammed their carts into each other, determined to knock the other out. And then they looked ahead and saw Polly in her bucket, reading a book. "'Page two, using the brakes.'" Then she saw the carts coming for her and she and Micro-Angelo let out a scream as the latter hid in his shell.

"NOT THE BABY!" they all screamed.

"Initiating secret special cart maneuver, ollie pop," shouted Anne.

"Ollie what?" asked Sprig.

Anne used her feet on the cart's wheels, slowing it down and causing it to launch into the air and fly over Polly. Unfortunately for Priscilla, her momentum was too great and she could not stop her cart. "Ah! I gotta use my tail. It's the only way to not murder that pollywog!"

Pearl protested, "But, Mom, your injury!"

"Hush. I have no choice." Priscilla reached out with her tail and grabbed onto a nearby sign post. The instant she dead, she felt a great deal of pain. She let go and spun out of control, but she planted her feet into the ground, stopping the cart just inches from Polly who said, "I wasn't worried."

"Hey, you guys okay?" called out Anne.

"Yeah, we're fine," panted Priscilla.

"Okay, good. Now, Sprig!" Anne slammed her cart into Priscilla's while Sprig smacked her down with the staff, snapping it in half, much to his disappointment.

"Mop Top wins. Mop Top wins!" shouted the announcer.

"Mop Top! Mop Top! Mop Top!"

"Uh, can we not make that a thing?" asked Anne. She did not a repeat of the Scarecrow nickname she received back in Wartwood.

Johan ran up to her and put an arm around her. "Congratulations, Anne! You're still alive!"

"Eh. I've survived worse."

"No fair," grumbled Billie. "I wanted to see more blood."

The announcer approached Anne with the teapot. "Here you are, ma'am, just as promised."

She took it and squealed with delight. "My mom is gonna love this. Sorry about your staff, dude," she said to Sprig.

"It's okay. If it broke this easy, it wasn't good enough for Ivy. At least, that's what I'm telling myself," he said with a forced grin.

"Hey, Mop Top." Priscilla approached her and extended her hand. "Congratulations. You won fair and square."

Anne, a little surprised, shook hands with her. "Oh, uh, thanks."

"Just make sure you take care of that thing, okay? The newt who made it was special. One-of-a-kind."

Anne raised an eyebrow. "One-of-a-kind?"

"Yeah, the kind who encouraged you to follow your dreams, even if they were wacky and dangerous." Priscilla paused to chuckle. "The kind who cut the crust off your sandwiches 'cause she knew you didn't like 'em. That teapot was the last piece of art she ever made. So like I said, take care of it."

Johan said in realization, "Your mother was Penny Paddock?!"

Billie took out a photo of the old artist and looked from it to Priscilla. "You can clearly see the family resemblance."

Anne looked at the teapot, feeling guilty. No wonder Priscilla was so desperate to get her hands on it. It was the last trace of her mother. She handed it over to her. "I was gonna give this to my mom when I got home, but I think she'd want you to have it."

Priscilla held her hands up in denial. "No, I couldn't."

"Please, I insist."

"N..." She sighed in concede and took the teapot. "Thank you. This means so much to us. You're not half bad, Mop Top."

"Anne. My name's Anne."

"Hey!" Pearl shouted from her mother's shoulder, much to Anne's surprise. "Thank you for being so generous. Here." She handed her her butterfly brooch. "I'd be honored if you gave it to your mom. I'm no famous artist, but I made it myself and it's one-of-a-kind."

"Thank you. It's perfect," said Anne with tears in her eyes. She gave Priscilla a hug while Pearl patted her head.

"Don't be a stranger, Anne," said Priscilla as she walked off.

"Bye," said Pearl.

"That was sweet of you, Anne," said Johan.

"Hey, that's who I am, like Priscilla. Sour exterior, sweet interior."

Billie wiped a few tears. "Hey, are you okay?" asked Johan.

"Y-Yes. I just...I gotta talk to my mom," she said frantically as she ran off.

"Well, now that that's over, you guys seen Hop Pop?" asked Polly, still riding on her snail driven gold bucket.

"Oh, heya, kids. Yoo-hoo!" Hop Pop called out. He was outside the chair store and a pair of movers was helping place his purchase into a box labeled "Ship to Wartwood". "Eh, just packing a small souvenir, uh, then we can head out."

Anne balked. "Whoa. You got that for two coppers?"

"I sure did," Hop Pop chuckled. "Amazing what you can get for two coppers these days." Everyone gave him the stink eye. "Okay, fine. I used the credit card! I'm so ashamed. But if you could just feel this thing, kids. It's heaven on your rump. Nirvana on your tush. Bliss on your buttocks."

"We got it," Anne, Sprig and Polly said in unison.

"So, did you get your gift?" asked Sprig.

"Yep," said Johan as he held up the necklace. "I was thinking of breaking it in two, that way both my mom and my dad can enjoy it as bracelets."

Polly gave it a sniff. "It smells of gunpowder."

"I had to blow up a bunch of Bearded Dragons to get it."

"What?"

"Nothing, Hopediah."

That night, Johan stood out on the balcony of their hotel room, looking out at the street. He reached into his wallet and pulled out one of the photos. It depicted a younger version himself, sitting together with his father and mother on a bench in Capri. She was of Asian-European descent with pale skin, honey brown eyes and black hair and she wore a white shirt with black pants and matching boots. "Is that your mom?" asked Anne, startling him. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep."

"Oh. Uh...sure," he said, quickly putting it back in the wallet.

Anne stood next to him and said, "You know, you never really talk about your mom so much. In fact, I've never heard you talk about her at all."

Johan exhaled. "Dad met Mom in a restaurant when she worked as a waitress. Turns out she knew him a lot more than he thought. She used to go to school with him, but never had the courage to speak up to him. When he left with Zio Buccellati and didn't come back, she assumed he moved to a different school. Then when she got a job as a waitress, she found out that the boss of Passione was coming to eat at the restaurant she was working in. Imagine her surprise when she found out the boss was her old schoolmate." He chuckled. "The two of them hit it off, one thing led to another and they got married. And then more things led to another and they conceived me."

"And your mom was okay with marrying a mafia boss?"

"Not initially. But when she found out Dad became the new boss of Passione to stop the corruption that took place in Italia thanks to Diavolo, she thought it was very noble and was happy to see the drug trade gone."

Anne asked, "What was she like?"

"Well, she was initially surprised of me having a Stand at such a young age, but, having been informed of Stands from Dad prior, she soon got over it. She became fast friends with Zia Trish and would always get into squabbles with Zio Mista over his superstitions of the number four. She was not always the best of cooks, I guess that's why Dad was always there to help her. She's also an anime fan, so whenever our favorite shows came on, she would always sit next to me on the couch. And when it came to homework, she would help me, but would always let me know that there's a difference between helping and doing it for you. Her relationship with Dad was fine; I've rarely heard them argue, but when they did, they would reach a compromise."

He exhaled. "I guess I never talked about her because she was ordinary compared to Dad and the rest of the familia. But, now I see I took her for granted. I mean, not everyone in Passione are Stand users and they play a vital role in the familia." Tears started to form. "She must be freaking out right now. I just wish I was there to say I'm sorry for worrying her."

Anne wrapped her arms around him. The sound of footsteps made the two of them break apart and turned around to see Sprig. "Uh, how long have you been there?"

"The whole time," he said. "I couldn't sleep." He looked at the butterfly brooch Anne held. "It's so pretty. I'm sure your mom's gonna love it." Anne nodded absentmindedly. "What's she like?"

"My mom? Um, kind... in her own way. But strict too. She wanted me to study more. Thought I goofed off too much. We didn't always see eye to eye. She annoyed me sometimes too. Like, in the kitchen, she'd always sing these goofy Thai love songs, and, man, was her singing bad. Woof! That woman was beyond tone-deaf. You know, the funny thing is, right now I would give anything just to hear her singing." Anne noticed tears were starting to form and she quickly wiped them off. "Whoa! Sorry, sorry. I just, uh, need a moment."

"It's cool you know your mom, though," said Sprig. "Mine passed away when me and Polly were really young." Anne and Johan gave him a look of shock.

"How?" asked Johan. Sprig didn't say anything. "Never mind. I won't pry."

"I don't even remember what she looked like really. Much less the sound of her voice. You know, I've always wondered... can you miss someone you never actually knew?" Sprig chuckled. "That's silly. I mean, of course you can't."

Anne and Johan suddenly rushed over and embraced Sprig. Feeling their arms around him made Sprig smile and tear up.

Suddenly, they heard something coming closer and closer. It sounded like...a helicopter's propeller? Something zipped by and snatched Anne right off the ground. It was a dragonfly being ridden by a pair of Bearded Dragons, one of whom held a net with Anne trapped inside. "Help! Sprig! JoJo!"

"ANNE!" shouted Johan and Sprig at once.

Hop Pop and Polly came rushing out. "What is it?!" asked the former. "Did Newtopia blow up?!"

"Anne's been Anne-napped!" shouted Sprig.

"Bum, bum, bum!" Hop Pop gave Polly the stink eye. "What? I thought the moment called for it."

To be continued ➟