"This is so great!" Polly cheered as she rode with Anne and Sprig in a wagon being pulled by Bessie. Hop Pop and Marcy were in the driver's seat. "Our first day in forever with no responsibilities! So, what are we gonna do?"

Hop Pop chuckled, "Ha! You'll see."

To Polly's disappointment, the old snail pulled up into the parking lot of the seed store. "Oh, no!"

"Yep!" said Hop Pop with a pop of the "P".

"Oh, come on! Don't worry, Marcy. We don't have to go into the boring old-"

"This is so cool," exclaimed Marcy. "A store just for seeds? Boy, we could be there for hours!"

"Don't tempt me!" Hop Pop as he laughed with her.

"The humble seed. So much potential for growth!"

"One of the rare things life where you actually get out what you put in! It's beautiful!"

Hop Pop chuckled with glee as he and Marcy entered the store. Anne called out, "Have fun in there!"

"Yeah, we're good here in the wagon," said Sprig.

Hop Pop paused to say, "Oh, and look after Polly you two."

As soon as he went inside, Polly formed a mischievous grin. "Perfect. Now that the nerds are gone, you guys want to go make mischief? Guys?" Anne and Sprig weren't paying attention to her and were playing a robot fighting game on the former's phone. "Hey! Did you hear me?"

"You know, in the past, I would have said yes, but I think I'm getting a little too old for that nonsense," said Anne.

"Sorry, Polly," said Sprig. "But me and Anne have changed. We're different now."

"Some of us even sound different."

"What?" Seriously, did Sprig not notice his voice got deeper with puberty?

"Nothing. Anyway, I think we should focus our energy on more mature activities. Sprig! Use your kitty cat blasters!"

"On it!" Sprig resumed playing the game.

Polly felt downhearted. "So no one wants to cause trouble with me?" She wanted Johan to be there with her, but he was with Joan Jett in Bog Bottom, following a tip on where to find Valeriana.

"Sorry, dude," said Anne. "And if case you didn't hear, we're responsible for you."

"Boo!"

"You'll get it one day, when you have someone to look after."

"Death first!"

Sprig's game said, "You're dead!" and this caused him to shout, "DANG IT!"

An evil grin formed on Polly's face. "You two are responsible for me, huh? So I guess that means that you're responsible for this!" She dove into a basket, sending seeds everywhere and breaking the store's window. The manager burst out and shouted, "What the- Who's responsible for this?!"

Polly pointed to Sprig and Anne, shouting, "THEY ARE!"

Red in the face with anger, the manager shouted, "Yous two! Get over here and clean this up!"

Sprig and Anne immediately apologized and quickly tried to pick the seeds up, only to be attacked by a flock of pigeon flies. "Not the eyes, not the eyes!"

Polly chuckled and said, "Later, losers!" before hopping away.

Now alone, Polly hopped her way into the town square. "Pssh! Who needs those two? Hmm, now, how can I be rambunctious to the max?" She looked at the statue of the town founder that also acted as the fountain and got an idea. "People of Wartwood, welcome to the splash zone." She jumped into the fountain, making a pitiful splash. "Aw. Really thought that splash would be bigger."

Then she smelled something good and saw something sitting on a windowsill. "Beetle pie." She tried to steal it, but she was too short to reach. "Argh! Curse these puny arms." She hopped her way over to the dumpster and sighed. "Mischief's no dang fun alone. Stupid Anne. Stupid Sprig. Stupid JoJo." She chucked a can into the pile of bags and was about to leave, only to stop when she heard a noise coming from it. Then she saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes pop out of the pile only to retreat when whoever it was saw her. "What the heck? Is somebody in there?"

She took a closer look and whatever it was slowly rose out of the trash, making her scream. It was a large, copper-colored metallic frog with elongated, gray metal arms ending in slender fingers. Polly screamed again. "Oh, my frog! A monster! Stay back!" She recoiled and to her confusion, the metal frog recoiled as well. "Huh?" She squinted her eyes and scratched her nose and the metal frog did as well. "Ha! You clown. You're copying me." She laughed and it laughed too. It kinda scared her a little. "Whoa, your laugh is horrifying. I love it! You're no monster. You're just a big tadpole. I'm Polly, by the way. What's your name?"

The metal frog said nothing.

"Can't talk, huh? You really are a baby." She climbed onto its shoulder and said, "You look like one of those things from the fighting game on Anne's phone. What was it called? A Robo. Except you're more like a frog." This gave her an idea. "I will call you Frobo." The newly christened Frobo made a gesture of approval. "I know, I know. I'm a genius. So what else can you do?"

Frobo lifted Stumpy's right off its foundations and his arms stretched up into the sky. Inside the restaurant, Wally looked out the window to see a flying fish. He spat out his drink and said, "No more for me, thanks."

Frobo set the restaurant down gently and Polly was excited. "Whoa! I don't believe this. I have my own frog dang sidekick. Frobo, how'd you like to have some fun?"

While Polly was having her adventures with Frobo, Johan and Joan Jett had arrived in Bog Bottom via a taxi bug and stepped out into the city. Johan made a face. The buildings were run down, prostitutes, gun-toting thugs and mercenaries were everywhere and pickpocketing children ran rampant. "This place is like Bangkok's abusive father," said Johan. Someone tried to reach for his gunblade, only to get the scare of their life when DARE punched them in the face, sending them flying. "Are you sure Valeriana was spotted here?"

"Positive," said Joan Jett as she tipped her hat. "Uncle Rico said he saw her heading for a tavern around here."

"If you say so." He heard a prostitute whistle for his attention and he winced. "Is it always like this?"

"Pretty much. It was a lot worse when BOC was in charge. But with them gone, the city is slightly improving."

They found the tavern, the Cowapillar's Nipple, and when they entered, they immediately started coughing. The place stank of stale cigarettes, warm beer, and cheap aftershave. Patrons drank until they passed out, started bar fights, or got lap dances from scantly clad female amphibians. Johan took one look at the place and cringed. "This place has no class." Still, they were on a mission. They walked toward the barkeeper, punching any creep who got too close along the way. When they arrived, Johan coughed loudly, getting the barkeeper's attention. "We're looking for someone. Have you seen this woman?" He held up a sketch of Valeriana.

"This is a bar," said the bartender. "You gotta order first."

"Fine. One Bog Bottom iced tea for my friend, and a lemonade for me."

The bartender with their drinks and said, "Sorry. She left here about five minutes ago."

Johan and Joan Jett stared, then downed their drinks in one sitting. "Sorry for wasting your time," said the latter.

"No. It's not over yet," said the former. "If she left only five minutes ago, then maybe she's still in the city. Come on, let's see if we can't find someone who might have seen her."

"Hey, you," a drunk bum shouted. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, girly boy!"

A vein Johan popped in his forehead. "Can I help you," he said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I know you! You're with them Passion guys, aren't you? In stinky, smelly Wartwood?"

"That's Passione."

"Yeah, that's it! I used to be in BOC until you bums killed Mr. Samandarin! You owe me, girly boy!"

The vein on Johan's forehead grew bigger. "Call me that one more time..."

Joan Jett put a hand on his shoulder. "Leave it. This drunk bum isn't worth the effort."

"You thinks you can ignore me?!" The bum pulled out a gun and pointed it at them. "I'm gonna blow your frogging -" BOOM! "AAUUGH!" The bum let out a scream as the gun exploded in his hand. Johan turned and saw Joan Jett with Cherry Bomb. "You put a bomb in the gun, did you," he asked nonchalantly.

"Yep," she said as she dismissed her Stand. "Now let's get out of here and find-" POW! The bum's friend punched her in the chin. She glared and punched him back and sent him flying into a table. That triggered a bar fight. Punches, furniture and glasses were flying as patrons beat each other up. Johan and Joan Jett crawled their way out of the bar and exhaled. "Too bad. I really wanted to throw in a few more punches."

"I did too, but we didn't come for a bar fight. We came to find Valeriana." And then, as if on cue, he saw her right across the street. A brown and yellow spotted newt with one arm, red eyes and wearing a hooded cloak. One arm... "That's her!" She immediately ran in the opposite direction and down an alley. "Wait! Come back!"

They chased her down an alley and thought for sure they cornered her, but Valeriana jumped up the wall and onto the rooftop. "How the hell did she do that," Johan panted.

Joan Jett noticed a fire escape and climbed up it. "Doesn't matter! We can still catch up with her!"

They managed to get to the rooftop and chased after Valeriana again. She jumped down to a lower rooftop and slid down a drain pipe. Johan and Joan Jett chased after her. She tried to block their path with garbage, but Johan jumped over it while Joan Jett blasted it away. She ran into a warehouse and followed her, but when they entered the building, she was gone.

"No! She can't be gone," shouted Johan. "I was so close!"

"Yare yare daze," said Joan Jett. "Stop being overdramatic. She's still in here."

"How do you know that?"

"Because this is the only way in and out."

Johan said, "Oh. Right." He turned around and called out, "Valeriana? I know you're in here! I really need your help! You know that music box we showed you back at the Bizarre Bazaar? Well, its powers kinda moved into my friends and we have no way of turning it back on anymore. The temple has been destroyed."

"Powers?" Joan Jett asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mean that weird, glowing hair and eyes thing that Anne, Sasha and Marcy have?"

"It's a long story, okay? So, yeah, Valeriana, please help us out, will ya? You owe us that at least."

For a while, there was silence. Then suddenly, Valeriana jumped out of the shadows, tripped Johan with her crook and pressed it against his chest. "Owe you? What do I owe you?" Joan Jett summoned Cherry Bomb, but backed off when the one-armed newt pointed at her and said, "I have a Stand of my own, and while it's useless in combat, I am capable of stopping you!" She then said to Johan, "Why should I help you, JoJo? After all the trouble you and your friends caused?"

"Lady, whatever beef you have with me, leave my friends out of it!"

"But look what you've done. You saw Anne and her friends steal the Calamity Box in the first place, but failed to stop them."

Johan's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"Your gang may have brought stability to Frog Valley by destroying Blue Oyster Cult, but it inspired the rest of Amphibia's gangs to rise up and become more bold."

"I didn't know, okay? I was kinda more focused on helping Wartwood survive a gang war and getting myself and my friends back home on Earth!"

Valeriana pressed her staff into his chest. "Did you think that may be a problem? That with you focusing so much on your goals, that you don't see the long term consequences?"

"Hey! You make me sound like Marcy," snapped Johan. "I don't screw up that badly."

She leaned in and whispered, "And you never told your friends the real reason you came to America, and it's not just for the arrow. You know what I'm talking about, JoJo."

Johan froze. Did she really know? Joan Jett looked at him with confusion. "JoJo, what is she talking about?"

Johan pushed Valeriana and said, "Okay, fine! I did screw up badly! But, if you want to punish me for ignorance, that's okay. But don't take it out on my friends who just want to go home. Please, just help them with these powers."

Valeriana considered it, then let him go. "I will help. But not because of you. I want to help these girls and change Amphibia's fate. I will arrive in Wartwood, I'm just not going to tell when. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She walked past Joan Jett, only to pause just before the doorway and say, "You're a good person, JoJo. You simply have more to learn."

"What am I supposed to learn?" Johan asked.

"You're a Joestar. You'll learn it along the way."

Johan gasped. "How do you know that name?" But Valeriana didn't respond as she left.

The trip back to Wartwood was silent. Johan stared out the window of the taxi bug while Joan Jett read her book. Finally, Joan Jett said, "Listen, JoJo. Don't let her get to you."

"But she's right. I didn't really pay attention to how Passione would affect the rest of Amphibia, I wasn't able to stop Anne from stealing the music box, and...I went to America to find the arrow, but not for the right reason."

Joan Jett snorted. "Well, I can't say I blame her for saying those things. Sure, you've done a lot of great things, but you're still just a kid and kids do stupid things. I mean, look at Anne and Marcy. You cause just as much chaos as those two, even though you try to be the voice of reason. But..." She paused to turn the page of her book. "...like she said, you are learning. I mean, if you were perfect, you'd be dull and boring."

Johan smiled a little. "I actually don't like perfect. If something is perfect, they have nowhere else to go." He looked out the window and said, "Still, at least we got Valeriana on our side for now. I wonder how Anne and the others..." His voice trailed off when he saw Wartwood in flames. "What in the... Oh, great. What did Anne and Sprig do this time?"

But to his shock, it wasn't Anne and Sprig. Marching down the street was a large, brass-colored frog robot with eyes glowing red with anger. It was chasing after the townsfolk, firing lasers from its eyes and swatting buildings with extendable arms like they were doll houses. Johan had to rub his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real. "Is...is that a robot?!"

"A robot?" asked Joan Jett. "You mean like from Anne's video game?"

"Come on!" Johan and Joan Jett hopped out of the taxi bug and ran toward it. Johan fired his gunblade, but the bullets bounced off the robot's body. It spun its head around and glared at him. "Uh-oh." It fired its lasers at him, but Joan Jett managed to grab him before they could hit him.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted. "Use your Stand on that thing!"

Johan shook his head. "DARE doesn't work on robots! Only living creatures that have the five senses!"

"Yare yare daze, so it has to be me, then?" Joan Jett summoned Cherry Bomb. She then picked up a rock and threw it at the robot. That got its attention and extended its arm to punch her, but Cherry Bomb grabbed it and pulled the robot toward her before she punched its body repeatedly.

"ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA, ORA!"

The punches stuck the small bombs on the robot's body and they exploded, sending it crashing to the ground. Joan Jett smirked. "Looks like this metal frog can't see Stands either. Hmm?" The robot slowly got back up and dusted itself off. "Man, that thing is tough."

"JOJO!" Johan turned around to see Anne, Sprig and the rest of Wartwood. "Guys, you mind telling me why there's a robot in town?"

"We don't know," said Anne. "It just showed up out of nowhere!"

"It didn't show up out of nowhere," shouted Toadstool, who was now sporting a pompadour. "Polly brought that metal menace to our town and it must be destroyed!"

"STOOOOOOOOOP!" shouted Polly. The sound of her voice caused the robot to cease and its eyes turned from red to yellow. She turned to face it and said apologetically, "Frobo, I know you're just trying to protect me. Everything you did today was because I asked you to. And now I'm asking you to stop."

Polly took Frobo's hand and he said in an autotuned voice, "Po... Po... Polly."

The little pollywog's eyes became teary with joy. "Frobo, your first words."

"Well, now that it's calmed down, let's tear this thing apart!" shouted Toadstool.

"NEVER!" Polly stood between him and Frobo.

"Come on, Toadstool, isn't there another way?" asked Anne. "It seems like Polly really likes him."

"Anne, I know this town is no stranger to crazy at this point..." said Stumpy.

"But come on!" shouted Toadie.

"This Frobo thing is a menace," Felicia said.

"It destroyed my shack," shouted Loggle. "I mean, someone's gotta answer for this mess."

Polly sighed. She said to the townspeople, "You're right. I will. This wasn't Frobo's fault. It was mine. I taught him how to do all of this. I'm sorry about the damage. I'll do whatever it takes to fix it all up. But leave Frobo alone. He's innocent. Frobo, say you're sorry."

"So... Sorry." said Frobo with an apologetic nod.

"So, you're willing to accept responsibility for whatever this Frobo does, Polly," asked Johan as he pointed the gunblade at the robot.

"Yes."

Johan exhaled and put the gunblade back in its scabbard. "Very well. He'll be under Passione's protection so long as he doesn't cause trouble of this magnitude again."

Two constables said, "It said sorry and I suppose that's good enough for me, eh."

"We don't even have handcuffs that big anyway."

Toadstool grunted in frustration. "I guess we already accepted three monsters."

"Yep. I mean, what's one more at this point?" said Loggle.

"Watch it, wood boy," growled Johan.

At that moment, Marcy and Hop Pop stepped out of the store. "I can't believe they had tomato plant seeds," said the former.

"I still think you shouldn't have bought those," said the latter. Then they saw the damage done to the town and gasped. "What in tarnation?!"

"Hey, Hop Pop," said Polly cheerfully.

"You missed out on the excitement," said Joan Jett.

Marcy dropped her bags and ran straight for Frobo. "Oh, my gosh! Is that a robot? Where did it come from? What is it made of? Can I have one?"

"What's a robot?!" shouted Hop Pop.

"Too hard to explain," said Anne.

"Uh, to put it simply," said Johan. "That's a frog made of metal."

"A frog made of...what?!" exclaimed Hop Pop.

"So, I know this is a lot to take in, but can we please keep him?" Polly asked her grandfather. "I'll be his big sister. I'm ready to take care of someone."

"Whoa," said Sprig.

"Wow. What a turnaround," said Anne.

"Polly responsible? Well, now I've seen everything." Johan pointed the gunblade to his head, but Anne stopped him before he could pull the trigger.

Polly looked at Frobo suspiciously. "Uh, I'm not sure, Polly. It sure seems dangerous. I mean, can it do anything useful?"

"Show 'em, Frobo," said Polly.

Frobo raked the ground, planted seeds and a picket fence, watered the plants and grew flowers. Hop Pop's eyes lit up with glee when he saw that. "Welcome to the family, Mr. Frobo!" Frobo picked him and Polly up. "So, do you do anything else?" Frobo popped toast out of his head, impressing Hop Pop, Sprig and Marcy. "Don't mind if I do."

"It's multigrain," said Marcy as she took a bite.

"Wow! First underground computers and now a robot?" said Anne. Then she realized, "Wait a second. Sprig, JoJo, you don't think that thing was what got built in the Ruins of Disaster, do you?"

"No way! And followed us all the way home?" asked Sprig skeptically. "That would have been hundreds of miles."

"Could be," said Anne.

Then they both decided, "Nah."

But not Johan. Ever since they got back from Newtopia, his feeling that King Andrias was hiding something was growing. And with everything he'd seen so far, he knew he was right. But between the robot factory and the stone mask it didn't make any sense. It's like he had the pieces but couldn't find where they fit together. "Hey Anne, back at that archive, did we comb through every book?"

Anne thought it over and said, "No. We were too focused on getting out because Sprig trapped us in there."

"Oh, you had to bring that up!"

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to go back," said Johan. "I want to read every book until I find a reference to robot factories and vampires."

"Vampires?"

Johan realized what he said and corrected himself. "Sorry. Slip of the tongue."

"Hmm. Okay. I haven't had the chance to read everything myself," said Anne. "It'd be nice to just relax after a day like this."

"Yeah, it would."

To be continued ➟