"I was hoping to find someone who will carry on my life's work. Alas, I have not been able to find one. There's just no one I can trust with the contents of this journal. So, I shall leave them in the hands of fate. Hmm, hmm. And if I know fate, it's that it's a fickle thing that plays by its own rules. Perhaps, it'll lead the right person here. I'm not one who normally believes in this, but I can only hope."

Johan snapped his eyes open. He sat up in bed, then got up and walked toward the window. As he opened it and felt the cool breeze, he said softly. "That dream again. It always shows the exact same room and DIO. But why am I even seeing it in the first place? Does it have to do with me coming into contact with the stone mask?" He thought it over and said with a shrug of his shoulders, "Eh. It's probably not going to be relevant to the plot anyway."

The next morning, Johan helped Felicia and Sylvia with the customers, followed by him sorting the inventory with Ivy, followed by him doing some grocery shopping. The usual stuff. However, he stopped when he saw Joan Jett sitting at the statue, watching the town's gate. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Waiting for Uncle Rico," she responded. "He doesn't usually take this long. I'm starting to get worried."

Johan said, "If that's the case, I'll send someone over to Swamp Shiro, see if anyone saw him."

Just then, Wally showed up, shouting, "JoJo! You gotta do something! Some squawking bird is is causing a ruckus!"

"Squawking bird?" Johan exhaled. "Santo cielo, can't they bother me when something really bad happens?" He found the bird making a nuisance, squawking loudly and flying above everyone's heads. Something about that bird looked familiar. "Wait. I've seen you before. At the Bizarre Bazaar! You're Valeriana's bird, Leander!"

Upon hearing the name, Leander flew up to the boy and squawked, "Bring the box! Bring the girls! Boss's orders."

Somewhere in the forest...

"You're serious," Anne asked as she, Marcy and the Plantars followed Johan, who in turn followed Leander. "She's here in Wartwood?"

"On the outskirts of town, yes! Finalmente una buona notizia!" said Johan.

They followed the bird until they came across a tent in the middle of the forest. There was a sign that said, "Out to lunch". Anne groaned in frustration. "Why is she always out of lunch?"

A female Romanian accented voice shouted, "Because it's the most important meal of the day!" Everyone turned around to see Valeriana come out of the forest, holding a kabob. "It's been a while, creatures," she said to Anne and JoJo. "By the way, the boy mentioned that you girls have powers. Did you get them from three stones?"

"Oh, yes! You know about the stones?" asked Anne.

"Indeed," said Valeriana as she slammed her cane. "But do you think you are worthy of these powers?"

"Well, yeah."

"Totally," said Marcy.

"We shall see."

"Oh, I'm Marcy, bt-dubs." She held her arm out.

"Uh..." Unsure what to do, Valeriana shook hands with her tail. "Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Hop Pop."

"Uh... hi."

"Polly here."

"Sure." Valeriana led the group into her tent, where there were all kinds of artifacts inside, all of them bearing the insignia of the music box. "I am the last of an ancient order. Our purpose was to study the sacred stones and temples." She exhaled heavily. "And we failed. The temples have been destroyed."

"But we still have the music box," said Johan. "And Anne, Sasha and Marcy have the powers that came from it."

"Do you? May I say it?"

"Here you go," said Anne, taking it out of her backpack.

An intrigued look appeared on Valeriana's face. "After all these years, it has returned. I should very much like to hold it."

Anne suddenly felt uncertain about this and she put it back. "Uh... I'd rather hold on to it."

"Suit yourself." Valeriana got up, walked over to a closet and took out a bunch of wooly fur coats. "For the first step of your training, we must climb the freezing cliffs of Mount Mutu. Leave your flimsy jackets and wear these caterpilar-wool coats instead."

"Woo," said Sprig, marveling at how warm his coat felt.

"So fuzzy," said Polly.

Since these temples were my responsibility, you all must do exactly as I say," said Valeriana sternly. "Or else you can forget about training with me at all. Are we clear?"

"Clear," said everyone.

"Comfy and clear," said Hop Pop.

Valeriana left the tent with Marcy and the Plantars following her, but Anne stopped Sprig and Johan. "Something's not right about this lady," she said to them.

Sprig gave her a confused look. "Huh?"

"Didn't you see how she looked at the music box? Plus, she owns a parrot. Only bad guys own parrots."

"I think you're thinking of pirates," said Johan. "Besides, what could she do with it? It's basically an ordinary music box now that its powers are in you girls."

"That's just it! What if she's plotting to steal our powers?"

Sprig scoffed, "That's ridiculous, Anne. Now come on or they'll leave us behind!"

Anne turned to Johan. "You believe me, right?"

Johan exhaled. "If it makes you feel better, I'll keep a close eye on her."

"Thanks, JoJo."

"Quickly, everyone," shouted Valeriana as they climbed up a snowy hill. She had already made it to the top somehow. "I'd like to reach the top in this century. How could adventurers so lazy ever expect to control godly powers?"

Anne glared at the one-armed newt. "Don't listen to her, guys. We're almost there."

They almost reached the top when Valeriana let out a whistle. The sound of wings flapping made everyone look up and they screamed at the sight of a giant four-eyed red bird. Marcy said calmly, "Oh, relax, everyone. It's just a cardinal. They don't eat frogs. She's just saying 'hello'!" Suddenly, the cardinal grabbed Marcy with her beak and shook its head.

"Marcy!" Anne shouted. Johan took out his gunblade and fired, but missed. However, the sound of it going off caused the cardinal to drop Marcy out of fright. Anne, forgetting what Valeriana told her, activated her powers and produced a beam of blue light that caught Marcy and pulled her to safety. Now the cardinal's attention was focused on Johan and the Plantars. "You said it doesn't eat frogs!" Anne shouted at Marcy.

"I-I was sure that-" Marcy's eyes bugged out in realization. "Wait! Cardinals eat caterpillars. It wants our coats!"

"What are you waiting for," Johan shouted as he ripped off his coat. "Everyone take off your coats!"

"No! We need these coats to stay warm," Sprig shouted as he and Polly pulled Hop Pop away from the cardinal's beak.

"And look good," said Polly.

"Marcy," called out Hop Pop. "What do we do?!"

"Let me think! Let me think!"

"There's no time," said Anne as she ripped off her coat. "JoJo's got the right idea!" She waved her coat like a matador's cape, attracting the cardinal's attention. Then they threw their coats over the cliff with the cardinal chasing after them. "Now let's get outta here!" said Anne.

Everyone reached the top and already Anne and Johan started to feel the effects of the cold mountain air. "You saved us, Anne, JoJo," said Hop Pop. "Here, take my coat." But then he realized the dilemma. "Wait. But that will leave JoJo without a coat. Who...Who's gonna get the coat?"

"Neither," said Johan. "I can't afford to have you frogs frozen in blocks of ice. I'll use DARE on Anne and myself, so we won't feel cold."

DARE appeared and even though Anne couldn't see it, she could feel warmer thanks to its touch. "Yeah, yeah," she said. "It'll be fine when we reach the training ground soon."

"It won't be soon," Valeriana shouted. "You think it wise that you abandoned your coat?"

"Well, I had to do something," Anne said only to get whacked in the stomach by the newt's cane.

"Impulsive and defensive! Very unworthy qualities, I must say," she said as she walked away.

"Don't listen to her, Anne," said Johan. "Let's just go."

She nodded and everyone followed Valeriana. Anne said, "Hey, Hop Pop. I noticed your belly getting rounder lately. Have you been putting on weight?"

"It's impolite to ask, Anne."

After a while, Johan started to become drained of Stand energy, so Marcy opted to share her coat with Anne while Johan used DARE to warm only himself. "It's so fortunate that the music box fell into such average hands," Valeriana said. "How exactly did it come into you possession?"

Anne and Marcy's hearts skipped a beat when they heard that. Marcy made a "zip it!" gesture and Anne said, "Uh... Uh-uh. You know? I don't remember how we got it."

"Sure you do," said Johan, giving her the stink eye. "Why don't you tell her? Because if you don't, I will."

"NO!" Anne and Marcy's sudden response made everyone stop and look at them.

"What I mean is...I..." The sound of rumbling made her forget what Anne was going to say.

"Uh...what was that?" asked Polly.

"Nothing much," Valeriana replied casually. "Just an avalanche."

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Everybody run!" shouted Sprig, but Valeriana stopped him and pinched his lips. She whispered, "Shush, you loud little frog baby!" The avalanche began and snow started to go down the mountain. "Whew. Looks like it's heading away from us."

But then Anne saw something at the bottom of the mountain that made her concerned. "Wait a second. Look! What about that little hut? It looks like someone inside. We have to save them!"

Valeriana dismissed it, "How? By running towards an avalanche? They are lost, child. I say we press on."

"Nuts to that!" Anne shouted, activating her powers. "JoJo, get everyone out of that hut! I'll divert the avalanche!"

"Ci sto lavorando!" As Johan ran to the hut, Anne flew up to the avalanche and inhaled deeply, activating her Ripple. She then pressed her hands down and the ripple effect flowed through the snow, causing the avalanche to change direction. Everyone watched with awe. Valeriana in particular whispered, "She knows Ripple?"

Meanwhile, Johan kicked open the door and shouted, "Alright, everyone, get out of..." His voice trailed off when he found the hut completely empty and a sign on a table that read, "Out to lunch". At that moment, he knew who was responsible for all this.

As soon as the avalanche was gone, Anne deactivated her powers and collapsed, exhausted. Marcy and the Plantars rushed up to her. "You okay?" asked Hop Pop.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said.

Johan returned with a sour look on his face. He held up the "Out to lunch" sign and said, "This was all YOUR doing, wasn't it, Valeriana? The cardinal, the avalanche... Anne was right! You are up to something!"

Valeriana chuckled. "You're right, JoJo! I was up to something! I was trying to see if you were worthy, but now I see I was wrong! Disobedient, foolish, impulsive. None of these qualities are worthy of the sacred stones. You don't deserve my help. Good luck finding a way to get back to your home all on your own!"

Anne, angered, shouted at the one-armed newt, "You are full of such frog spit!" Everyone gasped. "Oh, come on. You barely even gave us a chance! Not only that, now you're gonna strand us out here? Well, we may be unworthy, but you and your order are even worse! You're nothing but a cruel, judgmental snob!"

"She's right," shouted Johan. "You said you would help us, but all you've ever done was judge us for making mistakes! And you nearly killed us with your tests! You know what? Vaffanculo! And the horsefly you rode in on!"

Valeriana glared at the two humans. "Brats! You dare insult the order I have dedicated my entire life to? And you, boy! You think I don't know what that word means?"

"Yeah? What're you gonna do about it?" Anne asked.

In response, Valeriana grabbed Anne and Johan with her tail. Then she waved her cane with her free hand and in an instant, all three of them disappeared, much to Marcy and the Plantars' shock. "Did you guys see that?" asked Sprig.

The next thing Anne and Johan knew, they were standing on the ruins of a temple. Up in the sky, they could see northern lights. "Where are we?" Anne asked.

"I think we're at the second temple! What's left of it, anyway," said Johan.

"Yes," said Valeriana as she appeared before them. "A monument to my failure. I will not fail again! You and your friends are not worthy of these powers, Anne Boonchuy! In fact, none are worthy! And now that I finally have you alone, I will make sure the powers are returned to the rightful guardian...me!"

"What?!" Johan shouted as he activated his Stand. "You think you have the right to be guardian after what you've done?" DARE began to punch Valeriana. "MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA!"

She quickly got back up and pulled out a stop watch. "Back In Time! Re-do!"

"What?!" Johan shouted as he activated his Stand. "You think you have the right to be guardian after what you've done?" DARE tried punch to Valeriana, only for her to easily dodge the attacks. "What the-"

"I attacked me, so I undid it!"

"Undid...?" He suddenly realized, "Wait, your Stand..."

"Yes. It has the power to go back in time, for about ten seconds. Helps me learn from my mistakes. Can you, JoJo?!" Valeriana lunged at him with her cane, but he blocked it with the gunblade. With their weapons locked, Johan found the right angle to fire, grazing her cheek. Anne activated her powers and punched her in the side, sending her flying.

"Back In Time! Re-do!"

Valeriana lunged at him with her cane, but he blocked it with the gunblade. With their weapons locked, Johan found the right angle to fire, but to his shock, she easily dodged it. Anne activated her powers and tried to punch Valeriana only for the one-armed newt to use her cane to grab Johan and send him flying into Anne.

"Okay, no more Miss Nice Girl! Ripple Overdrive!"

"Back In Time! Re-do!"

"Okay, no more Miss Nice Girl! Ripple Overdrive!" But to her shock, Valeriana dodged the beam and slammed her cane into her chest. Johan pointed the gunblade at her and fired.

"Back In Time! Re-Do!"

Johan pointed the gunblade at her and fired, but she deflected the bullet with her cane and sent it flying just past his ear. "This is ridiculous," shouted Johan. "As long as she has that Stand, she can reset everything! It's like my dad's Gold Experience Requiem!"

"I don't care," said Anne. "We're going back home, one way or another!"

Valeriana hit her in the face with the cane and said, "Aha! See? Still only thinking of yourself!"

"You're wrong! I'm not... that selfish!"

"Oh no?" Valeriana asked. "Didn't you lie to the Plantars to get out of a day of work?"

Anne, caught off guard, got hit with Valeriana's cane. "How- How do you know that?"

Johan gave Anne a weird look. "Where was I when that happened?"

Valeriana continued, "Didn't you drive the family snail even though you were told not to?"

Anne dodged the attack. "Okay. This is getting weird. What else do you know?"

"I know that you snore."

"That's not really a secret," said Johan.

"Could have kept that one to yourself," muttered Anne.

Valeriana then yanked Anne off her feet with the cane. "Didn't you steal Hopediah's wallet for a girls' day on the town?"

"Okay. That is definitely not how that happened," Anne said as she got back up and kicked Valeriana back.

"But you did steal the music box. Did you not? And JoJo tried to stop you, but you didn't listen, am I right?"

In an instant, Anne was hit with guilt. "I... I... I did steal it. And I didn't listen to JoJo." Johan felt regret too. He should have done more, then maybe they wouldn't be stuck in this mess.

"So it is. You are a liar and a thief! And now, the power you stole will be mine!" Valeriana charged at her, only for Anne to move out of the way, causing her to trip fall off the ruins. But before she could plummet to her death, Johan grabbed her by the tail. She laughed. "Are you going to drop me, JoJo?! You need me to get down the mountain!"

"No we don't," he said. "All Anne has to do is wave that walking stick of yours and we can all go back."

Valeriana realized he was right. "You weren't supposed to figure that out!" Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to crack, but before they could fall, Anne used her powers combined with her Ripple to pull them to safety. Valeriana gave her a confused look. "You risked your life to save me? But why?"

Anne's power deactivated and Johan caught her before she could collapse. "You were right. I did lie and steal," she said. "If that makes me unworthy, fine. Those bad choices were mine and I'll own them. But making them taught me that it's always better to do the right thing. So that's what I did, regardless of how much I didn't want to."

The one-armed newt smiled. "We have been waiting for someone like you for such a long time."

"Huh?" was all Johan asked.

Valeriana waved her fingers and the cane returned to her hand. The instant it did, her robes changed from black to white. "Whoa, mama. You clean up nice," complimented Anne.

"You have sacrificed your warmth for your friends, your safety for a stranger in need," said Valeriana. "You even risked your life for an enemy. But empathy alone isn't enough, for what is heart without responsibility? I declare you worthy!"

Anne realized, "Wait! No way! So the cardinal, the avalanche- All this was-"

"A trial," Valeriana finished.

Johan gave her a look. "I knew it. You could have used your Stand to save yourself, but chose not to."

"Very astute, JoJo." The one-armed newt sighed. "Under normal circumstances, this would be the part where I recharge the stone, but with the temples destroyed, it's not possible. Plus, that fake box you had won't work."

Anne and Johan balked. "F-Fake? No, this is the real deal," said Anne.

"Anne, I've been the guardian for thousands of years. I know a fake when I see it."

Then the two humans got angry. "Where's Hop Pop?" asked Johan.

When Anne and Johan left the ruins thanks to Valeriana, they found Marcy and the Plantars. "Anne! Marcy is showing us ridiculously cute animal videos on her phone," said Polly.

"We looked for you, but now we're taking a break," said Sprig.

"Anne, JoJo, you're alright," said Marcy.

Hop Pop noticed their angry faces. "Anne, JoJo, are you okay?"

"Okay," shouted Anne. "After everything we went through, the lies, the trust issue, you have the nerve to give me a fake music box?!"

"A what?!" Marcy and the kids shouted.

"What," the old frog exclaimed. "I swear, I never did that! It's the same music box I buried under the tree! The same one we recovered at the Bizarre Bazaar!"

At the mention of the Bizarre Bazaar, Johan had a sudden flashback.

"Dojyaaan..."

"It was him," he realized. "That newt in the pink suit! Oh! Unbelievable! He pulled the old switcheroo on us!"

Anne said with horror, "No. No, no, no! That means we did lose the music box!"

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Marcy.

When Valeriana saw their hairs and eyes start to flicker in response to their stress, she said, "Girls, calm! You really could cause an avalanche this time!"

"Calm?! How can I be calm," snapped Anne. "We lost our only way home!"

Valeriana sighed sadly. "I know. When I heard you had the music box, I hoped you got it back, but I was hoping too much."

Johan asked, "Wait. Do you know who this guy is?"

The one-armed newt sat on a stump and said, "I met him long ago. He came to me asking for the secrets of the stones. He said his father had been researching the stones and that he wanted continue the research after he mysteriously disappeared. The way he talked, he convinced me that he was a friend that could be trusted. We talked, shared secrets, became close. But then I found out his true intentions and chased him away." She slammed her tail on the stump. "To this day, I regret ever meeting him. The only other time I met him was after the Bizarre Bazaar. I tried to get the music box back from him, but I was no match for him."

"Who is he?" asked Marcy. "If he has the music box, we have to get it back! If it falls in the wrong hands, there's no telling what could happen!"

Valeriana looked away. "I won't tell you."

"What?! Why?!" asked Anne. "He has the music box, our only way to get back home!"

"Because I know that if I tell you, you'll go after him and you will die!"

"Like that's ever stopped us," said Sprig. "We've faced death multiple times!"

"Not like this," said Valeriana. "He's a powerful Stand user who's ability is virtually unstoppable!"

Anne groaned. "Of course it's a Stand user. Every time we run into trouble, it always involves a Stand user!"

"Well, not all the time," said Sprig.

"It's seventy percent a Stand user!"

Johan said, "I'll ask again, who is this guy?"

Valeriana exhaled heavily. "I know I will regret this, but, knowing you, you're going to find out anyway. His name is Funny Valentine."

That name sounded familiar. Then Marcy said, "Wait, that's the name of the mayor of Swamp Shiro, one of the guys on the list for a missing button!"

"Which means HE'S the one who destroyed the temples," said Hop Pop.

Then Johan had a terrible realization. "Oh, God, I just sent Suave Rico to his death! Valeriana, you gotta tell us, what's Valentine's Stand's name and ability?"

"He's a powerful Stand user who's ability is virtually unstoppable."

"Uh, you just said that," said Polly. "What's his Stand?"

"He's a powerful Stand user who's ability is virtually unstoppable."

"Ugh! She sounds like a broken record."

Johan noticed something about her eyes. They looked desperate. "Do you want to tell us what the Stand is, but you can't?" Valeriana nodded. "Why?" In response, she lowered her shirt's collar revealing a ring of runes around her throat. "Whoa."

"Looks like some kind of curse," said Sprig. "Luckily for us, we have our very own curse expert!"

Wartwood...

"Yes, it's just as I thought," said Maddie as she inspected Valeriana. "This is definitely a curse." Everyone gave her a look that said, "Tell us something we don't know!"

"So, you think you can get rid of it?" asked Sprig.

Maddie looked it over and said, "I honestly don't know. Whoever put this curse on her really did not want her revealing what she knows about this Funny Valentine's Stand. It may take a long time to break it."

"We don't have a long time!" shouted Anne as she grabbed her stuff. "Valentine has the box! I let him grab it back at the Bizarre Bazaar and now, I have to Swamp Shiro to get it back!"

"Anne, wait," said Johan. "I want to get the box as much as you do, but what are you going to do? Go barging into City Hollow, guns a-blazing? Besides, we don't even know his Stand!"

"Well, what do you suggest we do," Marcy asked, sounding just as frustrated as Anne.

"I'll take Joan Jett and Ram Bamboo and scope out the place...and pray that Joan Jett won't kill me for potentially sending her uncle to his death."

"And what about us?" asked Anne.

"I will keep my word to JoJo," said Valeriana. "And help you learn how to control your powers. But once you go after Valentine, I'll do my best to help, though I don't know if I can. He's a powerful Stand user who's ability is virtually unstoppable."

"ALRIGHT! WE HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!" shouted Polly.

To be continued ➟

Stand: Back In Time

User: Valeriana

Power: E

Speed: E

Range: D

Durability: E

Precision: A

Potential: D

Ability: Takes the form of a stop watch that reverses time for ten seconds.