The Plantars, Anne, and Valeriana met Johan and Joan Jett in the farmhouse's living room. "Hey, Anne," said Johan. "Like the breastplate."

"Thanks. I do too. But enough of that. You say you have a plan?"

Johan scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Uh...that is...uh...I don't..."

"He doesn't," said Joan Jett impatiently. "We scoped that entire building and he hadn't come up with anything!"

"I didn't say that! I said I wanted to tell the plan when we got back! You tried to barge into the mayor's office, not caring if you died!" He folded is arms and said, "I practically had to keep you on a leash, literally!"

"Uh, so, what is the plan?" asked Hop Pop, wanting to get back on track.

"Right. Well, the mayor's office is basically a large cement block, not made of wood like Wartwood's City Hollow. And it is guarded by soldiers straight from Newtopia who run on daily shifts."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad," said Sprig. "Nothing we can't handle."

"There's one problem," said Johan sheepishly. "And it's actually my fault. Remember when I spread word about Hop Pop's campaign for mayor a couple months ago? Well, it looks like everyone remembered me. There's no telling how loyal the citizens are to Valentine. From what I've seen, he's well loved by the people."

"Oh, great," said Anne angrily. "Which means Valentine knows we're coming for him! So much for the element of surprise!"

"So, is this the part where we go in, guns a-blazing?" asked Polly. "Maybe use Anne and Marcy's powers to blow Valentine up?"

"I'm all for that," said Anne. "I've been wanting to get my revenge on him for a long time."

"We still don't know what his Stand can do," said Johan. "And the last thing we want is to get innocent people caught in the crossfire. No. What we need is a distraction. Then we can get the box from Valentine's office and swap it with the fake one he gave us."

"How do you know it's in his office?" asked Marcy.

"We overheard a guard talk about how Valentine keeps the box in his desk," said Joan Jett. "And he never lets it out of his sight."

"And you think he won't notice the difference when you pull the switch?" asked Valeriana.

"Why not? It worked on us," said Johan.

"That's not what I meant."

"But what about the distraction?" asked Hop Pop.

"I don't know," said Johan. He looked out the window, taking a glance at the Flour family's house and bakery. An idea formed in his mind and a wicked smile that would make DIO blush spread across his face. "I know just what to do."

Johan knocked on the Flours' door and Maddie answered it. "JoJo! You're back!"

"Hey, Maddie. Any luck on removing Valeriana's curse?"

Maddie's smile dropped a little. "Sadly, no. This curse is way above my level. Every time I tried removing it, it would tighten around her throat like a noose and I would have to use another curse to loosen it. Valentine REALLY doesn't want people to know the secret of his Stand."

Johan cussed to himself. Then said out loud, "Actually, I'm here for another reason. I have a plan to infiltrate Valentine's office, but it requires your help."

"My help?"

"Do you still have the pages for the reanimation and growth spells?"

"Uh...yeah. Why?"

"Because this pan requires flour. Lots and lots of flour."

"DADDY!" Maddie shouted as she ran back into the house with Johan.

"What is it?" her father asked.

"Fire up the oven, Daddy," Maddie said with maniac glee. "We've got a big order to fill!"

Lightning flashed and thunder crashed as the sound of high-pitched cackles filled the air. "IT'S ALIVE!" shouted Maddie.

Swamp Shiro was by far the best city in Wartwood. It was a combination of both frog and newt architecture and food. The houses were like something out of ancient China or Japan. Vendors ran stands that sold food ranging from kraken on a stick to stir fried scorpion tails while fancy restaurants served dishes like peacock, beef, salad made from piranha lettuce and tomatoes, beetle mead, sea snake, sushi, stick bugs on a stick made from stick bugs, and perhaps the best tea in all of frog valley. They had a public library, a school for all sorts of studies, a museum, and a post office.

And at the center of it all was City Hollow, Mayor Funny Valentine and his wife Scarlet's residence. The building was a large stone block with a pagoda roof, bearded dragon pillars made of gold, doors painted jade green, and in the courtyard was a fountain with a statue of Funny Valentine making peace with a frog, a toad, and a newt.

Inside his office, Valentine was doing paperwork, with his wife by his side, when suddenly, his secretary came in, exclaiming, "Mr. Mayor, we got a problem."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you can handle it," said Scarlet, making a "shoo-shoo" gesture.

"Uh...how do I handle an army of cookies?"

Valentine looked up. "Huh?"

Outside, people watched in confusion as an army of little gingerbread frogs marched down the street toward the mayor's office. One of them hopped on a vendor's stand and snatched a lice cream cone. Another jumped onto a couple's dinner and hopped off. "Well, now I've seen everything," said the boyfriend, before he took out a gun and shot himself in the head.

The gingerbread army circled the mayor's office and came to a stop.

Meanwhile, the gingerbread frog with the ice cream ran back to the hiding spot of Passione and handed it to Anne. Johan gave her a look. "Seriously?"

"What? Can't a girl enjoy ice cream while about to assault on a mayor's office?"

"I still think this is a bad idea," said Marcy. "I mean, this could result in Passione being hunted down."

"We're not going to attack City Hollow," said Johan. "Just cause a little chaos in the city. This will result in an evacuation order and everyone, including the mayor, would have to leave the city."

"And how are we going to do that with an army of cookies?" asked Joan Jett.

Johan looked at his watch. "And the growth potion should be kicking in in three...two...one..."

In a flash of green light, the gingerbread frogs suddenly grew as tall as King Andrias, roared and began smashing buildings. The girlfriend who had her dinner ruined said as she grabbed her boyfriend's gun, "Now I've seen everything!" before she shot herself in the head.

The soldiers and guards came rushing in, armed with fire hoses that sprayed boiling milk. They sprayed the gingerbread frogs, making them roar in agony. What the guards didn't notice was a group consisting of three humans, three frogs and a newt sneaking their way into an open lower window at City Hollow.

"Alright, we're in," said Joan Jett.

"Is this the part where we kick butt," asked Polly.

"No," said Johan. "As disappointing as it sounds, we're not here to fight. We're just here to get the music box and get out before anyone notices anything out of place."

"Question," said Sprig. "Do you even know where Valentine's office is?"

Johan went silent. "I told you we should have gotten a map," said Hop Pop. "Maps always come in handy!"

"Do you even have a map of this place?" asked Anne rhetorically.

"Maybe. You never know!"

"Well, we're just going to have to do this the old fashioned way," said Johan as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "We split up and find the mayor's office, take the box back, replace it with the fake, and then we meet back here. If we run into trouble, we'll have no choice but to retreat."

"Question," said Marcy. "What happens if Valentine wasn't fooled and is waiting for us?"

Johan exhaled. "We'll just have to wing it. We won't get another chance at this."

Joan Jett said, "He's right. There's a chance Valentine will take the box given the opportunity. It's now or never."

And so, the group went down the separate doors.

The first door Hop Pop opened made him gasp. "Seeds!" He ran around, looking at all the various bags of seeds. "He's got more seeds than any store in Wartwood!" He looked around shiftily then started taking some. "Normally, I would not approve of this, but he is the bad guy, so I don't feel guilty."

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. "Hey!" He tried to open it, but it was locked. "No! Curse my greed and love for things that grow!"

Polly, joined by Frobo, opened the door to find an entire armory. "Holly shrimp! This is enough for an army!" She tried on one of the suits of armor. "What do you think, Frobo? Do I look like a warrior or what?" Frobo gave her a thumbs up. "I think so too! Ooh, wait here! I want to try one on you!" The sound of footsteps made Frobo look around, only to get hit in the face and sent flying into the other side of the room, much to Polly's shock. "Frobo! You'll pay for that, whoever you are!" Before she could attack the intruder, they managed to grab her and stuff her into a sack before focusing their attention on Frobo, tying his arms and legs into a knot.

Sprig carefully opened the door and pointed his slingshot in. "I got a big rock in this thing and I'm not afraid to use it!" He looked inside, finding a room full of seashells. Then he saw one that caught his attention. "A sun shell!" He hopped over to it and said, "Maybe I can give it to Ivy after this is over." Just then, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. "Uh-oh."

Joan Jett was taking a more direct approach, kicking down doors and quickly taking a look inside before moving onto the next one. She was intent on finding the newt who killed her uncle, come hell or high water. Then, she kicked down one door and a fist collided with her face.

Down the hall, Johan shouted out to Anne and Marcy, "You girls find anything?"

"Not yet," shouted Anne. "Although, I did find this bathroom to be quite spacious! It reminds me of the one at that penthouse Mayor Toadstool had me stay in!"

"I found a library," said Marcy. "Not as big as the one in Newtopia Castle, but it's got plenty of knowlege!"

Johan opened the door and said, "Bingo. Girls! I found the mayor's office!" The girls immediately came running in, happy to hear that. "Now, all we gotta do is get the box out of his desk and..." He trailed off when he realized something. "Uh...I think Valentine took the key with him when the evacuation order started. No worry. I just need Marcy's hairpin to pick the lock and..."

Anne scoffed. "Who needs a lock pick?" She activated her Ripple, and pressed her finger on the lock. A clicking sound was heard and she opened the drawer. "Gotcha. Put the fake in, JoJo."

"I think Marcy has it. Marcy, hand it over." But she didn't. She was staring at something hanging on the wall. "Marcy? Damn it, she's in the zone again." He walked over to her and said, "Marcy, come on. Give me the fake and..." His voice trailed off when he saw what she was looking at. "Anne? You might want to take a look at this."

"What is...it..." Anne's voice trailed off when she saw it. Nailed to the wall were dozens of newspaper clippings, all of them telling her and her friends adventures. Like the time Anne first arrived in Wartwood, the time Marcy did renovations in Newtopia, the time Sasha helped the toads defeat two herons, the battle at Toad Tower, and many more like it.

"Valentine's been keeping a close eye on us," said Johan.

"Guys," said Marcy, becoming more and more terrified. "That's not all that's here." She pointed to something on the other side of the room.

Hanging on the wall was a mural that reminded Johan of those Italian Renaissance paintings he'd seen in museums. It depicted three semi-naked goddesses battling against a shapeless black mass with multiple orange glowing eyes. But the most striking feature was the goddesses' faces. They looked just like... "It's us," said Anne, stunned. "Well, me, Marcy and Sasha. Not you, JoJo."

Marcy was becoming more and more scared by the second. "Our adventures have just been a show for some perverted newt and his wife!"

"But why would he draw a creepy painting of you girls," asked Johan. "Is he really that sick in the head?"

"That painting's over a thousand years old," said an unfamiliar voice. "I wasn't even born then." Everyone slowly turned around to see a blue newt with blonde hair wearing a pink suit, drinking a beer upside-down.

"So you're..."

Valentine held his hand up, telling Johan to stop. He finished his drink, then said, "Okay, go on."

"So you're Funny Valentine. I've been dying to meet you again since our last encounter in the Bizarre Bazaar."

"Get in line, JoJo," said Anne. "I want first crack at him. I don't care if he's a Stand user. No one tricks me and gets away with it!"

Marcy held up her hand. "Hi. I'm Marcy. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON AROUND HERE, AND WHAT IS UP WITH THAT PAINTING?!"

"You don't know," said Valentine as he put his cup down. "That painting is your story."

"Story?" asked Anne, confused.

"The story that ties Amphibia's fate. A fate I wish to control. With my guidance, we could..."

BANG! Valentine fell to the ground, dead with a bullet in his head. Johan blew the smoke from his gunblade. "No villain speeches. Let's grab the box and let's get out of here!" He reached out and tried to grab the box, only to be grabbed by a hand wearing a purple glove. He looked up and to his horror, he saw it was Valentine. "But...how...I...I killed you!" Then he realized, "Body double. I fell for the old body double trick."

"Oh, no. That was me. You just killed that version of me. Now I am the current me."

"Huh?"

"Marcy, how did he do that," said Anne. "I just saw him appear out of nowhere when JoJo killed Valentine."

"Sorry, Anne," said Marcy. "I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought."

Suddenly, the door opened and to JoJo and the girls' horror, five more Funny Valentines walked in, each of them holding the Plantars, Frobo and Joan Jett.

"I knew it," said Hop Pop. "I told you kids, they're clones!"

"Not clones," said Valentine as he continued to hold Johan. "They're me as well."

Joan Jett wrenched herself free, grabbed Johan's gunblade and fired at Valentine. "That was for my Uncle Rico!" Blood started to come out of her mouth. "Guh..." Then suddenly, she fell to the ground, her back riddled with bullets.

"JOAN JETT!" everyone shouted.

"How did that happen?" exclaimed Anne. "We saw her shoot Valentine. Uh...one of them, anyway."

"No..." gurgled Joan Jett. "I shot myself. I can't explain it, but, that Stand of his, made me shoot myself. I saw it. Somehow, I saw my back and I shot myself instead of Valentine."

"How?" asked Johan.

"She did try to shoot me, but I redirected it, and brought one of her counterparts to shoot herself," said Valentine.

"Counterparts?" asked Marcy, confused. "Wait, those aren't clones? They're also Funny Valentine?!"

"That doesn't make any sense," said Anne. "How could those guys," she pointed to the Valentines holding the Plantars and Frobo. "...also be Funny Valentine?!"

"As far as we know, there are no universes that occupy the same space as another universe," Valentine said. "They occupy the space next to other universes. You see, universes are like soap bubbles. There's a thin barrier separating the universe bubbles from one another. Sometimes the bubbles will try to occupy the same space at the same time which cause stuff to leak through the barrier, but that's very rare as universes don't move around much. Each of those worlds vibrate at different speeds. The Calamity Box," he said as he stroked the music box. "Uses music to match the vibrations of those worlds and allows anyone to explore them. Of course, it's not the only way..."

"So, these aren't clones," said Marcy, coming under the same realization as everyone else. "They are all versions of Funny Valentine from alternate universes! But, how are you able to bring them here without the music box?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked that question, Marcy." Valentine's Stand appeared behind him. "Allowing neighboring worlds to exist simultaneously in the same location. That is my Stand ability, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap."

To be continued ➟