Some days earlier...

"Everyone, go!" shouted Grime as he summoned Toxic Avenger. "I'll hold him off!" Well, he didn't really get the chance. Andrias summoned Imagine Dragon, who blasted a fireball out its mouth and sent Grime flying out the window.

"Grime!" shouted Sasha. She summoned Slash and tried to attack Andrias, only to get swatted out the same window. Thankfully, they landed on Joe Sparrow, who was waiting for them. They flew up to the window, where they were about to jump back into the fray, but instead they saw...

SHKAKOOM! A ball of fire blasted Marcy, scorching her entire body. She collapsed and did not get back up. Andrias stood behind her, Imagine Dragon by his side. "Now look what you made me do," he growled as he dismissed his Stand.

"MARCY!" shouted Sasha.

There was a flash of light, and in an instant, Anne, Johan, and the Plantars were gone. Andrias let out a roar of anger. "THEY GOT AWAY!"

Diego nudged Marcy's burnt body with his foot. "She's still alive."

"Oh, la dee da," Andrias snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, the box is destroyed and we have no means of making another one! Our way of life, it's over!"

"I think you're missing the big picture," said Diego as he picked Marcy up bridal style. "Anne and Joestar will come back. Their friends are still in here Amphibia after all. You can have your revenge then."

Andrias growled with hate. "Oh, I will have my revenge on Joestar. But I'm not sure for what! Destroying the music box, or chopping off my hand! And what about you?" He asked Olivia and Yunan, who were in the process of sneaking away. "You should be executed for this treason!"

"I have a better idea," said Diego. "Scary Monsters." Yunan and Olivia screamed in agony as their bodies began to shift, destroying their clothes in the process, until they were transformed into velociraptors. "It's good to be the pack leader. As for you," he said to Marcy's unconscious form. "You need to be sent to the med lab. You still have your power and we need you alive for it to be preserved. Oh, and Andrias, we may need a change of scenery."

"What do you mean," Andrias asked, genuinely confused.

"The only reason this castle is floating was because of the Calamity powers, right? Well, now that they're back in the girls' bodies, that means this castle is going to drop like a rock soon."

Andrias' eyes widened. "Oh, frog."

Diego smirked. "Yep. But since this is YOUR mess, you deal with it. Oh, and do something about that missing hand of yours." And with that, he carried Marcy away with Yunan and Olivia following him, leaving Andrias to his thoughts.

Outside, Grime and Sasha watched the whole thing until the former said, "We've got to get out of here. Hi-ho, George Sparrow!" He gave the bird a kick, making it fly far away from the castle. Joe Sparrow then gave Grime a look that said, "What did you call me?"

Sasha looked back at the castle and whispered, "Anne... Marcy... JoJo... please be alright."

Meanwhile, Andrias watched them leave and said as he put his crown back on. "So many loose ends. So little time." Suddenly, he heard a loud buzzing sound the instant the crown touched his head. "My lord, I'm sorry. I'll do better next time." The buzzing in his head grew louder, making him wince in pain. "Follow them? How? We have no army!" Whatever Andrias was speaking to gave him a response that made his eyes widen. "You want me to send...it? But, my lord, I know we have a biological weapons division, but it's not ready yet!" The buzzing grew louder, making him wince again. "Yes, my lord. I shall send...it at once.

"But what about the castle," Andrias asked. "You heard Diego! It's going to fall out of the sky!" Whatever he was talking to responded. "Rebuild it with your Stand? You mean, you unlocked the Meteor Man's Stand?" The loud buzzing returned. "Oh...right. You made it your own. Forgive me, my lord."

As he and Sasha flew across the sky on Joe Sparrow, Grime assessed the situation, "Our army has been captured. Looks like we'll have to take shelter somewhere and come up with a new strategy."

"Ok. but where do we even go," asked Sasha. "Your tower? Andrias and Diego will be expecting that."

"Then we'll have to go somewhere they don't expect."

The next morning, at Wartwood, a group of people gathered to see Sasha and Grime arrive on Joe Sparrow.

"Sasha," called out Sadie Croaker. "What the heck is going on?"

"Is what Joan Jett saying true," asked Sylvia.

Sasha's heart raced a little. She and Grime forgot all about her. "Uh...what exactly did she say?"

"That Funny Valentine tried to kill you guys and take over Amphibia," said Ivy.

"And that King Andrias has an army of robots and undead monsters waiting in the wings," said Wally.

Sasha whispered to Grime, "What do we tell them?"

"Not the whole truth, that's for sure," he whispered back. Then he spoke to the people, "It's true! The king has turned out to be a ruthless tyrant of unspeakable power."

Everyone gasped. "Well, I never voted for him," said Sadie Croaker.

"Anne, JoJo and the Plantars had to go a daring mission, but they sent us to protect you fine frogs in the meantime, right, Sasha?" Grime asked her, giving her shoulder a nudge.

"There's no way they're gonna trust us just because we name-dropped Anne and JoJo," Sasha hissed.

"Not with that attitude."

It seemed to have worked as Sadie Croaker said, "Oh... what a relief."

"Classic Anne," said Stumpy. "Always looking out of us."

"Same goes for JoJo," said Toadie.

"Indeed. That's wonderful," said Mayor Toadstool as he shook Sasha's hand. He spoke to the people, "Rest easy tonight, folks, because Anne's best friend is here to watch over us." Everyone cheered and Sasha smiled, but then it dissolved into a look of guilt.

That evening, Sasha and Grime decided to take residence in the Plantars' house. Grime put Barrel's Warhammer next to the umbrella stand and said, "We'll lay low here and then in a day or two, we'll ditch this crummy town. Dibs on Hop Pop's bed." Sasha stayed at the doorway with a look of guilt on her face, refusing to step one foot inside. Grime noticed her hesitance and asked, "You gotta come in or just stand there and be weird?"

"I- I think I'll sleep in the barn," she replied as she left.

Grime decided not to interfere with her and went to Hop Pop's room. He kicked the door open and jumped onto the bed, provoking to break it. He snored for a moment and then picked up a book that was near him and read it. "Now that is a big potato."

Sasha opened the barn door, only to gasp to find someone already in it. "Joan Jett?"

The newt was tending to Bessie and MicroAngelo. "Don't mind me," she said as she got up. "I'm just doing some housesitting while Hopediah and his family and JoJo are gone. And I saw you and Grime coming, so if you even think about stealing from him..." Cherry Bomb appeared next to her and cracked its knuckles.

"Well, don't mind me either," said Sasha as she walked over to a pile of straw. "I'll just go sleep in the corner with the rest of the trash. It's all someone like me deserves."

"Yeah. It is," Joan Jett replied bluntly. "Although, Bessie's shell could use a good scrubbing." She tossed Sasha a brush. "Make sure to do it in spiral patterns, like a snail shell."

"How do you know that?" Sasha asked as she slowly brushed the larger snail's shell.

"I read it in Hopediah's book. Too little illustrations and way too much text."

"Hmm."

"And when you're done, you can help me feed MicroAngelo his favorite treats."

"Okay."

For a while, the two of them said nothing as they did their duties. Then Sasha asked, "Why are you being so nice to me? You had the opportunity to tell everyone what a horrible person I am back on Crazy Train, and yet...you didn't. Why?"

The newt narrowed her eyes at Sasha. "To be honest, I really wanted to, but then I realized it's not really my place to tell them. That and it'll be a lot more satisfactory to see such a bitch like you crack."

"Oh," said Sasha as she continued to tend to Bessie and MicroAngelo.

Joan Jett then asked, "I noticed you've got JoJo's gunblade." The weapon was strapped to Sasha's belt. "What happened to him?" Sasha did not respond. "What about Anne and the Plantars?" Again, Sasha didn't say anything, but her body began to tremble.

Finally, she stopped and said, "I think I've done enough." She returned to the straw pile and held the gunblade close like it was a comfort item.

Joan Jett exhaled. "Good grief."

A splash of cold water made Sasha awake with a shriek and summon Slash out of instinct. "Who is it? Where am I? Of course this is my natural hair color," she babbled as Slash jabbed its sword into a support beam.

"Ahem." Sasha looked up to see Joan Jett standing over her with a bucket. She put it down and said, "Grime says rise and shine. It's breakfast time."

"Could you have woken me up without soaking me?!" Sasha asked as she dismissed Slash

"If I did, I wouldn't have heard you scream. Besides, you needed a shower," Joan Jett said as she left the barn.

Grime poked her head in and asked, "Is she gone? She hasn't let me out of her sight all morning. Anyway, I made worm waffles!" The waffles had a smiley face with maple syrup on it.

Sasha pushed it away. "I'm not hungry."

Grime said, "Look, I get you feel guilty about tricking your friends and inadvertently helping the King get the music box, but you've got to get ahold of yourself." He paused to eat the whole plate. "We need to be in fighting shape if we're going to take down Andrias and-" The sound of a horn honking startled him. "What's that sound?"

Sasha and Grime grabbed their weapons, summoned their Stands and ran out the barn, expecting a fight. But instead, they found Sadie Croaker standing next to her ladybug steed, carrying a pie. "Ooh! I love an enthusiastic welcome. I just wanted to thank you again for watching over the town." Sasha felt a twinge of guilt again.

She held out the pie and Grime took it. "Oooh! Boysenbug! Gonna go inside and heat this bad boy up."

Sadie Croaker said to her pet spider as she walked away, "I wasn't sure about these two, Archie, but they turned out to be good eggs."

Sasha sighed. Suddenly, Wally appeared out of nowhere and said, "Yoo-hoo!"

She face palmed and said in annoyance, "Oh, no."

The local kook said, "Any friend of JoJo and Anne's is a friend of mine."

"That's touching. Look, I got to go."

"Yes, she's taught me many lessons. Showing me the importance of honesty, being true of yourself, the meaning of friendship." With each word spoken by Wally, the guilt grew stronger in Sasha. "I've been working on a song about it."

He was about to sing, but Sasha interrupted him and pushed him away. "No! Can't right now. Very busy protecting the town for Anne and JoJo and stuff.

"Hello!" shouted Ram Bamboo, popping out of nowhere, startling Sasha. "I couldn't help but notice you've got JoJo's gunblade. Did he give it to you?"

Sasha looked down at the weapon still strapped to her belt. "Uh...actually he dropped it, so I'm holding onto it until he gets back."

"Yeah, he's always rough around the edges," Ram Bamboo said. "But he really turned this town around. Restoring it, taking out Blue Oyster Cult, he's worthy of being a real hero!"

"Ah, I don't need to hear anymore," said Sasha as she walked away. "I swear if one more country bumpkin-"

Suddenly, Maddie appeared out of nowhere in a puff of pink smoke, carrying big baskets of bread. "Free bread, anyone?"

"AAAHH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Sasha ran back to the Plantars' barn and locked the door.

Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "Don't want the extra carbs, eh? I get it." She then made herself disappear.

Sasha sat next to Bessie and held the gunblade close. "Stupid Sasha. Why did you say all those things to your friends? You and JoJo could have..." She stopped herself from speaking. "No. No, it wouldn't have worked out. You're not worth it. You never were."

Grime burst in, carrying a bat on his arm. "Great news. I got a message from Beatrix." He untied the message around the bat's leg and read it. "She's hiding underground with the toads that avoided capture. They've got weapons, soldiers and fortification. We've got to join her."

"Why," asked Sasha. "So we can come up with another cruddy plan that fails and ends up hurting the people we love?"

"No need to be a downer." Grime handed the messenger bat his payment in the form of a strawberry. "You want another strawberry, little guy? Yes, you do."

"Look, I don't know. Maybe we're doing this all wrong." Suddenly, Joan Jett kicked the door open. "What is it this time?!"

"We got a problem," said Joan Jett. "A very big and ugly problem!" Grime and Sasha followed her outside and what Sasha said next was VERY appropriate. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Scuttling around the Plantar's farmhouse was...well, an abomination would be best way to describe it. The upper part of the body was that of a frog's torso, displaying a monstrously warped face and marked by strange scars upon its nape and crown. The creature's right arm was clawed, while its left was a long tentacle. Its four front and hind legs appeared bonded by a centipede-like fleshy piece of muscle.

The creature then began to go around the house, sniffing the air. Joan Jett, Sasha, and Grime silently stepped backwards...and wouldn't you know it, a twig snapped under Grime's boot, catching the creature's attention. When it saw Grime and Sasha, it let out a roar and charged for them.

"ORA!" Joan Jett summoned Cherry Bomb, who punched a bomb into the monster's face, blasting it backwards. "Looks like that thing's got it out for you," she said as it got back up.

"Did Andrias send that thing," asked Sasha.

"Go for the legs!" shouted Grime.

Sasha reached for one of her twin heron swords, but grabbed the gunblade instead. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, she shot at the creature's legs, making it screech in pain. This provided Grime the distraction he needed as he swung Barrel's Warhammer at the creature's head, knocking it flat on its back. It got back up and roared at them before it burrowed underground.

Joan Jett, Sasha, and Grime looked down into the hole as Sasha asked, "Did we drive it away?"

"No," said Joan Jett grimly. "We just made it angry."

"It's going to strike back with a vengeance," said Grime. "Let's pack up, we're getting out of here."

"What? We can't leave these frogs to face it on their own," Sasha said, outraged by his decision to leave everyone to die. "What about that old lady who gave us a pie?"

"Hmm," grunted Joan Jett. "The great gladiator Grime running away like a coward? I never thought I'd see the day."

"I AM NO COWARD," shouted Grime. "These people may be nice now, but the second they find out what happened, they'll turn on me and Sasha! Why bother helping them at all?"

"Because it doesn't matter if they resent us or not," said Sasha as she gripped the gunblade. "I don't want anyone getting hurt because of my stupid decisions again! Grime, I'm done! No more schemes, no more plans! It's over!"

"What," exclaimed Grime. "But you love schemes. Lies, manipulation, backstabbing.. it's... like... your thing. Since when have you cared?"

"Since I saw the consequences," Sasha said.

Grime exhaled. "Listen, Lieutenant, whatever you're dealing with, you need to confront it. Go into that house, face what burdens you, then when you've got your head back on straight, come join me." He turned to walk down the path that led to Wartwood's exit, then paused for a moment. "Please," he said softly before resuming.

"So," said Joan Jett to Sasha. "Are you coming with me to Wartwood?" Sasha didn't respond. "Well, you don't need to enter the house to clear your head, you need this." She handed Sasha a book. To her shock, it was Anne's journal. "Anne dropped it while we were fighting Funny Valentine. I suggest you read it before helping me." And with that, Joan Jett ran into town.

All alone, Sasha looked down at the book, then opened it to read one of its pages. "Sasha, Marcy and I are finally together, but it's not the way I thought it would be. We're stuck in a train with a maniac whose Stand has the power to travel dimensions and bring copies of himself from those other dimensions! But you know what? I'm not scared. We're going to beat Funny Valentine, reunite with JoJo, take the box back and go home! I'm so happy I trusted Sasha again. I always knew, even after everything that happened, we'd work it out."

Sasha read the passage again, and tears started to form. Finally, she could not hold it in anymore. "Oh, Anne... I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have tried so hard to be in control again. Valentine was right. I was selfish. In the end... where did it get me?" She looked down at the gunblade as a tear dropped on its blade. "JoJo... I wish I said something different and done things differently. Maybe, we could have..." She didn't finish the sentence. Then she stopped crying and said with determination, "Well, that ends now." Her hand holding the gunblade tightened its fist. "I wanna be someone better. Someone that deserves you, Anne. Someone who is worthy of you, JoJo. I know what I have to do."

Joan Jett had gathered all the people of Wartwood. "Everyone, I have gathered you here because I something to tell you!"

"Wait." Sasha walked up to her, surprising her. "Let me tell them." Joan Jett nodded. Sasha said to the villagers, "I have something to tell you." She took a deep breath and said, "A monster sent by King Andrias is on its way to destroy Wartwood." Everyone gasped. "And that's not all. I lied to you about Anne and JoJo sending us to protect the town. They've been zapped to another world and have no idea I'm even here. I'm no guardian, I'm a fraud." Everyone gasped even louder.

"Well," said Joan Jett. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Fraud or not, though, I'm gonna do the right thing for once in my life. With my last breath," declared Sasha as she raised the gunblade. "I'm gonna defend this town."

As if on cue, the monster from before burst out of the ground and let out a roar, making the people scream. "Whoa, Nelly," shouted Wally.

"Present," called out a little girl frog.

"Shut up, Nelly," said Mrs. Croaker.

Sasha scoffed. "Only one? Honestly, that doesn't seem that bad." A second head that resembled a centipede with large pincers burst out of the creature's neck and roared. "Of course." She summoned Slash and, along with Joan Jett and Cherry Bomb, battled the monster. It first tried to use its claws to slash them to ribbons, but Joan Jett had Cherry Bomb place sticker bombs on its hand before detonating them.

Sasha and Slash then cut off the creature's tentacle, but then it grabbed her with its second head's pincers, ready to slice her in half. "Sasha!" Joan Jett ran to rescue her, but someone beat her to the punch. Grime summoned Toxic Avenger, who melted the pincers with its acid, freeing her. "Sorry I'm late," he said.

"Grimesie!" Sasha said with joy.

Joan Jett chuckled. "Did she just call you..."

"Don't laugh," said Grime. He said to Sasha, "I got to thinking, Beatrix may have weapons and soldiers, but you know what she doesn't have?" He helped her up. "You, Lieutenant."

"Grimesy!" Sasha jumped up and gave him a noogy. "You big softy."

Grime grumbled, "No... get off me..." Joan Jett chuckled. "I SAID DON'T LAUGH!"

The creature got back up and roared at them. Sasha said, "Uh, is it me, or is it getting bigger?"

Grime laughed, "Nothing we can't handle, right?"

"Nope."

But just before they could attack, they were surprised to see the people of Wartwood coming to their aid. Felicia summoned The Rose, who proceeded to create a sea of vines that held the creature down. Ram Bamboo summoned Green Onions who created clouds of acid and breathed them into the creature's face. Using Invisible Touch, Ivy jumped onto the creature's back and shoved a handful of pain peppers down its second head's mouth.

But it wasn't just the Stand users who came to their aid, but the normal folks as well. Sadie Croaker had Archie belch up acid, melting one of the creature's limbs. Wally wrapped his accordion around the creature's neck and proceeded to strangle it. Mayor Toadstool rapidly punched it in the gut. Maddie threw burning curse bags on it.

"No way. The townspeople?" asked Sasha, amazed.

Grime was just as impressed as she was. "By Barrel's belly. They're deadlier than any soldier."

"What did you expect," said Joan Jett. "We've survived just about every horrific thing that's come to town. Honestly, how we're still standing is a miracle."

But the creature, despite the merciless beating it was receiving, still had some fight left in it. "Grime! Joan Jett!"

"We're way ahead of you!" they said to her.

Sasha activated her Calamity powers (which surprised even her) and shot up into the sky, carrying Joan Jett with her. Meanwhile, Grime slid under the creature's belly and slammed the hammer it, launching it into the sky and leaving it completely defenseless against Sasha and Joan Jett as they summoned their Stands while the former aimed the gunblade at it and fired.

The creature could only let out a roar as Slash and Cherry Bomb rapidly stabbed it and exploding punched it respectively as they both let out their war cries.

"MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI!"

"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 creature slammed into the ground in a heap and did not get back up. Loggle ripped off its head and let out a roar. "I think you're enjoying this too much," deadpanned Sadie Croaker.

Sasha dismissed Slash and deactivated her Calamity powers, exhausting her. She spoke to the villagers humbly, "Wow... I don't-" She put the gunblade down and sat on a stump. "I don't know what to say."

Sadie Croaker put a hand on her shoulder. "You said enough, deary."

"You may have been a terrible person, Sasha," said Maddie as she put a hand on the other shoulder. "But you were honest with us when you didn't have to be."

"And taking that monster on alone to protect us frogs," said Ivy.

" It really is something Anne and JoJo would've done," finished Wally as he cleaned his accordion.

"Thanks, you guys," said Sasha as she stood up. "You can count on me, for real this time."

The people of Wartwood cheered and for the first time in probably a long time, Sasha felt good about herself. "So what happens now?" asked Sadie Croaker.

Sasha looked to Grime and Joan Jett who both nodded and she nodded back. "We start fighting back."

⬅ To be continued...