A day after returning from Proteus to the Plantar Family Tunnels, Anne, Sasha, and Giorgio stayed in the war room, coming up with a plan. They looked at a map and it showed that ninety percent of the continent was under Andrias' control. "According to Mother Olm and Funny Valentine, in order to defeat Andrias, we need to reunite with Marcy in order to unlock our full potential."
"But you need to beat him without using all your powers at once," said Giorgio. "Without that, we can't get home. Not without Valentine's help."
"Which we don't need."
A volte mi chiedo se conosci la differenza tra bisogno e desiderio, Giorgio thought.
"Then we're going to need some allies and I know just who to recruit first," said Sasha with a smile. She slapped a toad sticker on the ten percent of the map that represented Resistance territory. "Grime's sister, Beatrix built a secret army of toads. And like Grime, she's a Stand user. I haven't seen it myself, but he tells me it's powerful."
"Didn't she lose half her army when Diego Brando's Stand, Scary Monsters, turned them into dinosaurs," asked Giorgio.
"She's been gathering new recruits since then," Sasha clarified. "I already asked her to meet with us and she's on her way."
"But do you think she'll go for it," asked Anne. "I've noticed frogs and toads don't get along."
"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure Passione della Rana's involvement made things worse," said Giorgio. "What with us blowing up the South Toad Tower."
"That's why I sent Grime and Sprig to be the welcome wagon," said Sasha. "She'll see first hand that frogs and toads can work together."
Giorgio slammed his hands on the table. "You put Grime and Sprig together?! Sash, I love you, but that's stupid!"
"What's the big deal?"
"The big deal," said Anne. "Is that ever since Sprig beat Grime back on Crazy Train, things have been tense between them."
"Oh. Really," asked Sasha, realizing she didn't think this through.
There was a moment's silence, then the three kids ran out of the room, praying that Grime hadn't killed Sprig yet. Even though it was daytime, the smog still blocked the sky, so Giorgio didn't have to worry about the sun.
"Hey, did JoJo just say..."
"Anne, don't say a word," said Sasha.
Outside the Plantar farmhouse, Sprig and Grime were waiting outside, doing nothing really. "So, is your sister cool, or does being a jerk run in the family," Sprig asked.
"We do share a hatred for the shrill sound of whiny frog children," said Grime, arms folded and not looking at him. "You should leave."
"Nope, Sasha asked me to be here, and she's in charge. I mean, aren't you just a foot soldier now?"
His pride hurt upon hearing that, Grime pointed at Sprig. "ALRIGHT! I've heard enough out of you, you little-"
"HOLD IT!" Giorgio shouted as he, Sasha and Anne ran up to them. They stopped, panting. "Okay, before you two kill each other, there's been a change of plans."
But before he could say what it was, a rhino beetle flew down from the sky and landed next to the farmhouse. Riding on its back was Beatrix, accompanied by two toad soldiers. She hopped off the beetle, letting out a war cry. Grime's eyes widened. "Oh, boy." She tackled him and pinned him to the ground. "Get off. Get off!"
"What's the matter, Grimothy?" Beatrix asked as she gave him a noogie. "All toads love a good wrestle. Or did hanging out with these frogs make you soft?" She stopped and asked, "But seriously, Sasha, what do you want?"
"Anne. Drumroll, please." Anne played a drumroll app on her phone. "As commander of the Wartwood Resistance, I propose you join our frog army. And together, we take down Andrias!"
"So, what do you say," Giorgio asked.
Beatrix got off Grime and approached the humans. "Toads serving in a frog army? It doesn't make any sense! I mean last time I checked, frogs couldn't even fight."
"It's not so much serving, and more like a cooperation," clarified Giorgio. "And in case you don't know, what frogs lack in strength, they make up for it in numbers. Anne and I have seen them take down a full grown praying mantis using only their bodies."
Beatrix made a scoff. "That's not impressive."
"Who says frogs can't fight," challenged Sprig.
Grime, realizing what he was about to say, whispered, "No! No!"
"If we can't fight, then how'd I beat Grime in a one-on-one duel?"
Beatrix stared. "YOU WHAT?! That only proves my point. Living with frogs has made my brother laughably weak." She laughed again, gave Grime another noogie, then walked back to her beetle. "Thanks for wasting my time."
"Not so fast!" Grime blocked her path, beat his chest like a gorilla, swiped a sword from one of the toad soldiers, and drew a ring surrounding himself and Beatrix. The humans made looks of confusion. "Uuh... what is happening right now," asked Sasha.
The toad soldier took back his sword and explained, "He has invoked the sacred law of toad challenge."
Beatrix exhaled in annoyance. "And I am honor-bound to accept it.
"So, it's the Plantar family challenge all over again," said Giorgio.
"State your terms, brother," Beatrix said.
"Standard one-on-one arena combat," replied Grime. "Loser's army joins the winner's."
"Deal, but it won't be you who I fight."
Grime blinked in confusion. "Eehh... what?"
"Wartime law says I may choose any of your allies to fight in your stead."
The human children exclaimed, "WHAT?!"
"And I choose..." Beatrix pointed to Anne... "Eenie..." then to Sasha... "meenie..." then to Giorgio... "minie..." before stopping at Sprig. "Frog! If this little guy wins, we'll join your army, but if I win, you have to join OUR army... as cannon fodder!"
"Hold it," Giorgio shouted. "Sprig can't fight you!"
"WHAT?! Why not," asked Sprig, offended.
"You're a Stand user, like your brother, right, Beatrix," Giorgio asked her.
"Yeah, so?"
"Sprig's not a Stand user. It won't be fair."
"Fair? FAIR?!" Beatrix laughed loudly. "Who said anything about fighting fair? I don't care if he's a Stand user or not! If he doesn't fight me, you lose by default!"
Sprig got angry and charged up his Ripple. "I don't need a Stand to beat you!"
Beatrix smirked. "Really? Sobek, RISE!" Her Stand appeared beside her. Giorgio and Sasha gasped at its appearance. Anne raised her hand, "Yeah, I'm not a Stand user either. What does it look like?"
"A man with a crocodile's head," said Giorgio. "Just like the Egyptian guardian of the Nile its named after."
"Ooh, not good."
Sprig couldn't see it, but Sobek was right in his face, growling at him with a hungry smile. He showed no fear as he said, "I can still take you on!" Sobek gave him a flick and he landed on his back.
"This is gonna be fun," said Beatrix as she dismissed Sobek. She returned to her beetle steed along with her soldiers. "I'll return at dawn for our battle. Later, soon-to-be losers!" The beetle took off, leaving the humans stunned, Grime nervous, and Sprig indifferent despite being flicked.
"Guess I should've brushed up on toad law," Grime said with a nervous chuckle.
"YOU IDIOT!" Giorgio shouted. He summoned DARE, who gave Grime a punch in the face. Then he clanged Grime's armor, making him scream in pain.
"MY EARS! TURN OFF YOUR STAND!"
"JoJo, let me handle this," said Sasha. Giorgio dismissed DARE and she shouted to Grime, "You just bet... the whole rebellion... ON A CAGE MATCH?!"
"And put Sprig's life down as collateral," shouted Anne.
"Knowing he's not a Stand user," shouted Giorgio. "Cosa stavi pensando?!"
Sprig said with confidence, "Meh... I'm pretty sure I can take her."
"WHAT?!" everyone shouted.
"I beat Grime and I'll beat her too."
"You barely beat me while on Crazy Train," said Grime, arms folded. "Arena matches are a different beast."
"Grime, you were a gladiator," said Sasha. "Can you show Sprig the ropes?"
"I don't need fighting lessons from Grime! He can't even stop Beatrix from giving him noogies!"
Grime got up in Sprig's face and said, "Fine with me! Have fun batting the toughest toad in Amphibia!"
Sasha's hair and eyes glowed in response to her anger and she shouted, "ENOUGH! I am making a decree." Anne took out a pencil and paper and wrote down what she said. "I hereby order Grime and Sprig to go spend the night training. If they decide to pout like babies instead, they'll be banished... FOREVER!" Her hair and eyes stopped glowing as she said calmly, "Or at least until the war starts."
"Tough but fair," said Anne. "Your co-signature." Sasha signed down her name in emojis. "It's official! Happy training, you two."
"We still got a problem," pointed out Giorgio. "How is Sprig supposed to fight Beatrix's Stand if he can't see it?" An idea began to form in his head and he smiled wickedly. "Can't see it, eh?"
"JoJo," Sprig asked, a little scared by that smile.
"I got an idea. I just need her approval," Giorgio said as he ran inside.
"Wait," Grime shouted. "Whose approval?!"
"Whatever it is, it's not your problem right now," said Sasha. "You two have to go training now. Now shoo, shoo!"
"Boooooooo," shouted Grime.
"This is so unfair," complained Sprig.
Somewhere in the forest, Grime and Sprig walked side by side, grumbling at each other. "Alright, I don't like you and you don't like me, but can we please try to let bygones be bygones?!" shouted Grime.
"NOPE," Sprig responded. "You've extorted my town for years, imprisoned us when we fought back, and tried to kill my Hop Pop!"
"Oh yeah?! Well you haven't exactly been great to me either! I know it was you who put poison ivy on my codpiece."
"YOU TRIED... TO KILL... MY HOP POP!"
"HE WAS... A POLITICAL... LIABILITY!"
Sprig exhaled and said, "Okay. This is getting old." He climbed up on Grime's head. "Guess you might as well teach me your 'special' toad tactics."
"We actually do call them special toad tactics, so sarcasm denied."
"DANG IT!"
Cue the training montage.
First, Grime lifted two buckets full of water like they were barbells. Sprig tried to do the same. Needless to say, he failed spectacularly.
Next, Grime used his tongue to smash a rock. Sprig tried to repeat him, but all it did was result in his tongue getting stuck to his rock.
Finally, Grime wanted him to punch Sprig in the stomach. The poor frog ended up hurting his hand. Then he got hurt even more when Grime punched HIS stomach and he crashed into a tree. "I said tense your abs," said Grime. "Tense them!"
Sprig shook his head and groaned in frustration. "This isn't working."
"You think? Your small frog body is too frail for traditional toad conditioning."
Sprig hopped down and said, "Then maybe I don't need to fight like a dumb toad."
Grime growled, "Say 'dumb toad' again."
"Dumb toa-" Grime slammed his shoulder into Sprig before he could finish his insult. "That's it! I'm outta here. I'll figure out how to beat Beatrix on my own!"
Grime shouted as the young frog hopped away, "No, you wont!" Then he said to himself as he folded his arms and smiled, "And now it won't be my fault when you get maimed." He sat on a stool in silence. And then he shouted at the world, scaring away some birds, "HOW DID I LOSE TO THAT BRAT?!"
Meanwhile, Sprig was practicing his punches and kicks on a tree stump he carved to look like Beatrix. He stopped when he saw something gold leaking out of it and gave it a lick. "It's honey!" The sound of buzzing made him look up. Crawling out of the stump were creatures that looked like a fusion of a bee and a hyena. They surrounded him and he exclaimed, "Oh, crud! I'm smack-dab in the middle of a hybeena nest!"
The hybeenas snapped their jaws at him, but suddenly, Grime appeared and punched two of them away. "Grime? How did you find me?"
"I heard your shrill, annoying yell from across the forest."
"Hurtful, but okay."
The hybeenas attacked again. Grime grabbed one in a headlock, while Sprig charged up his Ripple. He hopped on one hybeena, shot another with his Ripple-infused slingshot, then slapped mud on another's face before kicking it away. And then it exploded for no apparent reason.
Grime was impressed. "That speed. It's actually impressive." And then the hybeenas stung him all at once. Ignoring the pain and the poison flowing in his body, Grime's rage took control as he summoned Toxic Avenger. He pummeled three of them while Toxic Avenger sprayed its acid at six others.
Sprig was impressed. "Whoa."
Together, the two of them used their skills to scare away the hybeenas. By the time the creatures returned to their nest, they were exhausted. "Good battle," said Grime as he dismissed his Stand.
"Yeah. We whooped their little bee booties," said Sprig.
"I gotta say, you pack a lot of speed and accuracy in that tiny body," Grime complimented. "And your use of the nearly forgotten art of Ripple is amazing."
"And you," Sprig responded in kind. "You took that hit and gave it back to them twofold. How'd you do that?"
"Toads are trained from a very young age to let rage give you strength," Grime explained. "It funneled correctly, it can be a secret weapon!"
"Wow, that's pretty cool."
The two of them sat in silence for a second as realization set in. "Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you," said Sprig.
"Yes. And I think maybe I've been training you all wrong," said Grime. "Instead of molding you into the perfect toad, I should be focusing on your strengths as a frog. Speed, agility, being annoying."
"Well, Grimothy, wanna give this whole thing another shot?" Sprig held out his hand.
"Indeed," said Grime as they shook hands. And then he growled, "But call me Grimothy again and I'll eat you alive."
"Wow," Sprig chuckled.
"Remarkable," said a voice. Funny Valentine stepped out from behind a tree. "The last time a frog and a toad has worked together was a thousand years ago. Perhaps the division will become a union again after so long."
Grime's eyes widened. "Another human? Anne, Sasha, and JoJo said nothing about another human."
"That's no ordinary human," Sprig said with anger. "It's Funny Valentine!"
Grime stared. Then he laughed. "But he's a human! Funny Valentine is a newt!" He stopped when D4C appeared behind Valentine and he immediately summoned Toxic Avenger. "Get behind me, Sprig!"
"Aw, you called me Sprig."
"Why are you here, Valentine?!"
"Apparently, the Speedwagon Foundation wants him to 'keep an eye on us'," Sprig air quoted.
"What's a Speedwagon Foundation?"
"Relax," said Valentine. "I come bearing a gift." He held up a bottle with a green liquid.
"What is that," asked Grime.
"Antidote."
"For what?"
"For the hybeena venom you just got injected with."
Grime scoffed. "I'm perfectly fine."
"You say that, but in fifteen minutes, you'll look like this." Valentine held up a picture of a frog bloated and swollen. "And in the next fifteen minutes...well..."
"What," asked Sprig. "What's gonna happen to him?"
"In scientific terms, go boom." Grime blinked, then immediately grabbed the bottle and guzzled down its entire content. With that, Valentine turned to leave. "I'll let you resume your training."
"Hey, get back here!" Sprig chased after him, but he was already gone. "I hate it when he does that! Stupid interdimensional traveling Stand!"
"Forget him," said Grime. "We need to focus."
First, Grime wanted to test the power of Sprig's Ripple. Sprig charged up his Ripple and gave Grime a punch, its energy flowed into him and sent Grime flying with a bang.
Then, Sprig was to attack without Ripple. Using his speed, he grabbed the heavy buckets with his tongue and flung them at a boulder, smashing it to pieces. Grime was impressed. "Hachi machi!" And then he grunted when Sprig headbutted him and sent him flying into a stump.
"Grime! Are you okay?" asked Sprig, concerned.
Grime got up and said, "Impressive. You're...not ready."
"WHAT?! After all that, I'm still not ready?!"
Grime sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, you don't stand a chance against Beatrix, not unless you have a Stand of your own." He shuffled his foot in the ground. "Even my Toxic Avenger is no match against her Sobek."
Sprig then realized something, "So, all this training, it was all pointless?!"
"No," said Giorgio as he approached the two. "Not pointless. You CAN beat her."
"How did you find us," Grime asked.
"Funny Valentine told me where to find you."
"And you...trust that man," Grime asked suspiciously.
"No. But, that's not important right now." Giorgio said to Sprig, "There's no such thing as an invincible Stand. And if you can't beat the Stand, beat the user."
"But how can I beat her if I don't have a Stand?"
Giorgio smiled and for a moment, Sprig saw the resemblance between him and DIO. "I got you that secret weapon I told you about. She's willing to help."
"Who's 'she'?" asked Grime.
"She" stepped out from behind Giorgio and Sprig smiled in delight.
Later that day, the arena had been built and the audience was packed with toad and frog spectators. Sasha led a cheer with some of the Resistance members. "Kickin' butt and takin' names, we're the school they call Saint James!" They formed a pyramid perfectly. Though Hop Pop had a question for her, "You didn't even rewrite the song?"
"I'm very busy, Hop Pop!" Unfortunately, this caused her to lose balance and she and the rest of the cheerleaders toppled over.
At the Grub & Go, Anne placed American football padding on Sprig for protection. "Here you go, bud. Looking intimidating."
"Is the secret weapon ready," Giorgio asked. He was met with silence. "Ahem!"
"You told me not to talk," said Ivy's voice.
"This isn't going to work," Grime said.
"Sure it will," assured Giorgio. "All Ivy has to do is use Invisible Touch on herself and stay on Sprig's shoulders. That way, she can help him avoid Sobek's attacks."
"But won't she be suspicious when he does that," Anne asked.
Giorgio smiled mischievously again. "She said she wouldn't fight fair, so why should I?"
"How does her mom feel about this?" Sprig asked.
Ivy said, "She says that if I help you win, I'm not grounded."
Sprig entered the ring, ignoring the boos from the toads and the cheers from his fellow frogs. The cage was lowered and Beatrix chuckled as she summoned Sobek. "Don't worry, little frog," she said. "I'll make this quick."
"We'll see who's quick," he replied.
Polly clanged Frobo like a bell and shouted, "Begin match!"
Sobek raised his fist and tried to punch Sprig. Sprig felt a pinch on his left cheek and jumped to the left, avoiding the punch. Beatrix's eyes widened. "What the..." Her eyes narrowed. "Lucky. Sobek, smash and flood the earth!"
Sobek punched into the ground, causing an earthquake that nearly made Sprig lose balance. A torrent of water shot out and almost sprayed him in the face, but he managed to avoid getting hit. Sobek hit the ground again causing a wave of rocks and gravel to get flung at the young frog, but he used his legs to hop over it. Sobek raised his hand, and a bunch of arrows appeared behind it. It gave the "Open fire!" hand sign and the arrows rained down. Sprig felt Ivy pinch his cheeks, telling him where to dodge them.
Suddenly, one of the arrows grazed Ivy's arm and she let out a yelp. Beatrix saw the blood and lashed her tongue out at it, grabbing Ivy right off Sprig's shoulders. Invisible Touch's power was cut off and Ivy reappeared in Beatrix's hand. "I knew it! You cheated!"
The toads in the crowd booed and made inappropriate hand gestures. Anne fired a Calamity beam in the sky, silencing them. "You said you wouldn't fight fair," said Giorgio with a smirk. "So I figured we fight on equal ground."
Beatrix growled, then dismissed Sobek and threw Ivy out of the ring. "Fine! If that's how it's going to be, we'll do it the old fashioned way! No Stands, no outside help! Oh, and by old fashioned way, I mean BRUTALLY!" She grabbed her personal weapons, a pair of axes shaped like the wings of a death's-head hawkmoth, and swung them at Sprig, who quickly dodged them.
"Can't dodge every hit!" Beatrix shouted. Sprig took out his slingshot and fired berries at her. "All that speed, but no strength behind it. This is why you don't stand a chance!" And then he did something that surprised her: using his tongue as a swing, he kicked her square in the face. "What the-" Sprig began to hop and swing around the ring, leaving Beatrix unable to catch up with him. "I've never seen this before. From frog or toad."
"That's because it's frog and toad!" Sprig swung down and repeatedly kicked and punched Beatrix in the face, shouting, "KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO, KERO!"
Beatrix quickly recovered and spat out blood. "Impressive, but you forget one thing." Sprig kicked her again, but this time she grabbed him and pulled him into a bear hug. "We toads love a good wrestle!" He let out strained sounds as she squeezed him tighter.
The frogs gasped in shock. "SPRIG!" called out Anne. Giorgio's fingers drummed nervously.
Beatrix sneered at him, "Looks like you've let everyone down, frog, surprising no one."
Just when Sprig thought he was going to pass out, he remembered Grime's advice. Let rage give you strength. If you funnel it correctly, it can be a secret weapon. He took a deep breath, activated his Ripple, then he let his anger take control as he pushed himself away from Beatrix, much to her confusion. How is he this strong, she thought.
And then, he slammed his head into Beatrix's, knocking her out cold. Everyone gasped, then cheered as Polly rang Frobo and shouted, "Sprig wins! Sprig wins!"
The cage was lifted and everyone in the Resistance ran up to Sprig to raise him up. Sasha applauded while Anne said, "That was amazing, dude!"
"Well, I couldn't have done it without Grime's training," said Sprig.
"Dang right," said Grime. And then he laughed and said, "No, I'm totally kidding. Great job, Sprig." He grabbed the young frog and gave him a playful noogie.
Meanwhile, Giorgio called out, "Alright, whoever bet that Sprig would lose, cough up your dough!" All the toads grumbled and placed their money in a bag in Giorgio's hand. He chuckled to himself, "Easiest money I ever earned."
"AHEM!" coughed Beatrix loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. "I have to admit, that frog-toad fighting style really was impressive. Perhaps our armies united will be stronger as well." She turned to Sasha and said, "Commander, I pledge my troops to fight for the Resistance." Sasha smiled and made a bow of gratitude.
Hop Pop said, a little surprised, "Wow! Who would've thought? Frogs and toads on equal footing."
Grime then made a grin and said, "I know this undercuts the lesson, but it's too good to pass up." He pointed at his sister, danced around her and sang, "You got beat by a frog! Beatrix lost to a frog. A puny little-" He stopped when she punched him in the head, knocking him out cold.
"Okay. See you when the war starts," Beatrix said with a wave.
Everyone bid her goodbye and told her to drive safe.
Dragging the money bin and an unconscious Grime back to the Plantar Family Tunnels would have been a difficult feat without Giorgio's strength. "You have done well bringing the frogs and toads together." Funny Valentine was sitting at the war table, beer in hand. "But there is still one more group of amphibians you must bring before the army can be complete: the newts. Though, I suspect this will be difficult since most of them work under Andrias."
"That won't be a problem," said Giorgio. "The newts are just as oppressed as any frog or toad. They serve Andrias out of fear. They want to be freed from him just as much as anyone else. All they need is a little incentive to convince them to join our side."
"And how do you plan to do that," Valentine asked as he set his drink down.
"We haven't figured that out yet. Also, you can't be here. You may be trying to help us, but you're still a bad guy."
Valentine sniffed, then said, "Very well, I'll leave. But I'll be back." He laid down on the table, then DFC appeared and pulled him into it.
"Where did he go," asked Hop Pop.
"Back to Earth, probably," said Anne. "To tell the Speedwagon Foundation about our progress."
"I hate that guy," said Sprig.
"Me too."
⬅ To be continued...
Stand: Sobek
User: Beatrix
Power: A
Speed: A
Range: C
Durability: A
Precision: A
Potential: E
Ability: Has the power to cause earthquakes, and control water, even in gaseous form. It also can produce arrows and fire them at will. As a side effect of using this Stand, its user develops a craving for raw meat.