Another day in the Resistance. People were going about their businesses, or training and planning more attacks on Andrias' forces. Joan Jett had finished her training and found Sasha in the war room. "Where are Anne and the Plantars," she asked.

"They're off finding more volunteers for the Resistance," said Sasha. "And Grime is off training. So, JoJo and I have the place to ourselves. Sort of."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Have you noticed that he's been acting weird lately? I mean, more than usual?"

Sasha thought it over, then said, "Well, now that you mention it..."

Flashback time!

Sasha recalled going on a training date with Giorgio at the shooting range, but instead of firing his pistol sword, he stared blankly into space.

Then there was the time they went on a dinner date, and the same thing happened. He didn't even respond to Sasha poking him with a fork.

At movie night, Giorgio did not eat his popcorn, nor did he even notice the bag spilling.

And finally, there was the time he was found mumbling in a corner, ignoring everyone until he got an onion in his face. He had no recollection of what happened.

"Something is definitely wrong," said Sasha.

"Where is he now," asked Joan Jett.

"It's daytime; he's still sleeping."

"We need to have a word with him when he wakes up."

As evening came, the two of them waited for Giorgio to come out of his room. They didn't have to wait long; when he stepped out, he looked terrible. His hair was messier than normal, and his eyes were bloodshot and baggy. He moaned as he shambled past them like a zombie before collapsing. Sasha ran up to him and shook him. "JoJo! Snap out of it!"

He looked around, confused, then yawned. "Sorry. I'm having trouble sleeping recently."

"We noticed," said Joan Jett. "It's starting to concern everyone."

"Maybe you just need some more blood," said Sasha. "Joan Jett, can you get him one of those eclair grubs?"

Giorgio shook his head. "I'm not hungry. I'm just having weird dreams lately, but I can't recall them."

"Maybe you need to see a professional," said Joan Jett.

"So," said Maddie. "You're having trouble sleeping and you don't know why."

Giorgio, sitting in a therapy couch, nodded. "And it's starting to impede my duties."

"Luckily for you, I happen to have a potion that can interpret dreams." Maddie held up a bottle with a blue liquid in it.

"This isn't going to have nasty side effects, is it?"

"Probably."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, PROBABLY?!" Before Giorgio could protest any further, Maddie poured the contents into his mouth and he passed out.

"Now, let's take a look at what he's dreaming." A blue cloud came out of Giorgio's nose and formed above his head. An image began to form, but at first, it was unclear. As the image focused more, Maddie realized what she was looking at. A swarm of ants crawling about here and there. "What the frog...?"

Then, she thought she heard a woman's voice. "Hurry! Come to us! They're coming! Our home is in danger!"

Maddie was disturbed to say the least.

"I have no idea what I was looking at," she said to Joan Jett and Sasha once the session was over. "It looked like ants calling for help."

"Ants," questioned Joan Jett. "That is strange. Maybe he's had too many bugs."

"So, what does it mean," asked Sasha.

"I don't know," said Maddie.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE A PROFESSIONAL!"

Giorgio rubbed his forehead. "Please, keep it down. That potion is giving me a headache. Anyway, I think I know what the dream is telling me now."

"You do," asked Joan Jett.

"Yes. It's a call for help. And it also means we can get some more allies for the Resistance. The barbari-ants."

Joan Jett looked at him like he had grown two heads. "Barbari-ants?! Those bugs EAT amphibians! Why would they want to help us? And for that matter, how do you know what they're saying?"

Giorgio rubbed his forehead again and said, "Well, several months ago, Anne, Marcy, the Plantars, and I had to deal with an infestation of barbari-ants threatening to invade Newtopia. These particular ants were in possession of Alien Ant Farm, a colony Stand that controls the bodies of anyone it invades. Unfortunately, I got careless and became part of the hive mind and would have killed my friends if Marcy hadn't destroyed the queen and drove off the rest of the colony."

"So, why are you having these dreams," asked Joan Jett. "The queen's death should have destroyed the Stand."

"You forgot a rule about Stands: when a Stand user has offspring, the offspring has the potential of being Stand users as well. If the workers survived, then one of them has a potential of becoming a new queen, which means Alien Ant Farm is still alive. I think, now this is just a wild guess here, the reason why I'm hearing these dreams is because there's an echo of the hive mind lingering in me."

"So what do we do," asked Sasha. "We can't have you having nightmares before the war with Andrias."

"Well, I don't see any other way, Sash. We have to answer the call."

Joan Jett and Sasha looked at each other. "Meaning?" the former asked.

"We're going to have to go to the barbari-ant nest."

Joan Jett laughed. "Are you kidding me? That's suicide! They'll eat us alive!"

"Their nest is under attack by Andrias' forces," said Giorgio. "They HAVE to accept our help."

"And why would they?"

"Because it's not just amphibians that are under Andrias' oppression, but all of Amphibia's plants and animals as well. Look outside! The sun is gone, the air is becoming unbreathable, and water is becoming polluted. If we don't stop Andrias, this will be the fate of not just Amphibia, but all the worlds he will conquer."

Sasha said, "He's right. As much as I hate to admit it, we have to help these ants."

A flabbergasted Joan Jett said, "You're crazy! You're both crazy. Maddie, tell them they're crazy!"

"You're crazy," said Maddie. "But I think you should go for it."

"WHAT?!"

"JoJo does have a point about Amphibia dying. We need all the help we can get. But just in case..." Maddie reached into a chest and pulled out some small bags. "...you might want to carry these in case things go south."

"What are these," Giorgio asked as he opened one, only to get a blast of a white powder in his face.

"Those are bags full of cordyceps fungi. This stuff can wipe out whole colonies of ants."

Giorgio blinked once then said, "I'm gonna go wash this stuff off my face before we go."

Giorgio, Sasha, and Joan Jett took Joe Sparrow and traveled to toward the Dry Swamp. "This isn't a swamp," gasped Sasha as she wiped her brow. "It's a freaking desert!"

"I know," said Joan Jett. "That's why they call it the Dry Swamp." She turned to Giorgio and asked, "Are you sure this is where they're going?"

Giorgio rubbed his temples in pain and said, "Positive. The colony is close by. Joe, land down here."

Joe Sparrow obeyed and the three of them hopped off. With Giorgio taking the lead, they headed onward into the desert. They were thankful that they remembered to bring lots of water for this trip. They didn't get far before they felt a presence.

"And what do you think you're doing," asked Funny Valentine as he appeared from behind a rock. Seeing this, Joan Jett snapped at him, "None of your business. And if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from me."

"We're going to get help from the barbari-ants."

"I SAID IT'S NONE OF HIS BUSINESS, JOJO!"

Valentine's eyebrows widened. "And you're just going to walk right to their nest? That's suicide."

"It's exactly what they said," replied Giorgio, gesturing to Joan Jett and Sasha. "But I can't ignore the call."

"Ah. You were possessed by Alien Ant Farm at one point."

"What do you know of this Stand," Sasha asked him, keeping a hand on one of her swords and Slash at the ready in case he did any funny business.

"Let's see...Alien Ant Farm is among one of the first recorded Stands in Amphibia history."

"Wait, seriously? Just how old is this Stand?"

"Ancient. It came to be when the meteor carrying the virus that grants creatures Stands landed on an ant nest. Instead of killing them, like it would most cases, it instead granted the ants Alien Ant Farm, enhancing their intelligence and granting them the power to assimilate any creature into their hive mind. Assuming they don't eat them first."

"And with each new queen and colony, the Stand grew," said Joan Jett. "But that doesn't make any sense! Only one Stand per soul, that's the rule of Stands."

"Perhaps the collective consciousness makes the entire colony act as a single soul," said Giorgio.

Something moved under the sand near her. "Hmm?" A giant ant popped its head out and shrieked, startling her. Before long, five more ants appeared, surrounding the group.

"A scouting party," said Valentine as he pulled out a pistol knife.

"I knew this was a suicide mission," Sasha shouted as two ants charged at her, only for her to fend them off with her swords and Slash. Giorgio winced in pain. "Huh? JoJo, what's wrong?"

"It hurts."

Joan Jett jumped back to avoid getting bitten by two more ants and then summoned Cherry Bomb to plant explosives on their heads and set them off. Giorgio grabbed his head and screamed in agony. "Stop it! Stop it!"

"JoJo?" Joan Jett failed to see the last ant sneak up on her. Valentine shot it once in the head and it collapsed. Joan Jett glared at him. "What? You expect me to say thanks for saving me?"

"No, and I don't expect one."

Giorgio was on his hands and knees at this point, crying. Sasha ran up to him and helped him up. "We hurt," he muttered. "We hurt."

"JoJo, what's gotten into you," she asked.

"It's Alien Ant Farm," said Valentine. "Its hive mind is responding to these scouts' pain. And since JoJo became assimilated to it months ago, he's responding to it as well."

"Great," said Joan Jett. "So we can't kill these ants without hurting JoJo as well. Good grief, this is unnecessarily complicated."

"Maybe we should go back," said Sasha.

"No," shouted Giorgio. "They need our help! We have to push forward! Besides, the night terrors won't stop until we do."

"Very well," Sasha said reluctantly. "We'll just avoid attacking any more barbari-ants if we run into them."

After a long trek, avoiding sinkholes, antlions, camel spiders, and desert scorpions along the way, the group finally reached the ant nest. It was a large mound surrounded by trees with skeletons hanging from them. "Well, that's one heck of a welcome sign," said Sasha.

"Where are the guards," asked Joan Jett. "You'd think a bunch of ants would be prepared to attack intruders this close to their nest."

"No need," said Giorgio. "They know we're here thanks to Alien Ant Farm's connection with me."

"So, when are they - AAAHHH!" Sasha let out a scream when a pair of mandibles popped out of the ground and pulled her in. Before anyone could rescue her, they were pulled in as well.

"Well, you wanted us to go to the nest, here we are," snarked Joan Jett as the ants picked the group up with their mandibles and carried them down the tunnel. "Where are they taking us?"

"Most likely to the breeding chamber, where we'll get eaten by the new queen," said Giorgio.

"Great."

Valentine's watch beeped. "Well, my time is up. I have to get back to Earth."

"Wait, you're just going to leave us here," snapped Joan Jett.

"I have to. I'm still monitored by the Speedwagon Foundation, and if I'm not back, they'll extend my sentence. That and they got a Stand user that will forcibly pull me back to Earth if I don't return."

"Hey, you have a Stand that lets you travel dimensions, I'm surprised you're not doing whatever you want with it," said Sasha.

"That's because I'm not like Andrias. I'm not a petty tyrant. This is where I get off. Good luck. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap." Valentine's Stand appeared and pulled him and itself into the ant's head, much to its surprise and confusion.

"Good luck my... WAH!" Joan Jett didn't get to finish her sentence as she, Sasha and Giorgio were tossed down a hole. They tumbled down and came to a stop after landing in a room with green slime on the floor. "Ew, I'm still recovering from going in Mother Olm's body," complained Sasha as she wiped her face clean.

Joan Jett looked around. There were slimy green pupae glued to the floor, walls and ceiling, and barbari-ants were tending them. In the center of the room was one great, big, fat ant with a huge ovipositor popping out eggs. "I think we just found the queen and the breeding chamber." All the ants immediately turned their heads in the trio's direction when they heard her speak. "Uh-oh."

A Stand materialized above the queen, one that Giorgio knew all too well. A colony of ants taking the shape of a single humanoid ant. Alien Ant Farm. "An amphibian and two mammal things," it spoke in multiple voices. "And one of them, We recognize. You fought us back at Newtopia."

"Yeah, I still have nightmares about that."

"Why have you come," Alien Ant Farm demanded.

"I'm asking that myself," said Joan Jett to herself.

"We're here to save your colony," Giorgio shouted. "The echo of your hive mind sent out a distress signal in me, telling me you are under threat from Andrias' forces!"

"We have had trouble with the salamander king's forces...but we do not need assistance from outsiders," Alien Ant Farm replied. "We lived in Amphibia long before there was a kingdom! Let Andrias have his fun! For when that's when we feast on the corpses of what's left behind and we will take back what is ours!"

"That's stupid," Sasha shouted. "There's not going to be a home for you if you just sit here and wait!"

"SILENCE!" All the ants chittered furiously. "You wish to help us? You can by joining our colony!" A small swarm broke off from Alien Ant Farm's main body and crawled their way toward the trio. They tried to fend them off with their Stands, but were quickly overwhelmed.

"I did not come this far to become an ant," Sasha shouted as the swarm crawled up her face.

"Thanks a lot, JoJo, for leading us to our doom," snapped Joan Jett. "Before I get assimilated, the last thing I will do is punch a thousand bombs on your face!"

"Feel free," said Giorgio. "I won't stop you."

But before they could get taken over, the whole nest shook violently and a couple of scouts came in, each of them carrying a piece of Alien Ant Farm with them. "There is a monster approaching the nest! We tried to fight it off, but its hard, clanging skin is impenetrable! It is still heading this way! We will all be exterminated!"

"Clanging?" asked Sasha. "What do you mean, clanging?"

The trio looked walked out the nest with a couple of scouts to see what the problem was. At first glance, they thought it was a giant praying mantis wearing full body armor slowly making its way toward the nest. But then they took a closer look. "That's not a mantis," exclaimed Sasha. "It's a tractor robot!"

"That plough it's carrying is what's causing these tremors," said Giorgio. "Sasha, we've got to stop it before it destroys the nest!"

One of the scouts gave him a questioning look. "You would help us after what we've done? Why," Alien Ant Farm asked.

"Because Amphibia is your home just as much as it is the amphibians'. If we don't stop that..." Giorgio gestured to the tractor. "...no where will be safe."

"What do you ask in return?"

"Help the Resistance of Wartwood," said Sasha. "Help us fight Andrias!"

"We of the colony could not defeat Andrias, amphibians couldn't either."

"Alone, maybe. But together, we might stand a chance," said Joan Jett. Even if you are creepy as fuck, she thought.

The scouts clicked and chattered amongst each other before Alien Ant Farm spoke, "Save Our colony and We will consider it."

"Well, now that that's taken care of, what do you want me to do," Joan Jett asked Giorgio.

"Stay with the colony. Protect the queen, keep any falling rocks from hurting her and her babies." He turned to Sasha. "Ready?"

Sasha ignited her powers. "Ready, JoJo."

The two of them flew up to the robot and landed on its back. "The engine should be just under its abdomen," Giorgio shouted.

"Hurry up," Sasha shouted back. "It's getting closer to the colony!"

With his vampiric strength, Giorgio punched his fist into the metal plating and began to peel it off. The tractor, feeling itself being ripped open, turned its upper body around and swung its claws at the two humans. Sasha blocked and counterattacked with her swords and Slash.

Down in the nest, the ants trembled in fear as the tunnels began to shake even more as the tractor got closer. The queen covered her eggs and larvae with her body while the workers tried to keep rocks from falling down. Unfortunately, one large boulder worked its way loose and was about to fall on the queen, but Joan Jett summoned Cherry Bomb, who punched the boulder and placed sticker bombs on it, shouting, "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!"

All the bombs set off, turning the boulder into harmless pebbles that bounced off the ants' heads.

Giorgio managed to peel open the metal plating, revealing the inner workings underneath. Sasha locked blades with the tractor's claws, then had Slash slice off its head. Giorgio meanwhile pulled out the wires and circuits. Then he saw the power source: the unfortunate frog who was being used as a living battery. The pleading look in his eyes said it all. Giorgio complied and fired at him with the pistol sword, putting him out of his misery.

The machine ground to a halt, just a few feet away from the nest. Giorgio and Sasha breathed a sigh of relief. They glanced at each other and...

Why did they do it? Was it the adrenaline rush, or was it the feeling of elation? Whatever the case, the two of them shared their first kiss right there. It only lasted a few seconds before they broke away. They stared at each other, blushing in shock. "D-Did we just...?" asked Giorgio.

"Yep," said Sasha. The two of them stood there in silence. "Why does this still feel scary?"

"I don't know," Giorgio replied. He shuffled his feet nervously before saying, "We should get back to the colony."

"Yes, lets!"

They returned to the queen's chamber and reunited with Joan Jett. "How's the queen," Giorgio asked.

"Everyone's safe and accounted for."

Sasha approached the queen and said, "Alright, we saved the colony, what is your answer? Will you join us?"

The ants chattered with each other before Alien Ant Farm appeared above the queen. "We have heard your truth," it said. "We will fight by your side. Barbari-ant and amphibian. Together."

The group bowed to the queen. "Thank you," Sasha said.

The trio, along with Joe Sparrow, returned to the Resistance base where they found Anne and the Plantars. For some odd reason, they were wearing white robes with flower patterns on them, and completely barefooted. "There they are," shouted Sprig with glee.

"Where the heck have you three been?" Anne demanded.

Giorgio looked at the robes and said, "I could say the same. I thought you guys were looking for recruits."

"We did," said Polly. "But we joined a cult instead."

"What," exclaimed Sasha.

"One that was run by Jerry the beetle under the control of the zombie mushroom Gary," said Hop Pop. "They tried to kill us but we saved them from a bunch of Andrias' robots! And the cult is now on our side."

"There's more," said Sprig. "There may be a female zombie mushroom out there and it's the one Andrias is using to create the Infected. We're hoping to reunite her with Gary."

"Dang, I wish we could have gone with you," said Sasha.

"So, what happened with you," Anne asked.

"Let's see...we got the barbari-ants to join our side," said Giorgio.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Hop Pop. "Those giant ants that ate Sprig?!"

"I still have nightmares," said Sprig cheerfully. "How'd you do it, JoJo?"

"Long story short, we saved them from a giant tractor robot."

"And they kissed," said Joan Jett. Sasha and Giorgio screamed internally as she smirked and said, "Oh, yeah. I saw."

Anne and Sprig let out squeals of joy. Polly groaned and dragged the two of them away. "Let's go, you two."

"So...are you keeping those," Joan Jett asked, pointing to Hop Pop's robes.

"Nah, we'll be back in our normal clothes," he replied. "Shame though. I kinda like the way it lets the breeze blow between my legs."

Joan Jett made a face. "Good grief. We didn't need to hear that."

⬅ To be continued...