"I don't know why you asked me to come with you," said Johan as he and the others rode on Bessie. "I've got work to do regarding the Bearded Dragons."

"Well," said Hop Pop. "You need a break from all these gangs, also I need someone to take care of the kids."

"Still, you could have provided better entertainment," Johan said as he gestured to Anne and the kids, who were watching an old detective movie on her phone.

He could make out the narration coming from the phone, ""There I was, about to split the case of the century wide open. The person behind it all was right behind this chair, and it was my job to deliver justice with my fists."

The frogs were impressed with what they saw. "Aren't these old detective films the greatest? It's like a normal movie, but no one talks out loud and everybody loses in the end."

"I love it," said Hop Pop. "Just a hard-boiled guy tryin' to right wrongs, without any of that fancy color nonsense getting in the way."

"Hop Pop, shouldn't you be focusing on driving?" Anne asked, taking note of the huge traffic pile up behind them.

Hop Pop turned left, much to the relief of the angry, impatient drivers and came to a stop. "All right, kids. We're here."

The kids gasped at what they saw. A large, shiny building with a sign that read "Newtopia Arcade". "An arcade?!" they exclaimed.

"Totally worth it," said Anne.

"You're the best Hop Pop who ever hopped," said Polly.

"What? No, no, no. We're going there." Hop Pop pointed to an old, worn down deli with a sign that read "Sal's Wartwood Style Sandwiches". The kids booed at him until he slapped them in the face with a newspaper. "Shush, youngsters. Have a little respect. This is Sal's. Sal was like a brother to me. We've been friends since the old ways were just 'the ways.' He was so good at making sandwiches, he decided to relocate to Newtopia to make the 'buko dolares.'" He made a dreamy smile. "Oh, kids, how I've dreamed of those sandwiches. That lightly toasted bread, the fresh green lettuce, the thin yet supple slices of roast beetle, and finally... the sauce. Tangy, zippy, and just plain amazing. Oh, lordy!"

Johan gave the old frog a weird look. "How come we've never heard of him if you two were close?"

"Well, we kinda lost contact with each other after he moved to this city."

"Are you sure it's Sal you miss or the sandwiches?" jokes Anne.

"Zing!" laughed Sprig.

"Hush," snapped Hop Pop as he and the others hopped off Bessie and approached the deli. "I promised myself if I ever made it to Newtopia, I'd swing by for one of those sweet, sweet sandies. Now, come on, gang, who's ready to revisit the glory days?"

Anne, Sprig and Polly winced and glanced at each other. "Hop Pop, this looks really important to you. And the three of us would never want to get in the way of something so person..."

Hop Pop gave his grandson, granddaughter and Anne the stink eye. "You wanna go to the arcade, don't ya?"

"YES!"

"And what about you, JoJo?"

Johan pointed a thumb at the kids. "Well, someone has to keep an eye on them."

"Hey! We don't need a babysitter," snapped Sprig.

Hop Pop exhaled in defeat. "Fine. Play your newfangled games. But it's that attitude that's causing tradition to be left in the dust..." Anne, Sprig and Polly took off running before he could finish his sentence.

"Well, this is where I get off. Here," Johan handed Hop Pop his old gun. "Just in case." And with that, he left to get in line.

"Man, this is a long line," said Anne.

"Maybe it'll go quickly," said Sprig.

Three hours later, they hadn't moved from their spot. "Kill me," groaned Polly.

"Maybe we should have gone with Hop Pop after all," said Johan. "Anything to get us moving again."

"NO!" shouted Anne defiantly. "We're not going to Hop Pop's old fashioned deli! Trust me, JoJo! This will be worth the wait!" Suddenly, a newt boy cut in front of Anne. "Did y'all see that? We just got cut."

"Eh, what are ya gonna do?" said Sprig, bored and uncaring at this point.

"Not like it makes a difference at this point," said an equally bored and uncaring Polly.

"Are you kidding? We have to say something."

"I don't know, Anne. Isn't it just better to let this one go?"

"Yeah, Anne," said Polly. "He's beneath us."

Anne groaned in frustration. "JoJo! Use your Stand on this punk!"

Johan said, "I'm not using DARE on some kid just because he cut in front of us. Polly's right. He's not worth it."

"Guys, this isn't just about cutting. This is about justice, doing the right thing. And... Huh? Was that Hop Pop in a tuxedo?"

Johan and the kids looked across the street and saw that was indeed Hop Pop in a tuxedo walking by. "Okay, now I'm convinced we should have gone with Hopediah."

Anne grabbed his cheeks and hissed, "RESIST!"

"Fine! I won't go with him! What do you wanna do to pass the time then, huh?!"

Sprig thought it over, then snapped his fingers. "I know! Tell us more about your familia!"

"Really? You want to learn more?"

"Yeah, we like hearing stories about the gang before the gang."

"Ditto," said Polly.

Johan exhaled. "I guess I could. Here's the story of Zio Leone Abbacchio. Before joining Passione, Zio Abbacchio became a police officer after graduating high school. This was due to his strong sense of justice. But soon after becoming a cop, his lifelong dream, Zio Abbacchio realized there were many contradictions that came with the job. The police are supposed to risk their lives to save the lives of others, while those people they were risking their lives to protect were the ones who were stealing, injuring others in hit-and-runs, and throwing rocks at cars, breaking their windshields. It was a thankless job. The masses were unappreciative, demanding, and irresponsibly discredited and insulted the police, asking, 'What are the police even doing?!' Even if the police risked their lives to arrest criminals who were lower than scum, the law for the masses was rather lenient as long as they had money, and they would be released."

Anne scoffed. "How could they say that? He was doing the best he could!"

Giorgio shook his head and said, "Sometimes, the best is not enough for people." He continued his story, "Eventually, Zio Abbacchio started to learn from these contradictions. One night while on patrol, he came across a man working with a prostitute. The man, a pimp, said that he and the girl were just trying to help the girl's father repay his debts, and quietly handed Abbacchio some money as a bribe. Zio Abbacchio was conflicted as to whether or not he should accept the money, but reasoned with himself that the streets are full of people like him and even if he did send the man to jail, he could easily pay off the lawyer and judge to get out, and that he was still protecting the streets by accepting the money."

Giorgio paused when he realized the people in line were listening in. He continued, "One night, Zio Abbacchio and his partner received a report that a robber broke into a shop. To his surprise, the robber was the pimp who bribed him, and he'd already shot the shopkeeper. The pimp played it cool and tried to tell him to let him go, but he decided he would not let him go this time. The pimp got angry and told Zio Abbacchio that if he gets arrested, he'll tell everyone he's been taking bribes. In that moment, Zio Abbacchio hesitated. Seeing that he lowered his guard, the pimp then pulled out a gun. But Zio Abbachio's partner pushed him out of the way and shot the pimp, but he died in the process."

Anne and Sprig gasped. "Oh, man," said the latter.

"For Zio Abbacchio, this seemed like the end of his life. Not only did he lose his job, but he allowed his partner to die because of his actions, and that was a cross he'd have to bear for the rest of his life. It was then that his body and soul plunged into darkness. No matter who died, or even if he lost a limb or two, his heart would probably never be moved again." Giorgio paused his story and smiled. "And then, one rainy night, a drunk Zio Abbacchio met the man who saved him from that darkness. His name was Zio Bruno Bucciarati."

"The OG!" Anne and Sprig said in unison.

"He said, 'Abbacchio, what's important isn't the end result, it's how you get there. Join my team. Don't die bound by your past.' Those words convinced him to join."

"What happened to him?" asked Sprig.

"Diavolo, the previous boss of Passione, killed him to prevent him from figuring out his identity. But Zio Abbacchio got the last laugh and helped his teammates beat Diavolo by using his Stand, Moody Blues, to record an image of his face and fingerprints."

Giorgio looked up at the sky. "Dad says Zio Abbacchio was a prick, had a no-nonsense personality, and seldom ever smiled. And he never really liked Dad. Hell, he tried to trick Dad into drinking a teacup full of his piss the first time they met. However, he also had a strong sense of justice, determinazione, loyalty, and honesty. I wish he was still alive. I could think of all kinds of pranks to pull on him." He shouted at the sky, "Hai sentito, Zio Abbacchio? Pagherai per quello scherzo del tè con la pipì quando andrò nell'aldilà!"

The newt boy who cut in line said, "I don't know what you said!"

Anne noticed something that immediately set her off. "HEY! YOU BROUGHT FRIENDS!?"

"You got a problem?" the cutter asked meanly.

"Oh, you think?! You know what you did, cutter."

The cutter let out a scoff. "Pfft. Who's cutting, weirdo?"

"Yeah, he was just savin' our spots," said one of his friends rudely.

Anne lost her temper. She was NOT going to put up with this. "Uh-uh. Nope. That is not how this works. That is not how ANY of this works." She turned to the people in line and asked, "Doesn't anyone else see this injustice?"

"Calm down, lady!"

"YOU CALM DOWN! JoJo! What are you waiting for?! Use your gunblade on him! Or your Stand! Or something!"

"Anne, just drop it," said Johan. "They're not worth it."

But she ignored him and pointed to the kids. "Now, listen up. I'm giving you little twerps till the count of three to get to the back of the line, or I'll..."

The line cutters sneered at her. "Or you'll what?"

"Yeah, what?"

Anne chuckled. "Oh, ho-ho. News flash, kid. I'm not only a member of the notorious Passione gang, I'm also a monster from another world. I might eat newts for breakfast!" The kids gasped. "You wanna find out?" The kids' reaction was not what she was expecting. They started crying loudly. "Oh, no, no, no. Hey, hey, hey, don't cry."

Unfortunately for her, the people in line saw and heard everything. "Did she threaten to eat those kids?"

"Someone call security!"

It finally occurred to Anne that maybe she went a bit too far. "I think I just made a mistaaaaaake."

"Ahem." Everyone turned to see Diego Brando leaning against the wall of the building across the street.

"It's Captain Diego!" shouted one of the kids.

"Save us, Diego!"

Anne chuckled nervously. "Uh, JoJo, can you tell this guy this was a biiiig misunderstanding?" Silence was her response. "JoJo?" She and the Plantar kids looked around, but he was gone. "Unbelievable! He ditched us!"

"COWARD!" shouted Polly.

Anne had only enough time to let out a scream as Diego tackled her to the ground.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP US IN HERE!" shouted Polly as Diego literally threw her, Sprig and Anne into a jail cell. "I have my rights! You forgot to say I have the right to remain silent!" She was about to attack Diego only to be kicked into Anne's arms.

"You DO have the right to remain silent," he snarked. "What you lack is the capacity." And with that, he left the cell block.

Anne exhaled. "Arrested again. Should have seen that coming."

"Yeah, you should." Anne, Sprig and Polly looked to see Johan accompanied by a prison guard. "You're lucky I paid bail."

"I never doubted you for a second, JoJo," exclaimed Sprig.

Anne scoffed. "Way to throw us under the bus like that."

Johan said as the guard opened the cell door, "Sorry, but I knew I wouldn't be able to bail you out if I was arrested as well. Besides, Diego and I aren't exactly friends. He would have definitely beaten the crap out of me a lot worse than he did to you." The three of them left the cell and followed him out. "By the way, the arcade owner says you three are banned indefinitely."

"Yep. Should have seen that coming," said Anne.

With nothing left to do, the kids decided to wait for Hop Pop outside the arcade building, which was now closed for the night. Speak of the devil, the old frog returned, still wearing the fedora and carrying a bottle of sauce. Most strangely, he now had a black eye. "Hey, kids. Play any newfangled games?" he asked.

"Actually they banned us for life," said Sprig.

"It was Anne's fault," said Polly.

"Because I was willing to stand up for what was right," said Anne. Johan gave her the stink eye. "Alright! I threatened to eat some kids and Diego Brando beat me up. Anyway, I was right, and that's that."

"How 'bout you, Hopediah?" asked Johan. "You enjoy those sandwiches?"

The old frog chuckled. "Not exactly." Looks like I had quite a tale to tell. Quite a tale, indeed.

The kids looked at Hop Pop as he stared off into space with a smirk, concerned. "Hop Pop?" asked Sprig.

"Anyone home?" asked Polly.

Oh, crud. Did I not say that out loud? I guess that's the funny thing about narrating. You're talking, but you're not talking, you know?

Anne waved a hand in front of his face. "I think Hop Pop's broken."

Kids can you hear me? Is my mouth moving? Am I gonna be stuck like this forever? Help me, oh, frog!

Johan exhaled. "Don't worry. I got this." He summoned DARE, who pressed a finger into Hop Pop's head. The old frog's eyes went in different directions, drool started to spill from his open mouth and he fell to the ground, babbling like an idiot. "Don't you just love the anesthetic touch of my Stand?"

Hemisphere Hotel

"So let me get this straight," said Johan. "You thought Sal was assaulted by the Bearded Dragons, but it turns out he actually shut down the deli and started a factory to sell the secret sauce to the public."

Hop Pop, who was sitting and drooling in a chair, slurred, "Yesh..."

"I think you gave him too much anesthesia," said Sprig.

"I like him better this way," said Polly, who poked Hop Pop in the eye and laughed at his unresponsiveness. "He can't feel a thing!"

"My life is a Shtand-induched nightmare!"

Johan thought out loud, "Maybe we can use Sal as an asset in Passione. Use his sauce factory as a front. Not to mention, he could use protection."

Hop Pop's eyes widened when he heard that. "You leave Shal out of thish! He'sh an honesht man doing an honesht work! He doeshn't need to be involved in mob buisshnessh!"

Johan said, "Think about it. At some point or another, the Bearded Dragons are going to find out you're friends with him and may use him as a hostage. He's going to need protection from our gang."

Hop Pop thought it over, then said, "Fine. But pleashe, don't get Shal involved in any violenche! Beshidesh, he'sh already got one body to remove from a vat after I tried to break him out." He looked away, embarrassed. "At least, I think the poor guy'sh shtill alive."

Johan chuckled. "You had one heck of an adventure, Hopediah. Now I really wish I had gone with you."

"For some odd reason, I do too," said Anne.

"Ditto," said Sprig and Polly in unison.

To be continued ➟