The group ran through the coaches, panting. "There's no end to this," Hop Pop shouted.

"We have to reach them," said Sprig. "There can't be this many coaches!"

"The engine has to be close," said Sasha. "It has to be close!"

"It's like it has no end," said Johan. "There HAS to be an end!"

"STOP," shouted Hot Pants, making everyone ground to a halt, panting heavily. She stood up and said, "Don't you see? We've already fallen into the enemy's trap!"

"What trap?" asked Grime.

"Look." Hot Pants pointed behind her, showing a trail of flesh foam. "I made that just in case we got lost."

"So?" asked Hop Pop.

"Look." She pointed ahead and to everyone's shock, they saw the same flesh trail. "WHAT," exclaimed Polly. "You mean to tell me we've been walking back and forth in the same coach for fifteen minutes?!"

"This has got to be the work of a Stand user," said Sprig. "We just gotta find the user and beat the frog out of him!"

Johan said, "That won't be necessary. We already met him. It's that train conductor. You saw the way he disappeared. As for the Stand itself...I think we're walking in it."

Everyone gasped in realization. "The train is the Stand?!" exclaimed Sprig.

"Talk about being in the belly of the beast," said Joan Jett.

"For a Stand to be seen by normal people, it has to give off a lot of energy. I'm not surprised," said Johan. "Signor Polnareff once told me about the time he, my Joestar relatives and their friends faced an orangutan whose Stand took the form of a freighter ship. And the time they faced a Stand that took the form of a shapeshifting hot rod." He looked around. "And if this train is anything like the orangutan's freighter Stand, don't touch anything. They all might come alive and try to eat us!"

"You're starting to sound like Hop Pop," said Sprig.

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing," Hop Pop replied.

"If this whole thing is the Stand," said Grime as he summoned Toxic Avenger. "Then what if we just attack it?"

"That might not be a good idea," said Hot Pants.

"And why not?"

"Because we're going at a hundred and thirty miles per hour. If we destroy the Stand while it's moving, we're all going to end up like bugs on a window."

"So, we're stuck here," said Joan Jett. "I knew it. You walked us into another one of Valentine's traps, JoJo!"

"This time, we came prepared," said Johan. "Besides, he knew we'd be coming, he does have Anne and Marcy after all. We don't have a choice."

"Then let's find Anne and Marcy and get out of here," said Sprig.

"Well, Sasha," said Johan. "What are your thoughts?" His response was silence. "Sasha?" He turned around and gasped when he saw Sasha's hand start to sink into the floor. "SASHA!" He grabbed onto the hand and pulled. "Let her go!" Everyone rushed to his help and tried to free Sasha, but then a chandelier hanging from the ceiling suddenly swung down and slammed into the group and Sasha's hand was sucked in. "No!" Johan patted the floor, as if doing so would free her, but it didn't do any help. "Damn it! Not again!" he cursed, slamming his fist.

"The Stand user got her," said Hop Pop. "I knew this was going to happen! Now Valentine's got all three of them!"

"Sasha knew the risks coming here," said Grime. "I consider this a blessing in disguise, actually."

"A blessing," snapped Joan Jett. "How can this be a blessing?!"

"Because she's now with Anne and Marcy. She can lead them back to us."

"Heh, heh, heh," said an unfamiliar voice. "What makes you think that will happen?" The train conductor rose from the floor and grinned at them. "Mr. Valentine made it specific to keep you all from reaching the Calamity Girls. Your role as delivery boys and girls is over and you can step off the train!"

Everyone got in a battle stance. "What makes you think we're just going to walk away," asked Johan.

The conductor grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that." Suddenly, vines burst out of his clothes and covered the entire interior. "Behold, my power!"

The vines shot out, grabbed the group and pinned them to the walls. "What is this," asked Johan. "These vines...wait, the train isn't your Stand?!"

"Of course not! I'm not even the real conductor! Heck, I'm not even a Stand user! Stands are just a cheap trick to make weaklings like you stronger! This is my own magic power! And now it's ability has activated!"

Polly yawned. "Guys, I'm feeling sleepy..."

"Me too," said Hot Pants.

Johan noticed everyone was starting to shrivel up. "You're starting to look like mummies," he said, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"It's the perfect trap," said the conductor. "The pollen the flowers spray will put you to sleep while the vines drain you of your energy until you're nothing but withered husks barely clinging to life! That'll make it easy for me to lift you up and throw you off this train!"

Sprig said, "JoJo, use your Stand on him before we dry up!"

Johan said weakly, "It doesn't work on plants. And I can't reach my gunblade as I am now."

Joan Jett tried to summon her Stand, but even it was starting to shrivel up. "Even Cherry Bomb's being drained. Damn it."

The fake conductor laughed. "Who needs Stands? Not me!"

Grime whispered something to Hop Pop, who gave him a look that said, "Seriously?!" Grime said, "Just do it!" He swelled up his throat sack and let out a burping croak, creating a gas bubble. The conductor laughed. "Ha! Really? A burp? You really have lost it, Grime. And to think you were once a gladiator champion!"

"When you're a gladiator, you don't rely on brute strength alone," said Grime. "You must also strategize. NOW!"

Hop Pop yelled, "Kids, all together before we lose strength! Ripple Cutter!" The Plantars took a deep breath, then fired Ripple charged spit balls at the bubble, making it pop. A yellowish green gas was released, causing all the vines to shrivel and burn, freeing their captives. The conductor let out a scream as the gas burned him. "WHAT IS THIS?!"

"Just a burp. You know, a gas bubble," said Grime. "Which come from the stomach, which has an acid to digest food. Normally, stomach acid is harmless, but when added with Toxic Avenger, it becomes like sulfuric acid! All it needed was something to pop it. Thank you, Hopediah."

"Don't think this makes up for trying to feed me to a plant," Hop Pop said.

The conductor screamed in rage and reached for a hidden gun. "Frog this! I'm gonna-" Whatever he was going to do, nobody knew, as Grime grabbed Barrel's Warhammer and slammed it into his body, sending him flying out the window.

"That was pretty easy," said Sprig as his body regained strength. "Hoo! I feel a whole lot better now." He looked around and saw everyone return to normal. "Thank frog. You were starting to look older than normal, Hop Pop." The old frog gave him the stink eye.

"It only gets harder from here," said Hot Pants. "From now on, we have to be on our toes."

Grime picked up the hammer and slung it over his shoulder. "Then we better hurry before Sasha and her friends run into trouble."

"Guys, there's still one question I want to know," said Sprig. "If that guy wasn't the real conductor, who is?"

So, what happened to Sasha? Well, she tried to warn them that the floor was eating her, but it was too late and she fell into another room. "Ow," she groaned. She got back up and looked around, then gasped when she saw Anne and Marcy lying in beds. "Girls!"

"Sash!" cried Anne and Marcy.

She quickly ran up to them and gave Marcy a hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you," said Marcy. "I'd hug you, but I can't!"

"It's so good to see you too," said Sasha. "Wait. You can't? Why?"

"Anne and I can't move! We're paralyzed by chickalisk venom, and there's no anti-venom!"

"Excuse me," said a soft, unfamiliar voice. Sasha turned around and saw a small blue frog wearing an engineer's cap and overalls. In his hands were two needles. "Mr. Valentine asked me to bring you the antidotes."

Sasha pointed one of her swords at him. "Who are you? One of Valentine's goons?"

The frog sadly said, "No. I'm one of his prisoners, like you. Here," he handed Sasha. "For your friends."

She immediately snatched them and ran to Anne and Marcy. She injected them with the anti-venom and made a cheerful smile. "Hey, girlfriends! Good to see you!"

Anne started to feel again and started to rise up. "You too," she said, a little confused.

Marcy, upon feeling the anti-venom kick in, immediately got up and ran to give Sasha a hug, only to fall flat on her face. She got back up and squealed with delight, "Aah! Sasha! Sasha! Sasha! Sasha!"

Sasha returned the hug and said, "Hey, Marmar! Whoa! Check out your new threads!"

"Speak for yourself, look at that armor! How did you find us?!"

"Simple. We heard you got kidnapped and tracked you here."

"We?" asked Anne.

"Oh, yeah, I'm with Grime," said Sasha. "Along with JoJo, the Plantars, Hot Pants, and Joan Jett. We're all here!"

"Grime is here too?" Anne grabbed her tennis racket and pointed it at Sasha. "There has to be another reason why you're here!"

"Actually, there is. I'm here to say..." Sasha paused before saying sincerely, "...everything that happened at Toad Tower was my fault."

Anne almost lowered the racket when she heard that. "Really?"

"Yup. It was wrong of me to put your frog friends in danger. And doubly wrong of me to push you around."

This time, Anne did lower the racket. "Oh. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. But, where is this coming from?"

"When you have nothing," said Sasha as she rubbed her arm. "You have a lot to think about. I told the same thing to JoJo. He's willing to forgive me for now. I just hope you are as well."

Anne didn't respond. Marcy said, "Come on, Anne! She came all this way to save us! Doesn't that say anything?"

Anne still didn't respond for a few more seconds. Then she put the racket away. "I guess if JoJo is willing to forgive you, I am too. For now."

"Great," said Sasha. "Now let's get out of here."

"Right this way," said the blue frog, gesturing to the door.

"And why should we believe you," Sasha asked. "We don't even know your name!"

"My name is Jones, and this is the only exit. Trust me, I've been on this train for a long time." He showed them the exit and the girls went through the doorway. He looked on as the door closed.

"Listen," said Sasha as they passed through the coaches. "We have to be very be careful here. This whole train is a Stand. I know because the floor ate me. It's how I found you girls."

Anne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Of course it's a Stand."

"So, how do we find our friends," asked Marcy. "They could be anywhere on this train and all these rooms look the same!"

"I don't know," Sasha admitted. "But maybe if we find the conductor, we can get him to lead us to our friends and Funny Valentine."

"That won't be necessary." Valentine slowly rose from the floor in front of them. "I'm here." He held up a bottle. "Root beer?" Sasha made Slash appear and it sliced the bottle, spraying its contents all over him. He groaned, "Do you have any idea how expensive pink silk is?"

"Don't care," growled Sasha. "So...you're Funny Valentine." She chuckled as her pink hair and eyes shone brighter. "You saved me the trouble of beating the crap out of you!"

"Sash, don't!" But Anne's warning came too late. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap appeared, grabbed both Sasha and Slash and held them down on the ground. Slash tried to reach out with its sword but D4C grabbed it too. Sasha squirmed and struggled to free herself, but she couldn't budge. "Are you done," asked Valentine. Sasha nodded. "You're not going to attack me if I let you go, are you?" Sasha didn't respond. "Fine. I'll just keep you here until I'm done explaining."

Valentine got up, his Stand still holding Sasha and Slash down, and said, "I am not the real enemy you seek. I am trying to prevent a great disaster that will destroy Amphibia from the inside-out. A disaster that can only be prevented by taking the first napkin before anyone else, even before the ones at the head of the table."

"What is this guy talking about," asked Sasha.

"He wants to control Amphibia's fate," said Marcy. "And he wants to use our powers to do it."

"But if I'm to to do that, I need to gain your trust."

"Gain our trust," snapped Anne, outraged. "How can you gain our trust?! You stole the music box, destroyed the only way to charge it back up, and nearly killed JoJo!"

"Wouldn't you have done the same, Sasha?"

"Never! I would never destroy the only way back home!"

Valentine raised an eyebrow. "Yet you still tried to kill Johan."

Sasha flinched, then said, "Okay, yeah, I did. But ever since then, I've come to regret it!"

Valentine stared at her, then dismissed D4C. "We'll see," he said. "Now, in order to gain your trust, in order to show you who the true villain is, I must put you through three trials. Think of them as my own version of the temples of Wit, Heart, and Strength. The first has begun."

The room suddenly shifted and the girls and Valentine suddenly found themselves in a room with computers and technology leagues ahead of what was on Earth and light-years ahead of what was on Amphibia. In the center was what looked like a frog-like computer with a lever sticking out of the head. All over the floor were skeletons of frogs and all over the walls were propaganda posters saying things like "I hate Nate!", "Floyd is bad!", "Vote Kevin for Leader!", and other such bad mouthing.

Anne recognized this room right away. "This is the robot factory!"

"Robot factory," asked Sasha and Marcy, the former confused and the latter excited.

"Remember Frobo," Anne asked. "This is where he was born! Only, there weren't any frog skeletons."

"That's because this is a different one," said Valentine.

"Different one? How many of these factories are there?"

"Not important right now," Valentine dismissed. "This isn't the real factory, but the work of a fellow Stand user, whose ability is called Thanks For The Memories. It allows the user to create illusions based on a dead person's memories. Perfect for solving crimes. Now, Marcy," he said to the Chinese-American girl. "You represent Wit, the brains. For you to pass this trial and pass into the next room, you must solve a murder mystery. Why did these particular frogs..." he gestured to four particular frogs lying next to the factory's entrance with a ball of light floating above them. "...die? Solve the puzzle and you will come close to learning Amphibia's true history. Take your time, but not too long." With that, Valentine sunk into the floor before any of the girls could stop him.

Marcy was amazed. "A robot factory?! I mean, this is the greatest find ever! Oh, I wish it was the real thing! I could stay here for days!"

"I don't understand," said Sasha. "All this time, I thought this was a fantasy world, but a robot factory? Something's not right."

"That's what JoJo thinks too," said Anne. "He thinks Andrias might be hiding something."

"Andrias? The king?"

"Guys," said Marcy a little too quickly. "We don't have time to make theories right now, as much I want to. We have to get out of here and chase after Valentine!"

"And how do we do that," said Sasha. "These bones aren't going to talk," she said. Curious, she walked over to another skeleton that had a ball of light above it and gave it a tap. Suddenly, much to her surprise, it took the form of a female frog carrying a bowl of grubs."

The frog said, "I have to get this to my little tadpole. He gets cranky when he's hungry." Then she disappeared.

"What was that," said Sasha. "A ghost?!"

"No," said Marcy. "Remember what Valentine said? This is a Stand that recreates memories of dead people. That was the dead memory of that particular frog."

"So, wait," said Anne, getting creeped out. "In order to solve the mystery, we have to touch these memory balls?" She looked around. "But not all the skeletons have them."

"Well," said Sasha. "He wanted us to focus on these particular frogs," she said, pointing to the four skeletons. "So, let's start with them."

Sasha gave the ball of light floating above the four a tap and to her surprise, it took the ghostly form of five frogs that with sunken in, tired eyes. In all honesty, Sasha had never seen anyone look so utterly defeated.

The frogs spoke.

"Are we really gonna do this? It's open. We could just leave."

"I couldn't. Not after that."

"We don't deserve to leave."

"'A shining example.' That's what it called us."

"But we were! We did what we were supposed to."

"Not by a long shot."

"Anybody would've done what we did."

"You ask me, that's exactly the problem. Now let's get on with this."

"I'll go first."

"Wait. Wait. People should know what happened. They could learn from it."

"If there's anyone out there at all, I hope they never have to find out. Ready, Harry?"

"Yeah."

One of the frogs, Harry, pulled out a gun and pointed it at his friend.

"No no no, wait!" Before Harry could shoot him, the hesitant frog pulled out his own gun and fired his four friends. Then he exhaled in defeat, dropped his gun, and left the factory. The memory ended, and the girls were left stunned.

"Well," said Sasha. "That wraps up the mystery. One guy killed the other four."

"No," said Marcy. "Didn't you hear Valentine? He wanted to ask why they died. There's more to this story."

"So, we gotta find more of these memories?" asked Anne. "Oh, great. So, what do we gotta do first?"

Marcy looked around. "Well, let's see. That computer terminal seems to be working. Let's try looking at its files."

"Ah, I wouldn't do that," said Anne. "When Sprig messed around with the computer factory we were in, it tried to kill us!"

"I'm with Anne, Mar-Mar," said Sasha. "We shouldn't mess with this stuff."

"If you two have another way to get out of here, I'm all ears." Neither Anne nor Sasha replied. "Alright." Marcy cracked her knuckles and typed away on the keyboard. "Hmm. According to these files, the people who lived here were a group of settlers who stumbled upon the factory by accident. Then they decided to make it their new home and established their own government system and then..." She shook her head. "I can't read anymore, it's been corrupted."

"Well, that explains the propaganda," said Anne, gesturing to the posters on the walls. "And from the looks of it, somebody clearly didn't like these people. I mean look at them, 'I hate Nate!' 'Kate is a traitor!' 'Don't vote for a loving father like Henry, vote for an adulterer like Mike to be the leader!'"

"Why would they vote for a guy who cheats on his wife to be leader of this place," asked Sasha.

"Maybe if we find more memories," said Marcy. "We might find out."

After searching the main chamber and finding no memories to search, they decided to split up and search the rest of the factory.

Anne entered an auditorium, probably meant for speeches and plays. There were at least two memories floating in the air. She walked onto the stage and tapped one. This one took the form of a frog that wore a military uniform. "My name is Henry Glover. I'm a devoted husband and father of six beautiful children. My oldest, Sam, was on the honor roll this quarter, and I couldn't be prouder of him. My youngest, Henry Jr., just said his first word, and it was 'Da-da.' We've got this bond already and he's still just a baby. Friends, when you go to the polls this election, I want you to think of your own children. Then I want you to think of Sam and Henry Jr. Picture their faces. Nate Stone should be leader, not me."

"Why would he not want to be leader," Anne asked herself. "That should be the coolest thing ever." She went over to the second ball and gave it a tap. It took the form of a frog with messy hair and wearing a pair of blue overalls. He said in a desperate, agitated voice, "This is Nate Stone and... This is ridiculous. I shouldn't even be a candidate. And I wouldn't be if it weren't for all the dirty backroom politics going on around here. It's sickening. You should all be ashamed."

Anne was confused. "Wait. Was that Nate? So, nobody wants to be leader?"

Meanwhile, Marcy found another computer terminal, this one for the security program. She typed on the keyboard and found a report from a member of the Amphibian Dignity Bloc named Tart. "Due to the tragic events of the past few days, the Coalition of Voting Blocs has unanimously decided to postpone the election for leader pending further investigation into the murders. Your security team wishes you to know that they are working tirelessly day and night to find the perpetrator, and are already following up on a number of promising leads. God willing, if the killer is apprehended swiftly, we may have found a promising new candidate for leader."

Marcy was speechless. "WHAT?! Who in their right mind would want to vote for a murderer to be leader?"

Meanwhile Sasha entered a room with the words "Ordinance" written above the door. She opened the door and found herself in a room full of futuristic sonic cannons, plasma launchers, and laser swords. And like in the previous room, there were a bunch of skeletons on the floor. "Wait," she said. "What's all this sci-fi stuff doing here? I thought this was a fantasy world, like the kind Marcy likes. But this..." She tried to pick up one of the swords, only for her hand to phase through it. "Oh, right. I forgot. This is a memory," she said, annoyed. Still, she was curious about one thing. "Why would anyone stock up on all these weapon for?"

She saw a computer monitor nearby and turned it on. On the screen was an open message. "This is Kate Stone, your leader. Effective immediately, the traditional selection process for leader is hereby ended. In lieu of a yearly election, a citizen will be chosen one month prior to the start of his or her term with our mainframe's random number generator, ensuring complete impartiality and fairness."

"Fairness?" asked Sasha. "What happened with the previous voting system?"

She found another memory ball and tapped it, transforming it into two frogs. One was wearing a fancy suit and tie, the other wore a military jacket. They both looked very rattled. The frog in the suit spoke first.

"She can't do this"

"It's done. We're done."

"Nothing's done."

"She's got the authority. The only thing she can't do is change her own fate. Nothing says she can't change the selection process for future leaders."

"I say she can't."

"You shouldn't have toyed with her like that, Roy."

"We still have the majority."

"We don't vote for anything anymore."

"I'm not talking about voting."

"What, then? You want to have a sit-in? A hunger strike?"

"Not exactly."

"Maybe march into her office with torches and pitchforks?"

"Yes."

"Come on."

"I mean it."

"What, start a revolution?"

"Laws don't outlast their governments."

"Roy, all we have to do is wait until someone from Justice Bloc gets picked for overseer. Then we have them change the law back."

"There won't be any blocs after the new leader is picked tomorrow. Everyone's going to move on. By the time we've reformed, who knows if we'll still be in the majority."

"We can hold the bloc together."

"You don't know that. Besides what if the computer picks you? What if it picks me?"

"And your solution is to start shooting?"

"Not if we don't have to. Look, we arm up. We go to the lower floors, we take some strategic targets. Power, food, water. Just until she turns authority to us."

"The other blocs won't support it. They're tired of us having the power."

"We have the majority. We don't need them."

"This isn't a vote, Roy. They'll fight back."

"They've never had the nerve."

"Hell of a way to test it."

The memory ended and Sasha was left wondering again, "What happened here?"

The girls returned to the main chamber and presented their evidence. "So, after the group settled in, they began a voting system for who will be the new leader," said Anne. "But judging by all these speeches and propaganda posters, no one wants to be leader. So, something bad must happen to the leader."

"And it looks like whoever is voted for leader were bad people," said Marcy. "Who in their right mind would vote for a convicted killer?"

"But she did become leader," said Sasha. "She even changed the voting system so that the leader's names would be chosen by a random lottery."

"'She'?" asked Marcy.

"Yeah. I got a recording of two frogs talking about her. They didn't like the change she made and they tried to start a revolution so they would be in control. Only it ended in this," said Sasha as she gestured to the skeletons on the floor.

"But it still doesn't explain why that one frog killed those four other frogs we found at the entrance," said Anne. "There's more to this."

"We haven't explored the lower floors yet," said Marcy. "We can find more answers there."

Exploring the lower floors, the girls found more skeletons, more weapons and more propaganda posters. Marcy wanted to inspect the weapons, wondering how such futuristic technology could even exist in this world and if Andrias should know about it, but as with Sasha, she couldn't interact with them, much to her disappointment. Eventually, they came across a room that read "Prison/Interrogation Room" above the door.

Inside was a couple of rooms converted into prison cells, a bathroom, and more ammunition. In one of the cells was a memory ball. Anne touched it and it took the form of a female yellow frog wearing green overalls. She was sitting on the cot, as if waiting for someone. Another frog, a male frog in a blue suit, came in the cell, pulled up a stool and sat in front of her. Then he took out a pen and paper to take notes and said, "Okay, let's pick up where we left off, Kate."

"Katherine," the female frog said suddenly.

"Sorry, right. Katherine. I keep forgetting."

"My husband calls me Kate."

"You were telling us of a discussion you allegedly had with Roy Gottlieb of the Justice Bloc."

"Not allegedly. Had. We've been through this."

"It's still just your word against his, Ms. Stone. But please, the discussion."

Katherine sighed. "He said my husband's name had come up in their meetings."

"The candidate endorsement meetings?"

"Yes. They were going to endorse him. He wouldn't say why, but I know my husband had a regular poker game with some of them, and he'd been on a winning streak lately."

"And according to you, what did Mr. Gottlieb offer?"

"He said he could sway his bloc. Prevent the endorsement. But only if I..."

"Only if you what, Katherine?"

"Only if I..."

"Only if you performed sexual favors."

"Yes."

"Was this just for Mr. Gottlieb?"

"No. All the bloc leadership. Their friends."

"And you agreed."

"What else could I do? They had a majority."

"How long did this go on before the endorsements came out?"

"I don't know. A month, maybe."

"And when they came out, and your husband was endorsed despite your supposed agreement, was that when you decided to kill members of the bloc?"

"Yes. I thought, their majority is pretty slim. If I thinned things out a little, especially in the leadership, someone else might get elected."

"Assuming you weren't caught."

"No, Mr. Miles. I expected to be caught. That was my best chance. Now they'll elect me."

"A confessed murderer? You think voters would be willing to risk putting you in charge?"

"They have to pick somebody and live with their reasons."

"Yes, but-

"Wait and see."

The memory ended and the girls were left speechless.

"Wait, Stone," said Anne when they returned to the main chamber. "That's the name of one of the candidates! Nate Stone! Katherine was his wife!"

"No duh," said Sasha. "So, let's review what we've learned so far. The Justice Bloc were clearly the ones in charge, and they decided to make him the leader of the factory all because he was a better poker player. And clearly something bad happens to the leader if they're using bribery to make sure they don't end up becoming candidates."

"But Kate was willing to do anything to save her husband's life, even..." Anne did not want to finish the sentence.

"And even after going through...that," Marcy said with a shudder. "The Justice Bloc still made Nate candidate for leader. So Katherine went on a killing spree, knowing that they would have no choice but to vote for her. And her plan worked! The first thing she did was replace the voting system with a lottery system so that no one would be victim of corruption like she was. Only, the Justice Bloc, realizing that their power was gone, started a revolution to change things back, but it ended in everyone dying."

"But it still doesn't explain the deaths of those four frogs at the entrance," said Sasha. "Are you sure you read all the files on the computer, Marcy?"

"Pretty sure. The rest of it is corrupt," Marcy replied. "Unless..." She went back to the computer and typed away. "Yes! This computer is connected to all the others! One of them is sure to have a complete, uncorrupted version of the files. Let's see. It looks like there's one in the basement."

"Oh, look at that," said Sasha as they entered. "More skeletons."

"There's the computer," said Marcy. She ran over to it, typed away on the keyboard. "Now, all I gotta do is read the files and..." She stopped to read the files. After a minute of silence, she turned off the computer and turned to leave the room, a look of horror on her face, leaving Anne and Sasha confused.

She continued to wear that horrible expression as they returned to the main chamber.

"Marcy?"

"Mar-Mar?"

Marcy ignored her friends as she sat down on a stool, trying to process what she just read. "Marcy, what happened," asked Anne. "What did you read?"

Marcy raked her fingers in her hair. "I know why nobody wants to be leader," she said in a low voice.

"What? Don't leave us in suspense," said Sasha.

"According to the files, when the settlers first came into the factory, the door shut and locked. As if things couldn't get any worse, the leader of the group told them that the computer came alive and told him that unless it was given a yearly sacrifice, it would kill them all. After he was 'democratically elected' as the first sacrifice, or rather, as the bearer of bad news, the other inhabitants forced him to go out of spite, the leader was elected every year by the people, and that leader would be the sacrifice. That's what started all this."

Anne and Sasha were horrified. "So, that's why no one wants to be leader," shouted Sasha. "At the end of the year, the leader is SACRIFICED?!"

"That's why Katherine was so desperate to save her husband," said Anne in realization. "She knew that if he was elected leader, he would be sacrificed, and that the corrupt Justice Bloc was the one responsible for it. So, she went on a killing spree, knowing that the inhabitants would want a convicted murderer to die. Because that's what they were doing all this time. They were voting for people to be sacrificed. But when she became leader, she changed the voting system to a lottery system so that everyone would have an equal chance to become leader. So that no one would have to endure what she and her husband went through, to put a stop to the corruption that took place."

"But she didn't count on how the Justice Bloc would react," Marcy replied grimly. "They started a coup that ended in a bloody revolution and everyone dying. All except those five frogs we saw at the entrance. And at the end of it, one killed the other four, for some odd reason."

"So, what was the reason," asked Anne.

Suddenly, the computer in the center of the chamber rose up, revealing a chair. An automated voice said, "Congratulations, martyr, your fantastic journey is only just beginning. Please sit in the chair. The show is about to begin."

"This is a trap," said Anne.

"Yeah, not doing that," said Sasha with Marcy nodding.

A gun popped out of the ground and pointed at them. "You have no other choice. You must sit in the chair."

"No," said Anne. The gun fired, barely missing her feet. "Okay, okay! I'll do it!"

"Wait," said Marcy. "It has to be me."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sasha.

"Trust me."

Marcy sat in the chair and the automated voice said, "Greeting, martyr, and welcome! If you're here now, it means you've been offered up as a sacrifice so that your community can continue to thrive. Currently, you may be feeling sad or angry. Perhaps you never got to have grandkids, or to enjoy the pleasures of a fresh cigar. But march with your chin held high, soldier, and remember that each of us has an important role to play. For some people, their role might be to heal the sick. For others, it might mean they will drive a racing snail, or fly a dragonfly. And some of us are meant to forfeit our lives for the good of the people. Sure, it might not be as fun as driving a racing snail but it's every bit as important. Let's take a moment to reflect on the moments that made your life worth living. Think about that time you kissed your steady girl for the first time under the bleachers at the big game. Or when you snuck out after curfew to catch that new play that your parents wouldn't let you see because it was too risqué. Boy, were they right! And who could forget when you met the love of your life. What a looker! These are just examples. Do you feel that feeling stirring in your chest as you think of these things? Good. What you are feeling is peace. You've led a great life - living it has been its own reward. But, it is only the beginning. Close your eyes now and imagine what joys await you in the next life - the afterlife. Can you see them? Good."

Suddenly, belts shot out of the chair and strapped Marcy to it. Then, more guns popped out of the floor and pointed right at her. "Uh-oh."

"Hold on, Marcy...ooh..." Anne trailed off as the computer sprouted arms with saw blades attached to them. "Saw it coming. No pun intended."

"I knew it," said Sasha, immediately activating her powers. "I knew that thing was going to attack us!"

While Sasha and Anne fought the computer, Marcy used the Spin on herself to contort her body and escape the binds just as the guns fired, missing her. Then she took out her die, used the Spin on it and flicked it at the guns, destroying them. Sasha and Anne meanwhile, grabbed onto the computer's arms and pulled them right out of their sockets. Sasha made the killing blow by summoning Slash and have it impale the computer's monitor, causing it to...bleed?

"What the...?"

The room shifted and changed back into a normal train coach and the computer transformed into a gray newt wearing a suit, with a hole in its chest. He coughed up blood and gurgled, "That's not how it's supposed to happen..."

"Is this the Stand user?" asked Sasha. Then she said, "Well, that was easy. We can move on."

"Not...yet," said the newt. "You haven't solved the mystery yet."

"Why bother?" asked Anne. "You're on the verge of dying. And you tried to kill us, so don't expect any mercy from us."

"Wait," said Marcy. "I can heal you, but only if you help us beat the trial."

The newt glared at her then said, "Alright. Fine. I'll cheat." He summoned one last memory ball. "Just tap it."

Anne tapped it and it took the form of the five frogs they saw at the beginning of the trial. One of them said to the image of the computer, "All right, I know you can hear me, so listen up. There's five of us left. Five. Out of... I don't know how many. So... it's over. We've talked and it's over. We're not going to send anybody to die anymore. So shut off our water or gas us or do whatever it is you're programmed to do. But we're done listening to you."

The five held a collective breath, and waited for the moment of their death, but it never came. Instead, an automated voice said, "Congratulations! You have made the decision not to sacrifice one of your own. You can walk with your head held high knowing that your commitment to amphibian life is a shining example to us all. And to make that feeling of pride even sweeter, I have some exciting news. Despite what you were led to believe, you and your people are not going to be exterminated for your disobedience. Instead, the mechanism to open the main door has now been enabled, and you can come and go at your leisure. But not so fast! Be sure to find out from your leader if it's safe to leave. Your safety is our number one priority."

The memory ended and the girls were left staring, trying to process what they heard. Then one of them let out a giggle. The giggle turned into a chuckle and before long, all three of them were laughing. "You mean to tell me," Sasha laughed. "That NOTHING would have happened this whole time?! If they had just said no from the start, all this would never have happened!"

"Unbelievable," said Anne, trying to control herself. "They were so desperate to cling onto their own cowardly lives, that they all died!"

Marcy calmed down a little. "Now I know why the four died. They wanted to die because they were so overcome with guilt, because they caused all their friends to die. But the fifth wanted to tell the story so that people can learn something from this. When they refused and tried to kill him, he killed them all first."

"There," said the newt. "You solved the mystery, now please-" BANG! The newt fell flat on his back, a bloody hole in his head.

"What the hell," snapped Sasha, at the culprit who killed the newt, revealing itself to be Valentine.

He blew the smoke out of his pistol and said, "He was going to kill you. I saved your lives."

"Save our lives," exclaimed Marcy. "He was barely able to stand!"

"Look again." Valentine pointed to the dead newt, revealing he was reaching for a knife. The wall opened up, then the floor tossed his body out the hole before it closed back up. Valentine continued as if nothing happened, "But aside from that, what did you learn from this experience?"

Sasha and Anne didn't know the answer. Marcy did. "That when you blindly listen to an authority figure without question, you're not really living. You're just living the way someone tells you to."

"Good answer," said Valentine. "You passed the test. The trial of Heart will begin soon. For now, rest. Consider it a reward." He turned to leave, only to stop and said, "By the way, there's something you ought to know. What you just witnessed didn't actually happen. It was all an illusion created by false memories. The truth is, the settlers all died when one of them made the mistake of pressing the self-destruct button without realizing it." The girls didn't respond as he left.

"We have got to get off this train," said Sasha.

"How," asked Anne. "It's not going to let us leave."

"Simple," said Marcy. "We beat these so-called trials, reunite with our friends and kick Valentine's butt! I mean, we've come this far, right? We've faced more dangerous things than this! Anne nearly got killed and eaten multiple times, Sasha tried to kill JoJo..." Anne and Sasha made an uncomfortable look when they heard that. "...and we're still here! We can stop whatever Valentine wants with our powers!"

"Marcy's right," said Sasha. "I hope. And our friends are counting on us to find them."

"Sure it's not the other way around," asked Anne.

"Nope. Besides. We need to be together for whatever comes next."

Newtopia's front gate. Diego Brando was about to leave on Silver Bullet when he stopped. Out in the horizon, he saw an army of toads, all armed to the teeth with weapons and in some cases Stands. He exhaled. "I FINALLY finished my work in Newtopia and am now ready to find those girls...and now this? Can't things get any more difficult? Toads. When will they learn?"

To be continued ➟

Stand: Thanks For The Memories

User: Cameron

Power: E

Speed: N/A

Range: A

Durability: C

Precision: A

Potential: C

Ability: Creates interactive illusions based on a dead person's memories, whether true or false.