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.
- Whoa! - Ooh!
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.
Just a hard-boiled guy trying to right wrongs,
without any of that fancy color nonsense getting in the way.
Hop Pop, shouldn't you be focusing on driving?
All right, kids. We're here.
An arcade!
- Totally worth it. - You're the best Pop whoever hopped.
What? No, no, no. We're going there.
- Ugh! - Oh, Hop Pop.
- Ow. - 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 "buco dolares."
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!
Whoa. Sounds like you need to be alone with this sandwich, HP.
- Ha-ha! Zing! - Hush.
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?
Hop Pop, this seems really important to you.
The three of us would never want to get in the way of something so person…
You want to go to the arcade?
Yes, please.
Fine! Play your newfangled games.
But it's that attitude that's causing tradition to be left in the dust…
Guess what, Sal.
It's your old pal Hope…
What the…? What happened here?
Sal! Sal!
Sal's trademark fedora.
But he never went anywhere without it.
Sal would never leave his shop unattended.
Something happened here, something bad.
This was foul play,
and it was my job to get to the bottom of it.
I just wish I had some kind of clue.
What's this?
Blood?
No, sauce.
People were always asking Sal for his secret recipe.
Offered to pay big.
But he said family tradition was more important than a few copper coins.
Heh. My kind of frog, who made my kind of sauce.
Hmm. Newtropolitan Gala, tonight, 8 p.m.
"Get the sauce"?
Looks like someone got tired of asking. Took his recipe by force.
Now all I had to do was follow the sauce to find Sal.
Follow the sauce. Find Sal.
You don't have to repeat me.
Sorry, sorry.
Man, this is a long line.
Maybe it'll go quickly.
Kill me.
Did y'all see that? We just got cut.
Eh. What are you gonna do?
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. He's beneath us.
Guys, this isn't just about cutting.
This is about justice, doing the right thing. And… Huh?
- Was that Hop Pop in a tuxedo? - Huh.
Oh, good heavens.
You guys should buy bug coin.
And then I said, "That's what boot straps are for."
D Man said you can't have it all d.
We don't see many frogs at the Newtropolitan.
You must be quite wealthy. What do you do?
- I'm a farmer. - No!
Farmerceutical executive.
Nice save.
Canapé? The sauce is to die for.
Die for.
Sal's sauce. And not on a sandwich.
He never would have stood for this.
One thing was for sure, Sal was in trouble and needed my help.
Ahem. Say there, sonny.
Would you mind doing a gentleman a favor?
Anything, sir.
Hoo, boy! Gonna need another round with extra sauce.
Say, where do we get that sauce again?
Frog cannot be here. Move.
Why? Afraid of what I might find?
There. Is health violation.
Oh, okay.
So, any chance you could direct me to your supplier?
There he is! That's the guy who stole my clothes and my tray.
You're gonna have to come with me, sir.
Okay, okay. Don't want any trouble!
Ha! Take that, you…
Looks like I hit a dead end.
Without a source on the sauce, or even an address, I was out of luck.
Well, that works.
But I had to hurry.
Whoever was behind this could be torturing Sal right now.
Brutalizing him. Maiming him. Tearing him a…
Whoa, whoa. Too graphic.
Sorry, sorry.
Finally!
Hey, guys, over here.
- Just let it go. - Are you kidding me with this?
You got a problem?
Oh, you think? You know what you did, cutter.
Pfft. Who's cutting, weirdo?
Yeah, he was just saving our spots.
Uh-uh! Nope. That is not how this works.
That is not how any of this works.
Doesn't anyone else see this injustice?
- Calm down, lady! - You calm down.
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…
- Or you'll what? - Yeah, what?
News flash, kid.
I'm a monster from another world.
I might eat newts for breakfast.
You want to find out?
Oh, no, no, no. Hey, hey, hey, don't cry.
- Did she threaten to eat those kids? - Someone call security.
I think I just made a mistake.
This was bigger than I could've imagined.
Whoever was behind this turned an old frog's family legacy
into a soulless profit machine.
Uh, can I help you?
Eh.
I had finally found the sauce, but where was Sal?
Oi! Who the heck are you?
Uh, who are you?
I'm the blooming floor manager. And you're trespassing, mate.
He was huge, ugly and probably hit like a truck.
Luckily, I knew a thing or two about fisticuffs myself.
Hold on. Do I?
Lucky shot. Wouldn't be so lucky next time.
One thing was for sure, the health inspector wasn't gonna like this.
But the health inspector was the least of my concerns.
I wanted answers.
And right before me was the big cheese who had them all.
The jig is up, villain. Now tell me what you've done with…
Sal?
Hopediah. It's been a long time, old friend.
So, you're behind all this! Of course.
You kidnapped yourself to steal your own…
Uh, hang on a sec.
Whoa, whoa.
Slow down. What are you talking about?
I went by the deli. It was ransacked.
Someone stole your recipe and sold it off to the highest bidder!
They were spreading your sauce on fancy food at a swanky gala.
Hopediah, this is my factory.
I sauce all the major events in Newtopia.
I don't believe it.
The Sal I knew was a sandwich man, through and through.
You know, it was a tough call.
The sandwich biz was dying.
I knew my sauce was a hit,
but nobody wanted it between slices of bread.
I was nervous at first,
but the change ended up being great for me.
Heck, I even retired that silly fedora.
Now, instead of making traditional sandwiches for no one,
I make just the sauce for everyone.
Turns out if you embrace change instead of clinging to the past,
you get a say in what the future looks like.
Heck, you can even bring some of the past along with you.
Thanks, Sal. You're a good frog.
Sorry for getting so carried away.
- I almost took it too far. - What? What are you talking about?
Boss, we just found a body in vat number three.
- What? - Oh, will you look at the time?
Got to go. Bye.
Hey, kids. Play any newfangled games?
- Actually, they banned us for life. - It was Anne's fault.
Because I was willing to stand up for what was right.
Hey! Hey! This whole thing is their fault.
Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to take a step back.
Oh, yeah, like you're really gonna Tase a kid…
Anyway, I was right, and that's that.
How about you, Hop Pop? You enjoy those sandwiches?
Not exactly.
Looks like I had quite a tale to tell.
Quite a tale, indeed.
- Hop Pop? - Anyone home?
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?
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!
Whoa.
Look at this place.
It's just like the outdoor mega mall from back home.
Sure. Anyway, since we only have a couple of days left in the city,
I figured we could spend the afternoon shopping for souvenirs.
Now get out there and buy anything you'd like!
For two coppers or less.
What? This ain't even enough for a candy bar.
Yeah, what gives?
Let's just use that sweet bling-bling from the king-king.
Oh, yeah. The royal credit card.
Nuh-uh.
Kids, souvenirs are only meaningful if you pay for them yourself.
- You could always try haggling. - Hag what?
You know, bargain with shopkeepers till they lower their prices.
You can do that? Oh, these newts aren't gonna know what hit them.
Wait, Polly! Don't actually hit anyone!
Ooh, exciting.
I guess I'd better get an item for Ivy, since we are an item. Heh-heh.
Who are you gonna shop for?
- My mom. - Your mom?
Yup. I figure if I'm gonna go missing in a different dimension,
- least I could do is bring back a gift. - Seems reasonable to me.
What? When did you? How did you?
Don't know. But isn't it perfect for Ivy?
It even whistles when you swing it.
Watch this…
- My pots! - Sorry, sorry!
Bill the king! Bill the king.
"Massage your tuchus the right way with this chair full of rumble bugs.
Your life will never be the ding-dang same."
Pfft! How good could it be?
Oh, my frog!
Now, this is for my mom, okay? The lady who gave me life.
So, we got to find something that's one-of-a-kind.
What does she like?
Antiques, butterflies, drinking tea…
Okay, well, how about this box of herbal tea?
Too ordinary.
- Giant butterfly taxidermy? - Too creepy.
This antique vase?
This broken antique vase?
Wait. Look over there.
Whoa. A butterfly teapot?
And it was made by a revered Newtopian artist?
Sprig, it's perfect!
Excuse me, how much for the teapot?
Sorry, it's not for sale.
What? No, 200 coppers. No, 600 coppers.
I will pay 90,000 coppers.
Anne, you have two coppers.
It's not for sale because it's the grand prize
in the market's annual Shopping Cart Smash & Mash Derby.
If you want the teapot, you should sign up.
You sure about this?
We don't even know what this competition is.
Sprig, it's the perfect gift, and this is the only way to get it.
- Nothing is gonna stand in my way. - Ha!
That's what you think.
Name's Priscilla the Killa.
Champion of the Smash & Mash Derby 20 years running.
- This is my daughter Pearl. - Hello.
And that teapot is mine.
Hey, Mom, how do you spell "winner"?
- Just put your name, sweetie. - Oh, yeah? Well, I'm Anne,
and I'm gonna destroy you in this derby thing,
as soon as I figure out how to play.
This is gonna be easier than I thought. See you in the ring, Mop Top.
- They seem confident. - Come on, dude.
We got to study up on this game.
So, teams of two push carts around and ram into each other.
If your cart tips over, you're out.
Other than that, anything goes. Sounds like my kind of game.
Is it bad?
What's that noise?
- Whoa. Polly? - Oh, hey. Like my new bucket?
That's got to be worth, like, 50 coppers.
- How'd you…? - Haggling, baby.
Turns out I'm a natural.
All you got to do is expose a shopkeeper's weakness
and then exploit it until they're on their knees begging for mercy.
Oh, look, bows.
Okay, focus. Let's go win that teapot.
First, we pick our cart, which should be pretty easy.
- Give me that! - Get your own cart!
Pass. This one's a C-plus at best.
Wow. You're really good at this.
Me, Sasha and Marcy practically lived at the mall.
So, I'm pretty much a cart whisperer.
Attention, all smashers. The Smash & Mash Derby is about to begin.
Oh, shoot. We got to hurry. Let's split up and find a cart already.
- But, Mom… - Ah, stop worrying, Pearl.
I've been the Derby champ 20 years running.
There's no way anyone else is winning that teapot.
That's not what I'm worried about.
It's your tail. It hasn't healed from your last derby.
Relax. I can beat these chumps without it.
Now, come on. Let's get out of here.
Very interesting.
- A tail injury? - Yep.
Don't know how that's gonna help us yet, but… Whoa, Polly.
Guys, meet Micro-Angelo, my private chauffeur.
Whoa.
Well, nice chatting with you, but I've got more haggling to do.
Okay, focus. Let's scope out the competish.
Tea pot! Tea pot! Tea pot!
It's okay, dude. We've got this. Look, even Hop Pop believes in us.
Hmm. Actually, I don't know what's going on there.
Yoo-hoo. Ready to lose?
Players, on your marks…
Get ready…
All right, you crazy animals, smash and mash!
He's fine.
This is it, ladies and gentle-newts. Only two carts left.
Come on, Sprig. We can do this…
Looks like this battle is too big for the ring.
"Page two, using the brakes."
Not the baby!
Initiating secret, special cart maneuver, Ollie pop.
Ollie what?
I got to use my tail.
It's the only way to not murder that pollywog!
But, Mom, your injury!
Hush. I have no choice.
Mom!
I wasn't worried.
Hey, you guys okay?
- Yeah, we're fine. - Okay, good. Now, Sprig!
Aww.
- Mop Top wins. Mop Top wins! - Mop Top!
Uh, can we not make that a thing?
Here you are, ma'am, just as promised.
My mom is gonna love this.
- Sorry about your staff, dude. - It's okay.
If it broke this easy, it wasn't good enough for Ivy.
- At least, that's what I'm telling myself. - Hey, Mop Top.
Congratulations. You won fair and square.
Oh, uh, thanks.
Just make sure you take care of that thing, okay?
The newt who made it was special.
- One-of-a-kind. - One-of-a-kind?
Yeah, the kind who encouraged you to follow your dreams,
even if they were wacky and dangerous.
The kind who cut the crust off your sandwiches
'cause she knew you didn't like them.
That teapot was the last piece of art she ever made.
So, like I said, take care of it.
Was the artist your mom by any chance?
Yeah.
You know, I was gonna give this to my mom when I got home,
- but I think she'd want you to have it. - No, I couldn't.
Please, I insist.
Thank you. This means so much to us. You're not half bad, Mop Top.
- Anne. My name's Anne. - Hey!
Thank you for being so generous.
Here. I'd be honored if you gave it to your mom.
I'm no famous artist, but I made it myself and it's one-of-a-kind.
Thank you. It's perfect.
- Don't be a stranger, Anne. - Bye.
Well, now that that's over, you guys seen Hop Pop?
Oh, hey you, kids.
Yoo-hoo! Just packing a small souvenir, then we can head out.
Whoa! You got that for two coppers?
I sure did. Heh.
Amazing what you can get, uh, for two coppers these days.
Okay, fine. I used the credit card!
I'm so ashamed.
But if you could just feel this thing, kids.
It's heaven on your rump. Nirvana on your tush.
- Bliss on your buttocks. - We got it.
I just had the worst dream.
You up, Anne? Anne?
It's so pretty. I'm sure your mom's gonna love it.
Mm. Yeah.
- What's she like? - My mom? Um…
Kind. In her own way.
But strict, too. She wanted me to study more.
Thought I goofed off too much.
We didn't always see eye to eye.
She annoyed me sometimes, too.
Like, in the kitchen, she'd always sing these goofy Thai love songs,
and, man, was her singing bad.
Woof. That woman was beyond tone-deaf.
You know, the funny thing is, right now,
I would give anything just to hear her singing.
Whoa! Sorry, sorry. I just need a moment.
It's cool you know your mom, though.
Mine passed away when me and Polly were really young.
I don't even remember what she looked like, really.
Much less the sound of her voice.
You know, I've always wondered
can you miss someone you never actually knew?
Heh. That's silly. I mean, of course you can't.