Chapter 7 - 『A Bizarre Fishing Experience 』
Joseph decided to take on Soos' offer to go fishing with him, and now he was helping him hook up the boat to his truck so they could move it into the lake.
"So not only do you have your own boat, you made it yourself?" If he hadn't already been impressed by Soos' repair abilities before, then this tidbit cemented it firmly in Joseph's mind.
"I didn't make it from scratch." Soos explained. "I just bought an old broken down ship and I spent an entire summer working on it." He said so as if it wasn't that big of an accomplishment.
"Is there anything you can't build?" Honestly it wouldn't surprise him he with enough money and materials the guy could build his own bloody spaceship.
"Well, I've never being able to make my armor look exactly like I want it for my Foam & Cardboard Legitimate Outdoor Role Play events." He admitted with a faraway look as if it was a constant struggle which was nothing short of a divine cause.
"Okay…" Joseph really had no idea how to respond to that. "So, there are a lot of people picking up their boats, huh?" He decided to change topics, noticing how many people in town were coming to the storage place.
"Yep, fishing season is pretty popular, especially for the big catch competition." Every summer, a fishing contest was held and the 1st prize always received a huge money prize.
"Heeeeh! That's pretty neat actually." It seemed that the town had interesting ways to make life more lively and exciting. "So? Do you know much about fishing?"
"As any other guy around." The handy man shrugged. "I just do it for fun and to catch something for Abuelita to cook." There wasn't anything beyond that. Once he was done, hooking up the boat to his truck, Soos commanded with excitement, "Come on dude, TO THE LAKE!"
"Aye, aye, Captian."
『x-x-x』
"So? Has anything picked yet?" The English teen asked for the nth time, looking very bored. "For being the first day of Fishing Season, there is a surprising lack of fish."
"Maybe the fish bait isn't as fresh as that vendor said."Soos wondered out-loud. "Maybe…"
"Dude, do not lick the Fish bait." He had noticed that the handyman had been eying it the whole time since they arrived to the lake. "It's a terrible idea." That and it would be too nasty to look at.
"Maybe we have to be more patient."
"Ugh…" So far, coming along was a big mistake. Even more tragic was that he had picked a great outfit for the day and now it was going to waste. He was wearing a tight red and white stripes shirt, black pants and fishing boots.
Joseph sighed in boredom and sat down. Maybe he could get some Z's while he waited for something to pick. But when he was readying to fall into the realm of sleep, shouts coming from shore prevented him from napping.
"What's up with all that noise?" Seriously, even he knew that such ruckus was scaring the fish away.
"I don't know dude, we better check it out." Soos turned the boat around and sailed back to the shore. Once on the small wooden dock, the two unlucky fishermen saw that the Pines Family also came to the Opening and they were chanting about a monster hunt.
"Yo dudes, saying somethin' about a monster hunt?" Soos asked as he pulled over towards them.
"Soos!" Both twins cried out surprised to see the handyman.
"Yo!" Joseph also greeted as he stood up from the boat's deck.
"Jojo! You came fishing as well?"
"Yeah, but so far we must have had terrible luck, because we haven't fished anything since we got here." Meaning, he wasted hours of his life doing next to nothing. "So what is this about a Monster Hunt?"
"Dude, you could totally use my boat for your hunt. It's got a steering wheel, chairs; normal boat stuff." Soos offered without waiting for an explanation. Probably the idea of going on a hunting quest was exhilarating compared to the morning they just had.
"All right, all right, let's think this through." Stan intervened. "Ya kids could go waste your time on some epic monster-finding adventure, or you could spend the day learning how to tie knots and skewer worms with your Great Uncle Stan!"
When he put it like that, the decision that the twins would take was obvious.
"Wow, before anyone goes anywhere, I think it is best if we go get something to drink. I'm thirsty." Joseph proposed as he hopped out of Soos' boat. "Hey Dipper, come with me would ya?"
"Okay…" Both boys walked away from the wooden dock and went directly to the boat-renting shack. Once they were far enough, Joseph kneeled down to Dipper's level and say. "Ok, so tell me for real. What is this idea of a Monster Hunt?"
Dipper then told him about what the old crazy guy said about a monster living in the lake, and also about the monster photo contest ad and how the prize was 1000 dollars for the winner.
"So you want to put you and your sister lives at risk for money?" Joseph summed up perfectly. It wasn't exactly the worst reason to do things but it also wasn't the best either.
"When you put it like that…" Dipper scratched the back of his head feeling self-conscious about his not-so-thought-out decision.
"Look Dipper, I don't want to tell you what you should or shouldn't do." Honestly he was still too young to be acting like a worrywart. "But what I will tell you is this: check the journal and see what it says about the monster in the lake." Maybe there was a way to attract him without angering him or whatnot.
"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Dipper face palmed for the oversight and then produced the red book from inside his vest. "I don't see anything about a monster in the lake." He finally said after skimming through all the pages.
"So if the monster you are looking for isn't in your monster encyclopedia… what do you think that means?" Jospeh pointed out.
"That the monster… probably doesn't exist." Dipper sighed looking very discouraged. "What a shame…"
Joseph looked at the sorry looking boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you still want to go to your monster hunt, you are free to do so. Maybe the Author never got the chance to investigate the monster." Though the possibility of that being the explanation was very low specially with how detailed and well researched some of the entries were. "And if in the end it doesn't actually exist, I'm sure there are other things you could find in that island that could get you that prize."
"You think so?" Dipper looked up his enthusiasm returning twofold.
"I know so! You have your own monster book for goodness sake. You can win that contest no problem!"
"Thanks Joseph!"
"No problem, Dip."
『x-x-x』
"Yo, sorry for taking so long!" Joseph waved at the group who were waiting at the small dock. "Besides my drinks, we also bought some sunscreen for you guys." Dipper told him how Stan pull this trip to the lake as a surprise and because of that, forgot to bring appropriate sunscreen for the twins.
"We also bought these!" Dipper showed off a bag filled with disposable cameras, to prevent any sort of "accident" that caused him to not be able to take a picture of whatever monster they might find. Of course, Jojo also got one for himself, just in case.
"Great idea. You can take picture so you can treasure your memories of your Grunkle Stan." The old man said laughing as he prepared the not-so-safe boat called The Stan o' War.
"But Grunkle Stan…!" The twins desperately tried to convince Stan to allow them to go in their monster hunt, but old man was being very adamant in not letting them go.
Seeing that no side was willing to relent, Joseph got an idea, but first he leaned towards Soos and whispered in his ear. "Soos, take care of the kids. If anything goes wrong come back immediately, ok?"
"You can count on my, Jojo." He saluted him not unlike a soldier accepting an important mission.
Jojo then walked towards Stan's boat and loudly proclaimed. "I don't know Stan, your boat doesn't look safe."
"What? The Stan o' War is perfectly safe!" Stan took offense at the teen's words because insulting a man's ship was akin to insulting one's mother. And that was what Joseph was looking for.
"Let's prove that claim." The he jumped unto the ship making it violently rock back and forward.
"What are you doing?!" Stan yelled holding himself very tightly in the boat, not wanting to fall overboard. "Are you insane?!"
"No, I'm a distraction."
"Huh?! What are you…" But when he recovered his bearings, he realized that the kids were sailing away on Soos boat.
"Hey! Wait a second!" But his pleads didn't quite reached them. "Ingrates!"
"Come on, Stan! You still have me." The teen said cheekily making Stan gruff.
"I prefer the company of a box of creepy fishing lures over you." Speaking of the box of creepy lures; they were attracting a whole of lot of buzzing flies thanks to the strange smell emanating from them. "Ugh."
"Glad to keep you company too." Joseph rolled his eyes and seat down on the boat to keep grumpy Grunkle Stan company. This was the price to pay for the kids to go on their little monster hunt adventure.
Joseph wanted to go with them just to keep an eye out for trouble, but since there wasn't any info of the monster of the lake on the Journal, then the possibilities of them founding trouble went down considerably. Still, it wasn't exactly safe out there that is why he asked Soos to look after them, just in case.
"They owe me a big one for this." Joseph sighed as he pulled out a newspaper and started to read. He had several hours to kill. "Huh? Would you look at that." Some guy named Toby was selling a camper for almost nothing, but then again judging by the picture in the ad, the thing looked like it had better days.
『x-x-x』
"You know… I don't think it is a good idea to go around harassing other people in the lake." Joseph pointed out as they were chased away by another angry pair. "It is kind of embarrassing actually." He knew that Stan had no shame, but this was getting hard to look at. "If you want one so badly, then I'd be your fishing buddy." He said somewhat resigned, but it was better than seeing him fail at social interaction that didn't involve scamming people out of their money.
"Bah!" Stan grumbled.
"Maybe you could try and teach me." Maybe that way, they could finally get one lousy fish so that this whole trip wasn't in vain.
"Ha! I'm not old or desperate enough to ask for anyone's pity." Said the man who moments ago was harassing kids in a vain attempt to feel grandfatherly.
"It is not pity, old man." Well maybe just a little bit. "I know you are upset because the Dipper and Mabel chose to go on a monster hunt instead of staying here, but you don't have to be an ass about it."
"Heh, what would you know?" Joseph could detect the underline bitterness in his voice.
"The next thing you'll say is: «What does a pampered rich boy like you, know about being left behind?» right?" Joseph predicted, but this time the usual smirk that accompanied his usual trick was nowhere to be seen.
"What does a pampered rich boy like you, know about being left behind?...Ha?!" Stan said falling for the teen's signature trick. "How did you…?"
"Stan, my family may have money but that doesn't mean everything has been easy for me." He may not have suffered the pains of poverty, but he knew about other types of hurt. Quite frankly he was tired of people assuming otherwise. "Having money does not fill the hole of not having both my parents." Both of which, had died shortly after he was born. "Granny Erina, had to raise me all by herself and I love her, but not even she could be there for me all the time!"
After the death of Joseph's parents, she refused to depend on Speedwagon and the Joestar Family money. Maybe it was her pride or maybe the heartache of losing her son was so immense that spending her golden years doing nothing besides looking after her grandson would've made her lose her mind in grief. Whatever the case may be; Joseph grew up knowing what it felt not to have people you love around as much as you wanted to.
"I never had parents to take out to the park and play ball, or to go watch a game or even to take me fishing. Still, I do not wallow in misery and allow myself become bitter because of it. So why don't you get over your dumb hurt pride and we start catching some bloody fish!"
He didn't mean to get that poignant with Stan, but he wasn't going to take the man's attitude.
Both men and teen started at each other for an uncomfortable long time of heavy silent, until Stan finally gave in with a sigh. "You win this round Joe."
"Joseph." He reminded, heck he would even take Joestar over being called Joe.
"Whatever… fishing buddy."
Somehow, Joseph knew he would come to regret trying to be nice towards Stan.
『x-x-x』
Joseph sighed, even after convincing Stan to teach him about fishing they still hadn't caught anything yet, because the old man was insisting in teaching Joseph about the intricate art of tying knots.
That would've been fine and dandy if it weren't for the fact that Stan was struggling to even make the tie himself. Honestly this whole trip to the lake had been nothing but a disappointment after another. The English teen prayed for something interesting to happen.
And lo and behold, his prayers were answered, but not in the way he had expected. Because sailing at high speeds, the S.S. Cool Dude zoomed right past Stan's boat, followed by a large body chasing after it creating a wave big enough to soak Stan and Joseph from head to toe.
"What the heck was that?!" Stan spluttered, lake water coming out of his mouth.
"That looked like Soos and the kids." Being chased by something. Did they manage to find a real monster of the lake? Even though there was no info about it in the journal. "We have to go after them." The urgency in his voice was enough to prompt Stan to try and do so, yet they didn't move.
"The Engine! It's not working." Of all the times to have a problem with the Outboard motor, it had to choose the time when Dipper and Mabel were in Danger to fail on them.
Feeling desperate and with no means to row the boat, Joseph decided to jump out the boat and chase after them himself. "Stan, you stay here and see if you can fix the engine, I'm going after the kids."
"Alright."
Before Jospeh make the jump. He bear in mind how physically taxing would be to swim after a speeding boat so he stop for a few seconds to control his breathing.
"コオオオオ!"
He had never tried using Hamon before a physically demanding activity before, like Swimming, so either the Energy would boost his performance in speed or would make it so that he wouldn't tire out in the middle of it. Either way it was better than nothing.
"Here goes nothing." Having envelop himself in Hamon he jumped into the lake, only to find that he didn't submerged; at least not completely. "What the…?" He was surprised, but fortunately he didn't break his breathing rhythm. Joseph only submerged shin deep into the water. And from the Hamon enveloping his legs, the energy formed mesmerizing ripples in the water. "What is happening?" Joseph moved his legs forwards and found out that he could somehow walk without submerging into the water. "I-I can… walk on water!"
The revelation that he could walk on the fluid almost like a certain someone, would've had more impact had he not been in such a hurry. "If I can walk on water, then I can run on it too." Joseph concentrated on his breathing and started to move forward, slowly gaining more and more speed, until he finally started running without having to submerge shin deep.
As he ran away on top of the water, Stan watch him go, glad that no one else was near to witness such magnificent event and slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to profit from the display often thought as a miraculous ability.
"Speedwagon wasn't kidding…" The kid was a natural.
『x-x-x』
Running as fast as he could while keeping a steady rhythm of his breathing, Joseph travelled to the island where the twins and Soos went to look for the monster, and down a passage that lead directly to the bottom of a small waterfall, he found backside of a giant creature, that seemed to be stuck halfway through a small cave behind the falling water.
"Can't believe there was an actual monster in the lake." Though he knew Vampires, Zombies and Gnomes were real, a big dinosaur-like creature like the Loch Ness Monster was somehow ridiculous in his opinion. Even so, the thing was right in front of him, or at least the rear end of it.
Speaking of ends.
"The front must be inside the cave." With Soos and the Twins trapped inside. "I don't know if Hamon is effective against a monster as big as you, but…" Joseph took a deep breath and pulled back his arm with his fist prepared. "Water conducts Hamon just like electricity!" And with the monster half submerged in the life giving fluid, meant a big shock.
Now all that was needed was something cool to say.
"EMERALD SCALES OVERDRIVE!"
Joseph unleashed his Hamon power as he punched the beast. But the moment it made contact, he found out that the creature had no scales at all or even muscle mass. In fact, it felt like punching a metal plate.
"What the…?!" After the punch and the Hamon had dissipated, the "monster" stopped moving and Joseph took the opportunity to inspect it. Why would a lake monster hide feel like metal? Knocking on it, Joseph was rewarded by a hollow dull sound. "Holy sh*t!" This creature was a fake! A mechanical illusion!
"I guess now we know why there was no entry of the monster in the journal." Because there was never any monster for the author to record. Speaking of the Journal… "The Twins!"
Dipper, Mabel and also Soos were trapped inside the cave! The monster may have been fake, but he still needed to help them out of there.
Climbing over the monster, Joseph noticed some debris lodged between the walls of the cave and the so-called "monster" that needed to be moved.
"Okay, Take 2" A timely rescue wasn't as heroically dramatic as defeating a giant monster, but that didn't mean he was to gonna let the opportunity for an epic cry to slip him by.
"SENDŌ HAMON OVERDRIVE!"
Sending his Hamon through the rocks, caused them to break and blow out by the sheer force of the ripples.
"Hey! Are you okay in here?"
"Jojo!" He was joyfully received by a tight hug from Mabel who had a strong vice grip on his abdomen above his waist. "You came!"
"Of course I came." Jojo struggled a bit against the force of her grip. "I promised I would keep an eye on you guys." Though he honestly though they wouldn't actually find a giant monster, even if it turned out to be a fake. "Sorry, I wasn't here for you."
"It was a big deal, really." Dipper tried to play it cool, despite the fright he felt throughout the whole chase. "Nothing that we couldn't handle."
"Yo, Jojo!" Soos cut in. "I managed to keep my promise." Referring to the pledge of keeping the kids safe.
"I knew you would." Joseph believed in Soos, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed behind with Stan. "So? Care to tell me how your Monster Hunt went?"
"Sure, dude! We have time while I try and get the S.S Cool Dude out of here!" The handyman pointed towards his boat that looked completely trashed.
"Sh…oot! Man." Jojo slurred remembering to watch his language in front of the twins. It was a damn shame what happened to the boat.
"I'm sure I can fix it." Soos said reassuringly. "I had fun fixing it the first time, so a second time should be just as fun."
"Sure thing."He got to admit, that he admired the man's optimism. "Let me give you a hand."
The whole group worked together to try and salvage what they could from Soos' boat while Dipper, with the help of Mabel's remarks, told Joseph about their whole adventure and the truth behind the mechanical monster.
It was hard to believe that a crazy old man was capable of creating something as big and complicated like a fully operational giant monster robot; it was almost like it was lifted straight out of his favorite super-hero's comics. Speaking of the mad scientist, the old man was by himself ranting out-loud working on a supposed Death-Ray too busy to help them.
After a hour of work, they managed to bring the what was left of the S.S. Cool Dude outside of the cave so they could sail back to where Stan was.
"I don't think the boat will be able to hold the four of us." Dipper pointed out. Despite its current state, the boat was a true trooper and was going the extra mile for them.
"You guys go ahead on the boat, I'll follow you." Joseph offered.
"No disrespect, but I don't think you can swim all the way back to Stan."
"Who said anything about Swimming?" The English teen smirked before he started with his Hamon Breathing and took a step on the surface of the water, without sinking in.
The others were mesmerized by the Joestar's impossible display.
"H-How?!" Dipper was thunderstruck. Walking on water was a little too much for his mind to handle.
"Whoa that's so cool." Soos signaled at Jojo's feet from where the Ripples emanated like a moving underwater light show. He swore he could watch the whole thing for hours without becoming bored.
"You can walk on water?!" As for Mabel, she already thought that Jojo was the coolest before, being a sort-of Wizard, and now he came along and blew her mind one more time. "Just like… a ninja!" A Ninja-Wizard.
"I guess…" Joseph didn't mind the comparison. In his opinion, it was better than being compared to another well-known person that also walked on water. "Now, we better get going!"
『x-x-x』
After making their way back to the rest of the boats (with Jojo submerging into the water halfway into their return and swimming his way there before anyone else saw him break the laws of physics), Dipper and Mabel apologized to their Grunkle for going out on their Monster Hunt and leaving him behind. After Stan accepted their apologies, the whole group finally had what they wanted out of this fishing trip: fun.
Dipper used his last disposable camera he got to snap a picture of the lake monster and capture instead the fun times they all had. And when the film ran out, Jojo pulled another camera he had gotten for himself and joined in the picture taking.
At the end of the day, Joseph was glad that he came along on this unexpectedly bizarre fishing trip.
く==ToBeContinued==
『Aol Zhpua vm aol Ovsf Jvywzl dhz tvza sprlsf h Ohtvu Bzly.』
『Zahu ohz zllu Ohtvu ilmvyl.』
Author Notes:
And that wraps up The Legend of the Gobblewonker.
Joseph got a little moment with Grunkle Stan that will be the beginning of a more casual relationship between the two of them. Also, he managed to walk on water!
But don't worry! This doesn't mean he is an expert in the use of Hamon, in fact he still has lots more to learn.
Next Time: Joseph and the Twins investigate a Bizarre "Murder" case.