Skylanders: Found

22. Fishing Misadventures

"As for Shroom Boom," Stump continued, "we found him on the way out of the swamp..."

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"... ," finalised Thumpback as he finished another story at the riverside. Squalo looked up to him, eyes full of awe. Beside them were two impressive piles of fish. The elusive had been among their finds, a fish that Stump believed only lived in legends. It very much resembled that of a hybrid between a pig and a fish. Pondering its origins, Squalo had asked Thumpback whether he knew anything about the mysterious fish and, while he claimed to have caught one or two previously in completely different stretches of Skylands, he seemed very unsure of their origins. A science experiment gone wrong, perhaps, wondered Stump.

"You want this for your, er, wall o' fish?" Thumpback had asked the fisherman. Squalo declined; having been a resident of the Lake of Legends for decades, where nature was of upmost importance, there was little chance to set up a wall dedicated to his fishing exploits.

"B'sides," Squalo continued, "Think this lil' piggy should be cherished. The lil' thing is rare as a purple dragon, it is."

"You're thinking of keeping that thing?" Thumpback asked, slightly amused, "Suit yourself, I suppose. I've got a pig-fish mounted up in my den, so I have no need for it." Squalo smiled with his eyes and picked up the pig-fish.

"I think," he announced, closing his eyes. A portion of the icky river liquid bubbled up into the air, as commanded by an outstretched hand from Squalo. The liquid formed a sphere, in which Squalo placed the pig-fish. Taking up the water once again, the pig-fish swam around happily as Squalo observed curiously. "I think," he repeated, "I'll call it Toadstool." Thumpback cackled.

"You're alright, Squalo," he stated, giving him a heavy pat on the back. And so, as Stump sat back and scrubbed his disconnected leg clean of the bug goop, much of his idle time was spent watching the little pig-fish swim contently through its little watery prison. He'd been glad that they'd kept the fish, in honesty, as he'd have hated for such a precious marvel of nature to have been lost. If there were as few as had been suggested by Thumpback, he found peace in his knowledge that Squalo wasn't going to fish the seas of Skylands into extinction. Thumpback, on the other hand...

Later, once the zapper bugs were their only source of light, Squalo got hold of something. "Ey, big guy, check this out!" He called out as he kept a good hold on his fishing line.

"Ah, looks like you've got your hands on something big!" Thump called back, sitting up after a short snooze. He lit a lamp and observed with excitement in his eyes. Stump, of course, couldn't see to such detail as things were getting dark. He was taking care in his craft, trying to preserve his missing leg in hope that he might be able to re-attach it rather than go to the trouble of growing a new one. He wrapped all of the fractured pieces neatly together using vines he'd grown especially. However, he did like to take nice relaxing breaks, watching Squalo completely focused on his art or Toadstool wriggling about blissfully. By now, however, he'd done all he intended to do and was wondering whether it was about time they met up with the others on Shattered Island; Skylands as they knew it was in danger and – although some idle time was always a good way of keeping strong – things were urgent.

Squalo appeared to be struggling, however. Stump wished to get up and assist, but he'd not attempted to get up since his leg gave way. He knew he was capable, and thanked the heavens above for the weather's improvement, but he was surely weakened. Thankfully Thumpback took note and jumped into the water. They'd discovered that the river was fairly toxic, with most of the fish they discovered being particularly specialised to surviving in such harsh environments. Yet, Thumpback – as one might be able to gather by now – was so fixated on fishing that he cared not for a few minor burns if it meant getting another fish. That, or he forgot, which Stump would not put past him. It mattered not; Thumpback was a tough cookie, he'd make it. Thumpback grabbed the fish from below and threw it out of the water and towards Squalo, who dove out of the way with some haste. The fish hit the lamp, and everything went dark briefly.

"Come out; show yourselves, you nap-ending fiends!!" Called out a new voice. Stump couldn't quite trace it, but he assumed it was the voice of the "fish" that Thumpback had just pulled out of the water. He attempted to stand up in case he suddenly needed to fight but struggled to his feet. "I hear movement out there! Show yourselves or face the wrath of my exploding mushrooms!"

"Even kneel, Shroom," said Thumpback, relighting the lamp. Stump Smash saw at once the radiance that was Shroom Boom. Of course, he thought to himself, realising that the voice could have belonged to nobody other than Shroom. He watched as the one-eyed mushroom detailed his surroundings and smiled.

"Oh, it's just you guys!" He cheered, "I did wonder who would be fishing somewhere as lethal as Mushroom River. I guess I just assumed they had a death wish or something, but Skylanders make much more sense," he laughed. He started bobbing his head. "You should've called! I would've put a fruit salad together!"

"Yeah, about that-" Stump tried to reply.

"What happened to your leg, Stumpy?" Shroom promptly interrupted, "Did a glob goblin tear it off??"

"No, don't worry about that, we're just here to-" Stump continued.

"Hold that thought, I need to tell my folks that you're here!" Shroom Boom announced.

"No, listen, Shroom Boom," Thumpback demanded. At once, Shroom was still and listening. "We're currently engaged in a Skylands-wide crisis."

"Seriously?!" Shroom asked, eye wide.

"Yes," Stump explained, finally able to get a word in, "The portals are malfunctioning across Skylands and, well, we were hoping to find you to get your help."

"I never say no to Skylander duties!" Shroom replied, giving a salute. He turned aside briefly. "MOM, POPS!!" he yelled, "I'M GOING TO GO DO SKYLANDERS STUFF!!" He turned back to Stump and Thumpback. "Okay, when do we leave?"

Stump, Squalo and Thumpback exchanged looks. Toadstool danced happily in its little watery bubble. "I guess we should leave fishing for later, eh Thumpback?" Squalo supposed, putting his fishing gear away. Thump nodded, wandering off to try and recover Bowhead. "I'm Squalo, by the way," he introduced himself, putting a hand out to Shroom Boom.

"Shroom Boom," he replied, giving a very energetic shake, with a cheery smile.