Big Bee stretched his arm out behind him, blindly pointing backwards with his bright orange rod. A gleaming lure dangled from the end; a tiny Grapploct in purple and poisonous yellow. Three, two, one annnnnd "GO!" he yelled, throwing his arm forward with all his power. The rod whipped, and the weighted lure hurtled through the sky, whizzing like a fleeing wasp.

PLONK

The lure dropped into the ocean far off the side of the jetty, and one of the NPC fishermen gave Big Bee an approving nod. "Ay now that be a fine cast fer a young'n," he said around his pipe. He nodded again. "Mighty fine indeed." He tapped his pipe out on the bucket he was sitting on.

Taka and the fish collided, and there was a furious flailing and splashing at the end of the line. Big Bee started to reel in the fish.

"She's a strong'n, I'll tell ya that," the fisherman said. He stuck his pipe back into his mouth, which was lost in the tangle of his ancient, salty beard.

"Yeah," Big Bee managed, straining against the pull. "Feels like a monster!"

The Magikarp flipped its tail and Taka was sent flying, splashing back into the water a second later. "That's...bad..." Big Bee said, heaving.

Big Bee let go of the reel, letting the fish run for a bit. He'd seen that on a fishing show once. It was supposed to tire the fish out. "Taka can't bite through its scales."

The fisherman nodded sagely. "Tis little on land or sea that can pierce the hide of a 'karp."

"Really? What is this fish made of, mithril?" Big Bee asked.

"May be lad. May be."

As the karp neared the jetty, Big Bee called to the fisherman. "Little...help?"

His muscles creaked like ancient masts as he stood up off his bucket. He picked up a walking stick/fishing net that was leaning on the railing and walked over to stand beside Big Bee.

"Ay, I'm ready lad. Present and bright eyed as the southern sky."

"Okay...great..." Big Bee said, as he hauled at the fish. They almost had it.

Big Bee watched this all happen, open mouthed. He accepted the Magikarp, and looked mutely over at the fisherman, as if the wise old man would reveal that this had all been some insane, scripted event. The man just nodded sagely, as if this was a normal thing to happen while one was fishing.

"Adieu..." Big Bee managed, and then she was gone, leaving nothing but a memory of a moment. A flash of mystery. Gone. Never to be caught or seen again. Never to b- a friend request popped up. It was from one Bergamot Gristleborg.

"Morgana. Bergamot. Huh. That sounds kind of familiar." He didn't know anyone called Morgana, but his sister had been gabbing to him a lot about baby names lately. Origin, meaning, famous people, all the rage with expecting mothers. "Morgana...Oh, I remember. Woman of the ocean."

He looked down at the ringed Magikarp in his net. It looked back at his with big wet eyes. From down in the sea, Taka looked up at it hungrily. Big Bee smiled. The fish was growing on him. "Welcome to the team, Bergamot."