Part 3
The next morning, Stan woke up with a start.
"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!" He woke the family and the agents up.
"Well, that's a great thing to say to your family the first thing you wake up in the morning." Roger said. "Way to keep it positive Stan." Stan sat up.
"What time is it?" Bullock looked at his watch.
"It's 6:30." He answered.
"Oh my gosh! We got to escape!" He stood up, ran for the front of the cage and looked for a key. "We got to get out of here!"
"Whoa!" Steve told his father. "Chillax Dad!"
"How can I chillax when all of us might die at any moment!" Steve's eyes widened. He had such a nice sleep that he had completely forgotten today they were going to die.
"I can't die!" He whined. "I got a whole lot to fulfill in life! Getting my driver's license, getting a beer, try to smoke my first cigarette," He looked at his mom."And I know what you're thinking mom! I just want to try it, alright? And I want to attend my high school graduation, college graduation and…uh a bunch of other stuff!"
"You think you're the only one concerned with not fulfilling your life?" Hayley asked. Steve looked at his sister.
"Hayley, you're married to the one man you love at the age of 18! What more do you want?"
"There's more in life that I want bro. Getting a job, moving out of the house, raising a child…"
"Yeah, yeah! You and your needs! Other people have needs too, you know!"
"Uh kids," Stan interrupted. "I hate to interrupt but WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE IF WE DON'T COME UP WITH SOMETHING!" His children looked at him. "Now, let's all think. How are we all going to escape?" They all began to think.
"I may have a way!" Klaus piped up.
"Quiet Klaus!" Stan told him. "If you want to help, think!"
"But I have an idea."
"Shut up Klaus!" Francine shouted. "You're not helping here!"
"Come on! Doesn't somebody want to hear my input?" An agent raised his hand.
"NO YOU DON'T!" Roger barked then tackled him to the ground. Klaus sighed.
"Oh well, they'll see it soon enough."
"Oh my gosh!" Roger cried when he saw Klaus just lying down in his cup motionless. "Klaus' dead! I get his room!"
"Roger," Hayley told him. "Klaus doesn't have a room."
"Well, if he did, I would get it."
"Relax everybody." Stan reassured everyone. "I'm sure Klaus is just pretending."
"How do you know?"
"Well I don't, hmmm, maybe Klaus is dea…" Suddenly, Klaus opened his eyes. He quickly looked at them.
"No I'm not." The fish told them. Everybody gasped.
"Klaus!" Stan said. "What are you doing faking your death again?"
"It's not April's Fools Day," Roger told him. "And if it was, we wouldn't fall for it again. And heck, when you told me about Justin Bieber, it wasn't April Fools Day anymore. They're only good for that day!"
"It was still April when I fooled you, so there! Anyways," He put his fin to his mouth. "I want you to play along."
"Play along?" Francine wanted to know. "Why do you want us to say that you're dead?"
"Because, then they'll open the cage…"
"And then we can get free!" Stan finished for him in realization. "That was your plan, wasn't it?"
"Uh…kind of. So, are you going play along and tell them I'm dead or not?" Stan sighed.
"Fine, but for some reason I don't think this'll work!" Klaus smiled.
"You'll thank me one day for this Stan."
"Whatever you say fish, whatever you say."
Klaus then went into the same position he was in before. Eyes closed and motionless.
"Oh my gosh!" Stan faked, eyes wide. "Our fish is dead! Help, somebody! Our fish is dead!" Dean then stood up and went to the cage that they were in. He looked at the 'dead' Klaus with widened eyes.
"Oh dear!" He said. "Damien will not be pleased. He will not be pleased at all. Guess I got to flush him down the toilet." He opened the cage, took Klaus and shut the door. He headed for the other room.
"Destroy," He told the Doberman. "Watch the prisoners while I'm gone. Make sure they don't escape." The dog barked and began to guard the cage as Dean went to the next room. Stan's mouth was agape.
"Wow, I never thought that would work. Well I did, but I didn't want to admit it." He looked at everyone. "Okay everyone, play dead."
"Dad," Steve interrupted. "We're not dogs. We're not going to 'play dead' just because you…"
"I SAID PLAY DEAD!" Without hesitation, everyone played dead. Dick had to push Steve down. Stan played dead too.
"Dad," Steve said moments later. "Are you sure this'll wor…"
"Dead people don't talk Steve!" He resumed playing dead.
"He's right you know," Roger told the youngest Smith. "Dead people don't talk. I have seen a lot of dead people in my time and all of them haven't said a single word to me. If they could, that'll be just plain creepy!"
"Shut up Roger."
"Okee dokee!" They both continued playing dead with the rest.
Dean was in the bathroom in front of the toilet. He was about to drop Klaus in when Damien saw.
"What you doing?" He wanted to know. "Don't you know you're about to flush a million dollar fish?"
"He's dead sir." Dean replied. "He's no use to us anymore."
"How did he die?""
"I don't know. His owner informed me."
"Maybe he's faking!" Dean was confused.
"What?"
"Look he can talk, so if he's human smart he is faking his death so he'll get out of here. Let me see if he's breathing." He laid his head to Klaus' chest. He pushed away when he felt him breathing. "See? What did I tell you? He's breathing!" Dean looked astonished.
"Wow boss; you sure are smart!"
"And you sure are dumb." Klaus stopped faking.
"You got me!" He said. "You can take me back now." Damien gave him a mischieviously smile.
"Oh I'll take you back, back so you can see your family and friends get killed right before your eyes!" Klaus gasped. Damien laughed evilly. "Now let's get our guns and kill some agen…" Suddenly, Mark came in.
"Everyone's dead!" He informed him. Damien rolled his eyes.
"Here we go again."
"Come on!" Mark pulled his boss's hand and dragged him out of the room.
"Look Mark, they're just pretending." Mark let his hand go and looked at his boss.
"What? Faking?"
"Yeah, it's what this fish did."
"The fish played dead?" Damien sighed.
"I'm working with idiots." He went to the other room. Mark and Dean carrying Klaus, followed. Mikhail ran up to him when he entered. Joey, Frank and all three dogs were in the room.
When they entered, Mikhail was dragging a motionless Stan. Damien ran up and slapped Mikhail in the face. Mikhail yelped and held his sore spot.
"What did you do that for, boss?" He wanted to know. "They're all dead."
"No they're not!" Mikhail looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?" Damien did a palm to the face. "IDIOTS! I'll show you." He bent down and just like Klaus, put his head to Stan's chest and heard him breathing. He turned back to Mikhail.
"See? Not dead!"
"This one's alive too!" Joey said about Dick.
"So is this one!" said Frank. Mikhail laughed nervously.
"Look at that!" He explained. "They're alive. Guess we should've checked to make sure that they were still breathing. Very smart boss."
"Yeah very smart!" Stan said, opening his eyes. He then punched Damien in the groin. Damien yelled in pain and fell to the ground. He quickly got to his feet.
He and two other agents punched Mikhail, Mark, Joey and Frank to the ground.
"Auf Wiedersehen!" Klaus said, slapping Dean in the face with his tail. He joined the agents and his family. Hayley scooped him up and ran to the exit with the others.
"I'll go call the police!" Bullock told them and ran off.
Suddenly the three Doublemans stood in their path. They were all growling and baring their teeth.
"Nice doggy!" Stan said nervously. He went to pet Killer. "Nice, calm, gen…" He withdrew it when Killer snapped at him. "Okay, not calm and gentle! Not calm and gentle!"
"What will we do Stan?" Asked a terrified Francine.
"Dog treats!" Steve blurted out. The dogs looked question at the boy. So did the family. Steve pointed in a corner. "See? There're yummy dog treats right over there!"
"Come on Steve," Stan told his son. "You think they're going to fall for that?" The dogs then ran to the corner. "Oh my gosh, they fell for it!"
"Killer, Destroy, Eliminate!" Damien ordered. "He tricked you all; there're no dog treats over there! Stupid dogs!"
"Come on!" Stan told the others. They ran to the hallway. They were then stopped by Joey, Mikhail, Mark, Frank and Dean.
"You're not going anywhere!" Mikhail said.
"We got you surrounded!" Joey added.
"If there's going to be any trouble," Frank said, cracking his knuckles. "We can turn this into violence real easily."
"So you have been warned!" Mark told them. The prisoners all backed up.
"That's right!" Mikhail exclaimed. "Go back to your cell so we can kill you."
Klaus then saw a tarp on the boardwalk above and got an idea.
"Hayley!" He whispered to her. Hayley looked at him. "Toss me on the boardwalk up there." Hayley looked at the boardwalk then back at the fish.
"Why?" She asked. "You're not going to betray us and escape on your own while we are all being killed, are you?"
"Heavens no! Trust me on this!" Hayley sighed and scooped him up.
"You better not turn traitor on us!"
"I won't! Gosh, that's how you earn friends Hayley, by gaining their trust."
"I'm not your friend."
"You don't have to; just toss me up there!" Hayley sighed.
"Okay." Hayley threw Klaus up in his cup onto the boardwalk. Once Klaus got his balance, he went behind the tarp.
"Any last words?" Damien wanted to know. He and his henchmen all had their guns pointing at them. The dogs were with them.
"Hey!" Steve blurted out. "I just realized, Hayley and I are missing school because of this!" Hayley ignored her brother.
Oh my gosh! Hayley thought. They're going to kill us now rather then wait when we're all back in our cell. She looked up at the boardwalk. I knew Klaus would betray us.
"Uh babe?" Jeff asked her. Hayley looked at her husband. "Why is it when I'm with your guys, someone, something or a weather disaster is trying to kill us?'
"I don't know." She replied and then threw her head onto his chest. She started to cry again.
"This is it!" Stan concluded. "This is how it all going to end; too bad Bullock's not here to see this!" The family all held hands. They all waited for the end.
Suddenly, the boardwalk caved in and fell on Mikhail, Mark, Joey and Frank. Damien jumped out of the way just in time. The tarp fell onto the dogs.
The family all looked up. Klaus waved at them. Stan smiled up at him.
He then slid down from the collapsed boardwalk. Hayley grabbed him.
"See?" He told her. "I told you could trust me!" Damien repointed his gun at them. All of them gasped.
"Give me the fish or I'll shoot." He threatened,
"You're going to kill us anyways!" Roger told him. "Regardless if we give you the fish or not."
"True, but if you give me the fish now, I'll let you live longer."
"How much longer?"
"Twelve seconds longer."
"Wow! Twelve seconds longer; you're so kind!" Then to himself he thought; I wonder if twelve seconds is long enough for me to escape.
"Give me the fish!"
"No!" Hayley yelled, shielding Klaus.
"I said give me the darn fish!" He grabbed Klaus and slapped Hayley aside. Hayley fell to the floor. Everyone gasped. Damien then shot Stan in the foot. Stan yelled as he jumped in pain.
"What the fudge?" He shouted. "I thought you said twelve seconds, that was only ten!"
"I lied."
"How could you?"
"What can I say? I'm the bad guy here!"
"He has a point there, Stan." Roger told the injured CIA agent. "Bad guys do tend to lie a lot." Francine went to comfort him. Jeff went by Hayley.
"Now for the rest of you…" He was about to pull the trigger when Klaus suddenly jumped out from his cup and slapped Damien's face with his tail.
"Mess with my family, will you?" He asked, jumping down in his cup and scooted to his family. "I think not!" Bullock then came in.
"They're in here!" Bullock shouted for the police. He then looked at Klaus. "I thought you said they weren't your family." Bullock said to Klaus.
"They may not be the loving family like a human trapped inside a goldfish's body would dream of having, but they're still my family." His family except Roger all smiled at him.
"Awe!" Damien faked. "That's so beautiful!" He pointed his gun at them again. "Too bad I have to kill them!" The police officers then came. Suddenly, a police officer grabbed Damien's wrists, knocking his gun to the ground and pulled his wrists behind his back.
"Sir," The officer told him, placing handcuffs around his wrists. "you are under arrest for trying to shut down the whole CIA. You have the right to remain silent." Other officers handcuffed Frank, Mark, Joey and Mikhail. Others put leashes on the dogs.
"Never!" Damien shouting, bumping his officer to the ground. He started to run. The police ran after him.
"I just had enough of you!" Klaus said as he leaped out of his cup and tackled him to the ground. Damien struggled to get up as Klaus struggled to breathe.
"GET OFF OF ME YOU DYING FISH!" Damien screamed. When the officer caught up to him, he grabbed him and helped him to his feet. Klaus fell to the ground. The officers took their prisoners away.
A police officer that stayed behind, picked up the flopping fish and went and put him back in his cup that was now in Hayley's hands. The fish caught his breath once more and looked at him.
"Thanks officer for arresting that man and his goons," Bullock said to the officer.
"Thanks for the call." The officer responded. "And may I say you have a very extraordinary fish. I say it's almost like that fish possesses a human brain almost but that's not possible. Now, bye!" The officer then left. Stan laughed as they all waved farewell.
"Yeah, not possible, bye!"
"Bye!" Steve added. Stan looked at Klaus when they were all done saying their goodbyes.
"Wow Klaus!" He began. "I can't believe you would risk your own life by stopping that man."
"Well he had to be stopped somehow!" Klaus told him.
"You know Klaus," Hayley spoke. Klaus looked up at her. "You could've just let an officer tackle him to the ground instead of risking your own life."
"I know, but this way I feel more heroic."
"You're a hero Klaus!" Steve cheered. Klaus laughed.
"Please, you're too kind!"
"I can't believe fish is a hero." Roger said. "Well, I can't believe in anything that fish does sometimes."
"Congrats Mr. H!" Jeff congratulated him.
"You saved the CIA!" Francine put in. Klaus blushed.
"Again," He said. "You're all too kind. I mean, seriously, what have you done with my family?" Everybody just laughed even Roger. Klaus laughed too.
The next night at the Smith household after Stan got home from the the hospital, he went to the sofa and started reading the paper after he picked it up. Steve was upstairs getting ready for bed. Klaus was back in his fishbowl on the end table. When Stan turned the page, his eyes grew ride.
"Well, I'll be darned!" He said out loud. "It can't be, well it can considering this is the news, and they have to cover everything, but it can't be, Klaus is in the paper!" He called for his family. His family all raced in to see.
"Let me see!" Klaus pleaded. Stan showed him the article with the headline 'Fish saves CIA.' Underneath the headline was a drawing of him jumping from his cup to attack Damien.
"Read it!" Klaus begged. "I want to hear what they said about me!" Stan turned the paper towards him and began reading. While Stan read, Klaus listened in content.
"Hey!" Klaus piped up when Stan was done. "Maybe I'll be a new addition in Ripley's Believe it or Not."
"Dream on, Klaus." Roger told him. "Dream on!"
Klaus was proud of himself. He saved his family, the agents and put those crooks behind bars. But most importantly, he was the fish that saved the CIA.