Disclaimer:

The screen slowly fades from black . . . into one huge glaring yellow eye. This is Dot's eye. Nice eye, don't you think?

"Ha!" Dot grins madly. "Thought I won't be back? Did y'all miss me?"

JC's voice speaks from behind her, "Dot, what are you - oh, you weren't looking at me? That's good because I don't want to see your face."

Dot pauses, then backs up until her physique is seen. JC floats nearby, amusement seen from under his serene expression. She pouts up to him, looking sincerely hurt. "That wounds my little heart, man."

JC's eyes slightly widen. "I'm surprised that you've actually got a heart."

"Ouch!" Dot recoils at the words, holding her stomach in excessive pain, wailing in agony of her friend's offense.

The Blue mildly watches her, his expression unmoved. Finally, he speaks, "Quit it. You're embarrassing yourself."

Dot stops, her efforts causing her to float upside-down. Her eyes narrow at the Blue, knowing that now she looks completely silly. Righting herself, she then grins good-naturedly, giving him a friendly slap upon his forehead. "You know, I couldn't help but liking you."

JC raises his gaze and sighs. "That scares me, too. Now, Dot, the disclaimer."

The Damselfish opens her mouth, then stops. "No, no, JC! It's not mine to do it! It's yours!"

The serene visage abruptly changes into bashfulness. He's such a cutie when he's like that. JC rubs his head sheepishly. "What can I say?"

She grins, nudging him. "Anything! Just tell them to quit bugging Debbie for more."

JC appears mildly perplexed for a moment, and then says, "They didn't bug her."

"Not yet."

The red eyes roll. "Ok, then." He nears the screen and clears his throat. He makes a graceful bow and speaks, "My fellow people -"

He is rudely cut off by Dot's groaning. She waves her fins at him in annoyance. "Good lord, you sound like a president."

A bitter look passes his face for an instant, seen only by you, before it is quickly covered by the calm gaze. "It's my turn, Dot. You can say anything you want. I say whatever I like."

"At least, sounds like you're having fun!"

"Shoo." As she backs, letting JC taking his position, he gently smiles at you. "Now, the disclaimer is very simple. Debbie (Dai-chan) doesn't own Pixar: 'Finding Nemo' nor any character in the movie. She, although, does own us, her newest muses." He pauses, thinking of something else to add. "It seems good enough, right, Dot?"

Snoring answers him. JC stares at the small black fish falsely snoring. He isn't troubled by that; he's got used to her attitude. Then a playful grin comes on his face. With a sharp turn of his yellow tail, he swats her awake and a laughing word fills the space where he used to be, he already darting off. "Tag!"

Dot blinks and chases after him, hollering, "Hey, no fair!"

Chapter One: First Day of School

Every day, the sun dawned, giving off whitish-yellow light rays to play among the waters. Every day, the fishes woke to the sun and became alive, swimming and working and eating, just like every other day. The day was nothing special.

But to a young Clownfish, this day was extremely special.

"First day of school!" the six-year-old Clownfish shouted, barely erupting with excitement in his tiny body. It was the first day of school, and he couldn't wait to learn! He couldn't wait to get out of this stuffy anemone and make new friends! He couldn't wait to see the beautiful reef with his own eyes! Inside the anemone, Nemo turned to his sleeping father and giggled. Marlin often preferred to sleep late, but his son often didn't let him. "Wake up! Wake up!" Nemo delightfully yelled right into Marlin's ear. When his father barely stirred, he then bumped on the larger Clownfish with his body. "Time for school!"

" I don't wanna go to school," Marlin muttered, absently brushing at where Nemo was. "Five more minutes."

"Not you, Dad. Me!" Nemo again shook his father awake with nudges of his head. Again, his excitement was too much, and he began to swim back and forth, chanting "Time for school! Time for school!"

Marlin blinked his eyes and slowly righted himself. "Ok, ok, I'm up."

His swimming skills weren't so great, because of his uniqueness, and he rather swam awkwardly, not as smoothly and steadily as his father. Also, just like his father, Nemo loved to swim swiftly. He was speeding around his father, chanting, using his tail and one of his fins to halt his speed before turned fin. Nemo sharply turned toward his father, but he miscalculated his speed and it sent him tumbling right out of the anemone.

Now fully awake and fully shocked, Marlin yelled, "Nemo!" Quickly, poking his head out, Marlin then spied his son, stuck upside-down in one of the holes in the coral, cheerfully chanting about school. "Nemo, don't move!" he demanded, his eyes wide with fright of both his son's safety and the dangers lurking outside the safety of his house. "You will never get out of it yourself. I'll do it." Grabbing around the small body, Marlin tugged once, twice, and finally, with a pop, Nemo was free, still grinning.

Marlin quickly ushered Nemo back inside, freaking out. "Do you need a break?"

"No . . ." Nemo lightly grimaced at what was about to happen.

"You never tell because fluid can rush into an area," Marlin said, peering under his son's left fin. Then he turned him upside-down, asking worriedly, "Are you woozy?"

"No."

"How many stripes do I have?"

"I'm fine," Nemo muttered, rolling his eyes. Why did his dad have to act that way every time? It was annoying.

"Answer the stripe question!"

"Three."

"No! See? Something's wrong with you," Marlin said, then spun around to count his stripes. "I have one, two, three - that's all I have?" He smiled in relief, calming down. "Ok, you're fine. How is your lucky fin?"

A smile formed on the youngster's mouth. He proudly flapped his tiny right fin - his uniqueness. "Lucky."

Marlin held out his fin. "Let's see." Nemo managed to give him a high-five (more like a low-five, he thought) before his awkward balance caused him to tumble. Marlin caught him and asked, "Now, are you sure you want to go to school? There is no problem if you don't. You can wait five or six years . . ."

'Cut it out, Dad,' Nemo inwardly sighed and tugged on his father's fin. "C'mon, Dad, it's time for school."

Marlin let his son slightly drag him until he stopped. "Wait, forgot to brush." As Nemo groaned, he continued, "Do you want this anemone to sting you?"

Nemo glanced at the anemone, then bluntly replied, "Yes."

"Brush."

The lad quickly brushed himself against the tentacles, as he had always done every day ever since he was born. He felt the familiar, warm burn that lightly stroked through his scales before it was removed by his immunity. Nemo knew that it was very important to him, and to all the other Clownfish, to perceive the anemone's sting, for the sting was their only defense from predators. Nemo began to head outside. "Here, I'm done."

"Wait!" Marlin grabbed on his tail, dragging him back in. "Forgot a spot."

"Where?"

"Here!" His father tickled under Nemo's chin, making him giggle. Uh-oh! Nemo beamed as Marlin continued their favorite tickling game. He tried to escape from the invading fins, but Marlin, being the faster one, caught him before he could escape.

Finally, the Clownfish poked their heads out, Marlin nervously and watchful and Nemo curious, although cautious. Their anemone home wasn't the one Marlin had gave Coral. Right after Marlin found his one egg, he moved out, searching for an anemone, just small enough for two. The yellow-tentacled anemone was settled in a crowded neighborhood, safely nestled within many corals surrounding it. It may be very safe, but Marlin almost never got out of his home unless it was really necessary. Now, that his son was coming to school, Marlin's heart again beat worriedly at the possible dangers that could take his Nemo away like they did to his Coral.

The surroundings were empty, but he wasn't that satisfied.

"Alright, we're excited. The first day of school," Marlin said, his eyes darting around for an ambush. "Here we go. We're ready to learn some knowledge." He then looked back to Nemo. "What's the first thing we have to remember about the ocean?"

"It's not safe," Nemo said carefully.

"That's my boy. Now, first, we check to see that the coast is clear. We go out . . . and back in." Nemo following along, Marlin chanted the words flapping his tail to move him forward, then used his fins to sneak back in. It was the Clownfish's way to test if there was any predators waiting, watching for the prey to leave the safety. "And then we go out . . . and back in. And then one more time - out and back in." Marlin had made this method into a chanting recital to teach Nemo, but sometimes, just sometimes, he could do it a bit too much. "And sometimes if you want to do it four times . . ."

"Dad . . ." Nemo was exasperated as he began to head for the schoolyard.

"Alright, boy, here we go," Marlin quickly added, rushing to his son, keeping at his right to help him balance.

After Nemo was born, there was nothing wrong with him, no damage caused on him from the barracuda's attack. But then Marlin had noticed that his right fin looked slightly weaker than his left fin. Also, it didn't have the right appearance at all. There were ridges and scars on the fin, looking no similar to his own fin. When Nemo was a baby, the fin was the right size for him to swim and he didn't seem to have trouble swimming. Yet, as Nemo grew, the right fin remained the same in size. Right now, the right fin looked like a dwarf to the normal left fin. Because of that, Nemo had lost his ability to swim and had to flap his broken fin swiftly just for floating correctly. The sight of the broken fin made Marlin's heart clench in pain and guilt every time, recalling that his decision of picking this perfect, beautiful anemone by the drop-off had caused Coral's death and Nemo's disability.

Nemo didn't mind his disability, instead called his right fin his 'lucky fin'. He didn't like to think that he was 'made wrongly', believing that he was unique. Marlin often admired the optimism and innocence in his only son. Whenever he looked upon Nemo, he saw Coral in him. Nemo had the gentle smile that increased in size with his own happiness, the pale orange, adorable scales that sparkled just like his mother's, and even this shyness in his dark eyes that brightened whenever he made a new friend. HIs cheerful personality was just like his father's, before he was traumatized by the attack. But one of the things that Marlin admired in Nemo was his endless questions - which started now.

"Maybe, at school, I'll see a shark!" Nemo said, his eyes wide with eagerness.

"I highly doubt it," Marlin chuckled as he lightly pushed his son back into balance.

"Have you ever met a shark?"

"No, and I don't plan to."

"How old are sea turtles?'

Marlin paused, puzzled. "I don't . . . know."

"Sandy Plankton said sea turtles can live up to 100!"

Nemo headed for the crossing as Marlin said, "If I'll see a sea turtle, I'll make sure to ask him. Right after I'm done talking with the shark, ok?" He then stopped Nemo before he crossed the busy current. "Oh, hold up, wait to cross."

As they arrived to the schoolyard, Nemo gave his father a chiding look. "Dad, you aren't going to freak out like you did at the petting zoo?"

"That snail was about to charge," Marlin protested defensively.

The schoolyard was sure busy at this time of the day. Many parents were already there, escorting their kids and getting ready for school. Nemo looked around with wide eyes. He'd never seen so many different fishes. They were so colorful and diverse. There was a mother fish whose kids were swimming out from her mouth! He thought it was a funny thing to do. Also, he spotted a little tease between two bullies who tossed a hermit crab's shell while he was trying to get it back. It isn't that nice, Nemo thought. Soon, Marlin led him to a group of fathers who were laughing about something. Nemo was surprised to see that the fathers weren't the same species, but each a different species, laughing and talking like they were best friends.

"Is this the place to meet the teacher?" Marlin modestly asked the group. The fathers were a Seahorse with sleepy eyes, looking like he was watching with enjoyment under these heavy lids; a Butterfly fish with bright yellow and blue markings, along with wide, merry eyes; and a small flap-jack Octopus who seemed to be the quiet one.

The Seahorse smiled at the older Clownfish. "Well, look who's out the anemone."

Marlin chuckled. "Yes, shocking, I know."

"Marty, right?"

"Marlin."

"Bob," introduced the Seahorse.

"Ted," added the Octopus.

"Bill," finished the Butterfly fish. He then glanced at Marlin's markings. "Hey . . . you're a Clownfish. You're funny, right? Tell us a joke."

The other fathers nodded in agreement. Marlin made a withdrawn grin as he said, "That's a common misconception. Clownfish are no funnier than any other fish."

"C'mon, Clownie," Bill encouraged.

"Do something funny!" Ted gestured with one of his tentacles.

Nemo knew that his dad was one of those fishes who always tried to please everybody at once, and so at the fathers' persistence, he gave in and told a joke. Too bad that he didn't have a bit of humor in his entire body, Nemo thought with a grimace.

"There's a mollusk, see? And he walks up to a sea - He doesn't walk up, he swims up. Actually, the mollusk isn't moving. He's in one place, and the sea cucumber - Well, they - I'm mixed up," Marlin stuttered. "There was a mollusk and a sea cucumber. None of them were walking, so forget that I - "

"Sheldon!" Bob suddenly barked at someone behind them. "Get right out of Mr. Johansson's yard!"

Nemo glanced back and saw three children, just his age, laughing and tagging each other above a sand bed. They were the smaller versions of the fathers, clearly. The sand bed then moved, sand floating away, and revealed a large, old Flounder. The kids cleverly rushed to the Flounder's blind side while he tried to search for them with his two eyes, which were on one side.

It looked sure fun! "Can I play, Dad, can I?" Nemo asked Marlin.

Marlin took a look at the scene and shook his head. "I'd feel better if you play on the sponge beds."

Sponge beds? Nemo wrinkled his nose at the sight of two mothers playing with infants, who were bouncing on the sponge beds. One fell off and began crying out loud. Nemo frowned at his smiling father. That's for babies!                                     

"That's where I'd play," Marlin said.

The playing kids swam back to their fathers, then slowed down as they saw Nemo. They surrounded him, gazing curiously at his right fin.

"What's wrong with his fin?" asked the flap-jack Octopus girl. Her coloring was more pinkish than her father's, with hints of orange and grey within.

"It looks funny," said the small Butterfly fish. He had the usual mischief of youngsters mixed with heavy curiosity.

The Seahorse lad was quiet, almost timid, but then when his father smacked him right in his head with his tail without any reason, he gave him an irritated glare. "Ow! What did I do?"

"Be nice to him," Bob said. "It's his first time to school."

Marlin explained the reason of Nemo's right fin. "He's born with it. We call it his lucky fin."

Nemo felt his cheeks warming. Please, Dad, don't embarrass me like that. "Dad . . ." he gave him a look.

"See this tentacle?" the Octopus voiced, Nemo glancing down to one of her tiny tentacles. "It's actually shorter than all my other tentacles, but you really can't tell. Especially when I whirl them." She giggled as she prettily whirled them.

"I'm H2O intolerant," said Sheldon just before a violent sneeze pushed him away.

Then the Butterfly Fish shoved his head right close to Nemo's, his bright blue eyes sparkling. "And I'm obnoxious." He added a rather loud laugh that seemed, indeed, obnoxious.

Just then, a deep voice came out from somewhere, singing in a perfect rhyme of melody. "Oh . . . let's name the zones, the zones, the zones . . ." Along with the group, Nemo looked up and regarded a gigantic Manta Ray gliding above. His size almost blocked the water sun, casting a soft shadow over the small fishes. His flat fins lightly flapped upon the currents. His dark coloring of blue and grey seemed to clash against the colorful reef.

"Mr. Ray!" the kids cheered, dashing for the group of children who were waiting for school to start.

"Come on, Nemo!" Sheldon beckoned before he swam off.

Now excited, Nemo began forward, but then his father's large fin came on his head, stopping him. "No, you better stay with me." Nemo lightly frowned at that. In his excitement, he had forgotten that his overprotective dad was still at his side.

As he watched, Mr. Ray kept on singing cheerfully, then suddenly, he particularly landed on his class! Mr. Ray glanced around in puzzlement and playfully said, "Oh, I wonder where my class is."

The kids crawled out from under him, giggling and laughing. "We are here!"

"Oh, there you are!" Mr. Ray chuckled, then dropped down one of his wings. "C'mon, get on." He began singing a different verse as the children boarded on his back one by one. The Clownfish swam to him, Nemo marveling at the size of the gentle Manta Ray and Marlin radiating deep worry of the size.

"Dad, you can go home now," Nemo told his dad before he followed the line.

Mr. Ray glanced at him and grinned. "Hello, who is this?"

"I'm Nemo," he suddenly felt shy.

"Well, Nemo, all new explorers need to answer a science question."

"Ok."

"You live in what kind of home?"

Nemo grinned. He knew this! "An anemon-none . . . anemenem-menome . . ."

Mr. Ray winced at the young fish's efforts to say the word. "Ok, don't hurt yourself. Welcome aboard, explorers!"

But before he could swim off, Marlin stopped him, voicing with the usual worry of his son, "Just so you know, he's got a little fin. I find if he's having trouble swimming, I let him have a break. Ten, fifteen minutes . . ."

"Dad, you can go now," Nemo said from the back of the Manta Ray. He again felt embarrassment, and he just hoped that Marlin got the hint and let him have fun at school.

Apparently, Mr. Ray noticed the kid's embarrassment, for he gave Marlin an encouraging wink. "Don't worry. We will stay in a group." Marlin seemed to accept it and swam back to let the Manta Ray and his class go to school. As Mr. Ray flapped his wings up into the water, he announced to his class, "Ok, class, optical orbits up front. And remember, we keep our supraesophogeal ganglion to ourselves. That means you, Jimmy."

"Aw, man!" groaned a high-pitched voice from on his back.

"Bye, son!" Marlin called after, seeing his son becoming smaller and smaller . . .

"Bye, Dad!" Nemo waved back.

"Bye, son!" Marlin waited for another call, but his son didn't respond. The class finally vanished into the water. Marlin's heart clenched with anxiety at things that could happen to his son. "Be safe . . ." he whispered, hoping that Nemo would hear.

"You're doing pretty well for a first-timer," said Bob with an amused chuckle in his voice.

Marlin half-smiled. "Yeah, you can't hold on them forever." He didn't look around, keeping his eyes on where his son disappeared.

"I had trouble with my oldest at the Drop-off," Bill admitted as the other fathers nodded in understanding.

"They will grow - " The word 'Drop-off' popped an alarm in his mind and Marlin gasped, recalling the dangers there. He whirled around, almost screaming, "What, the Drop-off? They are going to the Drop-off?! Are you insane?!" He then rushed off to find his son and keep him safe from the danger there, but he wasn't finished with the fathers. "Why won't we just fry them up now and serve them with chips?" he snapped at them.

"Hey, Marty, calm down," Bob said, frowning, as Ted and Bill blinked in surprise.

"Don't tell me to be calm, pony boy," Marlin retorted back as he continued swimming for the Drop-off.

Bob had the strange look on his face. " . . . Pony boy?"

Bill shook his head, whispering to them, "You know, for a Clownfish, he's not that funny."

Ted added, "Pity."

***

As Mr. Ray swam through the reef, the kids had a blast watching the sights and seeing the bright fishes swimming. Nemo enjoyed it the most. He hadn't really explored the reef in his short life, mainly because of his father's over protectiveness, but he kinda understood why. The reef was a dangerous place, especially for any small fish living there. They had to watch for their safety constantly and carefully so they wouldn't be caught by an ambush or a sudden attack of a predator. Lives in the reef were never easy.

But right now, Nemo felt completely safe with Mr. Ray. The Manta Ray, although gentle to everybody, had a body of gigantic size that none but the most persistent predators would dare to face him. His long tail was one of his defenses: a stinger resting within the tail. If he would meet a danger, Mr. Ray would sting him immediately that paralyze it and escape before it could recover in time. No wonder he was the perfect guardian for the kids in the dangerous reef. And he was the perfect teacher, too. Mr. Ray obviously loved to sing and teaching, and so he combined them into one. Nemo enjoyed listening to his deep voice as the Manta Ray vocalized about all the species living in the reef and some.

Nemo curiously looked downward from his seat on the Manta Ray. Oh, look! A Spanish Dancer! It was so beautiful. It was flat in body, and its frills were wavy and wide, used for swimming around. It was colored dark pink, red, and bright white, glaringly against solemn coral underneath it. Oh, again, look! More schools! They weren't as large as his class, but those schools looked like they were occupied by older fishes, probably families or just traveling through the reef. All Nemo saw was flashes of colors everywhere. The reef was so gorgeous. He wondered what his father would say if he looked at the reef without fear . . .

Eventually, Mr. Ray finally arrived to a large sand bed. He dipped his left wing down. "Alright, kids, here we are. Feel free to explore, but stay close." He then gasped in marvel as he regarded a tiny, orangish speck in the water. He began one of his lessons as the kids eagerly listened.

 Nemo was interested, too, but then he heard the bored voice of the Butterfly fish - Tad, he recalled - whispering to Sheldon and the octopus, Pearl, "Come on."

Nemo glanced around and saw the trio secretly swimming away between coral. He took a glimpse at the Manta Ray, but the teacher wasn't paying attention. His curiosity grew, and Nemo tagged after his new friends. "Hey, guys, wait up!" He called as he awkwardly swam to where they were. To his surprise, the trip stopped just a few meters. Taking a look around, Nemo noticed that he was at one of the quiet but perilous areas of the reef - a Drop-off. Nemo was awed and a bit frightened at the sight. He was used to busy traffic, clear and warm waters, and the crowded feeling to it, but the Drop-off . . . it had nothing of this. He felt like he was at the end of the world with the dark, cooler water silently floating in front and his home behind. It was eerily quiet, and the waters were so empty that Nemo did have the feeling that there was someone out there, hiding within the darkness, watching him, too.

Altogether, the four children peeked downward from the edge, seeing how deep and how dark the waters were. Suddenly, Tad grabbed on Pearl and yanked her back on the edge. "Saved your life!"

In her brief shock, Pear had spurted out a cloud of black around her tentacles. She looked down and grimaced at the laughing Tad and Sheldon. "Aw, you made me ink."

Nemo made a small smile, then something white attracted his eyes. He looked upward and saw a strange shape floating upon the surface. It looked much like his belly, curved and thick, but it was huge! It was colored white with some kind of grey thing - maybe a tentacle? - trailing down and down into the darkness. It floated quietly and unmoving. "What's that?" he said, pointing with his good fin.

The kids gazed at the belly and Tad said, "I know what it is. Sandy Plankton saw one. It's called a butt."

"Oohh . . ." the children said altogether. Nemo knew who Sandy Plankton was. He had traveled all over the oceans and saw everything and knew everything! If he saw a shape like that and knew it was called a butt, then he was right!

"That's a pretty big butt," Pearl observed.

Sheldon held a mild eager glint in his black eyes as he calmly swam off into the open water. The children watched in amazement as Sheldon got a bit closer to the butt. "Oh, look, I'm going to touch the butt." Then a sharp sneeze pushed him much farther from the edge. "Whoa!" Sheldon rushed back to his original spot in the water. He then frowned at Pearl, who was laughing. "Oh yeah? Let's see you get closer."

"Okay," Pearl shrugged and glided past Sheldon. "Beat that!"

Tad beat her, indeed, swimming past her and looking back to the little Clownfish. "C'mon, Nemo, see how far you swim."

Nemo wanted to beat all of his friends, showing that he can get closer to that butt, but he hesitated. He knew that the Drop-off wasn't safe at all, even though it was quiet right now. He shook his head. "My dad said it's not safe."

"NEMO, no!" Nemo jumped in surprise as he heard his father barking right behind him. Turning around, he saw Marlin darting to him and harshly, almost angrily pushing him off. Nemo was frightened to see the fuming anger in the dark orange eyes. Marlin had his moments of irritation and annoyance, but never in anger, never toward his son. Marlin was angry. He pointed toward the edge, yelling, "You were about to swim into open water!"

Nemo tried to calm him and failed. "No, I wasn't - "

"It's a good thing that I caught you just in time."

"But, Dad, I wasn't-"

At that moment, the kids had arrived back and surrounded Nemo, defending their new friend. "He wasn't going to swim out there, sir," Pearl meekly said.

"Yeah, he was too afraid," Tad added.

"No, I wasn't!" Nemo scowled back at Tad.

Marlin gave each of the kids a withering glare. "This doesn't concern you, kids, and you're lucky I don't tell your parents!" His anger evaporated a bit, showing his usual worry toward Nemo. "You know you can't swim well!"

Nemo felt his chest hardening with embarrassment and shame. When will his dad ever see that he swims just fine?! He snapped back, "But I can swim fine, Dad, OK?"

"No, it's not okay. I was right," Marlin nodded as he grabbed on his son's fin and dragged him toward the reef. "You aren't ready. You will start in a year or two - "

Nemo jerked out of his hold. "No, Dad!" How dare Dad to embarrass me in front of my new friends? How dare Dad to think that anything dangerous will definitely target on me? Nothing wrong is happening to me! Nothing! He's overreacting! "Just because you're afraid of the ocean - "

"Clearly, you're not ready, and you're not coming back until you are," Marlin glared back, silencing him. "You think you can do those things, but you just can't, Nemo!"

Nemo took a breath to snap back, and then exhaled. But his anger didn't evaporate. He cast his gaze down, letting the words coming out from his mouth. "I hate you."

And he meant it.

Even that he wasn't looking at his father, he can imagine the shocked look on his face. He felt a bit guilty about saying the words then, but he really did meant it. He was furious that his dad wouldn't let him have his fun when he wanted to. He knew that his father was changed after his mother died, but it didn't mean that Nemo would get the same death. He knew that he was the only child Marlin had to remember his mate, and the very lucky one to escape death with a bad fin, but . . . it wasn't fair! It wasn't! Why can't Nemo have his fun? Why can't he prove to his father that he can do just fine without having him watching over him every five minutes?

He heard Mr. Ray's voice talking to Marlin about a problem and looked up to see Marlin worriedly talking to him about his son unable to take care of himself. Right in front of his friends and the rest of the class! How embarrassing! Nemo's bitter scowl deepened. He had to find something to prove to his father and class that he can take care of himself just fine. He darkly glanced over to the butt floating on the surface. Touch the butt . . . ha, Nemo will show his dad that he was braver than him.

Suddenly, a blue-green scaled gal gasped and shouted, pointing at the butt. "Oh, my gosh! Nemo is swimming out to sea!"

"Nemo!" he heard his father yelling from a distance. Nemo was surprised to find that the dark waters weren't dangerous at all. Just quiet. Nothing dangerous will happen to him and he will show that to his father. He arrived to the grey, cold-looking tentacle that was hanging from the butt. He took a look upward. Wow, it looked really far and long . . .

"What do you think you're doing?" Marlin kept on yelling. "You're gonna get stuck out there and I have to get you before another fish does!"

Nemo found it rather amusing that his father wouldn't even go out to get him. There was nothing to get scared of. It was only a butt. Ignoring his father, Nemo swam upward until he arrived to the butt.

"Get back here!" Marlin finally swam to the very edge of the Drop-off and stabbed his fin down. "I said get back here, now!"

Nemo turned around, scowling bitterly at his father. 

"Stop! You take one more move, mister - "

He held out his good fin.

"Don't you dare! If you put one fin on that boat - are you listening to me?"

He slowly raised his fin . . .

"Don't touch the bo -"

He slapped the hard underbelly, resulting into his father's biting yell, "NEMO!"

"He touched the butt," whispered Tad.

"Now you just paddle your little tail right here, Nemo!" Marlin ranted as his son swam toward him. Nemo silently listened, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "That's right. You're in big trouble, young man. Do you hear me? Big - Big . . ." He noticed his father's voice trailing off, his frightened eyes widening at something behind his son. His body slackened, and Nemo was surprised to see that. His father rarely rested, always fidgeting over small things.

Then he heard his class gasp, their wide eyes stuck at a spot behind him. He felt a presence floating nearly, and Nemo hesitated. Was . . . was it something dangerous? Slowly, Nemo turned around, but . . . all he saw was his reflection on a . . . flat, ugly eye that was shaped all wrong. The eye was so big that he could see all his reflection on a small part of it. Then he saw hands and two fins. They was all black with weird markings of yellow and green. Thousands and thousands of bubbles hissed from the creature's mouth. And it . . . that creature was enormous. He couldn't see all of it in his vision. It - it was a Diver!

One of the hands was close to him and blocked him from escaping. Truly terrified, Nemo yelled for his father. "Daddy! Help me!"

Marlin blinked out of his daze at the voice of his son. He saw that the Diver was trying to lead Nemo into a net. Oh, no! "Nemo!" Marlin darted forward, but was stopped by another Diver. He gasped at the size, knowing that he's heard about the strange creatures, but could never imagine how huge they can get. He felt so tiny. He swam back, blocked by the coral. He couldn't see anything but the face of the Diver, the mask engrossing him. He heard Mr. Ray's voice as he led his class to safety. He couldn't think of anything else but his son. Then the Diver made a weird electric eel-like flash with a kind of box coral. The white glare blinded Marlin and he blinked rapidly, his heart beating anxiously. "Nemo! No! Nemo!"

His vision was blurred, clouded with colors, couldn't see anything. But he kept on hearing his son yelling for him. Finally, his vision cleared, and Marlin glanced up to the boat. The two Divers were already swimming for the boat, taking his son with him! Marlin crazily rushed for the boat, flapping his tail as fast and hard as much as he can. No, nonononononono, they can't take him! They can't! They can't! As he finally arrived at the boat, he wildly searched for a way to get on. Unfortunately, the boat's tail suddenly spun swiftly, spitting out more bubbles. He got caught in the spin of bubbles and was pushed back. Marlin fought to get his balance, then saw that the boat was gone. His heart increased in beating, but then he noticed the trail of bubbles left behind. Hope! He's gonna get his son back! Marlin hurried after, following the trail.

In the boat, Dr. S put his new catch into a small icebox to keep him alive on the trip. The waters were a bit rocky, and the bounce of the boat caused the Diver fall back and bumped his mask into the water.

He didn't know how long he'd been chasing the boat, but he didn't care of the time but the safety of his son. He can't imagine being without his son, all alone once again. He can't let that happen again. He kept his eyes on the bubble trail, pushing his remaining strength into flapping his tail. Slowly, he then noticed that the bubbles lessened in number in the trail. "No, no, it's gone, it's gone . . ." Marlin was disbelieved as the trail completely vanished before his eyes. All that remained was calm water surface, gently billowing. "No, it can't be gone!"

Marlin broke through the surface, gazing around. "Nemo! Nemo!" He saw nothing. Nothing was there. Nothing but the sky, which was painted dark red with pale pink that marked the setting sun's path. Nothing but empty, waving water surface. Nothing. His son was gone. Marlin felt his throat contracting, giving out sobs.

"No, please, no!"

A/O:

Very cute introduction of Nemo, which I loved to laugh at his grimaces as Marlin worriedly examined him for any injuries. The Pixar dudes did an amazing animation of Nemo, showing every bit of innocence, excitement, and childishness of the young one without overdoing it. Marlin was hilarious in this, trying his best to be a father and pleasing everybody, especially the joke to the fathers. How could you not like him? :)

Nemo's new friends were wonderful, even in their brief moments. H20 intolerant?! That's a first for everything, I suppose. The scene between Nemo and Marlin after they argued did set the climax of their tension. Yes, there are many climaxes in this movie, more than I could count. After Nemo was taken, I literally shouted at the screen, scolding Marlin, but then whooping for his side when he decided to find his son. I always root for the underdog. :)