Author's Note:
I decide to put aside the usual disclaimer presentation to respond to the reviews. Why? Because it's fun to poke at people's opinions with dry wit. No, really, I'm just kidding. I do appreciate the reviews because they do aid me in my writing skills. Even after nearly eight years of writing, I'm still modest to show off my skills and the comments really help me a lot and show me that I do have some talent. :)
Unfortunately for me, I'm now bearing a nasty fish bite on my ankle. Believe me, it was horrible. It was also hard to keep my mind on the responses while I have a very bitter Damselfish gumming my ankle at the moment. She's mad at me for not letting her do the disclaimer. Thanks goodness JC has a life-size Gurgle balloon ready to distract her. Dot is finally gone, currently abusing the poor balloon with her hugs. Thanks, JC.
JC: Anytime.
It will take me too long to personally respond to each of the reviews, so I will summarize my feelings as little as I can. As a writer, it's hard not to explain everything I feel. :) It isn't that easy as I thought, but at least, I try. Once again, thank you for your encouraging reviews. I'm astonished that several of you made statements about my Deafness. I didn't know if being Deaf makes any different from being Hearing. I never see Deafness as a handicap because just like her memory loss characterizes Dory, Deafness makes me who I am. I wouldn't be anybody else. If you are curious with how I 'hear' with my eyes, try watching Finding Nemo (or any other movie) without the sound on. (Your choice to turn on the subtitles/captions, too.) Maybe you will see it in a different view. Maybe not. You might see something new that you would've never noticed before. Try it out. What do you have to lose? :)
I'm very glad that I took the chance to novelize 'Finding Nemo'. I was anxious about doing it because not everybody likes novelizations, especially ones that cheapens the feeling of the actual movie. I worried that my novelization would do that and anger some of the fans. Whew, glad it doesn't. :) I appreciate all the criticism (two so far). I know about my heavy use of details. I don't know why I tend to use a lot of details. Maybe I want to show everything I see so you can see the same. It comes naturally to me. Using details is one of my best skills, but even writers can overuse their talents. I will watch the rhythm from now on. ;) And with the fang thingy, I did it on purpose. Why? Because I can. :)
I don't see myself as a romance-loving fan (even though I did write romance fictions *inserts a disgusted emoticon here*). What's wrong with being close friends? :) I have several guy friends that I've grown closer without having the girlfriend/boyfriend love, so that's why I prefer friendship over romance. Don't expect any romance in my fanfictions. And with my interpretation of Gurgle, I couldn't resist saying it. He's really a beauty. I was attracted with his bright colors. That's one of the things I love about him. :) But is it possible for a fish to be effeminate? *blinksblinks*
Yes, Sa-chan, I was a cheerleader in High School, believe it or not. But I was one of the nice species, so no worries. ;)
And one of the reviewers, Riverwood, suggests that I say hello for her to my Muses, so here are their hellos!
JC: Greetings, people!
Dot: Bonjour, humains!
Arigato for all the reviews and I hope you still enjoy the novelization to its end! Now, let's us continue to the next chapter -
Dot: Wait! You forgot the disclaimer!
Oh, yeah, that's right . . .
Dot: It's just like you, so forgetful. I'm often amazed at how you handle this without having me around to jolt your brain back to the present.
. . .
JC: Oh, no, you've hurt her feelings. Now we've got an upset author on our fins! Thanks a lot, Dot.
Dot: Don't be absurd. Authors are always dramatic.
No more watching 'Finding Nemo' for you.
Dot: NOOO!! I need my daily dose of Gurgle!
No.
Dot: Je suis désolé!
That's better. Start the disclaimer.
Dot: Oui, maître. Debbie (Dai-chan) doesn't own 'Finding Nemo'. I swear by my scales.
And Gurgle.
Dot: *whimpers* Even Gurgle?
Even Gurgle.
Dot: . . . Ok . . . Gurgle owns himself.
Good fish.
Dot: I think I should leave now. Adieu.
JC: Females.
Chapter Five: Nemo's Initiation
It was the first night he'd spent without his father sleeping by.
The tank was nothing like his old home, so cold without feeling, and even though that there were other fishes, so friendly and nice which welcomed Nemo warmly, it wasn't the same. He missed his home intensely. He missed the comfortable tendrils of his anemone, missed the soft orange color that darkened whenever he woke up in the middle of the night and admired them. He missed his school and friends greatly. He missed Mr. Ray's singing, Tad's loud laughter, Pearl's cute whirls of her tentacles, even Sheldon's sneezes. He missed the snug, sunny waters that always bathed his scales with such warmth that felt like a mother's touch.
Most of all, he missed his father. The fatherly grin, the protection he radiated, even all the strict rules he'd set for Nemo's safety . . . he missed them all. He wished to be back in his father's fins, letting him hug back and won't let go. He wished to tell him that he loved him, not hated him. Those wishes were swimming inside his dreams, saddening him, as he slept in his new home - a tiny hut set near a corner. He felt like his adventures were over, nothing to do in the tank, stuck here forever and never see his father again.
The Tank Gang had other ideas.
Silently, Jacques approached the hut, knowing what to do. He peered at the sleeping fish and smiled quietly. "Nemo . . ." he voiced softly, but the lad didn't stir at his voice. The Shrimp chuckled, picked up a pebble, half the size of him, and gently let it bounce off Nemo's body. "Nemo . . ." Again, the lad didn't rouse. "Nemo!" Several throws of more pebbles.
Nemo woke with a start. The Shrimp then smiled at the puzzled visage on the lad. "Suives-moi."
He turned around and swam briefly before he noticed that he was alone. The lad was still in the hut, still puzzled. Jacques neared and again spoke, this time in English, "Follow me."
Perplexed, but curious, Nemo followed the Shrimp down a path he'd picked out. Jacques seemed impassive and casual as he marched and Nemo grew more curious. Around him, the leaves, the peddles, and even the walls received a faint hue of red, gave off from the volcano in the center of the tank. Nemo felt that the red hue changed the surroundings somehow, from the cold, bright look of day into the mysterious, looming atmosphere of night. He then noticed that Jacques was leading him toward the volcano.
Quietly, then rising in loudness, a chanting began around the Tiki heads. Pitches, tones, and melodies rose and dropped, mingled into a simple voice, chanted by three voices. Nemo watched the Tiki heads, thought that they were actually singing. Three of the gang fishes appeared from behind the heads, perfectly coordinated, as they floated upward.
Bloat, Gurgle, and Bubbles were chanting, serious and keen looks on their faces. The Blowfish wore a ring tied with long leaves upon his head, looking like they were growing right out from his head. Gurgle had the same leaf-ring, but this time, he had it around his waist. Bubbles balanced a conch shell upon his head. They seemed absurd to him, but they looked so serious about something . . .
Jacques continued marching upon the volcano, and then Nemo noticed Peach and Deb waiting on the volcano. He quietly approached them and was surprised as Deb silently flicked him with a kelp frond in her fins, her blithe face now contorted into a serious frown. Peach also flicked him with her kelp, using her energy to push herself off and brushing him.
Nemo giggled at the tickles, then kept on up the volcano. Jacques had disappeared, but Nemo didn't stop to search for him. He felt that he was supposed to continue up to the top. Someone was there, he can sense it. As the chanting intensified, Nemo slowly swam up. An excitement, mixed with suspense, increased inside him, coaxing him. He saw stripes of white and black, and there he was. Gill floated at the top, waiting for him. Nemo grew humbled under the stern gaze of the Moorish Idol and yet felt completely safe with the look.
The rest drifted behind Gill, still chanting, until they sharply stopped at the flicker of his left fin. "Hoo!"
Silence reigned.
Gill spoke and Nemo thought his voice would shatter the glass box. "State your name."
". . . Nemo."
"Brother Bloat, proceed."
Gill backed, letting Bloat to take his position. Bloat kept his bronze eyes on the Clownfish, seeming to size him up. Then: "Nemo!" he hollered, flaring his fins. "Newcomer of orange and white. You have been called forth to the summit of Mount Wannahockaloogie to join with us in the fraternal bonds of tankhood."
Nemo stared, then wrinkled his nose in puzzlement. "Huh?"
Below, Peach translated for him. "We want you in our club, kid."
"Really?" They had a club and they wanted him to join in? His first night began to brighten with acceptance and welcome.
"If!" Bloat barked. "You are able to swim through . . . the Ring of Fire!"
Silence reigned.
Nemo politely waited in confusion, wondering what was supposed to happen.
Irritated, Bloat hissed down to Jacques. "Turn on the Ring of Fire. You said you would turn on the Ring of Fire!"
The Shrimp used his several legs to turn the wheel on the volcano's side. The wheel controlled the speed of the bubbles that came out from the top. As the wheel turned up, a rapid jet of bubbles shot up from the top, forming a blurred wall in front of Nemo.
"The Ring of Fire!"
Bubbles gawked at all his bubbles escaping. He struggled under his alert demeanor and shakily reached out his fin. "Bubbles, let me -" He was smacked into silence by Deb's frond.
Bloat joined in the chanting with Bubbles and Gurgle, and Gill returned to his proper position. Nemo hesitated, not understanding what was going on here. Swim through the Ring of Fire? This jet? He glanced to the chanting fishes. Now they held expectance in their eyes, even grinning with encouragement toward him.
"Is there another way?" Peach protested. "He's just a boy!"
Frightened, Deb covered her eyes and used her frond to cover 'Flo's' eyes, as well. Jacques was wailing, his tiny voice resonating.
But Gill's confident face, nodding from behind the bubble jet, gave him courage. Nemo gathered his nerves, closed his eyes, and thrashed his tail hard. For a moment, he experienced the roar of the bubbles and the pressure they pushed on his body, then they were gone. He bumped into something and his eyes opened. A new smile crossed Gill's face, a smile that looked surprisingly soft to Nemo.
The Moorish Idol gently held him up with his good fin, voicing to the fishes, "From this moment on, you'll be known as Sharkbait."
"Sharkbait, oh-ha-ha!" the trio chanted.
"Welcome, Brother Sharkbait."
"Sharkbait, oh-ha-ha!"
"Enough with the Sharkbait!"
"Sharkbait!" That was from Gurgle who dared to continue. The rest glanced at him, and his purple scales turned red. "Oh, ba-ba-do . . ."
Gill let go of Nemo and addressed his gang, "Sharkbait is one of us now, agreed?"
"Agreed."
"And we can't send him off to his death. Darla is coming in five days. So what will we do? I'll tell you what we'll do. We're gotta get him outta here. We're gotta help him escape."
As Gill spoke, Nemo sneaked an uneasy gaze down to the picture of Darla. The metal grin, the cracked glass made him feel shaken. At the word 'escape', Nemo turned to the Moorish Idol. "Escape? Really?"
"We're all gotta escape." Gill's eyes again sparkled with intensity.
However, the gang didn't share the same intensity. Gurgle groaned, holding his head with a fin. "Gill, please, not another escape plan." He finished with a flourish of crossing his fins.
Deb merely glanced to her frond, muttering, "I'm sorry, but they just never work."
"How could this be any different?" Bloat added, raising an eye ridge.
Gill smiled. "That's because we've got him."
Nemo stared at the black fin pointing toward him. "Me?"
Gill silently curled his fin around the little one and shifted his sight until he spotted a machine on the wall - the filter. "See that filter?" Nemo numbly nodded. "You're the only one small enough to get in and out that thing. First, we need to take a pebble inside there and jam the gears. Then the tank's gonna get filthier and filthier by the minute. Pretty soon, the dentist will have to clean the tank. And when he does, he will take us out of the tank, put us in individual baggies; then we will roll ourselves down the counter, out of the window, off the awning, into the bushes, across the street, and into the harbor!"
Gill chuckled, now grinning widely with pleasure. "It's fool-proof." He then turned to the gang. "Who's with me?"
"Yea! Yea!' the fishes agreed, already roused with excitement from Gill's powerful words. Maybe, just this time, their leader's plan will work! They will finally escape!
However, Gurgle was still stubborn. "I think you're nuts!" he reproached. Gill cast an exasperated sigh, but the Royal Gamma ignored it. He gazed over to Nemo, unsure about the plans. "No offense, kid, but you're not the best swimmer."
"He's fine. He can do this," Gill insisted. His ruby eyes turned to the Clownfish. "So, Sharkbait, what do you think?"
Nemo regarded his new friends, his new club mates. Now that he was in their club, he knew that they wouldn't send him to do something dangerous. He was part of their gang, already loyal and devoted to each other. They will definitely watch for him. And they looked up to him to help them escape. He was the only one who can do it. He can't let them down. As he glanced up to the filter, he began to see hope. Hope that might bring freedom to his friends. Hope that might return him to his home. Hope that might ease the pain between him and his father.
'Sharkbait' grinned. "Let's do it!"
A/O:
One thing still bothers me about the plan. If Nemo was the only one small enough to carry off the plan, why can't Jacques do it? He was smaller than the lad! But then, the Shrimp would be too small for the plans because of the currents cast by the gears and he could be too small to carry a pebble, then. But he did carry several pebbles at once to wake Nemo! :p I don't get it.
