Nemo's Idol

Nemo stared out of the filthy tank, thinking about all that had happened since he had been captured by the diver Doctor Sherman, and trapped inside the tiny world of the tank and the Tank Gang. It had terrified him at first, being separated from his father, Marlon, and his ocean home, taken to the enclosed realm of the dentist's fish tank, but the Tank Gang had been more than friendly and welcoming. The only danger had come, not from inside the tank itself, but from Doctor Sherman's niece, Darla, who had apparently already killed a former member of the Tank Gang, long before Nemo himself had been trapped within the tank. But that danger seemed distant, now that Gill's plan to get Nemo - to get the entire Tank Gang - out of the tank forever, was well underway, in no small measure due to Nemo's own actions. But, despite everything, Nemo was glad that he had had the opportunity to make friends with all of the Tank Gang, especially now that it seemed that it was only a matter of time until they were all free, and back in the ocean where Nemo knew he really belonged.

He smiled when he thought about Gill. Scarred, quiet, with a bad fin not totally unlike Nemo's own, the moorish idol nevertheless seemed to command a high level of respect from all who knew him, even from Gurgle, who seemed to spend half of his time arguing with Gill about Gill's escape plans (and the other half worrying about germs). Nemo had asked Gill about that. Gill had been silent for a moment, as though carefully considering his response - Gill never seemed to say anything without carefully considering his words first. Then Gill had explained that his arguing with Gurgle was about the how, not the what. According to Gill, Gurgle had had very good reasons for being uncertain about Gill's plan to get Nemo to block the filter, causing the tank to become dirty, so that the dentist would place them all in individual bags, which could then be rolled to freedom. And, indeed, the first attempt at the plan had almost led to Nemo himself being killed. It was only due to the swift thinking of Gill, combined with the efforts of the rest of the Tank Gang, that Nemo had been saved from this fate. Gill had apologised, and clearly felt bad about that, but Nemo had also felt bad about letting him down. It was only when he heard that his own father had been battling the entire ocean to reach him, to save him, that Nemo had managed to find the courage to go back into the filter once more, this time succeeding in blocking this filter, to the cheers of the Tank Gang.

And now it was only a matter of time until they were all free of the tank. Nemo remembered that Gill had once asked him if he was happy in the tank, and Nemo knew that he couldn't say yes, could not lie to Gill - he suspected that the Tank Gang's quiet leader could see through lies as easily as if they were clear water. Nemo had instead said that everyone had been kind to him, for he also did not want to seem ungrateful - it was not as if the Tank Gang had needed to be kind and welcoming of him, but they had just seemed to take it as a given that they should help and protect him, and do everything that they could to make sure that he could be returned to his father once more. Yet, most of them did not seem to really understand his longing to go back to the ocean, however much Nemo tried to explain. Gill had said that it wasn't their fault - they had been born in captivity, did not understand what it felt like to live free in the ocean with all of its wonders and dangers. He had said that everything they knew about the ocean had come from Gill himself telling them tales of his own youth. And that was why Gill did understand Nemo's desire to return to the ocean, for Gill, unlike the rest of the Tank Gang, had once lived there, and now longed to return back there once more. He even understood Nemo's own frustrations at his father, who had always tried to protect Nemo - but to the point where Nemo had felt that he was being kept a bubble, unable to live his life free to explore his ocean home. Yet Gill had also said that Marlon's wanting to keep him safe was understandable, for the ocean could be a dangerous place to live. Nemo found that he respected the idol all the more because he refused to say anything bad about his father.

And, despite the bad fin, and despite the scars, Gill was, in his own way, quite beautiful. Not beautiful in the way that Gurgle or Deb were beautiful - they were brightly coloured, like daylight; but Gill had a much subtler beauty, a beauty of the moon and of the night. The beauty of a protector, a guard, a leader, one who had one fin in darkness, but would never let this darkness rule him. Nemo smiled to himself as he thought about the mysterious idol. Yes, it was only a matter of time until he would be free of the tank and back in the ocean again - no matter what happened, he knew that Gill would do everything he possibly could to ensure that he would be able to be reunited with his father once more. And Nemo knew that, no matter what happened, he would never forget the Tank Gang, and especially the understanding and caring that he had received from their brave and bold leader.