A Cuttlefish undulates her fins to keep level with the Leafy Seadragon floating beside her.
Leafy Seadragon: So what other water-sounding names could she have given us, apart from Seadra or yours Atlanta?
Atlanta: Well there's Marina, Aqua, Oceana, Hydro or Hydra, Charybdus, Atlantis, Scylla, Siren, Pacifica, Arctica, Antarctica, Poiseidon, can't think of anything else.
Seadra: Which one of those would you have preferred to have?
Atlanta: Atlanta.
Seadra: *smiles* I could't imagine you with any other name.
Two submarine-mounted spotlights fall on the two ocean-dwellers. They exchange startled looks and turn round to look.
Sub: Greetings my ocean-loving creations.
Atlanta + Seadra: Power!
Power: Yes it is I.
Seadra: How can we help you ma'am?
Power: I have a fanfiction I want you to MST.
Atlanta: Oh Neptune. Alright then, tell us where to go.
Power: My Dome of course.
Seadra: But isn't your Dome-?
Power: Filled with sea-water, just for you.
Atlanta: Lucky us.
Power: And I took the liberty of collecting you favourite food as snacks.
Seadra: Why thank you.
Power: Off you go. I have a live com-link to the Theatre so I can hear everything you say.
The two marine animals swim into the Dome and into the theatre, picking up their snask along the way. Atlanta enters first.
Brief character summaries:
Seadra: Kind, sweet and gentle. She appreciates the beauty of her home. Her choice of friend in Atlanta is a mystery to all.
Atlanta: A cynic and very critical of life, the universe and everything. It's a wonder how she can stand Seadra.
The sun shone brightly down on the rippling blue waters of the ocean.
Atlanta: Good Neptune. It's only the first sentence and already I hate it so.
Seadra: Because my dear Atlanta, you're a cynic - one who doesn't appreciate the beauty of a sunny day.
Atlanta: *scoffs* Too right I don't.
On the freeway, cars roared past, some drivers glancing out at the vast sea
Seadra: Ocean.
over the Great Barrier Reef. They saw this natural wonder almost every day; it was located only off the coast of their home, Sydney, Australia.
Atlanta: What's that? The Great Barrier Reef or the ocean?
Seadra: Both.
Atlanta: *glares* I know that. But the author didn't specify.
But how were they to know that down below the docks bobbed seven plastic baggies full of PH-balanced saltwater from an aquarium, each containing its own little finned escape artist?
Seadra: Yes, how were they to know?
Unbeknownst to the human world, the Tank Gang had floated for half an hour under the blazing sunshine in their bags.
Gill, the leader, was a large and very proud Moorish Idol. He had once lived in the ocean but had been placed in captivity at a young age.
Seadra: He can't have been too young or else he would've forgotten the ocean.
All his life, he longed to return to his true home. A born leader and natural planner, Gill spent most of his aquarium time either sulking, or thinking up new ways to get out. Staring out the window at the sea didn't help him feel any better, but it strengthened his resolve to escape. From the dentist's window, he could see it every day, beckoning to him. His old family and friends were calling to him. He could feel it.
Atlanta: It would be more likely that they gave up on him ages ago.
Seadra: Sometimes you can be so mean.
Atlanta: I know.
The dentist was an excellent fishkeeper. It was just that..
Gill would have given anything to have an escape plan work. Finally, here he was, in the ocean! He hadn't really devised a method of getting out of the plastic baggies. That, he assumed, would be the least of their worries once they'd made the big jump.
Atlanta: Evidently.
Besides, there were lots of sharp objects in the world perfect for puncturing plastic bags-right?
Atlanta: *scoffs* Hah!
For half an hour the gang poked their bags. They tried to push them over toward the dock, hoping to find a splinter or nail or anything sticking out that would make a hole. No luck. The sun was shining in through the plastic, making it soft, raising the temperature of the water inside, and causing the fish to
Atlanta: Slowly cook.
Seadra: Atlanta!
have to squint.
At last, a flock of white birds circled in the sky above. "Move away!" the gang cried at once, as they attempted to force the bags through the water.
Atlanta: But it was like running on a hamster wheel - they got nowhere.
The group of seagulls swarmed upon them, pecking mercilessly, until a bird with a much larger beak came into view. Nigel, the pelican, couldn't help eating fish. He wouldn't if he didn't have to. He liked fish.
Seadra: Nothing unusual there then.
And these fish he recognized as personal buddies. So he charged in, driving the greedy, "Mine!"-chanting seagulls off, and perched on the dock. "Need some help, fellas?" he asked, trying not to laugh at the bag-bound animals. With a few quick jabs of his beak he was able to pop the bags and watch his grateful fish friends swim off.
Seadra: Out of his life. Never to be seen again.
Through gossip, Nigel had heard about a group of sharks trying to adopt a vegetarian regime to clean up their images and be friendlier to their fellow creatures. Nigel considered doing the same. Pelicans didn't have a reputation for being ferocious.
Both: *snort. Laugh*
But then again, Nigel was really fond of fish.
Atlanta: *rolls eyes* As are all Pelicans, for that matter. You can stop saying that now, we get the picture.
Ocean currents are fascinating things. Some enormous group of travellers must have started them years ago,
Atlanta: *frowns* I don't think so. Ocean currents are caused by convection currents beneath the Oceanic Crust, everyone knows that.
but today, they are highways for ocean life-always there when you need them,
Atlanta: Otherwise the world would descend in meteological chaos.
moving swiftly along. It's like a whirlpool in your backyard pool, only on a much larger scale.
Seadra: *blinks* Whirlpools are dangerous. Why would anyone want to have one in their backyard pool?
Atlanta: And anyway. Ocean currents are nothing like whirlpools.
Ocean currents were one of the best things in life for a sea turtle named Crush. He lived to surf the current aimlessly, sometimes just hanging out and being totally mellow, other times righteously whirring out of control-because the excitement of rushing water is just way awesome, man.
Atlanta: *scowls* Whatever. Give me a Coral Reef anytime.
Crush had a little son named Squirt. Squirt was shaping up to be just like his old man. The two of them spent their days travelling the ocean currents, which, from a distance, looked like moving rainbows of water- colorful ribbons twisting through the sea.
Atlanta: Just looks like a lighter shade of blue to me.
Seadra: Yes but that's because you have no soul.
The dynamics of the Tank Gang were interesting. They didn't even call themselves the "Tank Gang." Being a "gang" at all wasn't on their agenda.
Seadra: Huh? I was always under the impression that it was.
They were just really good friends-might as well even be family, though their differences were many and they were quite the diverse, strange crew- who had a motto along the lines of "One for all, and all for one."
Atlanta: Wrong movie.
Seadra: Were you watching the right movie, dear? It did say "Finding Nemo" on the video? And not just the cover?
They didn't choose a leader. Gill just sort of naturally fell into the position.
Atlanta: Yeah, it's called gravity. Happens a lot these days.
He had all the qualities of being a good leader. He had an innate, quiet sense of authority that made others listen to him and trust him without much effort on his part. The gang's members, for all their disagreements, had personalities that meshed together pretty well overall. They all looked up to Gill. They all loved each other
Atlanta: *chokes on her crab*
Seadra: *coughs*
(even if they wouldn't readily admit it). They all admired each other's unique traits-if they were annoyed by them at times.
Seadra: Shouldn't there be an "even" in there somewhere?
Passing by the East Australian Current, the gang decided to hop a ride. It wasn't long before Peach, the starfish, was feeling quite protective toward Squirt, and Deb, the damselfish,
Seadra: Deb is a Black-and-White Humbug.
Atlanta: Bah Humbug!
wanted to be his "Auntie Deb" and play with him. Crush had had a wife;
Seadra: Uh that would be mate.
an adventurous hippie of a female sea turtle, named Kiki. She had passed away shortly after Squirt's birth. Waiting for Squirt to make the perilous baby sea turtle journey to the ocean without her
Atlanta: Which happens anyway as is natural for the life a sea turtle.
was the only tense moment Crush had ever experienced in his life of laid-back peace. Now, watching the two Tank Gang females act motherly toward his son, Crush fell unusually silent, reflecting on the memories of Kiki. He missed her something awful, but as Squirt had hardly known her,
Atlanta: And if he'd been normal, he wouldn't have known her at all.
Seadra: And if we were normal, we wouldn't be talking.
Atlanta: . . . *sighs* Fair point.
he'd done his best to just move on.
The boys of the gang-Gill, the yellow tang Bubbles, the royal gramma Gurgle, the cleaner shrimp Jacques, and the pufferfish Bloat-remained on the backs of other turtles for the ride.
Seadra: Very sensible.
Gill vaguely recalled the direction in which they were headed. He had to use his instincts, like a dog's, to guide him to the reef he'd grown up in.
Atlanta: Frog would be a more appropriate comparison, or a turtle or a salmon for that matter. But dog? It clashes something dreadful.
Not far away was the reef Gill had grown up in. Today, a father clownfish named Marlin was attending "Bring Your Parents to School Day" with his only son, Nemo. Nemo had also lost his mother early on.
Seadra: *sighs* We know.
Coral was killed by a barracuda
Atlanta: Again, we know.
only days before Nemo hatched from his egg.
Atlanta: Only days? Wow, the Author was paying attention. *smiles her approval*
Since then, Marlin had not seen anyone else, fearing that no one could ever replace Coral. His closest thing to a girlfriend was Dory, the regal blue tang. She was, however, not of his species;
Both: *gasp. Sarcasticly* No, really?
Atlanta: Marlin's a clownfish and Dory's a regal blue tang and you're telling us, they're not the same species?
Seadra: Sweet Neptune, where does this author get off saying that?
Both: *look at each other and roll their eyes*
and she had a drawback besides that, too. Dory suffered from a severe case of short-term memory loss. Ever since meeting Marlin, she had improved somewhat,
Seadra: A lot!
and was always hopeful that one day she might be fully functional and meet someone of her own. No one had ever much liked to hang around with her.
Seadra: Everyone loves to hang around Dory! She's irrepressible, optimistic, enthusiatic and never fails to make you smile! Who wouldn't want to hang out with her?
Atlanta: Maybe this author doesn't like Dory.
Seadra: *gawks* Not possible!
Dory was an honorary member of the Shark Reform Society, also known as "Fishoholics Anonymous." The head of the organization was Bruce, a great white. His friends and co-founders were Anchor, a hammerhead, and Chum, a mako. The sharks had given Dory some much-needed company, and that helped her memory improve as well.
Atlanta: No. It was being around Marlin that improved her memory. And Marlin only.
Her optimism had always lent her to be confident and cheery, but she had to admit to herself that once in a while it got quite lonely being avoided for her often irritating mental defect.
Atlanta: PSYCHO!
Seadra: *gasps* Irritating? It's what makes Dory, Dory, how can you call that irritating? And it's memory not mental.
Because Dory was the closest thing Nemo had to a mother, she was accompanying Marlin on this special day of school. Marlin's over- protectiveness of his son had eased up a great deal since meeting Dory.
Atlanta: I'm sure I speak for all who watched the movie; we know!
Mr. Ray, a spotted eagle ray with black-spotted wings, watched as Nemo and his schoolmates, and today also their parents, climbed atop his back. Tad, a long-nosed butterflyfish with a tendancy to be obnoxious, Pearl, a show- offy but nervous flapjack octopus, and Sheldon, a somewhat shy, water- intolerant seahorse, attended with their parents. They headed over to their pal Nemo.
"We're missing someone," said Mr. Ray. "Why, there he is now, with his old man! Sweeeet.totally!"
Atlanta: *glares at the offending full stop*
Squirt and Crush had just blown in from the EAC. Squirt was a transfer student
Atlanta: Exchange student.
to Nemo's school. Crush was coming with him today. Following the two turtles were the seven members of the Tank Gang. Nemo squealed with delight and raced toward them. He hugged each one and greeted them. Marlin, Dory, and everyone else swam over to be introduced.
"Dad! Dory! Everyone! These are the 'quarium fish I was tellin' you 'bout!" Nemo cried excitedly.
Seadra: What the. . .? Nemo doesn't speak like that. . . does he?
Atlanta (yobbish accent): He's turnin' int'a yob!
Seadra (Yorshire): He's turning inta tut yob.
Atlanta (Geordie): He's turning into a yob.
Seadra (Cockney): He's turning into a yob.
Atlanta (Liverpool): He's turning into a yob.
Power (over com (o/c)- full on Birmingham): He's turning into a yob!
The Theatre rumbles as Power unleashes a full on Birmingham accent on her poor creations.
Atlanta: Eeek! *slams tentacles to her ears*
Seadra: Yaaaah! *slams fins her ears*
The gang was very impressed with reef life. Bubbles had never imagined how many bubbles were actually located in the Big Blue. He dashed about in vivid flashes of lemon-yellow, slicing through the water in the way only thin fish like tangs can. He sought out all the locations he could find that were producing those splendid little spheres of surface tension and water molecules called bubbles.
Atlanta: Oh, oh, getting technical are we?
Peach explored the ocean floor, sucking onto it with relish. So this was how it felt to be free.! Gill had always told her how wonderful it was, but she never could have imagined it if they hadn't taken the risk and escaped. "Imagine spending your entire life in a glass box and never knowing this existed," she thought.
Both: *shudder* The mind boggles.
Bloat was quite social, stopping passing fish on their way through the reef and introducing himself as the "new fish on the block."
Seadra: That sounds like good 'ol Bloat to me.
Gurgle was relieved to find that the ocean was actually quite clean. He hoped that this reef would never become polluted. He dipped in and out of some of the holes made by other burrowing fish like himself, trying to find someone else who looked like him.
Jacques began tasting the various flavors of ocean algea immediately, savoring each one as though it were a French delicassy.
Atlanta: *flinches* Gak.
Seadra: Just let it go, Atlanta, after all, there are already plenty of spelling mistakes.
Gill was swimming slowly about, taking in all the beauty he had at last returned to, all the memories of childhood flooding back.his old friends and their misadventures here and there.he decided to try and find them.
Atlanta: *chortles* Good luck pal.
Only Deb was upset by this new home. She set off frantically, in search of her twin sister, Flo. "I can't find her anywhere!" she sobbed. It was time to break the bad news to their friend; the gang had always known there was no Flo. She was merely a reflection. Deb was heartbroken to hear this. "Flo has been..me, all along?!" she cried. "Oh..how I'm going to miss her."
Atlanta: Heartbroken huh?
Seadra: *sarcasticly* Oh yes, I feel her pain.
"Hey," said Bloat, "Where's Gill?"
Atlanta (as Gill): . . . I'm right here.
Seadra (as Bloat): Whoops. Sorry I missed ya there.
Mr. Ray took all the children and small parents on his back toward the school section of the reef. Crush helped him, swimming alongside and giving others rides, singing his science songs
Both: HOLY NEPTUNE!!
Atlanta: CRUSH is singing science songs?
Seadra: What has this Author done to him?!
all the way-and a few hippie songs from undersea Woodstock. On the way, they passed Shark Headquarters, and Dory stopped to invite her friends along.
"It'll be good practice for you, not eating fish," she said, and they agreed that she had a point.
Seadra: They're not eating fish anyway, that's the whole point of their club.
"Won't it be dangerous for the kids?" asked Marlin worriedly. "You know how they get when they smell blood.what if somebody gets a cut?"
Seadra (as Mr. Ray): Don't worry sir, we'll be extra careful!
But no one was listening. The kids were overjoyed to have sharks along. So it was settled. The Tank Gang swam along with them a little ways, then waved goodbye. They would meet up again after school. It was time to search for their missing leader.
Atlanta: If Gill doesn't want to be found, you won't find him.
In another corner of the reef, a tall, slender, graceful fish flitted in and out of the corals. Her long snout probed each one in search of micoscopic, dainty little foods. Her long, trailing dorsal fin
Atlanta: *huffily* Filamentous extension.
was delicate- looking. Her body had the most beautiful coloration, as though it had been hand-painted. A dash of yellow curved over her sleek face. Broad stripes of milky white, sunflower yellow and obsidian black formed a pattern on her laterally compressed body.
Seadra: The Zanclus Cornutus fish is certainly very strikingly marked *glares* but we know that by looking at Gill. Therefore a description of another Zanclus Cornutus is unnecessary.
The fish hummed to herself and went about her business. From the distance, Gill watched.
The voice sounded familiar. But it could've been someone else. However, there was no mistaking that movement.it was her.
Seadra: *confused* Who? What? What's going on?
Atlanta: *flatly* This must be his girlfriend.
Seadra: Gyish. *wrinkles up her nose in disgust* A Mary-Sue perhaps?
Atlanta: Let's wait and see before we go making any judgements shall we?
Seadra: *nods*
Trillions of fish lived in the ocean,
Atlanta: Yeah, we know, we live in the ocean. Geez what does this author think we are? Blind?
Seadra: Dumb?
but they could always tell each other apart. Gill was observing Moira,
Atlanta: That's an Irish name. What's an Pacifican fish doing with an Irish name?
the lovely Moorish Idol he had been in love with as a young reef-dweller.
Seadra: *scowls*
Atlanta: *grins* Jealous?
Seadra: Humph.
Moira had belonged to the same roughish gang of young fish that Gill had.
Seadra: Figures.
They'd been adventurous, reckless, and out to have a good time. Gill and Moira had felt a strong attraction to each other from the start.
Atlanta: *disapproving* Hmm. This Moira fish is shaping up to be a Mary-Sue.
But that was before.the accident. The divers. The narrow escape by some of the gang, and the capture of Gill and a few of his buddies. Gill had been able to reunite with some of his old friends who were still on the reef. He'd found his parents and his siblings, too. But he had almost counted on not finding Moira, for some reason.
Seadra: I'm a little confused. Gill and a few of his buddies suddenly morphs into himself, some friends and his whole bloody family. Sweet Neptune how many bloody fish did the divers take?
Atlanta: Yeah, and then he appears to escape straight after. . . Oh I see.
Seadra: See what?
Atlanta: It is or was just himself and a few of his buddies that got captured. But after he escaped with the Tank Gang, he was able to meet up with his friends and his family.
Seadra: *shakes her head* Sweet Neptune, would it kill this author to phrase sentences properly?
Atlanta: *smiles* I hear you.
He had tried to make himself forget about her.
Now that she was here before him, what to do?
Atlanta: Introduce yourself, what else?
He moved in slowly. He followed her general movement, hiding behind a coral or pretending to be minding his own business whenever she glanced his way.
Atlanta: Stalker.
Seadra: Hey watch it!
She was obviously on to him. But he had to wait for just the right moment. Finally, Moira, who was always sharp as a tack,
Atlanta: Blunt tacks aren't that sharp.
Seadra: That goes without saying.
confronted him and said, "All right, buster, I'm not stupid. I know you've been following me, so just lay it on the line right now."
Gill gazed at her. "Do you remember me, Moira?"
Atlanta: Shall I answer that for you? No.
Moira gave him a funny look. "Have we met?"
Seadra: Well obviously.
Gill smiled. She was still as lovely and sassy and smart as when they'd first seen each other. "You must remember me, Moira. I remember you."
She was getting edgy.
Atlanta: *snorts* No kidding.
"How do you know my name, anyway? What is this? Who are y." Suddenly she fell silent. That voice. Those eyes. She did know this fish.
"Gill?" she breathed. "Is that.you?" He nodded. Moira's mouth dropped open a mile. "No! No, no, that.that can't be! I.I saw it! They came, they.they took you! Away.in a little..net.thing!
Atlanta: Oh Neptune.
Seadra: Somebody slap her.
And it.it traumatized me, Gill, it did.because.you were gone, and that was all I knew, not where, not how or why or anything, just you were, and that.and then." She was getting hysterical.
Seadra: Funny that, we'd noticed.
"So how can this be? After all these years, it's you.and after all that time when I told myself, made myself believe that you were never coming back.you had never existed,
Atlanta: Freak.
Seadra: ^_^.
you weren't part of my life! Now.you come back now." She seemed to lose her breath. She looked up again into his face. She saw the same handsome, charming, dashing fish she'd been in love with. But she also saw the age, the pain of his experiences, the wisdom.
Seadra: Crumbs. She gets all that? Whenever I look at him all I get is this unreadable expression.
Atlanta: Except for the occaisional smile that is.
and the scar. And the ragged, withered fin on one side.
Atlanta: Shredded not withered.
"Oh, Gill," she whispered softly. "What did they do to you."
Seadra: They, whoever they are, didn't do anything to him, he just happened to land on a bunch of dental tools.
Gill swept her in the direction of his old home and family. "Come on," he said. "We have a lot to catch up on."
Marlin, Nemo, Dory, Crush, Squirt, Mr. Ray, the sharks, and all the students returned as a huge group to where they had gotten picked up for school. Luckily, there had been no shark-related catastrophes.
Seadra: Otherwise the story would've ended quite abrubtly.
It was within moments that the sharks and other students bid the fishes farewell, and the entire Tank Gang-along with Moira, to whom they had all been recently introduced-showed up. Marlin, Crush, and Mr. Ray were throughly impressed by Moira's beauty, thinking she was the prettiest little thing they'd seen all day.
Both: (¥_¥)?
She and Dory hit it off immediately, finding it easy to talk with one another.
Seadra: -_-; Mary-Sue alert.
Squirt and Nemo found it interesting that she resembled Gill.
Atlanta:. . . Eh?
"Well, we've got the rest of the day!" said Marlin. "What does everyone want to do?"
"Oh, I know, I know!" shouted Nemo, waving his stumpy fin around excitedly. "I wanna go deep-sea diving!"
Atlanta: Deep-sea diving? You're a fish you moron.
"No, son, that's too dangerous. Your mother and I could tell you stories." He stopped short, wondering why he had referred to Coral. She was dead. He knew this. Or.had he called Dory Nemo's mother?
"Actually," said Gill, "we could take the little guy on a trip like that. You've got to be careful. It is dangerous,
Seadra: How about bloody dangerous?
Atlanta: How about life-threatening?
I won't deny that. But, it's a good experience
Seadra: If you think having a heart-attack from fright or having your heart shut down for the same reason is a good experience, then your twisted.
and we're a big group. Safety in numbers. If we pick the right spot."
"And don't do down too deep," interjected Moira, "we should be fine! I know a place where there aren't too many of the really aggressive guys."
Atlanta: Do you now? I sincerely doubt it. There isn't a place down there that isn't crawling with the buggers.
And so, with Mr. Ray along, the group of fourteen headed off in search of a gateway into the murky depths.
Atlanta: In search of their doom.