“Woo-hoo!” shouted Crush, Marlin’s sea turtle friend. He wore a huge smile as he cruised through the choppy water carrying Dory, Marlin, and Nemo on his shell. “Righteous! Righteous chop! Righteous chop!” he yelled, laughing. A crew of little sea turtles swam expertly along with them.
Marlin clung to the front of Crush’s shell. “Totally sick! Totally siiiiiick!” he said.
Crush turned to Marlin and smiled. “I know. Isn’t it great?”
“No!” said Marlin, his face turning green. “I’m gonna be totally sick.”
“It’s the California current, dude. Got some gnarly chop! SURF’S UP, DUDE!” said Crush.
Marlin screamed as Crush quickly rose and fell, riding each ripple of the choppy water. Marlin then made a horrible gagging noise as he hung on to the turtle’s shell for dear life.
“Hey, dude, if you’re gonna hurl, just do me a solid: head to the back of the shell, lean out, and go for distance!” said Crush.
One of the small turtles, Squirt, said, “We call that feeding the fishes!”
“Correctomundo, slightly older Squirt!” said Crush happily.
At the back of the shell, Dory was telling some of the younger turtles her story. “Now we’re looking for my parents at the, um, the ... Brooch of the Atlantic? Or the — no, no — The Bauble of the ...”
“The Jewel of Morro Bay, California!” said Nemo proudly, reminding her.
“Exactly!” said Dory.
“But how are you going to find your parents?” asked one of the young turtles.
“Do you remember what they look like?” asked Squirt.
“I’m a bit new to the memory thing, so I can’t say for sure, but something tells me they were mostly blue with a little bit of yellow,” Dory answered.
“That sounds right,” said Nemo, smiling.
“Also, I’m pretty sure they’re going to be looking for me, because they said they’d never forget me,” said Dory.
The turtles rode the waves as the current helped to carry them across the ocean.
“Morro Bay, California’s coming up, dudes!” shouted Crush.
“WOO-HOO! LET’S FIND MY FAMILY!” Dory cried excitedly.
“Go! Go! Go!” shouted Crush.
“Just go, Dad!” yelled Nemo.
“Don’t push me, Nemo —” Marlin screamed as he fell off Crush’s shell.
Dory and Nemo eagerly jumped off, cheering and laughing as Marlin groaned, feeling extremely sick. They tumbled out of the current and watched as the turtles continued on, swimming into the distance.
“So long, Dory-dude! Hope you find your parents!” shouted Squirt.
“And good luck feedin’ the fishes!” said Crush as he sped away.
Marlin slowly picked up his head. “Too late,” he moaned. “Already fed.”
The three floated for a moment as they looked around their surroundings. It was oddly still and quiet. An enormous sunken container ship seemed to rise eerily from the sand, like a ruined city. Its containers, pieces of junk, and trash were scattered around the ocean floor, covered with years of coral and algae growth.
“This feels familiar,” Dory said. Then she raced off, calling out for her parents: “Mom! Dad!”
“Dory, Dory, Dory. Wait!” said Marlin, chasing after her. But she continued to shout. “Dory!” Marlin said again, firmly. “Stop yelling for a second. Do you really think your parents are just going to be floating around here, waiting for you?”
“Well, only one way to find out,” she said, then shouted, “Mom! Dad!” at the top of her lungs, searching.
“Yell louder, Dory!” said Nemo.
“MOM!” shouted Dory, even louder. “DAD!”
Various pieces of trash littered around the ship rustled and came to life as a chorus of whispers demanded quiet. “Shhh!”
“What was that?” asked Nemo, looking around fearfully.
It was a community of hermit crabs! But just as the friends caught a glimpse of the crabs, they disappeared, hiding beneath the rusty cans, warped pipes, and plastic cups on their backs.
Dory’s mind raced as she experienced a strange feeling. “Wait, I’ve heard that before,” she said. “I remember somebody saying, ‘Shhh.’”
“Yes, well done,” said Marlin sarcastically. “That was me, one minute ago, telling you to be quiet —”
“SHHHHHH!” the hermit crabs whispered forcefully, popping up long enough to urgently shush them again.
FLASH! Another memory rushed through Dory’s mind!
She could see herself as a young fish, swimming by the sunken container ship. The very same hermit crabs shushed her! She asked the hermit crabs for help. “Have you seen my Mommy and Daddy? Their names are Jenny and Charlie.”
“SHHHHH!” the hermit crabs said.
The memory left as quickly as it had zipped into her mind: Dory was back in the present moment. “Jenny and Charlie,” she said to herself.
“What?” asked Marlin.
Dory’s eyes widened with excitement. “THOSE ARE THEIR NAMES! MY PARENTS ARE JENNY AND CHARLIE!” Dory cheered. She darted ahead, swimming deeper into the containers, calling for her parents as loudly as she could. “JENNY? CHARLIE? JENNY? CHARLIE?”
“Dory, wait!” said Marlin, chasing after her. “Again with the frantic yelling. Can we just take a moment and come up with a plan?”
The hermit crabs jumped out of hiding and shushed them again as they swam past, but Dory continued calling her parents’ names.
“Are you crazy?” asked one of the crabs.
“Sorry,” said Marlin. “She’s a little excited.”
Marlin and Nemo caught up with Dory, who was still screaming as loudly as she could.
“Dory, stop yelling for a second!” said Marlin. “It’s not a good idea to come into a new neighborhood and call this much attention to yourself. These crabs are locals, and I get the feeling they’re shushing us for a reason —”
Grrrrrrr! A loud roar sounded from the shipping container, and all the crabs dropped down, disappearing once again beneath their cans, pipes, and cups.
“Aaaand there’s our reason,” said Marlin.
“Mommy?” asked Dory, turning toward the container.
An enormous eye popped open and stared at them through a porthole window in the container. The deafening roar sounded again, and a giant squid rose out of hiding! Dory, Marlin, and Nemo screamed and swam as fast as they could.
“That is definitely not Mommy!” shouted Dory.
They turned abruptly, swimming as fast as they could to escape the giant squid. They ducked into a different container, dipping and dodging various obstacles. There was trash everywhere, including a six-pack ring that entangled the three of them. While they tried to escape, the ring hugged their bodies, making it difficult to swim. Marlin and Nemo managed to escape the plastic, but the ring was still wrapped around Dory as the squid chased them through another towering stack of containers.
“Swim for your life!” screamed Marlin.
They slipped through a crack in one of the containers, but the squid squeezed through, right behind them. The friends squished themselves through a hole that was too small for the squid, thankfully. The squid wrestled with the container, causing a pile of them to start crumbling. One by one, the containers came crashing down. But in the scuffle, the squid reached out a giant tentacle and grabbed Nemo!
“Nemo!” Marlin and Dory screamed, clutching him tightly.
“Dad!” Nemo shouted. The squid was bringing him toward its mouth!
“Nemo, hold on to me!” Marlin urged. “And don’t let go!”
Finally, the squid lost its grip. At the same time, the container hit the ground. The impact propelled Dory, Marlin, and Nemo into the safety of a kelp forest.
Marlin rushed to Nemo. “Are you all right?”
Nemo was crying and trembling with fear.
“Oh my goodness, Nemo!” said Dory, concerned. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Marlin held up his fin and stayed focused on Nemo. “Not now, Dory. Please.”
Dory paced, swimming around in a big circle. When she came back and saw Nemo, she was concerned all over again. “Oh my goodness, Nemo! Are you okay?”
“I said not now,” Marlin uttered, his jaw clenched. “You’ve done enough.”
“But I can fix it. I’ll go get help —” said Dory.
“You know what you can do, Dory?” said Marlin, frustrated. “You can wait over there. Go wait over there and forget.” Then he muttered under his breath,“It’s what you do best.”
Hurt, Dory backed away. “I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.
“No, Dad,” said Nemo. “I’m okay.”
“I’m gonna get help, okay? I can do that.” Dory swam off and called back to them, “It’ll be all right, Nemo!”
As Marlin and Nemo continued to recover from the scary encounter with the squid, they didn’t see Dory swim away. She swam around, searching. “Hello? Someone? Hello?”
Swimming upward, she heard a voice echoing from above. “Hello,” said the voice.
“Hello?” Dory continued to swim toward it.
“I’m Sigourney Weaver,” said the voice.
“Oh! Hi, Sigourney! I need your help,” said Dory, swimming closer.
“Won’t you please join us ...,” said Sigourney Weaver.
“Oh! Great!” said Dory, swimming up to the surface, searching for Sigourney.
“... as we explore the wonders of the Pacific Ocean and the amazing life it holds within. Witness the majesty of the beluga whale ...,” Sigourney continued.
“Sigourney? Sigourney Weaver, where are you?” asked Dory, frantically looking around.
★★★
When Marlin and Nemo realized Dory had left them, they raced off to find her.
“Dory!” shouted Marlin when he spotted her. “There you are!”
“Guys! I found help! Sigourney Weaver’s gonna tell us where we are!”
“Look out!” shouted Marlin as Dory was lifted out of the water by a pair of human hands.
The humans gently brought Dory into their boat. “Oh, look at this!” said one of them, eyeing the six-pack ring, which was still strung around her.
“No respect for ocean life,” said the other, disgusted.
Nemo and Marlin watched in horror as the humans inspected Dory and removed the plastic.
“Marlin! Nemo!” Dory shouted.
“No, no, no! Not again!” said Marlin.
The humans put Dory in a cooler and shut the lid. “Let’s take her inside and see how she does,” said one of the humans. Then the boat took off and headed toward shore.
“Don’t worry, Dory!” yelled Marlin. “Stay calm! We’ll come find you!”
As Marlin and Nemo called after the boat, Sigourney Weaver’s voice echoed in the distance: “Welcome to the Marine Life Institute, where we believe in rescue, rehabilitation, and release.”
And just like that ... Dory was gone.
“嗚呼!”龜龜叫喊著,他是馬林的海龜朋友。他臉上掛著燦爛的笑容,載著多莉、馬林和尼莫,暢游在波濤起伏的海洋里。“正義!正義之浪!正義之浪!”他歡呼著,笑聲陣陣。一群小海龜嫻熟地游在他們身旁。
馬林抓住龜龜背的前端。“我受不了啦!快要吐了!” 他說。
龜龜朝馬林扭過頭去,笑道:“我知道。很棒,不是嗎?”
“不!”馬林說道,他臉都變綠了。“我都快要吐了。”
“這可是加利福尼亞的洋流,老兄。洶涌的浪濤來啦!沖浪啦,老兄!”龜龜說道。
龜龜駕著朵朵浪花敏捷地上下起伏,馬林一直在尖聲驚叫。馬林緊緊抓著海龜?shù)臍ひ员W⌒悦?,突然他發(fā)出一陣可怕的作嘔聲。
“嘿,老兄,如果你想吐的話,可不可以幫個忙:到龜背的后方去,探出身子,盡量遠點!”龜龜說。
其中一只名叫小古的小海龜說:“我們管這叫喂小魚!”
“說得沒錯,稍見成長的小古!”龜龜開心說道。
龜背的后方,多莉正在給一些小海龜講述她的故事。“現(xiàn)在我們正在尋找我的父母,呃,就在……大西洋鉆石之城?還是——不,不——是飾品……”
“是加利福尼亞的明珠莫羅灣。”尼莫得意地說著提醒她。
“沒錯!”多莉說。
“可是你要怎樣找到你的父母呢?”一只小海龜問。
“你還記得他們長什么樣嗎?”小古問。
“記憶這事對我來說還是件新鮮事,所以我也不太確定,不過我覺得他們多半應該是藍色,外加一點黃色。”多莉答道。
“聽起來挺有道理的。”尼莫微笑著說道。
“還有,我很確信他們一直都在找我,因為他們說過,他們永遠都不會忘記我。”多莉說。
洋流有助于這些海龜們穿越了大洋,于是他們踏浪而行。
“加利福尼亞的莫羅灣就要到啦,伙計們!”龜龜喊道。
“嗚呼!去找我的家人啦!”多莉興奮地尖叫道。
“去吧!去吧!去吧!”龜龜喊道。
“走啦,爸爸!”尼莫嚷道。
“別催我,尼莫——”馬林一邊從龜背上爬下來一邊尖聲叫道。
多莉和尼莫急匆匆地跳下來,高興地歡笑著,馬林則呻吟著,感到十分惡心。他們從洋流中翻滾了出來,然后望著海龜們游走,漸行漸遠。
“別了,多莉老友!希望你能找到你的父母!” 小古喊道。
“還有,喂小魚好運!”龜龜邊說邊加速游走了。
馬林緩緩地抬起腦袋。“太晚了,”他抱怨道,“已經(jīng)喂完了。”
三個伙伴看了看四周的環(huán)境,漂浮了一會兒。周圍寧靜得出奇。沙地上有一艘沉沒的巨大集裝箱貨船,怪異得要從地上浮起來似的,像是一座古城廢墟。船上的集裝箱、碎片和垃圾在海底四處散落,經(jīng)年累月,都長滿了珊瑚和海藻。
“這感覺很熟悉,”多莉說完便跑了過去,大聲喊著她的父母,“媽媽!爸爸!”
“多莉,多莉,多莉,等等!”馬林說著追了上去??伤€在叫喊。“多莉!”馬林又喊了一聲,語氣嚴厲。“稍微停一停,別喊了。難道你覺得你的父母就只會在這四處游蕩,等著你回來嗎?”
“好吧,想要找出答案,那就只有一種方法,”她說完便一邊扯起嗓子喊“媽媽!爸爸!”,一邊四處搜尋。
“再喊大聲點,多莉!”尼莫說。
“媽媽!”多莉大喊道,聲音更響亮了。“爸爸!”
散落在船邊的幾塊垃圾沙沙作響并活動起來,而此時有幾個聲音齊聲低語,提醒他們別吵。“噓——”
“那是什么?”尼莫一邊驚恐地四處張望一邊問道。
原來那是一群寄居蟹!就在這三個伙伴瞥見寄居蟹的瞬間,他們卻又藏了起來,躲進了其馱在背上的生銹罐子、彎曲管道和塑料杯子里。
多莉有了一種奇怪的感覺,她內(nèi)心翻騰著。“等等,我之前聽過這個,”她說,“我記得有誰也說過‘噓’。”
“是的,沒錯,”馬林譏諷道,“就是我,一分鐘之前,叫你安靜點——”
“噓噓——”寄居蟹們硬聲硬氣地低語道,現(xiàn)身久了一點兒,急迫地想讓他們安靜下來。
剎那間!又一段記憶涌入了多莉的腦海之中!
她看見還是一條小魚的自己在沉沒的集裝箱貨船旁游動著。也是這樣的寄居蟹讓她不要吵鬧!她向寄居蟹們尋求幫助。“你們看見我的媽咪和爹地了嗎?他們叫珍妮和查理。”
“噓噓——!”寄居蟹們說。
記憶倏忽而至,又倏忽而去:多莉回過神來。“珍妮和查理。”她自言自語道。
“什么?”馬林問。
多莉激動地瞪大雙眼。“這就是他們的名字!我的父母是珍妮和查理!”多莉歡呼道。她向前猛沖,一邊朝著深處的集裝箱游去,一邊高聲呼喊著雙親的名字。“珍妮?查理?珍妮?查理?”
“多莉,等等!”馬林說著追了上去。“又瘋狂地亂喊。就不能等一會兒,好好計劃一下嗎?”
寄居蟹們又從躲藏之處跳了出來,讓游過的他們不要吵鬧,可多莉還在不停地喊著父母的名字。
“你們是不是瘋了?”一只寄居蟹問道。
“對不起,”馬林說,“她只是有點兒激動。”
馬林和尼莫趕上了仍在扯著嗓子叫喊的多莉。
“多莉,別叫了,停一會兒!”馬林說道,“才剛到一個新地方,就吵得這么引人注目,這可不好。這些寄居蟹都是當?shù)鼐用瘢矣X得他們讓我們別吵是有理由的——”
轟隆?。∵\輸集裝箱處傳來了一聲巨吼,所有寄居蟹都縮進去,再次藏進了罐子、管道和杯子里。
“恐怕——這就是理由。”馬林說。
“媽咪?”多莉掉頭轉(zhuǎn)向集裝箱問道。
一只巨大的眼睛猛地睜開,透過集裝箱上的舷窗直盯著他們看。震耳欲聾的吼聲再次響起,一只巨型魷魚從躲藏處游了出來!多莉、馬林和尼莫驚聲尖叫,拼命地游竄。
“那肯定不是我的媽咪!”多莉叫道。
他們猛地轉(zhuǎn)身,拼命地游著,想要擺脫這只巨型魷魚。他們閃進另一只集裝箱里,躲躲閃閃地繞開了里面的各種障礙物。里面到處都是垃圾,他們?nèi)齻€被其中的一個六孔塑料提環(huán)給纏住了身子。他們竭力逃脫,可提環(huán)卡住了他們,游動也變得困難起來。正當大魷魚從另一側(cè)高高聳立的集裝箱追趕他們之時,馬林和尼莫設法擺脫了塑料環(huán),可提環(huán)卻還纏在了多莉的身上。
“趕快逃命!”馬林尖叫道。
他們從集裝箱的一個縫隙中溜了出去,可大魷魚也緊跟其后擠了過去。三個小伙伴們擠扁身子,從一個洞口穿了過去。謝天謝地,這個洞口對大魷魚可不算大。大魷魚和集裝箱扭成一團,弄得另一堆集裝箱也垮塌起來。集裝箱一只接只地滑落。混戰(zhàn)之中,大魷魚突然伸出一只巨大的觸角,一把逮住了尼莫!
“尼莫!”馬林和多莉喊道,他們緊緊地抓著他不放。
“爸爸!”尼莫叫道。大魷魚正將他朝嘴邊拉去!
“尼莫,抓住我!”馬林催促道,“別放手!”
終于,大魷魚松開了觸角。與此同時,集裝箱全都撞上了地面。巨大的沖擊力將多莉、馬林和尼莫推進了一片安全的海帶森林。
馬林沖到尼莫面前,問道:“你還好嗎?”
尼莫正一邊哭泣一邊因為害怕而不停顫抖。
“哦,我的天哪,尼莫!”多莉關(guān)切地說道,“你還好嗎?出什么事了?”
馬林抬起魚鰭阻攔,一心都在尼莫身上。“現(xiàn)在別問了,多莉。拜托了。”
多莉踱著步子游了一大圈。游回之時,她看見尼莫,又再次表示關(guān)切道:“哦,我的天,尼莫!你還好嗎?”
“我說過現(xiàn)在別問了,”馬林說完,咬緊下巴,“你已經(jīng)做得夠多了。”
“可是我能處理好。我會尋求幫助——”多莉說。
“你知道你可以做什么嗎,多莉?”馬林沮喪地說道,“你可以去那邊待著。去那邊等著,然后忘掉。”接著,他低聲咕噥道:“這是你最擅長的。”
多莉受到了傷害,向后退去。“對不起。”她輕聲說道。
“不,爸爸,”尼莫說,“我沒事。”
“我會尋求幫助的,不是嗎?我可以的,”多莉游了出去,回身朝他們喊道,“一切會好起來的,尼莫!”
馬林和尼莫此時還未能完全從遭遇大魷魚的恐慌中恢復過來,因而沒注意到多莉的離去。她游來游去,四處尋覓著:“你好?有人嗎?你好?”
她朝上方游去,聽見頭頂傳來了一陣回聲。“你好。”那個聲音說。
“你好?”多莉繼續(xù)朝著那個聲音游去。
“我是西格妮·韋弗。”那個聲音說。
“哦!嗨,西格妮!我需要你的幫助。”多莉說著,越游越近。
“你愿意加入我們……”西格妮·韋弗說。
“??!好極了!”多莉說著游向水面,找尋起西格妮。
“我們探尋著太平洋的奇觀異景和其中的曼妙生物。目睹了白鯨的雄偉身姿……”西格妮繼續(xù)說道。
“西格妮?西格妮·韋弗,你在哪里?”多莉邊問邊焦急地四處尋找。
★★★
馬林和尼莫發(fā)現(xiàn)多莉離開了他們后,便立刻趕去找她。
“多莉!”馬林發(fā)現(xiàn)她時,大聲喊道,“原來你在這兒啊!”
“伙計們!我找到幫手了!西格妮·韋弗會告訴我們現(xiàn)在我們在哪里!”
“當心!”馬林大聲叫道,只見多莉被一雙人類的手給撈出了水面。
幾個人輕輕地將多莉放進船里。“啊,看這個!”其中一人盯著依然卡在她身上的那個六孔塑料提環(huán)說道。
“太不尊敬海洋生命了。”另一人憤慨地說道。
尼莫和馬林驚恐地望著那些人檢查了一下多莉,然后取下了塑料提環(huán)。
“馬林!尼莫!”多莉喊道。
“不,不,不!不要再這樣了!”馬林說。
這幾個人把多莉放進一個冷卻器里,然后關(guān)上了蓋子。“我們把她帶進去,看看她怎樣了,”其中一人說。緊接著小船發(fā)動起來,朝著岸邊駛?cè)ァ?br />
“別擔心,多莉!”馬林喊道。“保持冷靜!我們會來找你的!”
馬林和尼莫追著小船喊著,西格妮·韋弗的聲音則在遠處回響:“歡迎來到海洋生物研究所。我們的宗旨是救援、治療和放生。”
就這樣……多莉不見了。