Dory's consciousness was restored when her back banged into white, iron bars.

Rain dripped from her eyelashes as she squinted up at unfamiliar faces. Wet, sad faces full of fear. They sat against the bars, against the cage she had found herself in.

A huge wave suddenly crashed onto the cage, filling her eyes and mouth with salt water. The air tasted like the ocean, and she realized they were sitting on a giant platform, like one you would see at a construction site. They were standing next to the ocean, the white PSWay building a few feet away.

Before she could utter a word, the cage suddenly lurched into the air. The sound of pulleys and machinery creaked over the sound of the raging waves, and the cage was soon dangling over the ocean.

A strangled gasp came from her lips, and she gripped the bars helplessly. "We have to do something!" She screamed.

None of the other prisoners responded, never even looked her way. Their eyes seemed lost, like they had given up a long time ago.

The crate was lowering slowly into the water, ocean mist spraying against her face. The roaring of the waves made her want to go insane, and her eyes burned with salt.

She was going to die.

~~~

Marlin's eyes slowly fluttered open. His head was throbbing mercilessly, and his shoulder ached from hitting the white tile.

He was still here. No one had found him. He was still free from PSWay, and no one had captured him yet.

A speaker overhead suddenly blared. "All staff be aware that subject number 42 has escaped and now on the loose. He has escaped the building, but still within the grounds."

Marlin jumped up. Subject number 42? That's what everyone kept calling Nemo. He started down the hall, ignoring the cramps in his muscles. He had find Nemo.

He spotted a big door at the end and ran to open it. Tropical rain beat down on him in a rush, drenching him in a second. Stepping out into the storm, he squinted against the curtain of water and wiped the rain from his face. The sound of waves filled his ears, and ran toward it.

A construction platform came into view, and he stepped onto it.

"Marlin?" A familiar voice said.

"Dory!" He screamed, and his head whipped back and forth.

Dory's voice came from beneath him, and he grasped the guard rails. A large crate was dangling from a wire, slowly being lowered into the waves.

"I think there are controls somewhere up there, Marlin," She screamed. "See if you can stop this thing!"

Marlin ran around the platform, climbing higher on the slick boards, then sliding down to the lower levels. Finally, he found a tiny control booth, covered in glass windows. Stepping inside, he surveyed the confusing buttons and lights. A switch read slow and he flipped it.

Peering outside, he could just make out the cage slowing down. Slowing down, but not stopping. Marlin ran a finger over every button, looking for a stop switch.

"What kind of controls don't give you a stop button!" Marlin growled, banging the wall.

"Marlin," Came Dory's voice. "It stopped!"

He stepped outside. The cage had come to a stop, and was dangling idly over the waves. Marlin breathed, pushing his drenched hair from his forehead.

"I'll try to get you back up, just hang—"

His words faltered when his eyes fell upon a small figure in the rain. A slender, pale form, dripping with water. A freckled face topped with a mop of orange.

"Dad," Nemo said, his words just audible over the storm.

Marlin's lips moved but couldn't make a sound as he ran toward his son. Their bodies met in a staggering impact, and Marlin stumbled backward. Nemo's arms were wrapped around his stomach, squeezing hard. Marlin pressed his son's body to his, burying his face in his hair.

Nemo pulled away, and he realized he was trembling. Marlin knelt and held his shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong?"

A tear rolled down Nemo's face, and the boy quickly brushed it away. His eyes dropped to the ground.

"I'm sorry," He said, shame washing over his face.

Marlin knit his eyebrows. "Sorry? For what?"

"For being such a bad son. For walking over that bridge and making you come find me and—"

Marlin lifted Nemo's head and looked him in the eye. "Listen to me, son. This isn't your fault. It's PSWay's fault. I shouldn't have been so protective of you all the time, I just... after your mother's accident..."

Nemo nodded, but the look of shame remained.

"Marlin!" Dory screamed. The lowering had suddenly resumed, the cage beginning the decent into the water.

Marlin jumped up and ran back into the control booth. "Stay there, Nemo!" He yelled.

There wasn't an answer.

"Nemo?" He said, stepping outside.

Nemo was climbing over the guard rails. Marlin ran toward him, but he was already jumping down onto the top of the cage.

Before Marlin do could anything, Nemo's skinny body was slipping through the bars and shouting at everyone in the crate. "We all have to make the cage swing toward the platform."

He and Dory backed up against one side of the cage and thrust themselves onto the other side. The crate rocked and swung back and forth, but not enough.

"Come on, everybody!" Dory said to everyone else. "We all have to do it for it to work."

Nemo called up to his father as he backed up. "See if you can attach anything to us when we reach the platform."

Marlin nodded and raced down even further. A rope was dangling there, with a sturdy hook fastened on.

"Swing toward me, everyone!" He said. "I'll hook the cage up when you get close enough."

But there still weren't enough people helping. Most of prisoners looked as though they didn't care, like they were giving up. Nemo and Dory and gotten a few to help, but it wasn't enough.

"Everybody!" Marlin screamed at the top of his lungs, rain beating down on his head. "Swing the cage. It's the only way we can do this!"

Dory started screaming too. "Come on everyone. Swing!"

With that last war cry, everybody had gotten up and was throwing their bodies against the cage walls. Marlin stood at the ready, hook in hand.

"Swing!" Nemo shouted uneasily, as a tiny wave barely grazed the crate floor.

Dory was also sounding like she was giving up. "I don't know if we can do this, Burns."

"Keep swinging." Marlin answered. "Don't you give up, Dorothy Cobalt. Don't even think about it."

With a determined nod, Dory gave a yell and thrust her body onto the wall.

The cage was suddenly less than three inches from his face, and he reached up. Looped the hook through one of the bars. The rope tightened in a taught jerk, hitting Marlin in the face.

He staggered back, holding a hand to the red burn. When he opened his eyes, he found himself face to face with big, blue eyes.

"Impressive job, Burns," Dory said. "That definitely wasn't ordinary."

She kicked open the door and everyone started filing out. The waves had calmed, the sun peeking out from the storm clouds. The prisoners seemed to be in shock, stumbling out of the crate, hugging their sun-drying clothes.

Marlin craned his neck, looking for Nemo. Dory had come out with everyone else, and was helping a woman who had strained her wrist.

"Nemo?" He said uneasily.

The crowd of people was blocking his view, and he stood back for everyone.

"Dory," He said. "I can't find Nemo."

"He was there when we were swinging." Dory said nonchalantly.

Finally, everyone had cleared and the cage was near empty. The departing crowd revealed a small, crumpled figure in the corner of the cage.

Dory gasped as Marlin ran ducked inside. He carried his son out and carefully laid him on the platform boards.

Dory ran a hand over her face. "I'm sorry Marlin, just the cage... It was pretty rocky..."

Nemo started shifting, and Marlin pushed the boy's hair from his face. "Nemo? You okay, buddy?"

His son's eyes batted open and he held a hand to his head. "I think I got a minor concussion."

Dory chuckled in relief. "Let's get you to a hospital, kid."