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"Name's Bruce." The shark held out a fin. Marlin shivered, too frightened to do anything.

"Yeah, right -- a party. What do you say?" Bruce asked.

"Well, hi!" Dory said cheerfully.

"That's all right," Bruce told Marlin. "I understand. Why trust a shark -- right?"

Dory smiled. "You mean like a party?"

"Hello!" said the shark.

Marlin couldn't believe his ears. A shark party? He was sure they wanted to eat him.

"You know," said Marlin, "parties are fun, and it's tempting. But we can't because --" Bruce wrapped a fin around each fish.

The giant shark bared row upon row of razor-sharp white teeth as its mouth spread into a wide, hungry grin.

"Oookay," Marlin said nervously, "that's all that matters…"

Bruce studied the two smaller fish. "How would you morsels like to come to a little get-together I'm having?"

Dory looked over at Marlin and said, "Ooh, I love parties. That sounds like fun."

They were trapped! "Aw, come on," he said. "I insist."

Bruce led Marlin and Dory over a rocky ridge into an undersea crater. The giant hole was littered with floating sea mines. Heavy iron chains moored them in place.

Bruce weaved safely through the mines, taking Dory and Marlin with him. They drew closer to a shipwreck -- a sunken submarine. They peered inside through a hole blasted in its middle.

"Let us all say the pledge," Bruce continued.

"Anchor! Chum!" Bruce called out. "We've got company!"

A hammerhead shark and a mako shark circled below. "Well, it's about time, mate," said Anchor, the hammerhead, anxiously.

Brrring! A diving bell rang.

All the sharks turned to him, listening closely.

Chum agreed. "We've already gone through the snacks. And I'm still starving."

Bruce pushed Marlin and Dory down into the sub. More sharks! Marlin thought. And they were all snapping their jaws hungrily.

"Hey, look!" said Dory, pointing to the mines. "Balloons! It is a party!"

It is a meeting! Marlin thought.

"Right, then, the meeting has officially come to order," Bruce said, ushering them into the group. Then he swam to a rusted makeshift podium.

Bruce laughed. "Mind your distance, though. Those 'balloons' can be a bit dodgy. You wouldn't want one of them to pop!"

"Got mine!" Anchor said proudly. He lifted a fin. A scared, shaking fish peeked out.

Bruce nodded. "Today's meeting is Step Five: Bring a Fish Friend. Now, do you all have your friends?"

"How 'bout you, Chum?" Bruce asked. "Oh, well… I, um… seem to have misplaced my… uh… friend," Chum said, embarrassed. He smiled just enough to reveal the skeletal remains of a fish tail stuck between his teeth.

"Hey there!" Dory said, waving.

Together, all the sharks recited, "I am a nice shark. Not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends. Not food."

"That's all right, Chum," said Bruce. "I had a feeling this would be a difficult step. You can help yourself to one of my friends."

"Aw, thanks, mate," Chum said, hugging Marlin tightly. "A little chum for Chum, eh?"

Marlin sighed nervously.

"I'll start the testimonies. It's been three weeks since my last fish, on my honor, or may I be chopped up and made into soup."

The other sharks clapped. "You're an inspiration to all of us!"

Bruce looked around. "Who's next?" Dory swam up to the podium. Marlin groaned. What was she doing?

"Hi, I'm Dory. And, uh, well… I don't think I've ever eaten a fish!" she said.

Everyone applauded. "Good on ya, mate," said one shark.

"That's incredible," said another.

Bruce didn't believe Marlin and pushed him up to the podium. Excited to see that he was a clownfish, the sharks asked Marlin to tell them a joke.

While the sharks were distracted, Marlin freed himself. He tried to get Dory's attention at the podium.

Then Bruce spotted Marlin out of the corner of his eye. "How 'bout you, mate? What's your problem?" he asked.

Nervously, Marlin answered, "Me? I don't have a problem."

"So the sea mollusk says to the sea cucumber…" Marlin was struggling to entertain the sharks when he spied a hole in the roof. And there, dangling from a piece of metal, was a diver's mask!