A/N: Here we are, the last chapter.

Doll's Goodbye

I barely pay attention as we reach the giant apartment building, signifying the end of my adventure. The end of being with Rico. The end of... everything I had known, in sacrifice for this new life.

I've never felt so empty.

I know I'm a doll, and I'm just made of plastic, but Rico made me feel like something more. I wasn't JUST a doll. I was his girl. I was HIS. He loved me and I wanted to show him how much he meant to me, I did. I do. It's too late now, though. We take the elevator up and he's studying me, my eyes, my new dress, my hair, making sure it's still all perfect. Probably for the very last time. I'm going to miss him SO much. My one true love, forced to "take one for the team", or some obnoxiousness like that.

The world is growing dim once again. I can see it around me, the light is fading. Even though this is a new place, and a new opportunity... I can't help but feel sick to, if I had one, my stomach. Heck, if I had one, I'd be throwing up whatever was in it. If there was anything in it.

Four penguin heads peaked out from behind a blue potted plant, to look at the door too close by. Rico lingered on the sight of the door the longest, before retreating and looking at me, staring with the saddest look I've ever seen him give me. I'm going to miss him like crazy, I know it. But if this was what was best, then... I tried to tell him that I understood with my eyes. To speak now... when the plan was already underway... it would be too painful a goodbye. Instead, I watched him back, trying not to look too happy, and hoping that he would get the message.

The mutterings that came from him just then weren't words. They were only noises; meant to convey his true emotions. My poor penguin. Private spoke to him shortly, and I rubbed my eyes while his attention was turned. I knew there wouldn't be any tears there, but... it was almost like there was...

Almost.

Almost... everything in my life was almost, wasn't it. I almost had his love for my own. I almost had a real family. I was almost real. Almost.

He kissed me, far too quickly for such a long goodbye, and lay me down gently on the blue carpet. I looked up at the door, my destiny behind it now, instead of beside me. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Rico trying to come back for me, and I had to fight the urge to jump up and run to him, to have him against me once more. Kowalski and Private dragged him back, and I could see how much it hurt him to just leave me like that. He wasn't just leaving me... he was leaving a part of himself.

I would remember him forever for that.

Skipper banged his flipper against the door, and darted out of the way before a tiny little school girl poked her head out to answer the door. I looked back at Rico, not caring if he saw me move or not. I wanted just one more look at him before I was taken out of his life forever.

I heard a shrill little gasp somewhere above me, indicating the little girl had found me. "Princess Pony Princess! Mom, mom! She came back! Mom!" Behind us, the door slammed shut...

And I was alone again.

Even with this tiny girl holding me and cuddling me to her... I was alone. My love was lost to me.

Epilogue

After a few hours of being picked up and put down and watched carefully and cooed over, the little girl finally put me up on a shelf near a window. "Goodnight, Princess. I love you!" I just stared blankly back at her. It seemed to satisfy her, because she shut off her light, tucked herself in, and promptly fell asleep.

She seemed to not notice that I wasn't who she thought I was. Or really care that her precious Princess had been replaced. I stood up, hearing a few gasps behind me. Other toys, no doubt, knowing that I wasn't the real Princess. I didn't want to talk to them yet, though. Nor did I have any desire to talk to them ever. I looked out at the moon.

It seemed like an eternity ago when I would have given anything to have a view like this. Of course, at the time, I would have had my Rico with me. I could see them leaving the building below me, and felt my heart break. I would never see him again, would I?

My one sole purpose... gone from me...

It happened suddenly; my legs went wobbly, like they had on that bouncy back at the lemur's habitat. The broken feeling of my heart deepened, but I didn't care. My vision went black, and the last sound I heard that night was my head hitting the floor.

Eternity is going to last forever...

Rico sat on the floor of the penguin's HQ, contentedly brushing the hair of his doll, singing to her the songs he had memorized from so long ago. He might just keep that tacky pink dress she had for another time. Though, it would have to be changed later, it looked much too fancy for every day wear.

The others were watching TV late into the night, but Rico was the one who stayed up the longest, brushing and rebrushing her hair, and singing to her until he thought his voice would go. He looked at the clock above his head. It was getting close to midnight; he would have to wake up in a few hours, and wouldn't be able to do his morning exercises if he didn't go to bed soon.

He put his doll in the corner, making sure everything was just right for her before kissing her goodnight. Rico then yawned and stretched... and dived onto his bunk. The universe had come back with something great... it was as if this whole day had never happened, and he could live with that. It's not like anything changed.

A few minutes after Rico went to bed, his doll stretched her arms, and looked around her new place. The new digs were snazzy, and her newest friend could brush hair better than her last girl. She might just have to hang around here for a while, and not ditch this time. It seemed like a halfway decent place, after all. "PST! Dolly! You alright, where'd they take you?" She looked about for the noise and nearly jumped a foot when she found out that it came from a hanging fish on the wall. The new doll tilted her head at him and smiled widely, that one they all came made with and shook her head, pointing to her throat and making a cutting motion.

She didn't speak. And she wasn't Dolly.

Pappy gasped at the sight. "My mistake, I... I thought you were..." She just kept on with that... silly smile. It was getting a little more than creepy. The hatch above his head slid open a few moments later, to the new doll's excitement. A new friend? A furry ringtail lemur clambered down the rungs, looking around for... there! He spotted the doll and his face lit up. She was okay! But why did they take her away in the first place?

Oh, who cared, he had her back. And he could take her to live with him and they'd be happy and in love and... His thoughts stopped short. He had been hugging her for a while now, and all she had done was pat his back the whole time. "Dolly? What is de matter of you? Are you okay?" The smile on her face was enough to tell Julien something was more than wrong, and her silence sealed it: she wasn't Dolly. He looked to Pappy, who just shook his head in sorrow, muttering a short apology to the lemur king.

The ringtail bowed his head and clenched his eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from flowing. He didn't want an apology. He wanted his love back. The new doll watched him scurry up the ladder, her smile stationary on her face, and the pale moonlight reflecting in her emotionless eyes.

The sun rose slowly the next day, and only the ringtail was awake to watch it.

End

A/N: I'd like to thank all of my reviewers for sticking through the sadness and sorrows. You made this all worth it. I never liked that Rico got a new doll and was just like... it's all good now! Yay! You can't just replace love like that! Then I realized that in his mind, it wasn't replacing his love because it was the same person to him. I hope I don't make it so that now every time someone watches this episode, "What Goes Around", they burst into tears. ...I'll already be doing that. Yeah, so... yeah. I don't own anything here, and I hope to see you again at my next project. Whatever that may be.

As an added bonus, I put an analysis of each chapter here. Feel free to skip it, it's just my thought process as I was writing/re-reading each chapter. Enjoy or not, please review, thank you.

An analysis of Chapter 1: So, I was working on this for fun, I never thought it'd amount to much of anything, and I don't remember why I felt it had to be so sad. But it did. Reading back on it now, I see that... I like the sad, but it doesn't really match the story. It's more like a prologue, I think. A good prologue, but not really relevant nonetheless. I mean, you can get to the rest of the story and just skip chapter 1 if you really wanted. Not saying that you should, because I love chapter 1. Eh, I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Pros: Establishes character, sets mood. Cons: Doesn't have much to do with the rest of the story.

An analysis of Chapter 2: Oh yeah! The lemurs find her in this chapter! Heh, okay. Uhmm... I don't really mind this chapter, there's not much talking in this one, so that's cool. We also get a sense of insecurity by Dolly and her progression as a character. Slow and steady, but still there. I honestly think this chapter is pretty slow. It only serves to be a segue to introduce the lemurs and her want to be a part of something bigger. Pros: CORPSE BRIDE FTW!, first time outside. Cons: Segue chapter, filler, filler, filler!

An analysis of Chapter 3: ...How have I made so many filler chapters without even realizing it? (sigh) Okay. So, this chapter is Dolly getting to know the lemurs a bit, and finally exposing her as a living being. It's an okay chapter, and Dolly does take a chance to expand her character, and become less of a... plot point and more of a person. We get our first glance at Julien/Dolly interaction, and it's basically like... two people who had known each other a once upon a time, but don't really care and are starting over in their relationship. And then, Julien spills the beans. There's not much to say about this chapter, it's pretty cut and dry. Pros: Dolly does the roundy-round in her cheer. Cons: Not much substance in this chapter.

An analysis of Chapter 4: More Julien/Dolly interaction. Don't look for anything romantic or lovey here, because it's still nonexistent. It's more of a friendship chapter, especially between her and Pappy. Okay, I feel like I have some 'splainin' to do. Pappy is Private's First Prize. Not really a toy, but he can come to life too. I was going to call him PFP, but... that sounded stupid. I turned the F into an A, and he became PAP-y. I love doing Julien, especially when I can just be free to do him as the goofy, good-natured guy he really is. NO love going on between him and Dolly yet, really. Just some deepening of their friendship. That's all. I swear. Don't even bother looking for any love here. Because there isn't any. I don't care what evidence you can give me that it is, I'm telling you, I didn't intend for there to be. Yet. Other than that, we get some fun from the bouncy and talking and dancing the night away... it's a pretty little chapter. One of the best in my opinion. Pros: "Somethings fanTAST-ICAL." is said just like that. Love Julien. Cons: They get caught at the end? That's it.

An analysis of Chapter 5: This is me being gooey and romantic and sentimental and crap. That's all you get. That's it, I'm serious. I can't do anything more than this, it's pretty much impossible. So, Dolly and Rico go on a date, and we get to see how he acts around her when they're alone. The senses of Rico part was hard to write because I felt STUPID writing it. And I had to think that 90% of people would feel stupid thinking that. So... yeah. Heh. Uhm... pretty short chapter. They dance, they have dinner and Dolly cries. As the chapters go on, we get to see Dolly become way more in touch with her emotions, and not just going off of what she wants. She's developing more by now, I love it. Pros: Gooey, fluffy, love date mess FTW. Cons: It felt like Rico against me? Seriously? Ugh. I'm surprised I didn't get beat up for that.

An analysis of Chapter 6: This was the coming out chapter. The "here it is, here's the main steak and potatoes of the story" chapter. Julien confesses his feelings for Dolly. I won't lie, at first, I wasn't expecting this thing with her and Julien to even GO anywhere. On the contrary, in the first draft, he was going to help her get together with Rico, which he starts to do in this chapter. However, later I decided that it would be too much of a cliched happy ending, and it got scrapped for the ending I have now. Everything that would indicate that they could be more than friends would have remained, but it would just seem like they were going to stay friends, and that nothing would happen between them. Ever. At all. Throughout the chapter, you get tiny glimpses, TINY glimpses that show Julien's hesitation to tell Dolly about his true feelings. If it was from his POV, you'd see A LOT more, but... that's not how this story goes. So... that's about it. Dolly's hesitant, and it leads to Julien wanting to confess his feelings for her. Pros: Julien gets an idea! And he is also in LURVE. AWWW! Cons: Dolly was a bit slow in this chapter, and it moved slowly. Probably because Dolly is slow in this chapter...

An analysis of Chapter 7: I've had a review or two stating that Julien's confession was completely out of nowhere. And it was. IF you weren't looking for it. Go back through the story and look at it, and try not to see it from Dolly's POV. Did you see it? There are miniscule, and even one or two blatant signs that he has feelings for her stronger than friendship. Though, chapter six may be the strongest example of that, I think. I wanted to put the sign in there earlier, but it didn't seem to fit anywhere else, so if it seems rushed, I did the best that I could. The countdown isn't as important as one may think I thought it was... I didn't think that it mattered too much, and it still doesn't. The thing that matters is what Dolly's thinking of Julien (or Not Rico) and Rico, as she's trying to choose immediately between the two. That's not possible though, as she soon finds out. Pros: Dolly and Julien closeness FTW. I'm not even kidding, that's the main thing I love about this chapter. They get to be close to each other, and we see a cuddly side of Julien. I've said it before, if I were Dolly, I would pick Julien. I love Rico, I do, but... it's JULIEN! Cuddly, and he has a tail! Tails are awesome! Cons: ...Yeah, I can't really see any for this chapter. It is THAT awesome.

An analysis of Chapter 8: Marlene, I think, is probably one of the best advisors on the show. Right next to Maurice and Private. She's level headed and smart. Which is why she didn't freak out that much. I think that having Dolly talk to her flipped the whole "She's really alive" thing on it's head. Because, think about it... One more animal knows that Dolly's alive and has become her friend. Friends do worry about each other, so it brings Marlene into whatever happens with her, Rico and Julien. I had Dolly make her decision in this chapter, but it won't be shown until chapter nine. Also, if you have or haven't noticed, she's stopped asking as many questions starting in the last chapter. I figured that, for her character development, she'd be a questioner, always trying to find out things. As she grows, she asks less questions, because she either knows the answers, or can figure out the answers on her own. That secret door can lead anywhere, so... apparently for this chapter, it goes to Marlene's house. Pros: Dolly finally makes her decision. Cons: The story's almost over and the reader's still confused about what that decision may be. GRRR!

An analysis of Chapter 9: "What Goes Around" was never a FAVORITE episode of mine, but it was a great episode. It was also DollyxRico heavy, which made it that much better because we don't get to see that very often. Now that Doll knows who she's going to choose, it's not a battle of how to tell him, it's when. Her hesitation in her decisions makes her who she is, but, if you haven't noticed, gets her into a lot of trouble. Doll has stopped asking questions (pretty much) and has instead chosen to give answers to the reader and herself, signifying her emergence into her own character. While reading this story, it's a steady climb of her development, taking, for lack of better words, dolly-steps into being real, in her own words. She doesn't consider herself to be real just yet, since she still has so much of herself to learn about and figure out. This chapter (and the next) actually has a song that goes with it, "What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts, which is what this story was GOING to be called until I changed my ideas. If you read the story over with that title in mind, it actually makes a lot of sense, even if you don't know which guy is singing the song. Crazy, right? Pros: Finalization of Dolly's character development. Cons: Dolly has to be given away. It's a very sad chapter. As is Chapter 10. SOB!

An analysis of Chapter 10: Probably the shortest chapter of this story, chapter 10 ends it the way that most stories with tragic endings... well, end. With open possibilities for more. I love more. I'm such a Disney Princess. Anyway. As you'll see below, there are many plot points that I didn't close up, and for a reason: This is one of I believe TWO Dolly involved stories. The other one has Rico talking to Dolly, but she's basically a prop. And I know she's a doll, but COME ON! She's RICO'S doll, in a show where anything can happen! So I'm hoping to inspire people to keep any Rico/Doll stories going. Roll. Rill. DoCo. Whatever you wanna call it. Uhmm... analysis, right. The goodbye in the show was really WAY too short, and Dolly's heartbreak causes her spirit to break. But what causes a doll to come to life in the first place? A pondarance? Perhaps. Julien, I feel for him, I really do. And I would have LOVED to see the two of them together. The solo sun rise was pretty hard for me to write, crazy as it may sound, because I wasn't sure if it was all that important. But, if Doll had stayed, I think she would have watched it with him, whether they ended up together or not. So yes, sun rises are VERY important. Am I happy with the way it ended? ...HECK YAH! It's probably one of my favorite POM stories I've written. Not to mention, Dolly deserves love too. She's so underrated. Pros: Story's over. Cons: Sad ending.

Plot holes that need closing and other interesting tidbits: I didn't close these for a reason, or I simply forgot about them.

Marlene knows about Dolly being alive. She doesn't know about her plan, but she does hope that her and one of the males will get together and be happy.

Maurice and Mort do like her, they're all like family. They ALSO know about her being alive, but don't know she's gone at the end of the story.

Pappy knows EVERYTHING. He's never said which guy he prefers, though. He's always supportive of Dolly's choices, but does he have an opinion?

Did Rico ever talk to Julien about his thing with Dolly?

Julien is heartbroken and desperate. He knows they took Dolly somewhere, but... where?

What happens to dolls after their hearts break? Do they die, or does something else happen? If they DO die, can they be brought back?

How did Julien reach the conclusion that he was in love with Dolly? He had all day to think about it, true, but what was he thinking exactly?

The other penguins don't know that Dolly's alive. Had they known, would things have been different?

Does Rico sense anything different between this new doll and Dolly?