A/N: well... XD here I am! who can believe it? I know I can't. It's been nearly TWO YEARS since I last updated this story. my god, it's insane. is anyone even still reading this? XD nah, I know that by some miracle above that there's a few of you out there. for you are the ones who convinced me to finish it! thank you all so much, it's wonderful to know that you enjoyed this story so much.and this chapter's a bit longer than the other ones, so I hope you all like it, especially after two years of waiting for it, eheheh. and last night I read the entire thing over again for the hell of it, and I think it'll be real obvious that two years HAVE passed. I don't think I was too horrible that long ago, but I can honestly say I know I'm a lot better at writing now. which I'm hoping will make you guys all the happier :D

Dory's POV, yay!

Disclaimer: see chapter one.

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"All You Wanted"

Chapter XII - "Finality"

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I swam as quickly as I possible could. I don't think I'd ever put this much determination into swimming, but I knew I had to. I could hear Alan right behind me, and I wouldn't let him get me. Marlin may not need me as much anymore, but… my children did. And that was more than enough for me.

"Dory!" Alan called. "I don't know who you're trying to kid by running away! You should be more like your sister and allow yourself to be punished without a struggle!"

At his mention of Luna, my hatred for him only grew. There was no way I was gonna let him win this. So I kept swimming with all that I had in me toward the jellyfish in the distance. More of them had gathered since I first noticed them, and even more were floating over.

I felt something brush up against my fin, and I realized with a jolt of fear that is was Alan reaching out to grab hold of me. And I knew that if he managed to get a good grip on me, everything would be over. I tried my hardest to swim faster, but with the eggs, it was near impossible. The swarm of jellyfish was only feet away now…

"Where do you think you're going, Dory!" Allan yelled from behind me. "You want to kill yourself so that I can't, is that it!"

I didn't reply, and kept concentrated on the jellyfish. At long last, I reached them, and in some odd way, I felt safe. I allowed myself only a moment to look back at Alan to find him halted a good distance away from me, right outside the forest of pink.

I decided to taunt him. "What's the matter? You afraid of the jellyfish?"

Though he deserved it, I realized how completely horrible it felt to be nasty to someone for the first time. But I got what I wanted out of it. Alan's expression quickly went from uncertainty to anger again, and he started swimming at me again. I turned and sped off in the jellyfish, completely unafraid. I knew how to get through this… Marlin taught me.

A sudden surge of sadness washed over me at the memory. I couldn't help but remember how just minutes before the jellyfish had surrounded us, he had worried fussed over the sting I had gotten on my fin. I felt nice to be worried about, and over something so small.

My eyes began to water, and I blinked the tears away. I shook my head, concentrating on not touching the tentacles, bouncing on their tops. Now wasn't the time to think about him.

I could still hear Alan right behind me. And then I realized that I wasn't helping myself by just swimming away, especially since I was starting to get tired. I had to do something. If he wasn't going to get caught up in those stingers himself, then I was going to have to make him.

I wheeled myself around to face him, stopping abruptly. He slammed into me, letting out a startled sort of noise on impact. It hurt quite a bit, but I shook off the pain, knowing what I had to do.

Before he had time to register what happened, I grabbed hold of the upper part of his fins with all the strength I could muster, and pushed him into one of the jellyfish's tentacles that were right behind him.

The first thing my mind registered was his scream. A surprised, then pain-filled scream. Second was someone else's scream, and it took me a second to realize it was coming from me. I was being stung right along with him, since I had to push him in far enough; my own fins were touching the tentacles as well.

Last was the pain. It had taken a second, but I now felt the horrible pain again, just like the time on the journey. It felt like one thousand sharp objects jabbing at me nonstop. But unlike the time before, it wasn't on accident. I could pull away at any moment, I had enough strength, but if I let go of Alan's fins, he would be able to get out too. And who knew what he would do to me if he could, and… I wanted to do this to him. I wanted to cause him all the pain he had caused me, and Luna. He deserved this, and I believed that with all that I had in me, so I had to hold him there for as long as I possibly could.

My body began to grow numb. But I clamped my eyes shut, trying my hardest to ignore it. I couldn't pull away. I had t hold him there, even if just for a little while long –

"DORY!"

The numbness had traveled upward now, starting to make me a little dizzy, but… I heard it. Opening my eyes wearily, I looked over and saw an orange blur swimming around. Was that what called my name? It was getting closer now, and it was starting not to look so much like a blur anymore.

"Dory!" it called. 'Dory, Dory, Dory.' It was even drowning out the screaming that was coming from in front of me. My entire body was numb now.

The blue was only a couple of feet away, and was still coming closer rather quickly. It only took a few more seconds for it to run right into me, causing me to loose my grip on whatever it was that I had been holding onto. I knew it was important though, and I tried to yell out in protest, but I couldn't speak. And now everything around me was getting dark. Is it nighttime already?

Somehow through my numbness, I felt an incredible warmth wrap itself around me. Blinking once, I saw orange in front of me, but it wasn't a blue anymore. I could see his white stripes, find, mouth, and his eyes. His eyes made him look like he was scared about something. But he was looking at me, why would he be scared?

He said my name again, and it was then that I finally recognized the voice.

I smiled. "Marlin…"

And then everything went black.


"What's going on, is she gonna be okay?"

"I – don't know, we just have to wait and see. I've done all I can do."

"Are you sure there's nothing else I can do?"

"I'm sure…"

I groaned. What was going on? My body ached all over, all I could feel was pain. My first instinct was the try and move, but that only ended in more pain. And I guess someone must've noticed, because I heard someone gasp and move closer to me.

"Dory?" a woman's voice said in a worried tone. Who…?

"Dory, are you awake? Can you open your eyes?"

My eyes were closed? Well that would explain why it was so dark. After a few seconds, I was able to open them, but I had to blink a few times to get used to the brightness. It was starting to make my head hurt now.

"Dory!" she exclaimed happily. She came into focus, and I suddenly remembered with a dull ache in my heart who she was. Kida…

She smiled at me as if I were the last fish in the ocean, and turned around and called out, "Marlin! Marlin, she's awake!"

All at once, my senses returned to me. My eyes widened in fear as she called to him. I didn't want to see him. No, I didn't think I could handle it. Don't let him see me.

Kida and I were in a cave, I suddenly realized, and I saw Marlin come into view at the opening, a worried look on his face. I would've swam away if I could've, but I was still in so much pain.

He swam over quite, quite hesitantly. The expression he had one was a cross between fear and concern as he looked at me, and even though I longed to look away from him, I couldn't tear my gaze away from his eyes. He spoke my name quietly, almost as if he were too scared to say it any louder. He stood completely still for a few moments, and said nothing.

But then before I could even react, he had swum closer and hugged me. I was frozen still, completely unable to think. It felt completely wonderful to be held by him again, I even began to feel tears well up in my eyes. But the image of him and Kida kept flooding my memories, trying its best to block out the warmth he was giving me.

He pulled away before I had a chance to hug him back like I wanted to. I just couldn't bring myself to…

"Dory, I… I'm just so glad you're all right," he finally spoke. I looked at him, remaining silent, and he seemed to take this as some kind of message. Sighing, he turned to Kida with a look that said, 'I'm sorry, but…'

She just smiled, nodded, and left the cave. Marlin looked down for a moment then before looking back to me. Carefully, he took one of my fins.

"Dory… Kida and I, we…"

I choked back a sob and tried my hardest to keep the tears from falling. But one did manage to escape, and Marlin reached out and brushed it away.

"Kida and I aren't… we don't like each other," he tried. "Well I mean – we do like each other, but just as friends. We don't… love one another."

I didn't know what to say, what to think. All I could manage out was, "But… I saw –,"

"I know what you saw," he interrupted with an embarrassed look on his face. "I know this sounds like I just came up with it as an excuse, but I only gave her a kiss on the cheek to show my appreciation for what she's done to help us. I honestly didn't mean it to be anything more than that."

So… he wasn't kissing her after all? He didn't love her? All at once, I suddenly felt extremely relieved and happy. I forgot about the pain that was shooting through me with every move I made, and threw my fins around him, hugging him as close to me as possible.

But then my happiness was struck by a bolt of lightning as I realized something. I abruptly pulled Marlin away from me and looked at him.

"Alan," I whispered fearfully. Marlin's face fell.

He detached himself from me, and I looked on at him questioningly.

"What happened?" I asked.

For a moment, Marlin was silent. But then he took to looking at the cave wall as he told me, "I don't know exactly how you ran into him. But by the time I found you, you two were tangled in the jellyfish, both getting stung to death. Except… I got to you in time, and knocked you out. By the time you let go of him…"

I trembled. Was he really…?

"Alan's dead," he finished with such finality in his voice, it gave me shivers. My eyes widened.

"And I…?"

Marlin nodded. "Killed him."

It felt like my heart had stopped. I stood frozen in shock at the information. I… killed someone. I made someone breathe for the last time, I took someone's very life away from them. He… the fish had deserved nothing less, but… just the fact that I killed him was just…

"Dory…?" I heard Marlin question softly. He put a fin on my shoulder as I looked over at him. He looked worried.

"Marlin, I…"

It was still just too much. I had to lie down. Slowly, I floated back down to the ground, relishing in the warm and soft sand beneath me. Marlin followed suit.

"Dory, you did the right thing," he said to me. "He was more than likely going to kill you if you hadn't done something first."

I knew Marlin was right. This seemed to help the shock subside a little bit, and I nodded silently. And then I felt Marlin hug me again.

"I'm still just so glad you're safe. I was so scared that you were gone," he whispered. I shut my eyes and returned his embrace, feeling as though I'd been missing it for months.

"I love you," he then said. "So much."

I felt the tears coming again, but this time out of happiness. But before I could tell him the same thing, I suddenly felt my stomach jerk,much stronger than all the other times.

Surprised, I pulled out of Marlin's embrace and put a fin on my stomach. He looked at me, confused, but then saw where I had my fin. His expression turned to a concerned one in a split second.

My stomach jerked again, this time even stronger. I jumped, starting to get nervous.

"Dory, are –,"

"I dunno," I said worriedly. He swallowed, looked at me for a moment more, then turned toward the cave entrance, and called out Kida's name. In an instant, she was swimming toward me, also looking worried. Her and Marlin were speaking to each other, but I could no longer hear them, fear completely overtaking my senses. My heart beat as fast as it possibly could, and I was filled with an immense fright. This was it… I knew it was, I could feel it. I don't think I was ready.

I felt something touch my fins, and I looked up to see that it was Marlin.

"Kida's gonna help you through this, okay Dory?" I heard him say. I just nodded, unable to do anything else. He then kissed me on my forehead.

"You'll be okay. Just be brave, and it'll all be over with before you know it."

And with that, he gave me one last smile and turned and left the cave. That's the last thing I remember before everything going into a blur…