Author's Note - The following was my second ever fanfiction. I honestly wrote it 6-7 years ago when Finding Nemo first came out. I'm feeling nostalgic, so I decided why not post it. I mean, I don't really have to I guess, but I'm going to anyways. This brings back such memories. Back then, I didn't even know about FFN or the term fanfiction for that matter. My writing was unpolished, my plots ridiculous and completely ripped off from other things. I was a mushy gushy Dorlin shipper - back before I knew the term was Dorlin or what shipping even was!- (but hey I'm still in love with the pairing lol) and a bit over the top, kind of make you gag about it :P I was unrealistic with scenarios, made the characters out of character, etc. But despite all of that, I can't help but feel more than attached to this less than perfect piece of fiction. I mean, even when I want to cringe at what I wrote, I think there's just a youthful innocence in my writing and it takes me back to a time when I wasn't trying so very hard with my writing to impress anyone. I was just having fun with my favorite characters :)

So, in this story, we have a general plot ripped from Anastasia, but with its own twists. Also, unlike the actual film where it's pretty realistic to underwater life, I made them more anthropomorphic, having pictures, boxes, writing reports in school, having newspapers, etc. Lol, I don't really know what possessed me to make it that way. Furthermore, so many times I didn't do my research on any of underwater life so there's probably a million scientific errors in this story. And since this isn't a re-write, the errors stand as they were first written even though I laugh at some of them now. Oh and I really don't think Dory is spacey enough, but whatevs.

BTW, all flames are welcome on this one :) Or if you want to just make a joke or whatever, feel free. Or if you by chance actually like it, well then that's cool too! Thanks!

Disclaimer - If for some reason you believe I own Finding Nemo in any part, you are sadly mistaken. I also have no idea if this story was ever done on FFN at anytime since the movie was released. I only just came to this section for nostalgic purposes. So if it is similar, it's purely coincidental.

Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly onto the ocean. Deep below the surface a whole world, different from the one on land, was beginning to wake up. At the very edge of the Great Barrier Reef, a young clown fish named Nemo tried to wake his dad, Marlin.

"Dad, get up! Today's the big field trip!" Marlin groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes, "Nemo, do you really have to go on this field trip? Can't you just stay home and let me and Dory take you somewhere fun ourselves? You know, later today?" he yawned and rolled back over.

"Dad!" Nemo said, this time much louder. Marlin jumped, startled by his son. He looked at him and saw the pleading look in Nemo's eyes.

"Pleeeeaaaassse? Everyone else is going. If I don't go, well, everyone's going to tease me and laugh at me."

"Oh no!" Marlin said over dramatically, playing with his son. "I can't let my son, the clown fish, be the actual class clown."

Nemo giggled, "Dad… So can I go?"

"Yes, you can go. Now go see if Dory's awake. I'll be there in a minute."

Nemo swam out of their anemone home and towards a very nearby grotto, a cave in the sea rock, just around the corner. This is where their new friend Dory now lived. She had helped Marlin find his son when Nemo had been taken by divers. And now Marlin and Nemo couldn't seem to get rid of her, but they didn't really mind. At least Nemo didn't. Marlin on the other hand sometimes had his doubts.

Nemo swam into the grotto, "Dory, are you awake? Dory?" he didn't see her anywhere. Marlin swam down inside the grotto to where Nemo was. "Dad, Dory isn't here."

Marlin's mind suddenly raced back to a previous memory of a grotto; a memory he thought he had buried long before. He quickly pulled himself back to reality and began to think of all the bad things that could have happened to Dory. He and Nemo began to swim up and out of the grotto. They were at the top and about to swim out when, from out of nowhere, a regal blue tang jumped in their path.

"Boo! Ra-ra-ra, boo!" It was Dory, "That's so much fun! Admit it, I got you guys."

Marlin was relieved, but frustrated at the same time, "Yeah, you got us, and at the same time, nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"Well, sorry. Loosen up, Mr. Grumpy Gills." Dory turned to Nemo, "Is he getting enough sleep?"

"I don't know. Dad, Dory's right. She was just playing a joke on us. Actually, I thought it was funny."

"Okay, this is just great. Here I was worried that something might have happened to Dory and this is how I'm treated? Fine, I get the picture," Marlin began to swim in the direction of the school. Dory and Nemo followed quickly behind.

"I'm sorry, dad," Nemo finally apologized.

"Yeah, me too, dad," Dory added. "Wait, you're not my dad."

"No, I'm not. It's impossible for you and me to be somehow related," Marlin said.

"So why are you so excited, Nimbo? Is it your first day of school? I remember my first day of school!" Dory said excitedly.

"I highly doubt that," Marlin commented sarcastically under his breath as he rolled his eyes. Dory couldn't remember anything! She suffered from short term memory loss. She usually couldn't even remember Nemo's name. However, she claimed to remember better when with Marlin.

"No, it's not my first day of school," Nemo answered patiently. "It's just we're going on this really big, really cool field trip today!"

"So, about this really big, really cool field trip," Marlin said, "when should I pick you up?"

"Mr. Ray said we should be back right at sunset."

"So long?" Marlin stopped himself. He realized he was being too overprotective again. He backed off. He didn't want Nemo to pull another stunt like the one he did the last time Marlin had been overprotective. He added, "Well, sunset's not that long. Where exactly are you going again?"

"I'm not sure. It's a surprise, but Sandy Plankton said it'll probably be somewhere near the EAC. But like Sandy Plankton ever got anything right. I mean, that's too far away." They arrived at the school. The rest of the class was already floating above Mr. Ray's back. Nemo hugged his dad and then joined his classmates, "Bye, dad. Bye, Dory."

"Bye, son! Have fun," Marlin called as Mr. Ray began to swim away.

"Bye, Elmo!" Dory called.

"Nemo," Marlin said.

"Oh. Bye, Nano!"

"Nemo," Marlin said again.

"Oh. Um, bye, son," Dory called. "Wait. Is he my son or your son?"

"My son," Marlin rolled his eyes again.

"Okay, got it. Bye-" Marlin cut her off.

"Dory, he's already gone. Let's go." He turned back towards his house. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to wake you up. The longer you're asleep, the longer my day is peaceful."

"Hey! That's not nice," Dory's eyes widened, "Don't you like me anymore?"

"Please, don't start with me, Dory. It's too early for this." Wanting to get away for a little bit, Marlin spotted one of Nemo's friend's guardians, "Hey!" he said to the seahorse.

"Oh, hey, Marlin! Did you hear the news?" the seahorse asked.

"What news?" Marlin asked curiously.

"Well, have you ever heard of crown prince Nathanial?" he asked.

"Sure, he's crown prince and heir to the throne of the far east corner of the Pacific Ocean. Who hasn't heard of him?" he answered.

"Yeah, well, now he's the king. And as his first royal act, he's issuing an entire ocean search for his daughter," the seahorse said.

"You mean Princess Dorinica? But wasn't she fishnapped when she was 16?"

"Yeah, but King Nathanial's convinced she's still alive. And he's calling for the help of either anybody who thinks they've seen her or anyone who had ever known her at the palace," he replied.

"Well, that's almost impossible," Dory, who had been listening in, added, "Princess Dorinica knew lots of fish."

"How do you know?" the seahorse asked immediately. "Did you know her?" Dory shook her head no.

"Don't mind her," Marlin said. "Even if she did ever know the princess, she probably wouldn't remember. Her short term memory's not that good."

"Oh, yeah. I remember you telling me that," the seahorse said.

"At least someone remembers things," Marlin sighed, still slightly agitated with the blue tang beside him. "Well, I've gotta get home. My wife used to know the princess. I'm going to go through her things. Thanks for the info. Bye!" Marlin said quickly and swam away.

It took Dory a minute to realize what happened. When she did, she yelled, "Hey, wait up!" and swam after him.

The seahorse watched the two fish as they slowly disappeared from sight. "Poor Marlin," he finally whispered to himself.