Warning: There will be some semi-graphic violence in this chapter. Mentions of blood and open wounds
Chapter 5: The Sleepover Incident
"Hey Doramen! Can you come over here for a minute?"
Doramen mentally sighed when he heard Doralien call his name. He slowly walked over to the table where Doralien was sitting. The teal robot cat had a large grin on his face, which Doramen had come to learn as a bad sign.
"What do you want?" Doramen asked as he sat down.
"I'm hosting a sleepover at my house tonight! You wanna come?" Doralien asked.
"A sleepover?"
"Yeah, a sleepover. Do you want to join it?"
Doramen looked down thoughtfully. It sounded like fun. After all, he hadn't been over to Doralien's house in a long time. But, Doramen thought, there was probably a catch. A grin always means mischief when it comes to Doralien.
"Okay Doralien, I accept. I'll go to your slumber party thing."
"Yay!" Doralien shouted, giving Doramen a tight hug.
Doramen chuckled awkwardly and wriggled out of his best friend's grasp. He smoothed the fur around his belly that had been wrinkled when Doralien hugged him.
"I'll see you tonight, pal," he said, grabbing his things and leaving.
That afternoon, Doramen got prepared to go to the sleepover. He groomed himself extra long, making sure he looked nice. There was no way he was letting himself go over there looking bad with the risk of Doraemon being there.
He grabbed his pillow and a blanket and left his house. His whiskers twitched as he walked down the street. The sun was setting behind him, creating a shadow in front of him that slowly got bigger.
Sighing happily, he approached Doralien's house. All of the lights were on, indicating that there was some activity inside. Doramen walked up to the front door and knocked.
"I'll get it!" said a voice from inside the house.
The front door opened to reveal Doralien with an ear-to-ear grin on his face.
"Ah, Doramen! Welcome, welcome! Come right in!" he said very cheerfully, stepping out of the way.
Doramen stepped inside the house, casting Doralien a strange glance as he did so. He walked into the living room and instantly grew on edge. Doraemon and a yellow, female robot cat that he didn't recognize were sitting in there waiting for him. Doramen tried not to stare at her as he wondered if he knew her from somewhere, but nothing came to mind.
Doralien walked in behind him, still smiling. He beckoned Doramen to take a seat on the floor with the other guests. Doramen sat down across from them, deciding to give them space.
"So Doramen, as you can see we have a new guest here today," Doralien began, gesturing to the girl.
"Yeah," Doramen murmured.
Doraemon stood up suddenly.
"Doramen, this is my sister, Dorami," he said, gesturing to the girl.
He then turned to her.
"Dorami, this is my friend, Doramen," he said, gesturing to Doramen.
Sister? Wow, I never would've guessed that Doraemon has a sibling, Doramen thought in surprise.
"Nice to meet you, Doramen," Dorami greeted with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Dorami," Doramen replied.
He couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He just found out Doraemon has a sister, and now he has to get along with her as if he'd known her as long as he'd known Doraemon.
"Okay, now that everyone is here, what should we do first?" Doralien asked.
"Let's play a board game!" Doraemon suggested.
Due to his crush on Doraemon, Doramen immediately agreed, however it wasn't the only reason. He did genuinely want to, crush or no crush.
"How about we built a fort?" Dorami asked.
"That's a great idea!" Doraemon said.
"Build a fort, huh? Are there any other ideas?" Doralien prompted, seeming to not have heard Doraemon's suggestion.
Doraemon did not bring up his idea of playing a board game. Doramen decided to restate his idea.
"Play a board game?" he asked, glancing at Doraemon.
"I'm not in the mood for a board game," Dorami said, shrugging.
Doramen tried not to sigh. He figured Doraemon was more interested in Dorami's idea than his own, so he decided to just drop it.
Maybe building a fort will be really fun, he thought.
"Hey Doramen, do you have any ideas?" Doraemon asked, looking over at him.
"I don't have a preference," Doramen admitted, shrugging.
Doralien glanced at everyone, waiting for any more suggestions to be tossed up. When nobody said anything, he decided it was time to move on.
"Alright, let's build a fort then," he said.
"We need a blanket," Doraemon pointed out.
"I can go grab the blanket off my bed."
With that, Doralien headed down a hallway towards his bedroom. While he did that, Doramen and Doraemon went into the kitchen and grabbed all four chairs from a dining table. They carried the chairs into the living room and set them i formation.
Just then, Doralien returned with his blanket. He and Doramen draped it over the chairs, and it was just long enough to hang over the sides and obstruct the views of anyone inside. After that, they grabbed a few heavy miscellaneous items, mostly books. Dorami and Doraemon stretched the blanket out tight, then Doralien and Doramen put down the objects on the chairs. This effectively kept the blanket stretched out, so it didn't droop in the middle.
Once the fort was declared to be stable and ready for use, Doraemon was the first to crawl inside.
"How is it?" Doralien asked.
"It's great! There's plenty of room for all four of us!" Doraemon exclaimed.
Doramen decided to try it out next. He got down on all fours and crawled under the fort. Immediately, he found himself mere inches away from Doraemon. His face heated up a little. He looked around the interior of the fort, trying to ignore how close he was to Doraemon.
"It's really cool in here," he remarked.
Doralien crawled in after him until the two were side-by-side.
"Oh yeah, this is the perfect size!" he exclaimed.
But what are we going to do under here? Doramen wondered.
Dorami also crawled under the fort, although from a different spot so she was farther away.
"I'm really excited to be spending time with you guys," she remarked, her gaze sweeping over the three boy cats.
"I hope you two will be able to get along with her," Doraemon murmured, glancing at Doramen and Doralien.
"Of course we will!" Doralien retorted.
Doramen remained silent. He didn't want to offend Doraemon, but at the same time he didn't want to make any false promises.
I just met her a few minutes ago. How am I supposed to predict if we'll get along? he thought.
"I'm sure things will be fine," he said aloud.
"I really hope so," Doraemon replied.
I'll do my best, Doramen thought.
As the night progressed, the four robot cats did a variety of activities. They played charades and some board games, ate lots of food, and watched multiple movies.
It was currently 11:30 PM. Doramen was curled up under the fort watching his fourth movie. Doralien had gone to bed over an hour ago, and Dorami had followed soon afterwards, leaving Doramen and Doraemon alone. Doramen had to admit, although he enjoyed having some time with just him and his crush, he was disappointed by how soon Doralien had called it a night. The teal robot cat, despite being very energetic, wasn't one to stay up late. Once the sun set, his energy usually faded out pretty quickly. Despite desiring to take advantage of this alone time with Doraemon, Doramen was really invested in his movie. Plus, he was worried that he would just end up making things awkward because of his crush. He was still a bit shy around Doraemon, although he was getting better.
He parted his jaws in a wide yawn. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he wanted to finish his movie before he went to bed. Doraemon, who had taken a break from the movie to go in the kitchen and eat a few yummy buns, wasn't doing much better.
Doramen's movie ended after about fifteen minutes. He got up on all fours and exited the fort, then stood up while rubbing his eyes. For a moment he watched the credits rolling on the TV, almost debating on whether he should stay up longer, but he quickly decided that he was too tired. Plus, it wasn't like he and Doraemon were really doing anything together. He stumbled his way into the kitchen, groaning softly as he struggled to stand straight.
"You look exhausted," Doraemon commented from the corner of the room, where he was leaning on the counter.
"I can't stay awake any longer. I'm going to bed," Doramen mumbled.
"Okay, I don't blame you. Go get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
Doramen smiled faintly at Doraemon, flattered by the kind words. He turned around, about to walk away, when he saw Dorami emerge from a room down the hallway and walk sluggishly into the bathroom. It reminded him of the sleeping arrangements that they'd decided on, and he instantly felt disappointed when he remembered that he and Doraemon were sleeping in separate rooms.
"Alright guys, I have my bedroom and a spare bedroom, so two of us will have to sleep in one bedroom, and two in the other," Doralien had told the group.
There had been some arguing over who would sleep with who. Doraemon wanted to sleep with Dorami and Doramen, Doramen wanted to sleep with Doraemon and Doralien, and Dorami wanted to sleep with just Doraemon. Eventually, Doralien, who never gave his two cents on who he wanted to sleep with, had to make up the sleeping arrangements himself to stop the arguing.
"Okay guys, this is how everyone will sleep: Doraemon and Dorami will sleep in one bedroom, and Doramen and I will sleep in the other bedroom," he had announced.
Nobody had protested Doralien's decision despite it not satisfying everyone's wishes. Everyone had set up their things in the bedrooms only about an hour before Doralien would go to bed.
"Good night, Doraemon. See you tomorrow," Doramen murmured, letting out another yawn.
"Good night, Doramen," Doraemon replied with a warm smile.
Doramen returned the smile before he began his slow walk down the hallway. He was going to be sleeping in Doralien's bedroom, which was at the end of the hallway. As he went, he passed Dorami and Doraemon's room to his left. The door was ajar. Against his better judgment, he peeked inside through the gap. Dorami had just climbed in the bed, getting her blanket situated before lying on her back and going still. She was laying on one side the bed, making Doramen assume that Doraemon would be sleeping on the other side.
Not wanting Dorami to see him and think he was a creep for watching her, he briskly continued on his way. After passing the bathroom on the right, he came to the end of the hall, where Doralien's bedroom was on the left. The door was wide open, allowing him to easily see inside. Doralien was lying in the center of the bed, fast asleep. It was eerily quiet, the only noise being Doralien's breathing.
Doramen crept into the room, then slowly and quietly closed the door behind him. He tiptoed past the bed and to the sleeping bag on the floor. He and Doralien had agreed that they weren't comfortable sharing the bed, and after much debate, Doramen was chosen to sleep on the floor. He didn't much it too much, although he certainly wished he had another option. Although he could always sleep on the couch in the living room, he didn't want to leave Doralien by himself, especially now that he was asleep and would have no idea that Doramen had chosen to sleep elsewhere.
Doramen glanced over at Doralien one more time, paranoid that his mere presence would wake him. The teal robot cat was breathing softly, clearly in a deep sleep. It would take effort for Doramen to wake him up. Sighing mentally, Doramen got down on the floor and crawled inside the sleeping bag. After rolling around for a little while, trying to get comfortable, he was eventually able to fall asleep.
2 AM
Doralien jerked awake. He sat up and looked around, wondering what had woke him up. A shuffling noise made him jump a little, and he looked over at Doramen. The red robot cat was still curled up in the sleeping back, twitching a little in his sleep.
Sighing quietly, Doralien plopped his head back onto his pillow. He immediately felt something tickling his nose. Sitting up again, he examined his pillow and spotted a long string.
He sighed again and slid off his bed. He tiptoed up the hallway and into the kitchen to find some scissors. Doraemon had gone to bed at that point, leaving the front part of the house completely dark and silent. Doralien didn't want to turn on any lights in fear of waking someone up, and as a result was forced to search for scissors in the dark. He knew he kept a pair in one of the drawers, but with it being so dark he couldn't really see where he was reaching.
After what seemed like hours of searching as quietly as possible, he couldn't find any. He thought about it for a few moments before deciding that a knife would be a good substitute. He knew exactly where a knife was, and started fumbling around in the darkness in search of it.
Meanwhile, Doramen was getting hot in his sleeping bag, and he was awoken by the terribly uncomfortable sensation. He wriggled out of the sleeping bag and sat there, trying to cool off. As he did so, it didn't even cross his mind to glance at the bed.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching. His ear twitched as he turned his head to see who it was. His heart seemed to stop when he saw a robot cat approaching the doorway, a knife in their paw. Due to the very little light in the room, he had no way of knowing that it was simply his friend. All he saw was an intruder.
In a split-second, he was overwhelmed with the instinct to protect Doralien. He gave himself literally no time to think about. His claws slid out of their sheaths as he tensed his legs, preparing to pounce. Without the slightest second thought, he was ready to fight this person and save his best friend. He let out a battle cry as he lunged at the supposed intruder
Doralien's blood ran cold when he heard Doramen's cry. He could barely take a step back before Doramen tackled him, slamming him against the wall. The back of his head hit the wall with a painful thump. The air was knocked out of him, giving him no breath to speak and beg for mercy. He dropped the knife, hyperventilating, as Doramen lifted one of his paws, the claws glinting in the weak moonlight.
"D-D-Dora-"
Doralien's pathetic, breathless squeak was cut off when Doramen brought down his paw and raked his claws through the upper right side of Doralien's face, gruesomely ripping apart his right ear and eye. Doralien could do nothing but shriek in agony as blood poured from the deep, gaping wounds. Tiny sparks flew as small, insignificant wires were severed.
Adrenaline rushed through Doramen's veins. For a few seconds, his brain didn't even register that Doralien was screaming. He slashed Doralien again, carving deeper into the already horrific wounds. In that moment, all he cared about was protecting his presumed slumbering friend. His only goal was to prove to the intruder what a huge mistake they'd made.
He opened his jaws, about to deliver a bite, when he froze in horror. He finally recognized Doralien's voice, and immediately snapped out of his trance. Doralien's blood was all over his paws, oozing down his arms and dripping onto the carpet. The stench of blood was overwhelming. He backed away from Doralien, trembling with horror and revulsion as Doralien writhed in agony, continuing to let out blood-curdling screams. Part of his face had quite literally been cut wide open.
Suddenly, manic footsteps could be heard outside the room. Doramen realized with a jolt of horror that Dorami and Doraemon had woken up. Desperate to not get caught, since it would currently be obvious what had happened, he frantically opened the window in the back of the bedroom and jumped out. He landed on the soft, cold grass and ran.
He looked behind him as he ran and saw lights on in Doralien's house. For a moment, he wondered if he should go back and help Doralien, before realizing that Dorami and Doraemon could take care of it. He broke into a sprint and went down the street. He didn't know where he was going; all he knew was to get as far away from Doralien's house.
The pure horror of what happened started to sink in, and he came to a stop. He could still smell Doralien's blood, and it would take a serious scrub to get it out of his fur. Although he couldn't actually hear Doralien screaming anymore, he felt as though the sound was still there, following him. He was trembling violently, and began to hyperventilate.
Oh my God…. I attacked him! I cut him open! What if I killed him? he thought frantically.
His stomach was twisted so tight he felt like he was going to throw up. He collapsed onto his knees and looked at his paws. Blood dripped off of them. Doralien's blood.
The thought of finding out Doralien was dead made him feel sick. He could never live with himself knowing he murdered his best friend. Tears began to blur his vision, and soon they were pouring down his cheeks.
What have I done? I'm a monster!