Chapter 6: Scars
Doramen sat at his regular table at school, his face buried in his arms. It had been a week since the sleepover incident. Doralien had been in the hospital the entire time, getting treatment for his wounds. Doramen had been too afraid to visit him, despite constant ushering from Doraemon.
A deep sigh escaped Doramen, his stomach twisting from anxiety. Doraemon had told him that Doralien would be returning to school that day. However, the teal robot cat never showed up. He was absent from the classes that he shared with Doramen, and Doramen had not heard Dorami or Doraemon mentioning that they'd seen him.
As usual with him, he'd thought of horrible reasons as to why Doraemon was wrong. What if Doraemon was lying to protect him, and Doralien was actually in worse condition than he seemed to be? What if Doralien had died, and Doraemon was just too scared to tell him? What if Doralien was dying, but only he knew it, and lied to Doraemon to protect him, Dorami, and Doramen? What if Doramen hadn't seen Doralien because he'd gotten some kind of restraining order?
"Hey, Doramen," a voice suddenly said.
Doramen lifted his head when he immediately recognized the voice to be Doraemon. Doraemon was standing across from him, looking down at him with concern.
"Oh, hi Doraemon," Doramen mumbled.
"Are you okay?" Doraemon asked, sitting down across from him.
"I'm worried about Doralien. Why didn't he come today like you said he would?"
"I don't know. Maybe the doctors wouldn't allow him to come back to school."
Doramen tapped his paw on the table's surface thoughtfully.
"I just hope he's okay," he fretted.
"He seemed fine when I last saw him. He's doing much better; I think he's recovering well," Doraemon explained.
Doramen felt sick as he remembered Doralien's agonized screams. The sound was haunting enough on its own, but hearing it in his best friend's voice, and knowing that he was the cause of those screams, was gut-wrenching.
I probably did some serious damage…, he thought, his heart aching with guilt and shame.
Suddenly, he felt something vibrate in his pocket. He reached inside and dug around, surprised to discover that the vibration had come from his phone.
Who could that be? Nobody hardly ever texts me at school, he thought.
He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. His heart lurched when he saw that he'd received a video message from Doralien.
"You okay?" Doraemon asked.
"Doralien sent me a video message," Doramen answered nervously.
"See what it says! He might need you!"
Doramen hesitated to tap on the notification. A video message meant he would likely see Doralien's face, and that scared him. He didn't want to see Doralien with his skin ripped off or something horrifying like that.
"What are you waiting for?" Doraemon asked impatiently.
"S-sorry," Doramen murmured.
He finally gathered the courage to tap on the pop-up. Instantly, a little hologram was projected from his phone screen. There was Doralien, or at least the top half of him. He was wearing a large hat that covered not only his ears, but also his eyes. He gave a small, awkward smile, then waved.
"Hey buddy, I'm home from the Robot Hospital. If you can, please come by my house when you get out of school. I'd like to talk to you about something important," he said.
He then frowned, adjusting his hat a little before the message abruptly ended.
"What's with the hat?" Doraemon asked, glancing at Doramen as if he expected the red robot cat to know.
It's so I can't see how badly I hurt him, Doramen thought.
"I don't know," he mumbled audibly.
"Well you better go visit him. It sounds like he needs you," Doraemon said.
Doramen's heart lurched. Doralien wasn't one to get angry often, but he had his moments, and Doramen feared this was going to be one of them.
What if I've destroyed our friendship…?
….
Doramen's heart leapt into his throat when the bell rang. The final class was over. He hesitantly shoved his supplies into his pocket, wishing he could get out of visiting Doralien. He'd been dreading it all afternoon.
This is not going to be pleasant…, he thought.
Sighing, he left the classroom and made his way out into the main campus. All the students were leaving. Doramen just stood there, frozen. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. It didn't help much.
I can't keep him waiting, he thought.
Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Anywhere Door. He sighed deeply as he nervously gripped the doorknob.
"T-take me to Doralien's house," he uttered.
His heart pounded as he opened the door. The front porch of Doralien's house sat in front of him, through the door frame.
I can do this! he thought with ever-so-slight determination.
He stepped through the door frame, immediately grabbing his Anywhere Door and putting it back in his pocket. His heart was pounding faster now. Slowly, he walked up to the front door of Doralien's house.
This is it, he thought.
Finally, he knocked on the door, his arm shaking.
"Is that you, Doramen? Come in, it's unlocked," called Doralien's voice from within the house.
Doramen hesitantly opened the door and stepped inside Doralien's house. He closed the door behind him and just stood there, not sure what to do.
"Come in here, Doramen," Doralien ushered softly, although Doramen could not see him.
Doramen sighed and walked into the living room. Doralien was standing in the middle of the room, frowning. He was still wearing the hat. Doramen opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.
"It's been a while since I've seen you, pal," Doralien greeted, smiling weakly.
"Yeah, a week…," Doramen mumbled, shifting his feet.
"How have you been?"
"Fine."
Doramen felt uncomfortable with how casual Doralien was talking, given the circumstances.
"I hurt you really bad, didn't I?" he blurted suddenly.
Doralien didn't answer at first.
"The amount you hurt me doesn't matter," he said.
"Yes it does! I could have changed your life forever!" Doramen argued.
Doralien chuckled softly.
"I'm okay, Doramen. There's no need for you to worry about me," he murmured.
"Then why are you covering your face?" Doramen asked accusingly.
"So you wouldn't worry."
"Show me your face. I want to see what I did to you."
"That won't solve anything…"
"Just do it! Or I'll rip it off myself!"
Doralien sighed.
"As you wish," he mumbled.
He grabbed his hat and flung it off his head. Doramen gasped in shock, stepping back and covering his mouth with his paws as he began to tear up.
Doralien's right ear was completely gone. There wasn't a single trace of it, not even the slightest stump or anything. It was as if the ear had never been there. Five long, ugly scars stretched from the empty spot where his ear should be down across his right eye, which was tightly shut. Most of the fur around the scars was gone.
"Y-y-your ear… it's gone..!" Doramen exclaimed as he began to cry. "I ripped it off! I ripped your ear off!"
He turned his back to Doralien and buried his face in his paws.
I'm a monster! he thought in horror and anguish.
Doralien stood there in silence. He watched Doramen cry, wondering what he should do to comfort his friend.
"It's alright, Doramen…," he murmured, taking a step towards Doramen. "Our ears are just for decoration, after all. It's no big deal."
"No, it's not alright! I disfigured you! I broke my promise!" Doramen cried as he refused to look in Doralien's direction.
"That promise was unrealistic. I was bound to do something stupid again."
Doramen sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"I promised you I would never hurt you again! And now look at you! You look like you were attacked by a bear!" he exclaimed.
He could still remember the taste of Doralien's blood in his mouth all that time ago, before he came to the Robot Academy.
"I'm a monster!" he cried.
Doralien finally whipped around in front of Doramen.
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're not a monster!" he argued.
"Yes I am!" Doramen protested.
He began to get angry and stepped away from Doralien.
"I'll never be a normal robot cat like you and Doraemon! Never!" he shouted, the tears continuing to stream down his face.
"You are normal!" Doralien exclaimed.
"It's not in my code to be normal! I'll never be like you! I'm always going to be a cheap piece of junk!"
"Doramen, please… You're not a piece of junk…"
Doramen sighed sadly, his tears slowing down. However, his anger was far from gone.
"You don't know anything! You've always had the blessing of being raised in a real society where humans treat you equally!" he cried.
Doralien was silent. He didn't have a counter to that.
"If I was a normal robot cat, we wouldn't even be having this discussion," Doramen continued. "Because then I wouldn't be a freak with violent tendencies."
"Doramen, we both know that you attacked me for defensive reasons. You can't control how you were raised. It's not your fault that attack is your first instinct when danger comes," Doralien argued.
Doramen sighed. He looked down at his paws and unsheathed his claws.
"Sometimes I feel like I was created to do nothing but destroy," he murmured.
"That's not true at all. Technically, you were made to create things," Doralien said with a suggestive wink.
As usual with him, his anger was gone in the blink of an eye. Doramen rubbed the side of his head sheepishly, sheathing his claws, as he realized Doralien was right.
"Look Doramen, I like you just the way you are. You've come a long way, after all. You were born in the middle of nowhere with nothing on your back, and now here you are, attending school!" Doralien continued.
"You're right," Doramen mumbled.
"So please, stop calling yourself a monster. A monster wouldn't have attacked me with good intentions. You just wanted to protect those you care about."
Doramen was silent. He wasn't sure if he could fully believe that.
"I didn't even hesitate," he croaked as the tears returned. "I didn't even bother to get your scent, or listen to your voice. I just attacked…"
Doralien crossed his arms.
"That's not a bad thing," he said.
"Yes it is!" Doramen argued. "I should've at least gotten your scent!"
"But what if that had been a real intruder standing there? And what if he had a gun? He could have shot you in the time it would take you to smell him and identify him."
"But it wasn't! It wasn't a real intruder with a gun! It was my best friend!"
Doralien was silent. He didn't know what to say anymore.
"Just face the facts, Doralien. I'm a monster, and I will always be a monster," Doramen continued.
"You will never be a monster in my eyes," Doralien argued.
"I permanently disfigured you! Do you even have an eyeball left in there?"
Doramen pointed to Doralien's closed eye as he spoke. To his surprise, Doralien nodded.
"Yeah, the eyeball is still there, but it's…"
Doralien trailed off and averted his gaze. Doramen immediately felt his tears return as Doralien became nothing but a big blur.
"What did I do to your eye..?" he asked quietly, taking a few steps towards Doralien.
Doralien hesitated. He knew it would send Doramen into a fit if he told the truth. But, at the same time, he couldn't bear to lie to his dear friend.
"It doesn't work anymore," he confessed, not making eye contact with Doramen. "It's too badly damaged. I can't see out of it."
"I blinded you!" Doramen shrieked.
He collapsed onto his knees and buried his face into his paws, where he began to sob. Doralien flattened his ear. For a moment, he began to regret asking Doramen to come over.
All I'm doing is making him hate himself even more than he already does, he thought.
For several seconds, he just stood there in silence while Doramen cried. He knew he needed to choose his words carefully.
"It doesn't hurt," he said.
Doramen didn't even acknowledge that he'd said anything.
"My other eye is just fine," Doralien continued.
This time, Doramen looked up at him.
"So..?" Doramen asked.
"So, I can still see," Doralien remarked.
"But… only out of one eye now… Surely that must be torture…"
"It's already been a week, I'm starting to get used to it."
"You shouldn't be used to it…"
"Doramen, this incident really hasn't affected my life as much as you think it has."
Doramen wiped his eyes aggressively in an attempt to get rid of the tears.
"Are you sure..?" he asked quietly.
"I'm positive," Doralien answered, smiling.
Doramen stood back up, his legs trembling. He looked over Doralien, barely able to look at the claw marks without wanting to cry harder.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" he asked.
"Absolutely. I'm gonna be fine, buddy," Doralien replied.
Doramen wiped his face again, finally calming down. However, he decided that he needed some comfort. He held out his arms and began to approach Doralien, wanting a hug.
Doralien's warm smile suddenly turned into a frown of immense discomfort. He flattened his remaining ear and began to back away from Doramen, putting his arms behind his back to avoid returning the gesture. Doramen halted, greatly confused and concerned.
"S-sorry, I don't want to be touched right now," Doralien mumbled.
Doramen lowered his arms, his ears flattening as well. He felt offended, almost, but also incredibly guilty.
"Oh, sorry," he muttered, looking down at the floor.
Doralien visibly relaxed, returning his arms to his side as his expression changed back to one more neutral and calm.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
"I think so," Doramen murmured, sniffling.
"Good. I don't want you stressing over this."
Doramen just mumbled in response. Doralien gave him a warm, assuring smile.
"Everything is gonna be okay. I promise," he said.
Doramen hesitated, before finally making eye contact with Doralien.
"Okay, I believe you."