Warning: This chapter contains some dark content

Chapter 14: What it Means to be Normal

Doramen tapped his paws on his desk impatiently. The entire classroom was filled with excited chattering from the students. Doramen found the sound to be quite annoying, but he could understand it. It wasn't every day that your teacher announced a surprise field trip, especially when the destination was a secret.

Even though Doramen didn't appear to be excited at all, he was wondering hard about where they were going to go. The park? The fairgrounds? A museum? Somewhere out of town? The possibilities were endless.

However, where they were going wasn't the only thing Doramen was thinking about. The teacher had made it very clear that only good students were allowed to go, and even though Doramen knew his grades could certainly be better, he wasn't on the verge of failing. He shared this class with Doraemon and Dorami, and he couldn't help but worry if his lover was doing well enough in the class to get to go. Grades were not something he discussed regularly with Doraemon, so he had no idea if the yellow robot cat was even passing the class.

I don't know if I can bear to go on this field trip without Doraemon, Doramen thought with worry.

He fought the urge to look over his shoulder. Doraemon sat in the back of the class, far from Doramen. The two were on opposite ends of the classroom, which always bugged Doramen. He wished Doraemon was up in the front with him, although deep down he had a feeling that Doraemon being near him would just make it even harder for him to learn than it already was. Processing information wasn't always easy for him, especially when dealing with complex vocabulary and formulas. Part of him wanted to believe that Doraemon would be there to help him learn that day's lesson, but something told him that it wasn't going to be that easy.

Luckily for him, the day's lesson had been cancelled due to the field trip. The teacher had claimed that the students were going to be gone for the rest of the school day, which to many students was a blessing. Although Doramen enjoyed learning—to an extent—he was happy to technically have a day off, and he was even more happy to be spending that day off with Doraemon.

Before the students could leave to go on the field trip, the teacher had to spend a few painful, uncomfortable minutes dismissing the students who were not allowed to go. Doramen breathed a sigh of relief when Doraemon was never mentioned, or himself. Now he could rest assured that he could spend the trip with his lover. He immediately began to daydream about them going to a very romantic location, and him getting to spend lots of alone time with Doraemon. He imagined him and Doraemon taking a romantic walk through the park, and then sitting down in the grass side by side. Doraemon looked at Doramen, smiling warmly. Doramen returned the smile and began to lean in for a kiss. Doraemon did the same, their lips getting closer and closer, and then—

Doramen's daydream was interrupted by a sudden outcry of joy by his classmates. He looked around the room, completely lost as to what was happening. The chattering was much louder now, so much so that Doramen could barely even think, much less get back to his juvenile fantasizing.

His classmates began to rise from their seats and exit the classroom in a crowd. Then it hit Doramen—it was time to go board the bus. He clumsily got out of his seat, hitting the desk with his belly multiple times. By the time he was standing in the aisle between the rows of seats, almost all of the students had already left.

He flinched when he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, a smile immediately coming to his face when he saw Doraemon standing there.

"Hey, Doramen. Ready to go?" Doraemon asked.

"You bet," Doramen answered, his mood elevating dramatically.

He resisted the urge to hold out his paw for Doraemon to take. Any sort of "romantic contact" was strictly forbidden by the school. Even something like holding hands was considered inappropriate. Doramen knew that he could get detention for it, and he'd heard horror stories of students getting caught in the middle of a make out session and winding up with a big fat suspension.

Instead, he awkwardly put his paws behind his back and gave Doraemon a big smile. He knew the teacher was still in the classroom, likely watching him. It was no secret in the school that he was dating Doraemon; it wouldn't be the first time he'd had a teacher stare at him like an overprotective parent.

"Come on, let's go," he said.

He turned around and exited the classroom, feeling tempted to glare at the teacher as he went, but he knew better. Doraemon followed right behind him, eager to get going. The two robot cats speed-walked down the hallway, quickly catching up the obnoxiously loud crowd of their classmates. In the mass of students, most being robot cats, Doramen spotted Dorami up in the front of the crowd. He recognized her red bow sticking out like a sore thumb among the pairs of ears.

"Dorami is way up ahead," he reported to Doraemon.

"Oh, good. Looks like she'll be sitting at the back of the bus. I wish I could sit with both you and her," Doraemon replied.

"Yeah."

Doramen watched in amusement as the teacher, also a robot, hurriedly made her way to the front of the crowd, hushing them as she led them to the front of the school. Once outside, everyone's excitement only grew when the school buses came into view. Since it was the middle of the school day, the buses were all parked in a line along the sidewalk. All but one was quiet and empty. The bus at the very front of the line had its doors open, the driver sitting in his respective seat.

Immediately the students began to pour into the bus, crowding their way into the seats in the back of the bus, and gradually getting closer and closer to the front. Doramen and Doraemon were lucky enough to get the same seat on the right side of the bus, with Doramen getting the window side. He couldn't help but feel a little flustered with Doraemon being crowded so close to him. They were less than an inch apart in some areas. Even now that he was in a relationship with Doraemon, Doramen's shyness hadn't quite gone away.

"Are you excited?" Doraemon asked.

"Yeah, I am," Doramen replied.

He was looking forward to seeing where they were going. The curiosity was eating away at him.

"Where do you think we're gonna go?" he asked as the bus began to pull out of the school's parking lot.

"I'm pretty certain we're gonna go to the history museum. It only makes sense to me," Doraemon answered. "What about you?"

"I think we're gonna go to the park."

"Hmm, I was thinking that too."

Doramen looked out the window. They were on the road now, driving away from the Robot Academy. Now it was just a guessing game, or a waiting game to those who didn't feel like trying to figure it out.

"The teacher said we're gonna be gone all day," Doraemon mentioned.

"Maybe we're going out of town somewhere. I think there's an amusement park not too far from our town," Doramen replied.

His mind was already starting to drift. He felt the urge to daydream, and he found himself rapidly losing interest in the conversation.

"Oh yeah, there is! That place is really fun!" Doraemon exclaimed, clasping his paws together eagerly.

He looked at Doramen, expecting him to share his excitement, but instead the red robot cat was staring blankly out the window, already lost in his thoughts. Doraemon sighed a little, some of his eagerness fading away. He was used to seeing Doramen daydream, but it bothered him to see his lover not expressing even the tiniest sliver of excitement for the trip.

Well fine, if you don't want to show that you're happy, so be it, Doraemon thought, looking away.

He looked over his shoulder, hoping to spot his sister somewhere in the farther seats. A smile came to his face when he could just barely see what appeared to be her bow in the very back of the bus, although he wished he could see her face. Was she eager and full of energy like him, or was she much more calm like Doramen? He hoped his sister was excited, and he couldn't help but wonder what her thoughts were on where they were going.

I should've tried to talk to her before she left the classroom, he thought regretfully.

Several minutes ticked by as the school bus drove through town. Doraemon was tempted to watch out the window and try to figure out where they might be going, but he quickly decided that that was cheating. Doramen hadn't spoken a single word to him the entire time. In fact, he hadn't even made eye contact with Doraemon. Despite really wanting someone to talk to, Doraemon felt bad about bothering Doramen when he clearly wasn't interested in having a conversation, so he left the red robot cats to wander in his thoughts.

After what felt like forever, the bus slowly came to a stop. Doraemon assumed that they'd come to another red right, until students sitting on the other side of the bus suddenly began to gasp and talk excitedly. They all crowded around the windows, looking at something. Doraemon tried to get a peek, but there were too many students blocking his view. He turned to Doramen and roughly nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, I think we might be here," he said.

Doramen blinked at him, clearly having been in some sort of trance.

"Oh, we're here?" he asked in confused surprise. "Where are we?"

"I don't know, but it must be cool."

It was then that Doramen noticed how excited his classmates were. He, too, tried to see what was riling them all up, but like Doraemon he was unable to see anything that he could actually make out.

The teacher rose from her seat at the very front of the bus and began ushering students out. Doraemon and Doramen were able to exit the bus quickly due to how close they were to the exit.

Upon exiting the bus, Doraemon immediately let out a huge gasp, his eyes widening in amazement. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. Of all the places in town, he'd never expected they would go to a place like this.

Doramen stood there in silence, any emotion completely absent from his expression. He didn't know what to do but stand there and stare. He stared at the building that towered over him, as if it was mocking him.

"Why are you here?" it almost seemed to ask him.

Although it was a mere building, a very bright and inviting building, deep down it intimidated him. He could hardly even bring himself to continually look at the huge, neon sign plastered on its face.

"MATSUSHIBA ROBOT FACTORY," it read.

Doraemon grabbed Doramen's shoulder and shook him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Can you believe it, Doramen? We're going to the Matsushiba Robot Factory!" Doraemon cried, bursting at the seams with excitement.

"Err… yeah! I wasn't expecting this to be it!" Doramen exclaimed, smiling.

Doraemon looked around him, as if worried someone was going to eavesdrop.

"This is the place where I was born. I haven't been here since then," he explained, lowering his voice.

"You came from here?" Doramen asked quietly.

"Yeah! I think most of us did."

Doramen looked back at the factory. He didn't say anything else. His attention was swiftly shifted when the teacher began to address everyone.

"Alright everyone, we're going on a tour of the factory! Please stay in a group and listen to the tour guide!" she announced.

Doramen could barely hear himself think over how loudly his classmates were talking to each other. He could tell that everyone was raring to go. He just wished he felt the same.

….

A shallow sigh escaped Doramen. He trailed in the back of the group as they walked through the dozens of hallways inside the Matsushiba Robot Factory. Doraemon had long left him, choosing instead to stay at the front of the pack with Dorami. Doramen didn't really mind it since he knew Doraemon was excited, but he couldn't help but feel a bit lonely.

The distant sounds of factory machines doing their work were starting to get to him. He found himself constantly scratching and rubbing his ears, almost in an attempt to make the noise stop, but it wasn't helping him feel any better. In fact, he did it so much that he even started to bleed a little, making his ears very sore. After that he forced himself to just ignore the sounds, since he would just wince in pain every time he tried to continue messing with his ears.

The tour had yet to reach the part of the factory where they actually make robots, and despite that, Doramen was already starting to go downhill. He had begun to feel constant dread and anxiety, no matter where they were in the factory. Everywhere they went, he felt like the walls were laughing at him. Just like before, it was as if he was being mocked. Although he was consciously aware that the Matsushiba Robot Factory was an inanimate structure, something deep in the back of his mind told him that the factory was indeed sentient, and it didn't like him.

Finally, over 30 minutes after the tour had begun, Doraemon decided to check on Doramen. He wriggled his way through the crowd, searching for his lover, before eventually getting to the very back. It was then that he spotted Doramen, aimlessly looking around like he was afraid he was going to get attacked.

"Hey Doramen!" Doraemon greeted, walking up to Doramen.

"Oh, hey Doraemon," Doramen murmured.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him at the sight of Doraemon. Finally, he wasn't alone anymore.

"Isn't this tour awesome?" Doraemon asked.

"Yeah, it's been pretty cool," Doramen answered, forcing a smile.

"Can you even hear the tour guide from back here?"

"Kinda."

"Oh, well he said that we're finally gonna go see the robots being built!"

Doramen swallowed hard.

"Can't wait," he murmured.

"What's the matter, Doramen? You don't seem like you're having any fun," Doraemon said.

"I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm a bit tired."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I bet you'll wake up once we go see the robots!"

"Yeah, I hope so."

Doraemon decided to stay with Doramen and keep him company while the tour continued through the factory. Doramen could hear the sounds of machines getting louder and louder. He wished it would just stop.

Soon, the hallway expanded into a large room. Upon entering, the tour group was greeted by a large glass pane along the left wall. On the other side of the glass were machines building thin, humanoid robots. Many students pressed up against the glass, watching in awe. Doraemon was one of these students.

He swiftly left Doramen to get a good view, assuming the red robot cat would be following. Doramen did follow, although he did so at a snail's pace. He was afraid to get near the glass. He didn't want to see the machines.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to join Doraemon against the glass. He watched, expressionless, as the machines took pieces of the robots and fused them together before whisking them away out of sight. To Doramen, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen. His brain could hardly even process that those machines could take mechanical pieces, put them together, and bring them to life. It was almost like a fantasy movie—it wasn't real. But, it was real.

Robot cats are made like this too, he thought.

The concept made his stomach twist up.

"Isn't this amazing, Doramen?" Doraemon asked.

"Yeah! I've never seen this before," Doramen admitted.

"Me neither. It's crazy to think that you and I were like this once—just a bunch of parts in a factory."

Doramen averted his gaze.

"Yeah. They're not even alive yet," he replied.

"I wonder if they'll remember any of their time here," Doraemon said.

"I doubt they spend very much time here once they come to life."

"I don't know, maybe."

The tour group stayed in the room for a few minutes before the guide led them onwards. They passed through a few more areas where they could observe robots being built. Each time, Doramen just watched in a daze. His brain just couldn't believe that that was how it worked, no matter how many times he watched the same process happen over and over again. It seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

After over two hours of being in the factory, it was time for the main attraction. It was time to witness robot cats being manufactured. Since robot cats were so popular in society, the factory had set up several observation areas where guests could watch robot cats being built at nearly every stage.

Finally, the tour group entered the first observation room. The students rushed to the pane of glass to watch the machines carrying large hunks of wires and circuits that would eventually become robot cats. Doramen hesitated, immediately making him stick out like a sore thumb.

"Come on, Doramen!" Doraemon called, waving his paw in a beckoning motion.

Doramen couldn't bear to ignore Doraemon, so he obeyed. He hesitantly walked over to Doraemon and looked out the glass. His eyes slowly followed the hunks of wires and circuits that almost appeared to have no purpose.

That stuff is inside all of us, he thought.

He reached down and stroked his chest. The soft fur was misleading.

"That stuff eventually turns into us," he murmured.

"I can't believe it," Doraemon breathed in awe.

Doramen couldn't bring himself to say anything else. All he could do was wordlessly watch.

The students quickly grew bored and eager to see more, so the tour moved along. The group entered the second observation room. Here, all of the internal parts had been assembled, and now it was time to add the "skin". Tiny robots quickly entered the internal parts and waited. Machines took the "skins" of the robot cats and slipped them over the mechanical parts like it was nothing. The skins already had fur on them, so that step was already taken care of. Then, the tiny robots, who were now underneath the skin, rapidly built a lower level of the skin and attached it to mechanical bones, muscle, and blood vessels to prevent it from merely falling off, and to help better mimic the skin of living organisms, mainly humans. Once this was completed, the tiny robots would exit the robot cat's body through their mouth.

After that, a different machine gave each robot cat their respective eyes, nose, whiskers, ears, tail, collar, and pocket, plus eyelashes for female robot cats. The machines took some level of care to give the robot cats diversity in their colors and length of their tails. Rather than manufacturing the same yellow robot cat with a red collar and tail, the machines produced robot cats of many colors, including green, blue, and pink. Most of the robot cats were given the traditional short tail, but a few were given longer tails to help them stand out.

As disturbing and graphic as the process may sound, due to it being about robots it was considered to be perfectly safe for the students to watch. Most of the students watched this process with great excitement and interest, Doraemon included. He was fascinated to see the robot cats go from being random assortments of mechanical pieces to really looking like robot cats.

Doramen was shocked at the process. Watching the machines casually gather the robot cat skins and put them on the internal parts was nearly horrifying. Not only was he surprised that that was how it worked, but also that people were allowed to come and watch it happen. Seeing the tiny robots exit the robot cats' bodies made his skin crawl. He fluffed out his fur and crossed his arms, trying not to imagine those robots being under his skin.

Up next was the part that Doramen was dreading the most. The machines would add the critical coding needed in order to "bring them to life". Now it was time for the robot cats to wake up and experience the world, as Doraemon put it.

The robot cats were stood up on their feet, rather than leaning on big metal sheets like they'd been for every previous step. Despite not being "alive" yet, all of them were able to stand up straight with no trouble. Then, several small mechanical arms came down that had small plugs at the ends, and, to many of the student's discomfort, reached into the robot cats' ears. Although the students couldn't see it, these arms reached deep into the robot cats' heads, eventually reaching their brains, where they proceeded to plug themselves into a very specific port located at the back of the brain. Once they were plugged in, they proceeded to directly download coding into their brains—this was the coding that would bless them with consciousness and sapience.

After several tense, silent seconds, the download was complete. The robotic arms retreated, and then everything was still. A collective gasp went through the tour group as they watched the robot cats start to open their eyes and visibly breathe. They didn't really do anything other than that, but that didn't make it any less of a spectacle.

Doramen could hardly believe what he was seeing. He fought hard not to look away. This was the reality of it— this was how robot cats were made. Doramen could feel himself shaking a little.

I'm no different than them. I'm just a big hunk of metal and wires, he thought. How do you live with yourself, knowing from day one that you're not real? That you're artificial?

He found it very difficult to move on to the final observation room. His stomach felt like it was twisted in a tight knot from anxiety and dread. He was tired of looking at the truth.

Still, he continued onwards. The final observation room showcased the robot cats moving on conveyor belts to a big room. There, the conveyor belts ended, and the robot cats stepped off of them. It was apparent that they still had very little consciousness, for they wandered aimlessly around the room like sheep with completely blank expressions.

"It may not look like much right now, but this is a very special moment to observe," the tour guide said, addressing everyone. "The robot cats will gradually gain more consciousness as time goes on. Some of you may remember coming off of the conveyor belt fully conscious and aware. Unfortunately, we had to stop doing that due to robot cats jumping off of the conveyor belt too early and getting hurt."

Doramen shivered at the thought of gaining consciousness for the first time, just to fall off of a massive conveyor belt in a huge industrial factory. He watched the robot cats wander around, feeling an incredible sense of dread. Instead of stomach twisting up and aching, however, he felt a pain in his heart.

These cats are blessed with having the basics in life handed to them on a silver platter. They're born able to walk, think, and who knows what else... All robot cats should be like this, but in this age, it doesn't work like that. That's what happens when you decide to grant us the ability to reproduce. Now robot cats are born just like babies. They can't do anything. Someone has to care for them while they learn and grow. They didn't hop off the conveyor belt and already have an understanding of who they are and what their purpose is, he thought.

He felt a painful lump in his throat.

We really are nothing but products. There's no love or care. No humans in sight. Nothing but machines and other robots. Humans don't care about us. All they care about is our ability to do our job, and our job is to serve them and make their lives easier. They spent thousands of years advancing technology, just to make their lives as convenient as possible. We're just as intelligent as humans, and yet they waste it. It doesn't matter how smart we are if it doesn't benefit humankind in one way or another.

Tears began to blur his vision. He tried to blink them away.

Humans only care about their products that come from their factories. What about all the robot cats out there that are suffering? The ones that nobody loves? The ones that humans take advantage of because they're greedy and selfish? Humans didn't give us the ability to reproduce so that we could be blessed with a family. No, they did it so they could make more money off of us. Now they sell our kittens for thousands of dollars. If I sold a human baby, I'd go to jail. But they can sell entire litters of kittens, ripping them from their unsuspecting mothers with no consequences whatsoever. And what happens to the poor parents of the kittens? Are they loved and cared for? No. They're left to die in—…

The negative thoughts became too much for him to handle. He shut his eyes tight as a few tears fell down his cheeks. It only took a couple seconds for one of his classmates to notice, and they decided to notify the teacher instead of consoling him. The teacher approached Doramen and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Doramen, why don't you come to the back of the room?" she asked gently.

Doramen flattened his ears, embarrassed that someone had noticed him crying. Still, he realized that her suggestion was actually a good idea, and so he obeyed. He leaned against the back wall of the room, across from where the glass pane wall and students were. He sniffled and wiped his face, trying to get rid of the tears as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't sweat it. It's common for robot cats to get emotional during this tour," the tour guide said assuringly.

You don't understand, Doramen thought.

As he wiped the tears away, more came. He was too upset to just abruptly force himself to stop crying. A mild sense of panic washed over him as he began to fear that Doraemon would see him. The last thing he wanted was for his lover to see him crying.

"Do you want some privacy? There's a bathroom not too far from here," the tour guide suggested.

"Sure, that would be great," Doramen mumbled, still trying desperately to get rid of the tears.

After getting directions for the bathroom, he swiftly left the area and made his way to the bathroom. Once he was inside, he immediately felt a weight lift off his shoulders. Now he could be alone with his thoughts.

He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. It was very obvious that he was crying. His eyes were red and the fur on his cheeks was wet.

What do I do now..? he thought.

For a moment, he tried to cheer himself up, but he quickly spiraled back into his negative thoughts. His crying worsened until he found himself sobbing. All of the pressure from the tour was finally taking its toll on him. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bear to look at the truth, seeing the robot cats being built and taking their first steps into the world. It was too much for him to handle.

Why couldn't I have been blessed like them? What did I do to deserve to never get any love or attention from humans? What did I do to deserve to be left to die in the middle of nowhere...?

A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying my attempts to give Doramen some more character development : Figured it was about time I gave some hints as to what kind of life he had before he came to the Robot Academy.

Also, all the stuff about the robot cats being built was just stuff I made up. I tried to base it off of stuff I've seen in the actual show, but honestly I don't really know entirely how the robot cats are built in canon at this point since Doraemon's backstory got changed- I remember in that Birth of Doraemon special from the old show that the robot cats had their skin put on them like it was a suit or something, but I have no idea if that's still how it works in the newer show? I haven't watched the Japanese version in a long time and in the US the only episode they dubbed that gives some insight about that kinda stuff is the time capsule episode. I hope I didn't make it terribly inaccurate, haha