Down below, Dr. Burns—Morina's father—watched, his feelings tangled. He knew well what it felt like to be abandoned. He'd planned to come back and pretend nothing had happened, for his daughter's sake. He hadn't expected Morina's resentment to run this deep.
Morina spotted him. After finishing, she leapt off the platform, grabbed his hand, and tried to leave.
"Dad, let's stop caring about these people!" she said, pulling him along.
"Dr. Burns, please don't go! The Earth boy isn't helping us."
"You're our last hope!"
The settlers crowded around, talking over each other.
Dr. Burns shook his head and gently pulled his hand free.
"Dad, why would you still help them?" Morina asked, bewildered.
"It's not just for them," he said with a smile. "I promised Roppuru's father. That's a man's promise."
"But—" Morina tried again.
A violent tremor hit, nearly knocking everyone off their feet.
"No more arguing. Go," he said. "Find Nobita. I believe in that kid—he'll make you happy."
As Morina tried to speak, the settlers, hearing that Dr. Burns was staying, swarmed in, squeezing Morina out. The mayor, Camoran, and the others ushered Dr. Burns away to discuss a plan.
Morina stood there, at a loss.
…
I couldn't just watch. I stepped forward and hugged her, trying to comfort her. Seeing her look so wronged in my arms even made me smile a little despite everything.
"Nobita, please help Koya Koya Star—especially my dad," she pleaded.
"Okay. I will," I said, helpless against that look in her eyes.
I tried to lighten the mood with a dumb joke, and she thumped my shoulder a few times, cheeks flushed.
….
Meanwhile, on Earth, Dorami climbed out of the drawer.
"Big Brother, your routine checkup report—huh? No one's here?" She searched the house but didn't find Doraemon or Nobita. Nobita's mom said they were on break and Doraemon had taken him out to play.
Dorami was about to ask where they'd gone when there was a knock at the door.
It was Shizuka.
"Dorami, have you seen Nobita and Doraemon?" Shizuka asked.
"His mom says they're off on vacation. Why didn't they take you?" Dorami wondered.
"It's not a vacation. Listen—" Shizuka told Dorami about the other world under the tatami mat.
Dorami was shocked. "That's incredible."
"Still, it's been days and Nobita hasn't come by. I'm worried, so I came to check," Shizuka said.
"With my brother there, Nobita should be okay. But we should go to that planet and make sure," Dorami decided.
"Wait for me—I'll be right back!" Shizuka ran out before Dorami could ask more.
She sprinted to the grassy field by the big bridge, where Gian and Suneo were playing baseball.
"Gian! Suneo!" she called, panting.
"Shizuka? What's wrong?" they asked, bats in hand.
"It's about Nobita and Doraemon!" Shizuka quickly explained everything about Koya Koya Star and the tatami portal.
"What? Nobita and Doraemon went back there—just the two of them—to save a whole planet?" Suneo and Gian were stunned.
"It's been days. I'm really worried," Shizuka said.
"That idiot Nobita. Why didn't he ask me first?" Gian slammed his bat to the ground. "I'm going to teach those Galtite Mining jerks a lesson!" He slung the bat over his shoulder and charged toward Nobita's house. "Hurry up—I can't wait!"
Relieved, Shizuka ran after him.
Suneo gulped. "Seriously?" Facing Galtite Mining terrified him—but being left alone terrified him even more. "Don't leave me!" He scrambled after them, on the verge of tears.
Dorami met the three as they arrived. Without wasting words, they lifted the tatami, saw the doorway beneath, and jumped in.
…
Back on Koya Koya Star, even though I'd promised Morina, I still wanted backup. We headed for the ship to find Doraemon.
The night of Dr. Burns's return, Doraemon had joined the settlers' celebration and—unlike me—hadn't dodged the toasts. He'd drunk heartily with the tavern keeper and the others, then passed out. Somehow, a future robot can get drunk. Go figure.
I had carried Doraemon out to the ship so he could sleep it off without being disturbed.
When Morina and I got there, Doraemon had just woken up. He grumbled that I hadn't shared the drinking with him.
I laughed it off. "Minors aren't allowed to drink, remember?"
Before he could retort, we heard a racket from the storage hatch that connects to my room back home.
Then came Gian's unmistakable bellow.
Doraemon lit up and dashed to the hatch. "You're all here!"
Seeing how happy he was, I stopped worrying. Whatever this was, it couldn't be bad. I ran after him.
And just like that, our five-person squad was back together again.
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