Clem and Roppuru were happy to see me, but they couldn't play right away—they had school.
"I'll come find you guys after school, Nobita-nii!" Clem waved as she and her brother boarded the yellow school bus.
I waved back.
"She still calls you 'Nobita-nii.' How close," Shizuka muttered, sounding jealous.
"Alright, alright, Shizuka, don't be like that!" I couldn't help it—I reached out and patted her head like she was a cat.
Shizuka blushed and ran off, embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Gian and Suneo were busy goofing around and didn't notice anything.
Once Shizuka ran out, they asked if we wanted to play baseball.
Before school, Roppuru had already shown us a great spot—just past the forest, there was a big field, perfect for playing.
"Alright! Let's have some real fun today!" Gian shouted, charging into the forest first.
Suneo and Doraemon followed right behind.
I looked at shy Shizuka beside me, smiled, and took her hand, leading her along.
"Nobita, stop it!" Shizuka protested, but she let me hold her hand.
Her soft, delicate hand in mine made me feel all kinds of happy inside.
…
As we walked deeper, I saw Koya Koya's true beauty for the first time—not just a desert anymore.
In the forest, I saw snakes that carried melons on their backs, glowing dragonflies, and even those little yellow flying elephants from the movie, with wings for ears.
The little elephants were friendly—they rushed over, picked us up, and carried us on their backs.
We saw all sorts of strange creatures along the way: air pandas among the flowers, frog-fish that appeared only during floods, even giant flying whales.
It was a whole different world from Earth.
But playtime ended fast.
When Gian hit the baseball, it flew way too far—gravity here is different.
Suneo went to look for it.
That's when he saw a massive, black spaceship flying towards us, with a big hole in the front.
"Oh no, that's a Galtite Mining patrol ship!" Doraemon shouted.
The black patrol ship shouted through a loudspeaker, "Nobody move!"
"You're the ones who hit that ball, right?"
The ship landed slowly, the hatch opened, and a group of people in black Galtite Mining uniforms came out.
They lined up, glaring at us. "Haven't seen you kids before. Are you new immigrants?"
"Which planet are you from?"
I shot back, "What's it to you?"
"You've broken immigration law. Arrest them!" The Galtite Mining thugs pulled out their guns.
I could protect myself now with my psychic shield, but I couldn't help the others!
I threw up a barrier to block their attacks—yeah, I've gotten better at this. I can protect myself with my mind now.
But the others ran for their lives.
I had no choice but to run too.
These bastards! Always getting in the way!
"Ha, those kids can really run!"
"After scaring them like this, I bet they won't dare come back!"
The two goons laughed as they climbed back into their black patrol ship and flew away.
Suneo and Gian screamed for help all the way into the forest, not stopping until they crashed into a tree.
Maybe this brought back memories of the hellish Cretaceous period.
Suneo started swearing, "What a shitty place! We can't even play baseball here!"
"Damn you, Nobita! You brought us to this terrifying planet!" Gian grumbled, looking a mess.
What the—weren't you the one calling me your best friend earlier? Now you're turning your back on me?
"Let's go, Shizuka!" Suneo and Gian called, ready to leave.
"Nobita, you should come home too!" Shizuka tugged at me.
"It's too dangerous here, we can play at home."
She made it clear—this isn't our planet, let's not hang around.
"You go ahead, Shizuka. I'll say goodbye to my friends first." I lied. I still had to save this planet!
"Then don't be long! I'll wait at home!" Shizuka blushed and ran off.
Great, the plot device has left. I felt a bit relieved.
But Doraemon looked really down, thinking it was all his fault for bringing us somewhere dangerous.
Finally found a fun place, and now it's dangerous.
Before I could say anything to comfort him, a yellow bus stopped next to me.
The door opened, and Clem and Roppuru stepped out.
"Huh? Where did your friends go, Nobita?" Roppuru asked.
"They went home after the Galtite Mining guys scared them off," Doraemon said, still upset.
"I see. Their harassment has been getting worse lately," Roppuru said, worried.
"They've burned the forest near the fields, blocked the river so only they can use it, and if anyone complains, their cargo ships get mysteriously sabotaged."
Roppuru was getting angrier as he spoke.
Clem looked anxious.
"It's too much—they're no better than pirates," Doraemon said angrily.
"Can't you ask the police for help?" Doraemon still hoped the authorities would fix things instead of a bunch of kids.
"It's no use!" Roppuru shook his head.
"We have to protect ourselves!"
He pulled out a gun. "This is a stun gun. Anyone hit with it will immediately faint."
He fired at a fruit tree—a fruit fell.
"Wow! Roppuru, you're awesome!" Chammy cheered.
Roppuru blushed. "Actually, I was aiming for the trunk of the other tree…"
Chammy was floored.
Everyone else was speechless—how could he miss from that close?
"So, there's no way I can fight the Galtite Mining guys as I am now," Roppuru admitted.
"That's why, Nobita, I hope you can help me!" Roppuru finally revealed his true intention.
"No way, absolutely not!" Doraemon cut in before I could answer.
"We can't let kids do this!" As a care robot, he didn't want me in danger—especially not fighting for someone else's planet.
"Yeah, it's our planet, we should fight for it ourselves," Roppuru said, face pale.