There was something wrong with the whole monotonous prison, not just the almost infinite expanse. It was the intensity of the irregularities. The shaking had grown increasingly violent lately, leaving Ichiro Inuyashiki deeply unsettled by its disturbing regularity.
"To be honest, I am just as stumped as you. I don't really fully know what this place is, but I can tell you for sure that this place is unstable."
Doraemon murmured to himself as he scanned the readings on his handheld device. Nobita remained at his side, panicking too. Ichiro noted the present dissonance of the two characters. They weren't worried about dying; they were more worried about receiving a sermon from their mother.
"We found another gateway, but it was a bust," Doraemon said, sighing heavily, almost defeated by the streak of failures. His voice was slightly heavier than before. Doraemon discovered a method to identify the other side of gateways using a special gadget designed to prevent danger and other hazards.
Ichiro let out a sharp groan. "You have a lot of gadgets. I watched some of your shows. Don't you have that phone booth gadget? You can switch worlds with that, correct?"
Ichiro snapped; his patience was wearing thin, but not at the duo necessarily. Ichiro watched many of their anime episodes and acquired a new gadget almost every day. If some were further mixed or combined, the effects could be phenomenal.
However, one gadget stood out to Ichiro. That phone booth. He knew about it because his younger son watched some Doraemon movies with him when his son was younger and more approachable.
"Well, yes, but it has a limited reach. I can't just reach your dimension with that. I can't just 'what-if' straight to your dimension. I apologize, Ichiro." Doraemon muttered, then bowed low, sighing heavily.
A loud ping came from the scanner that Doraemon was holding; the sound was oddly similar to a sonar ping from a submarine. The ping was different from the others. Doraemon's expression turned serious as he realized what that meant.
"Another person!?" Nobita Nobi shouted.
"The Great Everything Scanner found another person," Doraemon uttered. "They might be in trouble!"
Doraemon searched his dimensional pocket for another gadget. "Rescue Android Kits!" He announced; a large medical aid kit was in his right hand. He tossed it to the ground and after some wacky sound effects that Ichiro only heard in television. Four humanoid androids with no faces, wearing the uniforms of an emergency rescue team, lined themselves up and saluted Doraemon.
Their android hands struck against the medical helmet as they saluted. "Go and find the distressed person and administer first aid if you must," Doraemon shouted as the androids roared in activation and ran straight towards the pinged location.
Ichiro observed Doraemon, glancing at the pockets of the small blue robot. Ichiro felt relieved that when he became stuck in this infinite prison, the most capable being in fiction was there to help him.
Ichiro inhaled deeply, then exhaled, finally gaining the confidence to ask his question that burned within him for some time now.
"Doraemon, this may seem irregular. I still want to ask my piece." Ichiro said as he slowly sat and groveled in front of Doraemon. The small blue robot was surprised, thinking that it may have done something to offend the old man.
"Ichiro, what are you doing!? Did we do something to you!?" Doraemon said in fluster, then turned to Nobita. "Nobita, what did you say!?"
"I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS LOOK AT ME WHEN THERE'S SOMETHING BAD GOING ON!?" Nobita shot back, annoyed.
"Please, lend me some of your gadgets so that I can help my world." Ichiro blurted out, producing a stiff silence.
"Oh." Doraemon gasped, taken aback by the request. Not that he didn't want to share. In fact, Doraemon was eager to share his tools if it was for a good cause. A grovel or submission wasn't required for him to lend his gadgets.
"Alright!" Doraemon agreed, looking at Nobita while scratching his head. Nobita wryly smiled in response as they then both glanced at the groveling old man.
Ichiro, taken aback by the almost-instant consent, was surprised. "Really?" He muttered, although now that he thought about it, these two fictional characters were good people. Always eager to help out those in need. Their adventures have proven that from time to time.
"Yeah," Doraemon said as he stretched out a hand at Ichiro. "If you really need some of my gadgets, you really don't need to beg. I can just give some to you."
With that, Ichiro's hopes finally rose. Ichiro then took Doraemon's hand and shook it with absolute appreciation as a single tear dropped from his right eye, rolling across his cheek.
"We are back!" The emergency humanoid android rescue team announced. Two members were lifting a stretcher while one held an IV drip bag. The other one was leading them, holding a first aid kit.
"Wow! So fast!" Nobita shouted as he walked forward and looked at the stretcher. An unconscious woman was on the stretcher; there was a bandage on her head. The rescue androids then tended to her, giving her an injection and putting her on an IV.
The woman was young, probably not even in her twenties from the perspectives of the group. Doraemon only took one glance and immediate declared her as a cyborg. Nobita was both surprised and amazed but shyly looked away from the young woman since her clothes were rather liberal than conservative.
The woman's hair was naturally white, a silver variant with a pastel rainbow gradient dye. She had short pixie hair, but the left front strand was longer than the right. She had a heavy amount of makeup that was now disheveled. She wore a white jacket along with a thin leotard with shorts and thigh-high stockings.
The woman was currently unconscious. "D-d-david.." The young woman weakly muttered, apparently in a nightmare or a bad dream.
"Doraemon, are you sure she's a cyborg?" Ichiro scanned the woman's figure. Her outfit was excessive, looking as though she were cosplaying a character from an anime.
"She's kinda like you, Ichiro, albeit she has more organs and blood compared to you," Doraemon answered as he pulled out a normal blanket from his dimensional pocket and covered her with it.
"Well, judging by her appearance. I reckon she wasn't here for long." Nobita said as he adjusted the blanket, covering the young woman's shoulders too.
"Yeah, the android rescue team did say that she wasn't dehydrated or starving, just injured," Doraemon said as he rubbed his round chin. "She probably hit her head on the ground as she was shifted to this reality."
"Kinda like you, Doraemon," Nobita said.
(The next chapter is The Empire's preliminary scouting of the backrooms.)