XXII - Planet Dystopia

Finally, those 2 weeks of vacation are over. Kaizo, Nerissa, Boboiboy, and his gang are now back on their duties in outer space. They all had so much fun together, like shopping at the mall, refreshments on the beach, and many other things. As for Kaizo and Nerissa, you could say they also had much "fun" during that vacation.

After Kaizo confessed to the kids' gang, they already knew about it. Since it was evident that he and Nerissa constantly flirted with each other. Nerissa was so flustered about it. Things were very awkward during that time. But now, they've all gotten used to it.

So, here they are now, Commander Koko Ci alongside Admiral Tarung explaining their next mission inside the meeting room. This time, another power sphere to reclaim.

"You know, we've sent a few soldiers to find this power sphere before, but unfortunately, they never came back. We never know why. There is no news from them." Commander Koko Ci says.

Admiral Tarung then speaks, "So, we decided to assign this mission to both of you."

"What kind of mission?" Kaizo questions.

The commander then shows a dark planet's hologram and an unidentified power sphere.

"This is planet Dystopia. A once-great planet now abandoned. We need you to investigate the missing soldiers, identify the unknown power sphere, and reclaim it." Admiral Tarung tasked the two captains.

Nerissa questions her two seniors, "But what if it's already dead?"

"It doesn't matter whether it is still alive or dead. We can let anyone reconstruct it for their greed." Commander answers.

"Is that clear?" Tarung asks.

Kaizo and Nerissa then salute, "Yes, sir!"

***

The spaceship now arrives at the destination planet's orbit via teleportation. Planet Dystopia. From the looks of it, it's a very dark-looking planet. Covered in dark clouds even though there's a sun nearby. The spaceship carefully invades the thermosphere, the mesosphere, the stratosphere, and the troposphere.

They saw nothing but ruins. It's like this planet is destructed and abandoned. Maybe there was some kind of disaster here long ago, and the planet entered the age of ruins. The spaceship stops on top of a building rooftop in a ruined city. Its bottom tip shoots a laser, and the two captains step onto the floor.

They both wander the area around them. The air on this planet is cold and humid due to the dark clouds. Nerissa wonders if this planet still has its inhabitants or not. Kaizo notices many tall buildings around them, yet they are damaged. One will still be whole, while another littered with piles of rubble, likely the remains of many of its inhabitants. You can tell how old it is by how much nature has taken over. Mosses cover most of the walls. A huge tree grows on top of the rooftop with its vines and roots covering the entire building. Nerissa notices an old dry fountain in the city center with a half-crumbled statue on top of it.

Are there any habitants? Kaizo notices some of it-birds chirping from decaying towers, crickets making loud noises, and elks enjoying themselves by eating the grass-but he doesn't see any civilians.

"Now, where should we start?" Nerissa asks.

Kaizo answers, "I don't see any civilians around here."

"Well, I'm pretty sure we could find some refugees. Even if the chances are small." She speaks.

Suddenly, they heard a feminine voice.

"H-Hello?"

Kaizo and Nerissa turn their body to the sound source. They witness a small girl holding a small flower. Maybe she was wandering around the city and stopped by the moment she saw them.

"A child?" Kaizo raises his eyebrows.

"Told you, Kaizo. Small chances." She comments.

Nerissa approaches closer to the small girl and bends her knees. Then, she asks, "Excuse me, dear. You seem a bit lonely. Do you have any parents?"

She smiles and gladly answers, "Mama and Papa are working, so I play outside alone."

"Where are they working?" The captain questions.

She tilts her body, her fingertip pointing at a building with tend. The girl grabs Nerissa's hand and starts dragging her to where she lives. When they enter the building, there are lots of people. It's like a village for refugees. Somehow they kind of survived. Adults are working at their stations, and children play around happily. It has some sort of relaxed ambiance.

The little girl leads the two captains to her parents. She let go of her arm and approached her mother, hugging her leg. They saw the mother staring at the monitor.

"Mama, mama! I brought some new people here!" She chirps.

The mother looks surprised, "What?!"

Her body quickly turns around, and she notices a man and a woman standing there, waiting for her. They saw her troubled face.

She pinches her daughter's face and scolds, "What did I tell you about strangers, young lady?!"

"But they looked kind, just like the previous ones!" The little girl whines.

Kaizo and Nerissa heard the last sentences of her words, "The previous ones?"

The mother ruffled her hair in distress and told her daughter to go to her father. Then, she approaches and observes them from head to toe. Suddenly, she notices the TAPOPS badge they're wearing.

"TAPOPS?! Again?" She frowns.

Nerissa asks in confusion, "W-What's wrong?"

She rubs her face and complains, "You know what?! Some of your previous soldiers came and asked us about some weird power sphere! And they just kept coming again, and again, and again!"

Nerissa then apologizes on behalf of TAPOPS, "W-We are very sorry. We came here to investigate that. Our commander said that they're missing in action."

"And it would be kind of you to tell us some information about their whereabouts," Kaizo commands.

The mother tries to calm herself down and introduces herself, "Where are my manners. The name's Zaiyah. I'm the leader of this village." She offers her hand to shake.

Kaizo accepts her offer, "Captain Kaizo."

Then Nerissa shakes her hand, "Vice-Captain Nerissa."

"So, I gave your soldiers some information about the recent disturbance kilometers away from here. We told your soldiers to go there to investigate it." Zaiyah informs.

"Where is it?" Kaizo questions.

Zaiyah starts to walk past them and commands them, "Come with me."

Kaizo and Nerissa look at each other in uncertainty, yet they decide to follow her. They enter an empty building and climb the stairs. It's a long way to go until they reach the rooftop. They felt the breezing air on their skins. Dead leaves rattled against the hard floor.

Zaiyah straightens her hand and points at something, "See that huge abandoned factory?"

Nerissa could see it from far away, as well as Kaizo.

"The big, old, rusty-looking building?" She spats.

Kaizo then asks Zaiyah, "What about it?"

"Most of the troubles in this area come from there. Like TAPOPS did, I've also sent my men there to see what happened. But they never came back." Zaiyah explains, "You two should go there. And if you could do me a favor, tell us what happened to my men if you find them."

Nerissa nods as a yes, "We'll try."

***

They are now standing in front of the abandoned factory's broken gate, kilometers from the city center. Anyone could easily access it. The path to the factories is covered with brown leaves, and she struggles to keep from slipping as she walks.

"Woah... It does look rusty." Nerissa comments.

Then Kaizo suggests, "We should be careful."

Once an industrial factory, this place was once teeming with life, but now it is all but empty. The factory is primarily covered in metal as its wall. There are lots of crane around it. The sound of birds squawking from the inside.

The metal door slowly opens on its own the moment they're about to enter the building. Both Kaizo and Nerissa keep on their guard. It's very dark inside, and there's only little light. The sharp smell of an old building and rusting metals fills their noses.

This abandoned factory is like a maze. There are lots of doors. Some are locked, and some are unlocked. However, there is one odd-looking door. A metal sliding door, but this one has a green light above it.

"It's green. That's a good sign, right, Kaizo?" She asks.

"Perhaps," Kaizo answers.

He notices a button beside it. He pressed it, and the metal door started to slide itself open. But, the inside is tiny.

"An elevator, huh?"

Kaizo enters the elevator, and so does she. The door closes itself, and it starts to go downwards. While they're waiting for it to stop, Kaizo stares at his girlfriend for a while. She could quickly notice it, making her uncomfortable and blush.

"What?" She asks.

His face gets closer to her, and his lips nudge. It creates a slight wet sound. He keeps smiling at her and compliments, "You're so... beautiful."

Nerissa smiles and thanks him, "Thank you."

The elevator stops itself and slowly opens its door. Yet, Kaizo and Nerissa just witnessed a terrible scene. Many people are lying down there in front of the elevator door. Lifeless. Grandia quickly took a picture of it as her earrings.

"What happened here?" She asks, "K-Kaizo. T-These are..."

"Corpses."

The corpses of dead TAPOPS soldiers are all here. Nerissa saw the men of Zaiyah's village, also deceased. She decides to take their name tags, and later, she will return them to their families. Kaizo felt devastated seeing the corpses of his soldiers. But, he won't let that get into him and will honor them for what they've done for the intergalactic organization.

He approaches the circular metal door, and it opens automatically. Nerissa follows beside him. Until they penetrated a massive room with blue light linings around it. A stair with a power sphere is held captive on top of it. They climbed it and finally in front of the power sphere.

"What do you think this is?" She asks.

Kaizo analyzed it for a while and finally got the data, "WeaponBot. A power sphere that creates all kinds of weapons."

"Welcome..."

Startled, they both quickly turn their bodies towards the masculine voice. A tall man with long red hair, glasses, a white shirt, and dark pants. He bows down to Kaizo and Nerissa and says.

"To the chamber of my dead ancestors."