Zero continues storming away from the base, going further into the thicken dense forest as Zero is fed up everything. He doesn't want anything to do with anyone as he isn't in the mood for anything. He's been nothing but a battle ready reploid that has no time for anything but fighting. His mind is taking to a rather distructive direction where he is conflicted with himself. In his mind, he's glad that there won't be anymore high stakes fighting, no more global scale deaths and destruction. However he feft that he doesn't deserve to surive the fall out of the sky from the destoryed Ragnarok.
Zero suddenly felt this painful aching feeling hitting his chest. Feeling like someone is giving his internal systems an electrical shock with a tazer gun. He hasn't felt this much of an heartache since the death of Iris. Topping with having all of his memories restored and knowing the life he had thoughout his functions, Zero is feeling with intense regret. The regret in which he is feeling because he personally doesn't deserved this peaceful world. Deep down he knows that his caused all of the events that had happened.
He had to stop walking to give his body a break from this dreaded feeling. Angered by his own misfortune as this is something in which it feels more like a curse than anything. Staying quiet in which he hears the nice gentle sounds of birds chirping with the gentle sounds of the wind hitting the leaves, actually helps Zero to stay calm.
"Damn it..." Zero comments to himself as he mutters under his breath. He realizes that he's more farther away from the base as he looks around of his suroundings. He realizes based on the surrounding area. It looks like he's stumbles at the ruins. Upon taking a closer look, he reconize by the old faded symbol on the wall that appear to be overtaken by nature, but it's easy for Zero to notice that these ruins is the remains of what used to be the maverick hunters headquarters. In a state he's in, he decided to take a look inside of the old base. Remaining slient by the numbness he's now feeling upon the nostelgic familaritiy. Something inside him was making his body move as though it was something deeply personal.
As he enters the ruins through a big hole in the wall as he steps down from the ground and broken pieces of the wall, showing that the ground had begun to consume the building. Or maybe the building is sinking in thorugh the century. The entire building of HQ is like a georgeous post-apocolypic scenic area as plant life is thriving within. Zero came across the desk where the navagators used to work at as it seems that beautiful wildflowers has taken over it. Zero can even smell the florals as the flowers have a powerful sent that reminds Zero of Ceil's laundary.
Further walking through the hallways, going though the wreckage of the headquarters in which memories came flowing in for Zero. Having the harshest survior's guilt in which he began to hallusiate. He sees himself in his old 20XX body. Back when he had his long blonde hair tied up and being taller than X and Axl. He sees this old memory of himself in a third person as he recalls the time where X is going off on Axl.
Zero remembers it all as X was going off on Axl for something that was highly reckless and dangeroius during a mission as Axl's stunt with his bike almost struck a passerby. In the dreading guilt, Zero who is seeing this old memory, jolts away as if it is something that he doesn't want to see anymore. Especially seeing the look on X's face when Axl mention that his bike struck a maverick that was about to kill that passerby. It was something that somehow, made his heart skip a beat.
Zero went around the bend of another hallway. This time, it was blocked off by debris of the building that began to form flora and greens. In a state of his aggressive mood, he takes out his Z-knuckle and oblivates the entire wall of overgrown debris. Causing the old exterior and the ground to shake just to react to the powerful attack. Zero's Z-knuckel leveled the collasped barrier like it was nothing. Zero continues to bolt away before the dust and smoke clear. His body is leading him to somewhere where the old memories would stop haunting him.
A door suddenly open like like it was haunted as it took Zero by suprise. Without any hesitation, Zero whips out his buster gun resting from his side hip, and goes ablazing as he fires twenty-three rounds as he's on the edge. Pretty much wrecking whatever or whoever was inside of the room that he's shooting at without heistation.
Right when Zero's buster gun went out of bullets, Zero immediately whips out his triagular Z-saber and goes in the room thinking there's a threat inside. Once he went inside, It is just an empty room that got obliviated. Despite the damage Zero caused, he can reconize the room as being X's old room. The room that has the most memories within Zero's memories that whiplashed right onto Zero.
Zero's illusions brought him to a memory in which his old 20XX body came storming in X's room. The present Zero sees his past self approach X who is hiding something behind him. Since the two were alone, Zero remembers back then he would let his guard down around X as they been though hell multiple times as close best friends. Especially this moment, The other reploids were at the oposite side of HQ. Celibrating the holidays as the red and blue colored androids have a moment to themselves.
"X what's up? Why would you asked me to come meet you in your room alone?" The past Zero spoke as he then sees the kind, warm smile on X's face as though he couldn't hold his excitement, but he's being really subtle about it.
"I visited a store the other day, and I actually found something perfect to give to you." X spoke as he then presents Zero with a little present. The size of the decorated box is small enough for one hand to hold it, but X presents it with both hands for some reason to Zero.
The present Zero that is seeing this has his eyes to feel intense guilt and sadness as he knows what's about to happen. However, his body and face remained to be unphased with what the illusions are showing him. The past Zero takes the present from X and opens it rather roughly as he was trying to get the tied bow off. X couldn't help but laugh as he sees Zero having a bit of an issue with the sturdy as hell ribbon that can't be torned apart. Zero irritated, rips it apart with his bare hands as though he's taking out a maverick. It resulted the gift came flying out of the box like a confetti.
The moment came to a pause as Zero realizes that he lost the small gift. The entire time after, X and Zero tries to locate where the gift has fallen to. As soon as Zero was about to find the gift, A maverick alarm went off. The two ended up saying, "Damn it." at the same time as Zero and X left the room in a hurry.
The present Zero then hears his old self apologize for losing the gift. X forgives and tells him that they'll look for it again after the mission. This is bitter for Zero as they never got around to finding it again. As the memory finally disapear, Zero is left speechless. looking away as he is about to leave the damaged room, full with guilt. He was about to leave, until there's a twinkle of light that reflected his vision. It made Zero react to having light hitting his eyes as he looked over to where the light is coming from. It appeared that a crack in the building is showing natural light onto the corner of the room as Zero had notice something shiny.
He went over to the shiny object that has been embedded into the dirt. He pulls it out with ease as it had a part that was shiny looked aged while the dirted part that he brushed off. It looked as though it was frozen in time as it was more shiner. Zero takes a closer look to this object as it was actually a ring. A friendship ring that's in pure silver and kind of masculine in its design. He felt some embeded lettering within the ring in which he took a look out of curiousity. Only Zero sees the lettering as his reaction is subtily suprised. The hidden lettering within the silver ring suddenly lifted Zero's spirit a little as there's a very rare instance of a cracked smile on his face from seeing what X have engraved on the ring. Zero only uttered X's name in a possitive light as he decided to put the found gift in his pocket in his jacket. He decides to leave the ruins of the maverick hunters base as it was getting to much for him to stay anymore.