It is a world without rest. A world plagued...by the Maverick Wars.
Two Maverick Hunters, X and Zero, fight over everlasting peace.
But the world is not so kind as to make it easy. Sigma, corrupter of wills, spreads his virus throughout the Reploids of the world to make them submit to his ideologies of evolution through war.
Many of X and Zero's friends have died to his schemes. Some close allies...Others closer than that.
Today is not a day where the Maverick Hunters will find victory in peace, but rather, succumb to the truths long since hidden from them...
The Eurasia Incident is upon them...
Alex and Shina continue to travel to the final artifact piece. Its been...awkward to say the least over the last few months, but neither one of them want to discuss the elephant in the room.
They break focus on the awkwardness upon approaching the final world. This one's futuristic, sort of like the last two, but in a more outwardly mechanical way.
It doesn't take long upon descending into an abandoned city, and being attacked by a robot, for both to realize they're in the Mega Man world circa X.
Wanting to find out more about what conflict is going on, Alex and Shina hop up to the highest building in the area and start to look around. There, they have an early run in with the Maverick leader, Sigma.
Alex and Shina draw their weapons and decide that Sigma should just hurry up and hand over the artifact piece so they can get this over with.
However, Sigma doesn't know what they're talking about, calling both of them "Foolish Reploids".
Naturally this confuses them, as they're humans. Alex then attacks Sigma, but does little damage.
Soon after X and Zero arrive, confused by the two's presence. Introductions are saved for later, as all four of them attack Sigma together.
Sigma feeds into Zero's emotions by taunting him over Iris' death, while X tries to keep his friend under control.
Eventually they manage to defeat Sigma...Just as he planned.
The four turn tail and run as Sigma explodes, sending clouds of the Sigma Virus hurtling across the sky of the entire planet.
With no other options but to retreat, X and Zero call Alia and have them bring Alex and Shina back to base as well for questioning.
They arrive just in time to see the Maverick Hunter Commander, Signas, deliver a speech to all the Hunters present.
The Sigma Virus will spread across the world, but if that wasn't bad enough, the space colony Eurasia has been hijacked by an unknown entity and sent hurtling towards the planet.
If allowed to make contact, the ensuing blast will wipe out all life on the planet. But Signas has two secrets weapons...The laser cannon "Enigma" and a powerful space shuttle.
They plan to gather the parts to power them up and attack Eurasia. In the mean time though, the Hunters are tasked with doing what they can to keep the populace together.
After the Hunters split, X and Zero bring Alex and Shina along to speak with Signas and Alia directly.
Signas also calls them Reploids, forcing Alex to INSIST that they are not.
But Alia's science proves otherwise. Somehow, Alex and Shina have been turned into Reploids. Shina explores this and finds it REALLY weird how metallic her muscles are now.
Zero thinks this is weird too, but doesn't want to deal with it now and asks X to help him detain the two in prison.
Alex blurts out that he's not the enemy, but Zero has to be convinced really hard about that after the betrayal from Double a while ago.
X gives Alex and Shina one chance to tell their story, so Alex brings them up-to-date on their general travels.
Alia chooses to believe it, since it would've been hard for them to make up a story that grand under pressure. She thinks the two should be considered lucky they weren't infected.
Alex agrees.
X apologizes for them being wrapped up in this mess but Alex doesn't care. In fact, he wants to help them stop Eurasia.
Shina is in disbelief that HE would want to waste time on this after all the grief he's given her. But as Alex logically points out, it'll help them cover more ground in finding the artifact if they do help.
Shina, however, does bring up that Alex could also just destroy Eurasia himself probably. Alex isn't inclined to disagree, but worries he won't be able to contain the ensuing debris fall.
With that all settled upon Alex asks Signas and Alia what they can do.
They need eight parts for both machines. Fortunately she's already pieced together who has what they need. To X's surprise, none of the people they need to find are Mavericks...At least, not yet.
Right now they'll focus on the laser parts though. As much as Alex would like to go for a divide and conquer approach, the teleporter is running low on energy cause of everything else, so they can only send one person out at a time.
And with the Sigma Virus omnipresent in the air, flying's out of the question for sure.
Alex volunteers to go after the first part in a nearby quarry, and heads to the teleporter.
Upon arriving on a train bound for the quarry, Alex hears Alia speaking in his ear, much to his surprise. She briefs him on the Reploid he'll be meeting, Grizzly Slash. As a weapons' broker, he's been helpful to both the Maverick Hunters and Mavericks alike.
While it rubs Alex the wrong way to be asking him for help, he keeps his lips shut and proceeds through the train.
He eventually make it to the end right as it enters the quarry proper. But upon doing so he finds himself close to a capsule. Alia calls it a "Dr. Light Capsule" and says those are for X, noting how she's not sure how to get the parts to X right now...
But then the capsule opens and the Dr. Light hologram appears before Alex. Alex introduces himself as an ally and Dr. Light introduces himself all the same.
Dr. Light has a solution to the conundrum present, noting that he can send the armor parts here to Alia through Alex.
Alex's hesitant to have his body scanned like that but does so for the sake of the mission. Upon having the parts transferred, Dr. Light senses Alex's resolve and tells him good luck.
Alex scoffs and finishes moving through the quarry to meet with Grizzly Slash. Introducing himself as an ally of the Maverick Hunters, Alex asks about the artifact and then about the crystal ball in his possession.
Grizzly knows nothing about an artifact but has one crystal ball on him. A rare sight, as he calls it.
Despite the madness, Grizzly has a duty to uphold and doesn't want to stop because of it. He'll willingly give up the crystal ball too, but first has a favor to ask.
Alex assumes money. No, its a little more personal than that.
Grizzly wants Alex to kill him, as he senses the Sigma Virus digging into his body nice and slow. If he has to go out though, he wants to die as himself, not a pawn of Sigma.
Alex draws his sword and gives Grizzly the honorable death he wants through a quick duel. Grizzly lies fallen and directs Alex to the crystal ball in his possession.
Alex has a heavy feeling in his heart as he's brought back to base, carrying a part of Grizzly back so X can acquire a new power.
The moment Alex returns he's scanned by scientists for Sigma Virus activity in his body. Alex thinks its a waste of time until Zero warns him that if he gets possessed, its over for the world.
Alex then silences his complaints and apologizes for being so callous.
Zero then heads out next to an underwater base in the North Atlantic, protected by the Reploid Duff McWhalean.
He's immediately besieged by a whale-like submarine possessed by the Sigma Virus. In these rough waters and tight corridors he can't really mount an offense and is forced to retreat further into the depths.
After getting out of the sub's sights for the moment, Zero breaks down a wall in his path and winds up running into a Dr. Light capsule.
Dr. Light recognizes him for his talks with X, and is able to trust Zero to pass on more armor parts to X.
Once he's done there, Zero questions how Dr. Light knows him and Alia. Once Alia mentions his name, however, Zero has a moment where he feels like he remembers that name...
He then continues on until he reaches a shaft, where the submarine descends up underneath him. Zero's finally able to attack and disarm the sub, leaving him in the perfect position to then proceed and meet up with Duff McWhalean.
The whale Reploid recognizes him for his profession and asks for his purpose here. Zero requests they use these waters to draw in enough hydrogen to power the laser.
Duff worries about his time growing short from the virus. He has little regrets, being a very old Reploid and all, but what scares him the most is losing himself in his last days.
He, much like Grizzy, asks for one last honorable duel with the man who fought and killed Colonel. Zero draws his sword with some hesitation and fights him.
Duff holds an advantage in movement thanks to the water, but Zero's patience with the blade keeps him at Duff's level.
Zero sends him off in peace, the aftermath leaving him worried that he may be infected already and not even know it. After picking up a part for X to copy powers off of, Zero returns to get a scan.
Zero going to get a scan worries X, who thinks back to their talk after the Repliforce Incident and believes that their concerns might become reality.
Alex and Shina waltz in and get an update on the lack of artifact sightings. Alex then volunteers to go to the next area, only for Shina to gut check him and tell him to wait his turn.
In reality, Shina's subtly edging Alex's attention to the fact that X is melancholy and could use a distraction.
So Alex relents and lets Alex to the engineering facility at the edge of South Korea to find the energy cart they need.
X heads out to the junkyard outside the facility and boards a Ride Bike to traverse his way into the facility proper.
The moment he crosses it he's able to ram the Ride Bike into the wall to open a way to a Dr. Light Capsule.
There's a thought that's been plaguing X's mind since a few months back...He had happened across an article stating that Dr. Light committed suicide via a house fire.
He knows Dr. Light will tell him the truth no matter what, but that's what scares X. He doesn't know if he's ready to accept the truth.
Since he's indecisive, he decides to get a move on and approaches the capsule normally. He relates the current problems to the good doctor, and wonders if there's anything he can do to save the world this time.
Dr. Light doesn't have the answers he needs, but knows that X will never give up. That, and his empathy, are his greatest strengths.
X thanks him for being by his side all this time, and Dr. Light smiles and tells him to take the armor part inside to continue fighting for a brighter future.
X heads inside the facility and runs into some of the workers holding down the fort out of fear of a Maverick attack.
Their boss is holed up at the very bottom. His name is Squid Adler.
The name's familiar to X. Turns out Adler was a former Maverick Hunter.
X advances through the facility and saves some of the workers along the way, eventually making it to Adler's location.
Adler is calm but wary in their approach. He is not exactly pleased to see X again, as X eliminated his partner, Octopardo, or Launch Octopus in other words.
X regrets having to do that, even if Octopardo had become his enemy.
Adler does not hate X, but is understandably melancholic to see him again. Nevertheless, he holds no hostilities towards the Maverick Hunters and offers up an energy cart free of charge.
Yet before he can finish the deal, Adler starts malfunctioning under the effects of the Sigma Virus, speaking out of a madness to destroy X just like he did Octopardo.
X is forced to put Adler down, who dies wishing to see his comrade once again.
X curses Sigma as he cradles Adler's body and brings him out to his fellow workers.
The workers pay tribute to their boss, then give X the energy cart he needs, asking him to give Sigma Hell in their name.
X vows to destroy Sigma for good this time, and returns to the base.
There he decides to go check up on Zero, leaving Alex or Shina to get the last Enigma part. Shina volunteers, saying its finally her turn to do something.
She's to meet up with Izzy Glow, a scientist with a rather seclusive way of living, and ask him for a powerful laser device.
Before Shina leaves, however, Alex approaches her about that odd talk X had with Dr. Light. Neither of them are sure about Dr. Light committing suicide in the games, but there's more to it than that...X and Sigma's personalities are off, and a reploid named Douglas isn't around assisting Alia.
Shina deduces thusly that they're in the timeline for the Maverick Hunter remakes, not the original games.
This makes it somewhat uncharted territory for the two of them, though Alex is at least confident enough of their direction if X and Zero are still dealing with Eurasia.
As Shina heads off, Alex worries about what the "witch" will do next, given the lack of the artifact so far.
As Shina heads through the booby-trapped lab she finds herself getting distracted a lot. She talks with Alia about how close she is to finishing her journey, where it finally dawns on her how she'll be seeing her little sister again after nearly two years.
Alia has a hard time understanding having, much like every other Reploid, not been programmed with an understanding of what a "family" is.
Shina remarks how her group of co-workers is sort of like a family, even naming X and Zero brothers while Signas and Alia are the doting parents.
A little later on, Shina gives Alia a good demonstration of her aura while disarming some powerful cannons. Along the way up to the top Shina winds up blowing up one big cannon and finding a Dr. Light Capsule behind it...Much to Alia's confusion.
Shina fibs her way out of revealing how she knew it was there and then approaches the capsule to speak with the doctor.
Dr. Light finds her to be a polite young lady and recognizes her as a friend of Alex. He then thanks her for being an ally for X in his time of need.
He transmits the last of the Falcom Armor parts through Shina, who then proceeds to Izzy Glow's room.
Alia's advice is to be careful speaking to him, as he's a liiiittle paranoid about people stealing his work. Fortunately Shina boasts her incredible persuasion skills, much to Alex's annoyance.
...Only to immediately get on the wrong foot with the firefly Reploid by saying she blew up his defenses with ease.
Izzy Glow doesn't believe in the Eurasia falling, claiming its propaganda so the Maverick Hunters can think they have free reign to steal his stuff.
Even with Shina reasoning that they can't take the risk of the fall being fake, Izzy refuses to let his technology be used for weapons and attacks her.
Shina is forced to take him down, where it turns out he was infected the entire time, increasing his paranoia to an unreasonable degree.
Shina feels uncomfortable and quickly has Alia take her out of there after she plucks a part off of Izzy.
Zero has finished his scan by this point but is disturbed to find that his body is responding better than ever. He swears that he feels like he had been infected, which he chooses to keep from X as he comes in to check on him.
The two of them then meet up with Alex and Shina, who has returned with the last part they need.
It'll take another hour for the Enigma to be finished. So to pass the time, Shina decides to get a check up herself.
Alex ensures her she won't get infected, with Shina giving him grief for sending mixed messages on whether they should be cautious or reckless.
X follows Shina to show her where the lab is, and Zero confronts Alex again about what'll happen if they get infected.
Alex suspects it'll be fine, as Sigma doesn't know who they are and thus won't be able to mimic their personalities to spy on the Maverick Hunters.
An attack then occurs on the Enigma, knocking out all the cameras. Suspecting a large Maverick group as the culprits, Zero and Alex head out together to deal with the problem.
But instead they only find one guy, a Reploid calling himself Dynamo, leader of the Shadow Corps.
While this incites rage in Zero, the name means nothing to Alex.
Dynamo mocks Alex a couple times, but Alex doesn't think its his fault that he's dealing with dumb alternate timeline bullshit.
Turns out Dynamo's group is responsible for killing key members in the human government and framing Repliforce.
Dynamo's pretty lax about the number of dead bodies in his wake, caring more about what he's getting out of this whole ordeal.
Sigma lured him and his group to his cause with talks about the next stage of Reploid evolution. He points out the general interest all parties have taken in Zero and X's abilities. Dynamo doesn't know why they cared, only that apparently, its related to something crucial for Reploids to evolve further.
Alex just calls him hired scum, only for Dynamo to hiss coolly, clearly not worried about his anger.
Dynamo is certain in his allegiances, as Sigma has a VERY interesting accomplice that's made a very convincing argument towards Zero's potential in particular.
Dynamo then reveals that he's caused the Eurasia crash. Zero calls him insane, stating how if its hit, he'll die too.
Dynamo believes his creed, that the strong survive and the weak die. Alex can't deny the merit in that, but believes that such a creed can't remain stable when one's willing to decide who leaves and who dies.
Dynamo retorts that if he dies trying to accomplish his goals, then that just means he was weak. However...he's confident that there's no force out there that can retire him!
And he proves that he's not just blowing hot air. With little more than some quick wits and a boomerang, Dynamo manages to hold off Alex and Zero for quite a while.
After a brief scuffle, Dynamo retreats, saying he got what he wanted, and promising to go all-out next time.
For now the Enigma is secure, and the last preparations go through without a hitch. Alex and Zero return to base to watch the Enigma fire, with X and Shina joining not long after.
Shina's not infected, fortunately.
X and Zero discuss Dynamo, the Shadow Corps, and their connection to Double from the Repliforce Incident.
Alex and Shina, overhearing it, start to piece together that perhaps the associate of Sigma's who knows about Zero might be holding onto the artifact piece instead...
Eeeeexcept if that was the case, said associate would've just given the piece to Sigma anyways, putting them back to square one.
The Enigma loads up its energy and fires at Eurasia. Though the space colony still stands, its taken a lot of damage, so the space shuttle operation might just work out perfectly after all.
Its an old shuttle to be sure, but with some proper tune-ups it'll get the job done.
The problem, however, is getting someone to pilot it. Alex boasts he can do it just fine and survive the impact, but Shina rightfully calls him out. She doesn't want to do it either despite knowing more about how rockets work.
Zero decides they can worry about that later once they've ensured the shuttle is put together.
One of the parts they need is in Norway, in an old Repliforce Air Base. Zero volunteers to go, despite the turbulent history between him and Repliforce now.
Upon his arrival he hears from Alia that a terrorist Maverick group is planting bombs and holding hostages.
Turns out the Mavericks are Repliforce traitors, choosing to ally with Sigma after Repliforce has been nothing but the shame of the world after Colonel and General's betrayal.
After freeing the first hostages and sending the leader to retreat, Zero gets a general idea where the bombs are and works to diffuse them while pursuing the traitor.
The traitor leader manages to get the high ground via a lift and threatens to set off the bombs should Zero make any false moves.
However, the leader of this base, the Skiver, drops from the sky and punches a hole through the traitor, preventing the bombs from going off.
Skiver then meets with Zero, who asks for an Orbital Wing. Skiver is happy to comply, but first he wants to talk with Zero elsewhere.
Before Zero pursues though, Alia directs him towards something curious...Yet another Dr. Light capsule. Turns out Dr. Light has prepared to sets of armors for X this time, given the gravity of the situation.
Zero gets the data transferred but doesn't get a chance to question the doctor about something bugging him.
He then continues on his way to meet with Skiver atop an aircraft. Skiver calmly inquires as to why Zero killed Colonel, not out of a sense of vengeance or anything...He disagreed with their methods, but does believe that change needs to happen somehow.
Zero refuses to answer if Colonel was sane when he died, stating he did his job as a Maverick Hunter.
Then Skiver brings up Iris, causing Zero to elaborate on his answer. He wields his blade only to spare innocent lives the torment of war, in hopes that what happened to Colonel and Iris won't happen again.
Skiver is glad they had this talk, and prepares to offer the Orbital Wing he desires.
But then his hand stiffens, his body succumbing to not only the Sigma Virus, but also the strange aura that follows Alex and Shina.
Zero suspects this has to do with the artifact, but seeing as the aura isn't black, it only means a normal boost to Skiver's strength.
Zero is forced to fight and kill Skiver. But in his final moments, Skiver recognizes that Zero was only forced to do his job.
Zero...feels numb, and demands he return immediately.
Zero feels funny when he returns to the base again, plagued with thoughts of destruction. After updating the others about Skiver, Alex is just glad he survived.
Zero's confident he can stop any Maverick no matter how tough he gets. He then retreats to get a check-up on his body.
Shina forces herself to the forefront to tackle the next part, despite some objections from Alex that she promptly ignores.
Shina heads to an abandoned planetorium in Sudan. It seems like nobody knows why this place is empty, but there's a Fuel Tank here that they need so Shina'll just have to brave the unknown.
The sights of the stars don't do much for her after being in space for so long. The stroll through the area is a relatively lax one with little resistance, so she spends her free time chatting it up with Alia.
Shina teaches her a little about how her flight works, then tries to get her to not be cooped up in the navigator's room so much.
Alia's committed to her job though.
Alia then inquires Shina as to what her plans are once she returns home. Shina has a rather simple answer in that she'll be spending a lot of time with her little sister again.
As far as Alex goes though, Shina's not so sure, and Alex isn't happy about the two girls talking about him behind his back and demands they resume focus.
Shina internally worries about what Alex will do when this is all over, but distracts herself from this by going after another Dr. Light capsule.
Shina finds out Dr. Light's hologram is sentient thanks to him transmitting his brain waves into the capsules, then gets another part for X.
She then finds the fuel tanks and is prepared to return to base when she's ambushed by a bat-like Reploid known as Dark Dizzy.
Dark Dizzy's clearly a creation of Sigma's, but swears no fealty to the madman, choosing instead to be his own Reploid...Despite sharing a lot of his views of the world.
Dark Dizzy attacks Shina so it can have some peace and quiet here. Shina fights back, surprised to find that the Reploid can stop time.
But she figures a way around that by surrounding the Maverick with projectiles so when time's stopped, it can't even move.
Once Shina's beaten Dark Dizzy she's prepared to return to base...However, she can't, as Alex demanded Alia input the coordinates to the volcano base in Kenya and get another part.
Shina finds herself perplexed and somewhat concerned with Alex's sudden rashness...
A few moments ago, Alex is back in the HQ, speaking to the other voice in his head about feeling betrayed with the way Shina's been treating them lately.
Alex refuses to listen to that voice's wishes to see her dead, and to distract himself from the voices he demands Alia send him to Kenya.
She warns about overloading the teleporter but Alex is fervent in believing it'll all work out. X tries to stop him from doing anything reckless, but Alex brushes him off and goes anyways.
Sure enough the teleporter breaks upon him entering the volcano area. Alia assures him it'll be a quick fix thankfully, yet reprimands him to not pull that kind of stunt again.
Alex doesn't care and asks for the quickest route through the volcano so he can get Shina back home faster, just like she clearly wants.
Alia guides him forward, his powers making the lava a non-issue. But there's something...off about the volcano. Its surging with magma, like its about to erupt fully.
Alex feels an ill omen in the air and continues on his way. He quickly gets through his meeting with Dr. Light, who tries to impart wisdom for Alex to not be impatient.
Alex, having heard that enough times, is just single-minded in his goals here. He makes it to the end of the volcano and runs into the Reploid in charge, Mattrex...
Or rather, a monstrous abomination bearing similarities to him. Possessed by the artifact piece, Mattrex has grown in size and ferocity, unable to speak or do anything but bite, attack and roar.
Alex tangles with the beast, cursing the "witch" that brings these worlds to ruin. He puts Mattrex down with little care and then tears the artifact piece from his corpse.
But as he tries to put it away, he's dragged into the darkness. He meets with a figure clothed in a strange black dress and plague doctor's mask.
Obviously they are the "witch" attempting to disguise themselves, which the figure does little to deny.
Alex proclaims that this is all over, yet as the Cosmos Drive is not in his or Shina's possession how, in any way, can this be considered "over"?
Alex demands they show their true face, but the "witch" has not come for a fight. Not yet.
The "witch" finds Reploids fascinating, as they were born to live among humans, yet humanity rejects them as little more than tools.
They remark how there's no satisfying humanity when it comes to those who are different from them in any way. A robot can be made to think or feel like a human, but so long as they have even a hint of metal on their skin humanity will fear them.
And from fear, violence is born anew.
They chuckle at how Alex's stomach churns when faced with a hundred corpses, seeing how his actions cost the lives of six billion people not too long ago.
No matter where Alex hops to, through time or through space, the "witch" shall haunt him.
Returning to the subject of Reploids, the "witch" remarks upon how Reploids continue to fight for a freedom they'll never see. For in the end, Reploids are truly the perfect reflection of humanity, both the good and the bad.
But there's one difference between Reploids and humanity...Reploids can be infected to turn violent. Humanity's violence is of their own free will.
Reploids turned Maverick will continue to fight until terminated, with no hope of ever regaining control. And to that extent, this world did not need to grant Alex the flesh of a machine, for he was always a Reploid in design long before he got here.
Alex argues against that, yet the "witch" remarks how knowing what its like to love and to lose doesn't make him human...Arguably, it makes him as much of a machine as Zero.
The "witch" promises that should fate be so kind, next time they meet, it will be without masks.
For now though, they leave him with a question...If they are currently inside his mind, then who, pray tell, is outside?
Alex is forced to come to grips with his present reality...That by touching the artifact he has allowed his other personality to gain control of his body.
Finally, the Phoenix of Destruction has emerged...
An hour later, Shina's finally able to return to the HQ and senses from the atmosphere that something's gone wrong.
Alex is nowhere to be found, and hasn't been in contact since going to the volcano. Shina determines from the footage that Mattrex had the artifact piece and somehow its in Alex's possession now.
Zero worries Alex's gone Maverick and Shina panics that they plan to kill him. Zero, however, is only bringing up the possibility for now.
They have to focus their efforts on the space shuttle though. The part they needed for the volcano got dropped off unexpectedly by an outside force, meaning all X has to do is go to Brazil to get the last part.
He heads out with a solemn look in his eye, and equips the Falcon Armor Light had prepared for him.
At the abandoned military base he meets with Axle the Red, a Reploid born of a strange union between the Sigma Virus and a nature control unit.
Despite half his birthright being from the virus, Axle has no wishes of violence or rebellion or speak of. Instead he's annoyed that X would barge into his home and try to take his property.
X remarks on the state of the world, but Axle cares little for that. He'd rather die than let the Maverick Hunters bully him out of his property.
He retreats into the base and X pursues, running into Dr. Light yet again.
Dr. Light worries for his state of mind, and X remarks how he feels nothing will ever change.
Dr. Light ensures him that the road to peace is difficult, absolutely, but so long as X continues to foster hope in some fashion, then peace can never truly be lost.
He urges X to keep on living, even if its tough, and X promises to do so.
He then grabs the last part to the second armor, the Gaea Armor, and continues onward to Axle's den.
Axle is rattled by how impudent X is, calling him a thief of the highest order. He recognizes how X steals powers from others and wears armors built by someone else. Remarking that, without any of what he's stolen, X is nothing.
X calls himself the hope of the world, but Axle says that's just hypocrisy to justify bloodlust.
He then attacks, refusing to abandon his property to the Maverick Hunters.
X fights him to the death, and in Axle's last moments, he comments how much of a joke this world is...For if Maverick Hunters are to stop Mavericks...Then who will stop X if HE becomes a Maverick.
These words hold on tightly to X, who can only have faith that should that moment come, Zero will stop him.
He takes the final part they need, and returns to base.
With everything necessary to assemble the shuttle, they still need to decide who pilots it.
Zero volunteers without hesitation, stating how he can survive the impact. But X has his doubts, sensing the discord in Zero's actions lately.
The two stand aside to talk, with Zero laying out his guilt before his friend. He worries that he's been infected by the Sigma Virus, but that this'll be different than usual...Like something world ending will happen if he turns.
He entrusts the future to X, and plans to sacrifice his life to destroy Eurasia.
X has no choice but to let him go, as an alarm goes off due to Dynamo launching another attack on their shuttle.
X and Shina head out to confront him, while Zero joins in only to get in the shuttle. Once more confronting Dynamo on his goals, this time the Maverick remarks how X and Zero are walking contradictions.
X, the peace-seeking weapon...
Zero, the hero with a destiny to be the world's greatest villain...
X's confusion prompts Dynamo to reveal the truth...That Zero is the origin of the Maverick Virus.
X refuses to believe it, but Dynamo throws his denial in his face by pointing out that he hardly knows himself let alone Zero.
When Dynamo denies X and Zero's friendship, X attacks him in a rage. Him and Shina drag him outside the warehouse to keep the shuttle launching properly.
But as Zero prepares to take off, weighed by guilt, Dynamo reveals one last trump card up his sleeve...
He had planted a bomb on one of the rockets, and all he needs to do is activate it. Shina tries to shoot the button out of his hand...Only for Dynamo to reveal its a dead man's switch.
He bids adieu to his opponents and is happy to watch the world burn from afar. One of Zero's rocks explode, but through sheer will Zero guides the shuttle into Eurasia.
...But its not enough. 10%% of Eurasia survives and crashes into the planet. Shina does her best to shield X with her aura, as the surface is rocked by the ensuing explosion.
In the aftermath toxins start spreading across the entire planet, forcing Signas to guide humanity underground. But not only that, the Sigma Virus is gathering towards the crash site, fusing with another virus to create something truly horrible...
And at the epicenter of this viral activity...Is Zero. X can barely tell if its him or not, and wonders if he ever knew him at all.
Alia and Shina have confidence that if anyone can figure out the truth, its X. In agreement, X jumps into the crash site.
Shina, however, notices that someone with an aura similar to Alex is jumping in as well, and now has further reason to follow X inside...
The world within the crash site is warped beyond recognition. As Alia remarks, its as though cyberspace is forcibly merging with the real world.
Right now its being contained here, but who knows how long that'll last. X and Shina brave the insides of this strange, warped realm, containing the programs that are forming inside.
Along the way though, X can't help but feel this sense of deja vu...A sense that has no relation to him, exactly. The pain of him remembering what he shouldn't be remembering worries Shina, who tries to keep his spirits up.
But as they run across some rather interesting looking lasers, X's will fractures further, forcing Shina to drag him along before he gets fried.
The deeper they descend, however, the more they lose Alia's signal. She vows to stay connected as long as she can, and even has a lock onto Zero's signal close by.
But said Zero winds up being a mockery, a physical manifestation of a new viral entity called the "Zero Virus" by Alia, who also dubs this area "Zero Space".
Further into the space, more of those lasers cross their path. Shina winds up twisting her ankle trying to hastily escape them, and in a moment of desperation X activates the Dark Hold power he got off Dark Dizzy...Only he refers to it as the "Time Stopper".
Time freezes long enough for X to carry Shina down the rest of the shaft. Shina notices the difference in terms but X insists he's alright. However, Shina starts suspecting that X is a little TOO familiar with some things from a different era...
And this suspicion only grows when, upon reaching a dead end, a distorted "W" appears in the background and makes X grab the sides of his head in pain.
Then, a series of black goop blocks gather to form a blobous golem called the Shadow Devil, which in turn gains that strange aura.
And if that wasn't enough, two rifts open up beside the Shadow Devil, releasing the Yellow Devil and the Green Devil from the past.
The three Devils form a silent union into one, becoming the Fused Devil. The Fused Devil refers to X as "Rock" and "Mega Man".
X fights through the pain to draw his weapon and help Shina take this beast down. In her last moments of connection, Alia provides assistance to X by sending him the completed Gaea Armor.
With it, X is able to destroy the Fused Devil is one last concentrated blast.
In the aftermath Shina tries to help X up, but the room begins to twist around them, splitting them up down two separate roads.
They vow to meet back up again and X continues on...alone.
X is barely able to move. The existence of this "Zero Space" seems to be forcing out information he neither recognizes nor understands.
Voices...memories from the past. Adventures...of a robot that looks quite similar to him in many ways.
As the pain reaches a crescendo, X finds himself in the presence of Dr. Light's capsule. Unable to hold on to this pain any longer, X looks the doctor in the eyes...And realizes that these memories belong to another.
X feels his trust has been betrayed and that Dr. Light should have told him all about this from the start. But now, X wants to know the truth..."Who is Mega Man?"
Dr. Light cannot ask for forgiveness now, but he had planned on telling X the truth one day...Rather, he cannot make excuses for his actions now. With this twisted dimension and what's happening to Zero forcing the past to catch up to the present, Dr. Light decides to tell X everything.
Long ago, Dr. Light toiled to advance the world's understanding of the field of robotics. He, alongside his best friend at the time, Dr. Wily, strove to create a robot that would not only change the world...But also live among the humans as equals.
But differences in views along with the steadily growing gap in recognition between the two left Dr. Wily stewing in feelings of jealousy and eventually, he disappeared from Dr. Light's sight for a long time.
Alone, Dr. Light created the first Robot Master, Proto Man...Only for a core imbalance to cause him to develop a rebellious personality. Proto Man left, leaving a deep wound in Dr. Light's heart.
But he tried again, and this time created two Robot Masters that he'd come to call his children...Rock and Roll.
They were kind, caring, and were a great help to Dr. Light in his lab. With this success, Dr. Light went on to develop the first eight industrial class Robot Masters, Cut Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Elec Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man, Oil Man, and Time Man.
Yet at the grand ceremony for their unveiling, Dr. Wily returned, hijacking the Robot Masters and vowing to bury Dr. Light's name in the dirt and show the world who the true genius was.
Unable to do anything to save his creations, Dr. Light was throw in grief. That is...until Rock volunteered to become a fighting robot to save his brethren from Wily.
Reluctant to do so, Dr. Light gave Rock blue armor and a buster cannon. He would from then on be referred to as "Mega Man" by the general populace.
This began a many year battle between Mega Man and Dr. Wily, with new Robot Masters being built or controlled to stand against the Blue Bomber.
Sometimes Proto Man would get involved, other times Mega Man would face Dr. Wily's own personal super fighting robot, Bass...
During this time Dr. Light was working on the next step in robot evolution. He would create a robot that could think and feel EXACTLY like a human can.
This...was the origin point of X.
Soon after Dr. Light began to develop the blueprints for X, Dr. Wily attacks his lab. Driven mad by countless defeats and spurned by his own inferiority complex, Dr. Wily assembled a titanic machine from all the scrap he had on hand with the intent to kill Mega Man once and for all.
...And he did. With sheer brutality Dr. Wily tore Mega Man to pieces and left him broken before Dr. Light's body. Feeling truly victorious, Dr. Wily was going to snuff Dr. Light's life out before suddenly, Proto Man intervened.
Using his fractured core, Proto Man destroyed Dr. Wily's machine and sent the doctor packing. On that day, Dr. Light had lost two of his sons...And was only left with the victorious taunting of his former friend.
Dr. Light began to regret letting Dr. Wily live all those years ago. He swore revenge, programming X with the intent of disobeying the Three Laws of Robotics. He refused to sleep. He refused to eat. His body was fueled only by hatred...
Until suddenly, Roll snapped at him.
The pain in her voice caused Dr. Light to look at himself, a broken shell of a man, and realize just how far he had lost himself to hatred...
He was becoming no better than Dr. Wily, losing sight of his goals, and focusing only on revenge.
Roll's words returned him to normal, and he continued to work on X properly. But when stuck on how to create a proper bridge between robots and humanity, Roll came to him with a suggestion.
She offered her parts along with Rock's, believing that together, they can still continue to help their father out.
Dr. Light agreed only with great reluctance. In the absence of his children, stressed aged him rapidly, but nevertheless he persisted on completing X.
The processor cores of Rock and Roll were combined into the single crystal that forms the one on X's forehead. Rock's variable weapons' system and copy chip was also transplanted into X.
Dr. Light decided on the name "X" for two reasons. One, is that he will represent limitless potential...And two, because X refers to "Cross", as he is a cross between his beloved children.
After setting up tests to ensure that X would be ready to be more than just a robot, Dr. Light committed one final act in the world of the living...
He buried X's capsule underground, and then burned his laboratory down with him inside it, so that humanity would not be able to abuse X or Dr. Light's knowledge to create weapons of war.
And now X stands before him, as proof that despite everything, Dr. Light made the right decision in building him.
X feels the weight of Dr. Light's story inside of him. He understands now that he's not just a symbol of hope for the future, but also burdened with carrying on the hopes of the past. But in the end, he is still his own person, and its up to him to decide what he'll do with his life going forward.
Dr. Light never wanted this kind of world for X. As his father, he wanted only the utmost happiness for him.
X apologizes for yelling at him, but Dr. Light feels he deserved it.
However, this conversation has convinced X of something...
Zero...must be Dr. Wily's creation. And in turn, Dr. Wily created the Maverick Virus.
It doesn't make sense to him though that Dr. Wily would create something that would ruin the world. Dr. Light, however, is convinced that with how mad he got in his final days it'd only make sense that he'd turn his hatred upon the world that shunned his brilliance.
X ponders how he is immune to the Maverick Virus. Dr. Light suspects either there's no flaws in X's programming to exploit, or that the Roboenza anti-virus program Rock and Roll had evolved over time to counter the Maverick Virus.
But now there's one major question for X to answer...What to do with Zero, the last legacy of Dr. Wily's hatred.
And he chooses...to save him, and end the cycle of revenge and destruction started a hundred years ago.
Dr. Light accepts his answer, but knows the journey ahead will be difficult. He grants X the Ultimate Armor, a last resort to stopping the power of the Zero Virus.
X accepts this power and then thanks his father for all he's done. Dr. Light smiles, and his hologram sheds a tear in remorse.
X continues on his way until finally, he finds Zero, ready to end their eternal war with his destruction.
There's no hesitation shared between them. Best friends, forced to fight by the legacies they've been burdened with.
Even at this point, X tries to reach out to the Zero he knows, not the weapon of war pointed his way. Zero responds that there is no cure to his power. He sees everything he's fought for before this point as pointless. His only mission...is to destroy X, and then the whole world.
The whole world exists only due to the efforts of Dr. Light, and thus, as per Zero's directive, it needs to be destroyed.
When X brings up how insane Iris would think he's acting, the real Zero seems to slip through for just a moment. But Zero laughs it off as weakness he simply needs to snuff out.
He draws his sword and attacks X, their battle beginning in earnest.
X quickly realizes that he can hold nothing back in this battle and unlocks the limiters he put on himself long ago. He starts drawing upon the powers of Maverick and former allies he's slain over the last few years to attack Zero, who fights with the mercilessness of a focused berserker.
Zero's power slowly rises as the battle continues, being fed by the Zero Space around him, and the hateful silhouette of Dr. Wily behind him.
X uses both the Falcon Armor and Gaea Armor in conjunction with all the powers at his disposal but its barely enough to keep Zero at bay.
Zero tries to force him to abandon his idealistic nonsense and fight with the strength of a warrior. X continues to reach out to Zero empathetically, knowing that his friend is somewhere buried underneath all that hate.
X finally is forced to don the Ultimate Armor when the prior two break down to Zero's raw might.
He denies his friend's request to terminate him with full determination, and then reaffirms his vow to save him right to his friend's face.
X's gem begins radiating brightly, ready for round two.
X starts flashing back to his brother Rock's memories much clearer than before. Every time he unlocks a new memory, he's able to draw upon old Robot Master and Stardroid powers which, boosted by the Ultimate Armor, allows him to start greatly turning the tide against Zero.
The battle tears through Zero Space like a hurricane. They are two gods, two friends, battling to decide which of their creators shall have their ideals reign supreme.
When it appears as though X will be victorious against the virus crushing Zero's free will, however, Dr. Wily's voice starts infesting Zero Space like a wildfire.
Demanding only Zero pursue the destruction of his nemesis, Zero's body is enveloped in a crimson typhoon, as he absorbed the Zero Virus fully into his body.
When the winds calm and the world goes silent, all that remains before X is a Zero clad in black armor. His power so great, it cannot be felt at all.
This is the true Zero...the destructive messiah, and the one who will cleanse the world of humanity and Dr. Light's will.
He turns to X with only everlasting madness on his face, and prepares for the final battle...
They are alone, tearing into other and their surroundings with no end in sight to their eternal battle.
X pushes his body to 100 percent, wrapping the Ultimate Armor in golden light...And then presses even further beyond that.
His body preparing to meltdown with every passing second the battle continues, X presses his might against Zero's raw power and continues to break through.
In time he gets a grip on Zero's head and tries to purge the Zero Virus from him by force. However, he's repelled, only managing to snag off the Split Body power he failed to get in the Repliforce Conflict.
Zero then draws in all the power of Wily's hatred into a single devastating slash, one that pierces the heavens above and renders the whole world silent to all but his destruction.
X draws his buster in front of him and puts everything he's got into one final shot. And in that moment the Split Body power triggers, causing silhouettes of every Robot Master, Stardroid and Maverick whose power he's copied to appear behind him and offer their strength.
And then, with Rock and Roll appearing at his sides, X fires the ultimate charged shot, cleaving through Zero's slash and striking his friend hard enough to force the manifestation of Wily's hatred out of his body.
With one last burst of speed, as his body tears itself apart, X grabs hold of Zero's head one more time and targets the virus.
The manifestation of hatred tries to consume them both, but X manages to hold out long enough to shatter the virus once and for all from Zero's body...
In the aftermath of a weary battle X tries to awaken Zero, but sees no response.
He has little time to worry, however, as Sigma suddenly appears behind them in a new body. X is so weak that he can hardly muster the energy to fight against him.
In these last moments X has proven to Sigma that he is the strongest robot of all time, and now, Sigma is confident he can bring his plans to fruition.
Having earned his respect, Sigma plans to end X's life quickly and ensure him and Zero'll be remembered in his new world.
But before the final blow is struck, Zero leaps between the two and takes the attack, standing defiantly against the Maverick leader.
Zero's personality has returned to normal, and he stands by X's side as his friend once more.
Sigma figures this is fine, as now he can decide their fates in one final battle. He awaits them further inside the Zero Space, retreating with a gleeful laughter.
Zero and X shake hands, with X wondering if Zero still remembers anything. Zero leaves it be for now, and prioritizes stopping Sigma.
The two join side-by-side and pursue after Sigma.
Meanwhile with all this happening in the background, Shina continues on her way through Zero Space alone. Whatever Alex is doing here weighs heavily on her mind, as his presence is abnormal compared to the norm for him.
Feeling oppressed by the air around her she nevertheless continues on her way.
She eventually finds Alex, but her attempts to pursue him are foiled by the Zero Space itself. And during the process of trying to break through the labyrinth, she's plagued with strange visions provided by the dimension itself.
It shows a man talking to some co-workers about "experiments" being performed on children, with one boy in particular being picked out as a "success" to accept the power of "DNA" they scavenged.
But the success of the experiment came with a cost, as the boy's mind was splintered in two. One half subdued, the over craving only violence.
Yet the man running the experiments lets the matter be, believing the split personality will prove to be useful.
Shina, growing sick of the visions, attacks the Zero Space itself with a big rocket and manages to stabilize the distortions for a time.
She continues on her way for a bit longer and finally runs into Alex, pestering him as to why he didn't stop and let her catch up.
But then Alex starts looking at her disdainfully, and refers to himself as "we" and "us".
He lashes out at Shina for her attitude and she can barely muster a word in edgewise. He comments on the pains of her rejection and how it proved that there's truly no one for them in this world, that its a pointless world, and its better of destroyed.
Alex remarks about how the sight of him must simply repulse her, and that proves to be Shina's breaking point.
She calls this Alex a fake, or at the least, possessed to not act like himself.
But Alex remarks how she's never tried to learn the "real" Alex Whiter. Alex laughs at how she thinks so highly of herself, thinking little more of him as a foot-note in her life.
Shina draws her guns and declares that she'll free him for whatever's controlling him.
Alex coldly remarks, however, that there is nothing so delusion going on here. What she's seeing...is simply the real self of Alex Whiter.
Alex attacks Shina violently and she's barely able to mount a defense against him. With her threatening his life, however, Shina's forced to pull out the big guns and blasts Alex square in the chest to stagger him.
But upon doing so his shirt tears and reveals the artifact piece grafted to his chest.
This moment of weakness causes what sounds like the real Alex to wrench control from the other Alex and force their body away.
Shina pursues, refusing to let him succumb to whatever's hurting him.
She winds up catching up with X and Shina and briefs them on what happened with Alex. X and Zero vow to save him, since it sounds like he's not infected by the Maverick Virus, but do warn that if he is still a dangerous threat to the world, well...
Shina tries not to think about it and prepares to catch up with the others. She gives X and Zero some of their energy back but can't do anything about their scars.
Inside the last room they find Alex confronting Sigma...Or rather, the end of their confrontation. Alex spasms as Sigma forces the Maverick Virus into his body.
A deadly mutation occurs in Alex, and he ends up rocketing right out of the room.
Shina's unable to pursue thanks to Sigma. And Shina curses him for what he's done.
Sigma tires of the otherworlder's presence and focuses on the matter at hand...X and Zero.
In this moment he will create his perfect world of evolved Reploids using the bodies of X and Zero.
He's finally finished having a use for his benefactor, the same doctor who created Zero. He seems to imply Dr. Wily is still alive through the Maverick Virus, and even taunts Zero over hearing his voice.
But Zero cares nothing about it, instead focusing on finishing Sigma off for good.
Sigma then reveals the capsules X and Zero were found in, stating its his intent to knock them out and then stuff them back in, which he'll use as conduits to fuse their ultimate power into his body.
Sigma reveals that X harbors the "suffering circuit", which is the source of Reploids' empathy. But Dr. Cain's replication of the circuit was flawed, and has denied Reploids the ability to achieve ultimate power.
He cites how, without the fear of innocents being in his way, X displayed power beyond anyone's wildest imagination.
Shina deduces that Sigma used the fight between Zero and X to force Zero to bring the Maverick Virus to its full power. That way, he'll be able to override the "suffering circuit" so he can have all the power with none of the empathy weighing him down.
Shina calls his plan insane, stating that true strength is nothing without kindness, echoing the words Dizzy told her long ago.
Sigma says evolution requires sacrifice, and believes empathy to be trivial.
Zero, X and Shina call Sigma's world one without individuality, and without that Reploids will never truly grow beyond their limits.
Sigma says they don't need any of that to evolve, that they were already built with that function in mind.
He WILL create the perfect world, making all Reploids perfect like him, and riding the Earth of every trace of humanity.
The three draw their weapons and beginning the decisive battle against Sigma.
Powered by that strange aura, Sigma puts up great resistance against his enemies. But even after pushing themselves so far against each other, X and Zero are able to destroy Sigma's body.
But his viral form shifts over to one more new body, one familiar to X...Or rather, Mega Man.
He's fused with Gamma, the ultimate battle body, and now, towering over his enemies, he plans to claim his right to rule...
The three warriors put the last of their strength into stopping Sigma once and for all. But as the battles wears down the warriors begins to fall one by one...
First, Sigma crushes Shina's left arm, preventing her from using the Valkyrie Drive to turn the tide.
Then, after performing one last powerful slash to split Sigma's head down the middle, Zero is pulled in half and his parts are tossed across the floor.
With only X left standing, Sigma appears ready to triumph.
Yet, X can never truly lose. For he stands tall, and with the last of his strength, fires a powerful charged shot into the divide in Sigma's head.
His buster shattered, X watches as Sigma blows apart, cursing X for denying him his world.
X then tries to crawl over to Zero's upper body, cradling him in his arms.
He's punctured by one final shot from Sigma, who is reduced to little more than a small head of viral mass.
In his final moments, Zero kills Sigma with a defiant shot, ending his threat for good...
X and Zero then share a final moment, as Zero rests, ready to join Iris...
X collapses unconscious in pain, and the Zero Space starts to collapse around them.
Shina puts up a barrier of aura to protect herself and weather out the worst of what's to come...
When the end of Zero Space is over, Shina awakens weakly to find herself back outside the Eurasia Crash Site as though nothing had happened.
She notices X's broken body nearby and starts crawling towards it, when Dr. Light's hologram floats by as well, freed from the capsule.
Dr. Light envelops X in a bright light and prepares to "free him of his pain". Shina assumes that means "get rid of his memories of Zero" and begs Dr. Light not to go through with it.
Does those type of memories are painful, its the experiences you gain from surviving such pain that make one stronger...make us human.
Dr. Light is happy to see X have such a caring friend, and alleviates her concerns by telling her he never had such a plan in mind. He's just repairing X's body. But his time is limited, as the Zero Space is disappearing...
Shina goes unconscious soon after, waking back up in the Maverick Hunter HQ with her body fully restored.
She then goes to the command room and finds X back to normal too. Him, Signas and Alia are mourning Zero.
Once that's passed, Shina and X tell Signas and Alia the full truth of what happened in Zero Space.
Signas decides they can't tell the world the truth about the origin of the Maverick Virus with the state things are in. But they'll send out an alert regarding Alex and at least let them know about everything else.
The world is going to need a lot of help to put it back together, but now, at the very least, the Sigma Virus has vanished from the world.
Alia brings X and Shina to the laboratory, where Zero's blade now rests after being scavenged from the Eurasia Crash Site.
X wields the blade, sensing Zero's will and legacy on his shoulders, and decides he will do his job without hesitation from now on.
Shina's going to stick around to help him out too...Seeing as she doesn't really have any better options. And X will help her find Alex, no matter what.
With X gone, Alia shows Shina one last thing. They found two objects at the crash site...Alex's blade, and the Gaia Temporis.
As Shina picks up Alex's blade, Alia suggests they might be able to lock onto Alex's energy by using it.
Shina then touches the Gaia Temporis, and despite all Alex said, the stone seems to welcome her presence.
There's no choice now. Shina cannot afford to hesitate herself...Alex is in pain, lost somewhere in the world all alone.
No one else can do it. For Alex to be saved, she'll have to put her all into doing so.
THAT...is her promise to him.
Meanwhile, a long Reploid scientist by the name of Gate scavenges the crash site. He is able to harvest a sample of Zero's DNA from the ruins, gleefully shouting that he'll be able to complete his research.
He speaks to his colleague, a Reploid by the name of Isoc. Isoc is happy to see this fragment, as it means his "greatest creation" is still alive.
Part 4.5 Story 6 END.