MMX: The Lost Archives - File 3 - His Name Is Zero
Written & Compiled by Metal Man X
The following is kind of like a Companion piece to MMX: 0rigins #3.  It consists of all the deleted material that did not make it into the original OVA.  And in this case... you may be able to see why.  However, there are certain ideas about the Discovery and Initial training of Zero, that I find to be fun about this one.  I like the extra character development for the 4th Unit, as well as some extra moments with Marth’s new team the 13th Unit...
Most of all, the ending is a nice allusion to what we already know from the end of OVA 3.
So, BEHOLD!  These are the Lost Archives, of everything you didn’t get to see!
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INT. MOTHER COMPUTER - The Lost Archives - FILE 3
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A computer screen displays the following message, which is read aloud by the voice of Dr. Cain.
DR. CAIN:
(narrating, announcing)
Warning: If you a reading this message, then it means that we have already failed. Â The following are the Lost Archives of the Maverick Hunters' recent history banks. What was formerly deleted, has now been restored in this Secret Compartment, just in case... Â I hope you will find the following information helpful, and that it may assist you on your mission; whatever that may be.
Display Title Card: LOST ARCHIVES: File 3 - His Name is Zero
-Begin Feed-
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INT. THE FORBIDDEN PLACE - DAY
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-Fade in-
DELTA and his team work inside The Forbidden Place. Delta opens up his Com-link.
DELTA:
His name is Zero sir. That's all we can really gather from the blueprints.
CAPTAIN:
Good. A name is better than nothing.
-dissolve to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - DAY
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Captain leans back in his chair, looking towards his team of Navigators.
CAPTAIN:
Get me anything you can find on Zero. Search keyword, Project Zero. Anything you can hack.
NINA:
Yes sir!
-cut to-
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INT. THE FORBIDDEN PLACE - DAY
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DELTA:
(sighing)
We found a lot less than I thought.
FM 30-26 hooks himself up to a computer and sucks information from it.
HOGANMER:
Hey Delta, look!
Hoganmer points to the screen, which shows a picture of Proto Man.
CIRRUS:
Who's that?
FM 30-26:
His name is Proto Man, and he seems to be a prototype of every other model he created.
CURIE:
Who's 'he'?
FM 30-26:
It's code protected. I can't find out. Let me try harder.
FM 30-26 pushes his arms further into the control panel's circuts. Images of old Robot Masters flash by: Cut Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Top Man, Metal Man, Quick Man, Crash Man, Magnet Man, Spark Man, Drill Man, Ring Man, Gravity Man and /Bass.
FM 30-26:
All I'm getting is pictures of old robots...
When Bass pops up, the screen /blows up. FM 30-26 flies across the room. Overdrive Ostrich runs by and catches FM 30-26.
OVERDRIVE OSTRICH:
Gotcha.
FM 30-26:
Thanks, Double O.
Overdrive Ostrich frowns upon hearing his nickname.
CURIE:
(yelling)
You bucket of bolts! For a second there, you were almost useful!
OVERDRIVE OSTRICH:
(defensive)
Hey! That's no way to talk to a teammate! He did the best he could. Maybe we can look up those old bots from our database.
DELTA:
(depressed)
Ah, it's useless. Let's just clean up this mess.
Delta holds Gamma's upper torso and looks at him sadly. COBALT QUARK looks at Verdant Quark and Nova Quark.
COBALT QUARK:
(sobbing)
I can’t believe you two are gone... We were supposed to be a team. You two surpassed me so much, you were promoted to Gamma’s Unit. If you two were so great, why did you have to die? ...Why?!
Cobalt Quark holds the two Quarks.
DELTA:
Hey Cyclops, I know this is hard on you, but we all suffered a great loss here.
Delta puts Gamma's pieces into a container.
CIRRUS:
Now all we can do is recycle their parts and hope they’re used for something good in the end.
Cirrus picks up pieces of Rutek. Cobalt Quark clenches his fist.
COBALT QUARK:
I guess you’re right. Moping won’t do anything. I just hope that Zero really gets it for this.
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Interrogation Room - NIGHT
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Sigma slaps Zero across the face.
SIGMA:
I’m going to ask you one more time... Who are you working for?!
-Fade out-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - NIGHT
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-Fade in-
Captain shifts in his chair as he turns away from his Halogen Screen.
CAPTAIN:
Blue Noir?
BLUE NOIR, who is sitting by Captain, watching over the other Navigators, turns around.
BLUE NOIR:
Yes sir!
CAPTAIN:
Have the 15th Unit run a diagnostics test on that Red Maverick. I want to see how he ticks...
BLUE NOIR:
Aye, sir.
The Halogen screen displays Zero's insides. The monitor zooms in on Zero's head. The schematics pull up Zero's inner core processor. A bar graph indicates a very balanced chart of Neuro levels, except for a blue bar which is much lower than the rest.
CAPTAIN:
Blue Noir, patch me through to Dr. Cain and the 11th Unit.
BLUE NOIR:
Yes sir.
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Cain Labs - NIGHT
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On Dr. Cain's Mother Computer, Captain appears on his screen.
DR. CAIN:
Captain?
CAPTAIN:
Dr. Cain, I was hoping you and your colleagues could explain this to me.
Captain forwards an image of Zero's diagnostic test.
DR. CAIN:
Those are his Neuro levels. Â All of them seem to be balanced, save for his long-term memory.
CAPTAIN:
I see...
DR. CAIN:
He has a very low reading of .05%. I'm afraid his memory loss may be permanent.
CAPTAIN:
I hope not. That Maverick has answers for us that we need!
DR. CAIN:
I wouldn't count on it Captain. When Amnesia victims have memory loss readings that low, they typically become blank slates, and have to start aaall over again.
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - NIGHT
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Captain widens his eyes and clenches his fist.
CAPTAIN:
Thank you Doctor... Have Mu keep Zero under for the remainder of the night. I want to speak with that... Reploid, first thing tomorrow morning.
DR. CAIN:
Yes, sir.
Dr. Cain closes communication as he blips away from the Halogen Screen. Â Captain slumps in his chair and stares at the holographic image of Zero's specs.
CAPTAIN:
(thinking, v.o.)
What does all this mean? The enemy has forgotten everything and now we have him in our grasp. Is that a gift... or a curse?
Captain presses a button, which pulls up an interactive holographic globe. He spins the globe around with a wave of his hand.
CAPTAIN:
What other plans do you have in store for us you Counter Hunter? Â Are there others like Zero?
-fade to-
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INT. SECRET BASE - NIGHT
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The Old Reploid paints one of his creations purple as it lays with a red saber by it’s side.
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - NIGHT
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Captain pauses and waits for the globe to finish spinning.
CAPTAIN:
We’ll find you./  We’ll take you down./  And when we finally catch you,/ nothing can stop us.
At the first dash, we cut to the dormatory where Boomer Kuwanger and Gravity Beetle are sleeping. At the second, we cut to Flame Stag and Spark Mandrill sleeping in another room. At the third, we pan up to Sigma's dorm room where we see him sleeping peacefully. The camera zooms in on his red gem, where a tiny smoky indigo cloud begins to form.
CAPTAIN:
Nothing...
-Fade to Black-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Training Room - DAY
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-Static-
After a moment of white noise, the feed changes to a new file.
Sigma and Zero stand before each other in a wrestling ring surrounded by three wire ropes emitting electricity. Sigma has his arms folded.
SIGMA:
All right, kid. Here's your chance to get back at me for what I've done. Don't hold back!
ZERO:
But I don't want to fight you!
SIGMA:
You don't have a choice. Show me your true power!
Sigma runs to Zero and knees him in the stomach. Zero falls on the ground, holding his stomach.
ZERO:
Uuagh... So it's like that, then... FINE!!
Zero quickly gets up and dashes towards Sigma, aiming a punch at his face. Sigma dodges, smacks Zero's fist away with his left hand, and then punches Zero in the stomach with his left hand.
ZERO:
Agh!
SIGMA:
You have such limited combat skills. I’ve already analyzed all your moves from our last battle. I already know everything you can do. And you conveniently forgot everything about me...
Zero smirks as Sigma starts up a kick aimed at Zero's chest.
ZERO:
/No!
At the dash, Zero grabs Sigma's boot.
ZERO:
(continuing)
Just give me time. You'll find I'm /full of surprises.
At the dash, Zero shoves Sigma's boot back. He then throws more punches at Sigma.
SIGMA:
Not this again...
Sigma grabs Zero's hands and swings Zero into the ropes, shocking him.
SIGMA:
Look at you... You're pathetic. You're not half as dangerous as when you were a Maverick.
Zero narrows his eyes.
ZERO:
I'm not a Maverick! Aaaahh!
Zero lunges at Sigma. A buster cannon forms on his right hand, and Zero shoots at Sigma in the face.
SIGMA:
(shocked)
Oourgh!
Sigma holds his face, but quickly recovers. He looks at Zero, who is smoking from the chest plate. Zero has his buster out, ready to attack. Sigma smiles.
SIGMA:
Ha ha ha... Good, you're learning.
Sigma holds out his hand and shoots Zero from his fingertips. Zero falls to the ground, surprised.
SIGMA:
Two can play at this game.
ZERO:
(frustrated)
Grrr...
SIGMA:
That's it, Zero. Revel in your anger! Let your anger be your guide.
ZERO:
Raaah!!
Zero runs towards Sigma and shoots him four times in rapid fire. Sigma backs away, but Zero catches up to Sigma and hops towards him. Sigma swiftly doges to his right and holds his left knee out. Zero's stomach collides with Sigma's knees, and his momentum hurdles him over to his back.
ZERO:
(in pain)
Augh....
Sigma plants his boot on Zero's chest, pulls out his beam saber, and holds it towards Zero's neck.
SIGMA:
Don't let anger cloud your judgment, though...
Zero blinks in amazement as he looks up at Sigma.
SIGMA:
You are defeated. Your raw power is not enough to defeat me in your current state.
Sigma releases his foot from Zero's chest.
ZERO:
I'll show you defeated!
Zero quickly somersaults backwards, and kicks Sigma directly in the hand, knocking out his beam saber. Zero lands on his feet and tackles Sigma. Sigma grows fearful and Zero throws Sigma's head against the mat three times. However, Sigma quickly recovers and shoots Zero from the red gem on his forehead. Zero is knocked off Sigma. Sigma stands up, gasping for air and holding his neck.
SIGMA:
Impressive. Perhaps I was wrong about you Zero. You might have what it takes... to become a Maverick Hunter after all...
Zero looks at Sigma as he slowly stands up.
SIGMA:
That will be all for our session today.
Zero makes a dark smile.
ZERO:
Heh heh heh. Had enough already?
Sigma narrows his eyes.
SIGMA:
(insulting)
Do not mistake my leave of absence as a victory, Zero. As Commander of the 17th Unit I have bigger things to worry about than the likes of you.
ZERO:
(panting, snidely)
Aw, but... I was just getting... warmed up!
Sigma narrows his eyes again, smiling.
SIGMA:
I like you... You’re gonna fit right in with my Unit when you’re ready.
ZERO:
(insulted)
When I'm 'ready'?
ZERO:
Clear the ranks Zero. Go to the central computer and begin your simulation training exercises. You still have a lot to learn before I can let you in. I don’t work with anyone lower than an A Class.
ZERO:
A Class, huh? That'll be a cinch.
SIGMA:
Good luck, Zero. You'll have to start at the bottom just like everyone else.
Zero sighs as Sigma leaves the room.
ZERO:
Whatever you say... boss.
-cut to-
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INT. ALASKA - Polar Base - DAY
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Marth stands inside at the entrance to the Polar Battalion Base of operations. Two Reploids walk up to him.
LIGHT BLUE 1:
Commander! You made it!
LIGHT BLUE 2:
Welcome to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Shall I take your bag, sir?
MARTH:
No, I'm fine. Thank you.
Marth walks down the lobby and meets Chill Penguin.
CHILL PENGUIN:
Ah, Commander Marth. Welcome to my humble abode.
Chill Penguin shakes hands with Marth and smiles.
CHILL PENGUIN:
Please let me show you to your quarters.
MARTH:
That would be lovely, but we have work to do. I heard about Polar Ursine. May I see him first?
Chill Penguin blinks.
CHILL PENGUIN:
You want to get straight to work, i see.
MARTH:
In the Special Unit, we try to get all of our work done first and then relax.
CHILL PENGUIN:
You’ll find we’re a bit more laid back here in the arctics, but if you insist, let’s see him.
Chill Penguin leads Marth to the back of the base and points to a snow slider. Marth looks at Chill Penguin, confused.
CHILL PENGUIN:
Well? You coming or what?
Chill Penguin runs swiftly into the ice and begins to slide away.
MARTH:
(excited)
Oh!
He hops into the snow slider and follows Chill Penguin. Four other Reploids follow them on their own snow sliders. The six of them ride into a mountainous valley and stop at a grand wall of ice, where pieces of their former Commander's arms are scattered. They stop their snow sliders as Marth steps out of his snow slider.
MARTH:
Oh my, look at this mess.
-fade out-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Training Room - DAY
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A group of Helits surround Zero, shooting missiles after him. Zero dodges every blast, but is cornered against a wall. They lock their missiles onto Zero, but Zero begins to charge up power.
ZERO:
So you think you got me, do you?!
The missiles fire at Zero.
ZERO:
(shouting)
Lock onto THIS!!
Zero shoots off a large yellow charge shot, which blows up the Helits. The scene is then shut down, revealing an empty room.
COMPUTER VOICE:
Training Sequence Complete. Class C - Cleared.
Zero gives a thumbs up.
ZERO:
All right!
-Cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - DAY
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Red Noir turns to Captain.
RED NOIR:
Captain. Incoming message from Commander Marth, sir.
Captain presses a button on his chair and a visual of Marth pops up on his screen.
CAPTAIN:
What is it, Marth?
MARTH:
Captain, we’ve recovered a mysterious capsule from the location where Polar Ursine perished. Would you like to see it?
CAPTAIN:
Yes!
An image of the capsule is shown on Captain's screen.
CAPTAIN:
Hm, what is it?
MARTH:
We’re not sure sir. We thought about bringing the device over to the Research Center, but it won’t budge. It seemed to have locked itself into place when we set it down vertically.
CAPTAIN:
How peculiar. Just a moment.
Captain presses a button on his chair.
CAPTAIN:
Delta Unit. This is Captain. Please respond.
-cut to-
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INT. OMU DESERT - Overland Desert Base - DAY
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Delta leans over and switches on the main console. Cirrus and Curie spar in the background, Overdrive Ostrich reads a magazine, and Scout leans against the wall, looking bored.
DELTA:
This is Delta.
CAPTAIN:
Delta. Send me the file you recovered of Zero’s capsule. I want to double-check something.
DELTA:
Right away, sir!
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - DAY
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A picture of Zero's capsule pops up on Captain's screen.
CAPTAIN:
Cross-Reference.
COMPUTER VOICE:
Affirmative.
Captain looks intently at the image, noticing the differences between Zero's capsule and this one. He then presses another button.
CAPTAIN:
Dr. Cain, come in.
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Cain Labs - DAY
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DR. CAIN:
This is Dr. Cain. What do you need, Captain?
CAPTAIN:
Could you send me a screen shot of X’s Host Capsule? I want to check something...
DR. CAIN:
Hm, what ever for, Captain? You’ve never been concerned with science before.
CAPTAIN:
I want to compare his capsule with Zero’s and check for any similarities in design.
DR. CAIN:
(surprised)
Okay. But... why the sudden interest?
CAPTAIN:
We may or may not have found yet another mysterious Reploid, separate from X & Zero. It may be connected to our enemy, but I'm not sure. It’s too soon to tell.
DR. CAIN:
(gasps)
I see. I would like to see these visuals as well.
Captain smiles.
CAPTAIN:
You have every right to Doctor.  After you send me a picture of X’s Capsule.
Captain closes communication.
-cut to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Control Room - DAY
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A picture of X's Capsule now appears on the screen.
CAPTAIN:
There we go. Cross-Reference.
The screen is now split into three horizontal pictures. On the left is Zero's Capsule, on the right X's Capsule, and in the middle is the new capsule.
CAPTAIN:
Marth, are you still there?
MARTH:
Aye, sir! Still here.
CAPTAIN:
This capsule... Have you tried to opening it?
MARTH:
Negative, sir. There seems to be a force field repelling us from getting near it actually.
CAPTAIN:
(amazed)
Really?! How strange... (thinking, v.o.) Whoever created this guy must have really wanted to protect him.
MARTH:
Indeed. What shall we do now sir?
CAPTAIN:
Keep an eye on this Capsule. It looks like we’re going to have to wait it out until this new being emerges. Whoever it is, I just hope he's on our side...
MARTH:
Roger! Over and out.
Marth shuts off the communication screen. Captain stares at the screen focused on the glowing capsule.
CAPTAIN:
(thinking, v.o.)
Who are you...?
Zoom in on the capsule.
-fade to-
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INT. MAVERICK HUNTER BASE - Corridor - DAY
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Fade in to X walking around the Base, passing through various hallways.
X:
Hey Zeke!
ZEKE:
Hey X!
ZEKE waves at X.
X:
Hey Blip!
BLIP:
Yo, X!
JEFFREY:
Heeey! X! X!!
JEFFREY, another Reploid, runs up to X.
X:
(confused)
What is it, Jeff?
JEFFREY:
(excited)
Have you seen Zero in action?
X:
No... I've actually been trying to stay away from him.
JEFFREY:
Ah, nonsense X! He ain't dangerous anymore.
STEVE:
We’ve been watching him all day!  The guy’s a frickin’ battery. He’s been going all day! He already cleared C Class like you, X!
X:
(curious, bewildered)
What? Already?!
LASER Â LIONCLAW:
Go on, X. Check 'im out. There's no shame in it.
Laser Lionclaw stands by the door to the Training Room. X glances towards the doorway, where he sees swift red movements. X points to Zero.
X:
That's him?
MU:
Oh yeah... I'd fight alongside that guy any day of the week.
X walks over and stares inward with the other Reploids. Inside the room, Zero jumps high in the air and swings himself from vine to vine, eventually landing on a Beetron which he rides directly into a Bee Blader. Zero flips off of the Beetron right before it explodes. The explosion sends Zero outward in the opposite direction into a hoard of Jamminger droids. The Jammingers fly towards Zero with their spikes out, but he shoots a large yellow charge shot in their direction, blowing three up at once. X looks at Zero in awe.
X:
(thinking, v.o.)
He's so...
Zero grins as he shoots more Jammingers.
X:
(continuing, thinking, v.o.)
Happy... As if he were designed for war...
Back inside the room, all of the Jammingers have been destroyed. Zero turns around and sees five Bombeens behind him. They surrounded Zero's pathway with mines.
ZERO:
(through gritted teeth)
You tricky little bastards...
Zero shoots them with a thin blue power wave, causing two to blow up. Zero shoots rapid fire at the three remaining as he runs in and jumps towards the mines fearlessly. He tries to jump around them, but the mines were triggered by his proximity. He got hit three times and was knocked down to the floor. X winces.
X:
He's too spontaneous. He'll never get past the next part.
ZAAL:
(excited)
Watch him, X. We could ALL learn from him!
Ten Gun Volts surround the area. Zero flips himself back up to his feet, rolling out of the way of the missiles they shoot at him and shooting rapid fire in all directions in the process. Zero then runs after one of them, jumping over the missiles and shoots the Gun Volt down with a yellow charge shot, blasting a hole through the side of the Gun Volt.
ZERO:
(smiling)
That one slowed you down!
Zero shoots another charge shot at the Gun Volt, killing him. Three Gun Volts shoot a shockwave at Zero.
ZERO:
What's that? ...Aaah!
Outside the room, X narrows his eyes.
X:
(thinking, v.o.)
This is it...
Zero quickly grabs a shard of the broken Gun Volt and uses it as a human shield.
X:
(surprised)
What?!
The shock wave blows up in Zero's face, but he pushes through it and dives after the Gun Volt attacking him. He tackles it to the ground and then pounds its chest in. Two more punches slice it in half with his sharp gauntlet. A Gun Volt gets behind Zero, but Zero somersaults backwards, kicking it into another Gun Volt, resulting in the two exploding.
ZERO:
Ha ha ha! Your dumb Gun Volts will never stop me!
Zero shoots the remaining six in rapid fire, blowing off the legs of a Gun Volt to the left, knocking off the arm of one on the far right, and severely damaging the one in the center. Zero then begins charging his buster.
ZERO:
Wait for it... Wait for iiit...
He then shoots a large blue charge shot from his buster, surrounded by two yellow rings of power. All the Reploids outside gasp. X looks on in awe.
X:
(thinking, v.o.)
I've never seen anything like it. His power... It's so...
The Gun Volt in the middle is struck by the blast as it shoots out two missiles, resulting in a large chain explosion to the six remaining Gun Volts.
X:
(thinking, v.o.)
Beautiful...
Everything powers down in the room. Zero sees all of the Reploids staring at him, but he notices X. The screen splits horizontally, showing X's face on the top and Zero's on the bottom. They both gasp.
COMPUTER VOICE:
Virtual Reality Sequence Complete. Â Rank B cleared. Score of 90 percent.
Many Reploids clap.
ZERO:
Hmph... 90 percent.  That’s too bad... I was hoping for 100.
X:
That's farther then I've ever gotten.
X walks inside. Zero pulls at his ponytail.
ZERO:
Who are you?
X:
I'm X. You must be Zero.
X puts out his hand, and we see a widescreen effect as X and Zero lock hands.
-Freeze Frame. Grainy Effect-
-End Feed-
