ZERO NETWORK TRANSMISSION
Rockman Zero/Rockman Battle Network
Authored by The Several

Author's Notes: Happy 2019, everybody! Glad I could keep my promise and update this a bit more regularly, though as you can see it still took me a few months to get it out. However, there's a reason for that in the Author's Note at the very bottom, so just read that instead. This is another one that's going to be fairly long, so I hope you enjoy as we get into what is hopefully the second to the last part of the Origins Arc.

005372 HOURS BEFORE THE ZERO INCIDENT

"...Eyes on target," a netnavi said over his built-in communications, nodding to the rest of his team who had all locked and loaded their personal anti-virus weapons. The emblem '17th Unit' was proudly patched on the side of their chest plates and shoulder armour, a symbol of their unity.

"Commander X, we're ready to proceed on our end," the netnavi confirmed again.

"...I have all eyes on my side. Distraction team is successful, you may begin the operation," X replied, and instantly the entire 17th Unit ran out of cover and started eliminating viruses one after another, exterminating many of them with a sneak-attack from behind until they eventually thinned out enough for a second group to infiltrate their goal.

Within a few minutes, the second team fulfilled their goal and source was nullified and dismantled. "Mission completed," X sighed happily from his end, as the combined efforts of the 17th and 21st Units easily finished their assigned job with no casualties and barely any damage sustained. X could practically hear his own team and the 21st screaming from the other side of the base from his end, cheering on their job well done. Or mayhaps it was the few members of each unit on his side, who were making enough noise by themselves to rival two platoons.

Such were the things X expected he would get used to, being the leader of the Irregulars 17th Unit. But he surprisingly never did, though at the very least he was starting to join in on the cheers.

It was only an hour ago that the Irregular Hunters Base received a 'code orange' priority warning from an anonymous source, as some alerts tended to be. They were usually sent by netnavis or netops from the inside, either moles or just insiders who have had a change of heart and wanted to stop a crime before it got out of control. This time, the alert was for a human hacker who had set up a virus generator inside a walled cyber network. X learned much later on that it was just a confused young man who wanted to get back at his boss, but didn't realize the extent of what his viruses were capable of.

The network was surprisingly formidable and the virus generation was even more surprisingly efficient. But thanks to the combined efforts of the 17th and 21st Unit, it was completed with a best case scenario.

X sat by the side of an overlook to the network – taking the form of a heavily-fortified palace – as his teams continuously cheered on their way back to the rendezvous point. No one was hurt, that was all he could ask for, but he sighed all the same.

"That's something I could never understand about you, you know. You're never happy with the outcome," a voice from behind said.

X gasped as he looked back. It was Zero. EXE, Special-S Class Hunter. "Can you not sneak up on me like that?"

Zero chuckled, something he thought he'd never do when someone spoke to him as casually as X just did. Then again, he never thought X would speak to him like that at all. He had almost resigned to hearing X's formal way of speaking for the rest of his existence. 'Mr. Zero' this or 'Sir' that.

"And I AM happy," X continued, looking to his team walking towards his direction from the distance. "How could I not be? There have been no casualties."

"You mean because you decided to be the bait with only a bit of backup?" Zero shrugged as he sat beside X, who no longer bothered hiding his damaged armour parts. "I know the damage you took is inconsequential, but that doesn't really change the fact that you took it all by yourself."

"Not at all. The 21st Unit still had the inside defences to deal with—"

"Which would have been threatening, had you not lured their big guns from the inside to come outside the fortification and attack you directly," Zero interrupted.

X looked at Zero, an eyebrow raised. "...Were you here watching the entire mission?"

"No I just got here actually, but it sounded like something you'd do," Zero smirked, nodding to himself that he got it right on the dot. "You brought this on yourself so I'm not going to pity you for taking the hits... and yet, despite it going as you all planned, you're still not happy?"

"Well, what do you think?" X closed his eyes as he looked to the sky and smiled. "A friend of mine forced me to become leader of a combat unit and I couldn't say 'no'. If it was up to me, I would be down there right now with the maintenance crew, doing clean-up instead of all this fighting."

"Your friend sounds amazing and is probably a total badass."

"Is your Special-S rank of yours for you or just to fit the size of that ego?"

"Hahahaha," Zero laughed than he ever had before, surprised X could make such a joke. X himself laughed as well, just as surprised. "Man, you're sure starting to sound like the kid. Starting to think your 'netop' is a bad influence on you."

"What, Lan? If anything, you and he sound the most alike!"

003153 HOURS BEFORE THE ZERO INCIDENT

Lan's mouth opened wide, a loud yawn escaping as he stretched laying down on his bed. A comicbook on one hand, he promptly continued reading until a familiar beep tuned in from the PET resting on the table beside his bed. He quickly yet clumsily got out of bed, an excited smile on his face, as the ringtone meant only that X was visiting from his work at the Irregulars.

"Good afternoon, Lan," X greeted from behind the screen. "I hope right now's a fine time to visit."

"Heck yeah it is, it was getting boring for a bit," Lan smiled excitedly. "You and Zero going for another match, I take it?"

"Sadly, yes," X shrugged. "I'm afraid Zero is quite adamant in having these sparring sessions with me, even though I've yet to win one. If your homework's done, Zero was wondering if you wanted to watch as usual?

Lan looked back to his bed, and then back to X. "Uh yeah. Yeah, it's done."

X was silent for a moment. "I have no idea why you insist on using that excuse when I am literally inside your PErsonal Terminal, with your entire work schedule, your as-of-yet-to-be-downloaded homework files, your grades, and this PET customization program that you have clearly been working on INSTEAD of your homework."

"Maybe it would work on you this time."

"Why did you even look at your bed?"

"Maybe my homework was there."

"IT IS INSIDE THIS DEVICE!"

"Alright alright, enough with the yelling," Zero suddenly said, popping out from the side of the PET screen and patting X in the back. "Just let the kid go with us. I need an audience, and the kid is damn good at commentating and observation involving netbattles."

"Zero, this PET isn't built to support two netnavis—"

"Which it wouldn't be if you'd quit your whining. I was getting tired waiting in the cyberspace outside. Now come on."

X sighed, slapping Zero's hands away. "Fine fine. Very well, Lan, you can go."

"Awright!"

"However," X warned as he put his hands on his waist, "you better get do your homework when you get back, or I will inform a certain Miss Mayl about your lack of progress."

Zero's ears pricked up, a curious grin on his face. "O-ho-ho! What is this I am suddenly hearing? The kid's got a lady friend that I've yet to mee—"

"It's NOTHING, Zero, shut it," Lan said angrily, though his face was bright red. He was embarrassed for a moment until he realized X and Zero weren't talking anymore. He looked to the PET and realized it was no longer active. He tried flicking the switch and resetting the device but nothing was working.

"...Uh-oh."

As X had stated, Lan's PET could not support the data from two heavy-duty netnavis and shut down completely. X and Zero were stuck in the PET for two days until Lan's father managed to transfer them back out with an external battery.

001406 HOURS BEFORE THE INCIDENT

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Zero exclaimed as he woke up from his Sleep Mode, his breathing ragged and feeling as though his core was about to burst. It happened again. Dreams. Nightmares of things to come. Two scientists. Rejection. Despair. A renegade organization. An endless war. An unstoppable virus. 'Light's greatest creation'. The X-Factor...

They weren't his memories, that much he was sure of. Long had Zero desired to find any details about his mysterious past before he joined the Irregular Hunters, but ever since his fight with X those many years ago, all that he ever uncovered was this miserable repetitive nightmare. An endless of loop of someone else's dreams.

Was it his creator? His creator's rival? Something to that effect, but he couldn't tell at all. All these flashes of information in his head deleted themselves from his as fast as he tried to recover them. By the time he woke up, there were no records he ever got them to begin with.

'It's alright,' he told himself as he wiped his face with both hands. 'It's okay... I'm still alive, I'm still kickin'... It's only been happening...'

'...for the last... seven... years...'

000753 HOURS BEFORE

X gasped in pain as his back hit the ground, rolling backwards with the force of Zero's attack until he eventually stopped. His arm and lower torso were heavily damaged, making it clear that it was time to concede.

"I win again," Zero smirked, dismissing his Z-Saber into the ether to lend X a hand up. "You really need to watch out for when I switch to Hyoroga to Ensuizan when I drop from above."

"Sorry I didn't put up a much better fight," X smiled, resting on Zero's shoulder as Zero handed him some recovery data. "I was too focused when you used one of your signature Giga Attacks. I couldn't tell if you were using Rakuhouha, Rekkoha, or Tenshouha in that last switch."

"...I used none of those. That was C-Flasher."

"C-Flasher?" X's eyebrow raised, confused. "There's another one?"

"I probably have like five variants of my Giga Attack."

"Why do you even call them that?" X said, shaking his head. "That's not a thing. 'Giga Attack' is not a thing. Also that term for a skill you made up sounds as egotistical as you."

"Well when YOU come up with a badass finishing technique, maybe then we'll let you name one," Zero shrugged. "Oh that's right, you haven't yet. Besides, what would you call it that sounds cooler than 'Giga Attack'?

"...'X-Drive'..."

"Oh, and THAT's not egotistical? It has your name on it!"

"What is even the difference between all these 'Giga Attacks' of yours anyway? They all look the same!"

"Actually," Lan chimed in from his viewing screen in the cyberspace sky, "Rakuhouha comes out in a fan-like pattern from where Zero hits the ground. Rekkoha summons energy beams from above. Tenshouha is a single large wide-beam that hits in a tall column. C-Flasher is basically a purple version of Rakuhouha that, while weaker, does multiple hits, and converts damage into Zero's energy."

X and Zero looked at each other dumb-founded.

"...How the hell did the kid even know any of that?" Zero whispered.

"...I'm more surprised he managed to tell the difference while we were fighting at processing speed..."

000501 BEFORE

"...I'm sorry, Zero, but I'm afraid there's nothing to see," Lifesaver. EXE, the Irregular Hunter's chief repair netnavi, said matter-of-factly as he released Zero from the scanner bed. Opening up a window display to operate his devices wirelessly, he continued to peruse through the data from his checkup. "As per the usual, the scan has shown nothing, even with the most upgraded scanner. No outside tampering, no viruses, no malware, nothing-"

"Then check again!" Zero exclaimed, slamming the bed with his fist as he lied back down and readied himself for another scan. "I'm getting tired of going over this with you, doctor, as much as you are doing this with me, but-"

"Zero," Lifesaver said, closing the interface and walking up beside the bed with him, "you're not like the other netnavis. Even with the upgraded tech they've given me here in the headquarters, I'm afraid whatever is going on with you may actually be out of the realm of my expertise. Otherwise..."

"..Otherwise?"

"...The only other explanation is that it's all in your head," Lifesaver continued, looking at Zero directly in the eyes. "You've always been able to handle many a thing that comes your way, S-Class Hunter. What is it this time that you haven't told me so far?"

Zero said nothing, before he closed his eyes and covered them with his hand. "...I'm scared."

Lifesaver raised an eyebrow, surprised at his answer. "Scared? Of what exactly?"

Zero lifted his arm a bit and looked at Lifesaver, and for a brief moment, all he could see was a broken-down netnavi as the world drowned in red around him, before it returned to normal. He covered his eyes again and muttered under his breath. "...I don't want to find out."

000336 BEFORE

X was resting by himself on the roof of the Irregulars headquarters, looking at the data pass by on the cyberspace skybox as much as he was observing new and upcoming members of the Irregular family down below. Thanks to everyone's work, the Irregulars, while still trying to keep a relatively-low profile, have become infamous to the darknetters and hackers the world over, and many have been inspired to join the cause.

X smiled. Though he still didn't enjoy all the fighting, much less being the commander of a squad that was made to keep fighting, he was glad everything they had done up to now had not been for nothing. Though he still had no memories, though he still didn't remember where he came from or how he was built, it didn't matter anymore. It was a good existence for a netnavi, one he wouldn't exchange for anything.

"...Heh. Feeling nostalgic?" a voice from behind said, though X didn't bother turning around. He knew it was Zero, as the red netnavi never grew out of the desire to sneak up on him while he contemplated by himself. "Kid not coming today?"

"No. Lan has one of those human customs called a 'date' today. I thought it best not to intrude on special human customs as such as those," X explained matter-of-factly.

"Glad the kid's doing alright with the Mayl girl... but there you go, back to the old speech again. Now I know for a fact that you were getting nostalgic," Zero laughed, but X could only reluctantly admit it was true. "Thinking about your origins? About where you came from? That's an incredibly human trait of yours."

"Actually, I was thinking about not needing them anymore," X said, closing his eyes. "I'm happy where I am now. Even if I never found out how I was built or for what purpose... the Irregulars and my team are my history now. Past AND present."

"...Getting over that desire is an incredibly human trait of yours as well," Zero said, but X could see there was seriousness in his eyes. "The more I know about you, the more I'm curious about where you came from. You've never felt like a netnavi, not when I first met you and not now. You've always felt more like a human than one of us."

"Interesting that you say that, because I was about to say the same about you."

Zero looked to X for a moment, and then looked back with a realization. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess you're right. As I've told you before, I don't know where I came from or for what purpose I was made for either. I'm exactly like you. In a lot of ways, really. Maybe that's why I also feel so close to Lan."

"Is that so bad?"

"Yes... No... I mean... Unlike you, I've never let it go," Zero said, tightening a fist. "It bothers me not knowing where I came from or how I can be so much more powerful than everyone else, and for what purpose those powers serve."

"One should learn from the past... to create a better future," X said solemnly.

Zero looked at him, and X only smiled. "A certain child told me of this. It's how I knew he was someone I could trust. He said that the past is filled with bad things that we've done and have happened. But as much as we want to forget about them, we can't and shouldn't. Because learning from those mistakes will prevent us from repeating them, even though we keep making new ones."

Zero looked to the distance with a sigh. "Yeah, that sounds like the kid alright. The wording could use some work, but I get what he was trying to say."

Zero looked at the hand he clenched and opened it, looking at his own palm. "Ever since we fought during the evaluation... I've been having these visions. 'Dreams' I guess you could call them. Memories from a distant past. My maker, I assume."

"From when I touched you trying to use my variable armaments, I remember," X thought. "I too got a certain flood of data, but what I saw was mine own missing memories, I believe. Data too corrupted to analyze any further."

"Like you said, the only way I'll get past my past is by knowing the how and why of it," Zero said, stretching as he turned around to leave. "So unlike you, I won't stop until I found something. Anything. Then I can move on. But it seems the only way I get these flashes of data is whenever I fight you."

"Oh. Is that the reason you've been forcing me to do these duels with you?"

"Actually no, I enjoy kicking your ass," Zero said without looking back, waving a hand goodbye. "Oh, and you know, I guess that too. Also, you make a good sparring partner. Later."

As Zero leaves X's view, he sighed. "You could have started with the first sentence instead of the crudest part you can think of."

000214 BEFORE

Cerveau smiled ecstatically as several scientists shake his hand with complimentary words. "Excellent work, Doctor Cerveau. Congratulations on making head of your division."

"Thank you, thank you," Cerveau shook his head. "My wife and baby girl will be overjoyed to hear the news."

"That's right you have a daughter, don't you? Doing well, is she?"

"Oh quite, Ciel's a whip-smart girl. Not even ten years old and already she has a fascination for my line of work."

"Takes after her father, looks like. I'm sure she'll be quite the scientist someday, and then we'll have a father-daughter SCILab team to celebrate soon."

"Hahaha, you're rushing the gun a bit there, but thanks for the compliment, sir."

"Please. Call me 'Dr. Weil'. All my coworkers do."

000109 BEFORE

"Gugh... Grrah... Guh-guh-GUHD-GOD... OF... DEST... DESTRAAA... AAAAHH," Zero exclaimed as he awakened from Sleep Mode once again. He looked around, panicked, as the walls of blood started feeling as real as they did in the dream, now fading from his memory banks.

"How... HOW!?" Zero cried angrily, almost bursting into tears as he covered his face. "Why do I keep forgetting as soon as I wake up!? Why... What was all this?... Why am I... so scared I'm going to regret knowing why this is happening..."

Zero blinked, looking to the walls again. "The God... of Destruction..."

000065 BEFORE

"Zero didn't show up today?" X wondered, surprised.

"Yeah. Said he was feeling 'ill', damaged even," X's superior officer said. "I heard you two have been sparring. Glad someone from B-Rank finally stepping up to fill the gap he's been asking for years, but I didn't expect you to damage him so. You must be stronger than you look."

"Not at all, sir, I haven't won against him yet," X replied, thinking back on the last few days. "As a matter of fact, Zero hasn't asked for a match in quite some time. Perhaps he's contemplating on some previous matters that caught his attention. I'll try to get a hold of him again and see if there's an issue just in case, but he assured he was fine otherwise."

"Thankfully, there hasn't been any emergencies requiring him recently, but I'd still like to make sure our best agent would be ready to be afield if and when a code red comes. Can I count on you?"

"Of course, sir."

000017

"Zero, you didn't show up again today," X said, leaving a voice message to Zero's location with his built-in communications. "You said you were fine yesterday as well, but the commander is getting worried. I am too. If this is because you found something about your past and... and it's not a pleasant find, please know that I'm here in case you need to talk about it. All right. I'll give you space for now, but I'll come see you tomorrow. End message."

000003

[ZERO, YOU HAVE 113 UNHEARD VOICE MESSAGES]

[ZERO, YOU HAVE 121 UNHEARD VOICE MESSAGES]

[ZERO, YOU HAVE 122 UNHEARD VOICE MESSAGES]

[ZERO, YOU HAVE 122451459124 UNHEARD V-V-V-VVV-V_V_V-V-V-V-VVVVVV-V-V-V-V-V-V_V_V_V-_V_-_V_V_-_V_V_V_V_V_V_V_VVVVVVVVVVV-]

000000

X decided to take a casual stroll through the cyberspace streets before heading to the Irregular Base that day, booting up earlier than he usually did. He did this on occasion – about once a month – to see the cyberworld from the view of everyday netnavis who didn't have to worry about the state of their world.

Even as casual as it was though, he was as alert as ever, checking for signs of weaknesses in the cyberspace area for viruses or hackers to explore, and watched for any suspicious activity.

But even as alert as he was, he knew the real reason he did this walk on occasion: because he still believed, that one day, there would come a time where he wouldn't have to be an Irregular. Where he wouldn't have to fight against viruses or evil-doers. Where the world was at peace, and he could be just like them: the normal netnavis.

It had been years since he started as an Irregular Hunter, and the world hadn't shown any signs of slowing down, of being at any kind of peace. And so he waited still. But someday, someday...

X stepped into the Irregular Base zone and immediately he felt something was wrong.

The base was quiet. No hunters were training outside, and no activity could be seen anywhere around the building. A power outage? No, that wasn't possible, as he knew backup systems would have already kicked in if that was the case.

'Is this some kind of drill? No, I would have kno-Was the base attacked somehow?' X gasped, taking out his X-Buster and slowly made his way to the main entrance, as carefully as possible. Enemies of the Irregulars have attempted to attack the headquarters before, but very few of them got past the perimeter defences and nothing ever got inside the building. In an area full of highly-trained anti-virus netnavis, that's to be expected. 'Did one of them manage to succeed this time? A hacker managed to disable all system backups or something? It's not outside the realm of possibility, but it's certainly unlikely...'

Even if that was the case, something obvious ran through X's mind: Where was everyone?

X charged his buster and entered the Irregular Base interior cyberspace area, looked inside, and was faced with a horrific sight.

Dozens of netnavis were strewed around the main hall, their data scattered across the floor, the walls, and hanging from the ceiling, slowly bit by bit, their remaining data disintegrating into nothingness. X could feel himself faint, but couldn't process what other human emotions he was feeling at the moment. Horror, sadness, disgust, fear, and rage all welled up from his processes that he never thought he could feel. If he had a human heart, at that moment it would have burst in an agony he could not contain.

X kept his guard up, but slowly looked around as he recognized the slowly-deleting bodies of his former comrades. Commanders, trainers, new recruits, receptionists... no one was spared. Moving slowly from room to room, cyberspace subsection to subsection, it was the same horrifying work.

Until he saw it. In one hallway, where a battle had clearly broken out. The data bodies of the 17th Unit, X's own command, was scattered across in pieces all over, their data corrupted and fragmenting slowly into the ether until eventually it would be no more. No amount of backup or recovery could bring them back from this slaughter.

"Autruche... Colbor... Dande... D-Doigt... Everyone is... is... Aaa... Aaaaah... Ghh..."

X could contain it no longer, and fell to his knees. In one single moment, his entire world was shattered. The Irregular team, an unstoppable fighting force of anti-virus hunters made to save cyberspace from the evils that threatened it – now, not even a memory.

X could feel those multitude of human emotions surging through his undiscovered core again. He wanted to know why this happened. And what did it.

Just then, as if to answer his question, he heard a loud sound, crackling static and air being sliced in two, as if a battle was in progress. 'A battle! Maybe someone's still alive!'

X ran to the source of the noise as he opened his scanners for a data analysis of the area. To his surprise, the energy source belonged to Zero, and instantly he felt relief welling up in his chest. 'Zero's here, and he's doing okay! If he's there, then he's probably already at least saved a couple of survivors... I need to get in there and lend him assistance so we can form a counterattack!'

X turned a corner and entered the room Zero's energy signature came from, where Zero had just finished off the attacker, the last target still sticking to the end of his blade.

X put his Buster down and let out a sigh of relief. "Zero, I sure am glad you made it safe. What's the situ—"

X's eyes dilated as the events in the room came to a clear view. It was no enemy at the end of Zero's blade, but another hunter. Ethos. EXE, one of the veterans, his face frozen in a look of horror and confusion as his body laid motionless and impaled on Zero's Z-Saber. His partner, Pathos. EXE, laid on the floor, his lower half across the room. Dozens of other disintegrating netnavis laid at Zero's feet, all having been destroyed by attacks caused by an energy-blade.

X's relief quickly turned to confusion and pain. "I... I don't... understand..."

As Zero split Ethos in half and tosses him away, he then turned to X – who, with his every step, took one step back, confused, afraid, and unsure.

"Zero, wha... How could... Why did... Aaa... aa..."

At that point, X could no longer mouth the words, much less give them voice. Not that it mattered, as the red netnavi before him showed no sign of understanding nor stopping his advance. Before X could lift his Buster once more, the red netnavi teleported instantly in front of him and lifted him up to the air with one hand by his neck.

The red netnavi smiled. "Dess... Destruction... W-Wily's orders... Destr-r-roy the Light's... greatest c-creation... Fulfill Wily's r-revenge... DESTROY LIGHT!"

"What're... What are you talking... about?" X said, trying to free himself from the red netnavi's grip in vain. "It's me... It's X! Do... Do you even know who that is?"

"Y-Y-Yes, I d-do," the red netnavi smiled, lifting his other hand to aim the tip of the Z-Saber at X's chest. "The X-Factor... My... My M-M-Master's work... A r-red c-copy... Purpose... God of Des-s-struction... Light's greatest creation... My purpose!"

"L-Light's greatest... what?" X exclaimed, confused as he continued to try prying himself off of Zero's grip. "Z-Zero, can you hear me? All this d-destruction, all this death... It's not just the work of a-any virus... grrhh... It's too precise, too planned, too q-quick... Too much like the real you, the regular you... T-Tell me, Zero... Tell me it... That it isn't you who did this..."

"Y-Yes," the red netnavi continued, gripping tighter. "The f-first X-Factor... The destroyer of World T-Three... M-Master's greatest enem-y-y... KILL... I M-MUST... KIIIILL!"""

"I... I... guh... don't understand," X replied, struggling to stay conscious. "This... This is what... you found? You were made... to kill someone? That's... That's it? That's all it was!?"

The red netnavi grinned wide. "D-D... DES...TROY... LIGHT!"

"What... What in the hell are you even saying anymore!?" X exclaimed, not completely understanding his insane ranting, but for some reason felt a renewed surge of both calmness and anger, even as the red netnavi held his throat so tightly he was close to snapping it in two. Maybe it was the absurdity of it all, but even at that moment, he wanted to laugh. "Is that actually you in there!? Am I even talking to someone who's still hearing what I say!? Is this really the work of ZERO, THE S-CLASS HUNTER!? ALL OUR WORK... JUST SO YOU CAN BREAK IT DOWN!?"

Zero said nothing.

"THEN WHAT," X continued angrily as his arms lifted to Zero's head, "WHAT DID THE OTHERS HAVE TO DIE FOR!? WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR NOW!?"

With those words, X used his variable arms 'Copy' ability as he touched Zero's head and unleashed as much energy as he could muster. At that instant, a massive surge of energy erupted that shot through both netnavis and electrified the entire room.

A massive surge of data flooded X's head far beyond even what he was capable of controlling, but it was enough to disorient Zero into dropping him onto the ground. However, the flood of data left him completely immobile in his own processing, unable to stand and fight back, while Zero repaired himself easily only seconds later.

As X's processing tried to restart itself, his optics could only watch as the 'Zero' that stood before him slowly but surely impaled him in the chest with his Z-Saber, took it out with a swing, and walked out of the Irregular Hunters Base forever. Out into the open cyberspace world.

Out where no one had any prayer of possibly stopping him.

To be continued...

NEXT CHAPTER: X finds out about his true past, and may have unlocked his true power in time to stop the Awakened God of Destruction from corrupting both the cyberworld and the realworld. However, he hesitates, believing that inside the Heart of Destruction lies his friend, and leaves the fight to his Four Guardians. Will he rejoin the fight against his former comrade soon enough, or will there be more casualties before the Incident is over? THE ORIGINS ARC'S END!

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this unusual format for the chapter. I thought I'd try something different to show the passage of time, sort of a countdown to the Zero Incident itself, sort of building up to it over time but not forgetting all the good times Zero, X, and Lan had together. I admit, Lan didn't use to have such a big role in X's life in the original script, but I thought it was a great chance to give respect to one of the very main characters of my beloved franchise, and one of two this series is based on. I wish I could give Geo and the cast of Star Force the same love, but I'm afraid that's already going beyond the scope I was going for with this story.

Full disclosure, I was supposed to upload this around the end of 2018, but wasn't happy with it and the format. Had to fumble around with it a bit, and I'm a bit happier with this final version, but I feel I might rewrite it again at some point. You probably won't have to reread it again or anything, just know that this is kind of a thing I do with some previous chapters as well. It's a writer thing, maybe.