Operation: Baby Eater (Or: Ray plays Megaman Zero 2)*

[Raype]

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS DEAD. Yeah, I decided to bring this sucker back from hell before moving forward with certain things. Forgive any sort of continuity breaks, since I am dealing with some REALLY OLD files here, that I need to deal with before I make FRESH AND CLEAN stuff. Anywho....

----------------------

To celebrate my triumphant return, let's do some random NPC blabbering. Because I know none of you read this shit anyway.



Oh, Mr. zero! I found a lost Cyber-elf earlier. Can you takethis? I think this Cyber-elf would be happier with other the Cyber-elves.

*You got Mikilar.*

Well, the scenery from here is outstanding... I can't help but forget about the fact that we are here on a mission.

Yes, there are several elves in the base, and yes, I'll be grabbing a few of them by talking to these assholes.



Mr. Zero, leave this area to me. I'll take care of any enemies by myself.

I just shot down an enemy minnow Mechaniloid.

Yeah, this guy is EXTREMELY UNIMPORTANT right now. But he eventually gets relevance (and a name!) later on in the series. Just pointing out he's always been around and wasn't simply pulled out of nowhere. But while we're here....



Now that we've met the gunners of the base, how about we meet a new character?



Um? You must be Zero. My name is Doigt. As Cerveau told me, you're so well-designed that I can't believe you're an old-type Reploid. I want to see your insides, so do you mind if I rip you apart?

Umm....WHAT?

Ha ha ha. I'm kidding. No really, I'm just kidding. Don't look at me like that.

You mean, like you just offered to take me apart and play with my insides, you psychotic fuck?

By the way, Cerveau is so very interesting... Once he gets deep into research, he does not hear anything... It seems there is no way that I will ever be a match for him.

This is Doight, he's Cerveau's assistant. And he's a little on the creepy side. But he does help keep our weapons in excellent shape, so perhaps he's not all bad...



Ah, Zero. Can you use your weapons well? By the way... I wanted to tell you one thing that I noticed while watching you... You seem to have a secret potential ability...

For example, if you defeat a boss enemy when your level is high, you will learn how to use their ability... And... If you use only Busters, the attack power of the bullets will increase.... If you defeat many enemies with the Shield, your defense power will increase.

It seems that there are more abilities inside you... It's really amazing... You are a Reploid that was created a long time ago, but you have such incredible abilities...

Yeah, he's just explaining how EX Skills work. Cerveau somewhat works as an in-game tutorial. As for why such an old reploid has such power, keep in mind that the modern tech of the X and Zero series was just reverse engineered from X and Zero themselves. With a couple exceptions, technology didn't really advance much beyond attempting to replicate Light's old designs. And seemingly Zero has no trouble using the few advances since the 20XX's.



Busy as always, I see



Are you OK, Zero? I wonder why Elpizo is bothering you with these very hard orders...

BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE AROUND HERE IS FUCKING USELESS.

If there is a very difficult mission, I will help you. Please tell me if you need the power of the Cyber-elf.

And, I just remembered! The computer at the entrance has the data that I have studied. Please take a look at it when you have time.

As you might have guessed, Ciel provides similar services to those she offered in Z1. But let's ignore that and check out this computer for a little bit of a history lesson.



Do you want to know?
>YES
No

Request accepted. What do you want?
>Maverick Wars
Cyber Elf

--(MAVERICK WARS) The Maverick Wars was started by the Sigma virus, which terrified the word. Eventually the Maverick Wars turned into everyone misusing the power of the Cyeber-elves [sic]. Thanks to X, the evil Cyber- elves have been deleted. No further information can be found.

A bit of a history lesson to the X series. This is detailing a little bit about the Maverick Virus and the Sigma virus that was central to that whole mess. According to this, the wars eventually changed into a huge misuse of the Cyber Elf power. That gives a bit of a time frame on when the elves were made and gives you an idea that it clearly wasn't smooth sailing when they came into existence. But more explanation on the how's and why's will have to wait until I get around to the Elf Wars. About the only thing to bring up here is that the Sigma virus is now a thing of the past.

--(CYBER-ELF)
The Cyber-elf is a program created to support humans and Reploids. The Cyber-Elf has its own will and can talk. However, once it is used, it dies.

Not all that informative. It's more or less the basic definition of what a Cyber Elf is, a sentient computer program that exists as a support. Sort of like an advanced Mechaniloid in a way.

Okay, enough history, more yakkity yak yak



Oh, Zero! How are you doing in the new Resistance Base? I was told not to go to the other room, so I'm talking with it here... It is getting worse, so I want Ciel to fix it... But Ciel is busy... Boring!

Ciel: All work and no play. But I guess lives are at stake here, so it's kind of justified

Ciel showed me a very pretty Baby Elf in her room... I wonder how it will look when it grows up...? I named the elf Crea! Ciel said this is a good name!

So the cyber elf that Ciel is researching is named Crea. Noted. And since it has a name, you just know it's going to be important sooner or later.



Ha ha ha... You're doing very well, new comer. Now you must defeat me to move on.

Goddammit, really?

No, no, I was only kidding!

Well good. I'd rather not spill your artificial blood all over this brand new base.

Do you know Ciel? I think she shouldn't be a human being.The reason why is because humans age and grow old. But, there is a Reploid who purposefully asked to look like an old one... That's funny.

Clearly he wants Ciel to remain jailbait forever. And it appears he knows Andrew.

What? Is there anything more you want to tell me? I wanted you to tell me everything you can.

But if I told you things I wouldn't be a (mostly) silent protagonist! So off we go, before Zero starts talking about his feelings or angsting over all the friends he lost.



Hey, Zero! No one would believe me, but I'll tell you anyway. I saw green wind blow in the sky for a moment, just when you were being carried here. Ha ha ha... Or maybe I was seeing an illusion?

This reeks of foreshadowing. Say, do we know anyone green?

Hey, Zero! You know what? Inside the bushes in the forest, you can find various things... You will also find a ruin when you progress, which has many secrets. They are from the mystery of the Maverick Wars.

And a couple hints. This guy is Hirondelle. He's our spy. Well, one of them, anyway.



What is happening Zero? If you have time, please talk with old Andrew. I want to listen to his stories, but I am needed here. If you talk with him, maybe you'll get something good out of it...

Rocinolle is pretty....useless from a dialogue front. But hey, I smell sidequest!



Oh, Zero... Are you doing well? When I was new, I used to cause everyone problems because I couldn't learn things quickly. But you're working very hard without complaining about anything... Good luck, young man.

Andrew is a bumbling dufus. But it works.

Zero... If you have time, I will tell you about my younger days. Want to listen?

Remember this sidequest from the first game? Yeah, let's keep the old man company and listen to him ramble about "simpler times".

>YES
No

Oh! You want to listen! I was working for a bread factory in a small village... There was a clean and beautiful creek near the factory. The location was the best for making bread. All the bread we made sold very well. And the bread which sold the best was... Wait, I know I can remember this...

Gramps is having one of his moments again. Note that he was a baker by profession. Much later in the series, references were made to this.

Yes, it was buns with jam... No, no, no, buns with cream was our best seller. Some people came to buy our bread from far away places because they heard such good things about our bread. I used to work hard and not rest at all because I was happy to see the smiles of those who ate our bread. I had very happy days as a baker...

Do robots even need sleep? What exactly would that even accomplish? And if they sleep, do they dream? And what if one were to dream of electric sheep?

But... Who expected that incident... I feel sad to remember... Sorry, I can't tell you anymore. I'm just so sad now...

A troubled past, you say? Yeah, it's one of THOSE stories. Oh well, looks like we gotta come back later for the rest.



Let's just ignore Hibou for now



Nice to meet you, Zero. My name is Perroquiet. I came here to help Ciel locate data, but there are just too many here... However, I think the data on Baby Elves that Ciel wants is
not here...

This chick hanging out in the library is Perroquiet. As you might guess, she's Ciel's lab assistant/researcher/gopher.

It will take a month to check all the data here. I understand she wants to study and test it as soon as possible, but this schedule is too difficult to accomplish.

By the way, I've never seen such a beautiful elf...

Wait, why exactly does a reploid need glasses anyway? And for that matter, why are they stereotyping the one reploid that has glasses to spend all her time at the library?



Hiya! My name is Menart! I'm not liked by everyone just because I always blow off my work!

Don't work so hard, because you won't defeat Neo Arcadia!

This slacker here is Menart. He works at the docks, but I guess saying he "works" is giving him a bit too much credit. He's also a bit of a pessimist.



Hello, Mr. Zero. My name is Autruche. I'm ashamed to say this... I'm tall but I'm not good at heavy work. In spite of the fact, I have to carry goods in storage... I don't know who decided the assignment but they do not have any knowledge of aptitude.

Oh, I'm sorry... I really shouldn't complain.

And last and most certainly least, this is Autruche. The dullest mod depressing reploid in this place.

Keep up the good work, Mr. Zero. I also hang in there...

Somehow...

This guy's making me depressed, let's get out of here. BUT FIRST!



Anywho, this calls for some charts. Because CHARTS!



This should allow you to more or less keep things straight. I kept the earlier versions of the images for clarification purposes and all that. And this chart is kind of a work in progress, as it will change as we move ahead due to various circumstances that would be spoilers were I to discuss them here.

As you can see when compared to the earlier version of the resistance chart, Elpizo really organized shit and got the resistance properly organized. They're actually a competent organization now, instead of a pretty half assed collective. They're actually more organized than Neo Arcadia at this point (sorta), but that's another story.

----------------------------------------------

No video this time, because of image limits and bullshit. Plus this took a while. Thankfully I probably won't have to do another huge text dump like this for a while. Or at all (not sure why I bother, to be honest). But it is progress and a reason for me to actually knock out the remainder of this project. Which is good because I do have a couple videos already recorded. It's just the formatting being a pain in the ass. Damnable complicated game style!

Next time: some actual video and me playing a fucking level!