Zero/Maverick Hunter X

Zero (ゼロ) is the deuteragonist of Mega Man Maverick Hunter X. An A-Class Hunter in the 17th Elite Unit of the Maverick Hunters and the best friend of X, Zero mentors X as the hesitant B-Class Hunter struggles to bring out his potential.

X Mode
After Sigma's declaration of Reploid Independence on July 4 21XX (June in the US manual of the original game), dubbed "The Day of Σ", Zero, who at that point was the highest-ranked member of the Hunter organization, became the new leader, and he and a repaired X fought together against Sigma's rebellion. Zero saved X during a Maverick attack at the Central Highway from Vile. In Maverick Hunter X, Zero also responded to Vile's question about why Zero would aid a B-Class Hunter like X by informing Vile that he's nothing more than a Maverick at the present. After that, the two split up, with X's task to slow down the Maverick activities in nearby areas while Zero himself was on recon duty at Sigma's fortress.

They eventually rendezvoused at the outskirts and together invaded the fortress. Here, they encountered Vile for a second time. Zero was captured by Vile and imprisoned in a cage (in Maverick Hunter X however, Zero was left unconscious by Vile as bait for X). When X was also defeated by Vile, Zero managed to break free (or regain consciousness, as was the case in Maverick Hunter X) and destroyed Vile's armor by firing a charge shot from point-blank range, which was a successful, yet fatal action. Afterwards, Zero handed his Buster Parts to X (only in case X hadn't obtained the Buster Upgrade from the Light Capsule) and encouraged him to continue to fight before ultimately dying in X's arms (Maverick Hunter X also has Zero remarking on the irony of his actions in saving X leading to his death when he earlier told X not to be so careless ).

Vile Mode
In Vile Mode, unlocked by completing the main game in Maverick Hunter X, Zero's characterization was similar to the main game, including saving X from Vile. However, instead of chasing Vile off, Zero instead retreats with an injured X. X and Zero later reappears as the final bosses at Sigma's Palace Stage 3, where he learns that Vile is in fact working against Sigma as well as fighting X and Zero. He ends up severely injured by Vile, although he eventually managed to sneak up and grab Vile's leg and pin him before he could deliver the final blow against X, also referring to Vile's earlier rant about X "changing the world" as "maverick talk," also grounding Vile so he'd be caught in X's charge shot. It is unknown if Zero managed to survive the charge shot that critically wounded Vile, or if, like in the main game, Zero also ended up destroyed in a sacrificial effort to help bring Vile down.