It was honestly surreal hearing Hajime say sorry to him - not simply because of his views, but because he'd never heard anyone bother to. Zero didn't know what to make of it. After all, he'd understood and accepted the reasons behind it. Not being the type to dwell on the past, his first instinct was to brush off the apology as unnecessary. After all, it changed nothing about what happened - all he could do was continue forward in his new life.

But if being sealed away was a mistake to be regretted... If X hadn't been alone in the coming years, during the founding of Neo Arcadia and the struggles of post-war conflict, how different would the world have become? It was a possibility he'd never spared time to think about before. X had helped give Zero meaning, but Zero had always helped X stay focused.

Would X's heart have become so numb and sorrowful if Zero was there to support him? Would Neo Arcadia still have replaced him with a callous dictator who oppressed reploids in the name of necessity? The more Zero thought about the state of the future, the more uncomfortable he felt about his sentence.

With a heavier heart, the reploid frowned and told Hajime, "You're the first to say so. ...Thanks."