Zero in X8

Zero continues to work with X and Axl, now an official Maverick Hunter, in dealing with new threats. One of the new navigators, a purple-haired girl named Layer, has shown a romantic interest in him; Zero has not returned her feelings however, simply keeping the relationship professional. Zero's memories of the virus incident from X5 continue to haunt him, fueling his hatred towards Sigma. Upon confronting him, Sigma confirms that Zero is the original carrier of the Maverick Virus, which was transferred to Sigma prior to the first X game (presumably it happened when Sigma shattered Zero's head gem as depicted in X4, though the unlockable animation The Day of Σ in the PSP remake has put a few doubts on this). This information was long-since stated in Japanese sourcebooks, as well as implied as early as X4, but was never before made officially available to the public in other regions.