Mega Man Zero 2/New Resistance Base

A New Leader
The game will shift to a cutscene of the New Resistance Base, a far superior and much nicer base, compared to the old, decrepit one of the first game. A group of Resistance Soldiers, with a pair of lieutenants, Isosu and Pasosu, are listening to the welcoming speech of a Reploid named Elpizo, who has been appointed as the new commander of the Resistance. Elpizo is pleased with his new position as leader, and the completion of the new base. His speech causes his soldiers to cheer him on as they file out.

Afterward, Ciel walks into the room to find Elpizo wondering if it was a good idea to make him leader. Ciel stepped down to spend more time on her research on the energy crisis, and after Elpizo's extrodinary actions he took to organize and strengthen the Resistance, she's very confident in his abilities. However, Ciel warns him that they organized the Resistance to defend themselves, not to go to war. Elpizo tells her he's buying time for her research before Copy X is eventually rebuilt. Ciel tries to get him to promise not to be too strict as a leader, but Elpizo dosn't gets the chance to respond.

Colbor rushes into the room and informs both of them that they've just found Zero lying unconscious outside the base. Immediately, Ciel springs into action with several soldiers to rescue him. All Elpizo can do is watch...

Maintenance Room
Now, the cutscene shifts to the maintenance room, where Zero is recovering on a repair bed while Cerveau monitors his condition. Finally, after lengthy repairs, Zero wakes up, much to Ciel's pleasure. Cerveau raises the repair unit so Zero can sit up. Ciel's immediately expresses her relief that he's okay, and fills him in on what has happened since his long abscence, along with an apology for not getting the chance to rescue him. Meanwhile, Cerveau is also happy to see Zero alive and well, and fixed his weapons. Cerveau even has a new weapon to give him. Ciel and Cerveau both want Zero to pay a visit to them, and leave the room.

Exploring the Base
Now that you're in tip-top shape again, you can pay a visit to Ciel and Cerveau. Leave the maintenance room, and you'll run into Colbor. He mentions that new Resistance soldiers have arrived, and have yet to meet you. You can meet a new member by going back inside the maintenance room. Rocinolle, the Resistance medic, will talk to you. However, you need to visit Ciel and Cerveau first, and you can't go past Colbor, so head down the hall to the right and enter the door marked CMD. You'll enter the command center.

Zero will meet Elpizo for the first time. Elpizo explains his part in things, and wants Zero's support to destroy Neo Arcadia. Zero has disbelief in his plans, because doing so will be extremely difficult, but Elpizo doesn't see any other solution to their problems. He gets a laugh out of Zero's confusion and calls him Mr. Legend, but gets the feeling Zero doesn't like him too much.

Visiting Cerveau
Head further to the right after your chat with Elpizo to find two doors marked LAB and CIEL. Since Cerveau has his own lab now, it's time to see what work he's accomplished with the proper equipment. Go inside and speak to him.

Cerveau greets Zero, but expresses dismay that Zero used his weapons so much that they wore down and broke. Fortunately, since Cerveau invented them himself, he fixed them up, and then some. He'll give you his newest creation, the Chain Rod, an upgraded Triple Rod, and also hand back your  Shield Boomerang you had in the last game. Like the other weapons, you'll need time to level them up again. The one you might have trouble adjusting to is the Chain Rod. Unlike the Triple Rod, it fires out as far as it can go in one shot, and can be used to hook onto objects and pull them in like a fishing line, such as the crate in the room. It also hooks onto the ceiling and can be used to swing back and forth. The further you extend it, the more momentum you can gain. The charge attack the Chain Rod has is the same with the Triple Rod's, but you need to level it up once to learn it. Cerveau will explain how the Chain Rod works if it seems too bizarre, so don't worry about getting confused with this weapon.

Visiting Ciel
Ciel is also waiting for you to pay a visit. Enter her room next. She's sitting at her desk at work, but immediately notices Zero. After asking how he is, she says Zero found the base before falling unconscious, but he doesn't recall coming anywhere near it. Ciel has spent the past year constantly working on a way to develop something equal to Energy Crystals and solve the energy crisis. While ruling, Neo Arcadia, Copy X started calling Reploids inferior, and had many scrapped so humans would have enough crystals available. Ciel sees this has occured in past history. Knowing a substitute energy usually ends the conflict, she's studied to try and make one. Ciel is upset that Elpizo doesn't take her solution seriously, since he thinks Neo Arcadia must be defeated, but Ciel knowns the only real way for peace is through science. She decides to get back to work and offers to save your data, which is a very good idea about now. You can still talk to her, or ask about Cyber-Elves. This game lacks Transervers, so Ciel's the one to come to so you can feed and download Elves if you need to. There is also a strange Cyber-Elf in a capsule Ciel is studying. It happens to be from Elpizo, since he used to work in Neo Arcadia and had a chance to retrieve one just before joining the Resistance. For some reason, it's much more different from any normal Cyber-Elf.

If you've paid your visits to Ciel and Cerveau, then you need to check in with Elpizo and see what he's doing. He appears to be on the verge of something big...

Operation Righteous Strike
Upon returning to the command center, Zero will walk in during Elpizo's briefing with his troops. Elpizo is planning a guerilla assault on Neo Arcadia he calls, "Operation Righteous Strike." Elpizo's troops will attack the city while it's still vulnerable, since Copy X isn't around to rule it. The troops are stirred into even higher spirits after hearing him speak, and file out again.

After speaking to his troops, Elpizo turns his attention to Zero and keys him in on the impact this operation could have. If it succeeds, it will be a massive blow to Neo Arcadia and a morale boost to the Resistance. Even so, Zero is still doubtful on how well things will turn out, but even he can't convince Elpizo to change his mind. Elpizo does manage to recognize what Ciel told him about being too harsh. Elpizo shows interest in Zero's great skills and asks him to help out with his plans for the strike.

When Elpizo asks for your help, answer yes, and he will present you with four missions that have proven to be too difficult for his own troops to complete, as Mutos Reploids protect each area. The four are: Hyleg Ourobockle, Poler Kamrous, Phoenix Magnion, and Panter Flauclaws. Out of these missions, the easiest by far is Rescue Reploids in the Forest of Dysis, Hyleg Ourobockle's area. The hardest is Destroy Power Reactors in the Power Room, Phoenix Magnion's area, but successfully completing it first will eliminate most of the Pantheon troops in the other areas and make the remaining missions easier.

You can choose any mission you like right now, but there are still more places in the New Resistance Base to visit.