The Earth Crisis (地球消滅/地球そんぼう Chikyuu Shoumetsu/Chikyuu Sonbou, Prologue/Isoc's speech?) is a historical event of the Maverick Wars, in which the Earth itself is endangered by the fall of space colony Elysium. The world is saved by the Hunters, but the resulting damage to the surface forces humanity underground for an indeterminate period. It would take a long time for the Earth to recover, with lingering consequences.
History[]
Prelude[]
Several months after the Great Repliforce War, the Maverick Sigma plots the fall of Elysium in conjunction with an old man in a scheme to awaken Zero's true self: the plan was to spread the Sigma Virus across both the Earth and Elysium, then combine the two strains to create a new virus in order to infect Zero and make him destroy Megaman X.
After turning Elysium into a virus colony, Sigma employs the mysterious Dynamo to drop it from orbit while Sigma himself tricks X and Zero into spreading the virus across the Earth. This results on an unprecedented Maverick epidemic, with countless Reploids infected on a global scale. With only 16 hours before Eurasia crashes on Earth, the Hunters first attempt to blast the colony with the Enigma cannon. When this plan fails, the Hunters resort to a more desperate gambit: strike Eurasia with a Space Shuttle. Zero volunteers to pilot the shuttle, taking the Earth's fate on his hands.
Epilogue[]
The attack is successful: Elysium is destroyed, and Zero returns safely to Earth. However, the resulting explosion causes major damage to the planet. This event also creates the powerful Zero Virus, and even produces a temporary rift between the Earth and Cyberspace. Sigma himself is defeated, but Zero goes missing in action.
As a result of Sigma's actions, many Hunters are lost during the crisis. In addition, the pollution makes the surface inhospitable, driving humanity underground. The troposphere suffers catastrophic damage, the seas become unfit for life and the remnants of Elysium create a huge crater on the Earth.
Incidents[]
With the humans underground, the Reploids begin the recovery efforts with great difficulty. Three weeks later, Gate, an outcast scientist infected by the virus attempts to take advantage of the Earth's weakened state, by taking over the Reploids with a virus created from Zero's DNA called the Nightmare. This scheme is stopped by the Hunters, who defeat Gate and a returning Sigma.