Beyond 21XX: A Broad View of the Story

Wow, sorry for the delay, everyone. Actually getting to sit down and write this post has been nothing if not a challenge in itself. Throw life in the way, too, and… well, here we are.

(Fun fact — I actually wrote the above back in April 2024, when I last got to work on this. Never imagined it would be so prescient! Maybe I jinxed myself…)

In case you missed it before — it’s been a while, after all — I made a post back in December 2023 which introduced Beyond 21XX, a longtime-brewing (more than 20 years!) concept of mine that’s designed to expand the world of Mega Man X in a way that puts the power into the hands of you, the creator, while still remaining faithful and respectful to the canon Capcom has created and will hopefully continue to create in the years to come.

And when I talk about creating, I mean all the stuff that helps make this fandom great. Art. Stories. Fan games. Original characters. Comics. Music. Role playing games among friends. Maybe even a big ol’ collaboration to make some of these things bigger together than they would be on their own.

For a long time, I’ve felt that the world of Mega Man X is bigger than just X, Zero, and Sigma. This is where we, as fans, can take that vision of a bigger world, a bigger universe, and go beyond.

Anyway, enough hyperbole. You’re here for substance, and I’m here to provide. What follows is basically a broad outline of the narrative of Beyond 21XX, and I’ll follow up later with more updates regarding various, more specific bits of lore and worldbuilding.

***The story of Beyond 21XX begins years after the Mega Man X series as we know it today, with Mega Man X8 as the latest pre-Command Mission/Mega Man Zero point, but taking place before either of those futures. Incidentally, this leaves room for a Mega Man X9, 10, and so forth to potentially slide in there with little complication.

In the aftermath of Mega Man X5, a Reploid named Black Draco has taken a look at the state of the world. Things were bleak before Eurasia came crashing down, and when it did, that only made things worse. Realizing that another such disaster could spell the end of the world as they knew it, put a plan into action.

That plan was to create a new space colony. Unlike Eurasia and the other space colonies designed to orbit the Earth, this one would be exploratory in nature. The objective: To find a new world to inhabit that could sustain them, as well as serve as a sort of fallback spot if another such disaster occurred. This colony would be known as “the Ark.”

The Ark would be something of a supercolony. While its total size could be comparable to that of Eurasia, this colony would be comprised of a singular central “city” dome, surrounded by six smaller “sub” colonies that would connect with it, and to each other. The sub-colonies, each with their own unique facilities and biomes, would be scattered, linking up with the central colony when the time came for departure and acting together as one as they make their voyage through space. This way, it would be considerably more difficult to use it to repeat the Eurasia Incident, and easier to take out an individual units that might be utilized in such an attempt.

It’s the day of the launch of the Ark where our story truly begins, as the many humans and Reploids who would be departing the Earth in the interest of exploring the universe, to leave the fighting behind, to have a knew beginning, or perhaps all three, had gathered to say what could be their final goodbyes to their friends and loved ones who would be staying behind. After all, there was no telling how long it would take to find a new world — or if they would even succeed at all.

Unfortunately, it was this opportunity that Sigma would take to make his move. Leading his Four Horsemen, they would attack with the intent of preventing anyone from leaving, thwarting the launch, and ultimately burning everything to the ground. With civilians caught in the crossfire, Black Draco would make the call to evacuate everyone they could in the shuttles while the Ark’s armed forces and the Maverick Hunters covered them. With the rest of the shuttles safely evacuated, Black Draco and his crew would take the last shuttle to join them and send the colony on its way.

However, Sigma wasn’t going to let them go that easily, and with his Horsemen, pursued the final shuttle into space. It was only thanks to X, who took a calculated risk and had Alia teleport him out to intercept them that the Ark crew was able to get away — something those who witnessed it would always remember and be grateful for.

***The above portion represents a part of what Beyond 21XX is about, as there is more to the story. For all intents and purposes, this “springboard” could set up anything from a Mega Man X fan game to fan fiction or table-top styled role playing games to further flesh out the events. This is just the beginning, on two fronts.

For the Earth-based portion, you just know there are bound to be eight Mavericks involved as well as Sigma’s Four Horsemen. Who are they? What are they after? That’s deliberately left open-ended, and is where you come in, and let your creativity take over. Certain details and broader strokes like what is outlined above (and in “Legends of the Halcyon Era 50 – Revelations: The Legacy of Avion“) are a harder canon, but many of the finer details are deliberately flexible and left open to interpretation.

Not to say one couldn’t do a “What If?” type of story as well, if so inclined…

***The journey to find a new world would take many years, as the Ark traveled through space, discovering and visiting many new worlds. Many would prove to be unsuitable or already inhabited by other life forms, some of which would be adopted into new Reploid forms.

Eventually, after a decades-long search, a new world was discovered. A planet much like Earth, albeit larger and orbited by two moons. After verifying that it was bereft of any active civilized life forms, the crew of the Ark at long last began to settle on the planet below and make a new home there.

They called the planet “Avion”.

Once they’d established themselves on Avion, they set about sending out scout and exploration vessels to investigate other worlds and initiate contact with other new cultures. However, what they would discover on some of those worlds shook them to their core.

Some of these worlds were dead worlds. Worlds which had been taken over and then mechaformed them into something more suitable for mechanical life forms, then used, and eventually, abandoned. Whatever life and civilization had once existed on those worlds was no more.

And they all had one other thing in common: The presence of a uniquely-styled — and unmistakable — symbol.

Unbeknownst to many, when the Great Repliforce War on Earth took place, they had sent out their own exploration units to find a new place for them to settle. When Final Weapon was destroyed and the Repliforce lost, those units instead opted not to return to Earth, with the next in the chain of command assuming the mantle of General.

Declaring the Repliforce superior to all other forms of life, they carried this warrior mentality of “survival of the fittest” with them as they found new worlds — inhabited worlds — conquered them, and increased their numbers to not only match those who had been lost on Earth, but to exceed that number exponentially.

When the Avions took notice, a decision had to be made. Though no one would be forced to do so, many chose to fight in the face of the overwhelming odds, feeling it was their responsibility. In addition, there was little to indicate that if they didn’t step up, then they wouldn’t be next, once their existence was discovered.

The wars between the Avions and the Repliforce would be fought on and off across many battlefields and many worlds for several thousand years. When one General fell, another would rise to take their place as the conflict raged on. On some worlds, the Repliforce would even manage to paint the Avions as the aggressors, turning the denizens of those worlds against those who were there to help them. New technologies would develop, allegiances would change, and many would fall in the pursuit of everlasting peace.

***The devil, they say, is in the details.

While I’ve managed to create the broad strokes, many of the finer elements, I leave to those who wish to craft their own stories. What battles took place? What worlds were visited? Who participated in them? Who won? Who lived, and who died?

Beyond 21XX is designed so that those who are faithful to the canon of the Mega Man X series and have existing fan characters can craft a new destiny for them that still adheres to that canon, yet is one that isn’t bound as such by events such as The Elf Wars.

And of course, new ones can be created as well. It’s a big universe (and a wide expanse of time), after all.

While there is a general freedom to do whatever you please within the loosely-outlined canon, I will be offering further looks at other pieces of the puzzle in the future. We’ll look at Avion, some of the new kinds of technologies, lore, and other things to help fill out this new space for us to occupy. I’ve even got some springboards for ideas that you can base your works around, if you’re having difficulty imagining your own.

Ultimately, my hope is to give the fandom a new way to thrive and flourish with its many wonderful original characters, art, animations, music, fan games, fan fiction, collaborations, and other endeavours that show why we love this franchise so much.

More to come!

#WeAreMegaMan #WeAreRockman—

Thanks for reading! I’m still figuring things out on how to do this, but if others are interested in joining me on this journey to create a new corner of the Mega Man universe — one by fans, for fans — then maybe we can figure it out together.

And in case you haven’t heard, re-upping our hosting for the next few years took a big bite out of our bank account, so if you like what we’re doing here, would like to see us expand our breadth of content, and can kick in a few bucks to our Patreon or buy us an E Tank on Ko-fi, we’d greatly appreciate it!

Note: I retain full rights to my own concepts and creations, but on that same note, so do you for yours. You’re free to use whatever Beyond 21XX material of mine you like for fan fiction, fan art, role playing games, videos, music, fan games, whatever — as long as you’re not trying to do some sort of commercial product with it or otherwise monetize it. (If you’re interested in something like that, talk to me, maybe we can come to some sort of agreement.)

Black Draco, Ark, and New General character designs by LBD “Nytetrayn” and Victor Campan. Character art by Victor Campan. Arrangement by LBD “Nytetrayn”. Beyond 21XX and “Decide Your Destiny” logos by LBD “Nytetrayn” and EFEXTEX. Beyond 21XX theme “Galactic Voyage” and video by Jewel Maiden.