Two years…
It had been two years since Pater Aestus had been defeated and the Lava War had ended. Two years since the greatest bloodshed the planet had ever seen. Tens of thousands of fish had lost their lives in the struggle to free themselves from the Pater’s oppression. Despite such a loss, those that remained created an age that had never been surpassed in Aboveworld’s history. This period saw widespread peace, tranquility, and unity. Parties that had argued for so many years came together to build the world, and its government, back to its former glory. This great age of peace, sadly, came to end far too soon.
The FMMA: Just while the Lava War was ending, scouts managed to recover the remains of their previous leader, and in a short time restored Aurora to life. This was proven to be a mistake, for their leader, so much time away from her forces, suffered a severe mental degradation that affected most of the FMMA forces, some of the High Council included. After careful manipulation, the still sane members of the council triggered a brutal civil war between themselves and Aurora’s loyalists, culminating on her defeat by being launched into space via rocket to the FMMA space station, ending in an intense firefight between her and the security staff. Since Aurora still had absolute influence over the machines, her departure and final death hit too hard for the minds of the robots. They forgot what little humanity they had, becoming bolder and more pragmatic, while erasing many of the restraints they had regarding thier approach to the planet and it’s denizens. Because of this, a new overseer was chosen for the position of Inquisitor: the now former general, HAL. Because of his efforts, with the most sane of the High Council, the FMMA has been having a sort of positive relationship with the government of 4546B.
The SAHP: It had been two years since the SAHP's leader, Silverwing, had been captured. All presumed him to be dead. Shortly after his disappearance, the SAHP elected a new leader, Silverwing’s own son, Redfin. He swore to get revenge on the machines for what they had done to his father. He was young, persuasive, and fiery, and he rallied the whole of the SAHP behind him. He attempted to lead several small campaigns, but failed at seemingly every turn. Redfin’s own wife had been killed in a raid on one of the machines’ caches. After hearing this news on the battlefield, Refin was overcome with rage and tore the machines apart with unimaginable cruelty, gaining the SAHP’s first, and only victory thus far. Now, battered and beaten, the SAHP plans its next move.
The Conglomerate: Little is known what happened to them. Mere months ago, The Conglomerate, sent to help with the recovery of the innocent citizens of The Underworld, suddenly fled. Any and all help sent to find them have never returned. However, a brief contact was made by an FMMA leader from what sounded to be a fledgling private in the Conglomerate army. “[static] H-hello? Does anyone copy? Does anyone- [static] We're finally able to keep a signal live long enough to send this message but I'll have to be brief. I am Karno Vanpattis, and I have gathered as many Grand Reef refugees as I have been able to find, and am asking that they have a place to stay until the ruins of the Conglomerate have been fully revitalised. My group have deemed themselves the Vanpatites, and I will give you our co-ordinates now... They ar- [static]”
The EPCA: Of all the parties, it truly would be the party that stood by peace all this time, to be the last ones to retain peace. The Reefbacks, led by the president
@Ralij, have made amazing strides in keeping the peace between the parties. They have annexed many of the small parties, pleading for greater roles of government for small fish, and created a large, and influential governing board. It is unknown whether or not the EPCA will back down in the future election, or if they will even be allowed to.
The UCR: While General Draco has sustained open and frequent correspondence between himself and the Aboveworlders, a majority of the UCR has remained hidden. They were sent down to The Lava Zone, to help with the rebuilding of the innocents of the Underworlders with The Conglomerate and The DC. Whether or not their absence is by design or not is unknown. However, those who did not help with the rebuilding have faced extreme poverty and hunger. The Oculus had joined the EPCA, and as such, abandoned the Jellyshroom Caves and joined the other small fish in the Grassy Plateaus. As Crabsnakes cannot come into contact with direct sunlight, they have resorted to feeding off the meager population of Biters that reside in the Caves, which has in turn enraged the GCSC. More and more Crabsnakes have begun fleeing to the Lava Zone, never to be heard of more from the Aboveworlders.
The DC: The Devorandem Confederacy has been oddly silent as of the last year. Despite the Reapers past exploits of daring violence, after the Lava War, they stagnated and eventually fell out of power. While the party is still together and participating, their contributions have been few and far between. General Carrie has answered questions of their inactivity with, “We just need time to come back to ourselves. After the death of Bonecruncher, we’ve all lost a part of ourselves. We will continue to help the Underworlders with their continued survival, all we ask is some understanding towards the DC.”
The GCSC: After the death of General Bite's family, he slowly dragged himself down into an intense bout of depression. The GCSC cut themselves off from the rest of Aboveworld, even from those soldiers stationed in the Jellyshroom. They confined themselves into the Mountain Island under the General's orders, and planned to stay there until those piloting the giant Antecedent mech could return from the Antecedent Castle, which could take months, or even years. That is, from the ruins of the Precursor Array not long ago, they found a mass of depleted Ion crystals, still intact from the previous detonation. From these shells of Ion, and the help of the few FMMA scientists that would help them, they were able to create new Ion crystals, able of generating enough power for Antecedent mech for decades. And, thanks to the FMMA, these new Ion Crystals were made incapable of overloading and ultimately exploding. From this new found discovery, and the prospect of unlimited power, General Bite ordered the entire GCSC to the Lava Zone, in hopes of finding the Antecedent mech.
The PH/SP: Soon after the Lava War, the Warper leader, Enderguy, left to return the Void creatures back to their homes. After months of direct contact, he announced that he would be staying with the Void creatures to learn of their way of life and their power, to see if they could become long-lasting allies with the Aboveworlders. He subsequently cut off his transmission, and his whereabouts are only up to speculation. To keep the PH/SP together, a newly made Warper, by the codename of “Watcher” rose to the tops of the Warper ranks, and eventually became their leader. Under the leadership of Watcher, the PH/SP have become much more efficient, albeit much more secretive. A declaration was made by Watcher, detailing his highest rank officers and their ultimate goal. “INCOMING PH/SP TRANSMISSION FROM UNIT NO.57007 "WATCHER" - HEAD PH/SP COMM DIRECTOR... ... ... ... TRANSMISSON RECEIVED. LOADING PHSPDATA.TXT ... LOADED FACTION NAME: PH/SP (PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY PARTY) FACTION GOALS: REDUCE CARAR INFECTION BY 35%, [CLASSIFIED]. FACTION TROOPS: [CLASSIFIED] SELF - WARPING QUARENTINE ENFORCEMENT UNIT [CLASSIFIED], [CLASSIFIED], 100x REPAIRBOT MK1 FACTION COMMANDERS: SOUTHERN SQUADRON: UNIT NO.00451: "MONTESQUIEU" WESTERN SQUADRON: UNIT NO.24601: "VALOR" NORTHERN SQUADRON: UNIT NO.64222: "FADE" ELITE SQUADRON: UNIT NO.57005: "REAPER" FACTION - CONTROLLED AREAS: SOUTHERN BLOOD KELP, SPARSE REEF,
END TRANSMISSION.”
The Concursores: While not truly a governmental party, the Concursores have made a name for themselves by their extravagant “Peace to The Underworld” rallies, led by none other than ex-POW, DJ Ampeel. They, in fact, began the efforts to relieve the innocent Underworld creatures, by offering up their help, and most importantly, their music. By such standards, have the Concursores been recognized as a major contributing factor for the peace that had been enjoyed by all for so long.
The NDSL: A new governmental party based in the Lava Zone. Not much is known about them, only that they are comprised of Anti-Totalitarian army leaders. From their few transmissions to Aboveworld, they are led by, a now nameless, Dragon; and they are currently under political fire from both Pater-sympathizers and enraged, poverty-ridden fish living in the desolate and inhospitable conditions that the Lava Zone provides in spades. More is clearly to be revealed from them, but the question of when, is unknown.
And these are the conditions that the inhabitants are in at this present time. Though, a new conflict is brewing just under the flippers of 4546B’s residents. Only time will tell their actions, and whether or not these creatures can truly live without a Pater.
Let the Aftermath of the Lava War begin.
