Chapter Text
The Undergu Empire was an underground civilization, a world below our own, and the very opposite of Sky Land. It was inhabited by hybrids who lived in caves and dwellings made of stone in this endless maze of rock formations. On the tallest hill, there was a dark silhouette of the royal castle with its many spires. There was no sun or moon, so the only light sources were glowing blue and pink crystals, which grew from the rocks. There was also no vegetation anywhere (except for species of fungi in the damper areas), which meant that the main source of food were animals. Some of the hybrids were more animal-like, others were more human-like, but everyone understood the universal law: that only the strong were fit to survive.
Kabaton appeared out of a cloud of black smoke and was instantly met with the cold, dank air of his base. He found himself inside a spacious cave with dark blue stone walls, illuminated by big crystals growing from a few spots. Through the large entrance, Kabaton could see the dark purple sky that never changed.
When the anthropomorphic hog arrived, he stomped his hoof on the ground so hard that it cracked.
"What took you so long?" a slightly biting voice behind him said.
Kabaton turned around to see his comrade, Battamonda, standing in the middle of the cave with his hand on his hip. He was quite the opposite of him; with his skinny figure and mostly human features, aside from his antennae.
Battamonda tensed upon seeing the pig man empty-handed. "Where is the princess?" he asked suspiciously.
Kabaton grunted in annoyance and clenched his fists. "I had her! Everything was going great until she appeared!"
Battamonda furrowed his brow in confusion. "She? But I made sure the Azure Guards were busy elsewhere."
"Not their captain!" Kabaton swung his hand down and his snout crinkled. "My rival, Cure Sky."
"Huh?" The young man tilted his head. He should have guessed that Kabaton would mess up the plan. His brow furrowed in confusion and disappointment. "What did you do?"
"It's not my fault!" Kabaton claimed. He palmed his fist and recounted what had happened with exasperation, "My disguise was perfect! I infiltrated the castle, grabbed the princess, and I was about to take her here when this- little brat got in my way!"
Battamonda raised an eyebrow while Kabaton continued. "She jumped into the portal after me and we ended up in another world! And- And when I thought I had beaten her, she got superpowers and took down my Ranborg!"
The locust man stared at him with a baffled expression; the more he tried to process all this information, the less sense it made. But seeing the degree of Kabaton's anger, he had to assume that his story was true. And that made it absolutely hilarious.
"Wait, you're saying you lost to a little girl?" he wheezed.
This made Kabaton feel the highest level of embarrassement; he had to restrain himself from giving him a punch in the face.
"T-The princess gave her a power boost!" he argued in his defence.
When Battamonda heard this, his mocking grin turned into a look of surprise. "She did?" He put his hand to his chin and muttered under his breath, "I guess there's some truth in that prophecy after all..."
Kabaton plonked himself down on the cold stone floor; angry, weary, and worried at the same time.
Suddenly, both beings felt a shift in the air and Kabaton squeaked as his vision became tinted purple.
"Kabaton, where are you?" a gloomy, woman's voice spoke from the gem on his forehead to his mind.
"I'm- I'm back, Your Highness," the pig man stuttered out, sweat forming on his brow as he dreaded the next question.
"Have you captured the princess?"
Kabaton's body stiffened, and he gulped nervously before giving a meek response. "No..."
There was a pause.
"Report to my throne room, immediately," the voice commanded sternly, then the purple tint along with the tense atmosphere vanished.
"Oof, that won't be good," Battamonda said, shaking his head. His comrade's anxious expression said it all. "Everything depended on you, you know."
"Whatever!" Kabaton grunted, standing up. He dusted himself off and headed towards the cave's entrance.
"I'm coming too!" Battamonda declared, "I won't let you blame it on me!" He followed the pig man who just rolled his eyes, as he was too tired to do anything about it.