Today it's Horror! Sans and Papyrus as legendary pokémon!
Learn more about their home and the discovery of their fossils here! :)
Now Sans and Papyrus are from this long ancestral line of protector-pokémon, with them being the new generation. However, their family tree seems to be growing some odd branches…
You see, no one has realized that some of the excavated fossils actually belonged to the ancient ancestors of the legendary guardians! Not only that, but these two truly were pokémon of legend, having protected people during the cave-in of the underground and unfortunately having met their end doing so.
The names and legacies of these pokémon are unfortunately lost to time, but recently, a group of scientists has requested temporary access to the fossils for more accurate time dating, cross referencing their database with their DNA in order to determine their species, and collecting data on the fossils with equipment the museum doesn't have. You know, normal nerd stuff scientific proceedings.
What they didn't tell the museum staff however, is that these fossils would be part of a new fossil revival program. You see, when a fossil has lethal physical damage they can't be revived using the normal method as the damage would be perfectly recreated and would kill the poor pokémon a second time. Therefore, an experimental method was used: a mix of cloning and the revival procedure used for other fossils. And to their credit: it worked!
However, the panic of waking up in a place that looks like nothing you’ve ever seen before, combined with your last vague but pressing memory being the panic of a crumbling cave system and the urgency of mass evacuation, meant that Skull immediately broke out of containment, broke everyone else out of containment and then rounded everyone up for evacuation outside.
Once everyone was accounted for they took off, and instinctively the guardians found the place their species once called home: Mount Ebott. The group burst in from the top and hasn't left since.
Skull has trouble speaking fluently and has a somewhat slower perception, and the hole in his skull is,,, well, it's in a weird state, obviously. It's not healed (it CAN’T be healed), but it's not an open wound he could die from due to the revival process. He clearly has some memory problems due to both the revival process and the wound, and he needs to be stopped from scratching at it often, as it seems to be a subconscious move.
The distress from it gradually lessens as he settles into his new environment: he has his brother by his side, and though his memories are few and confusing they are still a great comfort to him.
It does however influence his ability to transform: where Sans and Papyrus can use their magic to mimic pokémon and humans near perfectly, Skull does not have stable control of his magic due to the wound, resulting in skeletal versions of whatever he's trying to mimic. It's... an adjustment, for sure. Luckily the pokémon instinctively trust him a bit, so he won them over despite everything. Speaking of which:
Skull loves observing humans and pokémon as much as the others of his species, and although he misses the abundance/presence of people and the holidays, he gets fulfillment out of observing and interacting with the ghost pokémon (who seem to recognise him somehow?) and the new species that migrated into the mountain after the incident. They are just as curious about him as he is about them, and his gentle giant demeanor is immediately rewarded by lots of attention from the younger pokémon.
Sugar used to help set up celebrations with everyone. Therefore, he knows the place like the back of his hand!! Or rather knew. Where Skull sometimes has trouble remembering the past, Sugar has trouble not remembering it. He keeps feeling like something should be right here only to find the spot empty or unreachable. He could be of great help to archeologists, but it is very confusing for him. Due to both this and his somewhat poor eyesight, the pokémon surrounding him help him navigate and are very supportive.
They tried to help him recreate some of the older celebrations, but it just isn’t the same without human aid. They all got an A+ for effort though! Which means handmade festival treats for everyone! He knows recipes long gone, but he can't always get every ingredient. What he does manage to make (sometimes with help, as his body does not always do what he wants) is loved by most, except for the bitter medicines he sometimes ends up making.
Sugar can regulate his magic much better than Skull can but he, too, has some wonkiness to his transformations. Namely, his form seems just a little stretched, and if you look closely, you can make out some crystal formations on the left side of whatever creature he’s decided to become. As he practices the transformations more it becomes subtle like glitter, but it definitely is still there. Despite all of this, he actually tends to use a skeletal form as well, in solidarity to his brother. “Look, we match!”
Their memories are hazy, but they definitely remember evacuating everyone from the mountain as it rumbled around them. Any movement in the rocks sets them on edge, and they check the walls for cracks whenever they can. Not finding evidence of current instabilities in the main area combined with the tales of the pokémon currently living there helps to soothe their nerves bit by bit.
Eventually, when they are calmer, they start recalling earlier, far calmer memories: bouts of laughter between siblings, the pride of the youngins who pass their trials, the kindness of a flower handed to them in good faith. And also the rougher, but necessary things: Tussling with each other, mending wounds with bitter recipes, distracting upset children with stories. The rush of fighting off alpha pokémon who encroach on their territory. Sleeping the tiredness off in a warm corner of the temple.
The brothers are quite content now, living with each other and the next generation of pokémon in their glowing mountain. Life is good.
