Sans draws a sparkling picture in midair of a huge hole, with some monsters at the bottom. A smiling, but evil humanlike form is at the top, and the figure throws a rope to the monsters. But just when they've climbed halfway up, the figure cuts the rope with its knife, and they all go tumbling back down again, hitting the bottom hard. They limp away, obviously hurt, some now using crutches or slings.
Your expression grows pained, as the meaning becomes clear.
"learned helplessness," Sans says grimly, with the kind of skeletal grin that means the opposite of its face value.
"i read a few psychology books when i could. if you put any sentient being in a situation where their efforts don't make any difference, and they're in pain no matter what they try, then sooner or later they'll stop trying."
In the drawing, the humanlike figure returns, and throws down another rope. The monsters in the hole regard it warily, but some try climbing up, only to fall down and be hurt again.
The next time the figure returns, everyone ignores the rope.
"how many times did we think we were free, only to end up back down there again, under the control of those who hate us so much that killing us just once isn't enough?"
He dispels the magic in the air with a wave, turning the drawing into a shower of glittering blue magic, like the afterglow of fireworks.
You're nervous about the reply, but slowly you ask, "Are you afraid I'm someone like that, offering you help, only to make you fall again as soon as you accept it?"
"no." He gives you a fierce, chillingly intense gaze, deeply angry, but you can tell it's not at you.
"with your tunneling ability, you stand a chance of offering us real freedom, by getting us away from the resets. so you're at the top of the hole offering us a rope. i don't think you'll just drop us out of cruelty or anything, but what i'm afraid of is, that behind you where you can't see it, there's a demon who'll throw us both in the hole as soon as i accept your offer and try to climb out, and then we still won't be free, and you'll be trapped with us forever."
You furrow your brows in confusion, trying to follow his logic.
"ya see, something's been bothering me ever since that cloud and Chara hurt you. the way they talked and acted, it felt like they saw us as some kind of new amusement. what if they got bored of hurting me and the other monsters, and now they want to make you part of a new game?"
"I...hadn't thought of that."
"maybe they got some sick twisted pleasure out of possessing you and making you fight me, just like they did with frisk, except you have interesting new abilities they haven't seen before, and neither have i. so what if they want to make you part of a new timeline loop, one where you fight me over and over?"
You see his point, but you argue, "We'll find a way to stop them."
He sighs. "i'm just asking ya not to underestimate them. cause, remember, i've been dealing with them a long time."
"for instance, what if they've found a way to make the timeline loop affect more than one world, and as soon as we die or leave this world, they'll reset this timeline back to sometime around when i first met you? i know one thing, it'd be better for both of us to die here than be trapped in that kind of nightmare. i don't mind dying if it would save you from that endless misery. there's other sanses out there, so i don't really matter anyway."
The thought is terrifying, but after you think about it, you decide you won't give in to the fear.
"Maybe that's true," you say slowly and resolutely. "But we don't know for sure, and maybe me and my people know a few things they don't know about us yet. Maybe we can use what we know to fight back. I won't give up and die slowly of starvation just because of what they might do to us. We have to try to find answers, no matter what."
He stares at you for a moment as if you're something very strange but not unwelcome, and finally shakes his head and grins genuinely at you.
"you sound like my brother. you never want to give up. do you have a plan then?"
"Yes, I do," you tell him determinedly, coming to a decision on a question you'd been struggling with for awhile now. "Sans, how would you like to learn how to use Eldorant abilities, so you can tunnel both of us out of here?"
He grows very still. "is that even possible?" he asks wonderingly. "i'm not saying no if it is, but you sure that's not just wishful thinking? i'm a monster, not one of your people. your abilities aren't even based on magic, they're something completely different. i'm not sure they'll be compatible with a monster's soul."
"I'm not absolutely sure, but i think it's possible. Our abilities are based on the deepest levels of the soul, a part that goes beyond what species you are, or what world you come from, so technically anyone with a soul can learn them. If you're an imaginative person, and fundamentally kind at heart, like I think you are, then that makes it much easier to learn."
His shoulders slump. "maybe i was once," he says to himself, so softly you can barely hear. "i'm not sure if i'm that person anymore."
"I think it's worth a try..." you start, but he interrupts.
"you don't know what it's like," he says darkly. "being under someone's control, being their prisoner, and every time you try something new to stop them or escape from them, it just gives them another opportunity to hurt you some more."
You're taken aback by how hopeless he suddenly sounds.
"Do you really not want to try this?" you ask quietly after awhile, beginning to feel hopeless yourself.
"no, i'm just..." He takes a breath like he really needs the air, and tries to explain. "i'm just warning you now that you might be biting off more than you can chew. like the way you weren't expecting it when i attacked you before. you might end up really getting hurt, because you don't understand how bad things are."
* now that's a weird expression she has, like someone who's seen a lot of bad stuff. is she thinking it's the reverse and i don't know how bad things are? i'm not sure. maybe if we get out of here, i'll ask her and try to find out.
"i'm willing to try anyway if you are. i'm just warning you," he says finally.
"Alrite. I hear you, but I'm not giving up as long as there's a chance we can escape from here. Let's try, at least."
But his self-doubt has made you pause. You'd been feeling enthusiastic about the idea of escaping from here, but on the other hand, Sans isn't currently the most mentally stable person you've ever met.
Would he agree to make some promises to lessen the risk? You'd hate for this knowledge to fall into the wrong hands.
"I know it's probably a lot to ask, but can you promise that you won't do anything bad with these abilities, and that you won't teach them to anyone else?"
He sighs in frustration. "i don't really like promises. i've broken too many."
"Ummm...How about a 99% promise then?"
"huh?"
"You promise that you'll do your best to keep this promise, but if it's just too much or if something really weird happens, then you have that remaining 1% to do what you have to do, without actually breaking the promise. I'm kind of literal minded so I hate making promises too. So I use this idea instead sometimes."
"heh, ok. guess i like your way of phrasing that. i'll make you a 99% promise then. i'll do my best to not do something bad with them, and to not tell anyone else how to use them."
He thinks for a moment. "just so we got the technicalities clear...does that include not telling other me's?"
You consider it, and regretfully answer, "I'm afraid so. I don't know the other you's well enough to know how mentally stable they are, and I've heard bad things about a few of them."
He shakes his head in self-judgment. "we're so screwed up, it's not even funny. i don't blame ya."
"so, how are we going to do this?"