[ So at some point after Undyne's glorious demise, Break had actually approached her body seemingly out of concern, or maybe even mourning, but that hadn't quite been his intention. His concern and muted mourning had seemed quite genuine, but to any ghost pals watching, he does manage to sneak something off her body: her key. That's odd, isn't it? Break definitely hasn't stolen from corpses in the past, or at least not that any of you would have noticed.
Late on Sunday night, when most everyone is asleep, Break leaves his room to go to Undyne's room. Since it had been locked after her demise, he's the first person to step into it since, and he closes and locks the door after himself. He's careful as he navigates though the room, but he's clearly searching for something. He's passing almost everything over, but no matter how long it takes him (which... could be a while, considering her room), Break won't stop until he finds what he's looking for.
Clover's bookmark.
He takes the bookmark and tucks it away in his jacket, then continues to look around, though by this point, he's humming lightly to himself. ]
Now, the other one would be...
[ The rest of his search doesn't take long, since this one is much easier to find. Once Break finds Undyne's suit of armor, he gathers it all up into a sheet to keep it together, and then into his arms. He doesn't touch anything else, and other than those missing items, there's barely any sign that anyone was even here, since he's careful to keep things as they were, just in case. But he leaves with these items and locks the door after himself.
Undyne spends a good amount of time screaming those exact words at him because...look, she likes Break. She even trusts Break to have their best interests at heart! (Or Gilbert's best interests anyway.) And as a member of Team Pride, she is naturally biased towards assuming he knows what he's doing because come on, everyone on Pride is a badass motherfucker that's the very definition of Pride.
But that doesn't mean she ever gave him permission to steal her stuff. UGH WAS BREAK ACTUALLY A PERVERT ALL THIS TIME DOES HE GET OFF ON STEALING DEAD PEOPLE'S CLOTHES!!!
When all of her screaming clearly fails, she follows him into the basement so she can pick up a small can of food and chuck it at his head. She wants an explanation, jerk.]
[ So I'm assuming Break gets there before [redacted] so that this makes sense because like, ghosts, man.
But once Break makes it down to the basement, he sets Undyne's armor down with a heavy sigh, since that shit's heavy, okay. He takes his cane back in his hand once he's set everything down, since it had been balanced awkwardly in his arms, and he reaches towards the pocket he had put Clover's bookmark in.
However, he doesn't expect that can, and it absolutely hits its mark and clocks him right in the head. Even so, Break's reaction is near immediate, since despite his relaxed way of collecting all of this, he's much more tense than he lets on, and that's especially true in the past two weeks. It's as simple as pivoting on his heel and swinging back in the direction that the can had come from. The sheathe of his cane clatters away with great force through the basement, since he's slinging it off in favor of a very quick draw of his sword.
Where Undyne had seen some of Break's skill before when they had sparred, she had never seen it completely seriously, and so the difference is stark as he draws his blade this time. He swings back, and it's easy to imagine that blade been aimed right for someone's neck with how he steadies the blade in his hand and the force put behind it. Though of course (and luckily), there's no one there. The momentum carries through, though Break makes a harsh sound of effort and exasperation before he stands at the ready to fight.
Though, of course, there's no one.
He closes his eye and still spins around, searching out for a sound, but his expression is contorted in anger, even if it's wild and ready for a fight. It might seem slightly ill-fitting if he thought it was Undyne or someone he knew, and yet his words are rather odd to match. ]
[Wait...had Break been holding back when they sparred? Wow, she's so offended right now. Even though she just got done showing off how badly she probably would have beaten his ass if she'd fought seriously too, she's still offended.
But that expression and his words get her to pause in confusion. She looks over her shoulder, then back at Break. Does he...think he's talking to her? It doesn't really make any sense if so, since it's not like he's ever really needed to challenge her to get her to fight him. In that case, who does he think he's talking to? Has he been challenging one of the sins behind her back? HAS HE BEEN DEPRIVING HER OF ANOTHER SHOUNEN BATTLE GODDAMMIT BREAK HOW DARE YOU HOW DARE YOU
No, okay, she should calm down and actually prove who she is first before grandpa has a heart attack and dies before getting the chance to explain what the fuck is going on. Break can't see shit, which means trying to write her name out won't work, so the best way to get him to figure out it's her is clearly...
She puts one incorporeal hand on his back and another at his knees. Then, summoning all the ghostly energy she has, she proceeds to hoist him up straight into a rather familiar princess carry.
...and then he immediately falls through her arms right onto the floor, because she's still not used to this whole ghostly shit yet. Hmm. She's going to have work on strengthening her ghost muscles if she wants to enact her plan to bully Break by invisibly princess carrying him all over town.]
[ Listen, Undyne, it's nothing personal, but Break holds back because otherwise his only other mode is "kill." This may be fun for you, but not for him...
Break is complete tense and ready to strike at the slightest provocation, and it shows in his posture and his near manic expression. It's not exactly a face he's shown in "public" before, so this is another odd little part of hanging around Break when he feels more alone. However, all that tension snaps as soon as he's scooped up.
There's a very inelegant and sharp sound, since this is so wholly disorienting to him that he panics for half a second. But he feels arms holding him up, and so in a reflexive motion, he turns his sword as sharply as he can towards where her torso is. If she were flesh and blood, it would definitely be a nasty wound, and that's especially try since as he stabs, her ghostly energy dissipates, and he falls, which would drag the blade down.
But this too is so unexpected that he just falls flat on his ass without catching himself at all. Considering the concrete floor, this doesn't feel pleasant, so congrats, Undyne, you probably made grandpa break his hip (or a part of it). He doesn't drop his sword, and he's about to swing it out towards her legs, but finally, some sense catches up with him, even as his head and now his tailbone throb with pain. That panicked, manic expression lessens, and even though Break is breathing heavily, that way of carrying someone was unique.
His sword is still held to defend, since he doesn't trust this completely, though when he shifts, it comes with a sound of irritation. That definitely doesn't feel good, but he's going to ignore it, as usual. Instead, he looks up from where he's sitting on the ground, and though his voice is rough and uncertain, he's at least doing better than slashing and stabbing wildly. ]
But whoops, she actually feels pretty bad about this. She really hadn't meant to drop Break or injure him or cause him to freak out so much, she just didn't realize how weak she is as a ghost now. Should she...try to go get bandages or something? How do humans deal with this sort of crap. Eh whatever, he's Team Pride, she's sure he'll be fine - and also he was acting really suspiciously, so he totally deserves it. If she tells herself this long enough, it will become true. This is the healthiest way to deal with guilt!!
But then he says her name and she realizes that she needs some other way to communicate with him. She probably shouldn't try carrying him again, and she doesn't even know if she has enough energy left to do so, so instead she heads to where he dropped her armor and flicks her finger against it to make a pinging noise.
Hopefully, he can interpret both the message of 'yes' and also 'what the fuck are you doing with my armor you jerk' from that.]
[ He hisses in a breath of irritation that would almost have him missing that ding against the armor, but luckily, his hearing is sharp. The message carries clearly enough, but it does take him a few moments to explain as he gets to his feet. The whole while, he's definitely grumbling sourly and saying some words that are definitely not suitable to a Victorian. Woah! ]
Don't pick me up like that. I don't even know where you are like this, so it's even worse.
[ Will she listen? He doubts it. But he clicks his tongue in sharp irritation, and he even gives his blade a few tense swings just to get rid of some of the tension in his frame and to channel his quite literal butthurt elsewhere. ]
How did you even get down— [ He grumbles sourly and then shakes his head. ] No, don't waste your time answering that. I don't care. You absolutely cannot say a word about this.
[ Break seems to be quite serious, at least, despite his rude way of explaining it. ]
[Well she'll actually listen for now since she doesn't want to risk dropping him again and shattering all the remaining bones he has left, but once she figures out how to carry him around for more than a few seconds, you better watch your ass Break.
She rolls her eyes and pings the armor a few more times, even giving it a few kicks out of irritation. Which roughly translates to 'who the fuck would I even tell I'm a ghost you moron', 'don't get cranky with me I'm stuck here with Vegeta my life is definitely worse', and 'START EXPLAINING WHAT YOU'RE DOING BREAK OR I'M GOING TO START CHUCKING ACTUAL ARMOR AT YOUR HEAD'.
These are definitely incredibly clear messages that she absolutely expects him to understand immediately. Especially the last one.]
[ As bad as Gilbert had been, now Break can't help but wonder if he was like training for the real menace: Undyne. His expression twists into irritation as she bangs the armor, but that at least settles any lingering doubt in his mind that this is indeed Undyne. He is confused, though. Can the ghosts come down here? Had they always been able to? If that was the case, then he should have just asked Leviathan to tell Gilbert to meet him here, since—
He clicks his tongue in irritation, since no, that was only as safe as her word. And ultimately, he didn't trust them. If he revealed everything so easily, then it could come crashing down around them just as quickly. And revealing the plot would be lame!! ]
You can stop. I get it already!
[ Though, well, no he doesn't. He's really only getting the very basics of Undyne's half of the conversation here, and he's totally missing the nuance about both Vegeta and about armor about to be flying towards his head. Still, his face is twisted up into concentration, and it's clear that Break wants to say something, but he's picking his words carefully. It's ironic what he decides, though, and he knows it. For his thoughts a moment ago and for who he is... He knows this is asking a lot of anyone. ]
But I can't explain. I just can't, and neither can you. [ He pauses, and rather than frustration, his voice gets much clearer and more firm. He's trying to convey whatever he apparently can't say in his tone, and it definitely sounds frustrated, but also sincere and full of a surprising amount of determination. Maybe there's a hint of shonen in Break yet. ]
[let's just establish for the record that Clover is sitting on Undyne's shoulders as all of this is happening, because of course she is. why wouldn't she be. now that vital human functions are no longer necessary she has no reason to not be on undyne's shoulders ever again.
More specifically, she's sulking on Undyne's shoulders, because everything sucks, but...curiosity might be the one thing that takes precedence over misery, especially with her bookmark involved. Here she had thought he was grabbing it to keep it safe! Nope. It's stupid of her to be worried about, of all things, a paper scrap when she's literally dead, but—it's her brother's. She told the most important person in the world to her that the bookmark and everything it meant were supposed to be his. Maybe it's just something tangible to focus all her anxieties on.
But also and probably more importantly: what the fuck is Break doing.]
Wave the bookmark in his face or something. [It's gonna be great when her voice isn't super hoarse again. Someday.] So he knows I'm here. ["TELL HIM HI FOR ME"]
[Oh. Well then. It's not exactly an easy thing Break's asking of her here. Undyne doesn't trust easily, especially not when it comes to humans, but when she does she goes all in - and while she likes Break and considers him a friend, he's never exactly hidden that side of him that schemes and deceives. He reminds her of Sans in a way, at least the Sans that she's gotten to know better now; friendly enough, willing to do anything for the people they love, but there's an insurmountable wall there behind which they hide their true thoughts and feelings. For someone like Undyne, who's upfront about everything all the time, it's a hard thing to ignore.
And then there's also the difference between trusting Break and trusting that Break knows what he's doing. She does believe that he has Gilbert's - and by extension, the rest of the graveyard's - best interests in mind, but that doesn't exactly translate to an actual working plan. The guy's smart, but she still hasn't forgotten that whole trial where he suspected her of killing Gilbert and Alisha nearly the whole time - as far as she's concerned, he doesn't exactly have great instincts about people. Gilbert's already told her a little about what Break's been up to, and she has her own suspicions about who he's been in contact with - and if she's right, then following their orders may be the stupidest thing Break's ever done as far as she's concerned, even if he really does think it's for the greater good.
But in the end...what other choice does she have? From her current position, she can't really seem to do much of anything, while Break clearly knows a lot more about what's going on than she does. As much as it irritates her that he's asking for her trust when clearly he never trusted her enough to hint that he might have a plan, even though he knew she was just as desperate and willing to bring down this game as he was, the fact that she hasn't even once considered in all this that he might be working for the other side already answers the question for her. And there's something about that tone of voice he's using that gives her hope and makes her think that maybe he's actually being more sincere with her now than she's ever seen before.
She eventually sighs, shaking her head.] Goddammit, I hope you know what you're doing, Break.
[And she goes to pick up the bookmark, waving it in front of his face with one hand while she ruffles his hair affectionately with the other as the answer to his request.]
[ His tone is definitely insistent and concerned all at once, and yet Break doesn't even try to grab the bookmark. He holds his hands out flat, almost like he's afraid to touch it, and that would be accurate. The specifics of why he doesn't explain (of course—there aren't going to be any explanations for a while), but that he tells Undyne to be careful might give a hint that these items of theirs were important for some reason. Though whether Break understands that Clover is also here or not isn't clear. It's hard to convey ghost messages.
But what is more clearly conveyed is what comes after. Break seizes up in surprise when Undyne touches his head, since in truth, he doesn't expect that touch to be quite so gentle. Undyne doesn't exactly do things lightly, to be fair... It's at least just a flinch, since he recognizes what it is rather quickly. However, that gets his expression to shift again to something verging on pained. Whatever Break is doing here, it's clearly difficult for him, since it's easy to see him struggling to figure out what to say. Even though there's nothing there, his head still seems like it bows under the weight of her hand. ]
...I'm doing what I can.
[ It's more than just him, but he's not taking this responsibility himself because he's trying to take credit from others. It's the opposite, actually. He's trying to protect them, because if something does go wrong and that woman does find out, then Break only hopes that she'll blame him alone. He'll gladly take the consequences if it means the rest of them can have a chance to accomplish their goal here. ]
That's why you can't tell anyone, not even the dead. I'll use what little life I have left for this, so if you can't trust me, then at least put your trust in that.
[ Because without words to fill in the blanks, this is how Break interprets those motions. He doesn't exactly think highly of himself, so he doesn't think Undyne is assured by a simple, vague request to trust him. He wouldn't. So he's trying to convey his sincerity as best he can to try and assert just how important that silence is. So for Break, that's his life. He knows not much of it is left by now, but it's all that he can give. ]
[Frankly, Clover's got absolutely no idea what's going on. She has never had less of a clue about a situation in her life (or...death, as it were), and nothing anyone here is saying or doing is helping that at all, but there's exactly one thing that takes priority over curiosity for her.]
Comin' down. [More mindful of not choking Undyne than she is of not falling, Clover clambers her way off of Undyne's shoulders to just sort of koala-cling to her back instead, since she's never making actual contact with the floor ever again. Undyne's shoulders are an excellent forever home but now that she's a little less high up, she can reach out and put her hand on Break's shoulder.
She'd like it to be reassuring, or a promise that she trusts him and she won't say anything, or something—it's probably something. But, as far as she's concerned, he's her friend.]
I've got faith in him. [He's her friend, and that's enough.]
[The concern in Break's voice actually gets her attention, enough so that she puts Clover's bookmark down as carefully as she can even though she has no idea what's so important about these items. More worrying than that though is...]
What the hell does he mean by what little life I have left? [Look, she's all for putting your life on the line for a good cause, as her current situation can obviously attest to. But Break doesn't sound like he's just risking his life, he sounds like he's actually resigned to dying, and that she isn't okay with.] You have to fight for yourself too, Break! [UGH someone save her from mysterious smiley secretly depressed bullshitters who have no sense of self-preservation
Clover's gesture gets her to stop short though. Suddenly, she feels small and ashamed - if Clover can so quickly and readily declare her faith in Break simply out of friendship, it would be incredibly unfair for Undyne to not do the same. She's still worried about him - whatever it is he's doing, it's easy to tell from his behavior that no one should be carrying that sort of burden alone. But if it's enough for Clover to have faith, then it's enough for her.
She maneuvers around Break carefully, making sure she's in a position where Clover's hand can remain on his shoulder while she slowly lifts his arm up and folds his fingers into a loose fist. Then she bumps it with her own.]
Team Pride's gotta stick together, right? I've got your back.
[ As soon as he hears Clover's bookmark being set down, he leans down to pick it up again, though it does come with a grimace. It's definitely not comfortable, considering he just dropped on concrete, but it's fine... By the time he straightens and stands up, he feels Clover's hand resting on his shoulder, and at first, it makes him sigh with a note of mild exasperation. ]
You don't need to—
[ Though something seems to dawn on him, and that mildly irritated expression turns to surprise, and then a soft smile. Now he understands what the bookmark is about, since that smaller hand isn't Undyne's at all. ]
Ah, that's Clover, isn't it?
[ As if that's a question, really. It doesn't seem like this should be something that makes him feel a bit more at ease, considering they're both dead, and yet, it does. It's odd to think of, and it's as he's struggling to think of how to express that sentiment (though at least that's a struggle of Break being bad at expressing feelings rather than the other) that Undyne guides his hand. He's at least more patient now as he lets Undyne move his hand around until he gets a gesture that unmistakably answers his concern.
He laughs, though it's soft and embarrassed. He's still not used to this, and he doesn't think that he ever will be. Break truly doesn't feel that he's proven his trustworthiness, and perhaps he believes that he doesn't deserve it either. Yet every time he receives these kind of warm gestures, he's humbled by them. Whether he deserves it or not, he can't help but remember and honor that simple, warm sentiment that Lady Shelly had passed onto him. ]
Honestly... Kids these days are really troublesome. [ Though of course he still has to be Old about it. He relaxes his fist, since he had been keeping it up of his own volition, though he lowers it back to his side with a shrug. ]
If you can, would you mind answering a few questions for me?
[What little life I have left—he'd mentioned to her that he was ill once, and Clover figures that must be it, but it feels weird to offer Undyne the little context she's got with Break standing right there. M...maybe later they can have more lessons on crappy human biology......
Not that it's a question, but he still gets an answer in the form of a light squeeze before she takes her hand back and better secures her koala clinging.] Took you long enough. [But she's smiling, too, soft and slight but at least much better than the moping she's been doing all evening. Maybe the real shit we're looting from dead people is the friends we made along the way.]
Troublesome's all I do. [She's tempted to punch his shoulder for being Old about feelings since she, unlike some people, can use punches as a form of affection without destroying them, but she's already gotten into, like, five ghost fights today; she should probably make at least half an attempt to conserve her energy. But she does reach out again to tap his shoulder twice, ready for question answering.
She writhes a little so she can peer up at Undyne.] We should take turns answering, so we don't get too tired.
Who are you calling a kid?! [UGH BREAK JUST BECAUSE SHE RECKLESSLY THROWS HERSELF INTO IMPOSSIBLE SHOUNEN FIGHTS SHE CAN'T WIN DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN GRANDPA HER!! Break gets an irritated smack to the shoulder for that, because this is a fantastic and incredibly necessary use of her ghost energy - though she does still feel kind of bad about the whole dropping him and breaking his ass thing, so she keeps it light.]
Good plan. You wanna go first then? [She says after she's already wasted energy kicking an old man when he's down....]
[ WHY ARE ALL THE GHOSTS SO DUMB!! Minus Clover. She's okay. But Break definitely flinches and makes an irritated noise when he gets a smack for his commentary, and he waves his hand in the air like he's trying to dismiss her. ]
Stop using your energy for useless things like smacking me!
[ Or just don't smack him? But he knows that one is impossible to ask, so he just sighs and motions to each shoulder as he explains. ]
My left shoulder is "yes," and the right is "no."
[ But though he explains that, he does pause, since he still wants to choose his questions carefully here. At least he doesn't have to worry about quite the same things he had with Gilbert, but those concerns are still there. ]
...The women that you fought, Undyne. Have you met them since?
[a girl runs off first thing in the morning on murder day all on her own well away from everyone else before anyone finds a body and still manages to be less dumb enough than all the other ghosts to get "okay"]
That's for you, so guess not. [Even though she's mmmmostly sure she knows the answer, but Undyne's full of surprises. Clover's never allowed to be completely sure of anything ever again.]
[IT'S NOT USELESS Break definitely needs the sense smacked into him from time to time, and Undyne will gladly dedicate her ghost energy to take up this cause!!
But wow, what a terrible question to start on if he wanted her to conserve her strength. She taps his right shoulder once, and then proceeds to grip it tightly and lower her head so she can speak directly into his ear.]
I know you probably can't hear me, but I'm gonna say this out loud anyway because maybe your heart can pick up what your ears can't. I have no idea what you're doing here, but if you see either of those cowardly cheating despicable disgraces again, tell them that the next time I see them, I'm gonna finish the job.
Actually, you can take Satan, I don't need to waste my energy on someone I already know I can beat. But Lucifer is mine. I'll make her regret ever even thinking about associating her name with Pride when she clearly has none herself!
[And then she lets go. This too was also an incredibly necessary use of her ghost energy.]
[ Break definitely can't hear what she says at all, yet all the same, maybe his heart does pick up on what his ears can't all the same. Or, in a much less shonen way, the combination of a "no" and the intensity of that grip doesn't make it hard to guess what's being conveyed here. He sighs, since what did he just say about energy, but he shakes his head to be rid of that minor irritation.
He does seem relieved by that information, though. Even if he assumes Undyne would absolutely like to fight them again, he's more content in the idea that the dead will be a little safer than that. He worries about them, in his way. ]
...If I'm understanding that correctly, then at least allow me to waste my breath for a minute and say that you shouldn't fight them again even if you have the opportunity. You embarrassed them, and that's victory enough, isn't it?
[ It isn't, and he knows it... He would take great satisfaction in it himself, certainly, but it's also not as good as actually killing them. But while Break knows that about himself, he doesn't want to encourage serial killer qualities in others, so. ]
Is there anyone else with you, then? Besides the dead we know.
[Undyne's a person with priorities. At least the pink koala child hanging onto her thinks she's cool, anyway.]
You're gonna kick their asses the second they're stupid enough to mess with you again. [Some peanut gallery commentary from the person present who can actually hear Undyne's shounen intensity, and if she looks she'll see that Clover's expression is full of admiration.
In the meantime, she reaches out and taps Break's left shoulder firmly, but with significantly less shounen determination.]
[CLOVER'S OPINION IS ALL THAT MATTERS shut up Break]
That's not a victory at all! Enemies of justice need to be struck down! Especially the filthy lying cheating backstabbing ones with no honor! [YOU CAN'T TELL HER WHO SHE CAN'T FIGHT BREAK!! She'll fight them even if it means ruining all his plans and sending the entire town plunging into Bad End her grudgewank knows no bounds
Honestly, it's a good thing Clover decided to interrupt by answering Break's actual question, because she was about two seconds away from severely confusing him by smacking his right shoulder for no it's not enough and no she's not going to listen to his stupid weenie advice.]
[ Thank you, Clover... You don't have to reign it all in (that's impossible) but at least reign in Undyne's shonen that will confuse Break and he'll be happy enough. His expression turns serious, and he nods. He has an idea on how to figure out who, but he might as well narrow it down a bit further before he gets to that. ]
Are they other dead, or is it a bit different than that? Left if they're other dead, right if it's something else.
It's totally a start, though. [Like she'd ever even want to reign in Undyne's shounen. The occasional interruption to it is a happy medium for all involved, though!
Clover glances up at Undyne, expectant.] Well, I've only seen the dead girls. [But again she's never allowed to be sure of anything ever again.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunday night
Late on Sunday night, when most everyone is asleep, Break leaves his room to go to Undyne's room. Since it had been locked after her demise, he's the first person to step into it since, and he closes and locks the door after himself. He's careful as he navigates though the room, but he's clearly searching for something. He's passing almost everything over, but no matter how long it takes him (which... could be a while, considering her room), Break won't stop until he finds what he's looking for.
Clover's bookmark.
He takes the bookmark and tucks it away in his jacket, then continues to look around, though by this point, he's humming lightly to himself. ]
Now, the other one would be...
[ The rest of his search doesn't take long, since this one is much easier to find. Once Break finds Undyne's suit of armor, he gathers it all up into a sheet to keep it together, and then into his arms. He doesn't touch anything else, and other than those missing items, there's barely any sign that anyone was even here, since he's careful to keep things as they were, just in case. But he leaves with these items and locks the door after himself.
He doesn't head back to his room, though.
Break heads straight to the basement. ]
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Undyne spends a good amount of time screaming those exact words at him because...look, she likes Break. She even trusts Break to have their best interests at heart! (Or Gilbert's best interests anyway.) And as a member of Team Pride, she is naturally biased towards assuming he knows what he's doing because come on, everyone on Pride is a badass motherfucker that's the very definition of Pride.
But that doesn't mean she ever gave him permission to steal her stuff. UGH WAS BREAK ACTUALLY A PERVERT ALL THIS TIME DOES HE GET OFF ON STEALING DEAD PEOPLE'S CLOTHES!!!
When all of her screaming clearly fails, she follows him into the basement so she can pick up a small can of food and chuck it at his head. She wants an explanation, jerk.]
no subject
But once Break makes it down to the basement, he sets Undyne's armor down with a heavy sigh, since that shit's heavy, okay. He takes his cane back in his hand once he's set everything down, since it had been balanced awkwardly in his arms, and he reaches towards the pocket he had put Clover's bookmark in.
However, he doesn't expect that can, and it absolutely hits its mark and clocks him right in the head. Even so, Break's reaction is near immediate, since despite his relaxed way of collecting all of this, he's much more tense than he lets on, and that's especially true in the past two weeks. It's as simple as pivoting on his heel and swinging back in the direction that the can had come from. The sheathe of his cane clatters away with great force through the basement, since he's slinging it off in favor of a very quick draw of his sword.
Where Undyne had seen some of Break's skill before when they had sparred, she had never seen it completely seriously, and so the difference is stark as he draws his blade this time. He swings back, and it's easy to imagine that blade been aimed right for someone's neck with how he steadies the blade in his hand and the force put behind it. Though of course (and luckily), there's no one there. The momentum carries through, though Break makes a harsh sound of effort and exasperation before he stands at the ready to fight.
Though, of course, there's no one.
He closes his eye and still spins around, searching out for a sound, but his expression is contorted in anger, even if it's wild and ready for a fight. It might seem slightly ill-fitting if he thought it was Undyne or someone he knew, and yet his words are rather odd to match. ]
What, do I need to challenge you properly too?
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But that expression and his words get her to pause in confusion. She looks over her shoulder, then back at Break. Does he...think he's talking to her? It doesn't really make any sense if so, since it's not like he's ever really needed to challenge her to get her to fight him. In that case, who does he think he's talking to? Has he been challenging one of the sins behind her back? HAS HE BEEN DEPRIVING HER OF ANOTHER SHOUNEN BATTLE GODDAMMIT BREAK HOW DARE YOU HOW DARE YOU
No, okay, she should calm down and actually prove who she is first before grandpa has a heart attack and dies before getting the chance to explain what the fuck is going on. Break can't see shit, which means trying to write her name out won't work, so the best way to get him to figure out it's her is clearly...
She puts one incorporeal hand on his back and another at his knees. Then, summoning all the ghostly energy she has, she proceeds to hoist him up straight into a rather familiar princess carry.
...and then he immediately falls through her arms right onto the floor, because she's still not used to this whole ghostly shit yet. Hmm. She's going to have work on strengthening her ghost muscles if she wants to enact her plan to bully Break by invisibly princess carrying him all over town.]
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Break is complete tense and ready to strike at the slightest provocation, and it shows in his posture and his near manic expression. It's not exactly a face he's shown in "public" before, so this is another odd little part of hanging around Break when he feels more alone. However, all that tension snaps as soon as he's scooped up.
There's a very inelegant and sharp sound, since this is so wholly disorienting to him that he panics for half a second. But he feels arms holding him up, and so in a reflexive motion, he turns his sword as sharply as he can towards where her torso is. If she were flesh and blood, it would definitely be a nasty wound, and that's especially try since as he stabs, her ghostly energy dissipates, and he falls, which would drag the blade down.
But this too is so unexpected that he just falls flat on his ass without catching himself at all. Considering the concrete floor, this doesn't feel pleasant, so congrats, Undyne, you probably made grandpa break his hip (or a part of it). He doesn't drop his sword, and he's about to swing it out towards her legs, but finally, some sense catches up with him, even as his head and now his tailbone throb with pain. That panicked, manic expression lessens, and even though Break is breathing heavily, that way of carrying someone was unique.
His sword is still held to defend, since he doesn't trust this completely, though when he shifts, it comes with a sound of irritation. That definitely doesn't feel good, but he's going to ignore it, as usual. Instead, he looks up from where he's sitting on the ground, and though his voice is rough and uncertain, he's at least doing better than slashing and stabbing wildly. ]
—Undyne?
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But whoops, she actually feels pretty bad about this. She really hadn't meant to drop Break or injure him or cause him to freak out so much, she just didn't realize how weak she is as a ghost now. Should she...try to go get bandages or something? How do humans deal with this sort of crap. Eh whatever, he's Team Pride, she's sure he'll be fine - and also he was acting really suspiciously, so he totally deserves it. If she tells herself this long enough, it will become true. This is the healthiest way to deal with guilt!!
But then he says her name and she realizes that she needs some other way to communicate with him. She probably shouldn't try carrying him again, and she doesn't even know if she has enough energy left to do so, so instead she heads to where he dropped her armor and flicks her finger against it to make a pinging noise.
Hopefully, he can interpret both the message of 'yes' and also 'what the fuck are you doing with my armor you jerk' from that.]
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Don't pick me up like that. I don't even know where you are like this, so it's even worse.
[ Will she listen? He doubts it. But he clicks his tongue in sharp irritation, and he even gives his blade a few tense swings just to get rid of some of the tension in his frame and to channel his quite literal butthurt elsewhere. ]
How did you even get down— [ He grumbles sourly and then shakes his head. ] No, don't waste your time answering that. I don't care. You absolutely cannot say a word about this.
[ Break seems to be quite serious, at least, despite his rude way of explaining it. ]
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She rolls her eyes and pings the armor a few more times, even giving it a few kicks out of irritation. Which roughly translates to 'who the fuck would I even tell I'm a ghost you moron', 'don't get cranky with me I'm stuck here with Vegeta my life is definitely worse', and 'START EXPLAINING WHAT YOU'RE DOING BREAK OR I'M GOING TO START CHUCKING ACTUAL ARMOR AT YOUR HEAD'.
These are definitely incredibly clear messages that she absolutely expects him to understand immediately. Especially the last one.]
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He clicks his tongue in irritation, since no, that was only as safe as her word. And ultimately, he didn't trust them. If he revealed everything so easily, then it could come crashing down around them just as quickly.
And revealing the plot would be lame!!]You can stop. I get it already!
[ Though, well, no he doesn't. He's really only getting the very basics of Undyne's half of the conversation here, and he's totally missing the nuance about both Vegeta and about armor about to be flying towards his head. Still, his face is twisted up into concentration, and it's clear that Break wants to say something, but he's picking his words carefully. It's ironic what he decides, though, and he knows it. For his thoughts a moment ago and for who he is... He knows this is asking a lot of anyone. ]
But I can't explain. I just can't, and neither can you. [ He pauses, and rather than frustration, his voice gets much clearer and more firm. He's trying to convey whatever he apparently can't say in his tone, and it definitely sounds frustrated, but also sincere and full of a surprising amount of determination. Maybe there's a hint of shonen in Break yet. ]
You have to trust me, Undyne.
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More specifically, she's sulking on Undyne's shoulders, because everything sucks, but...curiosity might be the one thing that takes precedence over misery, especially with her bookmark involved. Here she had thought he was grabbing it to keep it safe! Nope. It's stupid of her to be worried about, of all things, a paper scrap when she's literally dead, but—it's her brother's. She told the most important person in the world to her that the bookmark and everything it meant were supposed to be his. Maybe it's just something tangible to focus all her anxieties on.
But also and probably more importantly: what the fuck is Break doing.]
Wave the bookmark in his face or something. [It's gonna be great when her voice isn't super hoarse again. Someday.] So he knows I'm here. ["TELL HIM HI FOR ME"]
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And then there's also the difference between trusting Break and trusting that Break knows what he's doing. She does believe that he has Gilbert's - and by extension, the rest of the graveyard's - best interests in mind, but that doesn't exactly translate to an actual working plan. The guy's smart, but she still hasn't forgotten that whole trial where he suspected her of killing Gilbert and Alisha nearly the whole time - as far as she's concerned, he doesn't exactly have great instincts about people. Gilbert's already told her a little about what Break's been up to, and she has her own suspicions about who he's been in contact with - and if she's right, then following their orders may be the stupidest thing Break's ever done as far as she's concerned, even if he really does think it's for the greater good.
But in the end...what other choice does she have? From her current position, she can't really seem to do much of anything, while Break clearly knows a lot more about what's going on than she does. As much as it irritates her that he's asking for her trust when clearly he never trusted her enough to hint that he might have a plan, even though he knew she was just as desperate and willing to bring down this game as he was, the fact that she hasn't even once considered in all this that he might be working for the other side already answers the question for her. And there's something about that tone of voice he's using that gives her hope and makes her think that maybe he's actually being more sincere with her now than she's ever seen before.
She eventually sighs, shaking her head.] Goddammit, I hope you know what you're doing, Break.
[And she goes to pick up the bookmark, waving it in front of his face with one hand while she ruffles his hair affectionately with the other as the answer to his request.]
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[ His tone is definitely insistent and concerned all at once, and yet Break doesn't even try to grab the bookmark. He holds his hands out flat, almost like he's afraid to touch it, and that would be accurate. The specifics of why he doesn't explain (of course—there aren't going to be any explanations for a while), but that he tells Undyne to be careful might give a hint that these items of theirs were important for some reason. Though whether Break understands that Clover is also here or not isn't clear. It's hard to convey ghost messages.
But what is more clearly conveyed is what comes after. Break seizes up in surprise when Undyne touches his head, since in truth, he doesn't expect that touch to be quite so gentle. Undyne doesn't exactly do things lightly, to be fair... It's at least just a flinch, since he recognizes what it is rather quickly. However, that gets his expression to shift again to something verging on pained. Whatever Break is doing here, it's clearly difficult for him, since it's easy to see him struggling to figure out what to say. Even though there's nothing there, his head still seems like it bows under the weight of her hand. ]
...I'm doing what I can.
[ It's more than just him, but he's not taking this responsibility himself because he's trying to take credit from others. It's the opposite, actually. He's trying to protect them, because if something does go wrong and that woman does find out, then Break only hopes that she'll blame him alone. He'll gladly take the consequences if it means the rest of them can have a chance to accomplish their goal here. ]
That's why you can't tell anyone, not even the dead. I'll use what little life I have left for this, so if you can't trust me, then at least put your trust in that.
[ Because without words to fill in the blanks, this is how Break interprets those motions. He doesn't exactly think highly of himself, so he doesn't think Undyne is assured by a simple, vague request to trust him. He wouldn't. So he's trying to convey his sincerity as best he can to try and assert just how important that silence is. So for Break, that's his life. He knows not much of it is left by now, but it's all that he can give. ]
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Comin' down. [More mindful of not choking Undyne than she is of not falling, Clover clambers her way off of Undyne's shoulders to just sort of koala-cling to her back instead, since she's never making actual contact with the floor ever again. Undyne's shoulders are an excellent forever home but now that she's a little less high up, she can reach out and put her hand on Break's shoulder.
She'd like it to be reassuring, or a promise that she trusts him and she won't say anything, or something—it's probably something. But, as far as she's concerned, he's her friend.]
I've got faith in him. [He's her friend, and that's enough.]
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What the hell does he mean by what little life I have left? [Look, she's all for putting your life on the line for a good cause, as her current situation can obviously attest to. But Break doesn't sound like he's just risking his life, he sounds like he's actually resigned to dying, and that she isn't okay with.] You have to fight for yourself too, Break! [UGH someone save her from mysterious smiley secretly depressed bullshitters who have no sense of self-preservation
Clover's gesture gets her to stop short though. Suddenly, she feels small and ashamed - if Clover can so quickly and readily declare her faith in Break simply out of friendship, it would be incredibly unfair for Undyne to not do the same. She's still worried about him - whatever it is he's doing, it's easy to tell from his behavior that no one should be carrying that sort of burden alone. But if it's enough for Clover to have faith, then it's enough for her.
She maneuvers around Break carefully, making sure she's in a position where Clover's hand can remain on his shoulder while she slowly lifts his arm up and folds his fingers into a loose fist. Then she bumps it with her own.]
Team Pride's gotta stick together, right? I've got your back.
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You don't need to—
[ Though something seems to dawn on him, and that mildly irritated expression turns to surprise, and then a soft smile. Now he understands what the bookmark is about, since that smaller hand isn't Undyne's at all. ]
Ah, that's Clover, isn't it?
[ As if that's a question, really. It doesn't seem like this should be something that makes him feel a bit more at ease, considering they're both dead, and yet, it does. It's odd to think of, and it's as he's struggling to think of how to express that sentiment (though at least that's a struggle of Break being bad at expressing feelings rather than the other) that Undyne guides his hand. He's at least more patient now as he lets Undyne move his hand around until he gets a gesture that unmistakably answers his concern.
He laughs, though it's soft and embarrassed. He's still not used to this, and he doesn't think that he ever will be. Break truly doesn't feel that he's proven his trustworthiness, and perhaps he believes that he doesn't deserve it either. Yet every time he receives these kind of warm gestures, he's humbled by them. Whether he deserves it or not, he can't help but remember and honor that simple, warm sentiment that Lady Shelly had passed onto him. ]
Honestly... Kids these days are really troublesome. [ Though of course he still has to be Old about it. He relaxes his fist, since he had been keeping it up of his own volition, though he lowers it back to his side with a shrug. ]
If you can, would you mind answering a few questions for me?
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Not that it's a question, but he still gets an answer in the form of a light squeeze before she takes her hand back and better secures her koala clinging.] Took you long enough. [But she's smiling, too, soft and slight but at least much better than the moping she's been doing all evening. Maybe the real shit we're looting from dead people is the friends we made along the way.]
Troublesome's all I do. [She's tempted to punch his shoulder for being Old about feelings since she, unlike some people, can use punches as a form of affection without destroying them, but she's already gotten into, like, five ghost fights today; she should probably make at least half an attempt to conserve her energy. But she does reach out again to tap his shoulder twice, ready for question answering.
She writhes a little so she can peer up at Undyne.] We should take turns answering, so we don't get too tired.
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Good plan. You wanna go first then? [She says after she's already wasted energy kicking an old man when he's down....]
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Stop using your energy for useless things like smacking me!
[ Or just don't smack him? But he knows that one is impossible to ask, so he just sighs and motions to each shoulder as he explains. ]
My left shoulder is "yes," and the right is "no."
[ But though he explains that, he does pause, since he still wants to choose his questions carefully here. At least he doesn't have to worry about quite the same things he had with Gilbert, but those concerns are still there. ]
...The women that you fought, Undyne. Have you met them since?
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That's for you, so guess not. [Even though she's mmmmostly sure she knows the answer, but Undyne's full of surprises. Clover's never allowed to be completely sure of anything ever again.]
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But wow, what a terrible question to start on if he wanted her to conserve her strength. She taps his right shoulder once, and then proceeds to grip it tightly and lower her head so she can speak directly into his ear.]
I know you probably can't hear me, but I'm gonna say this out loud anyway because maybe your heart can pick up what your ears can't. I have no idea what you're doing here, but if you see either of those cowardly cheating despicable disgraces again, tell them that the next time I see them, I'm gonna finish the job.
Actually, you can take Satan, I don't need to waste my energy on someone I already know I can beat. But Lucifer is mine. I'll make her regret ever even thinking about associating her name with Pride when she clearly has none herself!
[And then she lets go. This too was also an incredibly necessary use of her ghost energy.]
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He does seem relieved by that information, though. Even if he assumes Undyne would absolutely like to fight them again, he's more content in the idea that the dead will be a little safer than that. He worries about them, in his way. ]
...If I'm understanding that correctly, then at least allow me to waste my breath for a minute and say that you shouldn't fight them again even if you have the opportunity. You embarrassed them, and that's victory enough, isn't it?
[ It isn't, and he knows it... He would take great satisfaction in it himself, certainly, but it's also not as good as actually killing them. But while Break knows that about himself, he doesn't want to encourage serial killer qualities in others, so. ]
Is there anyone else with you, then? Besides the dead we know.
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You're gonna kick their asses the second they're stupid enough to mess with you again. [Some peanut gallery commentary from the person present who can actually hear Undyne's shounen intensity, and if she looks she'll see that Clover's expression is full of admiration.
In the meantime, she reaches out and taps Break's left shoulder firmly, but with significantly less shounen determination.]
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That's not a victory at all! Enemies of justice need to be struck down! Especially the filthy lying cheating backstabbing ones with no honor! [YOU CAN'T TELL HER WHO SHE CAN'T FIGHT BREAK!! She'll fight them even if it means ruining all his plans and sending the entire town plunging into Bad End her grudgewank knows no bounds
Honestly, it's a good thing Clover decided to interrupt by answering Break's actual question, because she was about two seconds away from severely confusing him by smacking his right shoulder for no it's not enough and no she's not going to listen to his stupid weenie advice.]
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Are they other dead, or is it a bit different than that? Left if they're other dead, right if it's something else.
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Clover glances up at Undyne, expectant.] Well, I've only seen the dead girls. [But again she's never allowed to be sure of anything ever again.]
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