[ It's not quite that Break waits patiently for Undyne to return so much as he just sits in mild fear, but it doesn't take long before she clarifies as best she can. His brow knits in slight confusion at first and then concern as he touched the bone. After all, it's not quite as immediately obvious to Break that this is one of Papyrus's bones, and he's concerned for a moment until he remembers how that works. With that, he understands, and his hand curls around the bone as he grips it a bit more tightly.
But his expression tightens. His mouth sets into a thin line of displeasure, and he doesn't say anything for several long moments. It's not that he doesn't know what to say, though.
Did you think he was exempt for some reason? That's not how this works.
He has enough sense to not say that, since for all of the violence Undyne has unintentionally caused, he won't provoke her intentionally. But still, those barbed words are somewhat apparent in that drawn expression. He's angry that Undyne is taking this out on him, angry that she was naive enough to think that anyone was immune, but also angry at himself in part too. Like a devil's whisper in his ear, this is just a reminder of what he can't do, and it's frustrating. ]
[It's not that she ever thought Papyrus would be immune - it's why she stuck to him so closely when she'd been alive, after all. She knew that out of everyone here, he would be particularly vulnerable to getting killed. She's even aware of how unfair it is to take this out on Break, who lost his own best friend and likely knows better than anyone else what she's going through right now.
What she hadn't been ready for was how utterly useless she'd be in the face of this. Even with the guilt of Clover's death hanging over her shoulders, she'd at least had the trial and the chance to deliver justice on her killer to focus on. But now...her best friend in the world, who relied on her to protect him, who never gave up hope that people could do better even as the weeks wore on, who was far too innocent for a game like this, is dead - and not only was she completely helpless to stop it, she doesn't even know where to begin to save or avenge him.
(And Sans, oh god, Sans. Whatever she's feeling now, he has to be going through it a thousand times worse. His brother, his closest companion - and with everything she's learned about him from the past two months, she knows without a doubt that he would much rather be dead than outlive Papyrus. How could she have failed them both so badly?)
What does she have now? No killer to catch, no demons to fight - just a nebulous plan she doesn't know the details of, a body she can barely do anything with, and a couple of friends who won't tell her anything out of 'safety'. As if she gives a shit about safety at this point.
It's that twist in Break's mouth, the one that says 'what did you expect', the way he doesn't look shocked in the least, that nearly gets her to snap completely. Her arm shoots out seemingly without any input from her mind and her hand wraps that pale throat, squeezing tightly enough to crush his windpipe within seconds.
She doesn't solidify though. For Break, the next few moments likely seem as if nothing's happening and that Undyne's thankfully calmed down. For her, the seconds stretch on to eternity as she reminds herself that Break is still her friend, still someone she cares about, still someone she doesn't want to see harmed in the slightest - especially by her own two hands. As furious as she is, she'd be no better than the people in charge if she took it out on him.
(It's a close thing. Later, she'll be ashamed of how close it was.)
Slowly, she lets go, curling her hand into a fist by her side.]
Where. The fuck. Is Katerina. [Her voice comes out low and steady - no use screaming if he can't hear her anyway, and she's passed over her initial rage into the calm waters of tranquil fury.] If you're not doing anything, I will.
[ He waits for something, but so far as what Break can hear and feel, there's nothing. However, he's not so naive as to think that Undyne is letting it go or calming down. Actually, he's imagining something rather close to the truth, since he just thinks that she doesn't have the energy anymore to take this out on him. He should probably feel relief for that, since even if he was skilled, he was also only human. He knew well enough by now that Undyne could kill him rather easily if she wanted to. But he doesn't. He doesn't feel very much at all, since at this point, it's difficult to care about anything.
Her hand doesn't grip his throat, and he doesn't even know that she tries, but that sharp smile stays. There's nothing that happens to change it, but at least the pause in whatever she's doing gives him a chance to speak further. His words aren't barbed, but they're sharp and upset. ]
I know exactly what failing to protect people feels like, so throwing things at me isn't going to give me any more ability to set things right.
[ If only it were that easy. The thought gets him to laugh, and he bows forward tiredly to put his head in a hand. It's more a gesture of thoughtfulness, though, since even if he didn't know Papyrus at all, it weighs more heavily on him than even Break would like to admit. If not for Papyrus himself, then for Undyne, who is upset enough to come take it out on him. It's probably selfish, and he's aware of that, but in the face of things like this, he just feels the weight of that one simple question that's haunted him for so many years now. ]
People are going to die, and there's little I can do to stop that. I can only hope that what comes after will work at this point.
Edited (i changed my mind slightly) 2016-04-20 18:18 (UTC)
[i want you to know i've had most of this tag written up before today's death went up and just refused to post it out of anger
Okay, now Undyne feels like a shit. Grudgewank and serious matters aside, her wrath burns hot but quick, and Break's comment about failing to protect people drives a stake into it faster than anything else. It isn't fair of her at all to make him feel even worse just because she's furious at something that isn't his fault in the least, and the guilt's enough to get her to put a corporeal hand gently on his head out of apology.
But with the initial fire of her rage burned out, rational thought finally comes back. Papyrus might be dead, but there's still someone else in the town who needs help more than ever. She grabs his hand and writes out four letters on his palm, hoping it's enough for him to recognize what she's trying to say.]
s a n s
[She's not asking for Break to look out for him - he already has enough burdens of his own. But if there's something else he can do...]
You don't need to tell him the details, but at least give him hope that there's something else in store. He's smart, he'll figure the rest out on his own I bet. Maybe he'll even be able to help you guys out more than I have. But he's going to wind up doing something incredibly stupid if he doesn't think there are any other options left.
[And yes, she realizes that she is calling the exact same thing she did incredibly stupid, but she also thinks that Sans stands way less of a chance against the sinparents than she did.
[ Break isn't sure what he expects, but that hand on his head gets surprise to show very clearly on his face, though it's followed with a smile. He bows his head as if he needed to do so under the weight of her hand, but that smile turns tired and sad, even though the latter is much more subtle. Break isn't the sort of person to ever complain about the burdens he carries, but he's only human. They wear down on him even though he would definitely prefer to pretend otherwise.
It's why he partially misunderstands when Undyne takes his hand to spell out the name. It's a mild misunderstanding, since nuance is hard for her to convey to him, but he fills in the blanks with his own expectations. He feels those letters traced out, and they're not a surprise at all. He laughs again, then curls his hand delicately into a fist like a gesture of acceptance. ]
I'll do what I can.
[ No "I promise," because he doesn't feel like he can do that. Promising something that he's not sure that he can actually fulfill isn't something that Break wants to do, and especially not to someone he likes. He taps his fingers against his palm thoughtfully, but he has a question of his own, surprisingly. It might seem out of the blue to Undyne, but there's a connection here. Undyne might have an idea of what it is by now, or if not, then I'm just tormenting cappy apparently. ]
Have any of you seen Miata, by the way?
joke's on you i am too DEAD INSIDE to be betrayed ever again!!
[Yeah, Undyne still doesn't and probably will never give a single shit about Miata, but she has grudgingly accepted that she might not be the worst person ever and should maybe be allowed to live if only so she can be useful for once. So the fact that she taps Break's right shoulder for no (and hopefully he still remembers the code) is probably a good thing, as much as she'd love to personally beat the shit out of Miata in the graveyard.
But then she taps his hand twice. Looks like there's something else she wants to tell him, though getting the actual message through is likely going to be a pain.]
[ He remembers, and the "answer" gets Break to laugh, though it's soft and half-hearted. ]
Ahh, I suppose I shouldn't be surprise. I'll just have to wait and see how much of a coward she is.
[ But he at least says weird, cryptic shit while he extends his palm to be flat again. At least he's intuitive enough to understand ghost charades, otherwise this would be even stupider, which would be almost impressive. ]
[Right. This one's going to be hard because Undyne isn't even really sure what it is she's trying to get across, let alone how to convey it so Break can understand. She hesitates before writing five letters on his palm.]
d o o r s
[Is she really wasting her energy telling Break that the ghost broke all the doors in the hotel MAYBE!!!]
[ Break does have a concern about that, and he pauses after he understands the word that Undyne has traced out. There's nowhere for him to look exactly, but his attention does shift upward with a mildly cautious look. ]
...Are you still breaking doors?
[ There's definitely an implied "chill" in his tone ]
[She rolls her eyes and taps his right shoulder for 'no'. Man, it's a good thing a ton of people are about to die this week, otherwise this conversation is probably going use up all the energy she has.]
[ So it's not that. Color Break surprised! Or not really, since he doesn't think Undyne is exactly the kind of person to waste her energy and brag about that. His brow knits together, but his expression turns thoughtful. ]
...Is there a door in particular you want me to know about?
[She will only brag about breaking Vegeta's door on his face, it's true. She pauses for a moment because she's not quite sure if it's a wholly accurate answer, but with no way to get more specific she shrugs and taps his left shoulder for 'yes'.]
[ This at least gives him something to concentrate a bit more attention on, so he's happy to go with that. He holds out his hand to her, ad then flexes each finger in turn to indicate it as he explains. ]
Just tap whichever finger corresponds to where it is. [ And he'll flex a different finger as he goes through the basics: ] The ground floor, first floor, second floor, third floor, somewhere else in the hotel, or somewhere in the town?
[ Break's expression shows that pretty clearly, and he pauses for a few moments as he tries to piece it together... But nope, it goes over my head, so it's going over his. ]
Er... Should I go through the buildings in the same way?
[UGH THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE BREAK!! Not that she's surprised that he didn't get it, since yeah this is all pretty confusing shit.
She taps the finger he used to indicate 'somewhere in town' again. Then she opens his palms and tries to wiggle all of his fingers at once in that universal gesture for 'oooh spooooky!'. Surely there will be no mistranslatation this time.]
[ He is still... Not completely getting it. He stares at the spooky ghost hand out of habit, but his expression just goes a bit flat as he tries to guess what that could possibly mean. So he's going to take more or less a random guess. ]
[ He nods, since at this point, he's not quite as keen at keeping certain cards close to his chest. He laughs, then shrugs. ]
It's in poor shape, I'm assuming?
[ Wow, it sure seems like Break knows a lot about this town, actually... Though actually, he only knows a story about this town and nothing about it in specifics. That question is more of a guess, but it's definitely one that comes from something with a solid basis. ]
[ ugh don't be irritable undyne this is hard ok!! ]
[ Break sighs, but holds out both hands for her again. He'll go through the same process of listing out buildings for her to tap which one to narrow it down to. He'll list all of the buildings in town, but I'm just too lazy to list them all... ]
[ Now that's a surprise, and it shows rather clearly. He hadn't heard anything about the ocean, so he's a bit confused, and as such, he wants to make sure that he's understanding. And not Undyne misspelling... Sorry Undyne. ]
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But his expression tightens. His mouth sets into a thin line of displeasure, and he doesn't say anything for several long moments. It's not that he doesn't know what to say, though.
Did you think he was exempt for some reason? That's not how this works.
He has enough sense to not say that, since for all of the violence Undyne has unintentionally caused, he won't provoke her intentionally. But still, those barbed words are somewhat apparent in that drawn expression. He's angry that Undyne is taking this out on him, angry that she was naive enough to think that anyone was immune, but also angry at himself in part too. Like a devil's whisper in his ear, this is just a reminder of what he can't do, and it's frustrating. ]
...What do you expect me to do, exactly?
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What she hadn't been ready for was how utterly useless she'd be in the face of this. Even with the guilt of Clover's death hanging over her shoulders, she'd at least had the trial and the chance to deliver justice on her killer to focus on. But now...her best friend in the world, who relied on her to protect him, who never gave up hope that people could do better even as the weeks wore on, who was far too innocent for a game like this, is dead - and not only was she completely helpless to stop it, she doesn't even know where to begin to save or avenge him.
(And Sans, oh god, Sans. Whatever she's feeling now, he has to be going through it a thousand times worse. His brother, his closest companion - and with everything she's learned about him from the past two months, she knows without a doubt that he would much rather be dead than outlive Papyrus. How could she have failed them both so badly?)
What does she have now? No killer to catch, no demons to fight - just a nebulous plan she doesn't know the details of, a body she can barely do anything with, and a couple of friends who won't tell her anything out of 'safety'. As if she gives a shit about safety at this point.
It's that twist in Break's mouth, the one that says 'what did you expect', the way he doesn't look shocked in the least, that nearly gets her to snap completely. Her arm shoots out seemingly without any input from her mind and her hand wraps that pale throat, squeezing tightly enough to crush his windpipe within seconds.
She doesn't solidify though. For Break, the next few moments likely seem as if nothing's happening and that Undyne's thankfully calmed down. For her, the seconds stretch on to eternity as she reminds herself that Break is still her friend, still someone she cares about, still someone she doesn't want to see harmed in the slightest - especially by her own two hands. As furious as she is, she'd be no better than the people in charge if she took it out on him.
(It's a close thing. Later, she'll be ashamed of how close it was.)
Slowly, she lets go, curling her hand into a fist by her side.]
Where. The fuck. Is Katerina. [Her voice comes out low and steady - no use screaming if he can't hear her anyway, and she's passed over her initial rage into the calm waters of tranquil fury.] If you're not doing anything, I will.
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Her hand doesn't grip his throat, and he doesn't even know that she tries, but that sharp smile stays. There's nothing that happens to change it, but at least the pause in whatever she's doing gives him a chance to speak further. His words aren't barbed, but they're sharp and upset. ]
I know exactly what failing to protect people feels like, so throwing things at me isn't going to give me any more ability to set things right.
[ If only it were that easy. The thought gets him to laugh, and he bows forward tiredly to put his head in a hand. It's more a gesture of thoughtfulness, though, since even if he didn't know Papyrus at all, it weighs more heavily on him than even Break would like to admit. If not for Papyrus himself, then for Undyne, who is upset enough to come take it out on him. It's probably selfish, and he's aware of that, but in the face of things like this, he just feels the weight of that one simple question that's haunted him for so many years now. ]
People are going to die, and there's little I can do to stop that. I can only hope that what comes after will work at this point.
i can't believe i've been betrayed twice in a row
Okay, now Undyne feels like a shit. Grudgewank and serious matters aside, her wrath burns hot but quick, and Break's comment about failing to protect people drives a stake into it faster than anything else. It isn't fair of her at all to make him feel even worse just because she's furious at something that isn't his fault in the least, and the guilt's enough to get her to put a corporeal hand gently on his head out of apology.
But with the initial fire of her rage burned out, rational thought finally comes back. Papyrus might be dead, but there's still someone else in the town who needs help more than ever. She grabs his hand and writes out four letters on his palm, hoping it's enough for him to recognize what she's trying to say.]
s a n s
[She's not asking for Break to look out for him - he already has enough burdens of his own. But if there's something else he can do...]
You don't need to tell him the details, but at least give him hope that there's something else in store. He's smart, he'll figure the rest out on his own I bet. Maybe he'll even be able to help you guys out more than I have. But he's going to wind up doing something incredibly stupid if he doesn't think there are any other options left.
[And yes, she realizes that she is calling the exact same thing she did incredibly stupid, but she also thinks that Sans stands way less of a chance against the sinparents than she did.
also fuck you zia and fuck you christy]
and it's only wednesday!
It's why he partially misunderstands when Undyne takes his hand to spell out the name. It's a mild misunderstanding, since nuance is hard for her to convey to him, but he fills in the blanks with his own expectations. He feels those letters traced out, and they're not a surprise at all. He laughs again, then curls his hand delicately into a fist like a gesture of acceptance. ]
I'll do what I can.
[ No "I promise," because he doesn't feel like he can do that. Promising something that he's not sure that he can actually fulfill isn't something that Break wants to do, and especially not to someone he likes. He taps his fingers against his palm thoughtfully, but he has a question of his own, surprisingly. It might seem out of the blue to Undyne, but there's a connection here. Undyne might have an idea of what it is by now, or if not, then I'm just tormenting cappy apparently. ]
Have any of you seen Miata, by the way?
joke's on you i am too DEAD INSIDE to be betrayed ever again!!
But then she taps his hand twice. Looks like there's something else she wants to tell him, though getting the actual message through is likely going to be a pain.]
:)
Ahh, I suppose I shouldn't be surprise. I'll just have to wait and see how much of a coward she is.
[ But he at least says weird, cryptic shit while he extends his palm to be flat again. At least he's intuitive enough to understand ghost charades, otherwise this would be even stupider, which would be almost impressive. ]
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d o o r s
[Is she really wasting her energy telling Break that the ghost broke all the doors in the hotel MAYBE!!!]
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...Are you still breaking doors?
[ There's definitely an implied "chill" in his tone ]
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...Is there a door in particular you want me to know about?
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Just tap whichever finger corresponds to where it is. [ And he'll flex a different finger as he goes through the basics: ] The ground floor, first floor, second floor, third floor, somewhere else in the hotel, or somewhere in the town?
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Then she taps the same finger on his other hand.]
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[ Break's expression shows that pretty clearly, and he pauses for a few moments as he tries to piece it together... But nope, it goes over my head, so it's going over his. ]
Er... Should I go through the buildings in the same way?
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She taps the finger he used to indicate 'somewhere in town' again. Then she opens his palms and tries to wiggle all of his fingers at once in that universal gesture for 'oooh spooooky!'. Surely there will be no mistranslatation this time.]
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In the town... But also not?
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fuck notifs
Is it something about the town you're seeing? I do know that it's different from what I'm seeing, at least.
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It's in poor shape, I'm assuming?
[ Wow, it sure seems like Break knows a lot about this town, actually... Though actually, he only knows a story about this town and nothing about it in specifics. That question is more of a guess, but it's definitely one that comes from something with a solid basis. ]
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[ Break sighs, but holds out both hands for her again. He'll go through the same process of listing out buildings for her to tap which one to narrow it down to. He'll list all of the buildings in town, but I'm just too lazy to list them all... ]
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s e a
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The ocean? There's an ocean where you are?
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