Break; doesn't seem to work

Hi
I am trying to fool around with something for a temporary site for myself (since I never get around to redo it completely) and want to change pictures in an external swf based on where the pointer is located. So far the code looks like this:

function changer() {
	if (_root._xmouse<=180&&_root._ymouse<=130) {
		_root.the_mc.gotoAndPlay("fade");
	}
	if (_root.the_mc.pics._alpha<=4&&_root.the_mc.pics._currentFrame<=4) {
		_root.the_mc.pics.gotoAndStop(5);
		break;
	} else if (_root.the_mc.pics._alpha<=4&&_root.the_mc.pics._currentFrame>=5){
		_root.the_mc.pics.gotoAndStop(1);
	}
}

However the external swf(_root.the_mc.pics) doesn’t stop at its frame. I can see it flicker between frame 1 and 5. I have tried using two separate if statements, the above and also an else statement with no change. What am I doing wrong?