THE NINTH FALL – Prologue "Exhaustion."

-Many Years Ago-

-211X-

"When can I see my family again?" I ask the man in the black suit. A high ranking government official, an older man who's as tired as I am, I've sure created a lot of work for him, and all of his colleagues.

"Once we deem it safe for you to leave." He says.

I'm in protection right now, but I don't feel all that safe, not that my safety matters, I just rather not have to repeat this day again.

Drab white walls, plain ol' chairs, boring table, its a government building alright.

I adjust myself in the chair, to get a bit more comfortable, before deciding to get up and mosey on to the window. Very thick panes of glass meant to keep bullets out, and keep people in.

Welp, they know I'm here. There's a cavalcade of angry people in the streets, bustling about with all sorts of hateful messages printed on signs. All people that want my family dead.

This isn't gonna be easy, but if anyone can do it, its me.

"So I take it I'm not leaving anytime soon?" I ask to my political cohort.

"We'll get you out sometime soon Frisk."

My name is Frisk Dreemurr, and I just unleashed a living myth unto the world.

A week ago, I walked to our city hall, and with proof and a very careful selection of words, told the authorities that I represented the now free Monster kingdom. Scrutiny turned into confusion, which erupted into terror. They kept it a secret for all of three days, before publicly addressing the world, as part of our agreement.

To say the world has lost its mind would be an understatement.

"I hope my family has been sufficiently protected and treated well?" I ask sternly to the Mayor, who is riding with me. We're in the back of an armored convoy, usually the type only reserved for presidents or CEO's.

"Yes, your family and other envoys are in a camp we set up outside Ebott. It's being guarded by the military, so there's not a chance a stranger got in."

I keep my stance as I lean back into the leather seat, my feet only barely hitting the floor. "And why should I trust the military? They're as much a stranger as anyone else, armed strangers at that."

"They are special forces, not your average countrymen. I assure you, they are safe." He accentuates the end, obviously annoyed.

We sit in silence for a bit. We may be allies, but I don't necessarily trust him yet.

"Frisk. You're... very well spoken for a young child. I'm surprised by your grasp of law, and even more of your language and communication..." He says, obviously unsure about something.

"Yes?" I cautiously ask.

"How am I supposed to know you aren't a Monster taking the form of a Human child, or that you aren't being held against your will with specific instruction? You speak better then some of my secretary's, and can cite specific laws. Your school's records on you say you failed most of your tests, and you refuse to see your parents, even though they say they really want to see you. Add on to that you were down there less then a week, and now you apparently represent the entire faction as an adopted princess? I need to know I, and the prime minister can trust you. Because this is all really fishy." He keeps an even tone, even as he stares a hole through me, but I don't let it get to me, I've already been through this.

I prepare my truths and lies.

"You did a great job today, my child." My adoptive mother tells me as we sit together on the perch just outside the exit of the underground. The sunset eases my mental exhaustion, the view of the city's many towers and buildings refract the gentle orange light.

"Thanks..." I say, before letting loose a loud yawn. "How's it feel to be queen again?" I ask her.

"As much as I'd prefer not to be associated with the king, its for the greater good. Its difficult however, those Humans are so bureaucratic and boring. I almost fell asleep during the meeting!" I laugh a bit, Toriel isn't dead serious about this like Asgore is, though he has more pressure on him.

"Does that make me a princess?" I ask playfully, mirroring the mayors words.

"I suppose so... but I really don't think you should take the Dreemurr name." She says. "What makes you say that?" I ask her. "Its cursed. 'No easy life for a Dreemurr' is how the old saying goes, call it superstition, but its held true. You're probably better off with your old name." She says with a similarly playful air. "I'd rather a 'cursed' name then my old one." I say as she giggles a bit.

"You need some sleep, and some food. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." She starts to go into mother mode, as she has a stern, yet kind smirk looking at me. "I'm pretty sure every day ahead of me is going to be long for months." I say before another yawn.

She stands up, and does a bit of a stretch, before a yawn of her own. "I have to go back to New Home, makes sure everyone is behaving, hopefully Asgore hasn't said anything stupid... I'll be back at the camp shortly, you behave too Frisk." She says before giving me hug as I stand up, before heading into the underground.

The walk down to the camp is nice, I can hear birds chirping, crickets cricketing, and other sounds of nature. Its a late summer night alright, not too hot though. I come up to the camp after a short few minutes of walking, the entrance of the camp is guarded by two military people, dark green fatigues, body armor, and service rifles, the works. "Hi!" I be nice to them.

They respond with silence. I sigh, and walk between them into the camp.

Its a couple of large tents encased by a barbwire fence, feels more like an imprisonment then a political meeting ground. We've tried to make it a bit more homely though, we got a campfire set up, with a bunch of logs around it. Sometimes we stay up and tell stories or just talk, its a great way for everyone to learn more about me.

I see a certain two brothers sitting around the campfire.

"heya frisk." Sans greets me. "GREETINGS!" his brother, Papyrus greets me too. "You guys staying lively?" I ask, as I sit on the log opposite to the two they're sitting on. "trying too. not much to do." Sans eternal grimace doesn't falter. "SANS HAS TAKEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO TORMENT ME, AS ALWAYS."

"its honest work, and someones gotta do it." Sans says smugly, before lounging on the log. "Sans, you really shouldn't... And tibia honest, I shouldn't either." I say with a smug grin of my own. "YOU TOO?!" Papyrus squeals, and falls off his log, his legs shaking in the air. "Take it easy guys." I say after a quick laugh, and get up, and head towards one of the other tents.

The inside of the tent is nothing too special, a few cots and a table with some chairs. All bland government stuff.

I'm suddenly picked up like a stiff plank of wood. "Frisk! Good to see ya!" Undyne says as she holds me over her head. "Hey, good to see you too!" I say as the side of my body drags against the ceiling of the tent. "Uh... could you put me down?" I ask. "No problem!"

"How'd the day go? Boring Human stuff as usual?"

"You know it."

"Hey Alphys how you doin?" I raise my voice a bit to address the Monster in the corner of the room, shes sitting on a cot, absorbed by her portable computer thing. "HUMAN INTERNET IS AMAZING." Alphys gushes. "I'm glad she's having fun with Human stuff, cuz I'm not. Its taking all of my SUPER WILLPOWER not to suplex those cronies every time they talk to us." Undyne finishes with a flex. "I appreciate your patience, its hard work for all of us." I try to reassure her, I know how hard this must be for her, just two weeks ago she had no idea she'd be on the surface playing buddy buddy with the Humans she hated. "Speaking of which, I need to go talk to Asgore. I just wanted to come check in on you guys nice and fast."

"No problem." "See ya Frisk!"

There's two other tents here at the camp, one smaller one meant for sleeping, one bigger one meant for meetings, which I'm sure Asgore has spent a lot of time in today, maybe he's still in there? I enter the boring dark green tent, and see him with his head on the desk in the center, the tents only feature. A center of negotiations, all sorts of documents are spread about the table. I quietly move towards him, and scooch up a chair.

I nudge his shoulder "hey, you alright?" I ask him. He stirs for a minute, before I repeat the nudge. I'm not gonna let him fall asleep here, he needs to be in a bed. He groans before finally waking, a look of confusion on his furry face as he looks around the room, before it turns into a smile as he glances at me.

"Howdy... Frisk" he yawns "how was your day?" he puts his hand on my shoulder before yawning again. "Busy and boring." I try to be honest. "I agree. Stressful as well, the weight of my people on my shoulders again... I have to be perfect, for them."

I let out a nervous laugh. "Don't take it too seriously. If anything goes wrong, no matter how bad, I can and will fix it. Trust me on that, okay?" I try to reassure him, the king is too hard on himself.

He looks at me blankly for a second, before letting loose a meaty laugh. "I understand. I should have guessed earlier. I take it today didn't take too long then?"

"Longer then I would have liked." I say with disappointment, as I eye some of the documents on the table. A mess of legal terms and political jargon, something I'm sure I'll get used to soon. "The prime minister is a nice man, I don't think he is intimidated by me anymore. I gave him a sweater I knit yesterday, I hope he likes it."

"That's good." I smile at his antics, that's so like him. "We're lucky then, the last thing we needed was a leader who was hostile with us. This is gonna be enough of an uphill battle, we didn't need the guy at the top to push us to the bottom." I add.

"We'll do it Frisk, together."

"Thanks. Alright, I'm going to go now, Toriel should be back soon with food." I say, scooching my chair back. "Before you leave..." Asgore says as I get up, prompting me to look towards him again.

"Me and the prime minister talked about you for a short moment. He said your parents wanted to see you, and that you vehemently refused to see them. Why did you lie to us? You said your parents were long dead." He asks with concern, his frown telling.

I look the other way in embarrassment, I didn't want him to find out.

"You should really see them, even if you don't like them. They-" I cut him off "I want you to trust me on this, more than anything else I've asked of you. I've made my decision, I never want to see them ever again. I'm sorry I lied, I didn't think they would reach out like this." I plead to him, trying to stay calm.

"What did they do to you?" Asgore asks. As usual, he knows more then he lets on.

I take a deep breath.

"You don't need to know, and I don't want you to know. Just know they are bad people who don't really care about me."

He looks down towards my feet.

"I often think about every single one of the eight children who fell into the underground. What horrible things does a child have to go through to throw themselves down a chasm? Every one of those children wanted a good life, but ended up seeking death instead. And that's what they ended up receiving, all of them, except for you. I don't want you to bear all these burdens on your own, I won't ask anymore, and I'll trust you Frisk, as long as you trust us too."

"Thanks for caring so much. Stuff like that is why I chose you guys over them." I choke up a bit, but I suppress tears. No crying today.

"Bearing so much pain alone is a hell no one deserves. It destroys one from the inside, makes them a demon they can't even recognize in the mirror. I know you've been through more then I can probably comprehend at the moment, but if you really feel like you have to get it off of your chest, I am here, Toriel is here, all your friends are here." Asgore continues to assure me.

"Trust me, its... not gonna get to me." I say as earnestly as I can, but it is a bit of a lie. "And... lets make sure. Lets make sure there won't be another kid like me, throwing themselves down a hole wanting to die, and if there is... lets give em a life worth living instead." I try to cheer him up this time.

He smiles.

"Yes! Now lets seal that promise with some food and sleep, shall we?" He says, before we both walk out of the tent together. Another day comes to a close, after we have a dinner with all our friends.

There will never be a ninth, not as long as I live.

I hope.