Lemonhope's mind was at ease for the rest of the day during their travel. For a moment his and Frasier's troubles seemed to have been forgotten, and their trip went by much faster because of it. As the sun set, they could see the border between the grassy hills they were on and the frosty Ice Kingdom approach. The night was extremely cold compared to the last one, but this time Frasier and Lemonhope took equal turns in order to keep the fire going while the other slept. Despite the constant fire, the two felt like they were freezing the next morning.
"So, how exactly are we going to find Club Ice?" asked Lemonhope.
"It shows itself to those who truly wish to forget the past," replied Frasier with confidence.
"But how does it 'show itself to those'?"
"I… don't know."
The two were stumped. Lemonhope was no good at interpreting cryptic messages and Frasier never really questioned his grandfather's stories. "Let's just walk around a bit and something might show up," suggested Frasier.
With no other options they crossed over into the Ice Kingdom. The moment their feet touched the snowy expanse they felt the cold seep into them. Frasier's normally impatient walk slowed down and Lemonhope shivered constantly. The only saving grace for their comfort was that the wind was not blowing at the moment. After a while of trudging through the icy expanse they saw a penguin playing in the snow. "M-maybe he can tell us where the club is," suggested Frasier.
"I-it's a penguin, how would it be able to t-tell us where the club is?" replied Lemonhope.
"What else can we d-do? It's not like we can see the club anywhere nearby."
"The f-frost must be getting to your brain. Why would a penguin…"
Lemonhope was interrupted by the penguin making a quack. The duo went completely silent as the penguin stared at them. "You should ask him," whispered Frasier to Lemonhope.
Lemonhope gave a little wave to the penguin, making it look towards him. "H-hello there," stuttered Lemonhope. "Do you know where Club Ice is?"
Without hesitation, the penguin pointed towards a nearby icy mountain. "T-thank you," said Lemonhope in surprise. With that said, the penguin flopped down onto its belly and slid off into the distance.
"I'm starting to think your grandad lied about a few things in his stories," remarked Lemonhope.
"Maybe," said Frasier. "But first we need to get to that club. I think I'm going to freeze to death if we stay out here any longer."
Frasier turned to the mountain the penguin pointed towards. It appeared rather close compared to the other mountains, but he could see no sign that a club was hidden there. There was no way to be sure that the penguin could really know where the club was, or that the penguin actually understood what they asked of it.
The two shook off what frost had gathered on them and started trudging in the direction of the mountain. With each step that they took the mountain got closer, but so did the potential of a frosty death. However, it was in the moment that Lemonhope considered turning back that they began to hear a noise, a muffled thumping. The further they travelled, the louder it got. "T-the club, that has to be it!" exclaimed Frasier. With newfound strength, the two made their way to the mountain. Soon enough, the thumping seemed to reverberate all around them and even within them. Their hearts raced as they climbed up a steep hill of snow which was vibrating beneath them. Reaching the apex of the hill made it clear that the penguin was right.
A barrage of technicolour light poured out of a pair of double doors onto the snow and a bouncer standing in front of it. Red velvet ropes were arranged in front of the entrance to make a maze of a queue in which surprisingly nobody stood. The thumping was now starting to sound like music which embodied the energy of careless hedonism. The duo broke out into a sprint when they saw all this and nearly fell over each other in their haste.
The queue might have been empty when they entered it, but that didn't stop the maze-like design from delaying them by a full minute before they got to the bright double doors. Before they could rush inside, they were stopped by the burly bouncer. It was now clear that the bouncer was a snow golem wearing a tie and covered in black paint. "ID?" asked the snow golem.
Frasier and Lemonhope quickly retrieved their ID's that they got from Casino City and presented them. "At least that horrid place was good for something," said Lemonhope as they went in.
When they opened the doors, it felt as if a tsunami of music crashed into them. The lights danced to the melody and the people on the dancefloor grooved to the beat. On the left was a massive bar lined with drinks, seats, and people drunk out of their minds. On the opposite side were rows of booths filled with even more people drinking their worries away. Beyond all this at the back of the building was a box hoisted high in the room. Inside was a bear wearing a fedora managing an enormous DJ setup in front of him. It took a while for Lemonhope to drink it all in and only after that realised that he was feeling warm again.
He could barely think with the music pounding into his skull and tried to focus on a point in order to gain back some control. As he stared at nothing in particular, the music began to tune out. The mad words and the radical beats turned to nothing but a loud baritone note in the back of his head. He could finally clear his mind and truly see what was around him. He noticed that he chose to focus on a booth not too far away from the entrance. In it sat a lone candy person. His skin was a deep ochre and glistened in the florescent lights. On his head sat a red pointed hat with a brim wide enough to cover himself and people standing next to him. He wore a large candy wrapper in the shape of a poncho which had the face of a cow on it. Beneath it was some text that was indecipherable from where Lemonhope stood.
The candy person was staring intently at a translucent shot glass in front of him filled with a creamy blue liquid, deep in thought. He looked up from it with a concerned look on his face and glanced around the club. For a moment, his eyes and Lemonhope's met. The candy person's expression went from concern to fearful in an instant, him grabbing for the shot glass as he did so. In a flash the liquid was gone, and he slumped over the table at which he sat.
Lemonhope started to notice the feeling of something poking him in his side and it took him a second to realise that it was Frasier trying to get his attention. He could see Frasier's mouth moving, but all he could hear was the ceaseless drone of music. "What?" he screamed at Frasier. He could barely hear his friend's reply, "Are you alright, Lemonhope?".
As with everything in the club, it took Lemonhope a while to realise what his friend said. "I'm fine, it's just hard to hear anything," he shouted in return.
"Then what were you staring at?"
"Just some guy who might be dead."
"What?!"
Frasier located the candy person and dashed with great speed towards him. "Alright you party animals, now it's time for the slooow dance," emanated a voice throughout the club. The lights dimmed down, and the music changed to a softer, more manageable tune. The people on the dancefloor went from being a frantic mash of bodies and limbs and broke off into pairs now keeping a respectful distance between each other. Lemonhope felt as if the frost locking his joints finally melted away and he could relax. He saw Frasier talking adamantly with the candy person all while wearing a massive grin.
It was strange how a small little creature such as him could have such a friendly disposition, pondered Lemonhope. He acted the same way when he met Lemonhope the first time, and from where Lemonhope stood it looked like the conversation was going in a remarkably similar way as his and Frasier's did back then. A question slipped into Lemonhope's mind, and it was one which brewed concern. Could Frasier have been acting like this with every new and strange person that he has met? It meant to Lemonhope that Frasier could have just buttered him up as special in order to get close to him. More importantly, could this mean that Frasier had done this before? And what happened to those who he 'befriended' before Lemonhope?
Lemonhope cursed his inquisitive nature. He might have had his doubts about the little green fellow, and when he confronted Frasier all he got was a sensible answer. Lemonhope always had some question which made him uncomfortable and led to a sense of distrust. He decided that this was another aspect of himself to forget.
Lost in thought, Lemonhope did not notice Frasier and his newfound friend approach him. When they called for his attention, he jumped as he was surprised at the candy person's height. After Lemonhope calmed down, Frasier took it as his queue to explain. "This is Molasses Moe, although that isn't his real name, and he wants to join us in our travels! I asked him a bit and he told me that he didn't even remember how he got into this club. Strange, isn't it? He remembers nothing about his past or who he is. I have a pretty good suspicion that the reason he forgot is because of this club. It should be fairly obvious as to why, since it was my grandpa's stories about how this place makes you forget. He even has a cool gun! Take a look," said Frasier in one large breath before he removed Moe's gun from its holster.
"Frasier just stop for a second," said Lemonhope. "You've been going a bit too fast for me to follow, and I think I need a bit of a break from that. Can you leave me alone for a while to think, please?"
Frasier was dead silent when his friend said that. "Alright then," replied Frasier softly. "Take some time to think it over, ok?"
Lemonhope turned away from Frasier and Moe towards the bar, and then made his way to whatever drink waited behind the counter for him.
He just needed a break from it all. A break from adventuring. A break from all the terrors which he had encountered. A break from Frasier. The ever-vigilant bartender was by Lemonhope before he even took a seat. The bartender looked completely like a human, except for the fact that his head was a balloon with a crudely drawn face on it. As he spoke, the face moved vaguely along with his words. "What will it be?" he asked.
"I just want to forget it all," replied Lemonhope.
"Ah, the Forget Me Not! A classic. I'll have it ready for you in a second."
The bartender reached beneath the counter and grabbed three drinks in each hand. Lemonhope barely had time to register what they all were before the bartender began to move them between his hands and the countertop seamlessly. All Lemonhope could understand of what was happening in front of him, was that the glass that was in front of him was filling up with an array of strange liquids mixing together making strange colours and patterns. In the blink of an eye the drink was finished, and the bartender returned the bottles below the counter.
"How much is the drink?" asked Lemonhope now realising that he might be required to pay some money which he did not have. "First drink is on the house," replied the bartender who was now cleaning a glass. All Lemonhope's worries of cash and credit faded away, knowing that he only needed one of these drinks to forget it all. The glass was filled with the same creamy blue liquid as Moe's was.
Lemonhope picked up the glass and put it up to his lips, but before he could drink, he remembered something. He remembered that he would forget all the good along with all the bad, and with that realisation came another. He won't be able to remember. It was childish to only now realise the ramifications of such a drink which he had before him, but could he really be to blame for considering drinking it?
He went through personal hell to personal hell his entire life, as short as it was. But despite the pleasure that he would get from forgetting them, he would also forget his triumphs that came from overcoming each of them. His success and hardship made him who he was. If it were not for his imprisonment early in his life, he would never have wanted to be free as much as he did. Could forgetting everything make him forget who he was in the first place? After a not so careful consideration, coupled with the thought of Frasier's new best friend, he knew that yes, he would forget himself, and that was the last thing he wanted to lose.
He put the glass down and slid it over to the person sitting next to him. Despite his growth through hardship, the hardship was still unpleasant to live through. He has always been put through this by other people. Lemongrab imprisoned him; Princess Bubblegum wanted him to liberate Castle Lemongrab; and Frasier wanted him to go to Casino City. All of them had put him through the worst moments of his life, yet none have ever apologised or seemed willing to. Lemonhope looked at Frasier having a conversation with Moe. Frasier didn't really care for him. Nobody did. All Frasier wanted was someone to lead from one horror to the next, and he just found a new subject to exploit.
Lemonhope decided that Frasier should no longer exploit him for some sadistic purpose. Frasier had someone else's life to ruin now. With that, Lemonhope stood up from the stool and made his way to the entrance, not even glancing at Frasier. He saw the snowy expanse waiting for him and embraced the cold that awaited him. He was stopped by Frasier just before he opened the door. "Where are you going?" asked Frasier in a concerned tone.
"As far away from you as I can," replied Lemonhope bitterly.
"What do you mean?"
"You have brought me nothing but pain, and the only way that I can see a future for myself is to make one without you."
A wave seemed to ripple over Frasier as he heard this. "I thought we were friends," said Frasier.
"I don't think I can trust a friend that drags me to horrible places and can kill me in an instant whenever he pleases," said Lemonhope.
"But you know I won't do such a thing to you."
"Just leave me alone, ok? I don't want to see or hear anything about you again."
Lemonhope left the door wide open as he left. As he was leaving, he heard Frasier call out to him. "I know what your flaw is now!" shouted Frasier. "You're a coward! And an egotistical one at that!"
Lemonhope didn't turn to face Frasier. The final blow was struck, and by Frasier none the less.
