p class="MsoNormal"The starry landscape brightened when the voice spoke. "Your quest has been quite the fruitless one, Lemonhope," said the voice. "Yet you still continue in a fashion that you accomplish your goal by merely attempting to achieve it. I doubt you truly understand what you seek, with what that mortal consciousness of yours can comprehend." Lemonhope struggled to choose where he should look. He wanted to face whoever was behind the voice, yet he was certain that the voice was inside him as well as being everything he could see. He found a spot to look at when he noticed a cluster of stars moving./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was a thick line of stars trailing along and twisting here and there. The stars then grew brighter starting from the front. Lemonhope's perception kicked in and he could see the shape of the head of a large serpent approaching him. As the stars started to become unbearably bright, they began to fade away and give way to a slick and scaly dark moss green skin. The only stars that didn't fade away were the eyes. Its face was horned and had two large protrusions to the back of its head. Its eyes were sunken away yet pierced through anything it looked at. Its mouth was slightly agape to reveal a forest of needle-sharp teeth./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope assumed the serpent would be moderately big, but as it approached and only seemed to become larger. Instead of coming directly towards Lemonhope, it began to circle him while still keeping its head facing towards Lemonhope. Soon Lemonhope found that he was completely surrounded by the monolithic serpent. Its tail didn't end but instead faded away into the endless hoard of stars. Lemonhope struggled to feel as if he existed next to the presence of the serpent. It slowly came to a stop as it closed the gap between Lemonhope and its head. It raised its head to tilt it downwards towards Lemonhope, now facing him. The beast held its silent gaze for a moment./p
p class="MsoNormal""Excuse my poor manners," said the beast, its mouth staying still as it spoke. "I forgot to introduce myself. I have been known by many names, but you shall know me as The Basilisk." Its head tilted slightly as it said its name. "What are you?" asked Lemonhope in a near /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Invested in your pain, and something far beyond your comprehension," replied the /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"My pain?"br /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I seek suffering, and you, Lemonhope, are ripe for the picking. Do not assume that I am here to end it and consume what pain comes from it. I find your current state much more appetising."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope felt an inkling of regret for leaving Frasier. Demonic grass powers would be very-br /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"No mortal can strike me, you foolish lemon," stated the Basilisk. "Quite the admirable trait to trust in one's allies. However, I highly doubt that would be the case in your regard. Your selfish nature has betrayed you a few too many times, despite the selfless façade you display to hide your emotions. Your kind might find great success in their actions but fail to see how they prepare themselves for failure. And now you're faced with the misery which you sowed."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope was at a loss for what to say, as all he could think of seemed to be reflected in some way in the Basilisk's speech. "You have not yet attempted to flee, which I would say is quite surprising considering your feeble attempts to be free," said the Basilisk. "No matter, I will show you what your 'freedom' will lead to." A streak of light caught Lemonhope's attention. The Basilisk did not seem to notice the light and continued staring at Lemonhope. The light came through a crack between the Basilisk's tightly wrapped body. Lemonhope focused his vision and saw that the light was what would lead him out of the forest./p
p class="MsoNormal"After a quick glance at the Basilisk, he dashed towards the light and found the crack large enough to run through. Lemonhope was stunned by the bright light for a moment when he broke through the starry landscape. When his eyes adjusted, he looked around for any sign of the beast, but could find none. He quickly walked out of the forest into a sight which he loathed. Castle Lemongrab stood in the distance, looming over the blasted landscape./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope's entire body froze up for a second before becoming rife with energy as he tried to run back into the forest. Instead of a welcoming tree line, he was faced with a strange and foreign stone structure riddled with rectangular indentations. Lemonhope looked around frantically for some way out of this nightmare but found none. His efforts halted when he heard a familiar humming. He turned towards it and saw a shrivelled up lemonperson strolling happily towards Castle Lemongrab. Lemonhope didn't immediately realise who the person was, but one look at the harp on their side told Lemonhope enough./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope struggled to comprehend why he would ever want to return to that horrid place and why he would be so happy about it. Lemonhope began to run after his older self to stop him, but as he came closer, the world around him faded away back to the starry landscape. Soon he was in front of the Basilisk once again. "Do you really believe that you are free?" asked the Basilisk. "I will let you ponder that once we part, but I must first thank you for what you tried to do for Obed. If you had not foolishly attempted to save him, I would not have found your succulent misery. Until we meet again face to face. Do not think that it means I will not be with you, for my vision is now focused on you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe Basilisk's lengthy body began to coil and slip away from Lemonhope, its skin fading away to join the stars once again. Lemonhope waited for the stars to fade away but realised that these stars were real. He looked around and nearly fell off when he saw that he was on the very edge of a cliff. He tumbled backwards onto the small amount of solid ground that he had to stand on. It felt strange to have time pass by without your notice and kept Lemonhope's mind preoccupied for a moment before he realised how helplessly stranded he was./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope tried to grapple onto any sense of freedom as he found that he was trapped with no way out. It took a near panic attack for him to find that while he was not free to leave the cliff, he was free to wait for… something. Be it as it may, he was not going to let some ethereal snake break his spirit./p
p class="MsoNormal"But the biting cold of the night and nothing but the stars to remind him of his questionable admirer slowly broke down his stubborn resolve. Horrible thoughts began to seep into his consciousness. Would this cliff be his grave? Was it his ideal for freedom that led him to this state? His control was slipping, and it was all thanks to the Basilisk. But it was because of Lemonhope's actions that it found him. He was ultimately the one who brought him to this point, so he had to be the one to bring himself out of it. Lemonhope would die on his own terms./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope considered the edge of the cliff which he stood at not too long ago. His final act of freedom would be to enact how he would free himself from his mortal coil. The Basilisk had no control over him and would never determine his fate. He stepped up to the edge and took a deep breath. He breathed out and let out a loud screech. "Wait, that wasn't me," said a very confused Lemonhope. He looked down and saw a giant bird flying out of the mountain. It took his clouded mind a moment to realise that there was a nest of giant birds hidden out of sight just beneath him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope banished all his prior dark thoughts and focused his new-found determination to live. He had to climb down the slanted face of the mountain to get to the nest and had to be brave enough to chance his climbing strength. Lemonhope took another deep breath, this one to steel his nerves, as he prepared to climb down./p
p class="MsoNormal"The climb taxed all of Lemonhope's strength as he clung onto any stone that protruded from the rocky mountain face. His nerves were tested when the stone would crumble beneath his hand, threatening to throw him off balance and down the mountain. He feared that his arms would give in as the depth of the night worked to tire them. But all of Lemonhope's efforts were rewarded the moment he felt his foot touch the solid surface of the shallow cave./p
p class="MsoNormal"There was not too much ground for Lemonhope to stand on before he had to be standing in the nest. The nest was stuffed with eggs leaving only a Lemonhope shaped hole between them. If Lemonhope were to escape the mountain, he would have to hitch a ride on the mother bird. Carefully Lemonhope climbed into the nest, snuggling between the eggs. Lemonhope's thoughts drifted to Frasier and how easy it would have been to escape the mountain with him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Frasier's plant powers would be able to carry both him and Frasier down to the nest in an instant. Lemonhope's thoughts soured the moment he thought of what Frasier would do to the nest. Being the horrid monster that he is, Frasier would probably kill the unhatched birds to make space for the two of them. Lemonhope banished the thought as he banished his friendship with Frasier. He had better things to think of, such as how would be the most comfortable way to lay between the eggs while he waited./p
p class="MsoNormal"A strange warmth lay at the bottom of the nest, and it called Lemonhope to rest. His efforts were to be rewarded somehow, he surmised, and sleep would be the best choice. He laid his head on his arm and felt the darkness of rest take him away from the cold mountain. He finally had a good place to rest, and hope awaited him in the morning./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was a thick line of stars trailing along and twisting here and there. The stars then grew brighter starting from the front. Lemonhope's perception kicked in and he could see the shape of the head of a large serpent approaching him. As the stars started to become unbearably bright, they began to fade away and give way to a slick and scaly dark moss green skin. The only stars that didn't fade away were the eyes. Its face was horned and had two large protrusions to the back of its head. Its eyes were sunken away yet pierced through anything it looked at. Its mouth was slightly agape to reveal a forest of needle-sharp teeth./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope assumed the serpent would be moderately big, but as it approached and only seemed to become larger. Instead of coming directly towards Lemonhope, it began to circle him while still keeping its head facing towards Lemonhope. Soon Lemonhope found that he was completely surrounded by the monolithic serpent. Its tail didn't end but instead faded away into the endless hoard of stars. Lemonhope struggled to feel as if he existed next to the presence of the serpent. It slowly came to a stop as it closed the gap between Lemonhope and its head. It raised its head to tilt it downwards towards Lemonhope, now facing him. The beast held its silent gaze for a moment./p
p class="MsoNormal""Excuse my poor manners," said the beast, its mouth staying still as it spoke. "I forgot to introduce myself. I have been known by many names, but you shall know me as The Basilisk." Its head tilted slightly as it said its name. "What are you?" asked Lemonhope in a near /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Invested in your pain, and something far beyond your comprehension," replied the /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"My pain?"br /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I seek suffering, and you, Lemonhope, are ripe for the picking. Do not assume that I am here to end it and consume what pain comes from it. I find your current state much more appetising."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope felt an inkling of regret for leaving Frasier. Demonic grass powers would be very-br /span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"No mortal can strike me, you foolish lemon," stated the Basilisk. "Quite the admirable trait to trust in one's allies. However, I highly doubt that would be the case in your regard. Your selfish nature has betrayed you a few too many times, despite the selfless façade you display to hide your emotions. Your kind might find great success in their actions but fail to see how they prepare themselves for failure. And now you're faced with the misery which you sowed."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope was at a loss for what to say, as all he could think of seemed to be reflected in some way in the Basilisk's speech. "You have not yet attempted to flee, which I would say is quite surprising considering your feeble attempts to be free," said the Basilisk. "No matter, I will show you what your 'freedom' will lead to." A streak of light caught Lemonhope's attention. The Basilisk did not seem to notice the light and continued staring at Lemonhope. The light came through a crack between the Basilisk's tightly wrapped body. Lemonhope focused his vision and saw that the light was what would lead him out of the forest./p
p class="MsoNormal"After a quick glance at the Basilisk, he dashed towards the light and found the crack large enough to run through. Lemonhope was stunned by the bright light for a moment when he broke through the starry landscape. When his eyes adjusted, he looked around for any sign of the beast, but could find none. He quickly walked out of the forest into a sight which he loathed. Castle Lemongrab stood in the distance, looming over the blasted landscape./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope's entire body froze up for a second before becoming rife with energy as he tried to run back into the forest. Instead of a welcoming tree line, he was faced with a strange and foreign stone structure riddled with rectangular indentations. Lemonhope looked around frantically for some way out of this nightmare but found none. His efforts halted when he heard a familiar humming. He turned towards it and saw a shrivelled up lemonperson strolling happily towards Castle Lemongrab. Lemonhope didn't immediately realise who the person was, but one look at the harp on their side told Lemonhope enough./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope struggled to comprehend why he would ever want to return to that horrid place and why he would be so happy about it. Lemonhope began to run after his older self to stop him, but as he came closer, the world around him faded away back to the starry landscape. Soon he was in front of the Basilisk once again. "Do you really believe that you are free?" asked the Basilisk. "I will let you ponder that once we part, but I must first thank you for what you tried to do for Obed. If you had not foolishly attempted to save him, I would not have found your succulent misery. Until we meet again face to face. Do not think that it means I will not be with you, for my vision is now focused on you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanThe Basilisk's lengthy body began to coil and slip away from Lemonhope, its skin fading away to join the stars once again. Lemonhope waited for the stars to fade away but realised that these stars were real. He looked around and nearly fell off when he saw that he was on the very edge of a cliff. He tumbled backwards onto the small amount of solid ground that he had to stand on. It felt strange to have time pass by without your notice and kept Lemonhope's mind preoccupied for a moment before he realised how helplessly stranded he was./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope tried to grapple onto any sense of freedom as he found that he was trapped with no way out. It took a near panic attack for him to find that while he was not free to leave the cliff, he was free to wait for… something. Be it as it may, he was not going to let some ethereal snake break his spirit./p
p class="MsoNormal"But the biting cold of the night and nothing but the stars to remind him of his questionable admirer slowly broke down his stubborn resolve. Horrible thoughts began to seep into his consciousness. Would this cliff be his grave? Was it his ideal for freedom that led him to this state? His control was slipping, and it was all thanks to the Basilisk. But it was because of Lemonhope's actions that it found him. He was ultimately the one who brought him to this point, so he had to be the one to bring himself out of it. Lemonhope would die on his own terms./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope considered the edge of the cliff which he stood at not too long ago. His final act of freedom would be to enact how he would free himself from his mortal coil. The Basilisk had no control over him and would never determine his fate. He stepped up to the edge and took a deep breath. He breathed out and let out a loud screech. "Wait, that wasn't me," said a very confused Lemonhope. He looked down and saw a giant bird flying out of the mountain. It took his clouded mind a moment to realise that there was a nest of giant birds hidden out of sight just beneath him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Lemonhope banished all his prior dark thoughts and focused his new-found determination to live. He had to climb down the slanted face of the mountain to get to the nest and had to be brave enough to chance his climbing strength. Lemonhope took another deep breath, this one to steel his nerves, as he prepared to climb down./p
p class="MsoNormal"The climb taxed all of Lemonhope's strength as he clung onto any stone that protruded from the rocky mountain face. His nerves were tested when the stone would crumble beneath his hand, threatening to throw him off balance and down the mountain. He feared that his arms would give in as the depth of the night worked to tire them. But all of Lemonhope's efforts were rewarded the moment he felt his foot touch the solid surface of the shallow cave./p
p class="MsoNormal"There was not too much ground for Lemonhope to stand on before he had to be standing in the nest. The nest was stuffed with eggs leaving only a Lemonhope shaped hole between them. If Lemonhope were to escape the mountain, he would have to hitch a ride on the mother bird. Carefully Lemonhope climbed into the nest, snuggling between the eggs. Lemonhope's thoughts drifted to Frasier and how easy it would have been to escape the mountain with him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Frasier's plant powers would be able to carry both him and Frasier down to the nest in an instant. Lemonhope's thoughts soured the moment he thought of what Frasier would do to the nest. Being the horrid monster that he is, Frasier would probably kill the unhatched birds to make space for the two of them. Lemonhope banished the thought as he banished his friendship with Frasier. He had better things to think of, such as how would be the most comfortable way to lay between the eggs while he waited./p
p class="MsoNormal"A strange warmth lay at the bottom of the nest, and it called Lemonhope to rest. His efforts were to be rewarded somehow, he surmised, and sleep would be the best choice. He laid his head on his arm and felt the darkness of rest take him away from the cold mountain. He finally had a good place to rest, and hope awaited him in the morning./p