Lemonhope had no idea where they were going. They had been walking for a long time with no entrance in sight. There was no clear indication as to where the exit was, and the only kind of indication that was visible were signs directing them deeper into the city towards more casinos. Frasier had gotten impatient long ago and had been complaining ever since.

"All we had to do was go back the way we came," moaned Frasier.
"It's not that simple," replied Lemonhope in a frustrated tone. He was infuriated by the counterintuitive design of the city and incidentally was taking some of his anger out on Frasier. As Lemonhope scanned the area and the crowd he noticed a pathway that seemed to have less people going in and out of it. "There!" he said as he pointed. All the people that the duo had tried asking for directions either ignored them or said that "There is no way out of Casino City" so a pathway with few people seemed at least a little promising. There were less lights as well which meant that less casinos were being advertised there.

After making their way through the thick moving crowd they entered the slightly hidden pathway. "This doesn't look too familiar," muttered Lemonhope.
"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Frasier.
"Not if we're trying to find the way that we came from"
The bag full of coins was beginning to feel like a bag full of concrete for Frasier and he set it down for a second to catch his breath. Lemonhope continued forward a bit as Frasier bent over his knees taking deep breaths. When Frasier looked back up, he saw something that caught his eye. "Hey Lemonhope," he called out. "The sign here says that we're going down a dead end."
"A dead what?" replied Lemonhope as he turned around.

Just as he did so he saw two burly guards standing behind Frasier in their uniform tuxedos and shades. At first he thought that they saw Frasier and himself struggling to find the way out and were going to help them, but when he saw the one guard wind up his leg for a kick, he knew that they were in trouble. "Frasier, look out!" he managed to shout out just before the guard's mighty boot dug itself into Frasier's back, sending the poor grassling flying towards him. If Frasier had any bones, the hit would have emitted loud crunching noises from the force of the kick.

Frasier skidded to a painful stop next to Lemonhope but was back on his feet as soon as the guards began advancing towards them. The alley seemed awfully narrow now as the two guard's frames together took up the entire space towards the way out. "W-what do you want from us?" stuttered Lemonhope as his entire mind was taken with fear. He thought for a second that they were after the money, but as the one guard drove his foot through the bag of coins while walking as if it wasn't even there, he realised that they wouldn't be so easy to get rid of. "We don't allow cheaters in Casino City," grunted the guards in unison.

Lemonhope would have scolded his friend if it weren't for the dire situation and instead looked towards Frasier for some kind of help. Frasier was standing at an odd angle and there was a dent in his back. Some green sap came out of his mouth as he spoke, and his voice sounded hoarse as he fought against the pain. "Stay away, we did nothing wrong!" he barked out.
Lemonhope noticed that Frasier was making strange gestures with his hands as he stood his ground. "Gallucci hears all," announced the one guard.
"And sees all," announced the second.
"He knows all, and he does not like what you did," they said in unison.

Frasier was frantically moving his hands around at this point and whispered to Lemonhope without breaking eye contact with the guards, "I can't find any plants nearby, so I need you to do something before we get clobbered!"
Lemonhope seemed to awaken from a deep frightened slumber and scrambled to get his harp out. As soon as he had it in his hands, be began to play the sweetest tune he has ever produced. It was so sweet that it would make a wolf fall in love with its prey, and that it would make sugar jealous. But nothing happened. The guards were unaffected as if they weren't even hearing the music. Lemonhope panicked and switched over to a different melody, and then another. None of them had any effect and the guards just crept closer with their every step being in unison.

The last thing that both Lemonhope and Frasier saw were the guards standing above them with their fists raised high above their heads.

Lemonhope was rudely awoken by a splash of water and a slap through the face. At first his surroundings were blurry but came into a painful focus a few seconds later. He found himself low to the ground in a gorgeous room. The walls were adorned with paintings depicting people gambling in little to no clothes in eloquent positions, looking in some far-off directions on the large, exaggerated tables. His eyes were then drawn in front of him towards the back of the room which had a large oval window. In front of the window sat a large desk with an even larger man behind it. He had a sickly grin on his face which seemed to be hiding a snarl. His tuxedo barely fit him and gushed over the table. Next to his belly on the table were stacks of paper and desk toys and a row of buttons.

Lemonhope tried to stand up on the red velvet carpet but found an immense pressure on his shoulders. When he looked up, he found the figure of a guard looming over him. At that moment he remembered Frasier and looked around for him. He quickly found his friend bent over to his right; his head bent down with a dent visible on it. Frasier was then hit with a splash of water from a bucket held by the guard behind him and his waking self was met with a swift hit to the back of the head.

Frasier went from drowsy to awake in an instant. "I see the two of yous thieves are finally awake," said the large man. "The name's Gallucci. I own this joint. Now I heard that you twos have been making trouble in my town. Haven't you heard that stealing is wrong?"
Lemonhope tried to speak but was interrupted by Gallucci. "I bet your mommas never taught you that. Mine was strict, but I love her for that. She's the reason I'm here, y'know? Anyways, do you bozos even know what happens to rulebreakers?"
Both Frasier and Lemonhope shook their heads never having heard of any rules. "They become worthless!" Gallucci shouted and slammed his fist on the table. His ingenuine smile vanished for a second and was replaced by a vicious snarl.

After a quiet moment Gallucci composed himself. His 'smile' returned, and he stared at the duo. "Are you going to kill us?" asked Lemonhope. His voice was almost a whisper as his seating arrangement's discomfort added to his fear. "Never!" replied Gallucci with a hearty laugh. His laugh suddenly stopped, and he gained a serious expression. "You belong to Casino City now," was all he said before he snapped his fingers. His guards went into action and dragged Lemonhope and Frasier near the front of the desk. "I need some more employees you know," whispered Gallucci. "But I don't think that the two of you will work for me willingly. I have a special… program that I show my new employees to convince them that the job is great. Nobody has said no so far."

"You're going to brainwash us!" Frasier shrieked out in horror. He began to struggle fiercely and got a kick in the back for his troubles. The dent in his back seemed to become a little deeper and he stopped moving so frantically. Lemonhope was frozen. He heard of brainwashing before, but never had to face the horror of it. He liked his thoughts, and he liked to think. That's where his music came from. That's where his freedom lay. That's when it dawned on him why his harp didn't work. All the guards were brainwashed, so they had no taste for music, and with no taste they wouldn't be charmed by his sweet tunes. If he could even make his sweet tunes after this, that is. Lemonhope felt as if he was sinking into a deep dark pit. He saw how all his future adventures vanished before his eyes and replaced with a blank space which would be occupied by another's orders. He would always do what he was told, and he would do so until he died.

Lemonhope was shaking at this point and felt tears well up behind his eyes. He wasn't ready to lose his life. He wasn't ready to lose his freedom. Lemongrab taught him how much he despised captivity, but now he wouldn't even want to escape. He lost all his strength and sagged down where he sat. However, Frasier wasn't having any of it. He might not have been struggling anymore, but he was continuously thinking of a plan. He wouldn't be able to break free on his own, and Lemonhope didn't look like he was ready to be much help. He glared at Gallucci and at his imposing desk and noticed something. A plant. An ill watered and weak plant, but a plant none the less. It was a snowdrop flower that sat in an elegant flowerpot with engravings of cards on it. It seemed to sway in a non-existent wind as Frasier came up with an idea. He could manipulate the plant to wrangle the guard holding him and set himself free.

He began to work his magic but stopped for a moment. He would be free, but Lemonhope would be condemned to his fate. He couldn't let it happen to his friend, and he found that one of the greatest tragedies in life was the death of a creative mind. He worked up all his magical strength and made the plant dance to his will. It twirled and swayed gaining the attention of Gallucci. With one swift motion, Frasier made the plant surge towards the guard holding his friend. The plant wrapped around the lumbering man's neck and yanked him backwards, making him stumble. The man's stumbling steps sounded like thunder and when he toppled over, he caused a boom to echo throughout the room.

"Run, Lemonhope!" Frasier shouted.
Gallucci tried to stand up but kept falling back on his chair all the while making pig-like grunting noises. Lemonhope's tear streaked face turned to Frasier and paused there for a second. "Go," Frasier half whispered. He made a slight shooing motion with his hand at Lemonhope. With that final confirmation, Lemonhope stood up and begun trudging towards the door. "Stop him! Don't let him get away!" shouted Gallucci. His guards immediately snapped into his command and began dashing towards Lemonhope.

Lemonhope was at the door now and looked back towards his friend. He saw the guards rushing towards him, Gallucci fuming and his beat-up friend giving him a weak smile. Lemonhope couldn't leave. Not now. Even if it meant abandoning freedom, he couldn't leave his friend. He had to do something, even if it might not work. He felt for his harp and found that he still had it. Everything seemed to slow down for Lemonhope. The running guards, Frasier's realisation that his friend was not running away, and Gallucci screaming at the top of his lungs. And so, he strummed.

Please hear my little prayer
of how this is not fair
we came here for a little joy
and I am just a little-

Lemonhope's song was cut short as the one guard tackled him. He was further silenced as the other guard drove his elbow into Lemonhope's stomach as he came down. The first guard followed that up with his fist driving into Lemonhope's eye, which was followed by his fellow guard kicking Lemonhope repeatedly. Just as the beating escalated, a loud "Stop" was heard. Gallucci was holding up his one hand and wiping a tear from his eye in the other. The guards immediately stopped and looked towards their master. With sobs chocking his speech, Gallucci continued, "Don't hurt him any further. I can see now it would be a waste to brainwash him. Bring that sweet little lemon boy to me."

Frasier breathed out a sigh of relief and sagged to the ground. Lemonhope was dragged to where he was 'seated' earlier but wasn't held down. "That was the greatest song that I have ever heard," said Gallucci, wiping another tear from his eye. "I have never seen such talent and found that I will have to do something else with you."
Lemonhope got a glint in his eye. It seemed like his gamble had worked. Gallucci sobbed a few times before he continued. "You will now be my court jester," said Gallucci. "The other one will still be brainwashed. Come now, Guards. Find this boy a jester outfit and send the grass-thing to the dungeons. I have something special planned for the green one now as well."

Frasier sat up. He tried to move the plant again but found all his strength was sapped. He tried to jump at Gallucci but was grabbed by the one guard before he could do so. Lemonhope stared at Gallucci in disbelief, and then towards his friend that was being taken to some awful cell. Where did he go wrong? Once Frasier was out of the room and his screaming could no longer be heard, Gallucci turned his gaze towards Lemonhope. "Now," he said in a sickly tone. "Play me a tune."