The capybara approached Arthur; his steps were heavy and slow, confident yet precise. A smile spread across his face as he stared at Arthur.

Arthur gulped, closing his eyes and asking, "Who are you?"

The turtle next to Arthur stood up and flared his arm towards Arthur's mouth, trying to silence him. "Listen to-"

The capybara shook his head, flicking the turtle's shoulder. "Silence Galileo."

Galileo gritted his teeth, kneeling on the sewage water and staring at the floor, not deviating his sight.

"As for my name, some may know me as Buddha, but enough about me. What is your name, child?"

"My name is Arthur Penfish."

"You're a fish?"

"How did you know?" Arthur asked, lowering his head and looking at his body. "It may not look like it. But I am."

Buddha smiled, lifting two fingers. "I believe you. Why else would your name be Penfish?" He lowered one finger.

Arthur opened his mouth, not sure what to say since it never occurred to him that being named Penfish would be a way to tell he was a fish...

"Second," Buddha said, pausing and observing Arthur's neck. "You have gills." He lowered his second finger.

Arthur's eyes widened as he tried to look at his neck, but as he lowered his head, all he saw was his chest, so he instead opted to feel the aberration, grazing his four gills coated with pieces of orange scales — his other side had nothing formed. He pressed his fingers into one of the gills, touching a warm yet soft fleshy texture, but he pushed too deep. He uncontrollably coughed.

"Don't worry," Buddha said, reaching towards Arthur's neck and grabbing it. "Your scales will return to normal. I just have to ease your-"

Arthur instinctively grabbed Buddha's hand and stepped backward. His orange-colored eyes watched Buddha's face, not letting a single movement of his go unwatched.

Not only Galileo but the other turtles twitched upward, getting ready to intervene, but Buddha yelled, "At ease!"

The turtles remained kneeling on the sewer water.

"I... I didn't mean to."

"At ease, child," he said, continuing to smile. "If you want your body to appear normal, you must ease your mind. At any rate, you must learn this skill. That is if you'd like to venture beyond this dump."

Arthur took a few deep breaths, and the gills and scales disappeared, just like Buddha suggested; easing the mind helped.

Buddha closed his eyes and walked forward. "Follow me."

Arthur nodded as he followed Buddha. It's not like he had a choice, especially considering the armed turtles' heeding. Throughout the sewage tunnel, dim lights emitted from the sides near the water, and every few miles, a ladder was attached to the walls.

Buddha halted, turning his body to look at Arthur. "How rude of me, forgetting to introduce my children to you."

Arthur turned his head, glancing at the capybara and turtles.

"These boys are a part of the infamous Karate Turtles."

The capybara and turtle belonged to a Karate organization, which explained why they wore black-belted karate uniforms.

He pointed to each turtle, stating their name. "Galileo, Ignaz, Albert, and Nikola." Galileo — who had Arthur in a chokehold. Ignaz was the giant turtle that used a shield. Albert, the turtle with blades attached to his elbows. Nikola, the turtle who used dual Uzis.

Arthur wasn't entirely sure what to do with such information, so he waved at them, but that gesture was ignored, none of the turtles waving back.

Buddha moved forward, so Arthur simply followed.

Eventually, they arrived at a marked area — a red X on the wall. And near the marking was a ladder.

Buddha stopped around the marking, looking at it as he pushed his hand in his pocket and shifted through it, grabbing a few pieces of paper money. He extended his arm towards Arthur.

Arthur stared at the money but seized it once Buddha touched his chest with it. The money was around ten thousand dollars worth.

"When you get to the top of this ladder, you'll safely make it to Raned City, and if I were you, buying clothes would be a priority. After that, find a place to live and get a job. I wish we could help you even more, but this is all we can do."

"This is more than enough," Arthur said, looking at the money. "Thank you."

Buddha and the turtles bowed their heads, walking back from where they came; they seemed in a rush, unlike their attitude before, almost behaving as if something more important materialized.

One would think a person who gave someone ten thousand dollars would at least show them around the city...

Arthur stepped up the ladder as he held the money in one hand, and at the top, a sewage lid — a manhole cover — was in the way, though he pushed it out with ease. He got out of the sewage system, finding himself in an alleyway.

The alleyway was small and pristine, clearly not an impoverished area; beyond the path was the city, where many people walked about in and out of stores — it was jam-packed. In a few hours, it would be midnight; the sun's light was fading.

Arthur clenched his money, entering the crowd of walking people, but as he did, several people pushed him, though he got a hold of himself and moved with the flow. He looked at the store signs as he flowed with the crowd.

Although Arthur's plain white outfit was out of the ordinary, the large number of people allowed it to remain obscure. The city had such an influx of customers that it would make one wonder if the area was solely for purchasing goods.

A store with flashing blue and red lights displayed an ad: Clothes Made By Manly Men For Manly Men. The shop contained a plethora of clothing and accessories — primarily for suits.

Arthur pushed his way through the crowd, walking into the manly store. He looked around at the fancy merchandise: suits, ties, and shoes. But he wasn't sure what to get.

A well-dressed employee made his way to Arthur, staring at him in disgust as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Can you even afford our goods?"

Arthur shrugged, showing the money to the employee and trying to hand it to him, but he was too startled to grab it.

The employee held his mouth open, looking up and down at Arthur. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. "I'm a manly man that works at Clothes Made By Manly Men For Manly Men! Follow me, sir!"

They entered a secluded yet luxury room, an area where you could smell decadent clothes with a sniff. The room contained only the most pristine and exquisite clothing. Inside the walls were ten enclosures, each harboring a suit made from the sweat, tears, and blood of the finest children overseas. When a suit is sold, it's promptly replaced, but only the highest quality makes it past the eyes of the manly men, and if not manly enough, there was no hesitance in replacing the children themselves to achieve the manliest of manly garments.

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"Welcome to the manliest cave by manly men for manly men, only accessible to the wealthiest of manly men."

Arthur glared at the "manly" employee, but he looked away instead, gazing at the few but unique clothes. The man cave stored ten of the best clothes within enclosures inside the walls, lined up in an orderly manner. Fancy was an understatement.

"Sir, has anything caught your interest?"

"The orange suit looks nice."

The manly employee's mouth opened wide as he stood there stunned, looking at Arthur. He waited for him, expecting a realization moment, an "Aha," but little did he know Arthur was just a fish.

Arthur just stood still, tilting his head as he looked at the employee in confusion.

"My goodness," the employee said, snapping his fingers and walking towards Arthur. "I trust your judgment. But..." He leaned forward, examining Arthur's eyes and head. "An orange suit with your orange hair and eyes is just overkill, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I think."

"Perfect, let's get you something that will fit nicely." The employee smiled, rubbing his chin and looking at the capsules. "Suit seven will conform to even you!"

They both neared the seventh capsule, a garment behind the protective glass — a dark green fuzzy suit with a white button-up and black pants, and, of course, an embellished bow tie with massive jade gems. And as for what illegal means the manly men used to obtain such expensive manly gems, who knows?

Though, who cared? It was drippy.

"I'll take it."

"Fantastic," the manly employee said. "I'll need eight thousand dollars from you. The only way to open the protective chamber is to feed it money."

Arthur tilted his head, looking at the money. "Is eight thousand a fair price?"

"Only the fairest of the fair."

Arthur handed the man the money, and he fed eight thousand of it into a machine connected to the protective chamber. A similar machine to what arcade stores use for ticket counters.

The employee handed the remaining money to Arthur.

The glass chamber opened from the sides, revealing the suit. A strong perfume smell emitted from the clothing, needless to say, a manly fragrance, a combination of woody and smokey scents with hints of spice.

Arthur touched the fuzzy suit, the employee wide-eyed at the act.

"Sir, perhaps we should pack the suit for you?"

"Nah."

"Pardon, sir."

"I need to wear something new," Arthur said as he shrugged, looking down at his wet and torn clothes and then at the suit, it was a no-brainer that wearing the new clothes would be more reasonable. "Do you have a changing area, or is it fine here?"

"... As you wish," the employee said with a half smile, walking out of the room as he added, "I shall leave you some privacy. When you're done, feel free to leave."

Arthur placed his money on the floor and took off his clothes. As he touched the suit, an odd sensation gathered in his head, which soon turned into a ringing. In his brain, more knowledge was being exposed rather than added, and seemingly, he put on the outfit, almost like he'd done so before, perfectly positioning the suit, even setting the bow tie in place.

Whatever that sensation was, Arthur ignored it, thinking little of it.

Arthur grabbed the money and walked out of the building, none of the manly men waving him goodbye. Outside, the mass had died down. But it was still somewhat busy despite the nightfall, and unlike his previous experience, he walked his own route, this time not pushed by people — many eyes shifted onto his stunning yet manly attire.

Unfortunately, too many eyes.

A man in a black cloak ran past Arthur, shoving into him as he stole money — a one thousand dollar bill.

"Hey!" Arthur yelled, running after the man. He pushed his way through people, trying to keep up with the thief's speed.

The thief barged into a building — Psychic Reading Lounge.

Arthur forced his way through a family, driving a kid to the ground, and the kid's ice cream fell onto his shirt, crying as he held his arm.

Arthur didn't bat an eye at the kid, opening the door to the building the thief had entered. However, suddenly a lady covered his head with black fabric, concealing his sight. She pushed him onto a revolving chair and rolled it into a tiny cubed room with a table and candle in the middle of it.

The lady removed Arthur's blindfold, running out of the room as she slammed the door shut, but she opened the door again, entering the room and closing the lights as she exited.

Arthur faced another lady — a psychic with loads of jewelry on her. She weaved left to right, her fingers waving in the air. "I see that the all-pervasive power has imprinted you onto my fate. A miracle brought you here to me. It's our destiny!"

Arthur looked around, confused about what the psychic was talking about. After all, he just saw another lady take his blindfolds off and leave, then enter again to close the lights. No miracle was at play...

"Your fate is," the psychic said, grabbing the squared table and standing up as her body shook. Her eyes widened, her body shaking even harder. "Whatever you seek will only cause more temptation! It's not too late to decide what you want... No, rather what you need! The waves of your pond are only so tumultuous, don't let your environment become a sea!" She stopped shaking and took deep breaths, looking back at Arthur. But he already left...

At the main entrance, the other lady tried to stop Arthur from leaving. She stood in front of him and yelled, "You have to pay before leaving!"

Arthur twitched his eyebrow, closing his eyes. He cocked his arm and was ready to push the lady.

But the psychic ran towards the entrance, grabbing Arthur's arm with her sweaty palms. Sweat dripped down her face as a musty smell radiated off her. "You mustn't, not if you want to live in a space you want to be. Be who you should be, not forced-"

Arthur pulled his arm from the psychic and pushed the lady away from him. "Where's the other man!"

The lady smiled, holding her arm as she pretended to be hurt. She pouted and placed her hand in the air. "For that bill, I'll let you know. Or I can sue you for bodily harm!"

Two other ladies came out of another room, walking towards the commotion.

Arthur knew time was of the essence, so he handed the bill to her. "Where is the other man?"

"He just ran outside," she said, smiling and closing her eyes as she waved the money in the air.

Arthur quickly grabbed the money back from the lady and ran out of the store, scanning the area and spotting the cloaked man running into an alley. He sprinted towards the alley.

The so-called psychics chased after Arthur, but they tripped over each other, all four of them falling to the floor. They gave up on chasing him...

In the alley stood a man, leaning against a building exterior, his black cloak under his feet. The man wore a white suit, a black shirt with a long white tie, and maroon sunglasses.

Arthur paced his breaths, nearing the man. "Where's my money?"

"I used it to buy my way out of that bullshit store. They wouldn't let me leave, but your money sure came in handy. Overpriced, some may say, but time is way more valuable than money, in my humble opinion."

Arthur rubbed his temple, letting out a sigh.

"Don't be so down. Your day may have just gotten better with me," the man said, grinning and pointing to the night sky. "After all, the day is still young!"

"It's dark out..."

The man stopped leaning against the wall and took off his glasses. "Oh shit, you're right. You're quite perceptive."

Arthur gritted his teeth and took in a deep breath. "Give me back my money, and I'll leave you alone."

"Leave me alone? No, I don't think that's a resolution." He put his glasses back on, pointing to Arthur. "The psychic who evaluated me informed me of something so bizarre. She said a person I'm least likely to be friends with will be of significant value to my fate. Who else other than the person I stole money from?"

"What... What are you even talking about?" Arthur asked, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. "No. Who even are you?"

"Me?" the man asked, nodding. "People call me Meth for short, but you can call me M... Or Meth because now that I'm thinking about it, why wouldn't you just call me the same thing?"

"Just give me my money," Arthur said, approaching the man and pinning him against a brick wall.

"What's your purpose, Arthur?" Meth asked.

Arthur let go of Meth, his brain stinging as he pressed his lips together and grabbed his head.

"What's your purpose, Arthur?" Meth asked again, but he said it with more emphasis.

"My purpose?"

"Perhaps you'll want to live a life of running? Perhaps you'll want to live a life of denial?"

Arthur shut his eyes, trying to close them as hard as he could. He fell to the floor and hyperventilated as information merged within him.

Before, he could understand experiment X's knowledge, but now, it was like the information was becoming his own.

"Perhaps you'll want to live a life where you join the heroes, or maybe even the villains?"

"Heroes, villains, me?" Arthur asked, clenching his jaw. He kneeled on the floor, looking at his feet. "Purpose?"

"What is it you want to do?"

His surroundings became pitch black as colored words flooded his head. Millions, no billions, of words erupted into Arthur's head as he convulsed, staring into the sky like his eyes were lifeless. 'What do I want?'

"There has to be something. Something that will force you to get out of bed. Force you to waste countless hours of sleep until you achieve it. What is that?"

"I want to..."

"What do you want?"

Arthur grabbed his forehead, scratching it as he clenched his eyes closed. "What do I... What do I want?"

Arthur was no longer acting instinctively; he was cognizant. He was aware of life and the details it harbored, but this led to a fatal dilemma because he couldn't help but question his existence.

Until this point, Arthur's life was nothing less than a tragedy, a life of anger and what-ifs. He was now aware of that notion.

Blood dripped from Arthur's forehead, running down his eyes and onto the floor. He stood up, the atmosphere changing, almost like he now bore a meaning. "I want to put Lewis in a fishbowl."

"What?"

"His name is Lewis Bird, and I'll put him in a fishbowl. Just like he did to me."