Prologue

*Captain, I am telling you, this is not a good sign!*

"I understand your concern, Agent 3, but this is not a matter we can pursue yet!"

*An Octarian army is amassing on our door, and we can't pursue it? What are we going to do? Wait for them to storm our city, and kill innocent Inklings?*

"They haven't shown any signs of attacking Inkopolis yet. We can't be rash, and invite a war onto our doorsteps, bucko!"

*DON'T CALL ME BUCKO! NOT WHILE YOU'RE IGNORING A BLATANT THREAT TO OUR CITY!*

"Agent 3, many of our citizens regularly participate in Turf Wars, and we're always watching out for enemy movements. Our citizens will be ready for another invasion."

*Captain, you know as well as I do that the Turf Wars that we participate in are nothing like real combat. No Respawn Points, no guarantee that you'll be back. Many of them are just going to rush in and get killed!*

"Should the Octarians mobilize, we'll be ready. There is nothing more we can do, Agent 3."

*No, there is nothing you want to do. Did imprisoning your friend make you soft, captain?*

"Agent, we don't need to make this personal. For now, all we need to do-"

*Forget it, old squid. We're done here. If the Squidbeak Splatoon won't do anything, I will. I'm leaving Inkopolis. I won't be back until I find a solution to our problem. Farewell. Give my regards to Agents 1 and 2, and tell the team that I'll be gone for awhile.* Click

"Agent 3! You can't abandon the Splatoon like this! We need you here!"

"Agent 3, report! What is your status?"

"AGENT 3!"

*...*

"Squidbeak Splatoon, this is Captain Cuttlefish. I am issuing a full broadcast to all acting agents. Agent 3 has jumped the shark. I repeat, Agent 3 has jumped the shark."

*No...*

*He couldn't have!*

"Agents, keep calm!"

*What are we going to do without him?*

"We're not going to continue operations without him. We'll find him."

*Captain, what are our assignments?*

"Agents 1 and 2, maintain cover in the city. We can't alarm anyone about this new development. Agents 4 and 5, I'm sending you two out to his last known location. Recon only, search for any sign of him. Do not engage any enemies you may see. All other agents, stand by. I'll issue you your assignments in regards to this manner when we have more information."

*Understood. Agent 4, we're moving out now.*

"May the Great Krakens protect him."

Chapter 1

Ari rested his head against the train window. I need to get off this train. He thought to himself, as he looked out the window. He knew he was heading to Inkopolis to get involved in a more competitive Turf War League, but he wasn't aware that he would have to take an 8 hour train ride on the way there. My butt is killing me. And I can only stare at trees passing by for so long. He sighed, and looked around the train again.

The Inkling girl across the way was still trying to covertly stare at him, but failing at it. Her eyes might as well be boring holes through my head. And what's so weird about me anyway? His gaze returned to the window, and he got a quick glance at his reflection. Oh. Right. Black hair. I've heard that it isn't very common in the city. Maybe that's why she keeps staring at me. He turned back to the girl across the aisle. Her bright yellow hair was a little painful for him to look at, since he was used to blues and oranges from the local Turf Wars back home. I'm starting to regret leaving Tentaville. Way too much time on this train already, and now I'm not sure if I'm a freak around here or not. Ari resumed looking out the window.

"E-excuse me?" The Inkling girl asked. "Where did you get the ink color for your hair?"

Ari turned towards her. "Pardon?"

"Your hair color. Is that your natural color? Or do you have a new dye color?"

Yep. It was the hair. "Natural color. It's what I've always had. Is it rare in Inkopolis?"

She nodded. "I don't think I've seen a color darker than navy blue for hair color. What's your name?"

He smiled. "I'm Ari. Ari Inklowe. What's yours?"

"Isabella McSquidish." She bounced a little in her seat. "I'm here for my first turf wars. What about you?"

"I'm one of the top players back home. I've decided to move to Inkopolis to get involved in a bigger league." He pulled out his Player card. "Thankfully, we use the same level system, so everything transfers over."

"I thought there was only the Experience System. There are other leveling systems?" Isabella asked.

Ari nodded. "Yep. Inkopolis actually has two, as a matter of fact. There's the Experience system you determines how familiar you are with Turf Wars, and the weapons you can wield. Then there's also a Ranking system for more skilled players that determines what level of skill they have. Those are the only ones that Inkopolis tracks, so we track those as our main ones too."

"And there are others?"

"Some leagues measure Kill/Death ratios, some measure total turf inked, some measure tournaments won. I've even heard of a few smaller leagues that don't use the Ranking system, thanks to how few people there actually are. Tentaville had a decent amount of people, so we measured it."

Isabella grinned. "Well then? What's your level and rank?"

"Level 20. B Rank, but that's because I don't care for Ranked battles. Takes some of the fun out of it for me."

"Is B Rank good?"

Ari shrugged. "Ranking starts at C minus, and goes all the way up to S plus. The B category is above the C category, so I'm winning more than I'm losing at the very least."

The train started to slow down. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please stay in your seats as we approach Inkopolis. Thank you for taking the Inkopolis Express Rail."

"We're almost there. Finally." Ari stretched in his seat. "I cannot imagine how this train ride took 8 hours."

Within a few minutes, the train slowed down to a stop. "Well, it was nice talking to you Ari." Isabella stood up. "Good luck in the Turf Wars!" She picked up her small backpack, and bounded off for the doors.

Ari grabbed his rolling suitcase from the top shelf. First things first, I need to find the apartment complex that I'm staying at. I really should have put my map on the top of my stuff... Regardless, he at least knew the name, and that should help him find the place. The train doors opened, and Ari walked out into the brightly lit city of Inkopolis.

The main plaza was bustling with activity. Inklings moved around quickly from place to place. Plenty of people were leaving the stores. Plenty of people were hanging out by benches and trees, chatting about their latest matches and purchases. Small cafés occupied the street corners. A tall, yellow tower stood at the opposite end of the plaza.

Wow. This place IS huge. Well, I'd best get moving. I need to find the Rainmaker Apartments as soon as I can. He looked towards the tower. The Turf War Lobby appears to be that way. I'll head out and see if I can find anyone who can help me. He walked towards the lobby, carefully dodging Inklings along the way.

A/N: Hello, and welcome to my first story!

A couple of quick format notes from here on out: Italics indicate the thoughts of the character we're following. I'll indicate in future chapters who this will be. *Any text within bolded asterisks is radio chatter.* Yes, there will be more radio chatter in future chapters, so keep an eye out for that.

As for Ari, I'll give a quick description of what he looks like. He's a young, pale Inkling with black tentacles and blue eyes. He's wearing the Vintage Check Shirt, the Studio Headphones, and Red Work Boots. That should give you a good idea of what he looks like.

There will be swearing, violence, death, and potentially some sexual themes. I'm starting this story out under the T rating, but that may change if either the readers start getting a little uncomfortable with the content, or if I decide that the chapters start to fit the requirement of an M rating. Feel free to leave your opinions on the content in reviews, or in a PM if you prefer.

Future chapters will be longer than this one, I just wanted to get a decent exposition in for what's going on, so I hope you'll join me for Ari's adventures in Inkopolis!