"Is something bothering you, Taylor?" my brother Roger asked me as I solemnly stared out the raindrop-patterned window.

I turned to face him and answered, "No, I'm fine. I'm just reflecting on life. That's all."

"Oh, OK. Just asking."

He looked back down at the Nintendo 3DS he was holding in his hands, and I mentally sighed of relief. I was glad that was all it took to answer his question, because I didn't have the intention of telling him what I was really thinking. As I continued to stare out the wet windowpane watching other cars drive by, I reflected on everything that had occurred in my life up until this point, only to realize that everything that had happened resulted the same way: always being dull and boring and never exciting. I never understood why, because it was the exact opposite for everyone in my family. My brother would always receive straight A's in school; my parents would periodically get promotions at work, and my friends' parents would always buy them whatever they asked for. Me? Everything I ever got was mind-numbingly boring and was never something to boast or get excited about. It was all very lackluster, like getting a toothbrush in your Christmas stocking. I was the runt of the litter, so to speak. I was different from everyone in my family, but not in the way I wanted to be.

Now, don't get me wrong…my parents love me and would do anything for me just like any other parent would with their child. The thing was…neither my parents nor I knew what I liked or wanted, so I would end up paying the price for not telling them what to get me. One year, I got an encyclopedia and a cinnamon-scented candle for my birthday. Fun, right?

Anyway, as I was in the process of thinking back on my life experiences, my father suddenly pulled up into a shopping center. He glanced at my mother as if he was expecting her to give her preference as to where we should go, and she immediately shook her head. He looked towards the backseat at me and Roger and asked, "Do you kids need anything before we head back home?"

"I don't need anything," I replied glumly.

Roger placed a hand on his chin as if he was contemplating his decision. Suddenly, he gazed out the window, mouth agape, and exclaimed, "Ooh, a game store! Can we go there?"

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Dad answered. "What do you think, Taylor?"

"I don't know…" I replied hesitantly. "I think I'll just wait in the car."

"Come on, now! It wouldn't hurt to have a look around! Who knows- Maybe something in there will catch your eye."

I sighed heavily and begrudgingly stepped out of the car as soon as Dad parked in front of the game store. As soon as I walked into the store, I couldn't help but wonder why Dad didn't just let me wait in the car. I was positive that none of the games stacked on the store shelves would have interested me, and it was Roger's idea to look around in there anyway, so I was pretty much stuck there until Roger was done browsing.

I continued to walk around the store aimlessly, mentally shaking my head in response to the sight of the games sitting on the shelves. None of them really stood out to me, and I wasn't sure if it was because they didn't look appealing or if I was just that boring. I found this little excursion pointless…that is, until I saw something out of the corner of my eye that caught my attention. I turned my head to see a kiosk with a Wii U attached to it, which I assumed was to allow customers to try out game demos. On the screen appeared to be a flurry of flying, bright colors and kids with tentacles on their heads. At first, I was confused as to what this game was, but then something clicked in my head.

"Oh, right! That Splatoon game!" I pondered. "I remember Roger showing that to me at E3 last year!"

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, and I felt the sudden urge to actually play that game. It was strange, I thought, considering that everything else in my life was lackluster and boring up until that point. Did I actually find something that was worth my attention?

Giving in to my sudden desire, I casually walked over to the kiosk and grabbed the rectangular gamepad perched in front of the screen. I tapped the "Play Demo" option on the gamepad, and a few moments later, the game began, firstly showing a male and female avatar and the words "Choose an Inkling!" I picked the female Inkling on the left, chose a skin tone and eye color for her, and was instantly whisked away into an alleyway of some sort. I instantly noticed that the Inkling I had created carried an orange ink container on her back and held an orange ink gun in her hands.

Suddenly, the game began walking me through a tutorial by saying, "Hey, you. Yeah, you! Wanna be the freshest squid on the block? You've got a long way to go. Before you battle, let's go over the basics!"

The text it provided me with for the tutorial dropped to the bottom of the screen and I was given free rein to control my character. I was told how to shoot ink by pressing ZR on the gamepad and that aiming could be done by moving the controller. I moved my Inkling around with the left analog stick, and I eventually learned that I could swim in my own ink by turning into a squid! I became so giddy with joy with this squid mechanic that I couldn't help but grow a smile on my face. Before I knew it, I was in love with the game, and I wanted it in my possession.

Without warning, my father approached me from behind and asked me, "Are you ready to go? Roger already has a game picked out."

My immediate love for Splatoon caused me to instantly shake my head at his question, and I think this caught him by surprise. "Can I get this game first?" I asked.

"Splatoon, huh? Sure, but I didn't see any copies of it on the shelves, so let's see if they have one up front."

So my father and I subsequently walked up to the registers to inquire about the availability of this particular game, but upon asking the cashier this question, we were met with a very astonished expression.

"I'm sorry," the cashier muttered, "but w-we just sold the last copy."

"How is that possible?!" I exclaimed, my heart sinking.

"Please, sir… It would mean a lot for my daughter to have this game. Don't you have any more in the back?"

"N-no, sir. Please understand… There are no more copies."

Just as I was about to give up hope, a female cashier walked in from the side and asked, "Ryan, what about this one right here?" She held up a rectangular blue box with the cover depicting an orange and blue Inkling and the Splatoon logo. At last!

"I thought we weren't supposed to sell that one," Ryan brought up.

"I didn't get the memo," the female cashier replied. "What's wrong with this one?"

I couldn't help but stare in bewilderment as this conversation unraveled. Why were they trying so hard to hide this particular copy from us? Was there something wrong with the game?

Ryan glanced at me and then looked back at his co-worker. With a sigh, he stated, "Well, I know this will be against the boss's orders, but I just can't disappoint a customer." He took the game from the woman's hand, rang up Dad at the register, and handed me the box with a smile. The game was finally in my possession.

As Roger, Dad and I walked out the door, Dad said to me, "Well, it looks like you've finally found something that interests you!"

I had to agree with him. For once, I had actually found something in my life worth investing time in; something that I was having lots of fun with. This game was the beginning of a brand new chapter in my life.

As soon as we got home, I asked Roger to let me use his Wii U, and he agreed to let me borrow it for a while. I took the console into my room and popped the game into the slot right after I plugged in the machine. I booted up the game and walked through the tutorial just like in the demo. After learning to climb up walls in my squid form and to cover enemy ink with my own, I found a yellow launch pad at the end of the tutorial and was propelled to a city known as Inkopolis. It was a bustling city full of Inklings of many bright colors, clothing stores and a large tower that led to the 4-on-4 online battles. My orange Inkling was presented standing in the center of the city underneath the Splatoon logo, wearing a white headband, a yellow t-shirt and cream-colored shoes.

I pressed the ZL and ZR buttons, which subsequently brought up a giant screen that I assumed was for news broadcasts. What appeared on the screen were two female Inklings that looked slightly different from the others and had black and light gray hair.

The one on the left, Callie, began the broadcast by saying, "Hold on to your tentacles…"

To the right was Marie, who announced, "It's Inkopolis News time!"

The two went on to announce the current regular and ranked battle stages, and then Callie suddenly exclaimed, "News flash! News flash!"

"What is it? What is it?!" Marie wanted to know.

Two pictures appeared behind them and Callie announced with a shocked expression, "Inkopolis's Great Zapfish has…vanished!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"If it isn't recovered soon, are we gonna lose power?"

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine…probably," Marie reassured.

"I wonder if it has anything to do with that UFO crash!"

"Sounds likely to me!"

Anticipation was building inside me as Callie and Marie explained the disappearance of the Great Zapfish. I wondered if this was part of a single-player mode, and I wondered if I would have to go to great lengths to retrieve it.

For some reason, as I was pondering this…I felt a very unusual vibe around me, as if it was warning me that something was about to happen. At first I was a bit worried, but I didn't think that anything could have happened at a time like this, so I just shrugged it off.

The game transitioned back to the plaza and greeted me with, "Welcome to Inkopolis! This is the plaza, where all the freshest folk come to chill like krill. Most Inklings here are obsessed with the hottest sport in Inkopolis…INK BATTLES! That crazy-tall building in front of you is Inkopolis Tower. It's the city's most famous landmark! There's a lobby on the first floor of Inkopolis Tower for online battles." The screen panned over to the cluster of shops to the west of the plaza. "This is the Booyah Base, a shopping mall for all your Inkling needs. You can buy all kinds of fresh gear and weapons to use in battle. But check it-the staff in the shops can be a snobby bunch. They won't serve you if they don't think you're fresh enough. Battle Dojo is on the second floor of that building over there. Check it out if you wanna battle your friends 1-on-1 and sharpen your skills."

The game went on to warn me about steering clear about the city's back alley, even though I felt it was going to be important later on. It even pointed out a "creepy old dude" that appeared to be coming out of a sewer, and suggested that he might get me mixed up with something dangerous. After showing me around the rest of Inkopolis, I was free to start jumping right into the online battles, but before I could press any buttons, the screen turned pitch black and the sound went silent. I sat frozen in my seat and was as frightened as a child on the first day of school. What was wrong with my game? Was this the reason why Ryan initially didn't want to sell the game to me?

Before I could ponder any more questions, my skin experienced a tingling sensation and the room around me became pure white.

"Help! What's happening to me?!" I shouted in fear. Before I knew it, I was in a world other than my own.

Author Notes: Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this story so far! I've been playing a lot of Splatoon lately, and it is easily one of the best games I've ever played, so that's why I wanted to write this! If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know in a review!