Atti was a somewhat tall boy with long tentacles. He was somewhat of a mess, with a worn-out White Inky Rider jacket, some white slip-ons, and a pair of headphones around his neck, a gift he claims was from Marina herself. Despite being new to Inkopolis, he had a soft spot for the Inklings' battle system. He'd always wanted to really participate in a big-scale tournament with some teammates, but he didn't have enough friends to form a team and there was no tournament dedicated to those who weren't skilled enough to chill with the big guys.

Which is why he looked in awe at the poster in front of him. It had caught his eye from across the whole Inkopolis Square, which was an impressive feat considering how cluttered the square usually is, but the words on the poster were exactly what he was looking for.

The poster read, "The Fresh Start Cup is starting in a week! Registrations close this Friday! Perfect for beginner and inexperienced teams!"

Beginning and inexperienced teams, huh? These were exactly the words he had in his mind. This was just what he wanted; a competitive environment without the pressure...it was all very appealing. He quickly posted his own information - ranks, contact info - on the scouting board, where his name would be visible to anyone who was looking for teammates.

Within just a day of posting, he received a message from someone named Ika.

"Hi, I saw you were looking for a team to join," Ika said. "I'm looking to start a team and I've only got one other player at the moment."

Atti enthusiastically agreed. As a suggestion, he gave Ika the contact details of his own best friend, Tee, who had also been looking to join a team. Ika politely rejected Tee, due to the team being full. Within just a few short hours after that, Atti was introduced to Ari and Ben through group chat, who had also been looking to join the team.

"We need a captain," Ika said.

"I'll do it," Atti volunteered. Leading a group was nothing he hadn't done before, so leading a team? That's nothing. As everyone got talked about their ranks and levels, and what their battle strengths were, Ari asked a very good question.

"What should our team name be?" he asked.

There was a quick moment of silence. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure what the response will be," Atti chimed in, hesitantly. "I call it...SquidCubed. I even have some logo sketches drawn up." He sent some of his logo ideas to the group, who agreed that it was a good idea.

"That's settled, then. We should have a team all set," Ika messaged.

Unfortunately for the team but luckily for Atti, Ben suddenly and abruptly dropped out, leaving SquidCubed with just three players. Atti quickly brought up the idea of adding Tee to the team again, and without much of a choice, the three agreed to add him on.

A few days passed by. The team had practiced some turf wars together, and started to get to know each other a bit. Two days before the tournament, Ika brought up an issue.

"I'm going to be a little late for the tournament start," she said. "We're gonna need to find a sub."

"I think I've got an idea," Atti piped up once more. "Let me ask her if she'd be interested." He then sought out to find an acquaintance he met long ago. He'd never bothered to really speak with her, but he knew of her passion for battles and thought she'd be a good fit.

"Would you be interested in joining a team?" he messaged her. "Not that you want to, but I figured I'd offer you the invite."

"Yeah, sure, I'll join," she told him. "I'm Rank X in everything but I'm not sure if you really care about ranks."

"You're higher-ranked than all of us..." he replied, with a tinge of defeat and jealousy. "But that's fine. We'd love to have you."

And with that, SquidCubed had added their last team member. After some formal introductions between players, SquidCubed had their player roster locked in for their first Fresh Start Cup.

The tournament came and went. Placing squarely in the middle of the rankings, SquidCubed considered their first entry a success. But with the bond between the group starting to strengthen, Atti couldn't help but notice something was off with someone...