Chapter 1
Inkopolis, the place of opportunity and freedom. Young inklings came from all over to see this marvelous city and its own special sport, turf wars. With the use of the miracles that are spawn points, the inklings could play this sport without the fear of death.
One such inkling is just arriving today. At the young age of 14 with the typical hairstyle most females had, she also wore a simple white t-shirt and black shorts with an orange line on the sides. She also had a backpack and suitcases filled with her clothing and other essentials.
She sighs, then says "Alright Amber, let's go home." With that, she takes her first steps into the city.
She looks up at the towering buildings around her in complete awe. They were massive and covered with every color imaginable! There were even some she couldn't imagine!
All around her inklings walked, talked, and smiled. They all looked extremely happy, no matter what their age was. Many of them were carrying around weapons, which startled the orange-haired inkling, until she remembered that turf wars were the main sport here.
She continues to move along in a slight daze, gazing at the sights all around her. Things were moving so quickly, and yet, it felt so calm too. She then noticed one screen in particular over the others.
On the screen were two inkling females. One had long, black and magenta tentacles, along with a black and magenta stage outfit that was extremely baggy at the hips. The other had much shorter gray and green tentacles, along with an outfit of the same color pallet, but with a skirt instead of the baggy hips.
It took only one look to recognize who those inklings were. With a sparkle in her eyes, Amber mutters out "The Squid Sisters! I'd forgotten that they lived here."
The Squid Sisters were famous for their singing and impeccable fighting skills. The two were actually cousins though, and Amber found out through her life that many didn't know that. Beyond this, the Squid Sisters also had risen up from very little. Living a comfortable life with little to spare, the young inklings took what they could. When they won the Calamari County Youth Singing Competition, they tried to expand. It worked wonders for them and their families back home. Now the cousins live here in Inkopolis, singing for the world and even hosting the news.
Amber looked up to them more than idols. They were proof to her that anybody could become famous or loved, even if they started from the bottom.
Amber's expression grows more solemn as she thinks back on why she admires the Squid Sisters so much.
Amber never knew her parents and was kept in an orphanage. Along with this, she had a secret that made it impossible for her to have any sort of relationships with other inklings. Alone and often feared, she had lived a hard childhood.
The young inkling then tightens her fist as her eyes blaze with determination. "That's why I'm here in Inkopolis. I am finally going to become somebody!" With that she begins her walk once more. She weaves through the crowds, set in her goal now.
After a few more minutes of walking, she finally reaches her destination. A small set of apartments, the only place she could afford to live at. She runs over to the building and goes inside.
The lobby inside was a simple design with ornate carpets and torch-like lights. At the back wall was two doorways leading into the building. Amber rummages through her bags, pulls out a key, then goes through the right door.
She eventually finds her apartment and goes inside. The apartment door lead straight into her living room. To her right, tucked away behind a small wall, was the kitchen. To the very right end of the room was a hallway leading to a single bedroom and bathroom. Amber goes into the hallway and into the bedroom.
She begins sifting through her things, sorting out her clothes, toothbrush, and other items she needed. She gets to the bottom of the bag and finds a small card. Amber looks at it for a moment, then picks it up.
It was a small ID card. It had her name, her level in turf wars, her rank, and her coin amount. Currently she was only level 1 and had no rank. Her coins were at a measly 100 after buying this apartment. Amber frowns and pockets the card. "Later."
She begins putting all of her stuff away, the task taking only a few minutes. After she finishes she sits down on her couch and looks around.
She had various paintings and other items around the apartment to give it a more 'homey' look to it. She had some small snacks in her cupboards, but not much. She needed to go grocery shopping. The only issue was the tiny amount of money she had!
Amber sighs loudly, taking out her ID card. She grimaces at the practically insignificant amount of cash she had. She looks at her turf war level, then decides there was only one thing to do. She pockets her card and leaves the apartment.
Amber runs along the streets of Inkopolis, taking quick glances at her phone's map so she knew where she was going. She wanted to do one battle and then get some groceries. She didn't want to do anything more after that.
Deep in her thoughts as she was, she never notices someone crossing her path. Running at full speed as was, the collision was quite the spectacle. Amber feels sudden resistance, and grunts in surprise as she falls over.
She rubs her head, cracking an eye open. She notices someone beneath her, rubbing his head as well. Amber yelps and quickly gets back up. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?!"
The man nods his head, picking himself up. He stands up fully and Amber's eyes widen slightly. This guy was a whole foot taller than her! Amber was only 14, but still! There isn't much height difference between maturity and 14.
As the person nurses his head, Amber takes a good look at him. Other than being quite tall, he also had long hair for a boy. It was jet black too, fading into red spots at the bottom. He was wearing a blue hoodie and black shorts with red lines on the side. He also wore these peculiar yellow shoes that seemed to glow on the side.
"Um, hello?" Amber blinks, then realizes that the person was looking at her with a strange look.
Realizing she was staring, Amber blushes and bows deeply. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention."
Amber keeps her eyes shut tight, expecting some sort of backlash. He was going to yell at her, or maybe even hit her!
The man did something she didn't expect. He laughs, then says "It's fine! No harm done."
Amber looks up, disbelief in her eyes. "I-It's fine?"
The man nods, smiling the whole time. "Yeah, it's fine. Oh, you can stand up now."
Amber raises herself back up and looks into the man's eyes. She makes a noise of surprise when she sees his irises. They were a shining gold color, filled to the brim with mischief and kindness. But what really got her attention was the four-pronged star shape his pupils had.
The man chuckles and says "You're staring again." Amber blushes and quickly looks down, muttering an apology. The man just laughs again and says "Oh come on, I'm just messing with ya!"
Amber looks back up gingerly, then nods. The man then seems to frown and examine her. Amber freezes in his gaze, staring with wide eyes. His unique eyes narrow, then he says "So… what's your name?"
Amber blinks at the sudden question, then says "A-Amber."
The man suddenly grins widely and bows deeply, like a magician. "Ika Cuttlefish at your service."
Amber giggles at the little display. Ika looks up and smiles when he hears her laugh. Ika straightens up, then says "So, where are you going in such a hurry?"
Amber looks past Ika and points at the massive tower in the distance. "I'm going to the Battle Tower. I need to do a turf war so I can get some money for groceries."
Ika turns to the Battle Tower, then nods. "Seems about right. So what level are ya?"
Amber blushes again, then pulls out her card. She stares at it, then says in a depressed tone "I-I'm only level one."
Ika grins again and says "A newbie huh? Well, I guess I could show you the ropes."
Amber looks up at Ika with another expression of surprise. "H-Huh?!"
Ika nods to himself, then grins again. "Yep, guess I'll just have to show you around. You'd never last a day without me."
Amber suddenly flushes and feels a fire burning in her. She points at Ika's face and yells "I can last a day without you! I know how to fight!"
Ika just chuckles and says "Woah, we got a fiery one here. Determination like that will get you quite far kid."
Amber blinks in surprise, her hand lowering. She then huffs and pouts, annoyed that her proclamation didn't mean anything.
Ika then turns and waves for Amber to follow. "Come on, let's get you some gear." With nothing else to do, Amber just agrees and follows after Ika.
As they walk, Amber takes in more of the sights. She felt like she could never get enough of the towering buildings and bright color thrown everywhere.
"This place really is something, isn't it?" Amber just nods slowly.
Ika sighs, hands in his hoodie pockets and a small smile on his face. "Back at my old home, we never had anything like this. Sure we had fireworks and those cool traditional-looking houses, but nothing like this."
Amber looks over at him in surprise. "Traditional? Are you from Calamari County?"
Ika nods. "That I am. Me, my sis, and my cousin all moved here when they got a singing career. They got all famous and stuff, but I'm not one for fame. I just play turf wars and admire the beauty of this city."
Amber suddenly feels suspicious after he said that. Sister and cousin? Singing career? Amber was getting very suspicious. "Wait… who's your sister and cousin?"
Ika looks at her with another grin. "Well, they are quite famous. I bet you can take a guess."
Amber narrows her eyes as she inspects Ika. She notices a sign behind Ika on a building, advertising the Squid Sisters' concert. She felt like she should know something about this. She looks between Ika and the Squid Sisters.
As she looked, she began to notice similarities. Ika's long, black tentacles matched Callie's. His golden, uniquely shaped eyes were the same as both of the cousins'. The realization hits Amber like a train. Eyes suddenly widening, she stutters out "T-The Squid Sisters?!"
Ika grins widely and bows deeply again. "Why yes, those two! How wonderful having such a famous duo as a family." He stands up and laughs loudly, drawing some attention to them.
Amber looks around nervously, then says "Maybe we should keep this quiet."
Ika stops laughing, then looks around. He grimaces at the gazes he was getting and nods. "Maybe that's for the best."
Ika looks forward, then smiles again. "Ah, here we are!"
Amber looks forward as well and her eyes widen. They were in a large plaza, shops strewn about the edges of it. At the back end, right in the center, was a massive tower. The tower was covered in screens advertising different companies and various parts of the city's splendor. Many inklings were going to the tower, each of them carrying a weapon.
Ika turns away from the tower and waves for Amber to follow. "Come on, we need to get you a starter set first." Amber watches Ika leave, then quickly follows.
She slows down next to Ika and notices that they were approaching one of the buildings. It had a picture of what looked like various weapons, and also a horseshoe crab. She looks at the sign and reads it. "Ammo Knights. What's Ammo Knights?"
Ika grins widely and says "Why, only the best weapons shop in all of Inkopolis! The owner, Sheldon, makes all of the weapons used in turf wars." Ika blinks. "Well, more like he designs the weapons and sells the public copies. The factories make them."
The duo reaches the shop and Ika pushes open the door. Ika looks at the counter and says "Sheldon!"
Some shuffling is heard, and a head pops up over the counter. Amber blinks in surprise at the sudden motion. The person had an odd helmet and what looked like goggles. He also had some odd combination of a scout vest and a blacksmith apron.
The person, who Amber figured was Sheldon, smiles and says "Ah, Ika! How lovely to see you. What can I do for ya?"
Ika gestures to Amber and the young inkling suddenly feels self-conscious. "This young lady right here needs a starter set for turf wars. She's starting today."
Sheldon looks at her for a bit, then nods with smile. "Alrighty then! Let me grab the stuff." Sheldon disappears beneath the counter, and more rummaging is heard.
Amber stands on her toes, trying to see what the shop owner was doing. Suddenly, a bag of stuff hits the counter with a loud bang. Amber recoils in shock, her ears lowered. Ika chuckles, making Amber blush in embarrassment.
Sheldon stands up again, sorting through the stuff. "Alright, we have an ink tank, the splattershot, and some instructions on making burst bombs." Sheldon smiles widely and says "These are yours to keep, no charge."
Amber looks at him in surprise. "Are you sure?"
Sheldon nods. "Everyone has to start somewhere, and not everyone has a weapon to start with. I consider this my treat to the city."
Amber looks at the weapon and paper, then grabs them tentatively. She holds them close, then does a small bow. "Thank you very much."
Sheldon chuckles and says "Such manners! Ika, are you rubbing off onto this girl?"
Ika chuckles and ruffles the smaller squid's hair. Amber's face flushes and she glares at the older squid, forcing her hair back to its normal smoothness. "Maybe. Anyways, thanks for the stuff Sheldon."
Sheldon nods and waves after the two as they leave. "Sure thing Ika! And kid, come back any time, alright?!"
Amber turns and nods her head with a smile. "I will!" Sheldon just laughs as the door closes.
Amber turns around, then looks at her new equipment. She stares, trying to comprehend that this was her's. She looks up at Ika, who was watching with a smile. He gestures to the tank and says "Well, put it on!"
The young inkling looks down again, then puts the ink tank onto her back. She lowers it in between her shoulder blades, feeling the warm glass press against her back. A lone tube fell uselessly against her leg. Then, a sudden sting is felt in her back. She flinches and looks back at the tank. "What the hell was that?!"
Ika looks at her tank, seeing a tube connected to her back through a small needle. "Ah, it's just the ink pump. It takes the ink from your ink sac and puts it into the tank."
Amber tries to turn and see it. "Is this going to happen each time then?"
Ika nods with his arms crossed. "Yeah, every time. You get used to it though."
Amber stops trying to see the needle, then sighs. "Alright then." She looks down, then picks up her weapon. She notices a large hole on the back, and then at the tube dangling next to her. She grabs the tube and screws it into the weapon's slot. After the seal shuts, ink begins filtering into the splattershot.
Ika grins and says "Fast learner. Well, we have no time to waste! Let's go commence battle!"
Amber just giggles and follows after Ika. The two stride right through the doors and into the lobby. For the umpteenth time that day, Amber freezes in awe. The entire lobby was filled with various seating areas, a food counter, and doors leading to connecting buildings so that other inklings can sit. Various TVs were on, playing different channels, and different hallways lead into the battling center of the building.
Ika walks over to the desk next to them. A clerk looks up, then smiles. "Ah, Ika. Come to battle again?"
Ika nods, then gestures to Amber. "I sure am, but I got a friend here joining me."
The clerk looks at Amber, then says "May I see your ID please?" Amber nods and fishes out her ID, handing it to the clerk.
The clerk looks at it, then says "Level 1? Ika, you know how much it annoys me trying to find a fair game for a level 50 and level 1."
Amber's eyes widen and she looks at Ika in shock. "Level 50?!"
Ika shrugs, seemingly careless, but a small smile was on his face. "It isn't much. I do this for a living you know."
Amber just stares, and the clerk notices. The clerk grins and says "Don't listen to him. He's being modest. This man right here is one of the best fighters in the league, maybe even THE best."
Ika blushes, simply looking down. Amber seems more surprised with this reaction than the information. Seems that while Ika loved joking around, he didn't like being the center of attention.
A chime is sounded, making Amber look around in confusion. The clerk hands back her ID and says "I managed to get some decently good fighters for the opposing team. Ones that shouldn't be impossible for Amber to beat, yet also good enough to fight you Ika."
Ika nods his thanks, then leads Amber to a hallway. Amber looks forwards and says "Wait, how do you know where to go?"
Ika points to a screen on one of the walls. Amber takes a look and sees her name and Ika's, along with six others, saying to go to a certain room number. Amber flushes, wondering how she missed that. "Oh."
The two walk in silence, mainly because of Amber's nerves. What's going to happen when she gets in there? She knew the clerk said she could take these guys on, but what happens if she couldn't?! Ika would laugh at her and leave her alone for sure!
Ika glances at Amber and notices her trembling. He smiles gently and says "Hey, kid, no need to worry. Everyone feels this way when they first start. Heck, even I did."
Amber blinks, then looks at Ika in surprise. "Really? But you are the best!"
Ika looks forwards and just says "'Everyone who was something was nothing at first.' That's a little something my gramps always told me, Callie, and Marie. He still does sometimes."
Ika looks at the younger inklings with a serious yet calming expression. "Even I, revered as the greatest fighter in turf wars, began as clueless as you are. I had to learn quickly to win, or even survive. You are in a place anyone knows well. Those who laugh at you for it simply have forgotten their own struggles."
Amber looks at Ika, then looks forwards. Ika's words did bring a feeling of comfort over her. He was right. She was in the same position as anyone else would have been. She nods, her eyes blazing with determination. "Alright. Thank you Ika."
With that same small smile, he says "Any time." After that, they lapse back into silence.
Even with the boost Ika gave her, it felt way too soon that their room appeared. They stop in front of it, Amber clutching her weapon tightly. Ika looks at the door with suppressed eagerness. "Ready?"
Amber looks over to Ika to respond, then blinks in surprise. Ika now had a giant paintbrush in his hands, and he was holding it with just one arm. Amber points at him and yells "Where the hell did that come from?!"
Ika looks at her, then at his brush. "Ink manifestation. Same way we make our bombs. I found a way to do it with my brush. Neat, huh?"
Amber looks at him with an exasperated expression. She sighs, then looks back up at the door. She takes a breath, then says "I'm ready."
Ika grins, then says "Let's go then." Amber nods, and Ika opens the door. The two step inside, Amber ready to do her first turf war.
-Author Notes-
Well, I still don't have much to say here. First chapter done, and a lot more to go. Hope you enjoyed!