"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave your luggage outside." The attendant at the front desk said, barely looking up from her computer. "Only the clothes you're wearing, and your weapon are permitted in the Turf Wars."

"Can I ask you for help really quick?" Ari replied, walking over to the desk. "I'm new to Inkopolis, and I'm a little lost."

The receptionist looked up from her computer. "Certainly! What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for the Rainmaker Apartments. Can you give me directions there?"

The receptionist frowned. "I'm not familiar with them. I can look it up if you want." She began typing away.

"Please do. I'm not sure where I put my map." He pulled up close to the desk, making sure to keep his suitcase from blocking the path to the ink pads.

After about half a minute, the receptionist looked up. "Okay, it looks like you take a left on Kelp Street, and keep going for 2 blocks. It'll be on your right." She gave a slight smile. "Is that all I can help you with?"

Ari nodded. "Thanks for your help!" He turned around, and left.

"Wait a minute." He barely heard the receptionist say. "Something looks off about you." He took it as her musing to herself, and left without answering.

Kelp Street was three blocks away from the Turf War lobby, and Ari crossed to the other side of the street before continuing to the apartments. He noticed plenty of other Inklings staring at him as he walked around. Gee, you'd think they had never seen a suitcase before. He thought sarcastically. I might have to do something about my ink color sooner rather than later if I want to fit in.

Ari arrived at the apartments and went inside. He didn't see a clerk present, so he rang a tiny bell he saw, and sat down on a nearby chair. Another Inkling, this one a boy, was sitting nearby. His tentacles were green, and he had orange eyes. He wore a black jacket, with a bright yellow vest over top of it. He also had on matching shoes with neon green stripes as opposed to yellow. He had on an interesting pair of headphones that were conical, as opposed to the traditional circular headphones. The black and navy blue coloring reminded him of a night sky. A small microphone extended from the Inkling's right ear. I'll have to ask him where he got the headset from, it actually looks pretty nice.

"Hello?" A voice called from the windowed desk. An adult Inkling with Green tentacles called out to the two boys. "Did someone call for help?"

"I'm waiting for someone to meet me here." The other Inkling stated, leaning back. "Go ahead." He gestured Ari to head up.

So much for asking about the headset. Ari stood up. "Thanks, man." He walked over to the desk. "Hi, I'm here to ask about renting an apartment."

The attendant gave a sad smile. "I'm afraid we're all out of rentable apartments. We just rented the last one out last week. I have a couple other places I can recommend, however."

Ari felt like smacking himself on the forehead. "Oh, right. I should have phrased that better. I've rented a room, and I'm here to find out which room it is." He unzipped a pocket on the front of the suitcase, and pulled out a stapled stack of papers. "Here you go. This is my half of the paperwork. Name's Ari Inklowe."

The receptionist lit up, her hair brightening slightly as she did. "Ah, Mr. Inklowe! We were wondering when you would be here. Did the train run late?"

If her hair turns a brighter shade of green, I'm going to lose my eyesight. Ari shook his head. "No ma'am, but Tentaville is a long way from Inkopolis. And there were plenty of stops on the way." It might be better to just buy a plane ticket when I want to go home.

She took the papers, and flipped through them quickly. "All right, everything seems to be in order. Here is your key," She handed him a simple metal key, "and your apartment number is going to be 1425. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Ari felt a small rumble in his stomach. Is it that late already? He checked his watch. Yep. 6:30. I should probably get something to eat. "Are there any good places to eat around here?"

"There's a few small cafés nearby. We also have some takeout menus in one of the cabinet drawers in your kitchen. We don't have anything in the apartment building itself." She gave another bright smile. "Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Inklowe?"

"Just Ari is fine." Being called 'mister' makes me feel old. I'm only 16. "Thanks for all of your help!" Ari looked around, and saw the elevators further down a hallway. He went over and hit the up button. Any particular reason why they shaped the up and down buttons like squids?

Ari took the elevator up and went to his room. He fumbled with the key for a few seconds before unlocking the door. The living room was the first room he stepped in. A simple grey couch sat in the center of the room, facing a decent size flat screen TV. A matching chair was off to the left side of the couch, also facing the TV. Pictures of what looked like various Turf Wars arenas were hung up on the white walls. Ari walked over to a large potted plant, interested in the greenery. He was disappointed to find that it was a plastic plant. I'll have to ask about adding a live one. We always had some back home.

The kitchen was off to the left of the doorway. Stainless Steel appliances were neatly placed in between wooden cabinets. Pale grey counter tops were placed along the top of the cabinets on the floor. A coffee maker was placed next to the stove. Across from the kitchen was a small table and four chairs. Ari checked the cabinets, finding dishes and cups. There wasn't any food stocked, so he would have to go shopping later. Checking the fridge, he did find some Squid Colas at least. He opened a can and checked out the rest of the apartment. He saw a small hallway in between the kitchen and the living room, and walked down that next.

He opened a small door at the end of the hallway to find his bathroom. A simple sink was in front of the door, with a matching toilet next to it. The shower was next to the toilet, with a simple white curtain blocking it off. There's no color in this place, is there? Good thing I'll be spending most of my time in the Turf Wars. He left, and checked out a door on his right.

His bedroom was just as clean as the rest of the apartment. A full size bed sat up against the wall, with black and grey covers and pillows. The nightstand had an alarm clock shaped like a Splat Bomb. A tall lamp made out of a Splat Charger stood on the other side of the bed. A dresser stood opposite of the bed, with a small TV set up on it. He saw a closet door on the other side of the room and opened it, only to find nothing in there.

He set the soda down on the nightstand and pulled his suitcase up on the bed. Before I put any of this away, I need to get something to eat. He walked back over to the kitchen and found the takeout menus. Let's see. Pasta, pasta, fast food, fast food, a third fast food. Oh, here we go: Little Shrimp's Pizza. That should do it for tonight. He dialed the number, and placed an order for a Kelp and Shrimp pizza. Heading back to his room, he began putting clothes away.

Once he reached the bottom of the suitcase, he pulled out an N-Zap 89. It had just been legalized for Turf Wars in Tentaville a week before he moved, but he was already comfortable with the gun. Tomorrow, he would check out the Turf Wars lobby, and play a couple of matches. I'm going to have to pay for this apartment somehow.


"Nice of you to show up." The green tentacled Inkling said as a girl with orange tentacles showed up. "I was just about to call Agent 7 instead."

She wore the Hero's Replica outfit, just like the boy she was picking up wore. "Ha ha. You would have been here until next week if you did. He hates driving people around." The two left the lobby of the apartment complex together. "So, what's our assignment this time?"

"Agents 1 and 2 want us to return to the field. Some more movement has been detected north of Octo Valley, and they want us to check it out."

The girl frowned. "Octo Valley? Again? Didn't we already determine that there was nothing there?" She opened the driver's door, and sat down in the seat. The boy got in on the opposite side, and buckled up. She started the car after putting on her seat belt.

The boy shook his head. "We're not staying in Octo Valley, Agent 4. We're going to a new place. Agent 1 referred to it as 'Octo Nevado.' And Agent 2 called her an idiot for it."

Agent 4 laughed. "They really don't change, do they?" She asked. "Well, who are we tracking this time?" She began driving, and stopped at a light up ahead.

"That's the thing. Neither Agent 1 or 2 know. The signals they're picking up aren't like any they've seen before."

Agent 4 paused. "Unknown signals?"

"Yep. I looked over the details. Definitely not one of ours. They might be Octarian signals, but not any we've ever encountered." He looked over at the agent. "We've been instructed not to engage any potential hostiles unless they directly engage us. They specifically said for you not to use any 'displays of force.'"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. Don't go running off without me in chase of an Octoling, and we won't have to worry about that, will we Agent 5?"

"Hey, she took one of my Splat Bombs. That was a prototype given to me by Agent 9."

"Well, don't let it happen again. What time do we leave?" The light turned green, and she took off from the light.

"ASAP." Agent 5 leaned back in his seat. "So, anything interesting happen to you?"

"Nope. Just a couple of shut out Turf Wars. You?"

"An Inkling with black ink moved into the apartments."

"You're joking. Inklings don't have black ink around here."

"I'm not. You missed him by a few minutes. He looked interested in our equipment, I caught him staring a little bit.

"Maybe we'll see him in a Turf War."

"I hope so. He moved fairly quickly."

"You can worry about that later. Focus on the mission for now." The two kept driving, and discussed the details of the mission.


A/N: Thank you all for the support and reviews! I'm looking forward to continuing this.