\n\t\t\t\tRekstone767, story by me. Their post: https://www.deviantart.com/rekstone767/art/Request-for-...One day, while this whale was happily swimming in the ocean, a strange energy formed around him...Next thing he knew, he was in a place he didn't recognize, in a long tunnel with tiled surfaces all around, and no air to be seen! Without any other option, he wandered these strange halls for hours, searching for either a way out or at least air. Something found him first, though; an enormous monster, dozens of times his own size, intent on eating him! It snapped its gargantuan jaws at him, and while it thankfully missed, as he certainly wouldn't have survived a direct hit, the attempted bite had so much force behind it that it actually pushed the whale a short distance away. The monster didn't seem all that smart, and the whale managed to trick it into running into a wall, stunning it for just long enough for the whale to dart into a side passage, which could comfortably fit him and wasn't nearly big enough for the monster.
He continued down this new path for another hour and a half, seeing a light further along but never seeming to get closer to it. Along the way, he found a few objects made of some material he hadn't seen before, but he left them alone, fearing they might be more creatures native to this place. Finally, after four and a half hours of being lost, the whale came upon a welcome sight: A giant air bubble, about twice his size, floating in place and practically asking to be inhaled. He could only hope it really was air as he swam toward it, not bothering to be cautious as he knew he'd likely be done for anyway if it turned out to be something else. Just before he could put his lips on the bubble, however, it somehow moved out of the way! He tried again, and found that it wasn't a coincidence; this giant bubble, or something controlling it, was keeping away from him! Not willing to give up on the only air he'd seen in such a long time, the whale gave chase. In a surprisingly short time, he had the bubble cornered, and he drew in to finally get a well-deserved breath...Except, the bubble still managed to move away, into a crack in the wall the whale hadn't seen until now, and before he could react, it was out of his reach, disappearing into the wall.
The whale grumbled to himself. All the effort of chasing after the bubble had been for nothing, and now he was back to lacking any kind of air source, which was starting to take its toll on his body, his face gaining a purple tint. Once again, he just went back to wandering for a while. He found another interesting thing, a bright yellow plant of some sort, growing directly out of a wall. The breathless whale hardly cared, though, and just swam straight past it, more concerned with finally refilling his burning lungs. Another few minutes later, and he stopped, shivering in place as his lips and blowhole quivered. He needed to breathe, RIGHT NOW. Still not having air, he held himself shut another few seconds, eyes going bloodshot from the immense strain in his chest, but after five hours underwater, he finally couldn't hold on any longer.
The now-blue whale's mouth and blowhole shot open, a huge cloud of bubbles shooting from each. He frantically looked around at the walls, the ceiling, at the bubbles streaming from his blowhole...Nothing could help, and as his lungs emptied entirely, he arched his back and gasped as hard as he could, strange-tasting water flooding his lungs to the top in just a moment. He'd admit, finally breathing after so long of holding his breath certainly felt good, but it was drastically outweighed by the searing pain in his lungs. He thrashed and choked for some time, then forced himself to swim again. Just staying here drowning wasn't going to accomplish anything, and while he (perhaps unfortunately) knew from experience that he could handle it for a fairly long time, he really didn't have much longer.
For 25 minutes, he breathed water, his strength slowly draining along with what little oxygen he had left, and eventually he went limp, though still conscious, the water in him weighing down and sending him sinking to the bottom. He hadn't really noticed, but the environment had changed, and the whale now seemed to be in a cave of some sort. From where he'd landed, he could actually see an exit back into the ocean! His eyes widened slightly, but despite seeing salvation right in front of him, he'd gotten so weak he couldn't swim any more. He quivered in place for a while, staring at the exit just above him as his vision slowly dimmed...Until finally accepting his fate and closing his eyes, submitting to the water.