(Subnautica, anyone? Originally this was titled "Errorink: Containment", but it doesn't even have any Errorink in it.)

Ink had been stuck in here for a thousand years.

It wasn't the worst thing in the world, he supposed. The aquarium that the Outsiders had built for him was vast, like a perfectly square cavern. It was filled with various kinds of fauna and flora, gathered from different parts of the ocean. The stalkers, bonesharks, and cave crawlers had been rather antsy when they were first brought in here. Ink couldn't say he blamed them. Though he was surprised by their rather passive change in behavior. He didn't know much about these creatures, as he did not live in their natural habitats, but he knew that they were usually on the more aggressive side.

His only connection to the outside world for all of these centuries was the odd pipe system that the Outsiders had created. Massive vents were on the walls of the aquarium, pumping in oxygen-rich water and schools of peepers. Those peepers were Ink's way of contacting the outside world, even if he couldn't give proper messages. The peepers would carry the chemical that his body naturally produced, which the Outsiders called "Enzyme 42", to the open ocean.

Ink sighed, a small stream of bubbles leaving his mouth. He went down to the ground of the aquarium, choosing a spot that was by the odd device that the Outsiders had built. He believed that it was something along the lines of an incubator device. The five of his remaining eggs had been placed on the odd device, frozen in a stasis-like condition until the conditions were right for them to hatch. He once had seven eggs, but the Outsiders had taken two of them. He didn't know what had become of them.

"I miss the outside world you know," Ink said aloud, though he wasn't sure who he was talking to. His unhatched eggs, himself, the microorganisms in the water, the flora and fauna... he didn't know. "I miss the open water and rays of light. I miss the deep trenches and shallow waters."

He turned his head and looked over at a nearby plant. It was a bioluminescent blue translucent bladder that was being held together by small stalks, with yellow and green patterns along the top. The stalks were bright green and tipped with yellow. Ink knew that the bladder of the plant contained a large variety of bacterial species, but only because he'd tried to eat one once and got sick from it. Despite the sickness it brought him, it was one of his favorite plants in the ecosystem. He reached out, running one of his paddle-like arms along the top.

"You are not so different from my kind, hm?" Ink smiled faintly. "We are both nearly extinct. But your kind has more room to thrive. I fear that if my eggs do not hatch soon, my kind will be lost."

Ink moved closer to the plant. The Outsiders called it the "Sea Crown". The true reason for his fascination with these plants following his imprisonment within these walls was not just because of their natural beauty or familiarity, but because they reminded him of someone he was close to. He had some bioluminescent parts about himself too.

"Error must be worried sick." Ink's voice was solemn. "It's been so long.... I wonder if he's moved on."

The chances of Error having moved on from Ink were unlikely, but not impossible. It wasn't like he could sulk for eternity because of Ink's absence from his life. But part of him was hoping that Error hadn't forgotten about him. That is, if Error was still alive. When Ink had been captured by the Outsiders and brought to this prison, he'd been roughly about 1,600 years old. Creatures like them lived for a long time, but not forever. Ink had lived for much longer than he was ever supposed to, he could feel it in his body. His eggs would've been dead by now because of not hatching, and were only being kept alive now by the device the Outsiders made.

The Outsiders... they were an odd species. Ink had tried communicating with them, but they never responded or even acknowledged his cries. They had built another exit to the outside world within this aquarium. It was a peculiar kind of arch, inactive and covered almost entirely by sand. Ink had tried time and time again to beg them to let his young go free, but they never bothered. They'd disappeared very suddenly.

Ink lifted his head to look at the hanging platform at the top of the aquarium. He'd tried several times to escape through there, but there were a few problems with that temporary plan.

He was an aquatic creature, never meant to leave the water. He could stick his head out of the water for brief periods of time, but he couldn't live out of the water. The Outsiders had drained the facility they built of all water except for what was in his aquarium. The second problem was that, even if he could survive outside of water, there were those green shield things... no doubt put in place by the Outsiders to prevent.... something. He didn't know how to remove those barriers. Plus, the environment the facility was built in was filled to the brim with lava, temperatures he couldn't survive. Not to mention that he couldn't abandon his eggs. There was also a physical restraint.... the chain that was attached to the shackle around his neck.

All he could hope was that some other intelligent and sentient lifeform would come to this planet and hear his pleas.

~~~~

It had taken some time, but someone finally came.

He did not know their name or the story of how they ended up on the planet. He didn't mean to sound ignorant, but he truthfully couldn't care about the reasons. He needed their help as much as they needed his. Ink was a bit ashamed to admit that over the years of being enclosed within this limited space, his emotions were starting to dwindle and wither. He had no one to talk to and had been left to his thoughts for so long.

This new hope was an Outsider, but nothing like the first Outsiders. Not only could this one hear his calls, but they were structurally entirely different. They were quite tiny compared to the size of the first Outsiders, very fleshy and organic. The poor thing looked quite shaken up as well, no doubt terrified by all of the unfamiliar creatures and environments they'd encountered along the way. They were very cooperative with Ink's proposal. They would go and gather different seeds from around the ocean, turning them into special enzymes that would trigger the eggs' hatching response.

Ink's health was declining at a rapid rate. Faster than it had been ever since he was first contained in here by the Outsiders, faster than the life support systems they'd put in place could keep up with. He knew why it was taking such a drastic drop, and he accepted it. Now that the eggs had hatched and his children were free, distributing the Enzyme 42 to the rest of the ocean, he had no reason to stay anymore. He could feel this rapid failing of his body when he nearly collapsed after just meeting his babies.

He'd already said his goodbye to the one who had been kind enough to help them out. There was nothing left for him to do other than slowly slip into death's embrace, falling among the sand. Surrounded by the few Sea Crowns and the passive fauna that had come to inhabit the aquarium with him, he found peace in these final moments.

He closed his eyes, wondering just how long it would be until his final breath.