"Constanze? Constanze! Where the heck are you? I am giving you 5 seconds to get this stupid belt off of me or else I am going to pour this super-solvent all over your ship! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1-"
Right before uncorking the bottle in her hand, Sucy found that her mattress had been swelling slightly, almost bursting at the seams before…
*BAM*
In a single flash of movement, the mattress and belt both gave way, enveloping Sucy in a material softer than anything else she'd experienced.
It would have been enjoyable if not for the impact that soon followed.
It was almost like being crushed in a hydraulic press, except a hydraulic press would have at least given Sucy time to react. Immediately, the pain in her body turned to soreness as the ship stabilized and her bed returned to normal.
"Constanze, I swear, you'd better have a good explanation for this-"
*swing*
Ah, looks like she won't have to wait long.
The door opened to reveal a slightly disoriented Constanze rubbing the side of her head.
"Ah. Hey there."
All inquiry died on her tongue as, all of a sudden, Sucy simply felt too tired to demand answers, saying nothing as Constanze curled up next to her on the bed.
The 2 of them stayed silent, taking in the atmosphere as they caught their breath.
Eventually, as always, Sucy was the one to break the silence.
"So, what was that about?"
Constanze stirred, rubbing her head again before scrawling out a sketch of the Stanship with an arrow pointing down at what seemed to be…
"A submarine? Wait, so if I open the window, then…"
Hobbling over to the wall, Sucy pressed a button that turned the wall transparent, immediately confirming her suspicions.
Sucy had seen pictures, heard descriptions, and watched videos of the ocean, but none of that had prepared her for this moment.
A massive expanse of blue broken up by a plethora of schools of fish, some small ones here, penguins there, and even an orca or 2 that scattered wildlife wherever they went, it was almost too much to take in.
She didn't even notice that Constanze had walked up beside her, taking in every miniscule change in her expression as her eyes trained onto one sea lion in particular as if trying to take in every detail about it.
So maybe this was how Akko was like when she'd first set foot in Luna Nova, she thought. The sheer wonder and sense of scale was nothing that she'd ever felt before.
Honestly, she would freeze time right here and now if it weren't for the prospect of more potions.
"So, you made a flying ship that can turn into a submarine, huh?"
Constanze shrugged, mumbling something about 'literally building a mecha', eliciting an eye roll from Sucy.
"Anyways, how exactly does someone find a Forge Serpent? You got a tracker or something?"
Sucy had seen so much on this trip that she wasn't even surprised when Constanze gave a simple nod.
"Right. Once we get there, I bet I'll be collecting the bile? Since your Stanbots might not be able to take the acidity of it."
Judging by Constanze's confused expression, she had not, in fact, considered that.
"What, you thought that I just wanted to do it for fun?"
Seeing Constanze's unimpressed look, Sucy rolled her eyes again.
"Ok, so maybe that's part of it, but I'm the one with the acid resist potions, and I've already drunk everything to help me swim, so we're just about ready. By the way, how do we know when we're close?"
Constanze responded by gesturing to the window, eliciting a confused expression from Sucy when she did.
"Eh? What, exactly, am I looking for? I don't see any giant snakes anywhere."
Constanze shook her look, prompting Sucy to scratch her head.
"Hm? What do you-"
And that's when a realization hit Sucy.
It wasn't what she could see.
It was what she couldn't.
In all the expanse of sea in front of her, no matter how she looked, Sucy couldn't see a single fish.
"Ah. We're close. Should I head out now?"
Constanze shook her head again, instead leading Sucy out of the room.
She followed Constanze to the cockpit where Constanze pressed a few buttons, opening a radar scanner and quieting down the ship as she did.
"Gonna let me know when I'm supposed to leave?"
One nod and several minutes later, Constanze had led Sucy to the exit bay, fixing a tether to her back.
"This acid resistant?"
Constanze nodded before exiting the bay, leaving Sucy alone as the hatch beneath her opened, releasing her into the dark, blue ocean.
Alright, so a Forge serpent shouldn't be too difficult to find. After all, there's only so many places something twice as big as a blue hide.
Despite the mission at hand, however, Sucy felt her mind begin to wander. Surely, if she evaded the teeth and had enough potions, she should be able to pass through unharmed, right?
Of course, Constanze would probably need an explanation, so maybe she shouldn't do it after all. Then again, the prospect of coming face to face with something that could swallow her whole so easily was somewhat tempting. She could just imagine its slime slowly enveloping her body, the sensation of harmlessly floating in its stomach, getting swooped up in its jaws- how big were they again? Of course, they would have to be massive if it had a name like 'the Forge Serpent. But the first step in this whole operation would be to find the damn thing.
So she searched, occasionally seeing the odd fish or mollusk, not finding a trace of the forge serpent until…
No. That couldn't be right. That little thing was the forge serpent?
She didn't believe her eyes, but the light (or lack thereof) wasn't playing tricks on her eyes. This little snake that was about the size of Sucy's forearm did, in fact, have the distinct bright orange glow of a Forge Serpent at rest.
Well, no use dwelling over small things like that. With a sigh, Sucy swam up to it and lazily pulled the trigger. Life returned to her eyes as she did, marvelling at the way the spray had made it so that the gas cloud could somehow displace water and remain in a condensed cloud. Sucy watched as the poor thing retched up the contents of its stomach, quite confused as to what had just happened, before tugging on the tether to signal Constanze to reel her in.
Well, that was disappointing. She'd even gone all out with her strongest temporary olfactory and ocular impediments, but it looked like it was all for nothing.
By the time she returned, Constanze was practically brimming with anticipation, wearing an expression that practically screamed for answers.
Oh well. Moping could come after they got home For now, all that mattered was the potion. Once they had some bile, it would be easy enough to make more through magic and Sucy figured that Constanze already had a mechanism for it.
After that, well, let's just say that Akko might want to work on her life insurance policy.
"Here's the bile. Don't spill it unless you want to burn a hole through your ship."
Constanze almost didn't seem to process the bottle being handed to her until Sucy shoved it in her hands. She stared at it, almost not believing her eyes, her face nearly glazing over until…
She smiled.
And immediately, every single ounce of disappointment that Sucy had felt until then evaporated. Honestly, even without the Stan spray, the room, the food, anything, if she'd gone without all that for the entirety of the trip, then it still would have been worth it just so long as she got to see that smile.
It shouldn't have been so brilliant, yet the smile that Constanze wore looked as though she was someone who'd just discovered sugar. Or magic. Or a type of magic that can turn anything it touches into a better version of itself.
…
Huh.
"So, I guess we're headed home then, right, Constanze?"
Dropping the bottle in what Sucy assumed to be a protective box, Constanze gave a nod. But rather than leaving the room, she appeared to debate with herself for a moment, looking off to the side and scratching her cheek as she teetered back and forth in deliberation.
"Constanze?" Sucy shot her a quizzical look, to which Constanze only looked at the ground and said:
"Thank y-"
*CRASH*
Immediately the 2 of them spun to the direction of the sound of metal tearing, panic filling their faces when they laid eyes upon the gaping hole in the side of the Stanship.
"Shit! Constanze, get us out of here! I'll try to patch the hole!"
Already, the Stanship's safety measures clicked into place and Constanze left the hatch, leaving Sucy to chug her water breathing potion as the door shut behind her.
WIthout her cacophony of other aquatic adaptations, it was dark, cold, and generally unpleasant, but as the hole patched itself up, Sucy figured that she would at least survive-
*SMASH*
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of teeth on steel, another gaping hole being torn into the side of the Stanship.
And when Sucy looked at the beast in front of her, she had the sudden realization that maybe, just maybe, there was more than one Forge Serpent.
And also, collecting the vomit of a mother's child would probably have the unintended side effect of pissing them off.
The hole resealed itself just in time to stop Sucy from hurtling out of the ship and they quickly broke the surface, but just as quickly as the water drained out of the hatch, Constanze came bursting back in, her whiteboard saying:
"Ship's running out of power. We're going to crash. Brace yourself."
