A story created by Proximatic / Dan. A crossover between Hyperdimension Neptunia and Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins).
. . .
A day after the spar between Neptune and Meliodas, the former, alongside Elizabeth, notice that Meliodas is not like his usual self, seeing how he is rather disinterested in Elizabeth's assistance.
Seeking an answer, Elizabeth sets out for the main town in the Kingdom of Liones to find Diane and converse with her.
Meanwhile, Neptune was venturing around the town and fulfilling various desires and tasks for the common folk in an attempt to raise her Shares. While successful, it was rather small and not even close to enough to help her transform.
After Diane spotted the young boy named Zeal, younger brother of Holy Knight Guila, he started to act strange as he could not recall who he nor Guila were.
As it turns out, Gowther manipulated both Guila's and Zeal's memories in order for Gowther to find out what love truly entails. Trying to prevent the others from getting in his way, a small-scale argument now turns into a fight between Gowther, and Neptune & Diane.
Kingdom of Liones — Main Town
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Hyperdimension Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters OST — Break Break Break!
0:01 •— 4:35
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". . .that's enough, Gowther!"
"Don't think we're gonna let you get away with ruining someone's memories, you creep!"
With her hand still latched onto Gowther's wrist, the CPU jumps into the air a bit and begins putting extreme strain and twisting on Gowther's arm before letting go and kicking him directly; her boot flatly and powerfully striking the Goat Sin of Lust's back. With both Neptune and Diane on opposite sides of Gowther, there wasn't much for him to do to escape or fight back.
Multitudes of citizens started to look outside and step out of their homes to see what was going on. A Sin and their close acquaintance fighting a fellow Sin?
"What's this?"
"Did something happen?"
Seeing all of these citizens coming out from the side, Neptune couldn't help but feel a little bit worried, and at the same time, she could feel a slight amount of Share Energy wavering inside of her.
"T-tch. . .Gowther, if you keep this up, there's gonna be a big commotion!" the Goddess shouted out as she held a hand to her chest. Being in a dimension with such a small population with as few people putting their faith in her as is, on top of having less-than-normal Share Energy inside her body to begin with, any little bits of it being lost to her could be very problematic.
"I admit that a commotion would be rather annoying and distracting," the seemingly "heartless" Sin said as he looked back at Neptune, and then forward to Diane again. Once he crossed his arms across each other, two spiky bars of energy appeared between his finger-tips; they were pink in color and potent in magic.
"Jingi: Sōkyū Hāritto (Sacred Treasure: Double Bow Herritt)!"
Both Neptune and Diane gasped at the sight of Gowther immediately pulling out his Sacred Treasure. Its magical power was intense, prompting Neptune to stay on guard for anything that might happen.
"Burakkuauto (Blackout)!"
Uncrossing his arms, Gowther's Sacred Treasure reacted accordingly. A field of negative color began to expand from above Gowther's head, reaching out to even the furthest walls of the Kingdom of Liones before everyone's vision became completely white momentarily. Out of nowhere, Neptune put her hands to her head and started to yell out in pain and frustration.
"N-Neptune?!" Diane shouted out in concern. It's the first time she is seeing Neptune react in such a way.
"Gowther! What did you do?!" the Serpent Sin followed up, staring Gowther down with an even more frustrated expression. But she could sense something. . .looking around, almost everyone had been put into a temporary cold slumber, all except Neptune, Gowther, and herself.
"What is this? What did you do to everyone?!"
"I've rendered unconscious all living things with a Spirit level of less than 400 within a three-mile radius of me. But Neptune is reacting quite differently."
The Goddess continued to hold her hands to her head and yell out in pain as she started losing her balance, leaning against a wall. She's facing some sort of mental attack it seems.
"In the end. . .memories are just information for us to look back upon, and for others to look into. Easy to both create and delete. I merely wish to learn what is beyond that.
About emotions."
"R-rrgh. . .rrraaAAAGH! SHUT UP!" Neptune screamed at the top of her lungs as she powered through this mental attack to leap forward and deliver a sound-breaking punch to Gowther's cheek. Planting her foot into the ground and pivoting, she forcefully pushed against Gowther with her fist and slammed him against the road of bricks, upheaving multiple pieces of rubble from pure rage and abnormal emotion.
"A-aaagh. . .! Nnnrgh. . .!"
"Neptune!"
Diane quickly ran over and pulled Neptune away from the action, gently putting her hand against the latter's head in an attempt to calm her down and try to save her from the pain she was facing in her head.
"I see. Her will may not be similar to the way we measure our will in this world. She must be facing the pain because her mind needs to be strengthened. That's why she did not fall unconscious. Neptune is an interesting specimen, indeed."
Despite the power and momentum behind Neptune's punch, Gowther didn't seem to withstand any damage whatsoever, in spite of his clothes being a bit tattered and his cheek being bruised.
"M-memories. . .are just information. . .?!"
"Neptune, don't push yourself!" Diane was starting to become extremely concerned with Neptune and the state of her mind at the moment, quickly running behind the pillar she created to put the CPU behind some cover so she isn't caught in the crossfire. All the while she kept yelling in pain as she tried to resist it.
"Gowther, I don't know what kind of thoughts go through your head. . .but to erase the precious memories of those who cherish them, that's unforgivable! You can't erase that which is carved deep into your heart!" the Giant shouted.
"Incomprehensible. Memories cherished in your heart can be erased just easily as those not cherished."
Hopping into the air, Gowther started firing multiple energy blasts from the tips of his fingers at Diane, who gracefully danced through the myriad of pink blasts with her hair waving in the direction of the wind from the explosions behind her. She stopped in place and stared up at Gowther, who was now hovering above the ground.
"Strength, 950. As expected of one from the Giant race. Even at human size, your physical capabilities are close to Danchō's. Without a Sacred Treasure, I stand little chance."
Manifesting Double Bow Herritt again, Gowther puts his arms directly out to his sides in a T-shape as he slowly draws in energy. Diane, though, wasn't going to allow any funny tricks to happen. After performing a series of hand motions, the Serpent Sin eventually raised her middle and index fingers, pointing them upwards as columns of the earth beneath them rose up on both sides of Gowther, in which the pillars eventually molded into colossal golem-like creatures.
"Twin Colossi! Go!"
Shouting out her commands, the right hands of each of the golems were thrust forward to try and crush Gowther between them. However, they were seemingly stopped as a pink cocoon of energy enveloped them.
"Jingi: Sōkyū Hāritto!"
The golems were now frozen, despite Diane having control over them just a moment ago. Moving his hands forward, Gowther was now controlling the golems and redirected their attacks to Diane and indirectly Neptune.
"Haijakku (Hijack)!"
Still holding a hand to her head, Neptune skid her feet against the ground as she sidestepped from behind the pillar, putting her free hand up and forming a small sphere of energy in her hand, which eventually shot out into a small beam that pierced the hands of the golems and extended out to the sky, though she still stumbled to the side and leaned against a wall.
"For goodness sake. . .!"
Crouching down a bit and leaping into the air, Diane clenches a fist, pulls it back, and throws it out.
". . .come to your senses, Gowther!"
Upon her fist colliding with Gowther, a large, white semi-sphere of power encompassed a good portion of the town, though not destroying it. Neptune succumbed to the exhaustion from dealing with the mental attack and collapsed, laying on her back as she breathed heavily and tried to relax. Never before did she act so out-of-character. . .
. . . . . . . . . . .
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Hyperdimension Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters OST — Break Break Break!
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After landing on the ground once more, Diane dusted off her hands. Gowther, on the other hand, was somewhat incapacitated and lay almost lifeless on the ground across from the two. The Serpent Sin looked back at the worn-out CPU and kneeled down, lifting her head a little bit.
"Neptune. . ."
"I-I'm. . .I'll be fine. . .I-I just need a bit. . .h-haaah. . ."
Mental attacks are not something she is unfamiliar with, but the way it was done this time — through magic rather than a method akin to Share Energy usage — is something she has never experienced before. Share Energy has been able to prevent mental attacks against the Share Energy wielder, but not entirely magical ones, hence why she didn't become unconscious initially and face pain in her head as a result.
The sweat rolled down Neptune's cheeks as Diane continued to gently hold her, resting the tired and literally mentally exhausted CPU's head on her lap to try and comfort her.
"I don't think I've ever seen Gowther's magic bring mental harm to someone. . .are you sure you don't need Danchō or Merlin to help. . .?"
"I-I'll be fine, Diane. . .! I-it just came out of nowhere, that's all. . ."
Thankfully, the pain was starting to subside and Neptune could feel her emotions returning to normal again. Her breathing slowed to its regular pace, and she generally found herself feeling a lot safer and more energetic after the fight ended. It could be that the presence of Gowther's magic is what was causing her to continuously experience mental pain, and now that he's essentially knocked out, his magic is no longer active, and thus neither is the pain.
'He's a dangerous one. . .how did he manage to become part of their guild or party or whatever when he's clearly an antagonist in disguise. . .?'
As she looked to the side, Neptune could see Gowther sitting against the door to a building, curled into a ball with his face buried into his arms and knees. He was silent. Deadly silent. It's as though he has realized his mistake and now deeply regrets it.
"Diane. . .look at 'im. . .it looks like he was hit with some sort of depression status. . .like Apathy or somethin', and now he doesn't know what to do."
"Gowther. . ."
Diane, Elizabeth, and Merlin all rushed to the scene, turning the corner in front of the three and sprinting over.
"Diane! Neptune! Are you two hurt?"
"Oh, Danchō. . .so you're here, too? I-I'm fine, but Neptune was really screaming in pain from Gowther's magic."
"I've never seen or heard of someone screaming because of Gowther's magic. . .is she okay now?"
"Ehehe. . .I-I'm fine, Meliodas, I've just never dealt with that sorta magic before. It's usually Share Energy or Negative Energy, or. . .some other type of CPU Power that would totally break the balance of the games if it were used in battle. . ."
Neptune giggled quietly before sticking her tongue out playfully. She's back to her normal self again; a cheerful, bubbly girl. Meliodas slowly walks over to Gowther and stares down at the sulking Goat Sin.
"Gowther. Do you realize what you've just done?"
". . .Please. Lock me up. Away from everyone else.
Before I cease being myself." Gowther's tone sounded serious, yet somehow still dull in nature.
"Merlin, we'll continue our conversation later."
"All right then."
"Gowther, you have to restore Guila and Zeal's memories right now! At least let them be happy together instead of with you!"
"I-isn't that a little bit harsh, Diane?"
"Maybe. . .but I can't just let Guila and Zeal be living through false memories for the rest of their lives!"
"I understand," Gowther said as he stood up, uncurling from his ball position and walking over to the unconscious Guila and Zeal, who were affected by Gowther's Blackout earlier. He kneeled down and held a hand close to Guila's head, encompassing his palm in a coat of pink energy and sending a small bolt through both Guila and Zeal, restoring their memories. Moments after, Guila awoke.
"Y-you altered my memories?"
"I meant you no harm."
Gasping a bit, Guila turned to her right and quickly embraced her younger brother.
"Zeal!"
"I've restored Zeal's memories as well. Now he should remember you."
Both Zeal and Guila started to sob as they tightly hugged each other.
"Zeal. . .please forgive me. . .I can't believe how awful I was to you. . .!"
Standing up and keeping Neptune held in her arms, Diane stared at Gowther, who turned around to look at the two and held up a finger.
"But I meant you no harm!"
To which that statement. . .was responded to with Meliodas hopping a bit in the air and giving Gowther a quick bop to the head
"Hmph. . ."
"I apologize. If I had a heart, I would say 'I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart'. For manipulating and temporarily erasing your memories.
For defiling you, out of my compulsion to learn what love truly is."
". . .no, I can't blame you. . ."
Gowther was surprised to hear a response showing him a bit of sympathy and lack of general anger towards him from Guila.
"Because of my weak will. . .I've made mistakes that can never be undone.
And yet, even if they were fleeting and false memories, you tried to save me. Not only that, but along with those false memories, you let me see some of my real memories.
Memories of my long-gone, gentle father. . ."
As Guila stood up, holding Zeal's hand the hold time, she walks over to the exit of the street. But not before turning around and looking at Gowther with a smile on her face.
"Thank you. . .for remembering my father. Goodbye, Goat Sin of Lust."
And thus, the sibling pair walks away from the group.
". . .she's gone."
. . .
. . .
? — Nepstation Studio
| Nepstation Broadcast Jingle! |
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Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory OST — Nepstation
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"Haaai, everyone! It's time for your favorite time of the day, Nepstation! We all know it's just that special."
"Neptune, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to return to my experiments soon."
"Oiii, Merlin, what're you in such a rush for? It's not like you need to get back to them so quickly, they can wait!"
". . .fine. But only this one time."
"Hooraaay! Oh, I guess I already told the readers who the guest character is this time. The very last guest character for a while, too! I think at least."
"For a while, hm? I suppose that means you're not confident in letting others have the spotlight?"
"Nnnope! At least not any of you since you're all major players! Like, Player 1-style players, even though I am the only Player 1 around here!"
"Hm. . .if there is a Player 1, then what about a Player 2?"
"Those are minor and/or supporting characters, silly!"
"Naruhodo. . .well, in any case, what are we supposed to be doing, Neptune?"
"Not much, really! Ever since VII, these little Nepstation moments have always been rather short, soo. . ."
"And I suppose you do not have any new reviews this time around?"
"Oohhh, you hit it right in the heart of a Dogoo!"
"Then I'm leaving."
Merlin proceeds to walk off the screen and exits the studio.
"Waaait, Merliiin! Aww. . .
Welp, looks like it's just me this time! I've got a special note from the writer here! Ahem. . .
'Hey everyone, thank you for showing me even the slightest bit of support for this story over the past week or so. Really, it has been heartwarming to see this little idea I came up with after a friend of mine showed me their own story become something I can be proud of and something to look at when I need a reminder of what I think my writing should look like: comedic yet serious, cute yet depressing. I feel like this is the sort of writing that I should be striving for, and after Sisters VS Sisters, it made me realize just how good a serious Neptunia game can be.
I don't have much else to say, so I'll leave it here.'
The writer must be really happy to have gotten that out there! Hehee. . .
Well, I suppose that'll be it for this Nepstation! We don't really have a whole lot to cover right now, so. . .cya later, Nepsters!"
{ Audience Applause SFX }
| Broadcast End |
. . .
"What's this commotion about?"
A voice said from behind. As the group turned around, they could see a masked, bulky man standing atop of one of the pillars that Diane made with her power. He was wearing large, metallic books and gauntlets with a giant saw-sword hitched on his shoulder as his hair wavered in the wind. His name was. . .
"Slader of Dawn Roar, is it?"
"It's been some time, Seven Deadly Sins. I see you've acquired another acquaintance. Who is this young girl?"
"Oh, Neptune? She sorta showed up out of nowhere a couple of days ago, and now she's been tagging along with us since then. She's pretty cool and strong!"
"Perfect timing of you to show up, Slader. I have an urgent favor to ask of you."
"I doubt you'll have any luck with him. He basically only listens to the King's orders."
Meliodas was subsequently proven wrong as soon as Slader leaped down from the pillar and knelt in front of Merlin. The Dragon Sin leans forward close to Slader's ear and whispers,
"Slader. . .does Merlin have dirt on you or something?"
"I mean. . .to be honest, she does seem like the kind of person to blackmail people! Li'l witchy girl!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Meliodas. That dazzling display she put on; breaching an impregnable barrier with such simplicity yet such flair to save the king not too long ago. It gave me goosebumps!"
"But you weren't even—."
"Please allow me to call you Elder Sister," Slader said, holding a hand over his chest as he looked into Merlin's eyes with hidden enthusiasm.
"Call me whatever you'd like."
"Then, Elder Sister, what is it you'd like me to do?"
Merlin turned her head to the right and stared at the Goat Sin of Lust.
"Gowther. Come here, please."
Without saying a word, Gowther slowly walked over to the Boar Sin of Gluttony, to which she raised her hand and magic started flowing through it.
". . .Abusoryūto Kyanseru (Absolute Cancel)."
Absolute Cancel; a technique that allows Merlin to cancel any magic of any type. It's the same technique she used when she "breached an impregnable barrier" as described by Slader, and is one of the most potent magical abilities in the world. After her hand starts glowing, Gowther starts glowing too before his figure shrinks and eventually "disappears". Everyone was surprised to see this. Merlin leaned down and lifted the clothes Gowther was wearing.
"The magical power imbued in Gowther is extremely potent, you see. He's reverted to his original form, but even the Absolute Cancel spell I casted on him is only temporary."
"That's his original form? But no matter how you slice it, he's. . ."
"A doll, yes. Gowther was created a long time ago by a great magician. Slader, I would like you to look after him while we're away on our mission."
"Your wish is my command, Elder Sister."
Merlin handed the doll-form Gowther over to Slader. In his original form, Gowther is barely larger than Slader's hands; being a doll makes him extremely tiny and lifeless.
Kingdom of Liones — Inside the Boar Hat
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Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 OST — $100
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"Hoooh, who knew that this li'l creep was actually a doll?" Neptune said as she put her hands behind her head in a relaxed nature.
"The world is just full of mysterious things, isn't it?" Hawk said as he ate a bowl of scraps on the floor.
"That's a pretty funny comment coming from you," Meliodas said, drinking a mug of Vanya Ale.
"A talking piglet!" Slader exclaimed in surprise. He's never seen Hawk before this, so he's reasonably astonished.
"Hey, Danchō. Did you know about Gowther being a doll?" Diane asked. Her eyes were fixated on the doll-Gowther as he was put into a sitting position on the counter next to Slader.
"Nope. I just found out today."
"Well, if I were you, if I learned that this dude was a doll, I'd honestly be a little concerned! Like, is he suddenly going to become a major antagonist? Or is he gonna leave the group and become the deuteragonist?!"
Diane looks down a little bit as she recalled the words Gowther said to her before their fight.
'I wish to have a heart. A heart that can comprehend emotions.'
Looking back on it now, she realizes that Gowther spoke the truth. He really didn't have a heart. As a doll, he was born without one. . .or more specifically, created without one.
"Eh? Diane, what's wrong? You're lookin' like you're down in the Dogoo dumps right now."
"Well, it's just. . .I never believed Gowther at first when he said he wanted a heart. But now that I think about it. . .he was totally serious, wasn't he?"
"Hm. . .maybe. But at this point, it's just a bygone, so let's let bygones be bygones, as they say! If you're really concerned about him becoming an antagonist. . ."
"I'm not worried, it's fine. . ."
"It'll be alright, Diane! Gowther'll totally be fine! After all, it seems like he's learned his lesson after he got a taste of some Protag Power!"
Neptune, you barely did anything.
"I'm surprised you're not really reacting that much to this, Neptune."
"Well, when you're like me and you've met so many different people of different species and whatnot, something like this really doesn't come off as a plot twist to me or whatever, y'know? I'm so used to having surprises pop up in the stories of my games that it's just something I'm always expecting and never feeling caught off-guard about!"
"Not to mention, Gowther is our cherished comrade and fellow Seven Deadly Sin! So no matter who or what he really is, he'll always be a part of us."
". . .you sure are a lucky guy, Gowther," Slader said as he stared at the lifeless Goat Sin.
"Ehehe. . ." Diane couldn't help but giggle at the kind words she was hearing. But strangely, the usual luster in her amethyst eyes faded for a bit as her irises became a static, bi-hue color of purple for a short moment. Holding a hand to her head, she feels as though something is wrong.
"W-what's going on. . .my head feels fuzzy."
Concerned in expression, Neptune looked towards Diane; the Serpent Sin sat down on a step of the staircase leading to the second floor with her hand still on her head. Considering she experienced a mental attack not too long ago, the CPU thinks that it could be some strange aftereffect of the fight.
"You 'kay, Diane?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy. . ."
". . .well, if anything comes up, just lemme know. I'm not that bad of a main character, after all-!"
"Alright. . ."
"Hey, Slader. How about joining us for a little bit? Since we're missing Ban and King, it'd be great to have you on board as a substitute."
"Fine by me. His Majesty has told me I should be helping out the Seven Deadly Sins, after all."
"Meliodas-sama! Please let me come along, too!" Elizabeth, who has remained quiet the entire time, finally gathers the courage to speak, pleading for Meliodas to allow her to join them on his journey.
"I told you before. The battle for Liones is over. You don't need to put yourself in danger anymore."
"But I'm one of your cherished comrades, too! Am I the only one who feels that way?!"
A tense silence filled the room as Elizabeth put her hands down to her sides, a slight bit of waterwork forming in her eyes.
". . .am I just the baggage that weighs you down?"
"That's exactly right!"
Out of anger, Diane stands up and delivers a swift punch to Meliodas' cheek.
"Danchō, how could you say that, you jerk!"
Diane runs out of the Boar Hat tavern frantically, slamming the door behind her and resting on the wall outside, sobbing a little bit with her face in her hands.
"Jeez, Meliodas. Could at least read the room a bit."
"Yare yare. . .I'll go outside and check on the Princess," Slader says, walking over to the door and gently opening it, turning to his right.
". . .maybe he just said it because he doesn't want Elizabeth to get hurt. I don't think he actually meant what he said, y'feel?" Neptune said, looking at Meliodas who was slightly injured and laying against the counter.
"B-but Neptune!"
"Aye, relaaax, I know he said something mean but sometimes we say it with some good intent! Like that time when I said a bunch of mean things to Noire to get her to stop working and spend time with me because she was stressing herself from her work! Or that time when Plutie—!"
No.
"A-alright, fiiine, I guess you're still upset about that. . ."
End of Chapter 6!
Author's Note: Hey y'all. Sorry for a shorter and weaker chapter this time around; I honestly had no clue how to do the rest of it after the fight so. . .yeah lol
I'll definitely try and make up for it in Chapter 7, though, so stay tuned for that!
Cya!