Lastation Ghost Game
A Hyperdimension Neptunia & Digimon Crossover Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Episode 2: Wizard and Sorcerer
*The next morning*
Sistermon Noir and Blanc emerged from the courtroom with CPU Noire, seeing Ciel and Uni waiting for them. "So how did it go?" Uni asked.
"Our community service was cut from 30 days to 15," Noir reported. "So just two more weeks and we're done."
"Yeah, the prosecutor dropped the charges against Sister Ciel after I showed them that video," Uni nodded. "So as far as the court's concerned, she's free and clear. There's a couple of people who're still upset because their cars got smashed, but they just told Ciel to make sure her sisters behave, or else they'll sue."
"Sew? Sew what?" Blanc said in confusion.
"I'll explain later," Noire sighed. "Anyway, the judge said that he's assigning someone else to supervise your sisters, to avoid the appearance of impropriety. You can still check on them, though."
"I understand," Ciel nodded. "Speaking of which, we should go back and check on Hackmon. No dogs allowed in the courtroom, but I'm afraid he might run off on his own if he gets too bored..."
"Or if he sees someone in trouble," Sistermon Noir added.
"We'd better hurry to the entrance, then," Noire said.
*Outside the courthouse*
"Bored, bored, bored... how much longer they gonna take?" Hackmon grumbled, stretching as he laid on his side. He'd initially busied himself with watching people walk by on the streets, fascinated by how humans had so many differences between them, even though they were all the same species... but that had ceased to be interesting a while back. Yawning widely, Hackmon turned over, looking out over the street again... when something caught his eye. (Wait, what?)
It had resembled a shorter man, bordering on a midget, with short messy orange hair and a cloth hiding his nose and mouth, wearing a blue witch hat on his head along with a matching cape. "A Wizardmon...?" Hackmon whispered to himself. If one of those was here... He looked back at the court entrance, seeing no sign of the CPUs or Sistermons... Coming to a decision, he ran out into the street, taking care to avoid pedestrians and vehicles. (I'll just do a quick check and come right back,) he told himself.
Going down the street, it wasn't long before Hackmon spotted that distinctive witch's hat again... but he stopped himself from attacking right away, remembering what happened with Batman... (There's a chance that it's just a human kid in costume... well, I think I know a way to find out.) Sneaking up behind the midget, Hackmon bit into his cape and pulled, causing him to stop mid-step.
"What the- HEY! Let go, you stupid-!" the warlock protested as he turned and pulled at his cape to try and dislodge Hackmon- to no avail. "All right, you asked for it!" He suddenly summoned a wand, casting a spell which set the Digimon's cape aflame! Hackmon immediately let go as he jumped around, yelping like a dog in distress, before rolling to try and put out the fire. "Serves you right, dumb mutt."
"Hey! That's not nice, setting the poor doggy on fire!" an NPC girl protested, standing nearby with her mother.
"He attacked me first!" the warlock shot back as he dismissed his wand. "And it's not like I burned him to a crisp, either!" He turned and disappeared into the crowd before the girl could yell at him again.
Meanwhile, Hackmon had managed to put out the fire with only his cape slightly burnt, the NPC girl running up to him. "Are you okay, doggy?" she fretted, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Don't cry." Hackmon made a whining sound in response.
"If the dog's wearing something like that, it must have an owner," the girl mother observed. "So why is it by itself...?"
"Maybe doggy got lost?" her daughter guessed.
"...ackmon! Hackmon, where are you?" a voice called in the distance, the Digimon breaking away from the NPC girl and dashing toward the source of the voice, who turned out to be Sistermon Ciel. "There you are! Where did you run off to?!"
"Oh no! Hackmon, your cape's burnt!" Sistermon Blanc fretted. "What happened?"
"This mean wizard set doggy's cape on fire!" the girl explained as she caught up. "The doggy was just playing with him...!"
"Did you see what this wizard looked like?" Ciel asked the mother, who promptly gave her a description. "...all right, thank you. I'll submit a report to the police. Come on, Hackmon." And so the sisters and Hackmon went off together...
*Back at Lastation Basilicom...*
"A Wizardmon? Are you sure?" Noire pressed.
"Oh yeah. I thought it could be just a kid in costume, but then he used a fire spell on me!" Hackmon recounted.
"Even so, we don't know if this Wizardmon has malicious intent or not," Ciel pointed out. "He could just be exploring the human world out of curiosity..."
"Yeah, but did he come alone, or did he bring buddies with him?" Uni pondered.
"From what I know, Wizardmon usually tend to be solitary in nature," Ciel said. "So it's likely he just came by himself..."
"Even so, this isn't something we can just ignore," stated a stoic female voice, belonging to a young woman with short silver hair and cobalt blue eyes, wearing a black business suit with a short skirt and matching platform shoes, having a stoic, almost mechanical air about her. This was Kei Jinguji, the Oracle of Lastation and Noire's effective second-in-command. "If more and more Digimon start showing up in the city, it could lead to a destabilizing crisis. Which is why we must find the portal that Ciel's sisters used as soon as possible, as that is the most likely ingress point for these Digimon."
"The problem is, the area that said portal is most likely located in is gang territory," Noire said. "And they're probably on the warpath after that other Ciel wrecked several of their cars..."
"So I can't help search in that area," Ciel concluded.
"Well, why don't we ask Steamax to help us?" Uni suggested. "Since he's so good at not standing out in a crowd, he can perform reconnaissance for us!" Seeing her sister looking around, she sighed, "No, he's not here this time; I have to call him."
"Oh, right. You go ahead and do that, then," Noire nodded. "Kei, you should check the local news feeds for any stories about a mage or wizard causing trouble in the city or nearby."
"As you wish, Lady Noire," Kei bowed before heading off.
"So, when we go look for this Wizardmon, I want you and Hackmon to come with me," Noire said to Ciel. "I know Hackmon doesn't like being compared to a dog, but maybe he can help sniff this guy out. And while I could probably take care of him myself if he becomes violent, this is a good chance to start to repair your reputation after what your doppelgänger pulled."
"I appreciate that, Lady Noire," Ciel smiled and bowed her head in gratitude.
"I don't mind using my nose to sniff out evildoers," Hackmon added.
"Lady Noire, I found something," Kei called from outside the room.
"Already? That was fast," Uni commented, the trio leaving the room to join Kei, who was typing away at a laptop. "What'd you find?"
"There was a report about a mage assaulting thugs in the street with ice magic, around the time that the joyrider Sistermon started her rampage," Kei pointed to the screen. "According to the report, it was a young man with white hair..."
"That doesn't sound like Wizardmon," Ciel spoke up.
"Perhaps not, but what if this mage was the one that opened the portal that allowed the joyrider to enter our world?" Kei pointed out. "And perhaps the Wizardmon as well... this can't be a coincidence."
"Okay, I'll call Steamax and tell him to ask about that guy on the street," Uni stated, stepping away as she pulled out her phone and dialed.
"And when we find that Wizardmon, we should ask him about the human mage too!" Hackmon suggested. "Birds of a feather, and all that..."
*That night, in the alleys...*
The mohawked lowlife gasped as a giant shuriken embedded in the wall just inches from his neck. "You... y-you're that Steamax guy! Tell your general I ain't got nothin' for him!"
"You misunderstand," Steamax responded. "Right now, I'm acting on Lady Uni's behalf."
"The CPU Candidate?! What's she want with us?" the thug gasped in surprise.
"Just information. Do you know anything about a white-haired mage that came through here a few nights ago?" Steamax queried.
"Mage...? Oh, you mean that pretty boy that walked through like he owned the place? Yeah, I saw 'im," the lowlife nodded. "but when we went to confront him, he summoned this blizzard that left us half-frozen! By the time we warmed back up, he was long gone!"
"Well, he must have been in your turf for some reason," the cyborg ninja pressed.
"Hell if I know! Like I said, he was gone after freezin' us! So either he found what he was lookin' for, or he decided stickin' around wasn't worth it! That's all I got, I swear!"
"Fine then. Let's try another question: have you seen anything around here that looks out of place, like a distortion in midair or something?"
"Dis... tor...?" the thug's face contorted in confusion. "I ain't got no idea what you're talkin' about, man!"
"Hmph. Perhaps that was a bit much to hope for," Steamax said as he withdrew his shuriken. "You never saw me, understand?"
"I get it, I get it!" the thug nodded vigorously. Steamax nodded back, before vanishing into the shadows...
(Didn't seem like he knew anything about that Wizardmon, either,) the ninja mused as he dashed down an alleyway, stopping to look around for more vagabonds. But then, peeking around a corner, he saw a short man wearing a witch's hat and cape! (Wait. Is that...?) The man's back was turned to him, so Steamax couldn't tell for sure... (Let's try and get closer...) He slowly crept out from around the corner, closing in...
But suddenly the man turned around, his face covered by a cloth, "Hahh!" he cried as he shot ice magic from the wand in his hand, Steamax getting half-frozen as a result! "Your steps may have been silent, but I could sense your life force!" He then sensed another presence, turning and casting an ice spell in that direction, only for a smoke bomb to explode at his feet! (cough cough) "What the-?!"
Then a hard blow to the head, and the short man dropped like a sack of bricks. "Thanks for the diversion, Steamax," said a man wearing a horned cowl.
"B-Batman?" The ninja grunted as he broke out of the ice. "Were you following me?"
"Not necessarily. You weren't the only one trying to gather intel," Batman pointed out. Kneeling down to grab the man's wand, he continued, "I'll have the Guild put this man in a holding cell, and you can tell Lady Noire and Uni in the morning so they can interrogate him."
"And Sister Ciel as well," Steamax appended. "This one likely came from her home world, after all..."
*The next morning...*
"This isn't a Wizardmon!" Sistermon Ciel exclaimed upon seeing the Digimon locked in the holding cell. "It's a Sorcerimon!"
"HUH?!" Noire and Uni gasped, their eyes shrunk to white circles.
"Yeah, the Wizardmon I went after had a blue cape and hat!" Hackmon added. "This guy's all white!"
"Uh... so we made a mistake?" Steamax said somewhat sheepishly.
"I see. So this was a case of mistaken identity," the Socerimon said in an even tone. "It's not the first time I've been confused with my brother..."
"Wait, brother?" Hackmon said, nonplussed.
"Yes, we came to this city together, through a portal we found," Socerimon nodded. "But Wizardmon ran on ahead while I was still getting my bearings, and we got separated..."
"...Does that mean you remember where the portal is?" Noire dared to ask.
"I'm fairly sure; I did my best to memorize my surroundings when we arrived," Socerimon replied. "Again, that's why Wizardmon and I were separated."
"Is your brother the mischievous sort?" Uni asked next.
"He can be, when the mood strikes him," Sorcerimon admitted. "It can be a chore to rein him in, sometimes... I assume he did something to you or your fellow humans?"
"I saw him outside the courthouse yesterday," Hackmon said. "I wasn't sure if he was a Digimon, so I bit on his cape like I was a normal dog, then he used a fire spell on me. Thankfully I only got a little damage to my cape..."
"So what are you and the Sistermon doing here?" Socerimon asked.
"I came here because I sensed the presence of a Demon Lord Digimon. And I was right," Ciel responded. "Hackmon and my sisters came here just recently looking for me, but the latter are busy with community service after getting in a fight with one of Lady Noire's enforcers by mistake. Anyway, we don't want Wizardmon getting in over his head, so I ask you: can you help Lady Noire find your brother before he gets himself in trouble?"
"I would assist even if not asked to do so," Socerimon affirmed. "Will you lock him up like you did with me?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of exile- sending you both back through the portal you came from," Noire stated.
"...I have no issue with that," the Digimon nodded. "This place isn't really my type to hang about, anyway. And if what you say about a Demon Lord is true, I'd rather Wizardmon not fall prey to them..."
"That's one thing we can all agree on," Noire said, gesturing to the Guild agent to unlock the cell. "We should head out immediately- no time to waste. Uni, I want you to transform and and keep an eye in the sky for any attempted sneak attacks- gangs, wizards or otherwise."
"And I shall watch your backs from the shadows," Steamax added.
"And I'll do my best to track his scent!" Hackmon exclaimed.
"Well, I wish you all good luck," said the Guild agent.
*And so, out on the streets...*
The party had begun their search at the courthouse, going in the direction Hackmon recalled seeing Wizardmon walk off. After looking for ten minutes or so, they weren't having much luck, even asking the locals...
"Geez, you'd think somebody like Wizardmon'd stick out like a sore thumb..." Hackmon griped.
"Like you said, people might have just thought he was a midget human, and not gievn him any further mind," Socerimon pointed out.
"Even though he had a mask over his face? You'd think somebody would think that was suspicious!" Noire countered. "Are you still with us, Steamax?"
"Of course, Lady Noire," came the ninja's voice. "Maybe they think Wizardmon was part of the local gang, and decided it was better to pretend not to have seen anything..."
"Hey! We got incoming from around the left corner!" Black Sister shouted from above. Sure enough, a few gang members emerged from said corner, stopping short at seeing the group.
"Hey, lookit that guy!" one of the lowlifes pointed. "He looks like that midget who burned our buddy! And it's the crazy chick who wrecked our rides!"
"Heh, guess it's time for payback, then!" one of his buddies said, pulling out a chain.
"Wait a minute, isn't that Noire herself?!" the third thug pointed. "Did you set these fools on us, bitch?!"
"I did nothing of the sort!" Noire rebuffed him, summoning her rapier. "These aren't the people who wronged you! The joyrider is already dead!"
"Yeah, right! When she's standing right in front of us?" The first gangster rebuffed her. "I ain't the smartest person, but my eyes work just fine!"
"It seems they won't listen to reason," Ciel said as she prepared to draw her blade.
"Allow me," Socerimon interjected as he stepped forward, brandishing his wand. "Ice Illusion!" A mini-blizzard suddenly whipped up, the gangsters crying out in surprise as they were half-frozen!
"Good work!" Noire nodded. "Now we can take them down without lethal force! Hyah!" She hit the thug on the left with a high kick to the chin, while Ciel clobbered the right thug with her sheathed sword, both collapsing to the cement dazed! The last thug managed to break free and run, only for Steamax to appear and hit him with an elbow to the back of the head, knocking him out as well.
"Aww, I didn't even get to do anything!" Hackmon complained. "Hey, I think the left one's still conscious!"
"Well, in that case..." Noire stepped on the left thug's chest to pin him down, pointing her rapier in his face. "Not so cocky now, are you?"
"I g-give! P-Please d-don't k-kill me...!" the gangster raised his hands in surrender, still shivering from being half-frozen.
"Only because I don't consider you worth killing," Noire stated bluntly. "Now then, we're looking for the brother of the wizard here that just froze you. He looks the same except his hat and cape are blue..."
"Y-y-yeah, we seen 'im!" the thug answered. "D-d-damn near f-f-fried us! And he had a f-f-friend as well! P-p-pretty boy with white hair...!"
"White hair?!" Ciel gasped. "That must be the mage from the earlier reports!"
"I betcha he's trying to recruit Wizardmon or something!" Hackmon added.
"Do you know where they are now?" Noire questioned the thug. "Or at least the general direction would be nice."
"Th-th-that way, I think...!" the man pointed to the southeast.
"Alright, thanks. Now get out of my sight!" Noire ordered as she stepped off the gangster, who promptly scrambled to his feet and fled down the alley. "Okay, let's head southeast. There's a busy intersection that way, so let's hope they haven't started attacking civilians!"
"I pray not either," Ciel concurred. "Let's hurry!"
And so the party headed to the intersection in question, relieved to find everything was the same as usual. After crossing said intersection when the traffic lights said it was safe to do so, they continued their search in the alleys on the other side...
"Hey, I got a whiff of something!" Hackmon gasped. "I think he's this way! Follow me!" He took off, sniffing the air as he went, the other running to catch up... after a few turns, they spotted none other than Wizardmon, who was talking with a white-haired young man with a staff and white robes with black pants.
"Hold it right there, Wizardmon!" Noire declared with a pointed finger. "And you too, pretty boy! We've got questions for you!"
"Lady Noire?! Shit, not now!" the white-haired mage gasped, abruptly teleporting away in a flash.
"Hey! You can't just leave me...!" Wizardmon protested.
"Brother, there you are!" Socerimon called out. "I've been looking all over for you, you know!"
"Oh no. I am NOT in the mood for one of your lectures!" Wizardmon hissed as he brandished his staff. "Thunder Cloud!" A small grey cloud was conjured, emitting a small lightning bolt that Ciel and Noire rolled away from just in time! Sensing something, the Digimon then turned and zapped Steamax with an electric bolt directly from his wand!
"Gah! I forgot they could sense my presence...!" Steamax grunted as he collapsed with sparks flying from his armor.
But before Wizardmon could cast another spell, a report was heard from above, a shot knocking his wand out of his hand! "What the...?!" He looked up to see Black Sister descending toward him with her rifle trained on his head. "Y...you're not human! Are you a goddess...?!"
"That's right! And so am I!" Noire declared, transforming to HDD herself to emphasize the point. "I am Noire, ruler of this nation! And this is my sister Uni! And we won't tolerate any more of your shenanigans!"
"So you better surrender if you know what's good for you!" Hackmon appended.
"I would listen to him if I were you, brother," Socerimon deadpanned, though he seemed slightly awed at Noire's transformation.
"All right, all right..." Wizardmon kneeled and raised his hands in submission. "What will you do with me...?"
"We're going to send you and your brother back where you came from!" Uni stated as she raised up her rifle, reverting to normal. (Whoops, my HDD ran out... good thing I touched down when I did!)
"Yes, what Uni said," Black Heart said with crossed arms, before reverting herself. "But first, who was that other mage with you?"
"He called himself Merlin... he said something about wanting to recruit me for his lady's cause," Wizardmon replied. "But something about his offer didn't seem right to me..."
"Well, you have good instincts then," Ciel nodded. "It's quite possible the 'lady' he was referring to was actually Lilithmon of the Seven Great Demon Lords."
"D-Demon Lords?!" Wizardmon's eyes went wide with shock. "No! I don't want anything to do with those Digimon! Not in a million years!"
"Well, that's good to hear," Noire half-snarked. "Uni, once you've got Steamax back on his feet, grab Wizardmon's wand, will you?"
"Right," Uni grunted as she lifted Steamax up with some exertion, the cyborg soon finding his feet again. "Are you okay?"
"My armor might need repairs, but I'll live," Steamax grunted.
"Great. Now then, Socerimon, can you help us find the portal you two came through?" Noire requested.
"Once we're in the general vicinity, yes," the white-clad Digimon agreed.
*A short while later...*
"Ugh, my feet are getting sore," Uni grumbled.
"So are mine, but you don't hear me complaining," Noire rebuffed her. "Are we getting close yet?" she asked Sorcerimon.
"I'm pretty sure it was in this area..." the Digimon responded as he looked down one alley, then another... "Wait, this way!" He jogged down the alley, the others running to catch up... "Here it is!" he pointed to a glowing crack floating in midair.
"That's it?!" Uni said in mild surprise. "You couldn't fit a mouse through there!"
"This is how we found it on the other side," Socerimon said. "But add a little mana..." He reached his wand out to touch the crack- and it suddenly became a jagged hole filled with white light, causing a wind that tousled Noire and Uni's twin-tails slightly. "And voila!"
"I wonder if that's how that other mage opened it..." Ciel pondered.
"Well, Sistermon Blanc used her wand to open it when we came through!" Hackmon pointed out. "So not just anyone could use it..."
"Good. The last thing I need is a stampede of Digimon coming through here. Uni, give Wizardmon his wand back," Noire ordered, her sister promptly doing so, gesturing the Digimon to his brother's side. "So, as ruler of Lastation, I hereby sentence you both to permanent exile. In other words, get out, and never come back! Got it?"
"I get it..." Wizardmon bowed his head in shame.
"All right, let's go then," Socerimon nodded as he took his brother by the arm. "And we're going to have a talk about you running off on your own in an unfamiliar land..."
"Oh, come on...!" Wizardmon griped as they walked through the portal together, said portal suddenly vanishing into nothingness a few seconds later.
"It's gone?" Uni pondered.
"It must be unstable- here one moment, gone the next. That's probably what made it so hard to find," Ciel mused.
"But now that we know where it is, we can put a sentry here to keep an eye on it! Right?" Hackmon suggested.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Noire shook her head. "This alley's still in the middle of gang turf, and they'd kill a cop just for being a cop, so a sentry is out of the question..."
"Couldn't we just set up a security camera instead?" Uni suggested next. "I'm sure the Guild could set one up in a way that isn't obvious, so the gangsters don't just smash it..."
"Good idea, Uni. Go ahead and call them to come out here," Noire agreed. "We'll stay until they get here, just in case any more thugs come snooping..."
"And then we start looking for that other mage!" Hackmon spoke up.
"No, I think we should call it a day, Hackmon," Ciel shook her head. "We can start looking after we get a good night's rest, okay? Remember what Lord Gankoomon says... 'If you keep the blade unsheathed, you will cut yourself.'"
"Oh, yeah... good point," Hackmon said, his enthusiasm quickly fading.
*Episode 2- End*