The Three Houses of Hyperdimension

A Fire Emblem: Three Houses & Hyperdimension Neptunia Crossover Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Episode 4: Breaking Down Barriers

*Mess Hall*

Ingrid Brandl Galatea was just sitting down to a large meal, when she caught a young girl dashing through the door that led out to the fishing dock, looking quite distressed. (Wait, isn't that... the professor's adopted daughter?) Glancing back at her food, she heaved a sigh before standing up and walking over to the worried teenager. "Is something wrong, um... Sothis, was it?"

"Yes, something is very wrong!" Sothis nodded vigorously. "Where's that big guy with the blond hair?!"

"Raphael? Why do you need him?" Ingrid inquired.

"Because... because I was outside that Bernadetta's room, but then I heard funny noises, and then she went silent! I think something's wrong! She needs help! There's no way little me can get through that locked door!"

Ingrid bit her lip as her mind raced. Even though Bernadetta was from a rival house... "There's no need for Raphael. I can break through the door myself."

"You can? Really?"

"Yes, just lead the way, Sothis," Ingrid insisted.

"...Okay, this way!" Sothis agreed, turning and dashing off, the Blue Lions student running after her...

*Outside Bernadetta's Room*

"This is it!" Sothis exclaimed, panting slightly. "You're sure you can break through?"

"I should be able to!" Ingrid nodded with a determined frown. "Hold on Bernadetta, I'm coming!"

"Huh? What?!" gasped a voice from inside.

(BAM) (BAM) (CRASH!)

"Ahhh! My door!" Bernadetta von Varley wailed, dropping her console controller as she stood up in terror. "W-what did I do?! Please don't kill meee!"

"Kill you?!" Ingrid grunted, rubbing her shoulder. "I thought you were in trouble! I was trying to save you!"

"Save me?! But I was perfectly safe in here!" Bernie wailed. "Who said I was in trouble?!"

"I did," Sothis said as she walked in, standing on the door that had been knocked off its hinges. "I thought I heard weird noises, so I got Ingrid here to help!"

"W-weird noises…?" Bernadetta grunted, perplexed. "Are you sure it wasn't just my video game I was playing that you heard?!"

"Oh, now that you mention it…" Ingrid said in comprehension. "Sorry, Bernadetta. We thought you were really in trouble…" She glanced over at Sothis- and noted the satisfied smirk on her face. "Sothis! You lied to me, didn't you?! You knew Bernie wasn't really in trouble!"

"What?! But why?! Why would you do such a thing?!" Bernadetta demanded.

"Well, for one, I haven't seen you since Byleth and I returned here!" Sothis put her hands on her hips. "He wants me to try and get to know everyone, and how can I do that if you're locked in your room all the time?!"

"THAT'S what this was all about?!" Ingrid said in disbelief. Heaving a sigh as she face-palmed, she then said, "I am so sorry about this… I should have known this was a prank on Sothis' part."

"Wait, you said you're with the professor…?" Bernadetta addressed Sothis.

"Yes, I'm his adopted daughter," the young greenette said proudly.

"D-daughter…?!" Bernie gasped. "Why couldn't you have just knocked or something?! You didn't have to trick… er, who are you, again?"

"Ingrid Galatea, of the Blue Lions house," the blonde student introduced herself. "And to be perfectly honest… if we had been part of the same house, I might have been inclined to break down your door if you refused to come to training."

"What?!" Bernadetta squealed. "But if that's what you would do to a fellow student, what would you do to an enemy?!"

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to," Ingrid replied bluntly. "Speaking of which…" She promptly reached over and grabbed Sothis by the ear! "You need to apologize for what what you pulled on Bernie! Shame on you!"

"Owww! Okay, all right, I'm sorry I tricked you into busting the door down!" Sothis cried in agony. "Now leggo!"

"I don't think so. We're going to see the professor and tell him what you did!" Ingrid said harshly. "If you'll excuse us, Bernadetta… and I promise I'll get someone to get your door fixed. Now come on!" With that, she dragged Sothis off, the younger girl complaining vociferously as they went.

"Um, bye then…" Bernadetta said half-heartedly. "Ohhh… what do I do now that my sanctuary's been breached…?! Maybe I'll go hide in the greenhouse for a while…"

*Byleth's Quarters*

"Sothis, I am very disappointed in you," Byleth said sternly with his arms crossed, Sothis standing across from him with her head bowed, Ingrid at her side. "What in the world possessed you to pull a stunt like this?"

"If you must know, I was chatting with that Claude character..." Sothis began.

"Claude?! Oh no..." Ingrid shook her head.

"HOLD IT!" Sothis interrupted. "No, he did not put me up to this! We were just chatting!"

"About what, exactly?" Byleth pressed.

"About why he's an archer, a little bit about his fellow students... and then he said he had to go spar with that Felix at the training grounds, and that it was your idea!"

"What does that have to do with me and Bernadetta?" Ingrid asked.

"Well see, I realized that Byleth was trying to get students from different houses to interact with each other, trying to break down barriers, you might say," Sothis explained. "So I thought, why not get Raphael or some other student to help meet that Bernadetta by pretending she was in trouble?"

"Wait, Raphael?" Byleth's eyes went wide.

"She said she wanted someone big and strong to break down the door," Ingrid sighed. "I thought time was of the essence, so..."

"Right, I understand," the professor nodded. "Well, I can't fault you for what you did, Ingrid... you were doing what you thought was proper for an honorable knight, correct?"

"Of course, Professor."

"Alright. Then we'll go and find someone who can help you get Bernadetta's door back on its hinges," Byleth asserted. "As for you, Sothis... you're confined to quarters until further notice. And if you pull something like this again, I may be forced to resort to corporal punishment."

"What?! You'd spank me?!" Sothis gasped, her hands instinctively going to her rear. "You wouldn't dare...!"

"Don't test me. I'm the Ashen Demon, remember?" Byleth said with a frown. "Now go stand in the corner, face the wall, and stay there until I get back. And think long and hard about what you did."

"Okaaaaay..." Sothis hung her head in remorse, slowly marching to the corner in question.

"Right, let's go, Ingrid," Byleth said as he headed off, Ingrid striding after him, making sure the door was shut after her.

"...In hindsight, maybe I should've just said that Bernadetta didn't want to come out for training or something," Sothis muttered to herself.

*Episode 4- End*

A/N: Yes, this episode was partially based off Ingrid and Bernadetta's C-support conversation in Three Houses proper.