The Three Houses of Hyperdimension

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

by Derald Snyder

Episode 6: How Do I Cast Magic?

*A week later...*

Needless to say, Sothis was near-ecstatic at being able to finally go outside again... And that was precisely where she was at the moment, in a field outside the academy proper. Nearby, Linhardt von Hevring was taking a nap by a tree, and a blonde woman dressed in purple was sitting nearby, her face shadowed, mumbling something to herself about what a failure she was...

"Come on..." Sothis grumbled to herself, making various hand gestures... but nothing. "Why can't I do this?!" (I'm supposed to be a Caster spirit, right?!) "So why can't I cast magic?! Arrrgghhh!" She strained her hands trying to conjure something, anything but nothing. "Come ON!"

"What in the world are you yelling about?" Sothis turned to see Linhardt sitting up. "It's hard for me to nap when you're making all that noise..."

"...Well, you're a magic-user, right? Maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong!" Sothis demanded.

"Well, it's plain to see that you're trying way too hard," Linhardt noted.

"Yes... it's too hard... You should just give up, there's nothing you can do..." muttered the blonde woman.

"Constance, you're not helping," Linhardt sighed and shook his head. "Now look, first of all maybe you just don't have the talent-"

"NO!" Sothis cut him off. "I refuse to believe that! You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong!" She stomped her foot with each repetition.

Linhardt could only heave a sigh at this girl's stubbornness. "Well, don't you think you're a little young to try and learn magic?"

"Lysithea. von. Ordelia," Sothis stated with crossed arms.

"Ugh..." Linhardt shook his head. "I see I'm not going to talk you out of this. Well, like I said before, you're trying too hard. It doesn't take that much effort for me to cast a spell..."

"Obviously not, or you wouldn't have bothered," Sothis deadpanned.

"...Well, you're not wrong," Linhardt admitted. "I'm just saying, seeing as groaning and straining with all your might isn't working out, maybe you should try the opposite. Relax. Just let it flow, if you can."

"Do you really think that will work?" Sothis raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Or is this just your way of telling me to be quiet so you can sleep?"

"Well, that would be a side benefit..." the Black Eagles student nodded. "But I'll stay awake for long enough to see if you get any results trying what I suggested."

"Okay, fine," Sothis agreed, turning and walking a few steps away. "Constance, was it? You stay quiet too, got it?"

"Okay..." Constance sighed. "Everyone hates my voice anyway..."

(Right, so let's give this a try...) Turning to face the open field, Sothis inhaled deeply before letting it out slowly... (Calm. Peaceful. Focus. Ignore everything else. Just focus on you, on what you want to do...) She breathed slowly, deliberately, trying to search her inmost being for something, a flicker, a spark...

(Wait... I feel something!) A warm sensation, spreading throughout her body, lifting her arms up... Sothis then tried to focus that sensation into her hand, moving it in front of her... she could feel the energy gathering before her, not wanting to open her eyes lest it dissipate.

"Huh, it's working," Linhardt spoke up, seeing magical energies gathering into a rough sphere, expanding, cracking... "That's, uh… pretty big-"

KA-BLAM!

Sothis' world went upside down, then right side up again, and then she was looking at the sky, her legs and bare coming into view briefly before feeling them hit the grass. It took a few seconds for the young greenette to comprehend what had happened- she'd been knocked head over heels from the resulting explosion, a faint ringing in her ears. It took several more seconds for her to even attempt to move, managing to lift and turn her head slightly, seeing Linhardt slowly rising, shaking his head… then he looked to see the fallen Sothis, jogging up to her as he cast a healing spell. "Are you alive? Say something!"

"Ugh, yes, I'm alive!" she managed to get out, her apparent paralysis abating as the healing magic took effect. Propping up on her elbows, she grunted, "What about that other girl…?"

"I-what?" Linhardt put a hand to his ear.

"THE OTHER GIRL!" Sothis yelled.

"Oh right, Constance!" Linhardt nodded, going over to check on the blonde. While he did so, Sothis finally pulled herself up to a sitting position- her eyes going wide upon perceiving the massive crater in the ground a few feet before her.

"Wha… did… did I do that?!" She then heard multiple footsteps in the distance, turning to see several of the Knights of Seiros running to the scene…

"It's all right, gentlemen! Stand down!" Linhardt called out, spreading his arms for emphasis. "What happened was an accident, nothing more!"

"You call that an accident?!" One of the knights pointed to the crater.

"It was my fault! I'm so very sorry!" Sothis cried as she bowed her head to the ground before the knights. "I was just trying to cast a magic spell!"

"Perhaps the first order of business would be to take these ladies to Professor Manuela to have them checked out?" Linhardt suggested.

"Don't bother with me…" Constance mumbled. "I'm useless anyway…"

"…She needs to be brought inside," Linhardt sighed, shaking his head.

*Nurse's Office*

"Ah-hahahahaha! I must say, that was quite the potent spell you cast!" exclaimed Constance. "I daresay that I may have found a new rival in magical prodigies like myself!"

"Uh…" Sothis grunted as Manuela checked her over. "Wait, you're acting completely different from before!"

"Naive girl! That's me when I'm in the sunshine! This is the real me, Constance von Nuvelle! The one who will one day restore her house to its former glory!"

"Could you kindly keep it down? My ears are still ringing…" Linhardt grumbled. Just then, the door opened, revealing none other than Byleth himself. "Oh, Professor!"

"Sothis, I heard about what happened from Alois. Are you all right?" Byleth fretted.

"She appears to be perfectly fine, from what I can tell," Manuela said as she straightened up. "Of course, Linhardt provided some first aid with a healing spell…"

"I'm sorry! I was trying to cast magic, but it blew up in my face!" Sothis lamented. "Please don't ground me again!"

"Cast magic?" Byleth blinked in befuddlement. "But why would you want to do that?"

"Well, for one, I was feeling bad about the whole incident with Bernadetta," Sothis began, "and I wanted to make up for it by try to be useful to you somehow… I mean, you've done so much for me, I just wanted to return the favor in some way…"

"I may be partially responsible for this situation as well, Professor," Linhardt spoke up. "'Twas I who gave Sothis some advice on spell casting, though I didn't expect such a large… bang." He then shook his head, putting a hand to his ear. "Ugh, it's still ringing…"

"Residual auditory trauma from the blast," Manuela diagnosed. "Don't worry, it should clear up in a few hours…"

"I certainly hope so," Linhardt sighed. "Because otherwise, this ringing will make it exceedingly hard to sleep..."

"Well, I am feeling perfectly hale and hearty!" Constance proclaimed. "So then! I shall be taking my leave, and returning to assure my dear friend Mercedes that all is well!"

"Alright, but don't hesitate to come back if you aren't feeling well," Manuela acquiesced, Constance promptly walking around Byleth and out of the room. "Well, Professor, you can take little Sothis with you now, if you need to scold her in private. But do go easy on the poor girl."

"...I'll think about it," Byleth said stoically. "Come on, Sothis." He offered his hand, Sothis taking it and following him out of the nurse's office...

*Byleth's Quarters*

"All right," Byleth said as he shut the door to prevent any eavesdroppers from listening in. "Now, why did you really want to try casting a magic spell?"

"Well, you remember when that goddess Haruhi used that summoning spell? She said 'Caster'," Sothis pointed out. "Which I figured was short for 'spell caster', which meant I could use magic. Like I said before, I wanted to see if I could make myself useful in some way..."

"Right... well, when I heard that explosion, I felt something like a pinch in my body; not painful, but definitely noticeable," Byleth said. "I'm thinking that means that you used a significant amount of my mana when you cast that spell... remember, that Haruhi said keeping your form maintained depended on my mana reserves; if my mana runs out, who knows what could happen... you could lose your physical form permanently, or possibly even fade from existence altogether. And I don't think you want that, do you?"

"No! Of course not!" Sothis retorted. "Look, now that I know what do to, I can probably restrain how potent the spell is next time..."

"Or maybe there shouldn't be a next time," Byleth cut her off. "Look, as far as everyone here is concerned, you're a child. And no one is going to expect you to take to the battlefield. Which means your trying to cast magic is a moot point."

"But that Lysithea fights..."

"She's a special case. And physically still older than you are," Byleth countered. "That being said, if you want to try and make friends with her, I won't object..."

"But she's so obnoxious!" Sothis whined, Byleth simply raising an eyebrow in response. "Hey, I know what you're thinking! Pot meet kettle, is that it?!"

"If the shoe fits..."

"Yes, yes, I get it," Sothis sighed. "At least tell me you're not going to ground me again..."

"Not this time," Byleth shook his head slowly. "But if this happens again, I might have to get out the yardstick, if you get my meaning."

The young girl could only whimper in response as her hands went to her rear...

*Elsewhere...*

"...Interesting," said a figure dressed in dark robes, wearing a helmet with a large red plume and a red/white mask over their face. "Death Knight!"

"You called, Flame Emperor?" replied a deep voice, belonging to a man wearing black armor with spiked shoulders and a horned helmet with a grinning skull face and red pupils.

"Take a look at this," the Flame Emperor gestured toward the scrying spell, which showed Sothis getting knocked head over heels from an explosion.

"What about this should interest me?" the Death Knight inquired.

"That green-haired girl created that explosion," the Flame Emperor explained. "Her magic potential is quite impressive. If we could acquire her, she could become a powerful asset..."

"I decline. Kidnapping that Flayn girl was troublesome enough, and I only succeeded because no one knew my true identity..."

"But she is the adopted daughter of Byleth Eisner," the Flame Emperor responded. "Are you saying you have no desire to face him again?"

"...his daughter? Ah. That changes things," the Death Knight nodded. "Very well then. For the opportunity to face him in battle again, I shall do as you command."

"Excellent. Just remember that we need the girl alive," the Flame Emperor cautioned. "And I shouldn't have to tell you this, but watch out for the white-haired girl from the Golden Deer house."

"I know all too well," the Death Knight grunted, before heading out...

Episode 6- End*

A/N: Oh my, looks like we might have some actual plot starting here...