The Three Houses of Hyperdimension

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

by Derald Snyder

Episode 10: Marianne's Console

"Whoa, wahh-!"

"Neeeeiiggh!" (Thud!)

"Whoa, easy there, Dorte!" Alois said, walking up and petting the horse's head to calm him down. "I guess he didn't like you trying to ride him..."

"(Ow) You think?" Sothis grunted as she sat up, rubbing her backside. "He seemed gentle enough when I pet him... Maybe he'll only allow that Marianne to ride him."

"I dunno about that, but it's a possibility," Alois allowed, before turning his head to see a new arrival. "Well, speak of the angel! Hello, Marianne!"

"Um, hello," the blue-haired Golden Deer student greeted awkwardly. "Um, Sir Alois, might I ask what you're doing with Dorte...?"

"Oh, little Sothis was curious about our equine friend here," the Knight of Seiros replied. "She wanted to see if it was possible to try and ride him, but it seems Dorte didn't like that idea."

"Well, I'm not going to try that again anytime soon," Sothis grunted as she walked up, still favoring her back. "Getting thrown off a horse hurts!"

"Dorte is a gentle soul..." Marianne sighed, walking up and petting the horse's head. "He wouldn't allow just anyone to ride him... only someone he trusts..."

"Like you, perhaps?" Sothis posed.

"Me? Oh, um..." Marianne looked down, fidgeting a little. "I, um, I never really thought of that... I just like to tell Dorte about my troubles and insecurities. He's a good listener."

"So I've heard from Claude," Sothis nodded. "I mean, I'm just a kid, but if you're friends with this horse you should try riding him, put him to good use, right?"

"Well, that's up to her, not you," Alois interjected. "Oh, and Dorte as well, of course..."

"Right..." Marianne said softly. Focusing her gaze on Sothis, she managed to get up the courage to ask, "So, you're the professor's daughter...?"

"That's me. Just call me Sothis," the greenette introduced herself. "Byleth found me half-dead in the streets of Lowee City and nursed me back to health. And he's told me a lot about all the students here, including you. So I'm just trying to meet everyone he's told me about..."

"Oh, I see... that was very kind of him," Marianne nodded. "But, um... you shouldn't try to associate with me too much..."

"Oh, really?" Sothis put her hands on her hips. "Give me one good reason why not."

"Because... because my blood is cursed," Marianne's voice was just above a whisper. "I bring misfortune to everyone around me..."

"Oh, come now! That's an exaggeration at worst," Alois interjected. "From what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be misfortune or disaster following your every move... Byleth seems to think you're a good student as well."

"The professor does...? I'm glad to hear that," Marianne said with a tiny nod.

"I think he's a pretty good judge of character," Sothis appended. "He said that he admires your devotion to the goddess... Hey, speaking of which, I heard that you saw Blanc in person when she visited here not too long ago..."

"Oh, well, yes... but I was too scared to say anything," Marianne admitted. "She was with Lady Rhea, and she looked really angry... for a moment, I thought she might sense my cursed blood and smite me... but she just walked right on by."

"Why would she smite YOU? That's just stupid!" Sothis said in disbelief.

"I agree! Lady Blanc only brings out her hammer or axe against monsters or those who are irredeemably evil- neither of which you are, Marianne," Alois asserted. "She was even willing to give that Rei Ryghts another chance, and it seems that worked out quite well!"

"Yes, I met that lawyer in person," Sothis nodded. "She told me she was driven insane by that CPU power getting forced on her, and didn't even remember anything she did as a final boss! That's why she got exiled to this nation instead of being locked up."

"Truly?!" Marianne gasped. "I, I see... If that's the case, then... maybe there's hope for me after all..."

"Hah! Now that's the spirit!" Alois laughed. "Just take things one day at a time, and don't automatically assume that anything bad that happens is your fault!"

"Right... I'll, I'll try..." Marianne said with little confidence.

"Hey, speaking of being so devout," Sothis spoke up again, "does that mean you have a Lowee console?"

"Huh?! Oh, um..." Marianne stammered. "I, um, I do have a console, but... it's a hand-me-down. Old and out of date. You wouldn't be interested..."

"Why not?" Sothis disagreed. "I never had the chance to play video games before Byleth found me, so I'm interested no matter if it's old or not! Or are you saying it doesn't work?"

"Um..." the bluenette hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. "Well, no, it still works, but..."

"Then what's the problem?" Sothis pressed.

"Allow me to explain!" exclaimed Claude as he made his presence known. "See, Marianne's old console is actually from Leanbox, not Lowee..."

"Wait, what?! You know?" Marianne gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, I... kinda overheard you arguing about it with Hilda," Claude put a hand behind his head. "I didn't say anything at the time, because you were clearly in a bad mood... you even cursed, which almost never happens!"

"You heard that too?!" Marianne's hands went to her mouth, looking utterly humiliated. "I-I'm so sorry... She just kept harassing me about not having the Uno game on my console..."

"You don't have Uno?!" Alois gasped. "But, doesn't that game come free with every Leanbox console produced?"

"That's what Hilda said!" Marianne sighed. "But I don't have it. So I ended up getting the actual card game so she would stop bugging me about it..."

"Holy crap, no Uno?!" Claude shook his head in disbelief. "If that's the case, you probably have the oldest Leanbox console known to Gamindustri!"

"You said it was a hand-me-down?" Sothis inquired. "So who exactly handed it down to you?"

"It's... all I have left of my birth parents," Marianne responded. "When I was left with my adoptive father, all I had was that console in my hands and the clothes on my back..."

"But why did they leave you? Were they not capable of taking care of you themselves?" Sothis pressed.

"I, I don't want to talk about it," Marianne turned away. "It's because of our cursed blood... they were trying to protect me, I think... I should be going." She strode off at a fast pace.

"Wait, you can't just run away like that!" Sothis protested, only to be restrained by Claude's hand on her shoulder.

"If she doesn't wanna talk about it, let her be," the Golden Deer leader shook his head. "I'm surprised she talked as much as she did about that..."

"Why is she like that, anyway?" Sothis asked.

"Probably mistreated by her peers as a child," Claude theorized. "I know what that feels like, believe me... let's just let her have her space for now. Maybe you and Teach can try talking with her again later..."

"You were mistreated?" Sothis looked over at Claude.

"Yeah, well, like I said when we were playing Smash yesterday, I lived in Planeptune before moving to the Leicester province," the archer said. "So a lot kids thought I was lazy and airheaded like Neptune herself, which couldn't be further from the truth... 'We don't wanna play with an airhead like you!' they would say. So, yeah, didn't have many friends growing up..."

"Well, you seem to get along well with your fellow Golden Deer," Alois pointed out.

"True, but we're not as close-knit as the Blue Lions and Black Eagles," Claude shrugged.

"I don't know if that Hubert is close-knit with anyone besides Edelgard herself," Sothis deadpanned.

"Ha! You know, speaking of which, I once heard that Hubert scared that poor Bernadetta so badly, she fainted standing up!" Claude chuckled. "Ended up having to carry the poor girl back to her room!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Sothis sighed. "Anyway, I think it's time to go back to Byleth, he should be almost done with classes by now..."

"I think you're right," Alois nodded, checking his watch. "Well, Claude, do let Marianne know that we meant no harm, all right?"

"Will do," he agreed. "See you later, Sothis!"

"Bye," Sothis waved as she and Alois went off together.

*Episode 10- End*

A/N: Yes, I referenced the 'oldest X-Box known to Fodlan' meme. How could I not? ;-)