Ch 26: Shares and Punishment

Things proceeded relatively peacefully once C-Sha finished her terrifying lecture. The twins still looked rather miffed at Sync but they begrudgingly apologized to him; Rom for trying to kill him and Ram for being a willing accomplice in the act. Even Blanc muttered something about not setting any more bad examples for the twins anymore. Sync, for his part, apologized profusely to the twins for breaking their trust as well as saying sorry to Blanc about causing so much unintentional trouble for her. This seemed to placate the Lowee sisters just a bit as their glares lowered just a tiny fraction in intensity.

Following this, C-Sha, Blanc, and Vert decided to move their business elsewhere. Rom and Ram had kept behind Sync in their room to apparently "discuss" a few more things with him. Vert had obviously been worried about this but the amount of killing intent coming from the twins was noticeably lower so she decided to leave them be. It also helped that C-Sha had given the two a final warning look before leaving that practically told the twins to play nice or else.

Thus, the "adults" were now seated around a circular table located in the patio next to the Basilicom's garden.

"Well... it's pretty nice weather we're having today isn't it?" C-Sha remarked, her cheer sounding just a bit too forced to be natural.

Blanc simply gave a subdued grunt in response. It was clear to Vert that the Lowee CPU was still feeling a bit unnerved by her friend's earlier outburst.

C-Sha seemed to notice this too as she gave an embarrassed cough.

"Ahem. I'm... uh... sorry about losing my temper with you Blanny. I did mean everything I said but I probably shouldn't have been so... er... forceful about it. Things have just been a bit hectic for me lately. There was that whole incident with K-Sha and now B-Sha is apparently in trouble with a group of parents for selling a bunch of R18 Noire doujins to their kids. Not to mention, I still have no idea where S-Sha disappeared off to. A... Anyways, I hope you can forgive me for snapping at you like that."

Blanc mumbled something out before giving a tiny nod. Even so, the atmosphere continued to remain awkward as the two friends refused to make eye-contact with each other.

With a mental sigh, Vert decided it was up to her to salvage the situation.

"So why did you call me here Blanc? You were just about to mention it before we got interrupted."

This finally seemed to snap Blanc out of her stupor as she focused her attention on Vert.

"Isn't it fucking obvious?" she growled, apparently glad to have an outlet for her emotions. "I called you here so that you can answer for your crimes of spreading those absurd rumors!"

Vert quirked her head in confusion. "Rumors? What rumors?"

"Don't play dumb! I'm talking about the ones where my sisters and your idiot brother are supposedly... urk... engaged!" She visibly gagged on that last word.

Vert blinked in surprise for a minute before memories of the twin's mass brainwashing came to mind.

"That stupid news about him being married to Noire was just a prank and all of you are going to treat it that way. The only person he's going to marry is me and Rom!"

"Oh," she uttered, "right. I'd nearly forgotten about that."

Blanc simply continued to try and melt her with her glare.

"C... Come now Blanc," Vert said nervously. "The brainwashing only affected a couple of Noire's fans. Surely it's not such a-"

Blanc pulled out her phone before showing her the headlines plastering the Lastation news page.

Identity of Mysterious Blond Shota Finally Confirmed! Signs of Potential Merge Between Leanbox and Lowee?!

CPU Candidate of Leanbox Engaged to CPU Candidates of Lowee!

The Question on Everyone's Minds: When is the Wedding Date?

Hundreds of Rallies Held Across Lastation to Show Support of Their Favorite Couple

Vert found herself at a loss for words as she stared at the screen. It took her several long minutes before she finally managed to shake her head and compose herself.

"Okay, I admit things may have gotten a bit out of hand there. But I hardly believe the opinions of Lastation's populace has any bearing on the rest of-"

Blanc swiped across her phone's screen to show her Lowee's headlines.

Surprise Engagement! What Will This Mean for the Future of Lowee?

52% in Favor of Lady Rom and Lady Ram's Engagement to Lord Sync

Police on High Alert After Numerous Violent Clashes between Lord Sync's Admirers and Engagement Supporters

Vert once again found herself stunned silent as she gaped at the screen.

"It's the same everywhere else," Blanc said. "It's either a mob of thirsty fangirls squealing for the brat or it's a bunch of retards asking for when the wedding ceremony is."

"Don't forget all the housewives supporting Sync just to spite their husbands," C-Sha sighed. "It's kinda sad just how many unhappy marriages there are in Gamindustri these days..."

Vert continued to stare blankly ahead as her mind threatened to blue-screen again.

"Hey!" Blanc yelled, snapping her fingers in front of Vert's face. "Stop spacing out and tell me how you're going to fix this already!"

Vert shook herself back into reality as she tried to go on the offensive.

"Why are you blaming this on me?" she said, bringing out as much indignation as she could muster at the moment. "Ram and Rom are the ones who started this with their brainwashing! If anything, I should be the one getting angry at you for spreading this engagement rumor about Sync!"

Blanc looked taken aback for a moment before her ire returned in full.

"Don't give me that bullshit! I know how your perverted mind works! You probably planned this marriage nonsense from the beginning so that you can steal away Rom and Ram as your sister-in-laws!"

Vert had just opened her mouth to angrily retort before the full meaning of Blanc's words hit her.

Wait... that can actually work, she thought. Her inner PerVert giggled as they quickly began collaborating on this opportunity.

Oh for- You don't even think of the boy as your actual younger brother! her logical self yelled from the sidelines.

Unfortunately, Vert was too far gone into her own delusions to think rationally.

Of course not. However, it only matters that the public thinks of him as my... sibling, she countered. The PerVert nodded along next to her. Plus, the boy clearly also wants the public to assume our familial relationship so he should be fine with it.

Logical Vert looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel.

And what about your stupid game?! I thought you believed him to be some sort of alternate dimension prince?!

I still do. I'll simply continue my game of keeping him alive even after he marries the twins. Then, when he goes back home and thanks me by creating a younger sister for me with his magical share manipulation powers, I'll have three younger sisters to my name! Ehehehehe..."

The sheer lack of sense in that statement caused Logical Vert to have a minor brain meltdown. With a completely dead expression, she looked over towards the hard-hat-wearing Construction Vert who was currently patching up the mess from the mental brawl the day before.

Mind if I borrow that for a second? Logical Vert asked, pointing towards a nearby metal beam.

Uh... go right ahead I guess.

Logical Vert graciously grabbed the beam before slamming it against her head. Repeatedly.

Construction Vert blinked at this sight for a bit before shaking her head.

I don't get paid enough for this...

With a sigh, she left Logical Vert to her own devices while the main Vert and the PerVert continued to giggle in the background.

Luckily, Blanc was at hand in the real world to put a stop to this madness.

"Oi! You better not be thinking of anything weird right now!"

Vert snapped herself back into reality as she gave Blanc a dreamy smile.

"Oh my apologies. I seem to have drifted off for a second. Now then, should we set up the wedding for next week?"

Blanc got to her feet as she pulled out her hammer. Fortunately for Vert, C-Sha finally decided to step in.

"Alright you two, that's enough of that. Blanny, put away the hammer. Did you already forget about the talk we just had?"

Blanc put away her weapon with a loud grumble. As she sat back down, C-Sha turned her stern gaze towards Vert.

"I do hope you weren't being serious Vert. It's cute when the kids are joking about marriage but it's another matter entirely if you decide to force it upon them for your own means."

Vert felt her perverted excitement ebbing away under the fighter's judging gaze.

Ugh. First Histoire and now C-Sha, she mentally groaned. Why does there need to be so many responsible adults around here?

Out loud though, she simply gave a sigh.

"Of course I was joking. Putting aside Sync, the twins are far too young to be officially engaged to anyone."

For now, she mentally added.

C-Sha continued to give her a critical look as if she somehow sensed Vert's intentions. Luckily, she eventually seemed to relent as she nodded her head.

"Alright. As long as we're clear on that." She then addressed both of the CPUs. "In regards to the rumor, I believe we should-"

She suddenly paused mid-sentence with her mouth hanging open. Vert and Blanc swiftly turned to follow C-Sha's gaze before giving similar responses as well.

For some bizarre reason, Sync was crawling past the doorway of the patio on all fours. Not only that, a wooden harness was strapped to his back which connected to a pair of ropes extending behind him. Looking very much exhausted, he stopped to gaze at the three frozen adults with a pleading look. However, this was quickly brought to an end as the ropes at his side snapped forward.

"Mush," a cold voice commanded.

Sync gave a defeated look as he continued to crawl ahead. As he moved out of view, a large sled was shown to be dragged behind him. Rom was sitting at the front with her hands on the reins while Ram was cheering from the back. The blue twin did not seem to notice the adults as she continued to glare at Sync with a domineering look. Ram, on the other hand, gave a playful wave to her white-circle-eyed onlookers.

"Heh heh. How do you like our new dogoo sled?"

All she got in response was stunned silence.

Ram did not seem to mind though as she turned back to her twin.

"Come on, make him go faster! We haven't even completed one lap yet!"

There was the sound of the reins snapping again before the sled was quickly dragged out of view.

Nothing but the sound of the wind blowing across the garden could be heard for several long minutes. Eventually, C-Sha spoke up in a rather dazed voice.

"Well... that just happened. I mean, I guess it's an improvement over them trying to kill him at least..."

Apparently deciding to just leave the kids be, she shook her head and addressed the still-stunned CPUs.

"A... Anyways, let's get back to what we were discussing before." She clapped her hands loudly to fully gain the others' attentions. "The best way I think we can deal with this engagement rumor is to simply give a joint public announcement stating that there are no official marriage plans in the works. However, we should also make sure the statement is ambiguous enough so that we leave the possibility of any future relationships between the kids open."

"What?!" Blanc immediately shouted. "Why the fuck would I do that?!"

Vert also gave C-Sha a sharp look. "Didn't you just lecture me about how wrongful it is to set up an arranged marriage between Sync and the twins?"

C-Sha let out a sigh as she answered in a tired voice. "I'm not saying we're going to force them to marry in the future. I simply mean to tell the public that there is still a chance that Sync might end up eloping with either Ram or Rom later on. By their own choice, of course." She held up a hand to stave off the inevitable angry rant from Blanc. "Look, a straight up denial about their relationship will only rile up the citizens supporting the supposed engagement. And I think we can all agree that we don't want another massive riot on our hands."

Vert reluctantly gave a nod to this while Blanc simply crossed her arms and muttered something darkly.

"So," C-Sha went on, "with that in mind, the smart thing to do would be to keep the public satisfied by leaving the fate of their wanted pairing open to interpretation. All we'll be doing is dissuading the notion of any arranged marriages – both now and in the future - while leaving the rest to the public's imagination. Plus," she added, seeing Blanc's still-agitated expression, "this way Lowee will be able to continue benefiting from the sudden upsurge in shares in regards to Sync."

"Hold a moment," Vert chimed in. "If it's your intention to take advantage of my br... sibling's popularity, then I believe it is only fair that you offer a suitable compensation. After all, this is no small amount of shares we're talking about here."

Blanc slammed her hands on the table as she stood back up in outrage.

"Are you seriously playing this game Thunder-Tits?! Why should we-"

"Blanny~?"

C-Sha's terrifyingly sweet voice instantly put a halt to Blanc's wrath. Even Vert could not help but shudder a bit as she realized the Gold Third leader was on the verge of snapping once more.

Luckily, Blanc seemed to realize the dire situation she was in as she gave an audible gulp and slowly sat back down.

"Excellent!" C-Sha brightly remarked, somehow managing to appear more dangerous than a S-rank monster despite her cheerful expression. "Now then, why don't you take a few deep breaths to calm yourself while I handle this?"

Blanc seemed to have no trouble complying while C-Sha turned towards Vert.

"I think you have this backwards Vert," the fighter stated, her voice still sounding deadly sweet. "It's actually you who needs to pay Lowee back in terms of shares. Not only that, you owe Blanny quite a bit for all the help she provided you during the Lastation incident. With my plan, both you and Sync would be able to repay this debt in a nice and easy manner."

"W... What are you talking about? I don't owe Lowee any sh-" A figurative light-bulb seemed to go up in her head as realization finally hit her. "Oh. Sync's unique transformation."

Much to Vert's relief, C-Sha dropped her killer smile as she gave a nod.

"Sync!" the fighter suddenly called out. "Get over here! And bring Rom and Ram with you!"

There was a flash of green before the three kids appeared before them. The twins immediately seemed to notice C-Sha's bad mood as they got off the sled and nervously stood at attention before her. Sync took a moment longer to free himself from the harness before quickly doing the same next to them.

"I suppose now's a good opportunity to finally get this properly checked out," C-Sha stated. She shifted her gaze to face Sync directly. "Can you give us a live demonstration of your transformation?"

Sync fidgeted nervously as he looked at the ground

"Um... do I really have to?"

C-Sha seemed to take notice of his uncomfortable demeanor as she took a deep breath and spoke up in a much gentler voice.

"You're not in trouble Sync. I just want Blanny to take a closer look to make sure your transformation didn't cause any problems for either you or the Lowee share crystal."

She turned to give a sharp look at Blanc to affirm this. The Lowee CPU flinched a bit before reluctantly giving out a low grumble and a nod.

Sync still didn't look entirely convinced but eventually seemed to figure he didn't have much of a choice. With a loud sigh, he gathered up his energy and raised his right hand towards Rom. However, he swiftly seemed to change his mind about his target as she leveled a death glare on him. With a nervous smile, he shifted his hand towards the slightly less angry twin instead.

"Synchronize!"

As the two of them began to glow with their partner's respective colors, Sync turned his palm upwards and closed his eyes. Minutes passed as he seemed to intensely concentrate on something. However, the cyan-colored share crystal from before refused to appear as he eventually opened his eyes to look at the twins.

"Um... Ram? Rom? I... uh... think the both of you need to also want me to transform to make this work."

Ram spoke up for the duo by responding with her arms crossed.

"Why should we, you big dummy?"

"Come on Ram," Sync pleaded. He quickly shot a nervous look towards Blanc who looked like her patience timer was rapidly approaching zero. He gave a loud gulp before turning back to the obstinate younger twin. "I already promised I wouldn't flirt with anyone else on TV anymore." (Vert noted that he didn't say anything about flirting anywhere else but Ram did not seem to catch this.) "Plus I pulled you around on the sled like you and Rom wanted. Wasn't that enough to make up for it?"

"That's just your first punishment. You still have eleven more before me and Rom even think about forgiving you."

Sync seemed to wilt at this fact before quickly perking back up.

"Alright, then how about this. I'll take you and Rom to the arcade later if you let me transform. I'll even pay for everything."

Ram and Rom looked at each other as they seemed to silently communicate through their twin senses. After a few seconds, Ram turned back to Sync with a sharp look.

"Fine. But only if you also take us to the nearby cookie store as well." Rom poked her in the arm as if to remind her of something. "Oh and you also need to buy Rom that Elthunder tome she wanted from the bookstore. And none of this will count as one of your punishments either."

Sync wilted even further upon hearing all this. The twins, however, gave him a look that made it clear that they would not be backing down from these demands anytime soon.

"Okay, deal," he finally relented, hanging his head in defeat.

Despite his actions and words though, Vert got the feeling that Sync was currently putting on an act. He wasn't the type to be such a pushover so she guessed that he was most likely just playing along at the moment in order to make the two younger girls happy.

Whatever the case was, his words definitely seemed to please the twins as Ram gave a triumphant smile while Rom's icy glare went from sub-zero to just mildly chilly.

"Heh smart choice." Ram put her hands on her hips as she took on a pompous pose. "Then as your master, I hereby give you permission to transform." Next to her, Rom gave a silent nod as well.

This seemed to do the trick as a green aura briefly lit up Rom as well before the energy around all three of them flowed outwards. Just like before, the energy fused into a cyan-colored share crystal that hovered in front of Sync.

"So he really does need permission to use this power," Blanc muttered, observing all this with a scrutinizing glare. "Well, good to know he can't just steal from our shares whenever he wants."

"Come on Blanc. Do I really seem that untrustworthy to you?" Sync asked with a smile.

The intensified glare he got answered his question well enough.

With a nervous laugh, Sync quickly grabbed hold the share crystal and held it to his chest.

"Synchronized Share Divinity activate!"

There was a brief flash of light before his blue-haired, trench-coat-wearing form came into view. Perhaps it was due to Blanc's current agitated state but Sync also appeared to be in a fairly bad mood as he wore a fierce scowl.

"There. Now hurry up and get this stupid check-up over with already," he growled.

Blanc's eye twitched but apparently her curiosity over the matter won out over her desire to flatten the boy. With a scowl that looked eerily similar to Sync's, she closed her eyes and concentrated on her Sharicite.

"Damn brat's even more intolerable in this... the fuck?!"

All eyes turned to the Lowee CPU as her eyes suddenly opened in shock.

"Is something the matter?" Vert asked worriedly.

Blanc took a moment to get over her surprise before answering. "The brat's connection to the Lowee share crystal... it's almost as clear as Ram or Rom's!"

Heads turned once again, this time towards Sync.

"Didn't you say you were only connected to the share crystal superficially?" C-Sha asked.

"I am," Sync reaffirmed, crossing his arms with an irritated look. "If we want to put this into a physical perspective, I'm hanging out at the very edges of the crystal's border."

Blanc became quiet once again as she seemed to try and confirm his words. After a few seconds, she reluctantly nodded her head.

"He's definitely more distant from me than my sisters are." Her gaze sharpened as she looked at Sync with deep suspicion. "But that still doesn't explain how our connection is so clear. It's almost as if you're actually my b... br... ugh... sibling!"

Vert ignored the major sense of déjà vu those words brought up as she instead checked her own share connection. Bizarrely enough, Sync's presence was still as distorted as ever in her own Sharicite.

What in the world is going on? Right as she thought this, Vert's gamer senses suddenly perked up telling her that now was the chance to finally make her move.

"Sync." Her quiet yet firm tone garnered the attention of everyone around her. "Tell me what's going on here."

The boy seemed visibly taken aback by this despite his tougher outer appearance.

"What makes you think I know anything about this?" he huffed, turning away from her in an obvious attempt to avoid making eye-contact with her.

It was clear his acting skills were severely hampered in this form. His clumsy attempt at trying to hide behind a veil of anger was very much like something Blanc or Ram would do. Of course, all this really ended up doing was to make him look even more suspicious as Vert pressed her attack.

"I only just realized right now but you somehow managed to pinpoint the location of your presence in Blanc's share crystal back when you first transformed. It's obvious that you have a far better understanding of your own share energy than you're letting on."

She couldn't see the boy's face thanks to his high collar but the way he clenched his gauntleted hand told her that she was on the right track.

"Sync, I think it's time you gave me a clear answer for once. What is the real reason for your improper connection to my share crystal?"

Sync did not reply as he instead became as impassive as a statue. Apparently, he realized that saying anything else at this point would only give away more information and so had simply chosen to ignore her. Of course, Vert was having none of that as she prepared to force an answer out of him.

Just as she got up though, a jazzy rendition of the Super Maryo theme suddenly began to play.

"What the...? I swear I put this on silent mode." The tense atmosphere instantly broke as Blanc pulled out her phone. Ignoring the glare Vert shot at her, the Lowee CPU looked at the caller ID before giving a look of confusion. "Why the hell is Neptune calling me at a time like this?"

Sync let out a non-too-subtle sigh of relief while Vert felt like strangling both Blanc and Neptune for ruining her chance at finally getting some answers. However, her murderous thoughts were quickly erased the moment Blanc answered the call.

"...pick up already! I don't have much time!" Alarmingly, Neptune sounded more panicked than Vert had ever heard her before as her loud frantic voice was audible to everyone present.

Of course, Blanc was none too pleased about nearly being deafened as she moved the phone a safe distance away before answering.

"Sheesh can you pipe down and just-"

"Blanc!" Neptune screamed, both relief and urgency mixed in her voice. "Thank the great pudding gods that you answered! But now's not the time to chat! Look, I've already called Noire as well! We need to- AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The last thing everyone heard was a loud explosion before the line went dead.