Chapter 20- Thorrnn and Leafa
Marth and Kirito had just turned around after finishing off two of the five Salamanders in the area. Everyone else was completely shocked by their incredible speed. The duo then charged at the remaining two grounded Salamanders and stopped right in front of them. They quickly sliced through them with their swords and easily killed them, leaving two more small flames. They then turned to the last Salamander, who was still hovering above them.
"Do you want to fight too?" Kirito asked him.
The Salamander (known as Kagemune) shook his head, "No thanks, kid. My magic skill is about to reach 900 soon and I'd rather not get that lowered by dying."
"At least you're being honest," the other Spriggan said before facing the girls. "What about you two?"
The green-haired Sylph raised a hand in refusal. "We'll pass too," she said.
The other Sylph promptly glared at Kagemune. "Next time we meet, you're going down," she declared.
The Salamander didn't look threatened at all. "When we do, I'll make sure to have more troops with me," he replied before he flew away.
Marth noticed the flames behind him and his partner. "What's with those flames?" he asked curiously.
"Quiet! Those are Remain Lights, the players you two just killed can still hear you," the green-haired Sylph said before the flames disappeared. "Now we can talk. So, what now? Do you two want us to thank you, run away, or fight?"
The boys sheathed their swords and crossed their arms. "If we analyze what just happened, it was your basic knight saves the princess moment," Marth said, confusing the girls.
Kirito nodded, having caught on what his partner really meant. "That's right. You two could hug us and call us your heroes," he added.
"Go away, you losers!" the blonde Sylph said angrily.
The boys laughed in response. "We're just messing with you guys," Marth replied with a light smile, but the girls were still growling angrily at them.
"No way," Yui said suddenly, "I won't let either of them do that."
"Yui, stay out of sight," Kirito said quickly but the pixie got out of his pocket and flew to his shoulder.
"Mommy and me are the only ones allowed to hug Daddy!" Yui declared.
"Wait, 'Daddy'?" the blonde Sylph asked in confusion as Kirito desperately tried to hide his daughter from them.
He failed as the girls quickly approached them and saw Yui anyway. "No way. You have one of those private pixies," the katana-user asked. "Those were available in a lottery when the game first started."
"Yeah, she is," Kirito said nervously, opting not to tell them the truth about Yui.
"So, do either you mind explaining why two Spriggans like you are doing all the way over here?" the green-haired Sylph questioned.
"We kinda… got lost," Marth made up, prompting the girls to burst out laughing.
"How could you get that lost?" the Sylph replied. "Spriggan territory is all the way in the east. You guys are really weird." She and her partner sheathed their swords. "Anyway, my name's Thorrnn and this is my friend, Leafa. Thanks for saving us."
"I'm Kirito and this is Marth," the black-haired Spriggan introduced before pointing at the pixie on his shoulder. "And this is Yui."
"Okay then… Kirito and Marth," Leafa said. "Do you have any plans today? If not, Thorrnn and I can buy you two a drink."
"Sure. That sounds awesome," Kirito replied. "And if you girls don't mind, Marth and I would like to ask you a few questions?"
"Like what?"
"Like more about this world, and the World Tree."
Leafa and Thorrnn glanced at each other and nodded.
"Okay," Thorrnn said. "We may not look like it, but we know a lot about this game. There's a neutral town to the north. It's a little out of the way, but we can fly over there."
"Okay, but isn't Sylvain closer to us?" Kirito asked ignorantly.
The girls looked at him like he was stupid. "You guys don't know anything about this game, don't you?" Thorrnn explained. "Sylvain is Sylph territory. When you're in a different race's territory, you can't attack them, but they can attack you."
Marth gave them a casual smile. "As long as Kirito and I don't provoke them, they won't attack us," the Spriggan replied. "Plus, you and Leafa will be there too."
Leafa shrugged. "Okay, if you guys really want to go there, we'll take you. I can't guarantee your safety, though." Two pairs of green wings appeared on her back and on Thorrnn's. "Let's get flying."
"Hold on a minute," Marth said to the girls. "You guys can fly without using the controller?"
Thorrnn nodded. "Yeah, can't you two do the same?"
"We just learned how to use the controller when we logged into ALO, and we're still trying to figure everything out," Kirito replied.
"We'll teach you a trick on how do it. Turn around, but don't access your controllers," Leafa instructed. The boys did what they were told, and they summoned their wings.
The girls touched the respective boy's backs and told them to imagine that they had virtual bones and muscles that spread into their wings. The boys struggled as their wings started to move by their willpower. The girls told them to repeat the motion again, but harder. The boys did so before Leafa and Thorrnn gave them a big push, causing Kirito and Marth to scream as they flew high in the air. They also knocked down a couple branches off of trees as they ascended.
"Oh crud," Leafa said nervously before she, Thorrnn and Yui went after them.
"Daddy!" Yui exclaimed. "Uncle Marth!"
"Kirito! Marth! Are you guys okay?" Thorrnn called out.
"There they are!" Leafa pointed toward two black figures flying all over the place. It was obvious that the boys were failing at trying to control their movements because they were flying around in circles.
"How do we stop make it stop?!" Kirito and Marth yelled together, prompting the girls to laugh at them.
"Sorry Daddy, Uncle Marth," Yui said in-between giggles, "but that's hilarious."
After a while, a long while, the Spriggans were finally able to control their flying.
"Man, this is so cool!" Marth cheered as he soared through the sky.
His fellow Spriggan nodded. "Yeah it is."
"Looks like you guys are getting the hang of it," Leafa said before she led them to the Sylph capital.
"We'll take it slow until you two get better at it," Thorrnn told the boys, who simply smirked.
"Don't worry about us. We can go faster," Marth replied.
"Suit yourselves," Thorrnn said before she and Leafa increased their speed. When they looked behind them, they were shocked as they saw that the boys were right behind them.
"Is that the fastest you two can go?" Kirito asked in challenge.
"No, but don't blame us if you guys crash," Leafa said as she and Thorrnn went to their max speed, with the boys close behind.
After a while, Yui was too tired to fly anymore and went into her father's coat pocket while Kirito and Marth were having a little trouble keeping up with the Sylphs. The girls slowed down a little so that they were right next to the boys.
"Wow. I can't believe that you two can handle flying at this speed," Thorrnn commented.
They then quickly reached Sylvain, which had four towers at the corners of the city and one in the center. True to the Sylph color theme, the city was very green.
"We're going to land right at the base of the central tower," Leafa said before realizing something important. "Uh, Kirito, Marth. You guys do know how to land, right?"
The swordsmen formed panicked looks on their faces. "No, not really," Kirito replied nervously.
Leafa and Thorrnn tried to quickly explain how to land, but they were getting too close to the central tower, causing the girls to ditch the boys.
"Too late now," Thorrnn said with a nervous smile. "You'll have to learn on your own." The Sylphs descended safely towards the ground.
"You've got to be kidding me?!" the boys shouted before they hit the tower and crashed on the ground flat on their backs. Everyone, except Leafa and Thorrnn, who landed next to the duo, stared at them in confusion.
"Not cool, Leafa," Kirito said in annoyance.
"Same to you, Thorrnn," Marth added in the same tone.
The girls slightly chuckled. "Stop complaining. I can heal you two," the blonde Sylph replied. She then chanted a healing spell and as she did so, words in another language surrounded her. The words disappeared when Leafa finished the spell and fully restored the Spriggans' HP.
"So this is magic?" Marth asked curiously.
Thorrnn nodded. "The Undines are the only race who can use high-level healing spells easily. But the one Leafa just used can be done by just about anyone," she explained. "It might be a good idea for you both to learn it."
The boys sat up. "So, if different races have different skills, what does the Spriggan race do?" Kirito asked eagerly.
Leafa paused before answering, "You guys are good at treasure hunting and illusion magic. Neither of them are much help in combat."
The Spriggan sighed. "Oh well. I'll just fight like I normally do then," he replied.
"Ditto," Marth added as he and Kirito stood up. "So, this is a Sylph town. It's beautiful."
"I know right," Leafa said before a voice called out.
"Leafa! Thorrnn!" The group turned and saw a male Sylph running towards them, waving his arm at them. He had yellow-green hair and wore a hooded long-sleeved green cardigan, a long dark green shirt covered by a dark blue vest, brown pants with armor around his shins, and dark gray shoes. He also had a belt with a dagger strapped to the back of it. Once he got to the group, he slumped over to catch his breath.
"Oh, hey, Recon," Thorn greeted casually.
"I knew you guys would survive." Recon then noticed the two Spriggans and jumped back in surprise. "Gah! Spriggans!" He reached for his dagger.
Leafa chuckled at her friend's reaction to the duo. "Relax, Recon. These guys saved us from those Salamanders," she explained. The Sylph then faced the two Spriggans. "This is Recon. He, Thorrnn and I are in the same party with a couple other players."
Kirito then extended a hand towards the dagger-user. "I'm Kirito and this is my friend, Marth," he introduced. The other Spriggan just casually waved.
Recon let go of his dagger and shook the black-eyed Spriggan's hand. "Hi, nice to meet you," he said before realizing that he still didn't trust them. He let go of the Spriggan and grabbed his dagger again. "What the hell am I talking about? These guys could be spies or something."
Thorrnn giggled at her friend's paranoia. "If these guys really were spies I doubt they would act like idiots," she replied, getting death glares from the male duo.
"Gee, thanks a lot," Marth retorted, getting a mischievous smirk from the Sylph.
"Anyway," Recon said. "Sigurd and the others are waiting at the tavern."
Leafa's eyes widened in realization. "Oh yeah, that's right. Can you please tell them that we can't come today?"
The male Sylph gasped in shock. "What? Why?"
"We kinda promised Marth and Kirito a drink as thanks for saving us," Thorrnn explained. "See you later, Recon."
Thorrnn and Leafa then grabbed Marth and Kirito respectively by the arm and led them away, much to their displeasure. Recon just watched the group walk away in sadness.
Once they were inside an inn, the group each ordered a drink. Once the group's drinks arrived, they decided to continue their conversation they had in the forest. Yui was sitting on the table, right in front of her father.
"So, how'd you guys meet that Recon guy anyway?" Kirito asked.
"We know him in real life," Leafa explained. "We all go to the same school and we're classmates. He's the one who introduced us to ALO and taught us the basics of the game. We ended up surpassing him in just a few weeks. The three of us then joined a party and we go hunting together."
"Anyway, drink up," Thorrnn said. "And thanks again for saving us back there."
The players then took a sip of their drinks.
"Those guys in the forest were playing really rough," Marth commented. "Is it normal for there to be gangs of PKers here?"
"Well, the Sylphs and the Salamanders never got along," Leafa explained. "But recently the Salamanders who hunt Sylphs have been getting more organized. They might be trying to gear up to clear the World Tree."
"Actually, Marth and I wanted to ask you about that," Kirito admitted.
"You did mention the World Tree earlier," Leafa said. "Why do you want to know?"
"We want to get to the top as soon as possible," Marth replied.
Thorrnn snickered. "Join the club. Every player wants to get to the top of the World Tree. You could call it the 'Grand Quest of Alfheim Online'."
"What do mean?"
"You know how you can only fly for a set amount of time?" Thorrnn explained. "None of the races can fly continuously for more than ten minutes at a time. However, at the top of the tree is a place known as the Floating City and in it lives Oberon, the Fairy King. The first race of fairy to reach him will be reborn as an advanced race known as Alfs. What's cool about them is that they can fly for as long as they want."
"Cool," Kirito said. "It'd be sweet if I could fly as long as I wanted. So how does someone get to the top of the tree?"
"At the base of the World Tree is a city called Arun," Leafa took over. "There a big dome serves as the entrance to the dungeon that leads to the top of the tree. However, the NPCs inside it are super powerful. During the whole year the game's been out, no one's gotten passed them."
"Seriously?" Marth said in disbelief before thinking. "Maybe they're missing that one key quest or maybe it's designed so that one race can't reach it alone."
Thorrnn smirked. "You've got good instincts. Right now, everyone's thinking that it's a missing quest, so they're out there looking for it. But if we have to work together to beat it, it'll never happen."
"Why not?"
"Because it doesn't make sense. Think about it. Why would you help someone when they're the one getting the reward? Could you imagine anyone being cool with that arrangement?"
"Then getting to the top of the World Tree is impossible," Kirito realized.
"Flying is pretty addictive though," Leafa admitted. "Once you have a taste, you can't get enough. Even if it takes years, maybe someday…"
"But I can't wait around that long!" Kirito exclaimed, catching everyone by surprise.
Yui flew over to the Spriggan and landed on his shoulder. "Daddy?"
Kirito then realized his mistake and said, "Sorry. It's just that… I have to get to the top of the World Tree as soon as possible."
"So do I," Marth added.
"Okay. So, what's the rush?" Leafa asked curiously.
"We're looking for some people," the blue-eyed Spriggan explained.
"Care to get more specific?" Thorrnn questioned.
Kirito's eyes filled with grief, as did Marth's. "No offense, but it's hard to explain," said the other Spriggan. Both boys' eyes then returned to normal. "Thank you, Leafa, Thorrnn. All the info you gave us will come in handy."
The Spriggans then stood up and turned to leave, but they were suddenly stopped when the Sylphs grabbed them by the arm.
"Are you guys going to the World Tree right now?" Leafa asked.
The male duo nodded. "Uh huh," Kirito said. "Marth and I need to see this for ourselves." They then slipped out of the girls' grasp and began to walk away.
"But that's crazy," Thorrnn protested. "It's really far away and you'll have to fight a bunch of monsters. Sure, you guys can handle yourselves in a fight but…" The two Sylphs glanced at each other and gulped. "Hey if you guys want, Leafa and I can take you there."
Marth and Kirito stopped and turned to face the girls.
"Thanks, but we just met you two," Marth said. "And it wouldn't be right for you going all that way."
"Then how are you guys gonna get to the World Tree if you don't know even how to get there?" Leafa asked as she and Thorrnn walked over to the boys.
"And what are you two gonna do against the guardians?" the other Sylph added.
Both Spriggans cringed as they realized they didn't think that far ahead. They both sighed in defeat.
"Okay, fine," Kirito said. "We'll all go together."
"How about we all meet up tomorrow afternoon?" Thorrnn suggested.
"Sure, that's fine."
"Thorrnn and I will meet you both here at 3 p.m. sharp. I have to log out now."
"So do I," Thorrnn added as she and her fellow Sylph opened their menus. "When you guys are ready, you can log out in one of the rooms upstairs."
"Okay," Marth said. "Thank you both."
Both girls gave a light smile before they logged out of the game. Meg then woke up in the real world. She looked up at the ceiling where there was a poster of her in-game as Thorrnn and Sugu as Leafa.
"Talk about weird guys," Meg thought aloud as she recalled her encounter with the two Spriggans. "Marth and Kirito, huh? Where have I heard those names before?"
Meanwhile, back in ALO, Marth said good night to his partner and logged off manually. Kirito, on the other hand, had decided to log off through sleep. After he climbed into bed, Yui returned to her original form.
"I guess this is goodbye until tomorrow," the AI said.
"Yeah, but Marth and I will be back tomorrow."
"Daddy," Yui looked a little conflicted, "is it okay if I sleep next to you, at least until you log off?"
Kirito nodded. "Sure. I don't mind."
Yui smiled with joy before climbing into bed with her father.
"You, me and Marth are going to save Asuna and Yuuki together," Kirito promised. "Then we'll go buy a house somewhere together."
"That would make me so happy! Living with you and Mommy again will be a dream come true."
Kirito laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "It won't be just a dream. I'll make it a reality, I promise." The Spriggan then found his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. He ended up closing his eyes and fell asleep.
"Good night, Daddy," Yui said.
Meanwhile
Asuna and Yuuki were trapped in a birdcage. Asuna was sitting by a table while Yuuki was lying down on one of the beds. The former was wearing a white dress while the latter wore a light purple dress and had purple hair. Asuna looked saddened while Yuuki was bored.
"Every time I see that look on your face, Asuna," a familiar voice said, "I want to freeze it and put it on a wall."
Asuna scoffed as a man entered the cage. He had blonde hair and green eyes. He wore a green robe, a gold crown, and white sandals. He also had green butterfly wings on his back.
"What are you waiting for? Permission?" She asked venomously. "You can do whatever you want as a Game Master, after all."
"Such cold words from such a pretty little mouth," the man replied. "Have I ever laid a finger on you or Yuuki when you didn't want me to, Titania?"
"Stop calling me by that stupid name!" Asuna retorted. "My name is Asuna, Sugou."
Sugou smiled smugly. "You're spoiling the fun. In this world I'm known as the Fairy King Oberon. You are Queen Titania, my breathtaking bride," he walked over to Yuuki, who had sat up, "while Yuuki here is my mistress. There's not a single player who wouldn't want to be me."
Yuuki then slapped Sugou in the face. "Like I'd want anything to do with a creep like you. I don't care even if you're a GM, I'm not some puppet for you to control."
Sugou glared bitterly at the purple-haired teen. "Still refusing to submit to me, aren't you? Regardless, I'll break that stubborn will of yours, one way or another." He then approached Asuna. "Now as for you, when will you give my heart to me?"
"Never. The only thing you'll get from me is disgust and hatred."
Sugou sat on the table and faced Asuna. "You're both so stubborn." He held chestnut-haired teen's face inappropriately. "Romance is nice and all, but I could always just take you by force if I want."
Yuuki scoffed in disgust. "Like we'd let you."
"Whatever," Sugou said as he rose to his feet. "You'll both want me sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."
"You're insane if you think that's gonna happen," Asuna replied.
"You won't be talking like that for much longer. Right now, at this moment, tens of thousands of players are enjoying this game, but none of them have a clue about the true potential of the Full Dive system. Did you know that by expanding the brain control regions, one could influence a person's thoughts, emotions and memories?"
Both girls gasped in shock. "You can't!" Asuna protested. "Technology like that is illegal!"
Sugou chuckled. "That's where you're wrong. In fact, several countries are researching it as we speak. The only thing standing in the way are finding people to experiment on. One day, I was watching the news and it hit me. 10,000 ideal guinea pigs. Both Akihiko Kayaba and Brandon Lowell were geniuses, but they were also fools. All they wanted was to use their Full Dive technology for was their game, they couldn't see the potential it had, but I did. Right when SAO began logging players out, I rerouted 300 of them to use as test subjects. I even grabbed you and Yuuki as a bonus. I originally wanted Marth, since he intrigued me, but something prevented me from rerouting his mind, so I ended up taking Yuuki instead."
Yuuki gasped in shock. "What?"
"My research has taken great strides the last two months. I've developed technology that can seed memories to control emotion. My research is almost complete."
"There's no way my father would allow that kind of research!" Asuna protested.
"He wouldn't if he knew about it, but it's being done in secret with just a small team and myself. If your father knew, I can't sell it off."
"What?! To who?!"
"An American corporation. You would believe how eager they are to get their hands on it. Soon I plan on selling it and RECT to them for as much as I can."
"Not if Yuuki and I have anything to say about it." Asuna stood up and glared at her captor. "When we get back to the real world, we're reporting you to the police."
"Yeah!" Yuuki agreed.
Sugou chuckled arrogantly. "Wanna bet? Don't you realize that you're both in the same position as the other guinea pigs? If I wanted, I could alter your memories too."
Both girls gasped in shock as Sugou received a message, telling him to come immediately.
"Relax, the last thing I'd want is to turn you both into porcelain dolls." Sugou grabbed a few strands of Asuna's hair and sniffed them. "But the next time we meet, you both should be a little more submissive, Titania, Yuuki."
Sugou then went to the cage entrance and typed in a code to open the door to leave. Asuna glared at the man, however she couldn't make out the code due to the system's interference. Yuuki, on the other hand, glanced into the mirror on one of the beds and found something interesting.
The cage door closed behind Sugou as he left. As soon as he was out of sight, Asuna fell to her knees and cried.
"Yuuki, what are we gonna do?" Asuna pleaded as her friend comforted her.
"Lighten up, Asuna. Marth and Kirito will come and save us, I know it. Besides, I think I just found a way for us to escape this place."