Author's Note: The title of this chapter comes from a song from Phantom of the Opera with at least roughly the same title (I couldn't remember if the title was Past the Point of No Return or just The Point of No Return). I can assure everyone that it's going to be a very appropriate title for this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.
Chapter 5: "Past the Point of No Return"
It was midday as Leafa traversed a dense forest in sylph territory. There was no school that day, so the blonde fairy had decided to spend a good chunk of the afternoon level grinding in that forest to prepare for the next expedition into K'n-yan. Unfortunately, her efforts had not been going well, as she had discovered a flaw with her new sword that she had not anticipated. Just as Leafa was thinking of turning back, she heard footsteps coming up behind her and quickly reached for the handle of her sword. The blonde breathed a sigh of relief though when she saw that it was only Donis.
"Hello. Sorry if I startled you just now." Donis told her.
"It's fine. In fact I'm kinda happy to see you." Leafa told him. "What brings you here?"
"I just thought I'd see how you were doing." Donis answered. "So you've come here to train, I take it?"
"Yeah, but it hasn't been going well." Leafa replied. "I've found a little problem with my new sword."
"And what's that?" Donis asked.
Before Leafa could answer, a creature suddenly jumped out at them from the woods. It was a humanoid raccoon-like monster with brown armor covering his upper torso and waist. In its right hand, the creature wielded a short sword with a large notch near the top of the blade.
"Watch this." Leafa told Donis as she drew her sword.
Leafa swung her blade and sent forth a blast of energy at the raccoon man. A sphere of energy appeared around the beast and electrocuted it for a few moments before exploding. When the smoke cleared though, the creature's HP was untouched. The raccoon man growled and charged at Leafa, swinging at her with his weapon. Leafa successfully blocked the attack with her own sword and slashed the creature in the chest.
The raccoon man's HP only dropped by a relatively slight amount. Donis suddenly charged in with both his swords drawn and repeatedly slashed the raccoon man, taking his HP to zero in less than a minute. The raccoon man's body shattered into blue polygons upon being defeated.
"Thanks for that, but you didn't have to jump in." Leafa told him. "I could've taken him down. It just would've taken a while."
"I know, but I told you that it's not in my nature to simply stand by when a lovely lady like you is in trouble." Donis replied, causing Leafa to blush slightly. "In any case, I think I see the problem. The magical attack that your new sword produces only appears to work on the creatures down in K'n-yan."
"Yeah. Every other monster I've tried it on seems to be immune." Leafa confirmed. "I guess the elemental magic that it produces is some kind of weird unidentified element that only those monsters down under the mound are weak against."
"Well, at least this means we've been on the right track having Lisbeth forge armor and weapons for us from that metal." Donis observed. "If she can forge more weapons using the same metal combination used for your sword, we'd have a very decisive advantage over the monsters inhabiting K'n-yan."
"I already IM'd Liz about this to let her know." Leafa informed him. "The problem though is that my new sword still doesn't work anywhere else in the game. I mean it still cuts like a regular sword, but the quality of it as a regular weapon just isn't quite as good as my old sword."
"Perhaps you should have Lisbeth forge an alternate weapon for you." Donis suggested.
"Normally I would, but she's already pretty busy with forging weapons from that weird metal from K'n-yan." Leafa pointed out.
"True, but I don't see any other option." Donis replied.
"Actually… there is this one option." Leafa revealed. "In last month's update there was a new quest added to the game where players could get a special sword imbued with wind magic."
"I see. Why haven't you attempted this quest before?" Donis asked.
"Well, it involves defeating a dragon in order to get its fang." Leafa explained. "That fang is the material used to make the sword. The problem is that this dragon is supposed to be real tough. It's not the kind of quest that a player can do alone. And for the last few months my friends and I have been pretty busy with other stuff."
"Then in that case, how about I accompany you on this quest?" Donis suggested. "I'm not certain that I'll be an effective partner against this dragon, but I'm willing to help you in any way that I can."
"Well in that case, let's get going." Leafa decided. "To start the quest, we'll have to meat with this NPC blacksmith who's an old leprechaun. I know where his shop is."
"Lead the way." Donis replied.
With that, Leafa and Donis left the forest and headed off to the blacksmith shop that Leafa had spoken of. As they flew, Leafa once again couldn't help but notice how similar Donis was to Kirito. The similarity wasn't just in the way they looked, but in the aspects of their personality as well. Both Kirito and Donis seemed to be people who couldn't turn their backs on someone in need. Leafa wondered if perhaps she had truly found someone who really was like her brother.
After a few minutes of flying, the two arrived at a small rundown wooden shack in the hills. On top of the shack's roof was a thick cylindrical metal smokestack that was spewing a continuous plume of black smoke into the sky.
"Anything I should know about this place before we go inside?" Donis asked.
"The word is that the blacksmith is supposed to kind of cranky." Leafa answered. "Just let me do all the talking."
"As you wish." Donis replied. "Anything else?"
"Yeah. Do me a favor and don't tell Liz about this." Leafa requested. "She might be a little hurt if she knew I went to an NPC blacksmith."
"But won't she deduce that you did when she sees the new sword?" Donis pointed out.
"Oh… yeah." Leafa responded. "Well, let's just keep it a secret for now, okay?"
"Very well." Donis agreed.
With that, Leafa and Donis ventured into the decrepit old shop. Sitting at a small table inside by the forge was a diminutive old man with bushy white eyebrows and a short white beard. The top of the old man's head was completely bald, while from the sides grey long white hair that stopped just above his shoulders. The old man had on a pair of metal gloves, and he was sipping from a clay cup of what looked like tea when Leafa and Donis walked in.
The old man put down his cup and glanced at the two. "How may I help you?"
Leafa stepped forward and looked at the old man with a very serious expression. "I've come to ask you to forge the Tempest Sword."
At this, the old man looked away and shook his head. "What you ask is impossible. If that's all you've come for, then go. My time is too precious to waste with the likes of young fools like you."
"Are you saying you can't do it?" Leafa asked.
The old man stood from his chair and looked directly at Leafa. "I'll have you know that I've been forging great swords before your mother was even a gleam in your grandmother's eye! The reason I say what you've asked for is impossible is because I don't have the material needed to forge the sword."
"If I can get the material, will you forge it for me?" Leafa asked.
"…Very well." The old blacksmith responded as he sat back down. "To forge the Tempest Sword, you must bring me the fang of a great storm dragon that dwells in a cave in the mountains. But I caution you that this dragon is not an easy beast to defeat. He's killed armies of warriors. Still, if you're stupid enough to think you have a chance against something like that, than fine. Bring me the fang, and I shall forge you the sword."
A holographic screen appeared in front of Leafa asking her if she wanted to accept the quest she had just been given. Leafa pressed the yes button.
"As I've said, my time is precious. So I'm not going to give you forever to retrieve the fang." The old man told her. "If you don't come back with the fang in four hours, I'm going to assume that you're dead. It would serve a young fool like you right."
With that, the old man went back to his cup of tea. A countdown clock and a map to the dragon's location appeared on Leafa's heads-up display.
"I guess we don't have a moment to lose." Donis observed.
"Let's go!" Leafa replied.
The duo immediately headed out of the shop and flew off to the location of the dragon's cave. On the way there, Leafa and Donis began to formulate a plan to try and take down the dragon. Donis realized that they'd have to rely totally on healing potions during their battle, since their best chance of defeating the dragon before the time limit expired would be to attack the thing together. After almost half an hour, the duo arrived at the large mouth of the cave that was the dragon's lair.
"Well, here we are." Donis observed. "I guess the battle won't start until we enter the cave."
"Let's just hope that this dragon isn't too powerful." Leafa replied. "Two players may not be enough to beat it."
With that, Leafa began to walk towards the cave. Suddenly a massive shape flew out and nearly knocked Leafa and Donis off their feet. The two of them quickly recovered and looked up behind them to see what had emerged. It was a massive dragon with sky-blue scales and a pair of massive wings colored like a storm cloud on the inside. The dragon's eyes were blood red, and it had a pair of small gold horns on its head. Its body was serpentine and had only a pair of small arms with four-clawed hands. As the dragon roared, two HP gauges appeared next to it.
"Only two health bars." Leafa observed. "Maybe this won't be so hard after all."
"I don't think it would be wise to underestimate this dragon." Donis warned.
The dragon opened its jaws and fired a twister of razor-sharp wind down at Donis and Leafa. The two fairies jumped back and flew off into the air. Donis drew his two swords and flew straight at the dragon. The dragon responded by slashing at Donis with the gold blade tipping its tail. Donis was struck in the chest, taking off a small chunk of his HP. The gold swordsman quickly recovered and continued his charge, slashing it several times in the chest. The attack took almost a quarter off of the dragon's first HP gauge. After attacking, Donis fell back and rejoined Leafa.
Just as Leafa was about to fly in to land a blow, the dragon roared and fired several bolts of lightning from his wings. Leafa and Donis were both struck and nearly knocked out of the sky. Their HP dropped down into the yellow zone. After the attack, the two of them landed and took out some vials of healing potion.
"It appears that the dragon is unable to move for a few moments after using that lighting attack." Donis observed. "Rather typical drawback to a field attack like that."
"That'll give us the opening we need." Leafa noted. "Let's not waste this one!"
After recovering, Donis and Leafa flew back into battle. The dragon fired another twister of wind from its mouth, but the two of them easily evaded the attack. Leafa flew in for an attack, prompting the dragon to respond by trying to slash her with its tail. The blonde fairy managed to avoid the attack slashed the dragon in the chest. Unfortunately the attack only caused the dragon to lose a slight amount of HP. Leafa fell back and Donis moved in for another strike. The dragon roared and let loose another barrage of lightning bolts from its wings.
The duo managed to avoid the attack this time and Donis flew in to land several blows to the dragon. Once Donis's attack ended, Leafa moved back in to land two more attacks. The dragon's first HP gauge finally went into the red zone. Donis and Leafa kept alternating attacks for several minutes, slowly whittling down the dragon's HP. Every now and then they would take some damage from the dragon's attacks, but managed to recover with some potions. Eventually after using up their last few potion vials, the dragon's remaining HP gauge had fallen into the red zone.
"Looks like this dragon's just about had it." Leafa observed. "You better let me have the last attack. That's the only way I'll get the dragon's fang."
Donis nodded and moved in to deliver another attack. With a few more slashed from his sword, the dragon's HP had fallen to a mere sliver. The dragon let loose another barrage of lightning bolts from its wings, which the duo barely managed to avoid. Just as Leafa was about to fly in to deliver the finishing blow, the dragon suddenly opened its jaws and fired another twister of wind. Donis quickly flew in and pushed Leafa out of the way, taking the attack head on. When it ended, the Kirito lookalike's HP had fallen to a red sliver.
"Donis!" a concerned Leafa called out.
"I'm fine! Take the dragon out while you have the chance!" Donis told her.
After a brief moment's hesitation, Leafa flew in and cried out as she slashed the dragon across the chest, leaving a massive red gash. The dragon's HP went to zero and its body shattered into blue polygons. A holographic screen appeared in front of Leafa to notify her that she had received the dragon's fang. Leafa acknowledged the screen and quickly went back over to Donis's side, casting a healing spell on him to restore the damage that the dragon had done.
"We should've anticipated that the dragon's recovery time after using its field attack would decrease after taking so much damage." Donis noted as his HP rose back up.
"Yeah. But it doesn't really matter now." Leafa pointed out. "We got what we came for in the end."
"Indeed." Donis replied. "Now let's get back to that blacksmith before the time expires."
Leafa and Donis flew back to the blacksmith shop as fast as their wings could take them. By the time they finally made it back, they had less than half an hour left. As soon as Leafa walked into the shop with Donis following close behind, the old NPC blacksmith stood from his chair with an expression that could only be described as utter shock.
"My old eyes must be playing tricks on me!" the old blacksmith declared. "Surly you couldn't have come back with the fang!"
"I did." Leafa confirmed. "Now I think you owe me a sword."
"That I do." The old man replied with a heavy sword. "I am a man of my word, after all. Though had I actually had faith you'd succeed, I'd have charged you a fortune to have this sword forged. But as it is, I will do it for free. Now, give me the fang."
With that, a thick white dragon fang materialized in Leafa's hand. Once Leafa handed the fang over to the old man, he took it over to his forge and struck it several times with his metal hammer. After the final strike, the fang glowed orange and changed into a katana with a pure white blade and a gold handle.
The old man took the sword over to Leafa. "Here you are. The Tempest Sword, my finest work. Now, if you have no further business with me, I wish to be left alone."
Leafa took the sword and gave her thanks to the old blacksmith. Donis and Leafa left the old shack as the blacksmith sat down to drink more tea.
"I trust this new sword will be an improvement." Donis assumed.
Leafa drew the new blade and went over to a large boulder outside the shack. Seeing that it was a breakable object in the game, Leafa raised her new weapon to strike it. As the blade came down, it became shrouded in a twister of wind. The sword struck the boulder and reduced it to a pile of rubble.
"Yeah, I think this'll be fine." A satisfied Leafa declared as she sheathed her new weapon. "Thank you, Donis. There's no way I could've done this without you."
"It was an honor and a privilege to aid you in this quest." Donis told her before kissing the back of her hand.
Leafa's face turned a deep shade of red. If there was one major difference between Donis and Kirito beyond the little things like their hair color and the style of armor that they wore, it was that Donis was much more charming than Kirito. Donis was like a medieval knight out of a fairytale. With that charm combined with all the qualities he shared with Kirito, Leafa couldn't help but see Donis as the man of her dreams. He was everything that she wanted, someone who was like her brother but didn't see her as a mere relative. In that moment, Leafa was sure what she was feeling for Donis was love. And it was in that moment that Leafa decided that there was something she wanted to ask.
"Um, Donis?" Leafa nervously began. "Would you, uh… would you like to come over to my apartment in the game for… a drink or something?"
"I would be delighted, Leafa." Donis agreed.
After another few minutes of flight, Leafa arrived with Donis at the small apartment she had set up for herself in Swilvane. The place was a very simple apartment with one bedroom, one bathroom and a small kitchen that was attached to the living room. The living room was modestly furnished with only a green two-seated couch and a glass coffee table, but what the room lacked in furnishings was made up for by the large window that gave a spectacular view of the city.
"It's a rather quaint apartment you have here." Donis remarked as he looked around.
"I know it's not much, but it's got a great view for such a cheap place." Leafa replied. "Make yourself at home."
Donis nodded and brought up his menu screen with a wave of his hand. With a couple simple commands, the Kirito lookalike had removed his gold coat and armor, leaving him in a sleeveless green shirt. Leafa decided to change into a more casual outfit as well. After a few menu commands, Leafa had changed into a light green wool jacket over a low-cut black shirt, along with a pair of black elbow-high fingerless gloves, a short pine-green skirt and black leggings.
"That look is quite charming on you." Donis told her.
"T-thank you." Leafa replied with a deep.
After a moment's hesitation, Leafa sat down next to Donis on the couch. Her heart at that moment was pounding as though it might explode. There she was, completely alone with Donis. It was the best chance she had to tell him how she felt about him, but the words almost seemed to be tangled in her throat.
"Is something wrong, Leafa?" Donis suddenly asked, causing her to flinch. "You seem very tense."
"I, um…" Leafa began. "Donis, this might sound crazy, but… I think I might be in love with you. I mean I know we don't really know each other that well, but I can't deny these feelings that I have. At first I thought it was because in this world you look so much like my brother, but after today… I think it might be more than that."
"…I feel the same way." Donis admitted after a moment. "It is true that we've only recently become acquainted with each other, but I cannot deny the strong feelings that I have for you. I am drawn to you Leafa, the way a moth is drawn to a flame. I cannot pull away from you, no matter how much my brain may tell me to."
Leafa felt as though her heart might burst out of her chest upon hearing this. Their eyes met, and slowly their faces drew towards one another until the met in a passionate kiss. As the kiss deepened, the tip of Donis's tongue slipped out and pressed against Leafa's lips. The blonde fairy opened her mouth to allow his tongue entry. As their tongues began to grind against one another, Leafa put her arms around Donis's shoulders.
Before Leafa knew it, Donis had pushed her onto her back onto the couch. When they were forced to finally break for air, Donis began to kiss and suck on Leafa's neck, causing a moan to escape her throat.
"D-Donis?" Leafa spoke, causing the Kirito lookalike to pause. "Don't you think we're moving a little fast?"
"Perhaps. But don't you think we've come too far to stop now?"
Leafa couldn't deny that Donis had a point. That special place between her legs had become quite wet, and she could not deny the burning need she had for Donis.
"…Okay, but not here." Leafa told him. "Let's take it to the bedroom."
"Whatever you wish, my lady." Donis agreed.
With that, Donis sat back up and allowed Leafa to get off the couch. Leafa took his hand and guided him back to the bedroom, which had a large white bed for two with a decoratively carved wooden headboard. Once they were in front of the bed, Leafa turned to face Donis and brought up her menu screen. With a few quick commands, Leafa was down to a light-green lace bra and matching panties. Donis brought up his own screen as well, and in less then was second was down to a pair of gold briefs. Leafa blushed when she saw the large bulge between Donis's legs. She wondered for a moment if Kirito also had a package that big, but quickly pushed the thought from her mind.
Donis gently pulled Leafa into an embrace, and they quickly became locked in another deep open-mouthed kiss. After an uncertain amount of time, the two of them fell onto the bed and rolled so that Donis was on top. When they finally broke for air again, Donis went back to sucking on Leafa's neck. At the same time, Donis's left hand cupped Leafa's breast and gently squeezed, earning more moans of pleasure from the blonde fairy. After a few more moments though, Donis stopped what he was doing and pushed himself up to look Leafa in the eye.
"Dearest Leafa, if you will permit me, I would like to see all of you." Donis told her.
After a few moments of hesitation, Leafa nodded. They had already gone far past the point of no return. There was no longer any stopping or going back. Leafa brought up her menu screen once more, and with a few more commands she was left completely bare.
"You truly are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen." Donis told her.
Leafa blushed deeply upon hearing those words. Holding himself up with one arm, Donis brought up his own screen and removed his briefs, finally freeing his hardened manhood from its fabric prison. Donis went back to lightly kissing Leafa's neck, moving down until he came to Leafa's left breast and began to suck on it. At the same time, his hand set to work on massaging the right breast with his hand, occasionally toying with the erect nipple.
Leafa couldn't help but mew with pleasure as this went on. That special place between her legs had become like Niagara Falls. Eventually Donis stopped what he was doing and pushed himself back up to look at Leafa.
"Are you ready, my dearest?" Donis asked.
Leafa turned her head a way a little. "Please… be gentle with me. I've never done this before."
Donis smiled and gently stroked Leafa's cheek. "You needn't worry about a thing."
After a moment, Leafa finally nodded. Donis got onto his knees and spread Leafa's legs apart a bit. Then, after giving Leafa a light kiss on the lips, Donis pushed his rod into Leafa's womanhood. The blonde moaned and her eyes went wide as the rod slid inside of her. She had been expecting pain, but there was none. There was only an exquisite pleasure that she had never felt before. In that moment, Leafa dimly remembered that the amusphere blocked out the sensation of pain, which meant that the experience of losing one's virginity was a painless one.
Donis went at a slow gentle pace as he began to rock his hips. At Leafa's urging though, he began to gradually buck into her faster. Leafa's toes curled and her fingers dug into the sheets of the bed. After what seemed like an eternity, Leafa's inner walls finally began to tighten around Donis's manhood. Donis grabbed onto the headboard and began to plow into Leafa harder and faster. Then at long last they came to a climax in one glorious burst. Leafa felt the warmth of Donis's virtual seed shoot into her.
As they both came down from their high, Donis withdrew himself and got onto his side next to Leafa. Leafa rolled onto her own side to face him and Donis pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead.
"That was wonderful." Leafa whispered. "I feel so close to you right now."
"I feel the same way." Donis replied.
Leafa smiled and nuzzled up closer to Donis. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it she had drifted off to sleep.
Evening had fallen, and Kazuto was getting ready to sit down to dinner. He set out a plate of food for Suguha, wondering when she would come down from her room. Kazuto's sister had been online for practically the entire afternoon, and he hadn't seen her even once the entire day. Eventually, Suguha finally emerged from the stairway.
"So you're still alive." Kazuto joked. "I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to dive back into ALO to come get you."
"Sorry, I sort of lost track of time." Suguha replied as she sat down at the table.
"I've been there." Kazuto admitted. "So, what were you up to in there?"
"Uh… well, I went on a quest to get a new sword." Suguha answered, her face turning a bit red.
"You went on the Tempest Sword quest, didn't you?" Kazuto deduced.
"How'd you know that?" Suguha asked.
"You've been talking about that quest on and off since the last update." Kazuto reminded her. "So, did you do it with Sinon and Liz? I know that's not a quest a player can do on their own."
"Actually, my friend Donis helped me out." Suguha admitted.
"Oh… that's that guy you and the others met when you explored that underground dungeon, right?" Kazuto recalled.
"Yep. He was a big help to me fighting that dragon." Suguha replied.
"I see. So did you guys do anything else this afternoon?" Kazuto asked.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Suguha nervously asked.
"Oh you know, go on any other quests or stuff like that?" Kazuto asked.
"Oh… we just spent some time in the forest level grinding. That's about it." Suguha answered. "We're trying to get ready for another raid into that dungeon soon."
"I see…" Kazuto responded. "Well, I wish you guys luck then."
Kazuto and Suguha ate their dinner in silence after that. As they ate, something about the previous conversation continued to bother Kazuto. He had known is younger sister long enough to tell when she was lying or hiding something, and it seemed that she had been hiding something from him just then. Kazuto began to wonder just who his sister's new friend really was.
Author's Note: At this point I'd like to give thanks to my guest reviewer, SuperSaiyanGod53 for his review of the previous chapter. In the end, that review helped me figure out the small quest that Leafa and Donis would go on in this chapter. I was pretty much drawing a blank on what that quest should be until I realized that the drawback to Leafa's sword could be that it doesn't work on regular monsters.
Anyway, if any one want to kick Donis in the balls after reading that chapter, go with the feeling. As I believe I said in the summary for this story, Donis is not what he seems to be.
Please review and let me know what you think.