Hey guys! Firestorm40 here here and welcome to chapter twenty of Sword Art Online: Legends of Aincrad! This chapter features Shoto and Kirito meeting Recon and a new character, not to mention getting information about the World Tree. On with the story!

(Opening Theme - No Game no Life)

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Sylph's territory: Sylvein

After slamming into the wall, Shoto and Kirito both fell down and hit the ground. Leafa walked over to them, as they were sprawled out on the ground.

"Are you guys okay?" Leafa asked, kneeling between them.

"Do we LOOK alright?" Shoto groaned, rubbing his head. "Damn bananas..."

"That was so not cool, Leafa." Kirito said.

"It's okay. I'll heal both of you." Leafa said, putting her hand in front of her before she started to heal them through some magical incantations.

"Wow, so this is magic?" Shoto asked, as and Kirito were both glowing.

"Only Undines can use high-level healing magic. But that's a really important spell, so you should two learn it, too." Leafa said, standing up once she was done healing them.

"So different races get different bounses? What are Spriggans good at?" Kirito said, sitting up.

"Do you know about the Salamanders too?" Shoto asked, also sitting up.

"Well, for the Spriggans, they're good at Treasure hunting and illusion magic, I guess. Neither of those are much use in battle." Leafa told Krito, before looking at Shoto. "As for the Salamanders, you guys are masters at Fire magic, as well being the strongest race when it comes to physical strength."

Shoto grinned widely at that, then looked at Kirito. "You hear that, Ki? Just when I think I'm a master of badassery, the universe believes I can go even further. I'm a gift to the world!" 

"I hate to let you down like this, but the world wants a gift receipt," Kirito replied, standing up before he helped Shoto to his feet.

"No refunds or exchanges- only store credit," Shoto chuckled. "Plus tax."

After that, they both look around the place. To say it was amazing would've been an understatement.

"So this is a Sylph town? It's pretty." Kirito said, looking all over the area.

"Talk about living the life of luxury." Shoto said, folding his arms behind his head.

"I know, right?" Leafa agreed with a smile.

"Leafa!" a girl with pale, blonde hair tied in a bun shouted as she ran up to them. She was a beautiful female with green eyes and a slender body; long eared with jingle bells attached to her hair wearing a green, black and white outfit with long fingerless gloves and thigh highs.

Beside her, was a male Sylph with yellow-green bob-styled hair and green eyes. He wore a hooded long-sleeved green cardigan, under which he wore a long dark green shirt covered by a dark blue vest, a pair of brown pants with armor around his shins and a pair of dark gray shoes. He also wore a belt with his dagger strapped to its back.

"Thank God you're okay!" The boy called out, waving to her.

"Oh, hey Haru! Recon," Leafa said as the other players came to a stop in front of them. "What's up?"

"I was worried sick about you!" the boy declared. "Did those Salamander thugs get you?" 

Haru snorted. "If she's here, that means they didn't, doofus." She then looked over at Shoto and Kirito. "By the way, who are these guys?"

Recon looked up from his panting at the duo in question and stood up on guard. "A Spriggan and a Salamander!?"

"It's okay. They're with me." Leafa said, waving her hand to dismiss him. She gestured to Kirito and Shoto as she said, "These two guys sent 'em packing in no time."

"Oh yeah?" Haru said as she looked them up and down. Haru continued to look at the two, she had a nagging feeling that she had seen the two some where before but couldn't put her finger on it. 

Leafa saw this and thought that she was trying to set their minds on fire, so she tried to calm her down, "Hey, instead of staring into their souls. How about we introduce our selves and each other, so that way we are on an even plane?" Haru stared at them for a little longer until she let out a sigh "Yeah sure." She said in content, but leaned in towards the two boys and whispers "If you do anything, I will make sure that you two don't breed. Are we clear?"

Shoto and Kirito looked at the girl, before looking at each other and sweatdropping.

Clearing her throat, Leafa spoke, "Anyway, these are my friends, Haru and Recon." She said gesturing to the two Slyphs. She then gestured to the other duo. "And these are two are Kirito and Shoto."

"Hey there." Kirito said, waving at them.

"Yo!" Shoto said with a huge grin.

Haru looked shocked, before she stared with a deadpan expression at the boys. 'Those two are Saito and Kazuto. They look the exact same, they sound the same, they are the same.' She then grew a irk mark. 'Its so obvious it's sad! If they didn't wanna be recognized then they should both have tried harder! I am friends with idiots! How did they save SAO?!' She thought.

Recon walked up to the boys and shook their hands. "Hi, nice to meet you both." He said, before realizaton of what he was doing hit him, as he jerked away and stood on guard again. "No, no, no. They could maybe a spy!"

"Relax, they seemed okay to me." Haru said. 'Idiots, but okay.'

"Yeah." Leafa agreed. "Besides, they're both too dim to be a spies."

"Did she forget we are here?" Shoto muttered.

"That's mean" said Kirito.

 "So, why'd you two come to find me in the first place?" Leafa asked her friends.

"Huh?" the other boy said, nonplussed for a second. "Oh, right! Sigurd and the others were gonna meet up at the tavern up the road to divvy up the spoils from today's job. Aren't you coming?"

"Oh, right..." Leafa said, thinking for a moment. "Actually, I have other plans tonight. I promised I'd buy these two a drink for saving me." She then grabbed both Shoto and Kirito by their wrists and began to drag them along with her.

"Well it was fun talking but we better get going!" She spoke fast, wanting to obviously leave the situation she found herself in. "Later, Haru! Recon!"

Shoto stopped, felling a hand on his shoulder as he passed Hana. While he felt her slip a piece of paper into his open hand, the girl leaned to whisper into his ear. "Read that when Leafa isn't around. Show this to Kirito too."

"What-?" Shoto was going to ask, but Leafa began yanking him again.

"Shoto! Let's go!"

"H-Hey! Watch it!"

"Come on, Recon. We gotta go tell Sigurd." Haru said, grabbing the boy's arm and dragging him away.

"Leafa!" Recon whined sadly, to which both boys felt bad for, but ended up following the blonde anyways.

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XXX

"So was that your boyfriend?" Shoto asked Leafa as their drinks were set out in front of them.

"Yeah, are you two in love?" Yui asked, nimbling on a cracker.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Leafa said defensively, "He's just a party member!"

"You guys seem pretty close, though." Kirito chuckled.

Leafa shook his head. "I just know him in real life, that's all. I don't like him like that."

Shoto and Kirito looked at each other with grins.

Leafa decided to ignore them and raise her mug instead. "Anyways, thanks again for saving me," she said as the two boy clacked mugs with her. After they had all wet their throats, Kirito finally decided to broach the subject that had been on his and Shoto's mind for some time.

"Leafa?" he asked. "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions? About this world and in particular, the World Tree?"

"Shoot," Leafa said with a grin.

"Okay, question one: are players usually that rough in this game?" Kirito asked earnestly. In SAO, if a group of players had acted like the Salamander thugs had, they'd have been arrested on the spot.

"Well for starters, Salamanders and Slyphs have never gotten along," Leafa shrugged. "But those guys were organized, which definitely wasn't happening until recently. I dunno for sure, but if you ask me, it seems like they're gearing up to take on the World Tree."

"That tree..." Shoto muttered. "What do you know about it?"

"Yeah, you guys mentioned that before," Leafa said with a concerned gaze. "Why do you wanna know about it so bad?"

"We wanna get up to the top, soon as we can," Kirito answered.

"Join the club," Leafa chuckled. "Everyone wants to get to the top of that tower. You could say it's the grand quest of ALO."

"Why is that?" Kirito asked while Shoto chugged his drink. Andrew had been able to tell them the basics about the Tower and its rewards, but Kirito wanted details. As a Beta Tester of SAO, he had always wanted as much information as he could get his hands on.

"You know how we've all got a limit to our flying?" Leafa replied seriously. "I know you two are pretty top-notch in terms of power and endurance, but the thing is no race can fly continuously for more than ten minutes... But the first race to reach the Floating City atop the World Tree. And hold an audience with the Fairy King Oberon, will be reborn as an advanced class known as Alfs. And they'll be able to fly as much as they like." 

"Man, unlimited flying...?" Shoto mused aloud. "Oh, the possibilties!"

"How do we get to the top?" Kirito interjected, well aware of how his best friend could end up going on a massive tangent if he wasn't stopped in time.

"Well, there's a dome at the base," Leafa said. "You can reach the Floating City from there. But you also have to make it past the army of NPC guardians that block the way- and they're crazy strong."

"It's that bad, huh?" Kirito said dejectedly.

"How strong are we talking?" Shoto asked, getting excited from the mere thought.

"Let me put it this way," Leafa chuckled. "The game's been out for a year now, right? Nobody's beaten it yet. Not only are the grunts crazy strong, but the one party that managed to get to them was wiped in ten."

"Ten minutes?" Shoto said, confused. "Perhaps not the best of efforts, but-"

"Ten seconds," Leafa corrected the boy, causing the three of them to jerk involuntarily with surprise. "Yeah... All they said was that there was an army of them and killed them as soon as they hit the ground down below."

"Ouch," Kirito winced. "Still, I can imagine a lot of people would be after that reward."

"Yeah, but since it only goes to one person, getting a party together for the quest is all but impossible," Leafa sighed. "Who would want to go through all that trouble and not even get in on the reward?"

"Perhaps everyone is simply missing out on a key quest that would grant them the magic power to defeat the guardians?" Shoto suggested.

"That has been a theory, Everyone's searching for a missed quest as hard as they can right now. But if it's the latter, no one will ever clear it." Leafa said.

"No one?" Kirito asked.

"Because it makes no sense! Why would you help another race with a quest if only one can clear it?" Leafa said, obiviously.

"Then, does that mean it's impossible to reach the top of the World Tree?" Kirito asked, looking down.

Leafa sighed. "I think so, but flying is pretty addictive, so imagine having an unlimited amount! Maybe you two could pull it off- in a few years."

Kirito's fist slammed down on the table, nearly leaving a dent into the wood. Everyone gasped at him in shock as he roared, "We can't wait that long!" Leafa looked up at him with a mixture of fear and awe.

"Daddy?" Yui asked, looking up at him.

"Calm down, pal." Shoto said, as he grabbed Kirito's arm and forced him to sit back down with a grim look on his face as Yui looked at the angry young man with concern. 

"I... I apologize," Kirito said with visible effort. To Leafa it seemed like he was putting in more effort to control his temper than the amount he had put into breaking the table. "I should not have lashed out. But... We have to get to the top... as soon as we possibly can." 

"Uh... Okay..." she said after a moment. "What's the rush?"

"We're... looking for someone," Shoto answered uncomfortably. His red eyes blazed with a silent fire that Leafa found difficult to look away from. "No offense, but... It's hard to explain." Leafa noticed now that both boys seemed inexplicably sad, and she found herself at a loss for words. The forlorn look in their eyes were nearly enough to move her to tears.

Kirito sighed deeply before straightening himself a bit. "Thank you, Leafa," he said quietly. "All the info you gave us is really gonna help." And he stood to go, Yui walking beside him. Shoto wasn't far behind, but the Crimson Fang stopped when Leafa grabbed his forearm.

"Wait," she said, her eyes downcast. "Are you two headed for the World Tree right now?" Shoto looked over at Kirito, who nodded.

"Yeah," Shoto answered. "We need to see for ourselves." And he started to pull away.

"Alone?" Leafa said, her voice rising a little bit as Shoto pulled away and the two swordsmen headed for the door. "That's crazy- it's really far away, and you'll have to fight a bunch of monsters." When they ignored her, she continued, "I know you guys can handle yourselves, but-" She looked up as she realized that they had their goal set in their hearts, and nothing would dissuade them.

And then, she made a decision.

"Hey!" she called in a stronger voice, causing the two of them to pause at the door. "If you want, I can take you there!"

"Thanks..." Kirito began.

"But it wouldn't be right," Shoto said firmly. "We just met, and we cannot ask you to come all that way with us." Kirito nodded in agreement, but Leafa was walking towards them, shoulders hunched and face still downcast.

"Right," she said briskly. "Then maybe you already know how to get there?"

"Uh-" Kirito's point that they could fly was cut off by Leafa's next words.

"Watcha gonna do about the guardians?" she said in the same sharp tone.

"Smash em-" Shoto was also cut off.

"Too late!" Leafa declared, meeting Kirito's eyes firmly. When she looked at Shoto, though, she flushed a bit and averted her gaze, though her voice stayed strong. "My mind's made up!"

"Uhhh..." Shoto grumbled. "Okay, you win."

"So..." Leafa said slowly, finally meeting Shoto eyes once more. "Do you wanna meet up tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "Sure."

"Cool," Leafa said as she opened her menu. "Then I'll meet you here tomorrow at three p.m. sharp. Uh, I have to log out now, so you can rent out a room from the guild for the night, but-"

"Wait." Shoto's voice was abrupt, commanding. Leafa instantly froze. When she looked at him, she was surprised to see him grinning toothliy. "Thanks, Leafa." She smiled at him in return, although in a kinder manner. Then she executed her logout function to return to the world of reality.

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The Real World

Suguha opened her eyes to see a poster of Leafa on her ceiling, flying among the clouds, striking a confident pose. Above her were several birds. She removed her Amusphere and set above her on her nightstand.

"If you want, I can take you there!" As Leafa's words echoed in her mind, she felt the heat in her face rising rapidly. Recon had always said that Leafa was more confident than Suguha, but this was new, even for her. Letting out a loud squeal, she buried her face in her pillow out of sheer embarrassment.

As she felt the heat in her face dissipate after a long, long moment, she mumbled to herself, "Kirito... Shoto... What a weird couple of guys." 

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Back in ALO

"Well..." Kirito said as he sat down on one bed with Yui. "She was... enthusiastic."

"Says the guy that  nearly broke a table without even trying," Shoto chuckled.

"I'll be more careful," Kirito grumbled.

"Meh, don't worry about" Shoto sighed as he sat on the other bed. "But If word gets out that there's a Spriggan and a Salamander working together, it'll be like what happened after the Gleam Eyes all over again."

"Don't remind me," Kirito sighed, before he noticed something sticking out of Shoto's pocket. "Hey Sho, what's that?"

Shoto looked at where Kirito was pointing and saw a piece of paper sticking out his pants pocket. "Oh yeah! This is a note that Haru girl gave me earlier."

"Wow," Kirito chuckled. "First day in ths game, and you already got a secret crush."

"Shut up!" Shoto told him dryly, before he took the note, opened it and began reading it loudly.

"Its nice to see the Black Swordsman and Yellow Fang back in action! It would be amazing if I could work with you two to save Asuna. Leafa and I know the game well enough to help you on your quest. You know my true self along with my game self, which I like to keep separate. But unless you're Shoto, then you wouldn't have guessed that I'm Hana, as I've used my SAO account name just like the two of you. I guess old habits die hard. Even for us survivors, hehe! You have my number, so feel free to hook up with my IRL too!
From: Hana/Haru."

Shoto looked blankly at the note, while Kirito blinked a few times. Suddenly, Shoto's eyes widened in shock. "WAIT, WHAT!?" He exclaimed. "HANA IS HARU!? HARU IS HANA!? I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE PLAYED THIS GAME!!!"

"...Well that was unexpected." Kirito stated after a moment of silence, making Shoto face-faluted off of his bed and Yui giggle.

Shoto sprang back up with a grin on his face, "No kidding! That just means we have a ally inside the game who ACTUALLY knows what they're doing!"

Kirito gained an irk mark as he glared at the red head. "What's that suppose to mean!? I know what I'm doing!"

Shoto snickered as he pointed to himself. "Yeah and I'm a Chosen Key Wielding Warrior!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"You don't make any sense!"

Yui giggled at the duo's antice, before she spoke up. "I guess this is goodbye until tomorrow. Right, Daddy? Uncle?"

Shoto and Kirito stopped glaring at each other and looked at Yui. "Don't worry." Kirito said. "We'll be back soon, to see you again." 

Shoto gave her a toothy grin. "He's right. Tomorrow, we're going to head for the tree, kick some major ass, and save Asuna!"

Yui smiled as she climbed into Kirito's bed, before the lights turned off by themselves.

Kirito looked up at the ceiling. "After we save Asuna, we're buy a house somewhere again, okay?" He said, looking at Yui.

"It sounds lke a dream, living with you, Uncle and Mommy again." Yui said with a smile.

"It isn't a dream. We'll make it real soon." Kirito said with a smile.

Shoto yawned and opened his menu. "Well, I better get some shut-eye. I'll see you two in the morning."  And he then logged out as he bade them a good night, leaving Yui and Kirito alone.

Kirito watched them disappear with a smile before he looked down at Yui.

"I hope Uncle finds somebody amazing like you found Mommy," Yui smiled.

"Me too, sweetheart," Kirito agreed. "Though knowing him, he'll probably end up with someone who's his total opposite. Calm, cool and collected, not to mention, keeping him on his toes."

"That sounds like someone Uncle would be with." Yui laughed, before noticed that Kirito's eyes were closing.

"Goodnight, Daddy." Yui said. "You too, Uncle."

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Yggdrasil

The World Tree, Yggdrasil. The tallest structure in the game, the spot of the first quest and the place. On one of the lowest branches, stood a large birdcage, made of gold. Inside, was a table with two chairs and a large bed. Sitting on one of the chairs, was Asuna. She wore a white long skirt, white strips around her ankles, a white crop that was held by a red ribbon forming a bow and her ears were decorated with gold leaves.

 She was sitting with a sad expression on her face, as some birds flew around. Her face turned to one of annoyance when she heard a voice "That expressions is simply divine Titania. When you're face is ready to burst into tears. If only I captured it." the voice said. The birdcage opened and inside came a man with long blonde hair held by an emerald-decorated crown, green hair, pale skin and green wings. He wore a long dark green robe, a green cloak held by an emerald, silver sandals and his ears were decorated with gold leaves. "You can. After all, you are an administrator here." Asuna said. 

"You're so cold. When will you accept me, Titania?" The man said asked. 

"Stop calling me that!" Asuna said. "Sugou." 

"You're not fun." Oberon, now Sugou, said. "I am the Fairy King Oberon! Ruler of all Fairies and the one the races look up to. And you're my queen, Titania. Why not play along?" he asked. 

The girl closed her eyes "You're wasting you're time. I am Asuna and I will never be your Queen. All I feel for you is loathing and annoyance." she replied, her voiced laced with venom.

Sugou sat on top of the table next to her, grabbing her chin. "You know, I always felt compelled to just... take you by force." he said, as he run his hand along her smooth skin. Even when he started loosening her bow, a look of defiance was still on her face. He stopped, smirking "I am joking. Remember? I promised not to be forceful!" he said, jumping off and going to the edge. "You know, you will soon be coming after me. Your attitude won't last long." he said. 

"Are you sane?" Asuna replied, looking at him. 

"Oh I am. No one, not even those players seem to understand the true power of the FullDive technology, that by stimulating the Limbic System, you can alter thoughts, emotions and even memories!" Sugou said. 

"What! You think you-" Asuna retorted but he interrupted her. 

"Who will stop me? Research like this is already done on multiple countries. But still, ethical and moral issues will arise if I experimented on Humans. But I found a solution! Ten thousand subjects!" Sugou said, as Asuna widened her eyes. "It was easy to use a router and capture three hundred of the ten thousand. And they have given me remarkable results! The progress of changing everything on the brain is almost complete! Kayaba was a fool, but I am not!" Sugou yelled, laughing maniacally. 

"Impossible! Father wouldn't allow it! Never!" Asuna yelled.

Sugou went behind her. "Your father doesn't know. It is a secret project, made by me and a small group. Otherwise, I couldn't market it." he said. 

"Market it?" Asuna asked. 

Sugou nodded " I will sell it to an American corporation for a large sum of money. And eventually I will sell RCT." he said. 

Asuna rose from her seat, "No! I will stop you! I will expose your crimes the moment I get out!" she said. 

Sugou smirked "You know, you're in the same position as the test subjects. I could easily alter your memories." he said, smirking at Asuna's shocked look. However, he was stopped as a message popped up "Wait for my orders. I am coming." he said. "Still, I don't want you to be a doll. I expect you to be more docile next time, Titania." he said, sniffing her hair, before leaving. 

After Sugou left, Asuna fell on her knees, crying, "Save me, Kirito!" she whispered.

To be continued...

(Ending Theme - Light of Hope)

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Finally done! Hope you guys enjoyed this Chapter! Shoto and Kirito have met Recon and suprisingly, Hana as well as more info on the World Tree. Next Chapter our heroes, Leafa and Haru will travel to the Tree to save Asuna! 

Until then, Firestorm out!!!