The Legacy of Dixie : A Revolution's Night Dream

by Frankie-sama

Dixie is a 12 year old girl struggling to survive middle school and life as a lower class citizen. On the eve of her 13th birthday, she gets caught in the middle of a life-changing war. How will she react to her new destiny as a hero of the gods?

The Legacy of Dixie: A Revolution's Night Dream

Chapter I: A New Day

I opened my eyes to the bright morning sun shining into my room, sunlight hot on my face. I stretched my limbs, shaking off a night of heavy sleeping. I sat on the windowpane looking out on the horizon wondering if 'he' was looking at the morning sky too. Suddenly, I found myself thinking, "Why even wake up today when it's gonna be the same as yesterday?" Everyday I find myself struggling with my own conscious, fighting, clawing, to keep the negative thoughts out of my head. My family is poor and can't afford all the things that other kids my age have, so I'm constantly and doggedly made fun of and I hate it, but I deal with it in my own, special little way.

I look at the picture sitting on my dresser and it cuts through all my negative thoughts and feelings, sending my heart ablaze with so many warm feelings. I walk to my dresser and pick it up. I gaze at it lovingly and glossy eyed; it is a picture of my crush, Blue. He's like me in many ways; he doesn't have much, he's an outcast in his family and constantly made fun of, and he's always called 'a piece of low-class trash', but I adore him! I place the picture back down, looked in the mirror, and start combing through my dirty blonde hair. I looked at my reflection in the mirror: big forehead, mismatched colored eyes, long nose, an awkward smile…. Nothing is very interesting about me. Everyone always makes fun of the fact that I have one blue eye and one green eye and that my forehead was big. I was always teased and when I cried, they found amusement in it and kept going, but Blue always stuck up for me. I found myself daydreaming about running through a beautiful, blooming field of flowers with Blue holding my hand, smiling at me and telling me that he loved me. Sadly, it was but a daydream….

I took off my pajamas and put on my favorite beat up black spaghetti strap shirt, faded black skirt, black fingerless gloves, fishnet stockings, and knee high combat boots. I put on my black eyeliner and purple lipstick and said to myself. "It's time to mentally prepare myself for another nerve-racking day of middle school". I looked at my chipped nails and decided that later on, I would give my faded black nails a fresh coat of fingernail polish after school. I heard a knock on my door and a gentle voice saying, "Honey, it's time for you to leave for school". I opened the door and told my mom, "I know Mom; I'm getting ready to head out now". My mom is a short, soft-spoken, and sheepish woman with auburn hair, green eyes, and a heartwarming smile. "I really hope you have a better day today than yesterday", she said. "You didn't have to punch that poor boy in the face". "He made fun of me, embarrassed me, and pulled my hair", I snapped back. "He deserved getting slugged in the face in my honest opinion". "Just try to stay out of trouble please honey", she responded. "Me and your father would appreciate it a whole lot". I just nodded my head, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and walked downstairs. My dad waved as I walked towards the door. He is a tall man whose is skinny but muscular (how does THAT work?). He's always too fully absorbed in his newspaper in the morning to ever properly tell me bye, so I just tell him bye and I love you and shoot out the door. This morning though, he stopped me and said, "Dixie, tomorrow is your 13th birthday. I know your mother and I don't have much to give you, but I hope you love what we are gonna do for you". I shot him a puzzled look and said, "Okay Dad, but you know I will, so why tell me that?"He just hugged me and I walked out the door. As I walked to school, I was hoping that no one would mess with me today, and I was praying that Blue would be there…..

Chapter 2: School Daze

I took the usual drab, long, slow walk to school when I ran into one of the most popular and meanest girls at school, Hana. This girl… She and I do NOT have a pretty history. We have always fought with each other because she makes fun of my unique style in clothing and my social status. We have also been bitter rivals ever since we were younger because I was always better than her in certain things and she would always throw a hissy fit saying that I would pay for embarrassing her. Something about her is off though…. One side of her hair is straight and neat, while the other side is wild and unkempt. She always wore glasses that were missing a frame from them. Hana always had a bit of a split personality, so maybe that's her way of expressing it? "Well well well! If it isn't the low class freak Dixie!" Hana haughtily blasted out as she caught up to me. "Oh yay, it's my best friend in the world Hana!" I sarcastically said back. "Oh and that's the Punk Princess to you." "Like I'd ever be your friend Dixie. You are the least popular person at our school and you always dress like you're going to a funeral!" I shot her an ugly look as I thought of all the ways I could get her back for saying that, and I said, "Who would be friends with YOU anyway, you bipolar mess of an animal?" I watched as her facial expression went sour. I cracked a small, wicked smile and I walked away. As I continued my walk to school, still fuming after my encounter with that hag Hana, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blue streak run by. Once I saw that blue flash, all of my evil, sadistic thoughts of revenge on Hana disappeared. It was him!, I thought to myself. Blue will be at school today! Maybe this day will be better, I hoped to myself.

I finally got to school after the first bell and as always, the head of security at my school was stalking the hallways for tardy students, handing out detentions if he spotted anyone without a hall pass. I snuck passed him and settled into my English class, which was always sooo boring. Today was my lucky day though, because I had eye candy to look at. Blue was in my class, talking to my teacher about homework. I couldn't stop looking at him, with his heart-melting smile. First off, he's very different from anyone we've ever seen before. From what I heard, his dad did some kind of experiments on him when he was born, so now he literally looks like a blue plushy teddy bear. He has a drop dead gorgeous smile and piercing emerald green eyes. He's been saving me for years now from bad guys who wanted take over or destroy everything. He's so courageous, but always made fun of by his family. I've been trying to ask him out for years, but he would always run off. Before he walked out the room, he looked directly at me and waved. I started blushing and waved back. By just looking at me, he made my heart melt.

The rest of my classes before lunch - Science, Math, and P.E. - weren't anything to write home about. My science teacher lazily had us write down elements from the periodic table while he took swigs from his flask, my math teacher couldn't control the class, and we did random exercises in P.E. At lunchtime, I was hoping to catch a moment with Blue so I could talk to him alone when that hag Hana appeared with a bunch of girls. "Remember when you made fun of me this morning?", Hana spat angrily. I snickered and said, "Yeah, what about it?" "Its payback time you useless piece of trash! Beat her head off her little body!" I was preparing myself to fight back, but suddenly my mom's words rung through my head. Just try to stay out of trouble please honey…. Just try to stay out of trouble please…. I froze up as the group of seven girls rushed me, intent on destroying me, beating me within an inch of my life, at the beck and call of my bitter rival Hana. Right when I thought I was gonna get the beating of a lifetime, Blue appeared from seemingly nowhere and stopped the girls' advance on me. "If I were you Hana, I would take your gang of groupies and peacefully walk away without any problems", Blue said in an authoritative voice. "Who the hell are you supposed to be, you blue, low-class freak?", Hana shouted. "Get em both girls!" The girls tried attacking us again, but Blue pushed them all back. The girls looking into his eyes and ran away screaming. Hana, struggling to keep her composure, shouted, "Both of you will feel my wrath soon! I swear it!" She then ran away with the other girls. "Blue", I started. "Thank you for saving my butt back there. I thought I was a goner." I reached to hug him, but he looked at me with serious eyes and he said, "How many times do I gotta tell you, don't call me Blue." I took a step back and asked, "Then what should I call you?" "Call me Banjo. I like it better. It means 'free soul' in the ancient language" I never understood why he hated his name so much, well really, no one did. He once said to a teacher that it had something to do with his dad. When I was about to try and hug him again, he darted off, saying he had to go do something.

I secretly chased after him, curious as to what it is he really had to do. I found him at a secluded part of the school where hardly no one goes to, talking to a man with long hair wearing a white robe. I hid in the bushes so I wouldn't be spotted by them as they talked. "Young Banjo", the man began, "We need you now more than ever. Our country is about to become a far more dangerous place than ever before." "Uncle, what's going on?", Banjo asked. "Is something happening to our clan? " I got a little closer so I could better hear what was being said, and what I heard next, it made me more scared than I've ever been before: "Banjo, for the first time in one hundred years, our people are going to war."

Chapter 3: Banjo & Akiro

"War? Uncle, you must be joking, right?", Banjo pleaded. "I'm sorry nephew, but this isn't any type of elaborate prank", the man responded. "We are going to war with the so-called just rulers of our world. We have suffered for a century too long, and now, we have a chance to change that." "So we have to fight the Akitoki Clan huh?", Banjo asked. "Yes we do. Our Lord has already made the declaration of war. The Shiryu are neutral as they have been the last 150 years, so we don't have to worry about any possible interference from them." Banjo closed his eyes and said aloud, "Okay Dixie, you can come out from the bushes now." I was shocked that he knew I was even in the area! I nearly tripped as I got up from the bushes, but I played it off by trying to crack admittedly corny jokes. "Man Blue, you must have been in sync with my breathing or I farted or something!", I tried to joke. "I can't believe you knew I was hiding there!" "Dixie, don't play around", Banjo said seriously. "I know you overheard everything. Why did you follow me? And why do you keep calling me Blue?" I tried to reply, but my throat felt dry. I couldn't find it in me to speak, but the man in the white robe spoke, "And you must be Banjo's girlfriend!" I turned bright red out of embarrassment. I saw Banjo blush hardcore and trip over all his words, thinking it was cute the entire time. "She's not my girlfriend!", he finally forced out. I decided to joke around and say, "But you'll be mine someday Banji-bear!" He turned around quickly out of embarrassment and just shook his head. "Banjo, why don't you like your birth name?", I asked, shaking out of fear of his response. There was a long silence when Banjo finally said, "My birth name is a derogatory chain placed on me by my father. I hate it so much because everyone treats me like crap cuz of what it means." I opened my mouth to speak, but the man cut me off. "Banjo's name, Blue, literally means 'lower class human being'."

I saw Banjo openly flinch when his uncle said those words, the very definition of his name a target of his clan's insults. "I see why you don't like that name but why did your dad name you that?" As Banjo was about to answer, his uncle sarcastically said, "His father has major problems!" I laughed at what he said only because it cut through the previous heavy tension. "By the way, I'm his uncle, Akiro. It's a pleasure to meet you Dixie." I politely nodded and then turned to look at Banjo. He looked lost and worried, that handsome smile long gone and replaced by a grim expression. He turned to me and said, "I'm sorry Dixie, but I'm gonna have to take a leave of absence from school. This is something that just can't be ignored." When he spoke those words, it felt like something inside me died. I needed Banjo to help me though the days at school. From the teasing, the boring classes, to that bitch Hana, seeing Banjo always helped me survive it all. Without him, I didn't think I could survive school at all. As I stood there shaking and distraught, I found the strength to ask the question I thought was most important in my heart and mind: "Why are you going to war Banjo? I… I don't want you to get hurt…" Banjo and Akiro shot each other a look, and then Akiro looked at me and said, "After school, come to the mansion near the end of Hojo Park. We shall tell you everything then"

Chapter 4: History Lesson

The school day took forever to end, but when it did, I rushed to Hojo Park and stood outside the gate of the huge blue mansion. The mansion was at LEAST 3 stories tall. I looked up at it, wondering how many people lived inside of it. The gates slowly creaked open as a boy with deep grey eyes told me, "My father has been expecting you. Please, come in." I followed him inside and looked around in awe at the sheer size of the hallways. Elaborate, detailed paintings of men with bright blue eyes lined all the walls of the hallway. I asked the boy who they were, and he sarcastically replied, "Didn't you pay attention in your history classes? These men are the former Lords of our great Onikawa Clan." "Oh, so they all ruled over this huge mansion?", I asked. "Yes, and they also ruled over this entire country." I gasped. All these men lead this clan and our entire nation? I never knew that before. Maybe I should've paid more attention instead of staring at Banjo all the time….

The boy brought me into this massive chamber that was filled with books, paintings, a large desk, and a chair turned towards a window. The boy said, "Welcome the Chamber of Lords. All one hundred and fifty Lords have spent 1000 years of servitude to the Onikawa people in this room." I could only stutter at the enormous history inside of this room. 150 people have lived, served, and died in this room. I cursed myself for not bringing a camera to take a picture. "Father, Grandfather, I have brought the girl here.", the boy said into the empty room. "Thank you Little Akiro. We will take it from here.", a voice responded. "You may leave everything to us now." The boy politely bowed and left the room. The chair slowly turned around and revealed Akiro and an older man. "You are Dixie, the child of serenity, correct?", the elder man asked. I looked and pointed to myself in confusion, not knowing who he was talking to or what he was talking about. "Yes, you child. Your name, Dixie, mean 'serenity' in the ancient Onikawan tongue." "How in the hell do you know about me? I've never met you before so…" The man held up a hand. "It's not time for that. We summoned you here to reveal your upcoming destiny in the coming conflicts." I sat down in a chair in front of the desk and listened to what the man had to say. "First of all, my name is Sabre. I am the 150th Lord of the Onikawa Clan. We declared war on the Akitoki Clan because they have oppressed our people for the past 100 years. We have suffered extreme taxation, unexpected military raids, mass genocides to control our population, and have been a target of the Akitoki capitol of Megalopolis' aggressions and angry outbursts of violence." "But why have they done all this to our people?", I found myself angrily asking. "They aim to annihilate the Onikawa and Shiryu Clans from existence.", Sabre replied. I gasped and thought to myself, why would someone want to kill other people with senseless acts of violence? "It's because we have been fighting with the other clans for the past 1000 years."

I looked at him wide-eyed. "Did you just read my mind?" Sabre grinned and said, "Yes I did. You really do think about my grandson Blue all the time, don't you?" I blushed. "Why did you have to say it out loud!", I shrieked. All he did was laugh at how red my face became. "The 3 clans have been fighting for over a thousand years for control of our world. Around 200 years ago was the last time the Shiryu was the ruling house, then the Akitoki began the fighting and we won, becoming the new ruling house. Crushed by defeat, the great Shiryu Lord Fubuki exiled the clan into neutrality and seclusion. No one hears from the Shiryu capital of Fubukiopolis anymore. After 50 years of peaceful control, the Akitoki started the fighting again and murdered the 141st Onikawa Lord to gain control as the ruling house, where they have been for the past 100 years." What caused you to declare war on them this time?", I inquired. "Akihito Akitoki, the son of the Akitoki Lord, has kidnapped and murdered my wife, Blue's grandmother. It was the final straw that broke the camel's back as you say. The young Akitoki has been on the move since the declaration of war was issued. He's headed this way as we speak." "Umm Lord Onikawa, where do I fit into all of this? I still don't understand my place in the conflict that you hinted at." "Young Dixie, I ask you on behalf of our people, to please…" All of a sudden, explosions shook the entire mansion. "What's going on? What was noise!", I shrieked, my heart beating a mile a minute. "The enemy has arrived! They are attacking the city!", someone shouted from the halls. Akiro exclaimed, "They're using advanced airships! They are bombarding the city! We must defend the capitol! Father, give us the word and we'll send Banjo and the others out!" Sabre nodded his head and Akiro vanished from the chamber. I ran out the chamber doors, ignoring Lord Sabre's pleas to remain in his chambers and ran outside the front of the mansion doors. As I slowly looked into the sky above, I saw giant airships blocking out the sun, dropping bombs and explosives all over the city. I looked on in horror as most of the city was already engulfed in flames. Suddenly a dark figure leapt from the airship floating above the mansion and landed in front of me. I looked into his eyes; it felt like I was looking into the eyes of the devil himself…

Chapter 5: Hellspawn

"You insolent child! You are in my way!", the man howled at me. I was paralyzed with fear, my body completely unable to answer my commands to move my legs and run. "If you won't move, then I'll spill your blood all over these grounds!" The man began swiping at me with his hands, which look like an eagle's talons. I moved out of the way of his attack at started running for my life. The man doggedly chased me, slashing and swiping everything in his path. Building, trees, cars, nothing was able to withstand his attacks. He grazed my cheek, making a gash that bled a bit heavily. I picked up a nearby pipe and tried to hit him with it, but he materialized a sword out of nowhere and parried my attack. I tried kicking him but he grabbed my leg, spun me around, and threw me into a wall. I couldn't stand up, I was so dizzy from the spinning. Out of nowhere, a short sword appeared next to me! I rushed to pick it up and when I grasped the hilt, power surged through my body. I charged at the man and found myself holding my own in combat! I attacked with a flurry of slashes and strikes, causing the man to fall back a bit. Suddenly, he erupted in a blood red aura, causing me to fly back, and I hit my head hard on the concrete. "W-why do you…want to kill me?", I struggled to ask. "You will be come an obstacle to our mission if you are allowed to fully awaken your powers, so it's best that I kill you now!" My powers?, I thought to myself. What powers? I'm a normal girl who goes around calling herself a punk princess. I have no special talents unlike Banjo does. The man's movements began to blur. I waited for him to kill me when I heard, "Chaos Sphere!" Banjo appeared and hit the man in his stomach with a sphere of blue energy, pushing him back. "Sorry I couldn't be here sooner Dixie", Banjo said apologetically. "Are you badly injured?" "I'm not that badly hurt", I weakly replied. "Thank goodness." He turned to face the man and yelled, "AKITOKI! WE FINISH THIS NOW!" "Gladly", was all the man said.

Chapter 6: Awakening

Banjo and Akitoki charged at each other with looks of pure hatred towards one another. They started punching each other at incredibly high speeds, vanishing and reappearing at the blink of an eye. I wish I could help Banjo, but my body didn't want to participate."Akitoki, I'm going to kill you here and now for your crimes against my people!", Banjo exclaimed. "If you're so confident in your abilities, come at me. Come at me so I can finally add your name to the list of all the Onikawa that died at my feet!", Akitoki arrogantly laughed. Banjo ran at him at high speed, attempting to do another one of those chaos spheres, but Akitoki vanished, grabbed Banjo by the neck, and slammed him down hard to the ground. I screamed. "BANJO! YOU HAVE TO GET UP! YOU CAN'T LOSE!" Banjo kicked Akitoki off of him, knocked him into the air, and threw a sphere at him, causing it to explode on contact.

I pumped my fist in celebration as I felt that the nightmare was over. I slowly crawled to my feet and limped towards Banjo, but suddenly, he yelled, "Dixie! Get out of the way! It's not safe!" I froze when he told me that. When I started looking up at the sky, all I saw was a blood red flash. Akitoki was face-to-face with Banjo and blasted him at point-blank range with a black energy beam. I wanted to scream my lungs out of constricting fear. Banjo wasn't moving at all. My heart started beating faster and faster… The boy that I've had a crush on for the past 4 years could die in front of my eyes… A burning sensation began stirring deep inside me as my depression over Banjo getting hurt started mixing with the anger and hate I felt towards that demon. Akitoki slowly advanced towards Banjo's limp body as he kept repeating, "You Onikawa as a sad lowly race of inferior bugs." I couldn't take it anymore! I ran towards Akitoki at an increasing speed, which surprised me because I was always kinda slow. I kicked Akitoki in the neck and shot an energy blast at him to my surprise. Whoa! I exclaimed. I was cloaked in a forest green aura. "My powers…", I silently said. "They have awakened. I can do what Banjo and everyone does now." "Damnnit! The girl's powers are awake now!", Akitoki cursed as he rose to his feet. "I just have to kill you faster now! Goodbye!"

I dodged Akitoki's attack and stabbed him in the arm with my sword, causing him to bleed profusely. "Ahhh! DAMN YOU WENCH!", he screamed. "You hurt Banjo, you set my city aflame, and tried to kill me", I proudly spoke. "It's payback time!" Akitoki and I fought a pitched battle, fighting each other over every part of the city. With every punch I land, the more my powers seep out for me to use against this monster. Somehow he snuck behind my blind spot and blasted me with a blood red sphere, burning my back. I doubled over in pain, my eyes stinging from tears welling up. "Stupid wench! You caused me enough pain and trouble!", Akitoki said as he spat out blood. "Now I'm going to send you to whatever god you Onikawa scum believe in!" He charged up a large blast in his hand. Banjo screamed for me to move out of the way, but I was too drained to even hear him talk. I closed my eyes and admitted defeat… Suddenly, I hear Akitoki scream in pain. I opened my eyes and saw that Akitoki was pinned down to the ground by what looked like arrows made from pure lightning. I looked around to see who helped me and I saw a tan skinned boy with long, flowing dreadlocks, violet eyes, and a dead serious expression on his face. "Leave Dixie alone Akitoki. Me and you are gonna settle this now!" The boy summoned thunderclouds to strike down Akitoki with lightning strikes. Banjo weakly muttered, "HE'S here now? Darn it…" The boy picked me up and asked if I was okay, to which I nodded my head. "I'm glad you're alright. Now, it's time to get you home." As he and Banjo bickered all the way to my house, all I could think about was everything that happened today and I wondered who this mysterious boy is….

Chapter 7: The End of Everything I Knew

My parents decided to take me for a day of shopping, movies, and food for my birthday today. I was wearing a pretty black tank top, tight black jeans, and blue and black hightop shoes. I looked at my mom and dad and gave them the most loving smile I ever mustered. "It looks like my little girl is finally cracking out of her shell", my dad said to me. When he said that though, my smile began to fade as I thought about what he said last night at dinner; "Honey, we are in bad times. Our country is as war. I'm sorry if your mother and I can't do much for you anymore. Sometimes, I wish you really were…" He shook his head and never finished that sentence. It's been weighing on the back of my mind, but I want to do is party right now! I'm finally 13!

We went from store to store, I tried on clothes and my parents gave me feedback, although my dad didn't like most of the shirts I tried on. I finally bought a cute black tank top with skulls on it. We traveled through the parts of the city that weren't harmed in Akitoki's invasion yesterday. I still had bruises from my fight with him, but I hid them pretty well with makeup. Everything was perfect; the sky was clear of clouds, there were birds singing, people were out enjoying themselves… Then I bumped into Hana. We exchanged serious looks at each other for a good two minutes when she broke the silence. "Everything you knew, everything you love… it's all gonna to straight to hell. That, I can GUARRANTEE", she said cryptically. She turned around and walked away, leaving me and my parents confused and puzzled.

The three of us continued our walk through the city, still slightly stunned at what Hana told us. We went to go see a movie about a bad guy who adopts kids as his own. I loved it when the little girl got a teddy bear and said it was so fluffy! When we left the movie theater, we headed home. I ran into a couple friends and talked to them for a few minutes as they complimented my clothes. As they were talking, something told me to look up at the sky. I slowly gazed up and screamed in horror as Akitoki was headed right towards me! I told my friends to run away to safety and I braced myself for a fight with the dark beast. "Well hello there, little wench", he smugly said at me. "We meet again. Are you ready to die on your birthday?" My parents told me to run, but I told them that I could take him because I had powers now. My dad said, "You aren't like Lord Sabre or his family! You don't have any powers! Run or he will kill the three of us!" I held firm and told my mom and dad to hide.

I tried to fire an energy blast at Akitoki, but nothing happened. WTF? I exclaimed. Why isn't it working? I tried running at him like yesterday, but I was running like my usual slow self. Akitoki punched me at least a dozen times, then flung me into the middle of the street where cars were zooming by. I struggled to avoid all the incoming traffic, using every ounce of my strength to get back on the sidewalk. Luckily, I had the sword I used yesterday and started swinging wildly at him, but he smacked the sword out of my hands and kicked me in the face. I stumbled around, my face stinging from the pain, trying to find him by touch. He grabbed my tank top, breaking one of the straps, and threw me hard to the ground. He fired an energy shot at me, but I was barely able to block it. I lay on the ground, unable to move, helpless… where did my powers go, I asked myself. I felt foolish to try and take him on by myself. Maybe yesterday was a fluke… I kept repeating that in my head at he walked towards me. Suddenly, my mom and dad came out from hiding and tried protecting me, but Akitoki merely smirked and said, "Just what I wanted!" As my dad lifted me to my knees, he vanished and appeared in from of my dad and impaled him with his bare hand and blasted my mom in the stomach with a powerful energy blast. The street we were on rung with the sounds of his laughter and my screams of terror.

I desperately crawled to my mom and dad, begging them to hold on, to not leave me alone in this world. My dad weakly spoke to me; "Dix…ie…. We love you, but there is something you must know. We were important people. We were the gatekeepers." I was hysterical. "Gatekeepers to what? Please, tell me what you're talking about!" My mom began speaking next; "Dixie, we are proud of what you have grown to become. We just wish you were our real daughter…" I nearly lost it when she said that. "What do you mean by that mom? Of course I'm your daughter!" She replied, "We never wanted to tell you, but we aren't your real parents…" They both passed away in my arms. The tears wouldn't stop flooding from my face as I was alone in the world, with no one to love me, protect me. I gave up on my life and exclaimed, "I give up, and life isn't worth living anymore. Kill me if that is what you want to do. I don't care anymore." Akitoki prepared to kill me like he killed my dad, but his hand was stopped before it could reach me. "I won't let you kill her Akitoki". The boy from yesterday was the one who stopped the dark beast from claiming me. He looked different from yesterday; he was wearing a red shirt, black jeans, combat boots, and his hair wasn't in dreadlock today; it was long and wavy. Banjo appeared, picked me up, and carried me away from the fighting. I saw the boy clap his hands, place a hand on the ground, then stone spikes shot from the earth underneath Akitoki, injuring him. "Luigi, what a showoff! I'm the elder! I'm supposed to do things like that", Banjo said harshly. I looked at him and said, "That's his name? Luigi?" He looked at me and said, "it's the name he was given by Mother. My dirt bag dad likes to call him Prince Luigi." "He's your brother?", I asked curiously. "Yes he is. We're triplets and he's the middle brother. Dixie, are you alright?" I looked into Banjo's eyes and the pain welled up inside me again. I put my head on Banjo's shoulder and started crying uncontrollably.

"My parents are dead, they told me I wasn't really theirs in the first place, I have no relatives, I'm hurt bad, and my birthday is ruined!", I cried on Banjo's shoulder. "I don't have any purpose anymore! I have no reason to live! Why didn't you let him kill me!" I pulled a pocket knife from my back pocket and tried to cut myself, but Banjo slapped it out of my hand. He looked at me and spoke softly, but sternly: "Dixie, you can choose to kill yourself and let your parents' hard work to waste, or you can stand and walk forward. My grandmother was murdered by that same man, but I didn't cower, I didn't have any doubt. I want to stop the fighting as soon as I can, but I know I have many bloody battles ahead of me. You have two feet Dixie. Get up and use them to walk forward. If you decide to stay there and cry, then I can't do much for you. But if you choose to get up and move forward, I'll move with you." Banjo then jumped down and joined Luigi in fighting Akitoki. I thought to myself, I'm 13, I don't have a family anymore, I'm powerless, what can I do? I prayed that the answers would come to me sooner rather than later…

Chapter 8: My First Mission

It's been 3 months since my parents were murdered in front of me. Banjo and his brother Luigi saved me from joining my parents in death. Banjo told me to either lay down and cry or walk forward and make something of myself. I chose to walk forward and grow, grow more powerful than I ever thought possible. I asked Lord Sabre to adopt me into his clan and he agreed as long as I began training to control my powers. I've been under the tutelage of Akiro and Banjo ever since entering the Onikawa Mansion. Training with Banjo has been like a dream come true; he fights with great passion and devotion in his heart and he taught me to do the same. Akiro taught me how to summon my powers at anytime, although he has the odd habit of calling me Kanu. I give him a funny look and he shakes his head in apology. Luigi drops by from time to time to teach me how to manipulate the energy inside my body call "Chaos power". He even showed me the crest of his family on his chest, and Banjo has the same mark on his right arm. Both brothers always tell me that I'm getting stronger, and I feel it because every time I look into Banjo's eyes, I don't feel like that lovesick girl anymore; I feel a great respect and infatuation for him. I love him for saving my life, for helping me change. Now, I'll do everything I can to repay him, to protect him.

-Banjo's POV-

Dixie has improved so much since moving into the mansion. I remember when she first moved in here; she would break down crying whenever she would look at picture of her parents or think about them. She also had no control over her powers, but with the help of Uncle Akiro and Luigi, she has become a natural in the manipulation of Chaos energy. Dixie's growth isn't just physical; it's mental as well. She doesn't eyeball or stare at me anymore, which is a bit welcomed when we train. Whenever I'm not training with Dixie, Uncle, Luigi, my baby brother, and I are out on missions fighting the Akitoki Army, keeping them from invading the capitol city. My work is tiring and dangerous, but Grandfather is counting on me, and I won't let him down! But Dixie…. She's been chasing me wanting to be my girlfriend ever since she was eight, but I never wanted to give up my freedom to be in a relationship. Now though…. I like her, not just a little, but quite a bit. I would like to be her boyfriend, but not now. My duties need me more than love. I must remember my training and push out any feelings of love…

-Dixie's POV-

"Okay you two, open your eyes", Luigi told Banjo and I. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Banjo was standing in front of me the whole time, which caused me to blush a little. Akiro entered the room and said, "How was the training everyone?" "It was very good", I replied. "Ah, that's wonderful! Well Dixie, you have greatly improved in the past 3 months, so its time we sent you on your first mission." My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. I was finally going to go out on a mission! "Who am I going with Mr. Akiro?", I asked. "You are going to go with Team Banjo; Banjo, Luigi, and Miles." I get to go on a mission with Banjo! My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. I ran out of the room and prepared for the mission. After an hour, the group met outside the mansion. Banjo, Luigi, and another boy were talking. "Hi guys! Sorry if I was a bit late, but I had to do some mental preparation", I said. I looked at the boy up and down and found myself saying, "Why are we bringing a cat?" Luigi looked at me and said, "That's our baby brother Miles. He's a member of Team Banjo and now so are you." Miles bowed and said hello. "I have a gift for you Miss Dixie", he said in a childlike voice. He handed me a grappling hook he called a clawshot. I put in my pocket and asked where we were heading for the mission. "We are heading about 150 miles southwest of the Isshin Region, our home country. We're leaving the borders of Onikawa Country to stop a member of the Akitoki Clan who is rumored to be very powerful." I shivered from the excitement of the mission; for the first time, I'm leaving the Isshin Region! We began the trek out of the country borders, not knowing what we could find out there.

We walked for what seemed like forever, and it was hot too! I asked Luigi, "Why do you have that mark on your chest? Is it something special?" "Why yes, it is special", he replied. "It's the mark of our family. See, when our dad experimented on us as newborns, I was the only one to keep my human appearance. My dad kept me and trained me to be the next Guardian of the Chaos Force, the wellspring of all power and life in this world. I became an upper classman, having a large amount of wealth in my possession, while Miles transformed into a cat with two little tails and a middle class citizen because he's the baby, while my big brother here became a bear and was declared a failure by Dad, so he was tossed into the lower class and mocked by my dad. Mom didn't like it and the other members of the Brotherhood aren't fond of it, but what can you do?" Banjo looked like he wanted to punch Luigi in the face for bringing those memories up. He nearly spoke, but suddenly, a cloaked figure appeared and attacked us. Miles tried restraining the assailant with a psychic attack, but it failed. The cloaked figure knocked the boys down and tried to kill Banjo, but I fired my clawshot at him, trapped him, and swung my sword at his face. He was able to move in time, but the hood covering his face was torn. When I saw the person's identity, I was left in a state of shock; it was Hana! She was the Akitoki Clan member we were searching for!

Chapter 9: Hana's Revelations

"I told you that everything you knew and loved would be ripped away from you and it felt good to watch your parents die at Akitoki's feet", Hana exclaimed. She no longer looked like the popular teen queen; she now looks like a beautiful, 30 something year old woman, but her hair was in the same style, clean on one side and wild on the other. "But why? Why are you with the Akitoki Clan?", Banjo inquired. "And why were you in the Isshin Region?" Hana began laughing in a hideous tone. "I was born into the clan with an abusive mother and a warm father. Because of the influences of both of them, my mind split into two sides; my smooth side and my psychotic side. I married Akihito Akitoki when I was 20, and he sent me to spy on the Onikawa, to find out who the Gatekeeper to the path to the Honsho Region was so we could invade in." As she spoke, I froze. She was looking for my parents the entire time, and no one even knew it. "Dixie, I have always held a special place for you in my heart…. A place filled with nothing but hate for you." My eyes widen at hearing that. "And why do you hate me?" "You will become incredibly strong, and I don't want that to happen. That's why it's my mission to personally kill you."

Banjo and Luigi fought Hana first, throwing chaos spheres at her. She dodged them, punched them both in the face, and shot energy attacks at them. Banjo countered by catching her attacks and sending them back at her, directly hitting her. Luigi appeared behind her, kicked her in the air, punched her multiple times, smashed her to the ground, and shot lightning at her. Somehow, Hana rose from the ground and started choking Miles. Banjo hit her in the midsection with a chaos sphere, breaking her grip on Miles. "All of you are very strong, you should join the Akitoki Army", Hana said. "And become a freak like you? No thanks!", Luigi spouted. Banjo, Miles, and Luigi charged at Hana with chaos spheres. Hana did hand signs, touched the ground, and said, "Sunlight Breaker!" Rays of light appeared beneath them, blinding them. Hana turned to me and said, "It's time we settled our 6 year rivalry Dixie!" I drew my blade and I replied, "That sounds perfect." We charged at each other at full speed, fully intent on destroying each other. We attacked each other at the same time. I heard a loud swishy noise, then I felt something dripping. I looked down to see that Hana had ran her hand through my body. She removed her hand and fell backwards; blood started pouring from the wound in my stomach. I saw Banjo regain his sight and looked at me with tears in his eyes. As I blacked out, all I could hear was his screams: "DIXIE! NO!"

Chapter 10: Awakening 2: Reunion

I opened my eyes and everything around me was white and empty. I walked around for what felt like an eternity, calling out for anyone, listening for a reply of any kind. No one or nothing replied back. I started running, trying to find my way out of this eternal white. I realized that my efforts were futile. I started feeling an extreme pain in my stomach, so I put my hand there and felt there was a hole there. I looked down and there really was a hole in my stomach! "Am… Am I dead?", I asked. "Sadly, yes you are Dixie", a voice said in response. "But you have a greater destiny Dixie, greater than you ever thought possible", another voice said. I turned around to see who had said that. I slowly began to see two people materialize off in the distance, so I ran over to see who these people were. I stopped dead when I found the people: "Mom! Dad! You're alive!"

"No Dixie, we aren't alive. We are still dead", my mom said tenderly. "We are here by order of the gods Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu. Dixie, you have been chosen by the gods to be their hero. It is your destiny to bridge the gap between the Onikawa and Shiryu Clans. You will be the savior of both clans, along with Banjo. The two of you will bring both people together in a way that hasn't happened in over one thousand years." I tried to absorb it all in but it was flying over my head. "Wait, so I'm destined to unify two clans who have been fighting for over a millennia? And how exactly am I supposed to pull that miracle off?" "Dixie", my father started, "when we found you as a baby, we knew that you would be the Child of Destiny. We tried giving you all the things you would need to take up that title; a good upbringing, a good education, and a pure heart. I know that after your grandparents died, you became the Punk Princess, but you kept your kind heart. Heck, even after being kidnapped by Akitoki twice, you kept your smile, your heart. That is what will guide you to the unification of the clans." I looked down as I thought about everything I was told. "I guess the Akitoki Clan is marching towards Honsho as we speak, huh?", I said with a forced laugh. "Akihito couldn't get passed the gate, so he had to retreat", my mom said. I looked at her with a puzzled expression. "But if you two were the gatekeepers, then why isn't the gate to Honsho opened?" They looked at each other, then looked at me again. My dad said, "There are three gatekeepers. You are the third one."

I was stunned, I couldn't say anything. "I'm… the third gatekeeper? But how…?" "When you were young Dixie, the powers of the gatekeeper were sealed inside you by a woman with long, flowing blue hair. That power was halved and fractured; half of it went to the three of us and the other half stayed with the woman. Dixie, you are what keeps the Shiryu people safe from Akitoki's clutches and you are what keeps Akitoki from coveting the Chaos Force. Akitoki gained the Chaos Force of Power, that's why he has become so powerful and instigated this war; he wants the parts of the Chaos Force that the Onikawa and Shiryu holds. Dixie, you must protect the Chaos Force and end this fighting!" I looked at my parents, and all I could do was cry. Why didn't you ever tell me things before, I thought to myself. "We had to protect you honey, it was for your safety", my mom replied, reading my thoughts. "But how am I supposed to return and fulfill the prophecy? If we haven't forgotten, I'm dead!" My dad touched my stomach and the hole healed instantly. "It's time we parted Dixie. By healing you, we have given you our pieces of your power back. You are partially awaken now. Use that power to strike your foes and bring justice to the world!" I turned around ready to leave when my mom said, "If you want the remaining answers, in two months time, go to the Honsho Region, find the capitol city of Fubukiopolis, and find the woman we told you about. She will fill in all the missing pieces of the puzzle." I waved goodbye to them one last time, holding back tears, and watched as everything grew bright around me…

Hana shot continuous streams of energy at Banjo and the others, intent on destroying them. Dust filled the ground, obscuring her view of her enemies. "Their all dead", she remarked with a smirk. She turned, ready to fly away, when my clawshot latched on to her back. "What the…?", she exclaimed. I flew out of the dust, my clawshot pulling me towards her. I smacked her in the head five times with my new shield, pulled my sword from her stomach, and started slashing at her. I kicked her away, grabbed her with my clawshot and started firing a storm of energy shots at her. I attacked her more with my shield, hit her towards the ground, and tossed my sword in the air. I did a few hand signs and said, 'Heaven's Rain!" My sword shattered into a million pieces and rained down on Hana, severely gashing and cutting her all over her body. She laid a bloody mess on the ground when she said, "But I thought I killed you… how did you survive?" "Divine intervention", is all I said. As I was about to impale her forehead with my sword, she screamed, "You'll pay for this Dixie!", and vanished when my sword connected with the ground. "This isn't over by a longshot Hana, I just know it…"

Chapter 11: War Games

"You were amazing! How did you do all that Dixie?", Banjo asked, amazed at the beating I gave Hana. "I thought Hana killed you when she impaled you?" I turned around and said, "I was dead, but it was divine intervention that brought me back to life. When I came back, my powers were awaken and I had the Shield of Amaterasu." Banjo picked Miles and Luigi up and said, "I never would've guessed that Hana was an Akitoki spy, watching our every move." "It's mind-blowing", Luigi said. "We must keep our guard up at all times now against any dangers." We all agreed with what Luigi said. Suddenly, I felt a pain in my head and I could see it all; Mobotropolis was under attack! "Guys, the capitol is under attack! We must return and help out the troops!", I screamed. The four of us ran back toward the Isshin border as fast as we could.

It was nightfall when we returned to the capitol, but the streets were barren, the whole city was on fire! Houses were pillaged, corpses were all over the streets, blood was splattered everywhere, every building was burning. Akiro appeared bloody and beaten before us and said, "It was Akitoki… he burned the city looking for the Chaos Force. We were able to evacuate Father to a safer place, but the people…." Banjo's anger was building to a breaking point. "Casualty count is over 500,000! More than half of our clan has been wiped out in the capitol!", the younger Akiro told us. "How did this happen? How was he able to do this?", Luigi demanded to know. "He caught us with our guard down. By sending our forces out to deal with the heavy-hitters of the Akitoki Clan, Akitoki came in unopposed and decimated the capitol." I looked around and took in all the destruction around. Everything was gone, and it was Akitoki and Hana's faults! I'll beat them both, I swore to myself. Suddenly, a fiery figure burst through the sky! "Banjo! Give me the Chaos Force!", they screamed. The figure landed in front of us and revealed itself; a badly bruised Akitoki!

"Go round up the survivors and wounded, and take them to the hospital near here", Banjo told everyone. "I want Akitoki one-on-one." "I'm sorry Banjo, but I have stake in this too", I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. The others did as Banjo asked and tended to the wounded, while Banjo and I bickered about my involvement in the fight. Akitoki charged us as we bickered, but I hit him with my clawshot, pulling myself towards him and hitting him with hilt of my sword. Banjo then ran up and hit Akitoki in the air and shot a chaos sphere at him. Akitoki brushed it off and shot a barrage of energy at us. I ran towards a collapsed building and found a bow and a bunch of arrows. I picked them up and got Akitoki's attention by calling him a pig. He flew at me, I steadied my aim (I have never used a bow in my life!), shot him right in the arm, causing him to fall out of the sky. I flew up into the sky and proceeded to shoot him with arrows. Akitoki rolled out of way and got to his feet. "You have both gotten stronger, I must admit it", he smirked. "But all the death and carnage around us, I did it all with my bare hands. Do you believe you children can stop you?" Banjo replied with the evilest look on his face; "I've beaten you many times before you changed, and I can beat you now!"

Banjo began glowing in a malevolent, pale blue light. His eyes changed color from the gorgeous emerald green to a pale, almost evil shade of blue. He vanished, then appeared in front of Akitoki and smashed him through a building. He appeared again in front of Akitoki's falling body, and smashed his face through the side of a building. I looked on, scared, terrified… what happened to the nice, gentle Banjo that I loved. "He hasn't fully awaken to it yet, but his more internal power is stirring now", Akiro said. Banjo materialized a scythe in his hands and nearly sliced Akitoki in two, but he vanished at the last possible second. "This fight is nowhere near over you blue menace!", Akitoki screamed. "You have been a thorn in my side for the past six years! It's time that we finally settle the score!" Akitoki held up his left hand, and a bright light emanated from him, covering him in a blood red aura. Banjo looked on, unflinching at the unfolding events. Banjo and Akitoki flew towards each other, the sky lit up in multiple colors. When their fist connected, the entire city was blinded in a bright light…..

-Banjo's POV-

"I'm soo glad you're awake! Everyone thought you were dead!" That's Dixie's voice, I said to myself. I slowly rose from the bed, my body wracked with pain and heavily bandaged up. "What happened Dixie?", I asked. She looked at me with a confused look and said, "You don't remember anything that happened?" I shook my head and looked at her, as if she knew all the answers. "Your eyes turned pale blue and you started acting very reckless and destructive. You almost killed Akitoki, but he hit you with his Mortal Buster technique and you've been here asleep for the past two months." Wait, the past two months? "I've been unconscious for the past two months?", I asked her. "Yeah you have. Akiro and Miles said that whatever transformation you went through nearly drained all your Chaos Energy, nearly killing you, and Akiro always said you had a ton to begin with." I can't believe I lost two months of precious time to that bastard Akitoki! "I have to get back to duty! I've lost too much time…", but when I tried to get up, my body collapsed in pain. "Ah! Goddamnit all!" I fell back on the bed and Dixie scolded me, "Why do you always push yourself Banjo! You're obviously not healed yet!" I looked at her and asked, "Dixie, were you here by my side the entire time?" She looked me in the eyes and said, "Yes, I was. When I got done with missions, I immediately came back here and sat in this room, hoping you would wake up. I even began sleeping in here, praying you would wake up someday." I reached for her hand and said, "There's something I want to tell you. I want to tell you why I am the way I am."

Chapter 12: The Origin of Blue

-13 years, 8 months, 2 days ago-

"3 beautiful baby boys! I can't believe it Laura!", a man said, holding the three boys in his arms. He was a tall man with lavender eyes and dreadlocks. He dressed like someone out of a science fiction novel. "It's a miracle! I love all of them! What shall we name them, Locke?", the woman said. She was beautiful with sparkling blue eyes and long silver hair. "The last born, he holds some power in his body. I shall call him Miles", Locke said. "Miles… mind-reader. I love that name", Laura replied. He looked at the middle child and said, "My, this child has much potential! Power flows from his small body! I shall name him Luigi!" Laura looked at Locke and said, "You are naming him a godly prince? Why?" Locke ignored her and looked at the boy on the left. "My eldest son… you are very plain. You have no power at all? This will not do! I will name you Blue!" Laura looked at him with pure disgust. "How dare you call your oldest son low class trash!" Locke looked at her fiercely and said, "I will call him what I feel he is! One of these boys will succeed me as Guardian, and I must make sure they are strong enough! End of discussion!"

That's how I got my name, because at birth, I held no power in my body and I looked very plain. At birth, my father didn't like me, and he wanted to get rid of me. My mom resented him for it, and he tried to experiment on us, but my mom blocked his every attempt until one day, my mom left on a mission for The Brotherhood when we were 3 months old…

"Now that Laura isn't around, it's time I finally created the perfect Guardian!", Locke exclaimed with childish glee. He picked the three of us up and took us to his laboratory where he performed many experiments. He hooked the three of us up to some sort of machine and began pumping us full of raw Chaos Energy in amounts that would kill normal people. "Yes, it is working! The Chaos Energy is reacting with their bodies!", Locke gleefully yelped. Our eyes began glowing as the raw energy coursed through our veins. Locke turned off the machine after five minutes of injection and returned us to our playpen. "Soon… soon, one of you will reveal who will have the power to be the next Guardian!", Locke said, sitting down in a chair. He started watching us obsessively, waiting for one of us to show off our Chaos Powers…

You're probably wondering, why would my dad do that to his own sons? Unlike the Guardians that came before him, my ancestors, who infinitely put family before their duty, my father put his duty far ahead of us. He only cared about making a Guardian stronger than any before him. He is a horrible parent indeed…

-Two years after injection-

One day, Luigi, Miles, and I were playing together, when all 3 of us started feeling very sick. Mom ran outside and put all three of us to bed where we stayed for 5 days. On the 5th day, we got out of bed and Luigi suddenly spat out fire! "Mommy! Daddy!", Luigi screamed. "My mouth is on fire! What is happening to me?" Mom and Dad came running out of their room and asked us what was going on. "Luigi breathed fire! It was awesome!", I said. "Luigi, could you possibly do it again?", Locke asked. "Ummm I can try Dad. Why?" Locke didn't say anything back. Luigi opened his mouth and blew out a stream of fire, putting a huge smile on Locke's face. Miles felt to one knee, clutching his head in his hands. "My head hurts really bad! What's happening to me…?", he screamed. Everything in our room started floating in the air and then fell down to the floor with a loud crash. "Ah! Miles has telekinetic powers! This is a magnificent discovery!", Locke exclaimed, nearly jumping for joy. Mom began eying Locke suspiciously, knowing he did something to us. I didn't show any special powers, which earned a spiteful look from Locke. Suddenly, Miles and I began screaming, complaining that if felt like our bodies were being ripped apart. Mom screamed a blood-curdling scream, while Locke looked on with an amused face. Luigi complained of his eyes hurting, so he closed them. When he opened them again, his eyes had changed color from brown to violet. My mom nearly freaked, but Locke was smiling from ear to ear. Me and Miles weren't so lucky, as Miles mutated from human to a cat with split tails. His eyes changed from a dark brown to sky blue. I mutated from human to a bear covered in blue fur. My eyes were once light brown, now they were emerald green. My mom cried her eyes out when she saw this, so Locke took her out of the room to try and comfort her.

Later that night, the three of us couldn't sleep, so we stayed up and watched TV. Miles started hearing voices, so he told me to mute the TV. I picked up the remote and hit mute, and when I did, we could hear everything clearly. "How could you do this to our sons? You promised me you wouldn't do anything to them Locke!"

"It had to be done Laura and you know that! We must raise a Guardian worthy of the Brotherhood! It is my duty!"
"That's all you ever talk about Locke is your duty! You make it sound like you love your job more than your wife and sons! How long ago did you experiment on them Locke? How long has it been?"

For a few moments, there was silence, but then he finally said, "It's been two years since I performed the experiments. Luigi looks like he will be next in line! Miles has much potential, but Blue is completely worthless to me. He's the oldest! He should be the one I'm picking!"

"That is it Locke! I've put up with you for 15 years, but I cannot do it anymore! I want a divorce from you and I want the kids!"

From that day forward, everything changed. Mom and Locke divorced, but she couldn't win custody of us. We stayed with Locke, and when we were three, he began our Guardian training. He was very harsh on us, not allowing us to have any friends or talk to anyone. We already lived on a floating island in the sky! Why punish us more by cutting us off from the outside world? When we turned five, Locke showed us his true colors….

-8 years ago-

"Okay boys, that's enough training for today", Locke told us. "Today is the day that everything changes for the three of you. Luigi, you are the strongest of your brothers, so you will be continuing your training with me. You are a prince my son, so you shall be treated like one from here on out, you are an elite!" Miles and I looked at each other, then Locke walked up to Miles and said, "My son Miles, you have limitless potential! Your powers are developing very well, but I cannot continue your training. I shall send you to my twin, your Uncle Akiro, down on the mainland. You are a middle classman through and through! Make me proud son!" Locke turned to me and scowled. "Blue, you showed me no progress whatsoever! You are the weakest of the three! I'm kicking you out, low class scum! I gave you the perfect name; you're so useless!"

I left for the mainland the next day and stayed with Uncle Akiro. My whole life, I had been picked on and called low class trash, but I never gave up. I always strove to be the best that I could be. I could never fail or falter in my goal. As Uncle trained me, he always told me to push my personal feelings to the back so I could be an effective warrior. Akitoki and I first met when I was 6 and I thwarted his plans then. We became rivals as he always wanted to best me and control the world. He even kidnapped you to accomplish that goal!

"That's my story", I finished. I looked at Dixie and she was crying. "Why are you crying Dixie? It's my life, there's no need to shed tears", I said. "But I can feel that pain Banjo! Your dad is an evil man for doing that to you all!", Dixie cried out. We leaned towards each other, moving closer and closer… I'm finally gonna kiss her, I said to myself. I've never been kissed before, I wonder how it feels… We were just inches away from each others' mouths. Finally, the hallelujah moment I've been waiting for….

Chapter 12: Banjo & Dixie

"Everybody! Banjo's awake now!", Miles screamed, causing Dixie and I to pull away before we kissed and turn red from embarrassment. "Big brother, I thought you would never wake up again! Don't scare me like that again!", Miles barked at me. "Mom found out about you getting hurt, and she's here." My eyes widened. "Mom's here? She's really here?" I haven't seen Mother in 4 years. Tears flowed from my eyes when she entered the room, she hasn't aged a bit since I saw her last. "Blue, my son… its been far too long since we saw each other last", Mom said, hugging me. I hugged her back, missing the way she would put so love into her hugs. "Blue, Dixie, you both have a mission to attend to." Dixie looked at her with a shocked expression. "But Banjo just woke up! He hasn't fully healed yet!" Mom looked at Dixie with gentle eyes and said, "I know, but this is a joint mission from The Brotherhood and the Onikawa Clan. Blue is needed for his speed and battle intelligence, and you are needed because you are the Gatekeeper."

-Dixie's POV-

I gasped. "How did you know I was the Gatekeeper?', I demanded to know. "I was very close to your parents. They confided in me everything. By the way, I'm Laura of the House of Edmund. Nice to meet you Dixie", she said. I just looked at her with a blank stare and asked, "What is the mission Miss Laura?" She put down a notebook and began explaining: "In the two months that Blue was unconscious, Akitoki recovered and destroyed the gate to the Honsho Region. He is now leading a force of 50,000 troops to Shiryu capitol. Spectre, Sojourner, Locke, and Luigi of The Brotherhood have gone on ahead to try to intercept them. The two of you must go to the Honsho Region and stop the advance! Will you do it?" Banjo got out of bed and stood next to me. We looked at each other and we both said, "Yes! We are up to the task!" Laura told us to prepare and head out in two hours. Before we left, Laura left us with a warning: "Be careful out there. The way to Honsho is very dangerous with snowy mountains and frequent snowstorms and avalanches. Always be on your guard."

Banjo and I headed off in the middle of the afternoon. His body was still somewhat bandaged up as he wasn't able to remove it all before we departed. "Banjo, are you sure you can handle this mission? You can always turn back and I can go it alone", I asked him. He shot me his gorgeous smile and said, "Heh, I'm perfectly fine! There's no need to worry about me, besides, I couldn't let you go alone!" I knew he was only putting up a front, trying to sound tough when he was still hurting. He couldn't fool me at all with the tough guy act. The more we walked, the colder it got, so we put on our snow jackets and continued our hike. "What do you think it's like in Honsho?", I asked Banjo. "I don't know honestly", he replied. "No one outside the Shiryu Clan has been there in over 150 years. It'll look like a foreign place to us I bet."

As we climbed the mountains, a blizzard began raging about with high winds and heavy snow. "We must take shelter in a cave, it's our only hope", Banjo said. We walked a bit more, until I got the uneasy feeling that we were begin followed. I turned my head slightly and saw, out the edge of my peripheral vision, someone wearing a mask and heavy coat duck out of sight. I looked at Banjo and whispered, "I don't think we are on this mountain alone…" Banjo leaned towards me and said, "Keep your guard up. This isn't the right place to pick as a battlefield. If we cause an avalanche, we could be killed." We continued walking and spotted a cave where we could rest until the storm blew over. We headed for it, but then, boulders started falling from the sky! Banjo and I dodged as many as we could, but Banjo was hit in the side with a piercing energy attack. I looked up and it was that guy in the mask I saw earlier! I flew up and tried to attack him, but he got away! I dragged Banjo to the cave and laid him on the ground. As I looked outside at the raging snowstorm, I wondered if this mission could get worse…

Chapter 14: Banjo & Dixie 2: The TRUE Hallelujah Moment

Banjo laid unconscious in my arms, there was a raging blizzard outside, and a masked assailant is stalking around outside. I wondered if things could get any worse, then I heard explosions ringing outside and large amounts of snow being dislodged from their original places. "Oh no, please tell me that an avalanche isn't happening right now!", I said to myself. The entrance of the cave was covered in snow and ice, and the temperature began rapidly falling. I covered Banjo and myself up and cried, hoping that things couldn't possibly get any worse…

The cave's ceiling began collapsing as a hole was blown into it! From the hole, the masked assailant entered the cave and started attacking me. I pulled out my sword and shield while he used a dagger. I fought him for what felt like forever. I stabbed him in the arm, and he stabbed me in my hand and side. When I blasted him in the back with an energy attack from my sword, he retreated, but I swore I saw that long hair somewhere before…. I ran to Banjo's side and whispered to him, "I guess we're both gonna die here huh?" I wrapped myself around him to keep us both warm and wait for the inevitable frozen death. After 20 minutes of sitting there in the cave alone, Banjo woke up. "Hi sleepyhead. Enjoy your nap?", I asked him. "Dixie… your hand, your side! What happened to you?", he asked. "That masked guy, he blocked the entrance to the cave, and then he busted through the roof and attacked me!. Guess we're both hurt huh?", I replied. Banjo nodded his head in agreement. We sat in silence for awhile until I finally decided to break the silence…

"Banjo, there is something I want you to know", I started. "Ever since I first met you back on the Little Planet when Akitoki first kidnapped me six years ago, I've had a huge crush on you. I've wanted to get stronger to protect you like you've always protected me, but now, I also wanna grow stronger to fulfill my part of our greater destiny. Banjo, I don't care about your past, I don't care about what people call you, I love you for who you are, and well, I hope you feel the same way about me…" Banjo didn't say anything for a minute or two. I knew it was a bad idea to tell him that, I thought to myself. "I feel the same way", he finally said. We met each other's gaze and he said, "I always ran away from you because I always liked you. I had to continuously push my emotions in the back of my head to be the perfect warrior, but I couldn't control it anymore, so I ran away from you whenever you asked me out." We must've read each other's thoughts, because at the same time, we said, "I love you". It's time… It's finally time…. We moved closer and we finally, after all these years, kissed each other. We kissed for minutes on end, the TRUE Hallelujah Moment….

We finally stopped kissing and I said, "I don't wanna die in this frozen hell. How are we gonna get out of here?" Banjo stood up and rammed a chaos sphere into the blocked entrance. "I'm gonna smash my way out of here!" I watched as he grinded away at the snow and ice. I got up, pulled out my sword, and started slashing away with him. We were at it for an hour with very little success, when Banjo suggested, "Dixie, lets used a combined chaos sphere!" "how can we do that?", I asked. Banjo held my hand and interlinked out fingers. Our faces turned bright red as we told each other, "I love you". We formed a giant chaos sphere and slammed it into the frozen barrier. After a few seconds, we broke through and ran outside. The blizzard had let up a bit and we kissed each other in triumph, but our victory was cut short. The masked man appeared and threw an energy blast at us. I retaliated by shooting an arrow at his face, taking off his mask and revealing his true identity: Hana.

Chapter 15: Banjo & Dixie 3: Unexpected Savior

"Hana! But I thought Dixie killed you!", Banjo exclaimed.

"I'm kinda hard to kill, Blue Boy. You should've guess that by now", Hana spoke, scars on her face from our last encounter. "This time, both of you are all alone and banged up. You can't be in any shape to defend against my attacks!"

"We'll see Hana! You have a bad record in closing the deal", I boasted. I took out my sword and shield and charged at Hana. She floated into the air and I followed her, slashing at her with no regard for my own safety. Hana dodged all my attacks and knocked my shield out of my hand. "There is no more need for that dingy thing in this fight", Hana smirked. She punched me in the stomach, causing me to bleed internally. I swung my blade at her once again, but she grabbed my hand and slammed my face first into the ground.

"Dixie, as I always told you in school, you could never be as good as I am", Hana gloated. "I am on a completely different level than you are! Just give up and let me slowly kill you". I fought back, hitting her in the face with the hilt of my blade. I wasn't giving up now or ever to Hana! I caught her in the neck with my clawshot and punched her in the face a couple times. Banjo jumped up and took over the fight, hitting her with a chaos sphere in the stomach. Hana felt to the ground, motionless.

"We did it! She's finally down for the count!", I exclaimed, jumping for joy. Banjo walked towards me, giving me a thumbs up and said, "We did a pretty good job surviving! Let's get to the Honsho Region now!

We were ready to take off, but Hana rose from the ground with a crazed look in her face and repeatedly saying, "Onikawa scum! I'm not dead yet!" We looked back in disbelief that she was still alive.

"What does it take to kill you, garlic and a silver bullet?", I moaned. Suddenly, everything around me began to blur. Hana began beating me relentlessly, giving me no room to defend myself from her assault. What's going on here, I thought to myself. Did she get faster, or did I get slower? She slammed my body onto the rocky ground, scratching and tearing my body all over. She made sure I was down by placing some sort of wire made from chaos energy around my body, effectively paralyzing me. I had to watch at she slowly picked Banjo apart, crushing his ribs and breaking his hands.

"You both never stood a chance against me! I transformed ya know!", she gloated.

"Transformed? What do you mean by transformed?", Banjo asked.

"Ugh, I have to explain everything, don't I? Fine. I have three levels of my power: normal, semi-psycho, and insane. I'm currently semi-psycho, which is why you both are gonna die right here, right now!", Hana exclaimed. Her movements blurred again as she continued her attack on Banjo. She pierced him in the wound she inflicted earlier and Banjo fell to the ground, writhing in pain. She threw his body over to where I was and slowly began floating into the air.

"I guess this is the end, huh Dixie?", Banjo struggled to say.

"I don't want it to be, but there is nothing else we can do huh?", I pathetically said.

Hana prepared to kill us both, an insane look of murderous intent painted on her face, when suddenly, she was shot in the back and fell to the ground! We both looked to see who was it that saved our butts and discovered that it was a boy who rescued us...

"Hana, you and Akihito are traitors to the throne. I have come to kill you myself.", the boy spoke with such conviction. He looked a bit younger than us, he was a tad on the short side cloaked in all black with blue hair and piercing blue eyes. Hana slowly rose back to her feet and turned her head to the boy and started cursing.

"YOU! But I thought you broke all ties to our clan?", Hana demanded to know.

"I did, but remember, I have a issue with you and that pretentious fool Akihito", the boy rebutted, walking towards Hana at a calculated pace. Hana and the boy began fighting, at first Hana had the upper hand, but slowly, she began to realize that her attacks were having no effect on the boy.

"Poor Hana. Your attacks feel like flies bouncing off walls", the boy arrogantly said. "Hana, you are such a bitch."

"W-what did you say you little runt?", Hana said, in obvious despair.

"I gotta agree with you there!", Banjo exclaimed.

"I'm going to put you out of your misery now. It is time for your life to end now. I summon you, the Hell Blade of Tenebrae!"

A blade cloaked in black flames appeared in his hand and before Hana could react, he sliced her in half, blew her up with a chaos sphere of darkness, and threw her body into a frozen lake. He walked towards us and set me free of Hana's trap. I picked Banjo up and prepared ourselves in case the boy tried to attack us.

"Do not worry Onikawas. I have no intent on fighting you. I am no longer a member of the Akitoki. They are on a crash-course with death and destruction.", the boy said. He healed our wounds and was about to walk away when I asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Noctis. I am a former member of the Akitoki Clan. I left because Lord Arnemus allowed his so to start an unjust war. I have no allegiances, but I will take you to Honsho. Follow me."

After an hour of walking, we arrived in on the edge of Honsho territory. "This is where I take my leave. The Guardian and his companions are already engaging the enemy. Be careful", Noctis said. Banjo and I waved goodbye and he took off running. We began running and arrived at the scene of a huge battle. Banjo looked closely and yelled, "It's Luigi! He's down there! He needs our help!" I nodded and we took off running towards the battlefield.

"Banjo, Dixie! Glad you two are here!", Luigi said, bleeding a bit from his mouth and his clothes torn and tattered. Two girls, one in black and one in white, fought off horde of soldiers by themselves.

"You always get yourself in horrible situations Luigi, but that's why big brothers are here to bail the younger ones out!", Banjo joked.

"Hope you can keep up Blue. I'll take out more than you can, and you have super speed!", Luigi shot back.

"Boys, stay sharp! We got trouble...", I said. A large wave of soldiers were advancing towards us. I pulled out my sword and shield and prepared for a fight...

Chapter 16: Shiryu Mysteries

About 100 soldiers charged at us, but Luigi cut ahead of us and struck them down with a stream of lightning bolts. He then grabbed a person and slugged them in the face. I ran into a crowd of soldiers, charged my chaos power into my blade, and unleashed it in a massive spin attack, blasting them away. Banjo jumped in the air and started raining down chaos spheres on the battlefield, hitting everything in sight. The girl in black zipped around at high speeds, cutting down her foes with a dagger. The girl in white transformed into a tiger and savagely ripped through her opponents.

"How many more do we have to go through?", I asked, breathing heavily.

"I don't know! They just keep coming!", Luigi shouted.

"We just have to keep fighting! Hold up guys!", Banjo tried to encourage us.

"Lu-Lu, we're starting to run out of strength! What are we gonna do?", the girls said together.

I continued to slash and smash my way through the never-ending stream of soldiers, hoping and praying that they would soon cease their advance. I attached bombs to my arrows and shot them into the crowds, watching them blow up and bodies fly through the air. The girls continued their combined assaults while Banjo and Luigi teamed up to take out multiple waves. After a few more minutes of nonstop fighting, we all fell on the ground, exhausted from all of the continuous fighting.

"Damn... it looks like it's the end for us...", Luigi said, as the five of us huddled together as the endless troops surrounded us. Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a spear hit the ground and electrocuted every Akitoki troop around, causing them to disappear. We looked around for the person who threw the weapon. I looked to the left of our position and saw a beautiful woman with long, flowing blue hair that touched the ground and a visible green left eye.

"Are the five of you alright?", the woman asked, walking towards us.

"Yeah, we're fine", Banjo replied. "We're fatigued and a little battered, but we are okay for the most part."

"Who are you people, and what are you doing here?", the woman asked harshly.

"I'm Banjo, future hero of the entire Onikawa Clan!", Banjo said with a confident smirk.

"Luigi, current Guardian of the Chaos Force. The girl in black is named Raven and the girl in white is named Madeline. They are my assistants", Luigi explained. The girls respectfully bowed to the woman.

"I'm Dixie. I was the Gatekeeper to this region, but Akitoki somehow broke through...", I said. When I said my name, the woman's eye widen and muttered under her breath, "Is this the same girl standing before me...?"

She looked up into the sky and said, "The clouds above Fubukiopolis looks very ominous... I must return to the capitol at once."

"Wait! Please, tell us your name", I asked. "I want to know the name of the person that saved us."

She stood silent for a moment and finally said, "My name is Kanu. Kanu Shiryu."

My eyes widened as my mind flashed back to whenever Akiro-sempai called me that. Who am I to this woman? Why am I always mistaken for her? Why is my heart racing being around her?

Chapter 17: Who is Kanu Shiryu?

"It's been a very long time since people from outside the Shiryu Clan have been in Honsho. What do you wish to accomplish by coming here?", Kanu asked us.

"We came here to stop Akitoki! I know your people are neutral in the conflict, but Akitoki could appear and start a massacre", I replied.

We walked through the countryside looking at the scenery. Well, the others were, I was too busy looking at Kanu as I walked behind her. She had to be in her early 40's, but she still looked like she was in her late teens. She was very curvy with an ample bosom and walked seductively. She was dressed in a short blue shirt which showed off her toned abs, tight blue jeans, and hightop black and white shoes. Something about her made me feel very weird inside... My stomach was in knots, I was sweating, my head was killing me when it normally doesn't, and my heart and pulse were racing a mile a minute. She would make direct eye contact with everyone but me. Did she hate me? Did something about me offend her? I had all these questions, but no answers.

"Where are we heading?", I finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"We are headed for the Shiryu capitol city, Fubukiopolis, named after the greatest Lord our clan has ever had", she answered. She didn't even look at me. This is really starting to piss me off!

After some time, we arrived in the capitol. It is much bigger than Mobotropolis! There were skyscrapers everywhere you looked and you constantly had to look up to see the buildings!

"I wish Grandfather and Uncle Akiro would spring for buildings this big!", Banjo excitedly exclaimed. Kanu shot him a look and I heard her mutter under her breath, "Akiro... you're still alive. Thank goodness..."

"Lady Kanu! How are you today?", people crowded around asking.

"Hello everybody", she politely responded. "How is everyone doing?"

The five of us huddled up while Kanu was busy talking to the crowd. Before we started speaking, I looked back at Kanu again and noticed that her right eye, which was always covered by her bangs, was showing a little. I swore I saw a little hint of blue in her eye, but as fast as I saw it, her eye disappeared behind her bangs again. I shook my head and returned to the huddle.

"Okay guys, I say we split up and try to find information about Akitoki", Banjo said.

"I'm down for it. Me and the girls are gonna go together and find out info", Luigi threw out there.

"Alright! Meet back here in one hour! Make sure you guys come back with info!", I said. We split up in three directions and disappeared in the crowd.

-Luigi-

"Lu-Lu, don't you think these flowers are soo pretty?", Raven asked, picking up a pot full of daisies.

"Awww they smell so wonderful!", Madeline said, sniffing them.

I turned towards the girls and asked, "Raven, how did you escape The Legion?"

Raven looked at me with a face that screamed 'why did you ask that' and said, "I escaped with help from you dad. He saved me at attacking the Legion stronghold. I'm glad he did because I missed you and Madeline!", she said, giving us both a big hug.

"I'm glad I get to serve you Lu-Lu because you're so awesome and handsome!", Madeline said, kissing my cheek.

"Remember, we're on a mission girls. Keep your focus now", I said to the girls. We continued walking and we stopped at a fruit stand.

"Hello kind sir, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately?", Raven asked.

"No, everything has been very quiet here in the country, as it has been for nearly two hundred years!", the man happily replied.

"Hey, umm what can you tell us about Kanu Shiryu?", Madeline surprisingly asked.

"Lady Kanu? She is a fierce warrior that has killed many innocent people with her bare hands! That's why everyone respects her so much, but that's what I heard", the man answered.

We walked away from the man's stand and Madeline said, "Fierce warrior? Innocents killed? That doesn't sound good to me!"

"Did you look at that guy's eyes?", Raven asked. "They are like that girl whose with us, Dixie right? They're mismatched colors!" We looked at the man's eyes and they were in fact red and green.

"Alright girls, let's continue our mission", I said.

-Banjo-

It's a lot easier to do things when you have super speed! I darted across from place to place, asking people if they've seen Akitoki at all, but they keep giving me the same answer: nothing has happened in nearly 200 years. Crap, this is gonna be harder than I thought, I said to myself. I walked up to a maid spinning thread and asked, "Have you seen a man named Akitoki?"

"Uh no I haven't. I'm sorry young man", the woman said to console me. I was about to walk over to another place, but I turned around and asked, "What do you know about Kanu Shiryu?"

"Lady Kanu is a saint! She makes public visits all the time and she always makes sure to give to the less fortunate members of our clan. The children love her and she is a role model to all of us! We simply adore Lady Kanu and we're blessed to have her as a leader for our clan!", the lady preached. I bowed and walked away, but turned my head to look at her eyes; blue and brown. Her eyes were mismatched just like Dixie. I continued my search, with more questions than answers...

-Dixie-

I wandered around, shimmying my way through the huge crowd, going from stand to stand asking if they saw or even heard of Akitoki, and I kept getting the answer of no. I was about to give up when I went to the stand of a doctor giving his patient medicine.

"Mr. doctor, by any chance do you know a man named Akitoki?", I asked, fully expecting rejection.

"Akitoki is headed for the castle, but tell no one I told you young lady", the doctor said. My eyes widened at what I heard.

"Thank you sir! Thank you!", I said, jumping up and down from excitement. "Oh, do you know anything about Kanu Shiryu?"

"Lady Kanu is an aristocrat and a recluse. She makes very few appearances in front of the public due to some sort of paranoia she has. Her heart is in the right place, but she makes no attempts to see the people in my opinion."

I walked away, gazing at the doctor's eyes; purple and gray. Everyone has mismatched eyes like me. What's going on here?

We met up and swapped information, but the question about Kanu was different every time. We still didn't know who she was or why I feel the way I do when around her. I paced around as the others tried to calm me down.

"When I'm around her, I get this weird feeling in my body, like I know who she really is", I explained to everyone. "I want to know who she really is and why she affects me like this!" I saw Kanu walking by at a frantic pace and I ran to her, wanting the answers I'm looking for.

"Who are you really Kanu!", I demanded to know. She didn't make eye contact with me.

"Tell me now! Whenever I'm around you, I feel like I know you from somewhere, but I know I never met you before. Who are you?"

She took a deep breath and said, "The truth is Dixie is that..."

An explosion rocked the area we were in. People began shouting, begging the god Amaterasu for forgiveness for any sins they had committed.

"I must return to the castle!", Kanu shouted and ran towards the castle.

"Answer me damn it! Get back here!", I screamed. I ran as fast as I could after her. She wasn't going to get away that easily!

Chapter 18: Awakening 3: Determination

Fire erupted from the castle; smoke billowed out into the air, causing all the people around us to panic and scream in terror. Kanu's blue hair flowed behind her as she busted through the castle gates.

"Hold on Kanu! I want to know the truth! Who are you really?", I screamed at her. Banjo and the others followed far behind me as I sped up to try to catch Kanu. As I ran, I realized that I wasn't even caring about the situation at hand. I wanted the answers I was looking for! What was she gonna say before the explosion happened? I wanted to know everything so I sped up.

"Why do you follow me child? My brethren may be in danger! Cease your pursuit of me now!", Kanu demanded of me. I ignored her request and followed her into the castle. Suddenly, a murderous screeching noise filled the entire castle, which stopped me and Kanu in our tracks.

"Mother! I hope that wasn't her that just screamed like that!", Kanu prayed.

"Who is your mother? Is she someone important?", I asked.

"My mother is the Lord of our clan, Lord Alicia. She rules our people with a gentle hand. Science and technology has advanced to be on par with the Onikawa because of her", Kanu explained. Banjo and the others finally caught up with us.

"What's going on? What's happening?", Luigi asked between breaths.

"The castle has been attacked by a man in black", a woman told us, falling down onto the red carpet.

"Ryuubi! Ryuubi! Are you okay?", Kanu cried out. The woman looked beautiful just like Kanu did. She had mismatched green and blue eyes with long, golden brown hair and she was dressed in a kimono. She wore glasses as well. Wait, green/blue eyes? The same as my eyes... Who is she?

"Kanu, my sister, its Mother! The man attacked Mother and set the throne room on fire!", Ryuubi struggled to say. She revealed a wound in her stomach and Kanu began crying.

"Where is Chouhi? Is she safe?", Kanu forced out between sobs.

"Chouhi is in the throne room fighting the man. Please hurry to her Kanu!", Ryuubi said. We ran down the grand hall and busted through the doors to the throne room. Everything was engulfed in flames, two women laid helpless on the floor, and Akitoki stood above the older woman, slaying her before our eyes.

"Mom! Nooo!", Kanu screamed out in agony. She fell to her knees and cried, crawled to her sister, and sent her to take care of Ryuubi. Everyone had a horrified look on their face as Lord Alicia's blood and guts splattered all over the throne room. Akitoki had blood all over his face, causing his eyes to glow a sickening blood red. His hand glowed a golden light and turned to us.

"Ah, Lady Kanu! How long has it been, 30 years since we last met?", Akitoki said with a devilish grin.

"How dare you Akihito! How dare you have the audacity to do something like this?", Kanu demanded to know.

"Because I want the Chaos Force and I know it's here in Fubukiopolis, now where is it?", Akitoki replied. Kanu turned her attention to me and she spoke with a purpose.

"Dixie, your parents told you to come here and find me didn't they?", Kanu asked. I forgot that they told me to find a woman with blur hair!

"Yes they did, but how did you know my parents?"

"Listen Dixie, you need to go to the bottom of this castle and you will find something that will help you carry out your destiny. You must hurry!" Banjo took my hand and ran out of the throne room and headed for the stairs.

"Hold on! I'm coming with you! Girls, stay here!", I heard Luigi yelled out. We ran down the spiral staircase, fighting through hordes of Akitoki's forces.

"Go on ahead you two, I'll handle these guys. Go get whatever we came here for!", Luigi told us.

"Luigi... Okay. You better stay alive bro...", Banjo said as we continued our descent down the stairway. We fought through a few more waves of enemies and finally we arrived at the bottom of the castle. It was ordained with a painting of someone clad in green holding a mighty sword cutting through dark clouds. There was a sword with a purple hilt inside a pedestal sitting in the middle of the room.

"Go to it. Pull it from the pedestal and fulfill your true destiny Dixie", Kanu's voice resonated in my head. Banjo and I walked towards the sword when this huge demon busted into the room.

"What the hell is that beast?", Banjo yelled.

"I don't know but I need you to distract it Banjo", I told him. I ran to the pedestal, avoiding the monster's attacks and swipes with his tail. I got to the pedestal, pulled out the sword, and was engulfed in a golden light...

-Kanu-

I looked at Akitoki with great hatred and disgust as I held my mother in my arms.

"Mother... I don't want you to die... I need you...", I said between sobs. I held her tighter, not caring if her blood was getting all over me.

"Kanu you must listen...", Lord Alicia spoke in a raspy voice. "My time has come to join Amaterasu in the Great Beyond. You must take up the helm of our clan and lead our people to the promised land. I know you can Kanu. I raised you and your sisters to be great and now it is time to live up to that destiny." Mother died in my arms, and I closed her eyes. The girls were already fighting Akitoki. The girl named Raven was shooting him with missiles and rockets, while the girl named Madeline became a tiger and kept biting Akitoki all over his body. He became enraged and blasted them away, but Raven got up and charged at him.

"I will make Lu-Lu proud of me! I won't give up!", Raven shouted. She pulled a blade from her arm and started slashing at him wildly. She cut him in a few place, causing him to bleed, but Akitoki grabbed her by the face and threw her to the ground. Raven got to her knees and shot a missile at him, exploding on contact.

"I...I did it! Lu-Lu will be so proud of me!", Raven said, pumping her fist in victory. Suddenly, a beam of dark energy shot out of the cloud of smoke and knocked both girls unconscious. Akitoki walked towards the girls intent on killing them, when the chamber door burst open.

"Back away Akitoki! This is between me and you now!" I turned around and I saw him; Akiro Onikawa! I haven't seen him in more than 30 years... Why was he here in Honsho?

"Akiro-sama! Why are you here?", I asked him, tears streaming from my eyes because I missed him so much.

"Kanu-sama, I came here to help you destroy Akitoki", Akiro-sama said confidently. "It has been such a long time since the three of us have been together. This should be a good reunion".

"Akiro! You have come here to die too? Well then, let me make it as horrifying as possible!", Akitoki belted out. I rose to my feet and dried my tears. I sensed that Dixie had pulled the blade from its pedestal, so I focused my attention to Akitoki. I picked up my sacred staff and prepared myself to do what I couldn't accomplish as a child; kill Akihito Akitoki!

-Dixie-

I opened my eyes and everything was white all around me. I looked around and scanned my surroundings for any signs of life.

"Damn it, did I die again?", I spat out. I walked around for a bit in the infinitely white realm when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hello Dixie, I'm glad you were able to pull the blade and rightfully claim it as yours." It was Kanu who was behind me.

"Please don't tell me you died?"

"No dear, I'm still alive, I'm using advanced telepathy to talk to you. There is much I need to explain to you in a short time, so please listen. You were chosen by the gods because you have the power to unify not just the clans, but the Chaos Force as well. People will turn to you to be their savior, and you will be hailed as a great hero Dixie. This is the destiny you were given, and I hope you rise up to take it."

"I understand, but I have one question..."

"Who am I to you?" Kanu lifted her bangs and I nearly fell backwards. She had a blue eye, just like me.

"Dixie, it's no coincidence that we have the same colored mismatched eyes. I'm your mother Dixie. You are royalty."

I couldn't respond at all; actually, I could barely breathe. My head spun, making me dizzy.

"I'm your daughter? So I'm going to become the Lord of the Shiryu someday?"

"Yes Dixie. I committed a taboo for our clan; I married a commoner and bore a daughter with him. My mother was ashamed at what I did, so I snuck to the the Isshin Region and left you in the care of your foster parents. Your father died from the grief of losing you, but if I would've kept you, the Shiryu ruling body would've had you murdered. I had no choice but to do it and I understand if you hate..." I slugged her in the face because I was sick of her feeling sorry for herself.

"I'm not mad at you Mom. I'm mad that you never made an attempt to tell me when you saw me earlier, and I'm pissed that Akitoki just killed my grandma! I want payback on him in the worse way..."

"Dixie... Thank you. Thank you for being an understanding daughter. It's time for you to fully awaken the hero sleeping inside you." She touched my chest and I was filled with a golden light that was so warm and pure. Banjo was holding the beast back when I returned. I was now clothed in the green of the forest, with chainmail armor underneath my clothes, and my high tops were replaced with black boots. I now wore a gauntlet on my left arm, and the back of my hand was now glowing with the symbol of the Shiryu Clan. Grasped in my left hand was the legendary Amaterasu Blade. Banjo just looked at me as I smirked. I could hear my mother in my head and we both said, It's payback time!

Chapter 19-A: Akiro/Kanu/Akitoki: War of the Lords

~Kanu~

I heard her voice in my head; Dixie had finally awakened and killed Akitoki's demonic minion. I can hear her say me through telepathy, "Its up to you now". I could now fully focus on destroying Akihito Akitoki.

"Why did you come here Akihito? We are neutral in this war, why did you spread your disease of hate and malice here?", I asked.

"He wants the Chaos Force, he hasn't changed since we were kids!", Akiro said.

"The two of you haven't changed much either; you're still a couple of righteous morons!", Akitoki spat. Akiro and I looked at each other and we nodded at each other. Akiro charged at Akitoki, punching him in the face, then I appeared above Akitoki and threw my staff at him, but nothing we did was doing any damage!

"It has to be the Chaos Force of Power that he has in his possession. That's why our attacks aren't working", I told Akiro.

"Then what can we do?, he asked.

"Keep up the assault! It's the only shot we got at the moment." I grabbed Akitoki from behind and held him while Akiro used his Hellfire Combination on him, but it still had no effect on him.

"Are you two done yet? I swear, you haven't gotten any stronger over the years!", Akitoki barked.

"Where did the old Akihito go? You were so kind and loving back then", I tried reasoning with him. "You had the biggest crush in the world on me and I thought it was so cute! Why did you change so much?"

"The only thing in the world I desire is absolute power over everything in this world. I do not desire old friends or crusty old Lords; that's why I killed your dear mother and why I will murder you both, my 'old' friends!" Akitoki blasted us both with black energy beams, he picked Akiro up and pierced his right shoulder, causing him to scream in intense pain. He knocked me through a support beam, causing my head and mouth to bleed. I wondered how we could beat a seemingly invincible demi-god, then Dixie shouted in my head, "Use the Heaven Seal!" I ran to Akitoki and placed the seal on his back. I activated it and Akitoki screamed a demonic yell as he was sapped of much of his strength.

"Damn you Kanu! I shoulda killed you years ago when I had the chance!", he screamed at me.

"Too bad you didn't, now I'll be the one who kills you", I said in a serious tone. Dixie, Banjo, and Luigi busted into the room and shouted at me to finish him. I took my staff in hand and trapped Akitoki in a bubble of pure energy, my Oblivion Breaker. The bubble exploded, nearly killing him. Akiro then finished him off with a chaos sphere to his stomach, smashing him through a wall.

"It's over! It's finally over!", Dixie exclaimed, kissing Banjo on the lips. I hugged Akiro, in my mind hoping we could make up for over three decades of lost time.

"Raven! Madeline! Are you okay?", Luigi said as he ran towards the girls.

Finally, peace can return to the world..." Akiro said, but then Akitoki rose and began speaking cryptically.

"You insolent bugs haven't won anything. You haven't beat me yet, for now, the body of rebellion no longer has a head..." He burst into black flames and turned to dust.

Chapter 19-B: War of the Lords: Rise of the Twilight Princess

~Dixie~ ~A few minutes earlier~

I eyed the beast with a newfound determination I never felt before. I felt power and strength flooding my entire body With Amaterasu's Burning Shield and Shining Sword in my hands, I felt like the goddess herself.

"Dixie, your power has skyrocketed! Is this your true form, your true destiny?", Banjo asked in amazement. I looked Banjo in the eyes and smiled.

"I could never admit it before because I was so shy, but whenever you fight, you look so damn hot!", I said with no fear in my voice. Banjo blushed noticeably. I motioned for him to attack and he rolled up into a ball. I latched onto him with my clawshot and I threw him into the eye of the beast. Banjo fell to the ground and began taking out its legs. When he took out its last leg (This beast had SIX legs), I began slashing away at its giant eye, while Banjo helped by punching and kicking it in the eye. I ended this fight by impaling it in the eye with Amaterasu's Blade, causing it to scream a hellish sound. It was consumed by black flames and turned to dust.

"That fight was too fast! It should've lasted longer, I was having too much fun!", Banjo joked.

"Well, I have new powers and I had to show them off", I winked at Banjo and kissed him on the cheek. I sent my mom a telepathic message saying, "It's up to you now". We ran out the chamber and climbed up the stairs. We saw Luigi laid out amongst a pile of bodies. He wasn't moving an inch, causing us to panic.

"Luigi! Luigi! You better not have died on me!", Banjo pleaded.

"Damn it! What could have taken him out? Luigi is really strong...", I asked.

"Can't I get a couple more minutes old man...", Luigi mumbled. He was asleep? We were worried about you and you were sleeping on the job, I said to myself. I whacked on the head with my fist, waking him up.

"What's with the get-up?", he asked me.

"We don't have time for Q and A! We gotta hurry!", I exclaimed.

As we ran up the stairs, I could feel my mom being beaten by Akitoki. I heard her pleas to find a way to stop her and I shot her a mental message; "Use the Heaven Seal!" The three of us reached the doors to the stairs and Banjo (unnecessarily)kicked them down. We ran into the main chamber and we shouted at my mom to finish Akitoki off. Mother took her staff in hand and trapped Akitoki in a bubble of pure energy, a move she calls the Oblivion Breaker. The bubble exploded, nearly killing him. Akiro then finished him off with a chaos sphere to his stomach, smashing him through a wall.

"It's over! It's finally over!", I exclaimed, kissing Banjo on the lips. Mother hugged Akiro in a very passionate way

"Raven! Madeline! Are you okay?", Luigi said as he ran towards the girls.

Finally, peace can return to the world..." Akiro said, but then Akitoki rose and began speaking cryptically.

"You insolent bugs haven't won anything. You haven't beat me yet, for now, the body of rebellion no longer has a head..." He burst into black flames and turned to dust. The castle began collapsing around us! Damn, I don't think we'll be able to get out in time!

Chapter 20: Truth of Truths

We frantically tried to get out of the castle, but rubble and debris were falling faster than we could move. Luigi punched our way through the rubble, creating pathways for us. We were nearly out of the castle, but Kanu accidentally dropped Raven. Akiro ran back and grabbed her. He was able to get her out in time, but he was crushed by the rubble.

"UNCLE!", Banjo and Luigi screamed out.

"Akiro, you can't die! We just reunited...", mom said in a low tone. I looked on stunned. Akiro Onikawa was dead.

We ran away from the castle as fire crews arrived to put out the blaze. Everyone was in tears after seeing Akiro be crushed before our very eyes. Suddenly, a bright light filled the area , and Akiro appeared before us, unscathed!

"How- but I thought-", I stuttered, flabbergasted that he was still alive.

"Well, I am one of the chosen...", he coolly said.

"Chosen? What do you mean by that?", Banjo asked.

"I'll explain it later, for now, we must return to Isshin. I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is happening in the capitol."

"I can get you there faster", mom said. "I'll use one of my instant transfer techniques to get you to Mobotropolis." She touched our heads and before we left, she gave Akiro a kiss on the cheek and teleported us back to the Isshin Region.

~Kanu~

"Lady Kanu! What are we going to do? We have no leader, our castle has burned down, and people lay dead in the streets!", people yelled as they began circling me. At first, I didn't know what to tell them, but my mind calmed and the answers flowed from my mouth:

"My people, Akihito Akitoki, leader of the rebel Akitoki Clan, has invaded our land and violated our neutrality. He murdered our dear Lord Alicia in clod blood and destroyed Fubuki Castle. As of now, I am taking up the helm as Lord of the Shiryu Clan and I am declaring war on the Akitoki Clan! We will rebuild! We will be stronger! We will beat the Akitoki and bury them under the full fury of the Shiryu Clan!" I was nervous the entire time I spoke, but I had to be confident. I am leading this clan into war for the first time in over 150 years; I must be brave, I must be strong!

~Dixie~

We appeared before the entrance to Mobotropolis and we immediately saw the devastation The entire city was flatten, bodies were thrown everywhere, and screams could be heard from the mansion. We ran as fast as we could to the mansion and when we entered the study, the sight was atrocious. Blood was splattered everywhere, bodies were in a pile in front of the door, and Lord Sabre laid dead in a pool of his own blood. A man stood above his body, a black wing flowing from his back, the back of his hand glowed a black light.

"Akitoki? But I thought we killed you back in Honsho!", I screamed. I ran towards him, ready for the kill, but he turned around and blasted me away with a burst of energy from his hand.

"The head of the rebellion no longer has a head, so now the body will rapidly die", Akitoki said in a demonic voice.

"The Chaos Force has warped him. There's no turning back for him now", Akiro said. He walked forward with purpose and pointed at Akitoki.

"Our people have a head. We will function the way we should, for I am taking the helm as Lord of the Onikawa Clan!", Akiro exclaimed. Akitoki simply laughed at him.

"Akiro, this changes nothing! Your pitiful clan is nearly extinct. There is nothing you can do to turn this war around! The Akitoki will bury you and rule this world!" He busted out of the window and flew away through the smoke that filled the skies. I looked at Banjo and saw that his expression changed like it did that time before; his eyes became pale blue and he erupted in a pale blue aura.

"I know what this is now", Akiro said. "He is one of Hojo's Children! He is the phase of Death!" I looked at Akiro confused, but my attention then shot to Banjo.

"We will now end this conflict. We are storming the Gouki Region and slaughtering the Akitoki Clan! We will leave NO SURVIVORS!"

Chapter 21: Life in the Brotherhood

~Luigi~ ~3 days after Sabre's death~

Raven and Madeline looked through shop windows looking at the latest fashions here on the floating island. I took them out shopping because tomorrow, we head out to the Gouki Region to fight Akitoki. We walked down the streets and went into a bunch of stores. I could hardly pay attention because my mind kept floating to the sight of Grandfather's body on the floor of the mansion, Akitoki's demon form, and Banjo's awakening as the Terror of Death. Madeline's loud voice snapped me back into reality.

"How do I look Lu-Lu?", she asked me, wearing a white dress that went a bit passed her knees.

"You look very beautiful Madeline", I replied with a smile.

"Hey! What about me?", Raven shouted at me for attention. She was wearing a black shirt with skulls on it and black skinny jeans with her usual black glasses.

"You look wonderful", I told her, also smiling at her. Raven and Madeline have been fighting over me ever since we were children, but I could never pick one over the other. They are both very special to me.

"Lu-Lu? What did Akiro-san mean when he said he and Banjo were chosen?", they asked me together. Since they were twins, they felt like they could talk at the same time, which I thought was adorable.

"Well, in the history of the Onikawa Clan, which predates The Brotherhood by a good 900 years, the greatest Lord that ever lived, Lord Hojo, was a conflicted man. His life was in cycles: Death, Deceit, Propagation, Prophet, Machination, Temptation, Avenger, and Rebirth. When he died, his powers were granted to 8 chosen individuals in the Onikawa Clan every generation."

"So, are you one of them Lu-Lu?", Raven asked.

"Yes I am", I replied. "I'm the 3rd phase. I'm Luigi the Propagator. My power is to make clones of myself that absorb the powers of my enemies"

"So those phase powers must be your ultimate power, huh?", Madeline asked.

"In a way, but they have a serious drawback. They completely take over the host and reverses their personality. When Banjo activates his phase power, he switches from being kind and loving, to being deranged and violent. I become excessively arrogant."

"What about Akiro-san?"

"He is the Rebirth and has trained for years to control it. He doesn't change at all" We continued our shopping spree when suddenly the girls kidnapped by the Grandmaster of the Legion, Moritori! I knew it wouldn't be a quiet day after all...

I chased him down, trying my hardest to rescue the girls, but Moritori was one step ahead of me. He sent a team of Legionaires to intercept and stop me, which I scoffed at. He doesn't know who the hell he's dealing with! I ripped off my shirt, revealing my abs and muscles, and I fought through the group, smashing their skulls in with my bare fists. I resumed my pursuit of the Grandmaster all the way south near the door to the Chaos Realm. This has to be a trap of some kind, I thought to myself. I looked around; nobody is hiding in the shadows.

"One-on-one? Just the way I like it!", I exclaimed.

"Today is the day that The Legion takes over this island and claims the Chaos Force as ours!", Moritori screeched. I walked towards him and scoffed loudly.

"Over my dead body! The Legion has failed over 16 generations of my family, and you will continue that tradition today!", I laughed. I ran at him and we started punching at each other. Raven and Madeline broke free of Moritori's trap and started fighting the incoming troops he had brought.

"Damn, why won't you go down like a good loser?", I yelled.

"My determination is great! I won't lose so easily!", he replied. I knew I was gonna be in for a long fight...

It was nighttime and we were still fighting! I had no time for this, for I was running out of power and I had to rest for the big invasion tomorrow. I had no other choice... I covered my body in a pale red aura. My violet eyes turned a shimmering, pale red. I was now feeding off my Propagation powers.

"I didn't want to do this Moritori, but I must end this now!", I exclaimed. I charged at him, ducking and dodging all of his attacks, and I punched him in the jaw so hard, it caused an explosion; my Deep Impact move. Moritori flew backwards into a wall, and I followed up with a jab, hook, and another Deep Impact. Moritori had no choice but to give up and call back his troops.

"Yeah, you guys better run before we beat your moms up too, you ducking cowards!", all three of us yelled. I looked at the time; shit! 9:30! I gotta go meet with the Brotherhood!

I arrived in Haven with the girls and enter the halls of the sacred home of the Brotherhood. I entered the Main Hall and sat down to speak with Spectre, Sojourner, Thunderhawk, and my father.

"Brief us on your mission tomorrow, Luigi", Thunderhawk told me.

"Tomorrow, I am to go with Dixie Shiryu and my brother Blue to the Gouki Region to end the war with Akihito Akitoki", I said.

"Luigi, you must be very careful out in the Gouki Region", Spectre warned. "That region is surrounded by desert. Make sure you are prepared before you leave, understood?"

"Yes sir Spectre!"

"You will not be on official Brotherhood business", Sojourner began. "You may lay down your dreadlocks for this mission. Please head out by 11:30 tomorrow morning and please return to us Luigi"

"I will Sojourner and tell Mother I love her."

"Luigi my son", Father began. "You are the greatest Guardian we ever had. I know you will return having single-handedly ended the war!"

"Sure Dad, whatever you say", I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"Oh, and make sure you idiotic, useless big brother Blue doesn't ruin everything by getting you all killed!" Everyone in the room's facial expressions soured when Dad said that. No one has forgiven him for what he did to Blue.

"Umm sure?" I left Haven and headed home to rest.

~The next day at 11:30 A.M.~

"I'm sorry girls, but I must go alone", I told Madeline and Raven. They begged and pleaded to come with me, but I told them to stay here. I left them both with a jewel with my lifeforce in it so they'll know if I'm okay or not. I kissed them both on the forehead and walked away, determined to end the bloodshed that this war has brought the world.

Chapter 22: Blood-Stained Eyes

~Dixie~ ~12:00 P.M Outside the Mansion~

We waited outside for Luigi to arrive so we could begin the mission. Akiro- I mean Lord Akiro- gave us our orders as we waited;

"I do not care what method you use, your mission is to invade Megalopolis and force the Akitoki to surrender and end this war. It will only be you two and Luigi for you three are our best soldiers at this time. I must head the reconstruction efforts, now head out! May Tsukuyomi bless you!"

"Hey guys! Sorry if I'm a bit late, but the girls were begging me to take them on the mission", Luigi said finally arriving. "Is he still in his awakened state?", he whispered in my ear, looking at Banjo. I turned to look at Banjo; he was staring at the ground, eyes filled with rage, every muscle on his body was bulging and tense. He looked at me and mouthed something; "I love you and I'm sorry my love" We began heading southwest and left the safety of the Isshin Region.

I remember this place, I thought to myself. This is where we first found out Hana was a member of the Akitoki Clan and I awakened my powers. Thank goodness Hana was killed by that Noctis kid... I snapped back to reality when I saw a huge wave of soldiers headed our way. Almost instantly, Banjo vanished and started ripping their limbs off with his bare hands. Blood splattered everywhere as he mercilessly ripped off their arms, legs, and eyes. Banjo's face became covered in the blood of those he slaughtered. He even impaled an enemy's chest and ripped out his beating heart! He was no longer my Banjo, but the vessel of the Terror of Death.

"You must get the blue one out of here. He is being swallowed by the power.", a familiar voice called out. It was Noctis, coming to take over the fight.

"Noctis! What are you doing here?", I exclaimed.

"Yeah Noctis, why are you here?", Luigi asked, agitated by his very sight.

"Still can't forgive me Lu-Lu? Oh well. I'm here to take this fight out of your brother's hands. His power is swallowing up his soul. If he doesn't stop fighting, he will become a slave to it."

"We understand and thank you for your help Noctis!", I said, bowing to him out of gratitude. Luigi grabbed Banjo as he slashed the head of another soldier off, causing a fountain of blood to gush into the air.

"Why did you stop me? I was stopping their advance!", Banjo growled, something he never did before.

"That was senseless violence Blue, and that's something I know you don't believe in!", Luigi snapped at him.

"Guys, we gotta stop and rest, I'm dehydrated and thirsty", I whined. We had been moving through the desert for a good 4 hours after Banjo went on his rampage. As I drunk from my water bottle, I wondered if Noctis was okay...

We walked for another few hours until I saw buildings in the background. We headed for the city and fought our way through more hordes of soldiers. Banjo lost control again and started mindlessly slaughtering people again. He ripped out a man's spine and choked another person to death with it. He killed another person by crushing their skull with a boulder. His eyes became covered in blood and turned from a pale, dull blue to a bright crimson red.

"Damn Banjo! I wish your phase power would die already!", Luigi exclaimed, grabbing both of us and running towards the city. We entered the Megalopolis City Gates and saw a full-blown battle being waged in the city between Akitoki and Shiryu forces. 'I sent them there to make your efforts easier', mom shot to me in a mental message. 'Thanks mom! Really appreciate it!', I sent as a reply.

"From the intelligence The Brotherhood has gathered, the castle is due north from here", Luigi told us. We jumped on the rooftops and started heading for the castle.

"I want to have more fun!", Banjo cried out.

"No, we don't have the luxury for that Blue!", Luigi spoke. "If you attack, you'll compromise the-", but it was too late. Banjo jumped in the air and murdered every non-Shiryu fighter by impaling their chests or skulls, causing their innards to ooze out of their bodies. I was becoming more and more terrified of Banjo's darker side by the minute. I just wanted my Banjo back...

We reached the castle and Luigi busted down the door, alerting the guards. Before weHa could react, Banjo killed them by impaling their skulls with a spear, causing blood to gush out their heads. I looked into Banjo's eyes; they had become an even darker red. We ran up the staircase and busted through a door. We were in a throne room, a huge one at that, filled with gold, jewels, and ordained paintings. An elderly man rose from the throne in front of us and began to speak.

"Who are you children and why are you trespassing in the castle?", he spoke in a hoarse tone.

"We are from the Onikawa Clan. Stop this war now and we will leave in peace", Luigi spoke justly.

"Don't waste your breath!", Banjo barked. "These Akitoki scum are all the same!" In one swift moment, Banjo ran to the throne, grabbed the old man, and ripped his heart out.

"Lord Akihijo Akitoki is no more. Now we must find Akitoki and kill him too!" I didn't want to be a part of this anymore... That isn't the Banjo that stole my heart. Who is this boy? We ran up more stairs, trying to find where Akitoki was hiding and we entered an empty room with no windows or other doors. We cautiously walked in and suddenly, an ax came swinging out of nowhere!

Chapter 23: Endgame: Guardian vs. General

Luigi got me and Banjo out of the way as the ax headed for our heads. I looked around and saw a large, built man handling the weapon with one hand. He was only clothed in a muscle shirt and black jeans. He looked at us, but almost immediately focused his gaze on Luigi.

"The name's General Jugo! I'm tops of the Akitoki Army!", he said. "So you must be Luigi, the Guardian of the Chaos Force eh? Well, I have specific orders to kill you so our clan can covet it!"

"You just want me huh? Then come get some!", Luigi exclaimed. Jugo charged at Luigi with the ax, but Luigi kicked it out of his hand and headbutted him, making him stagger backwards.

"Banjo! Dixie! You must get out of here! I'll handle Jugo, you go find Akitoki and end this war!", Luigi screamed at us.

"Okay", I replied. "Come back to us alive". He gave us a thumbs up, I grabbed Banjo's hand and we ran out of the room. Luigi, please don't die on us...

~Luigi~

"You think that by beating Lord Akihito, the war will end?", Jugo laughed at me. "In order to end this, you must defeat the three heads of our clan; Akitoki, his 2nd in command, and me. If you can't do that, then the Onikawa loses!" I clenched my fist tighted as I checked out the surroundings: a small room with no maneuverability. What can I do with this limitation?

"Now, we can't fight with these cramped quarters now can we?", Jugo said with a smirk. "Good thing I modified this room!" He pulled out a switch and flipped it. The room opened up and became wider, giving us move space to move around. I looked at Jugo then appeared behind him. I punched him in his back and picked up a chunk of the ground and tossed it at him, but he punched through it.

"Just like you Guardian, I'm physically powerful", Jugo boasted. We charged at each other and began exchanging blows. Our colliding powers shook the room to its very foundation. I used my Thunder Arrow to put him of the defensive. He ran and dodged every lightning bolt I shot at, but tricked him into charging at me; a lightning bolt he dodged previously hopped along the ground and electrocuted him.

"You are a tactical genius, just like Lord Akihito said", Jugo shakily said as he struggled back to his feet.

"Akitoki didn't tell you everything about me", I replied, readying another attack. "I'm going to beat you, then I'm going to crush Akitoki and end this hell."

I shot more Thunder Arrows at him, connecting with each attack, slowing him down. I ran towards him, ready to finish him with a Deep Impact punch, but suddenly, he blasted me away with a black light.

"Oh no...", I said, worried. "It can't be... Akitoki gave you the power of the Chaos Force of Power!"

"And you would be correct!", Jugo screamed out. He covered himself in a deep black aura and when it dissipated, he has transformed; his hair was now long and silver, his muscle mass had tripled, his skin tone went from somewhat pale to a dark brown tone, horns grew from him forehead, and he grew a long spiny tail.

"It's time to die, Guardian!", he growled. He swung his tail at me, hitting me in my chest, taking my breath away. He continued swinging his tail at me, and I had no choice but to play defense. I hid behind a tree as he continued wildly flailing his tail around trying to crush me.

"Do you know why Lord Akihito started this war?", Jugo began gloating. I didn't respond.

"Lord Akihito wants the Chaos Force because he wants to unify the clans and rule them with an iron fist. He wants this entire world to burn to ashes and with the completed Chaos Force, he will rebuild it in his own image! I am a central part to the plan."

I ran from my cover and tried to hit him with Thunder Arrows, but they just bounced off of his body. He continued ranting on while beating the crap out of me;

"My place in the new world order is to be my Lord's enforcer. I will seek out the rebels of our rule and stomp them out like dirt in between my toes!"

"I'm... so sick of your... damn rambling!", I yelled. I charged at Jugo, trying to hit hit him with Deep Impact, but he swatted me away with his tail. What can I do to stop this guy, I thought to myself but then it popped in my head...

~Flashback, 2 days earlier~

I was finishing up training with my dad when he turned to me and said,

"Listen to me Luigi, if you ever want to use the Ultimate Impact Blast, never use it without the Onikawa Eyes. If you don't it will get you killed."

"I think I'll remember that Father, but I'm not sure if I can use either of them properly. I'm not sure I could master them..."

"Luigi, eliminate the doubt in your mind and allow the power to flow through you."

"Alright Father, I'll do the best that I can out there in Gouki."

~End of Flashback~

I closed my eyes and focused, focused all my power into my hand and the energy became electricity. I reappeared and ran at him, but my eyes were no longer purple; they were blue, the Onikawa Eyes were active.

"Lord Akihito never told me that you could use the Onikawa Eyes!", Jugo exclaimed. I ran at him at full speed, dodging his attacks. I impaled him in his chest with the Ultimate Impact Blast and he fell onto his back, limp.

"No matter what kind of info you are given about me, you will never be able to predict my actions", I said and walked away. Suddenly, Jugo got up and shot a black energy beam at me, striking me deep in my side. I was pinned against the wall and was bleeding heavily. What am I gonna do, I thought to myself...

~Flashback, 6 years ago~

Blue is pissing me off! Who the hell is he to barge into the floating island and try to do whatever he wanted! I must stop him!

"Look Luigi, we haven't seen each other in years and you want to act like a douche towards me! I'm not trying to steal the Chaos Force; Akitoki is! He ain't on your side! Look!" I turned around and saw Akitoki blatantly trying to bust into the door to the Chaos Realm. I became enraged at the betrayal and hit him with the Ultimate Impact Punch. Wait...

~Flashback abruptly ends~

Wait! I got it!, I said to myself. I opened my eyes again and struggled to get off the wall. Everytime I pulled the beam out of my body, it hurt me more and more. I finally pulled it out of me and I threw it to the ground. I held my side and ran towards him.

"You're still alive huh?", Jugo gloated. "No matter what you do Guardian, you will never win! The time of the Onikawa Clan is over and the Akitoki will rule this world!"

"I'm sick and tired of your mouth!", I screamed at him. My hand glowed with fire with electric sparks, my eyes were completely focused on taking him.

"Jugo Akitoki, prepare to meet Susanno! Tell him I said Hello!" I pierced him in his heart with the Ultimate Impact Punch, the ultimate combination of Deep Impact and Ultimate Impact Blast. He impaled me in the chest at the same time with his horns.

"Damn you Luigi Onikawa... Why, why couldn't you let us have our dynasty?", Jugo asked, returning to his human state.

"I have been called a genius by my dad and many members of The Brotherhood, but I'm just a regular kid, wanting to live a peaceful life", I struggled to say. "But as long as there are people like you and Akitoki in the world, I can't get that peace I desire in my life. I must always stay at the top of my abilities and rise up when darkness threatens my way of life." I started coughing up blood and became dizzy. I fell to the ground and landed hard. I saw a butterfly flutter in the air and I wished I could fly away as my eyes slowly closed, engulfing me in an infinite black...

~Back on the Floating Island~ ~Raven~

I looked at the evening sky, I had a unsettling feeling in my stomach. I then heard Madeline screaming in the other room. I ran in the room and saw the source of her screams; the jewel that Lu-Lu left us with his life force began cracking.

"OMG! Lu-Lu!", Madeline cried. I held her in my arms, choking back tears of my own.

"I know Lu-Lu is okay, I know he is...", I said, looking at the crystal. I prayed to Tsukuyomi that Lu-Lu would come back alright...

Chapter 24: Endgame 2: Insanity's Obliteration

~Dixie~

Banjo and I continued running up the stairwell, taking out any foes that got in our way. Banjo's condition continued to worsen with every person he fought; his eyes grew a deeper and deeper blood red. The stairwell looked like it went infinitely up as there looked to be no end. I was growing fatigued when we found a door. I cautiously opened it, remembering what happened when we opened the last door. Suddenly, Banjo grabbed my hand; I turned to look at him and his eyes were than gentle emerald green again!

"Dixie...please, help me...", he pleaded.

"What can I do?", I asked him.

"I only have temporary control. The darkness is trying to consume me. Listen, you must knock me out and take on Akitoki! I can't bear to kill anymore!"

I shook my head at him, telling him I couldn't do it, but I had to watch in horror as his eyes turn red again. He shoved me out of the way and barged into the room. It was a beautiful room filled with trees and fauna, sunlight lovingly peeking into the room.

"What a beautiful room this is!", I said like a child in a toy store.

"Someone else is in here with us, be careful", Banjo said, looking around the room. I checked every inch of the room for any dangerous, but I didn't find anybody else here with us.

"Banjo, we're alone in-", I stopped and moved out of the way because a hooded figure busted through the roof and tried attacking me. I pulled out my sword and tore apart the hood, revealing Hana. Yeah, I'm as shocked as you are.

"Hana? But I thought Noctis killed you back on that mountain!", I said, shocked that she's standing in front of me.

"The Chaos Force responded to my pure hatred of you and revived me just so I could kill you with my bare hands", Hana responded. She slowly walked towards me. I turned to Banjo and shot him a look.

"I understand Dixie", Banjo began. "It is your destiny to fight Hana and destroy her. Survive and come back home to me" Banjo turned on his heels and ran out the door. The door bolted shut behind me and Hana began to laugh.

"Destiny is upon us Dixie", Hana spoke. "Now, the two of us will fight to the death and I think I'll make it more interesting" She pressed a button and the room started burning!

"See, if you want to leave this room alive, you must beat me within 20 minutes. If you fail, everyone in this tower dies."

"Damn it Hana, are you that determined to settle the score with me? That you'd kill us both?"

"I'm just fulfilling my part of our shared destiny... Now then, it's time for me to kill you."

I gripped Amaterasu's Sword and Shield tight in my hands as I blocked her attacks with my shield. I parried her final attack and began slashing at her, but she rolled out of the way and jumped into the trees. I pulled out my bow and started shooting arrows at her, but her speed was incredible. She leaped out of the tree and tried cutting me with a sword she materialized, but I blocked it with my shield.

"You are very skilled Dixie, I cannot deny you that", Hana said. "Sadly though, you lack that killer instinct that makes me far more dangerous than you are little Dixie". She gave me a smirk and she charged me with her sword. I did the same and when our swords clashed, the tower shook from the large amount of power we were giving off. We clashed swords multiple times until she knocked my blade out of my hands and forced me to dodge her attacks. I grabbed on to my sword and and clashed blades with her once again.

"Why do all of this Hana?", I asked her. "What is the point of starting a war with senseless bloodshed?"

"We began this war for one reason", Hana spoke. A sinister black light emanated from the back of her right hand and she began transforming. She gained a bit more muscle, but her hair became completely wild and messy. She no longer had her calm demeanor; she was now completely psychotic.

"We wanted power over the world, to do as we see fit without the Onikawa and you Shiryu filth!", she continued as she overpowered me. She pinned me to the ground and I struggled to keep her from stabbing me.

"I know that you are of Shiryu descent because I read your mind."

"You think you know everything, don't you Hana? You're nothing more than a bitch!" I kicked her off me and shot her in the arm with an arrow, but it had no effect on her. I pulled out my clawshot, but she beat me to the punch and knocked me in the head. I stumbled backwards, then Hana took her sword in hand and impaled me. All I did was look at the wound and passed out.

~Flashback, one day earlier~

I sat on my bed with my eyes closed, focusing with all my energy to keep an open mental channel with my mom all the way in Fubukiopolis. I struggled to keep it open; man this is way harder than I thought! I clenched my teeth and focused harder, trying to find my mom's mental channel when finally I hear, 'Don't struggle so much. Let it flow freely through your mind and body.'

'Mama, you said I was a bearer of the Chaos Force. What does that mean?'

'You have the power and protection of the gods on your side. If you are ever in mortal danger, focus your thoughts on the gods and they will aid you by loaning you their power.'

'I understand Mama. Thank you for this quick training session.'

'Anytime my daughter. Come back victorious and keep that uncouth Banjo in check!'

Yes Mama, I'm be safe and watch over Banjo...'

~End of Flashback~

I regained consciousness. I'm alive... time to to strike while she still thinks I'm dead! I focused all my thoughts, all my energy on praying to the gods, and the back of my right hand began glowing. My strength skyrocketed as the Chaos Force filled me with power. I kicked Hana's sword out of her hands and I attacked her in a flurry of punches and kicks, culminating in me kicking her through a tree.

"The Chaos Force of Courage... You were chosen by Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu! Well, Susanno chose me as well!", Hana yelled at me.

The mark on her hand glowed more and more, filling her with more dark power; The Chaos Force of Courage filled me with strength and the courage to fight her with no hesitation. Then I felt a burning sensation... Wait, I remember this feeling... When I fought Akitoki before my birthday... It rose more and more... Burning, screaming, anger, love...Deceit.

"Hana, I don't think you'll be able to leave this fight alive this time", I said arrogantly.

"And what makes you think that, you pretentious bitch?", she shot back.

"I just discovered a new power I don't think I should have. You know Hana, me and you have had a long history; we fought each other, had many competitions against each other, and have tried to kill each other, but you always keep coming back for more, but this time, you won't be coming back to life this time. I am the new variable in the equation!"

My body became covered in a pale green aura, my power jumped by leaps and bounds and I could feel myself changing... I wasn't the normal Dixie that everyone knows and loved... I became angry and emotional, wanting to eliminate all darkness from me.

"You're a Shiryu, but you're one of Hojo's Children!", Hana exclaimed.

"Yes you stupid whore, that's what I am! I'm the baddest bitch around; I'm Dixie, the Mirage of Deceit!", I confidently said.

I cut my arm and let the blood drip to the ground. I also cut my finger and my tongue and let the blood fall to the ground. 20 clones of me began forming from the blood and charged at Hana and began engaging her in combat, while I was charging power into Amaterasu's Blade. I was going for broke with one final attack. All of my clones were defeated, causing an unexpected side-effect: I began bleeding heavily from the places I cut myself to create the clones. Being the Mirage of Deceit is more difficult than I thought it would be...

"Damn clones!", Hana swore. "Now it's time for me for kill you Dixie!"

3 minutes left, damn! Come on, hurry and make your move Hana! I gotta finish you off now, or I'm gonna die... Hana ran at me at full speed, brandishing her sword readying to kill me. I sheathed my sword and place my hand on the hilt and gripped it tightly. Hana swung her sword at me; I unsheathed my sword and swung it at her. We stood there for a moment, motionless; blood splattered from the gash I made on her; I collapsed onto one knee, bleeding badly from the cut she made on me.

"Mortal Draw, bitch...", I said out of breath. "Channeling energy into the blade while it's sheathed then unleashing it in a lethal slash, but it leaves me defenseless, as I have no way to counter any attacks from my opponents."

"Damn you Dixie... It was supposed to be MY victory!", Hana screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Too bad bitch. This is my story, and now you get cut off it", I replied. I jumped off of trees, leaped into the air and rammed my sword deep into her chest; the Ending Blow. Hana let out a demonic yell and fell silent.

"Akihito... my love... I'm sorry I failed you... Please forgive me..." She became silent, as the spectre of death took her to hell.

"Guess I finally won our rivalry. I hope you never come back...", I said, as my phase powers wore off. I returned to my normal self again and I ran out of the room, determined to catch up with Banjo.

~Banjo~ ~5 minutes earlier~

"Damn, I finally reached the top of this damn tower", I spat. I was nearly sorta-kinda out of breath, and I heard an organ being played. I opened the door and walked in.

"Ah, it's about time you arrived Banjo", Akitoki said, turning from the organ, still playing it.

"Akitoki... It's finally time to end this conflict that we've had for the past 6 years", I said as I walked towards him.

"You will die here just like the rest of your Onikawa scum. I will reign over the world and you will die in regret and sorrow that you failed your mission!" He stood up and started running at me.

"I won't lose because I will become the hero of my clan. Everyone is depending on me, and I can't lose! I must kill you!" I ran towards Akitoki at full speed and we connected with each other with a punch in the jaw. Suddenly I felt strange and I instantly knew what was happening to me; I was fighting with the darkness within me...

Chapter 25-A: One-Winged Demon

~Externally~

I exchanged heavy blows with Akitoki, causing everything around us to tremble and quake. I wanted to kill him the same way he killed my grandparents... I wanted his head on my mantel! We kept matching each other blow-for-blow, filling the air with so much energy, the skies began to cloud up.

"We have been fighting for 6 years now, no Blue?", Akitoki said with a smirk. "Every battle we had was epic, titanic even, but this time, all the chips are on my side. The Chaos Force of Power is mine, and when I gain all three piece along with the ethereal Chaos Force, nothing will stop me!"

"How did your filthy hands gain the Chaos Force anyway?", I barked.

"I killed my own people to find it hidden in a cave deep in the rocky regions of this country. The blood of my own is what caused my rise in power and now let me show you!"

The mark of the Chaos Force glowed on the back of his left hand as he was covered in a dark aura. I tried to punch through it, but the aura rebounded and forced me back. The pale blue aura surrounding my body became crimson red as my hate and anger intensified. Then I felt something breaking inside me...

~Internally~

His eyes were blood red and filled with hate. He reeked of the smell of the dead. Was he alive? Was he deceased? I couldn't tell, but he ran at me with the intent to kill me. I braced myself for a fight. We locked each other, repelling each other's attacks.

"What do you want from me? Who are you?", I asked, trying my hardest to hold my ground.

"I'm a part of your great ancestor, Hojo Onikawa. I was the reason he died. I have inhabited many of the great Lords the Onikawa have had, but this is the first I've been in the body of such scum like you", it said condescendingly. It had the form of a reaper with the black cloak and skull head to boot.

"You see Blue, I want full control of you body, so what I need you to do is succumb to the hate, the darkness you have for Akitoki and let me permanently take over..."

"You really think I'm gonna give you MY body? You are sadly mistaken!" I kicked him off of me with a swift kick to the gut and tried to follow up with a bicycle kick, but he grabbed my leg and threw me down. He started choking me and he started whispering in my ear:

"Give in to the hate...Give in to the anger... Give in to the thoughts of revenge..."

~Externally~

I can feel the love and compassion inside me being choked out by some sinister force inside me... I screamed to the heaven as the darkness took over me. I could feel my eyes grow darker and darker as my power exploded. I charged at Akitoki and we continued our pitched battle into the skies. Lightning began crackling through the skies, almost as if the gods are showing fear of our power.

"Your newfound powers won't save you, low class trash", Akitoki said, increasing his power to match mine. He punched me in the back of my neck, sending me down to the earth at a rapid speed. He fired multiple energy blasts at me, causing me much damage. I could barely recover when Akitoki appeared before me and started kicking me.

"You see you little dirt muncher, you can't beat me! I am the new god of this world! Bow down to my almighty power!", he proclaimed.

The anger intensified inside me as I wanted desperately to kill him where he stood. My body erupted in a huge red aura, stunning him a bit. I knew what was happening; I now had the powers of a devil.

~Internally~

"I'm not gonna let you have my body anymore for any more of your senseless slaughter!" I exclaimed, kicking it off of me. I shoved a chaos sphere down its throat and detonated it, causing to explode and spread chunks of his body everywhere.

"This is my body and nobody can have it!", I said. I can slowly feel myself regaining control of my body, but it reformed and grabbed me in a sleeper hold.

"Damn it! Why don't you stay down like a good dead guy?", I sarcastically asked.

"Death avoids me, for I bring lost souls to it...", it ominously replied. I broke free of his hold, turned around, and we both pierced each other simultaniously.

~Externally~

Akitoki and I fought intensely in the skies above the tower; we kept matching each other's blows with stronger ones. I got behind him and pierced his armor with a chaos sphere then kicked him to the ground. I rapidly descended to kill him with an Ultimate Impact Blast, but suddenly, my body went limp and paralyzed. I fell to the ground with a thud, unable to move or even speak.

"What happened Blue, run out of Chaos Energy?", Akitoki spat, getting up. He walked towards me and began the taunts:

"This was destined to happen. You were born a low class wench while I was born into wealth and power. You tried your whole life to be a hero to your clan, but all that hard work now culminates in your spectacular failure. Good riddance!"

I knew I failed everyone... Just kill me now. I closed my eyes ready to die, but I heard metal clanking. I opened my eyes and saw Dixie! She saved my life!

"Banjo, you can choose to let yourself be killed here and let all of our hard work go to waste, or you can stand and walk forward. Our families were destroyed by this man, but we didn't cower, we didn't have any doubt. I want to stop the fighting just like you do, but I can't do it without you baby I need your help to end this. You have two feet Banjo. Get up and use them to walk forward. If you decide to lay there and accept defeat and death, then I can't do much for you. But if you choose to get up and move forward, I'll move with you."

Chapter 25-B: Endgame 4: The Fall of the Akitoki

She spoke the words I s told her after her adoptive parents died... She used my own words against me!

"Wait, didn't I tell you that Dixie?", I asked. Wait, I can talk again! How did that happen?

"By telling you something from the heart, the Terror of Death's grip on you has been loosened", Dixie said. "Banjo, we have to take him out now!"

"I don't think I have the strength to continue fighting...", I said in gloomy tone.

"Banjo, you are the only one who can help me! I need you baby... Our clans need you... GET UP!"

~Internally~

I was locked in mortal combat with the Terror of Death, grabbing him by the neck and choking him. I wanted so desperately to regain control of my body!

"Give up Banjo, your destiny is to be a footnote in the history books of the Onikawa Clan. Give in to the darkness and let me take over!"

"Over my dead body! I'm the only driver this body id gonna have!" I pierced his body with the Ultimate Impact Blast and managed to stop him. Something weird began happening; the Terror of Death began fusing with me!

"You are powerful indeed... I will share my power with you, but whenever you begin to doubt yourself, I will take over and do things MY way."

I fused with the Terror of Death to become something new... Something stronger...

~Externally~ ~Dixie~

I engaged Akitoki in battle in the skies above the tower, slashing at him with my sword. I fought him the best I could, but the injuries I sustained against Hana really killed my speed. Akitoki simply played with me, dancing around my attacks with ease. I tried grabbing him with my clawshot, but he dodged it and knocked me to the ground. I hit the ground hard, exhausted from fighting two straight grueling battles.

"Like I thought, the Onikawa and Shiryu Clans are filled with worthless warriors!", Akitoki boasted. The mark of the Chaos Force glowed on the back of his hand and he summoned black lightning, striking us both. I could make out Akitoki's laughter through the pain that was racking my body. Banjo wasn't moving at all; I was scared that he was already dead.

"Banjo, baby, please say something!", I pleaded through the pain. "Please move, blink, do something!" He still laid there, motionless. Akitoki began laughing demonically as he summoned another lightning bolt to hit us both. I felt my life slipping... My breath became ragged and raspy. I guess I am gonna die here... Akitoki summoned another bolt of lightning to finish us off. This is it... We failed... Lord Akiro... Luigi... Mom... I'm sorry...

"No one is dying yet. This battle isn't over!"

Banjo flew through the air, cutting through the lightning bolt in his ascent, and blasted Akitoki out of the air with a massive blast of raw Chaos energy. His aura wasn't red anymore; hell, it wasn't even pale blue anymore. His aura was his usual healthy blue aura; his eyes were mismatched like mine, but it was a red/green combo.

"Banjo... Thank god your okay", I said silently.

Banjo flew down after Akitoki and began beating him senseless with rapid punches and kicks. He knocked him into the air and shot a large energy blast at him, causing him to plummet down to the earth below.

"Dixie, are you alright?", Banjo asked, cradling me in his arms.

"I'm low on Chaos energy", I replied. "I don't know if I'll be of much use in the long run, but I have an idea"

"Damn, that didn't finish him off?", Banjo cursed as Akitoki rose to his feet slowly. "What's that idea of yours Dixie?"

I whispered into his ear my plan and he nodded in agreement. Akitoki's face erupted in sheer anger as he charged at us. Banjo cupped my face and kissed me, kissed me in the most passionate way I could have ever imagined... It was like I was in Heaven!

"I hope you enjoyed that kiss, for it will be your last! Prepare to die!"

I threw my shield at Akitoki's face, staggering him; Banjo them rammed a chaos sphere into his stomach; I threw Amaterasu's Blade into his chest and it became lodged in there; Banjo kicked the sword deeper in his torso and we combined our phase powers to create a huge chaos sphere to finish Akitoki off. He fell to the ground motionless; I walked to him and pulled my blade from his body.

"I declare in the name of the Onikawa Clan and the gods Tsukuyomi, I declare this war over!", Banjo exclaimed in triumph. Suddenly, the tower began to crumble. We held onto each other and fell into the rubble...

Epilogue

"Oh my god NOOO!" I woke up in a cold sweat. I woke Banjo up, who was sleeping next to me and told him what happened:

"Banjo, I had the worst nightmare ever! I dreamed that we went to war and my parents were killed and I was this fighter who was chosen by the god and that me, you, and Akitoki had the Chaos Force and that Luigi died fighting and I killed Hana...wait, I liked that part. Anyway, this woman named Kanu was my mom and me and you beat Akitoki...", I trailed off, crying into his arms.

"Dixie, all that did happen. It's been 3 weeks since the Revolution ended and you've had amnesia ever since. Maybe the dream triggered everything again. Do you remember this?", he said, picking up a sword and shield.

"That's...!", I started. "That's Amaterasu's Burning Shield and Shining Sword!"

"You remember! Oh thank you Tsukuyomi!"

"What happened to everyone?"

"Uncle is the new Lord and he's focused on reconstruction of Mobotropolis. Akitoki and Hana are both dead. Luigi survived barely and decided to not split the twins up by choosing one over the other. Kanu has rebuilt Shiryu Castle and has been worried sick about you. She'll be relieved to know that you're alright, but she always insults me!"

I was relieved to know everything, that everyone was okay. I closed my eyes and fell back to sleep.