Sporadic updates. No guarantee of a constant update schedule, but I do intend to finish this story (never mind how I said the same thing for others...I want to finish those too...) Anyways, hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 2

Even at this hour the most zealous of training partners found it to be too late to continue honing their skills. Yet one figure remained in the gym, not necessarily for the purpose of improving. Roxas gave another yell as he brutally stabbed the doll. Pulling his swords off the puppet with a kick, the young man swung again, cutting through the old cloth to reveal the wood underneath. The final stroke came when Roxas brought his two swords together from both sides to aim at the neck. He only felt a small amount of resistance before his arms crossed completely and the sound of wood crashed to the ground.

The young man exhaled deeply through his nose as he slowly uncrossed his arms. He glared at the now-headless training doll for a moment. The beheaded did little to quell his anger, similarly to the other thirty-nine mangled scattered haphazardly on the mats and floor of the gym. Some even lay close to the racks of weapons with signs of contact being the sharp objects lying disapprovingly now on the ground. He turned away from it to move onto the next lifeless victim of his rage. His fury made it difficult for his body to relax properly for the next series of slashes. Despite that he didn't care about keeping the clean techniques he learned in mind. He just wanted to release his frustration. Standing ready and tense, Roxas waited for another second and then lunged straight to the puppet's jugular.

"Roxas?" a concerned voice rang out. It broke through the fog in Roxas's mind, and he nearly crashed into the training doll. He recomposed himself to look over his shoulder. Opened doors leading to darkness outside, an azure-haired woman stood in the middle. She had a navy overcoat over her usual outfit to keep out the cold. However, the high collar didn't cover the silver band with its single dark blue gem. Honestly, had it been one of his siblings, he would have ignored them for his futile anger management. Yet he couldn't ignore the director of the whole union, Aqua. She glided across the floor, eyes taking in some of mutilated dolls before refocusing on Roxas. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Just…getting some training in." The lie sounded like it came from Ventus rather than Roxas.

"You can just as easily get the same training during the day, as well as the benefits of a good night's sleep." Aqua smiled gently once she finally reached him. Her eyes roamed over Roxas's arms down to his swords, seeming to take note of their sharpened edge. She looked back at him and continued, "And judging by the state of the other training puppets," a gesture to the scattered bodies and limbs and weapons, "this is more than a simple training session. Clearly, something is bothering you."

"It's nothing."

"…This has something to do with your brothers' refusal to let you join my program, doesn't it?"

Roxas was about to deny that but he knew that Aqua would only press on until he admitted it himself. He sighed with equal amounts of irritation and hopelessness as he sheathed his swords. "I don't understand why they wouldn't let us join. Everybody else joins."

"Hmm, and if everybody else jumped off a cliff, you would also beg your brothers to jump off?" Director Aqua chuckled when Roxas shot her a deadpan look.

"I don't mean it like that. I want to join because I can help people. Save people. Like you did when you took us in."

The director hummed in thought. "I understand that. There is no better feeling than knowing that people are safe due to your efforts. But there are plenty of other ways for you to help even without having an Élan Vital."

"I know. I've tried. But it doesn't feel enough. It's not enough for me. I want to do something more, something that would really help people in the long run." Roxas shook his head. "You probably think that I just want to get into fights. But honestly, I know that if I fight the enduh, I'll be making it safer for everyone. After all, isn't that what I'm training for? Why else would I be spending time studying how to use these?" He gestured to his swords. He saw Aqua nod, almost encouragingly for him to continue. So he did. "I know that Ven and Vanitas are just worried about us getting hurt. But they can't treat us like kids forever. We're going to grow up eventually."

"Isn't it your birthday today? Why didn't you ask them to join as a birthday gift?"

Roxas huffed in frustration. "You think we didn't try that? Even before today, Sora asked on his birthday and they still refused."

"I see…" Something in her tone stirred the slightest embers of hope in Roxas. Despite that, he tried to not to get his hopes up as he remembered the time Aqua refused their request. They had been sorely disappointed that day as they banked on the director making an exception for them. Unfortunately, she had honored his brothers' wishes and sadly told them that they couldn't join her program.

When it didn't seem like she had anything else to say, the young man turned away to face his former victim. He drew his swords once again for another session, though his confession to the director already drained his anger. Roxas halfheartedly lifted up his swords. This doll probably wouldn't fall as quickly as the others. He was about to jump forward again when Aqua's voice stopped him a second time:

"…Tell you what. How about I train you myself for an Élan Vital?" Roxas staggered slightly, the words surprising him to the point of making his heart skip a beat. He whipped his head around to stare at the director, mouth agape. She smiled as one eyelid closed into a wink with a finger to her lips playfully. "It will be our little secret."

"Wait, really? You'll do that?"

"I can see how passionate you are about this and, frankly, it would be a crime to not nurture it." Her smile widened when the incredulous light wouldn't leave Roxas's expression. The director quickly held up two fingers. "Under two conditions. One, you must find your own partner for the Élan Vital. You cannot ask anybody who is already in the program to be your partner. And two, you and your partner must keep your Élan Vital a secret from the rest of the union for as long as possible. Otherwise, your brothers may find out." Honestly, those two requirements weren't too much of a problem for Roxas. He didn't really want to pair up with anybody initially in the program anyway, and he saw the logic in keeping the entire thing a secret. The young man was more concerned about his siblings getting the same opportunity that landed so graciously in his lap.

"What about Sora and Xion? Can you train them too?"

"If they have as much passion as you do-."

"They do," Roxas affirmed quickly.

"Then the same conditions will apply. They must find their own partners and keep this a secret." Okay. Sora had Riku, so he was fine in that department. He and Xion, on the other hand…Roxas now voiced his vague plans concerning them both:

"Is it okay for us to partner with each other? I know that it's dangerous for siblings to partner up but since Ven and Vanitas are partners, I thought that maybe…"

Director Aqua's smile faded a bit as she hesitated. "…I would not recommend it, Roxas. Other siblings have also tried and failed. Your brothers seem to be a special case…" She trailed off as Roxas's face fell in disappointment. She paused for a brief moment. "But…perhaps because you share the same blood, you and your siblings might be able to pair with each other. But there are three of you." She phrased the last statement with an inquiring note.

"I was thinking of pairing up with Xion. Sora is going to pair with Riku."

"I see. If you truly are going to form an Élan Vital with Xion, then I implore you to be careful. From what your brothers have told me, it is ten times more stressful than regular bonds."

"We'll be fine," Roxas said despite the sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew from stories and Élan Vital themselves how strenuous it was for the Psyche and Lusus Naturae to control themselves. It didn't matter if the Lusus Naturae had a calm personality or the Psyche had a strong mental fortitude; the enduh side could break out anytime. If it took a lot out of regular Élan Vitals, he couldn't imagine the stress his brothers dealt with every day. A stab of guilt struck him when he remembered the strain he forced his brothers through earlier today with their argument. He really shouldn't have added to their worries…

"Then if you are confident in your abilities, I won't have any objections. I will keep a closer eye on you two though in case something goes wrong."

"That's fine with me." The excitement was growing again. This was it! They've finally done it! They were going to have an Élan Vita-. Realization hit him like a bolt of lightning, and his shoulders sagged in defeat. Aqua must have noticed the strange change in demeanor as she asked worriedly:

"What's wrong? I thought you would be ecstatic that you're finally training for your own Élan Vital."

"We can't do this in secret."

"Why not?"

"The bands," Roxas said disheartened. "Ven and Vanitas would be able to see the bands. They're not exactly the easiest things to hide on a daily basis." And just when he thought that this was the big break he needed. Those bands so important in controlling the Élan Vital on both sides would be the end of him and his siblings.

Aqua pursed her lips. "I believe I have a solution to that."

"You do?" The director's declaration roused his curiosity. "What is it?"

"We've been working on it for a while now, but the procedure should be ready soon. I will give you all the details the moment that time comes. What you have to do now is let your siblings know the good news."

"I will! Thanks, Director Aqua!"

"Of course. I'm expecting great things from you and your family," Aqua said with a smile. As she turned away, she gestured to the broken dolls around them. "Make sure you clean up after you're done with your training session." Roxas snapped out of his elation to notice, almost for the first time, that the gym was in complete disarray from his temper. A rueful feeling stabbed him for only a moment before the exhilaration washed over him. They were finally going to gain an Élan Vital and help other people.

…

"Wait, really?!"

"She said that?!"

Sora and Xion shared similar expressions of cautious hope. Roxas nodded excitedly but gestured to them to keep it down. After he finished cleaning the gym up and vowing to find a better way to vent his anger, he hurried to their suite to tell his siblings the good news. Fortunately, it seemed as though Ventus was still calming Vanitas down as Sora told him that nobody had left the room. While Roxas usually would have been quite worried about his brothers' wellbeing, it didn't stop him from being elated by his current good news.

"Yeah! She'll train us herself personally for our Élan Vitals! We just have to find our own partners who aren't in the program."

"So that means I can still pair up with Riku?" Sora asked enthusiastically. "He hasn't joined the program yet."

"Yeah, Riku should be fine."

"Wait, what about you guys?" The thought suddenly struck the brunette, and he looked at them worriedly. "Axel is already with Saïx. Who are you guys going to pair up with?"

"Xion, I was thinking that we can pair up for this," Roxas said, turning to his sister. At those words, she frowned in thought.

"Isn't that dangerous though? I know that Ven and Vanitas were able to do it, but generally siblings aren't supposed to be paired together."

"I know, but Director Aqua believes that we would also be able to handle it. Something about us being the same family gives us the same ability."

"Roxas, I don't know…" Upon hearing the uncertainty in her voice, Roxas's heart began to sink. The same feeling of dread struck him when he initially talked with Aqua about his dilemma.

"Come on, Xion! Besides, who else are you going to pair up with?" Even as he asked that, the young man felt a slight flash of fear that Xion actually did have somebody else in mind and he would be stuck finding somebody else. He never thought that finding a partner would be a problem, but given how his other friend was already in an Élan Vital and he wasn't that sociable, he knew he would be in pretty deep shit if Xion had a different partner in mind.

"Well…"

"Please don't tell me that you actually have someone."

"No, no. I was just joking." A wide grin split her face. Roxas then realized that his sister was teasing him. If it had been anything else, perhaps he would have laughed. However, this wasn't a situation to be joking about. After all their wishing and hoping, if he still couldn't form an Élan Vital even with Director Aqua's help, then he might as well give up. "But if you really think we can do it, then I'm all for it." Roxas returned the grin when Xion finally agreed with him. However, her smile faded.

"But what about the bands? If Ven and Vanitas see them, they'll know immediately." Xion pointed out. The joy began to escape them at that realization, and their shoulders sagged in hopelessness again. However, Roxas quickly shook his head in hopes to stop his siblings from sinking too far into the false bleakness.

"Apparently Director Aqua has a solution to that, but she hasn't told me yet." This earned him some curious looks but due to his last statement, his siblings didn't question him further. Roxas was pleased to see their smiles slowly forming again when they realized that their dreams had been realized.

"We're doing it!" Xion cheered.

"I can't believe we're finally going to train for our Élan Vitals! I have to go tell Riku!" Without waiting for his siblings, Sora raced to the door. Just as he passed Vanitas's bedroom door, Ventus stepped out of it, almost making the younger brother crash into him. Roxas and Xion's eyes widened in slight horror as Ventus quickly sidestepped Sora. Sora, for his part, stumbled slightly before Ven managed to stop him from falling into Vanitas's room with a hand at his back.

"Whoa, careful there," the oldest sibling said. He eyed Sora carefully. While Roxas knew that it was to make sure that Sora was all right, his paranoia screamed at him that his oldest brother knew. He elbowed Xion and sent her a silent message to "act natural". Hopefully Sora would also understand to not show any suspicious behavior. Like immediately wiping away his happiness.

"I'm fine!" Sora's squeaky tone made Roxas want to facepalm as the brunette spun out of Ven's hold. Anybody could probably tell now that they were hiding something! He watched with slight dread as Ventus grinned at them.

"You guys sure look excited. Did something good happen?"

"Yeah," Roxas quickly said before Sora or Xion could speak up. He sent the two of his partner siblings a look to let him handle it. "Riku apparently just got this game he's been wanting and we were just heading over to check it out." Although he kept a calm expression, he was sure that everybody in the room could hear his heart pounding furiously. Still he thanked the gods above that it was Ventus who came in rather than Vanitas. If it had been the black sheep, Roxas had no doubt that they would have been sniffed out immediately. It was a miracle that his voice kept steady as he asked, "How's Vanitas?"

Ventus sighed and scratched the back of his head. "He's still resting up. It's not your fault though," he hurriedly said as Roxas's face began to fall. "Like we said before, the mission took a bit more out of us than we realized, and Vanitas hadn't gotten the proper sleep he needed. We really wanted to be back in time for your birthday." He said it in a mild tone, but the point was still there. Roxas swallowed nervously.

"I know. Thanks." The words nearly choked Roxas. "I really appreciated it." The guilt from before stabbed him harder, and it took a while for his aspirations to drive it away. He flinched slightly when he felt something ruffle his hair. He looked at his older brother in curiosity and was greeted with a reassuring smile.

"We know." Then the smile flattened into a frown. Ventus sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Roxas wondered what could have brought that change on after his brother just reassured him. He soon found out. "Look…I know you all want to join Aqua's program to help others. I get it. That's why Van and I joined in the first place too. We thought that if we joined, we could help others from being in the same situation as us. We did initially plan to let you join too, if you guys wanted to." Those last words were said in a quieter tone than the others. However, the younger siblings still heard it. Roxas exchanged a shocked look with Sora and Xion at the declaration. Ventus and Vanitas actually thought of letting them join? Given how they vehemently opposed the idea each time it was brought up, he had to wonder why they changed their mind. Ventus continued with a shake of his head:

"But having enduh components surgically implanted in you…that's a burden nobody should carry." The oldest sibling looked at the bands around his wrists, almost glaring at them. Roxas kept quiet, sensing that he still had more to say. Ventus looked up again. "I'll say it's a fate worse than death."

"…why would you say that?" Xion asked quietly. Ventus turned to his sister. He opened his mouth to explain but seemed to hesitate a bit. Roxas waited patiently for the validation of his argument.

"…It's honestly hard to describe. You don't really understand until you have it, unfortunately. So please promise me that you guys will stop pursuing this."

At the request, Roxas exchanged another look with his siblings. He could see the uncertainty in their eyes now that Ventus practically pleaded them to not follow his footsteps. The young man bit his lip. While Ventus's declarations did cast some doubt on him, Roxas reminded himself again that this wasn't all about him. While he did want to feel the power that came with having an Élan Vital, he truly wanted to direct that power to the aid of the helpless. Nobody ever said that helping others was easy, and sometimes sacrifices had to be made for the betterment of others.

As if they shared a telepathy connection, Roxas felt his siblings share the same thought process and reach the same conclusion as him. They were all still going through with it, but it didn't help loosen the knot in his stomach at all.

Roxas said, "We got it." Despite the lump in Roxas's throat, the half-lie easily rolled off his tongue. After all, they weren't exactly joining the program anymore. They were going to be taught privately by Director Aqua. He tried to justify that they weren't directly disobeying their older brothers. However, the guilt only jabbed at him even harder when he saw the relieved smile on Ventus's face.

"Good. Well, you guys have fun, okay? I'm heading to bed."

"Are you tired too?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. Not as tired as Van but tired enough. Make sure you don't stay up too late. I'll see you guys tomorrow." The oldest brother gave them all a half-hearted wave before moving to his room. The door clicked shut, leaving the younger siblings to a strange silence.

It remained for a moment while longer before Roxas jerked his head towards the exit. "Come on. Let's go tell Riku the good news."