Author's Note: I'm sorry for the late post! I've been busy lately… But anyway, I'm finally done playing Birth By Sleep (yay!). I just need to get the secret ending… But other than that, I got the basic story now! 8D But please bear with the story… since I started it out without really knowing what BBS was about. Haha. Anyway, please enjoy!

"Ven was always a special friend to me. He was always so kind, and so forgiving… Why did it have to end up this way? I search and search everywhere… But no matter what I do, I can't find him. Anywhere. I wish I could have told him how I felt before he left- Before I left."

"W-We're locked in here…? What do you mean?" Ventus asked nervously, stepping closer to Anie. She paused to think for a bit, then looked back at Ventus.

"I meant exactly what I said… We're… Locked in from the outside." Anie replied, rather with a curious tone. She looked up at the door's height, and then back at the door knob. "The only way to get out is to use a key…"

"But, neither of us can wield a Keyblade yet…" Ventus added, a slight frown shown on his young features. A frown soon found its way towards Anie too. She let out a sigh and gently rubbed her temples.

"What are we gonna do, Ven?" Anie asked, as her pinkish lips formed a pout. "Why would Master Eraqus keep us locked in here? Are we supposed to find our 'inner strength' or something?" Anie thought as she slouched a little. Then, she began thinking about some possibilities to her answers. Since this place is giving a kind of reaction to both Anie's and Ventus' hearts, could it be that their powers would awaken? Although Anie just started training, she felt ready to take on anything. She hesitantly reached out her hand, and Ventus watched her doing so.

"...What are you doing?" Ventus asked, raising a brow. Anie furrowed her brows and concentrated on her hand.

"I'm trying to summon a Keyblade…" She replied as she kept her eyes on the back of her hand. "Concentrate Anie… You can do this…!" She told herself, furrowing her brows some more. Ventus just watched her, and wondered if he could do it too. He reached out his hand as well and focused his eyes on his hand. Both of them might have looked a little ridiculous, but both were determined to do whatever it takes to summon a Keyblade.

It took numerous amounts of times, but little orbs of light had already appeared, but not in front of Anie. In Ventus' palm, orbs of light gathered and quickly revealed a Keyblade in his hand. Anie couldn't help but to look excited and surprised, but also a little jealous. She gaped her mouth into a perfect 'O' and slowly brought her hand down. She got closer to Ventus and examined his backwards keyblade.

"You're really talented, I'll give ya that." Anie commented as a sad pout formed on her somewhat distraught face. Ventus noticed her disappointment immediately. He averted his gaze for a moment, then looked back to Anie.

"…I… knew I wasn't that qualified to be a Keyblade wielder after all. I only seemed like it…" Anie continued as sadness was clearly identified in her voice.

"Don't say that, Anie. You know, as well as everyone else here, that you have what it takes to be a Keyblade master." Still holding onto his Keyblade, he brought his hand down and furrowed his brows as well. He looked at her while she looked towards the huge door.

"…What if all of that was just an act? What if I'm only acting strong so I can cover up how much I'm scared of the world? Y-You see? I'm not as strong as you think I am!" Anie shook her head, letting her dark blue locks sway side to side as she squints her eyes. She lowered her head. "Now I'm not even sure… If I can prove to myself that I can do this anymore…" She spoke softly. Ventus pressed his lips together and gently grabbed Anie's shoulders and shook her a bit.

"You can do this, okay? This is all just a test to see if you can keep a courageous heart. You are courageous, but you're letting the temptation of fear crawl in. You can't… You're not like that, Anie." He paused, watching Anie's head lower a little more. He tilted his head a little to try to see Anie's face.

"I know that for a fact… That when I met you, I… Er…" Ventus paused, embarrassingly looked away for a moment, and then blinked to look back at Anie. "Th-There was something about you… That made me feel at ease. You made me feel less afraid to try new things… to open myself up to you, Aqua, and Terra. That, I think… is pretty courageous." He laughed embarrassingly. Both his and Anie's face were getting a little red.

"Don't you see? You do have a courageous heart. Don't let doubt have you think you don't have one, because you do. It makes you the person that you are… And the person you are… Makes me feel warm inside…" Ventus' face was almost completely covered in a rosy color. Still holding Anie, his slight shivering was soon transported to her. "C-Can I see your hand?" He asked hesitantly, offering his hand. Anie nervously looked up at him with her big, teal eyes, only to see that he was looking away nervously. She hesitantly offered her hand. The next thing she knew, Ventus placed one of his hands below her's, and the other with his Keyblade on top.

"You do have what it takes to become a Keyblade Master. You can't give up… Not now." Placing the handle on Anie's palm, Ventus gently curled her fingers around it. He kept his hands on hers for a few moments, then finally looked back to her mesmerizing eyes with his own. He had an awkward, but sweet smile. He slowly let his hands go and took a step back. Anie stared at him, and then stared at the Keyblade. Both waited in awkward silence for about 30 seconds until Anie finally realized something.

"See? What should have happened is that the Keyblade would immediately come back to me. But… You've been holding that for a while. The Keyblade has chosen you to be one of the wielders, Anie." Ventus smiled warmly and shrugged. Then, a slight excitement was seen in Anie's eyes again. She passed the Keyblade back to Ventus, the turned to side with her hand reached out. She concentrated, but not as hard and scared as before. Just like that, orbs of light were gathered at her palms too and a Keyblade appeared in her hands. It was different from Ventus', having a cross-like shape as the blade. A smile was slowly forming on Anie's face. She immediately looked at Ventus, who was also smiling. A sudden feeling of happiness urged her to trot towards Ventus.

Anie embraced him with a tight, but tender hug. "I-I'm happy that you're my friend… A-At least you can deal with my weird mood swings." Anie chuckled. "But seriously… You're the only friend who has been nothing but kind to me. Thank you, Ven…" She spoke softly, resting her head on his shoulder for just a swift moment. Stunned and completely blushing, Ventus only patted her back in return. She let go immediately after she had said that, and cleared her throat. "W-Well…" She twirled around, hiding her crimson-covered face.

"A-Aheemm… We should, um, probably…" Ventus, too, turned around to hide his blushing face.

"We should unlock this door, right?" Anie continued, taking a shy glance at Ventus. He did the same and nodded. Almost in sync, both of them summoned their Keyblades as they reached out their hands. Both of them looked at each other, then back-to-back they pointed their Keyblades towards the door. A ray of light shot through both weapons and a ripple of light appeared in and out of the keyhole. CLICK. The door had unlocked.

Anie and Ventus looked at each other with a grin on both of their faces. They ran towards the door. Anie was the one who turned the knob and finally opened the door.

"Good job, you two."

"H-Huh?" Anie looked behind the door and saw Master Eraqus with a straight posture. Freaking out for a moment, Anie quickly straightened her own back and nodded vigorously. "Th-Thank you, sir."

"Ah, Master Eraqus. Were you waiting for us this whole time?" Ventus asked, popping his head behind Anie.

"That must have taken a long time, huh?" Anie blurted out once again, and quickly covered her mouth.

"Yes, It did take a bit longer than usual…" He paused, only to form a light grin on his face. "…But I am glad that the both of you pulled through."

Anie and Ventus had a moment of silence, mostly Anie who was overwhelmingly happy to be praised of her achievement. "Ha… Hahahahaha!" She started to laugh, and soon after Ventus had join in the happiness.

"Well, then. Shall we celebrate with a delicious dinner?" Master Eraqus gestured his way toward the end of the corridor. Both Anie and Ventus nodded, still laughing their joy off.

"Oh, I almost forgot." The Master summoned his Keyblade in a second and pointed it at the massive door. Anie and Ventus watched as their Master locked the door again. He turned towards them with a gentle smile. "We don't want any intruders there while we're eating, right?" Without another word, he walked down the corridor.

"Aaaagh! C'mon, Ven! Let's eat! I'm staaaarving!" Anie's voice echoed throughout the corridor as she stretched her arms up with a loud yawn. She turned around and started following Master Eraqus.

"…A-Anie…" Ventus spoke hesitantly. Anie turned her head and looked at Ventus from the corner of her eye.

"Uh… Y-Yeah? What's up?" She turned her whole body around and tilted her head to the side. Ventus only looked at her for a split second and already became flustered with rosy cheeks. Hinting his hesitance, she quickly turned around again- her cheeks even more crimson in color than his. Remembering her sudden hug towards him made her feel even more embarrassed and ridiculous; it even made her stomach growl even louder. A long sigh escaped through her lips as she twirled around once again and stomped her way towards Ventus. He flinched slightly when he saw her stomp towards him. It was only to realize that she had grabbed his hand and gently tugged his arm.

"I-I'm hungry… Can we hurry up?" She lowered her head, covering her flustered face again. Averting his gaze again, Ventus nodded and cleared his throat.

"Y-Yeah. I-I'm kinda hungry too."

Both new Keyblade wielders, hand in hand, walked down the corridor towards a new beginning.