Okay, so yeah, here it is! Sorry it took so long, I was lazy, also making videos (my youtube channel school, film club, ect. Yeah, I have a life...I think...actually, not really, I just do alot of pointless things. Anyway, so far it may still may be a bit confusing but it makes some more sense!

-Beginning-

Shadows of the Past

-Ends Meet Beginnings-

I pushed my way through the crowd of people, where could he be? My arms were sore from being pushed and shoved from left to right, I wanted to stop but I couldn't. This search seemed hopeless, we've been looking through out the crowds for about two hours now, but, no trace of him was to be found. There were so many questions to ask but no time to ask them. How could this have happened? Why did this happen? But more importantly, where was Sora?

"Riku! Hey, wait up!"

I heard someone calling my name; I spun around to see Kairi running toward me. Her red flowing hair blew through the breeze as she came to me. Her cheeks were burning red, she must have been searching non-stop too.

"Riku, have you found anything yet?" Kairi said her voice shaky while trying to gasp for air. I said nothing in response, I knew Kairi was upset with Sora disappearing and I didn't want to tell her I found nothing. Even so, what's the point? I'll have to tell her sooner or later, I can't just lie and say I found something when I hadn't.

"Riku, you okay? It's alright if you didn't find anything, I didn't either." Kairi said looking down sadly. I knew she wanted to burst out in tears but, to all honesty, so did I. It wasn't like Sora to just disappear without a word, it just wasn't like him. Whatever the reason was, it couldn't be good.

"Yo! You guys!" Tidus came running toward us, could he have found Sora?

"Yo Tidus, you find anything?" I shouted to him as he came sprinting through the crowds.

"I saw Leon a while ago, he was headed toward Merlin's house but it looked like he had someone beside him. I thought I saw a spiky brunette we all know, could've been my eyes but I'm sure that's what I saw." Tidus said with a grin of excitement.

Both Kairi and I instantly looked at him with a shocked look, how could I have been so stupid? We should have checked in with Leon and the gang first.

"I think I just felt my IQ drop stupidly." I said as I slapped my fore head with one hand.

Kairi of course laughed at this, at least she was happy to hear the news. I was happy too but I just felt like a total idiot for not going to the most obvious place in Radiant Garden for Sora to go to. But still, I question why he wouldn't tell us he was going there, we were supposed to meet in the center of the town square but instead he headed off to Merlin's. I don't know why but some still doesn't seem right.

"Tidus, Kairi and I will go to Merlin's; you look for the others, 'Kay?" I said to him. Tidus gave me a quick nod and sprinted off again as Kairi and I walked off toward Merlin's house.

Merlin's house was on a small quiet street, to think it used to be overrun with heartless, until two years ago that is. Back when it was known as Hollow Bastion the town was covered with heartless and of course along came a hero; Sora. But things were much worst a year before that. That was when I had joined the darkness and controlled the heartless; Even now I questioned why I did that.

Either way, Hollow Bastion got its original name back, Radiant Garden, and ever since then it's been a lot more peaceful, I haven't seen a heartless in ages to all honesty. I haven't seen a single nobody ever since Sora and I left The World That Never Was. Maybe the worlds could be at peace again…just maybe.

After a bit, thinking about the past and what me, Sora and Kairi have all been through together I realized we were right in front of Merlin's house.

I opened the door and stepped inside because Merlin always said not to bother knocking cause it was a waste of time. I left the door open for Kairi and walked around to see nobody at home.

"That's odd…usually there's at least someone at home." Kairi said coming up from behind me to my side. She was right; it was weird that no one was around.

"Hello? Anybody home?" My shout echoed through out the room and then faded away. The silence felt deceitful, as if something in the house was wrong. It was almost like a feeling in my gut was telling me that something bad happened.

"R-Riku? Kairi? W-what're you guys doing here?" Yuffie said with a stutter as she came out of a door and closed it behind her.

Why would she stutter? And why was she standing in front of that door as if to keep us out? Kairi gave Yuffie an odd look as well; she obviously had the same suspicion as me.

"What do you mean? Sora is here isn't he?" I said to her, I could tell by Yuffie's expression that she knew that we knew she was hiding something.

"S-Sora? Why would he be here? I don't know what you're talking about." Yuffie said again with the stutter, it was obvious that Sora was here, but why would she hide him?

"Yuffie, where's Sora? It's pretty obvious he's here, why are you hiding him? Either you answer me or I'm going to have to force my way through that door." I said sternly, she knew I meant business. Yuffie knows that when it comes to Sora I'm willing to do anything, what can I do? He's my best friend.

"I'm sorry Riku but I can't let you near Sora…for the moment that is." Yuffie looked at me with her big, sad eyes as if she wanted to cry; I knew something was wrong.

"I'm sorry Yuffie but we have to see Sora. I'm sorry about this..." With those words I quickly went next to her, pushed her aside making her fall in a pile of books near by. I swung the door open and ran up the stair case. I stopped half way up the stairs to see Sora at the top; I smiled with relief as I caught the sight of his face.

"Sora…thank god. We were looking everywhere for you, what're you doing here anyways?" I said as I climb the rest of the steps, removing the distance between us. I stopped as I saw an annoyed sort of look on his face, what was up with him?

"Oh please, not another one. Listen, I'm not Sora and don't even ask me where that kid is." He turned away but I quickly grabbed his shirt and turned him to face me. As our eyes met I immediately noticed he looked different; his eyes, they were now a mild purple. Sora's eyes we're a sky blue, why did they change?

"You're eyes, they've changed… What do you mean Sora isn't here? What did you do with him?" I was afraid, I couldn't remember the last time fear filled me. I was so frightened I could feel my eyes pour out tears. What happened to Sora?

"Listen, I don't know where he is, okay? I woke up in his body and his soul could be anywhere now." He said pushing my hand away from him. At the moment, what worried me the most is that Sora's soul had some how exited his body and what was even worst, I didn't know anything about souls.

"What do you mean? How did his soul leave his body? Why di-?" I stopped myself as I saw Leon appear from a door on the left.

"Riku, this is Arose, you've read in the archives about him, correct?" Leon said as he leaned over the railing. I couldn't believe it; Arose was here, but how? I looked from him to Leon with a look of disbelief.

"Arose…are you kidding me? But how?" I continued to look at them both.

"I came across a soul of this kid and I told him who I was. He said he wanted to help me and the only way he could do that was by giving me his body. It seems that this Sora kid is my reincarnation, right?" He said, although, he gave me a strange sad look. I glanced at him but he looked away; what was he thinking? I knew that it defiantly wasn't Sora; this guy seemed to be way too serious.

I still questioned how souls could switch. Then again, Sora and Arose have a connection; maybe Arose's soul was dormant within Sora. Either way, Arose's soul was some how awakened and was now controlling Sora's body.

Kairi came up behind me along with Yuffie.

"Sora is here, I know it…" Kairi said as she looked around as if she were searching for something. I started to wonder if she had a feeling in her stomach because I did too. The feel was so strange, I felt warmth within my gut but it disturbed me.

I looked up toward Arose to see that he was staring at Kairi, I wondered if he was thinking of her.

"Arose, it may look like her…but that isn't Raven." I said quietly to him. Arose gave me a silent nod and turned and started to walk away not looking at me or Kairi.

"Why are you avoiding me?" I asked him, I could tell he was trying to stay away from me, but why? He stopped in his foot steps, not even turning around he said in reply.

"You obviously didn't do your research on me well, did you?" With that he just simply walked toward the room Leon had come from and shut the door behind him.

I sat on the top step and gave Leon a look that said "What the hell did that mean?" Leon of course being Leon could tell what I was thinking and replied.

"Do you remember Ukirr Amisharaa? His name was at least in those Archives you checked, I know it." Leon said to me. I recognize the name, it was in there, but what did he have to do with this?

"Yeah? Your point?" I said to him. What was he getting at with this anyways?

"Think about it, if you spell Sora backwards and add an e in there you get Arose. So, put Ukirr backwards and remove a letter." Kairi said as she sat down next to me. I finally realized what he meant now.

"I am Ukirr's reincarnation…well, it isn't that important, is it? Ukirr was only mentioned in there once." I said looking up to Leon hoping for an answer.

"Ukirr played a bigger part then what the archives give him credit for, just like you and Sora, Ukirr and Arose were best friends." Leon said. Even so, there wasn't anything special about Ukirr, was there? After the death of Princess Raven his name hadn't been mentioned. It was like Ukirr vanished into oblivion afterward, there weren't any death records or anything. I wonder, were they destroyed or just a forgotten memory?

"Well, if Ukirr played such a big part then what happened to him? Don't tell me he simply died of old age or something." I said to Leon. I knew Ukirr wouldn't have just sat there and watch his two best friends get killed.

"It's because they killed him and told everyone he went searching for the outer world…" Arose said coming up from behind Leon and sitting next to me.

"But why did they kill him? Why did the kill you and Raven? What was the purpose in it?" I asked Arose while shifting over a bit to make room. His eyes had gotten darker; he had sort of a serious and merciless look to him.

"…The blood of the "Keyblade King" and the "Queen of Heart" together, along with some other ingredients make a potion of immortality. Raven and I were the chosen ones, The Keyblade King and Queen of Heart and our blood was worth a lot, everywhere we went our lives were at stake." Arose said, his fingers interlocked with one another and his chin resting on his hands.

"That still doesn't answer my question, what happened to Ukirr and who killed you all?" My voice sounded stern and impatient, he could tell I wanted a clear answer.

"…Ukirr died a while after Raven and I, he went to get revenge and was killed. Either way, we were all killed by our so called "King"…Raven's father." As Arose said those words his eyes darkened with hatred but at the same time they filled with tears.

"He treated me like his own son and sent my friends to kill me. He accused his own daughter for my death and hanged her. Then he just had to kill my best friend and lock up the others…WHY DAMNIT!?" After saying this Arose immediately broke down. He buried his face in his hands trying to muffle his sobs but they could be heard loud and clear through out the house.

I didn't dare say anything; I simply pulled him into my arms and let him cry. To think he hadn't cried in over 1000 years, it must be rough crying for the first time in centuries, I wonder how it feels but like I would ever know. Kairi rubbed his back while I held him; we've been looking out for each other ever since I can remember, it just seemed natural.

"Poor kid…I don't think even I would be able to put up with that." A deep voice said from behind. I looked up from Arose to see Cloud standing behind me. He was right, for all of his friends to be killed by someone you trusted…I couldn't bare with it either.

Arose slowly pulled himself out of my arms but he didn't look much like Sora anymore. His hair had changed, instead of the normal spiky hair Sora had he now had slightly spiked hair at the back of his head. He also had long thin bangs that when his face just barely revealing his eyes. Arose had long hair in the back tied up as well, it was so long that it nearly reached his feet. He looked exactly as he did in him portrait, the one I found in the archives.

He wiped his dark eyes sparing them from remaining tears and then said "I apologize for that…I've never broken down like that before."

"It's no problem, I would be crying to if I were in your place…" I said to him quietly. I couldn't even start to imagine how Arose was feeling at the moment; I think it would be unimaginable for everyone. At times like these I feel useless, unable to help anyone, all I can do is sit on the sidelines and watch as people suffer. I hated this feeling, it made me feel stupid and worthless, and maybe I am. Either way, I had to try and ignore it at the moment.

"Arose, what about Sora? How is he going to get his body back?" I said sternly. Arose was still trying to collect himself but he was almost fully back to normal.

"Don't worry; when the time comes he'll get it back…" Arose said looking down mournfully, what did he mean by "When the time comes"?

"Oh really, so what's the catch then? Why don't you know when he'll come back?" I said as I tried to look him in the face. I was starting to sound impatient like before, I didn't want to but I had to, we're talking about Sora here.

"I told you, he wanted to help me, so, when I do what needs to be done THEN he get's his body back. It's not that I won't return it; it's just that he won't take it back. We made an oath; I can have his body until I'm done with it." Arose said trying to avoid eye contact.

"You're avoiding the point, what do you have to do?" I said as I spun in front of him and looked him in the face. Arose glared at me for a moment and then sighed.

"Sora won't get his body back until I get my revenge." Arose said and then turned his head away, to what intention I had no clue.

I didn't say anything; everyone simply fell silent after Arose's words. How could Arose get his revenge anyways? The kingdom Arose came from had to have fallen to its doom long ago, along with its king. If the king were dead how would Arose get his revenge? It made no sense, what was Sora thinking?

"The king is not dead if that is what you are thinking." Arose said still having his head turned away.

"How is that possible? He would be pushing 1000-something if he were still living, no mortal can possibly live that long." Kairi said deciding to join into the conversation.

"That's why he wanted that immortality potion, just so he could continue being king…trying to escape death by killing others." Arose narrowed his eyes at the memories running through his head. It seemed unlike Arose to be angered, of what I had heard of him he had always been the calm and collected. Then again, I would be ticked too…

"Okay, let me get this straight. Some king that was your girl friend's father who treated you like his own son killed you so he could gain immortality and now you want to get your revenge by killing him? Okay, first things first, how are you going to kill an immortal being and two, do you even know where the hell he is?" I asked raising my eye brow in confusion.

"Kingdom Hearts." Arose had simply said with an emotionless expression.

"…you're shitting me…" I said as I threw him an awkward stare.

"No, I'm not shitting you." Arose said trying to be serious but he let out a small laugh.

"But how is that possible!? Kingdom Hearts is simply the heart of all worlds….or is it?" I said confusingly once again.

"It's a kingdom, duh. It is the kingdom of the hearts of all worlds, that is where you, Sora, Kairi and many others originally came from. All the keyblade bearers, all the princesses of heart, you all originated from Kingdom Hearts. It is your true homeland." Arose had said.

I gaped as I stared at him. Arose wasn't kidding around, he was telling the truth, I could tell. It all made some sort of weird sense, and at the same time I didn't understand.

Maybe it was the end of the end and the beginning of a new beginning.

-End-

Anywho, the reason why 1000 years was chosen is in Greek mythology, a person is reborn, or reincarnated, every 1000 years. So, Arose here is basically from medivil times and what not. That last line was random, I don't know where it came from honestly. Either way, I've actually been working on this story for a long time. After I saw the secret ending for KH2 I started to think about the whole reincarnation stuff and those knights made me think of medivil days and stuff. So this is what I got! But there is more! Gasp! Anyway, I should stop ranting! Before I give away spoilers and such!