Author's Notes: Writers block is a terrible thing. . I have decided to start writing my next story. So my updates will be slower then usual.

A Moments Peace

A new day dawned with the rising of the sun and the decline of the moon. Across the land people rejoiced as they awoke to a day free of the darkness that had plagued them. Children played on the streets and adults were merrily chatting. Far from the joyous crowd was a white tent. Inside, laid a teen with silver hair and bandages covering his upper body. Sunlight streamed through the opening and rested on the face of the teen. The teen began to stir and opened his eyes slowly. He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up but gasped in pain and fell back into bed.

"Hey Riku, finally awake I see." Riku turned his head towards the voice to see a young man with spiky blonde hair and a eye patch covering his right eye standing in the opening of the tent. "You shouldn't try to get up. You are still injured from the fight." Riku simply grunted and stayed still. "So Gippal, is the fights over?" Gippal dragged a stool over to the bed and sat down. " Yeah its over. All the heartless have been destroyed." Riku gave a sigh of relief . "However, we do have another problem" said Gippal with a mischievous smile on his face. Riku frowned "What this new problem Gippal? Is it serious?" Gippal shook his head "Yeah its serious. You got to get better soon or your going to miss the celebration we have planned." Riku could feel his eye twitch at what he heard. "So this big problem is me missing a party? Gippal remind me to never take you serious again." Gippal had a false look of pain of his face "Riku, you can't possibly mean you don't mind missing a party to celebrate our victory." Riku merely closed his eyes and laid his head back "Nope." Gippal shook his in sadness "Aw, poor Riku, unable to enjoy the simple pleasures of life." Riku chuckled at Gippal's false look of despair on his face. Gippal stood up "Well Riku, it was nice talking with you, but I got to go to a meeting. Glad to see that you have joined the world of the living again." Gippal walked towards the exit but stopped at the opening. "Riku?"

"Yeah Gippal?"

"I meant what I said Riku. You need to rest and get better." With those words, Gippal walked out the tent. Riku watched him leave with a confused expression. 'What was that about?'

-[Line Break]-

For the next three days, Riku was bedridden in the tent and everyday doctors would come in to check on him. They explained to him that his back was severely damaged in the fight and for some reason light spells did not work on his wounds. Riku was disturbed by this as he remembered how that had happened before with his fight at Destiny Islands. He was distracted from his worries as the doctor told him to drink a potion and then began to heal medical herbs on his back. The doctor explained that he would have to drink a potion and have the herbs applied every day to speed up his recover. The rest of the day he simply sat in bed tried to entertain himself with a book or watching television. His boring day was occasionally brightened by a visit from Gippal. Everyday he would come by when he was free to keep him entertained. Kimahri visited him on the first day but did not stay long. Their conversation was very short with only Kimahri saying three words but that was the longest conversation he ever had with Kimahri. Kimahri only visited that one time and Riku never saw him again. He later learned that Kimahri had returned home. Lulu had also visited him on the first day. Riku was surprised when she thanked him for all his help and couldn't help but blush when she actually smiled at him with gratitude. However, after that she never visited again and Riku was left wondering where she went.

Finally the fourth day arrived and Riku was free from his boredom. He joyfully left the tent and hoped he would never have to go through that again. Gippal was there to greet him and led him to a room that he would be using during his stay. Riku wasn't interested in the room and pestered Gippal about wanted to explore the area. Gippal reluctantly agreed and became tour guide for the day. Riku explored the markets, ports, and stadium and thought it was a nice place, when it wasn't infested with heartless. Riku began to wonder how everyone was able to restore the city in such a short amount time.

He turned to Gippal "Hey Gippal, how were you guys able to restore the city so fast." Gippal looked uneasy "I guess I couldn't hide it from you for long. You see Riku, you were in that tent longer than just four or five days." Riku felt dread creep into his happy mood. "Just how long was I recovering Gippal?" Gippal looked at Riku with a serious expression. "You were asleep in that bed for two weeks before you woke up. So if you can't those two weeks with the time you were conscious, then you would have been recovering from that battle for around three weeks."

"Three weeks" shouted Riku. "Why didn't you tell me it took me that long to recover!"

"I didn't want you to overexert yourself, Riku. If I would have told you how long it took, you would have tried and leave even though you weren't fully healed."

"But I have to continue on my mission to clear out the worlds with heartless! Sora and the king are probably almost done with their worlds! Wait, if I was recovering for weeks, then that means Sora and Kairi must be worried about me not responding to their messages. I got to get back to my ship so I c-"

Gippal interrupted Riku's rant "No, Riku you shouldn't travel yet. Your still not completely healed." Riku turned to Gippal with a scowl on his face "I can't do that Gippal. I have to go now. I have already been delayed to long. I'm falling behind the others!" Gippal glared at Riku "What happens if you overexert yourself and hurt yourself even worse? What will you do when your by yourself and have no one to help you! Huh, tell me!" Riku faltered for a second. "That won't happen Gippal. I'm fine right now. I don't need any more time to heal see." Riku jumped in place and tried to hide the wince when he felt pain shoot through his back. Gippal merely shook his head. "You can't fool me Riku. You have to at least wait a couple of more days. Please, just wait until the festival is over." Riku sighed " When is the festival Gippal?"

"The festival is in two days Riku. You won't have to wait much longer. You can go back to your ship and respond to any messages you have, but please wait until the festival before you leave."

Riku took a moment to consider his options. 'I can leave now and possible make things even worse with my injuries or I could wait two more days and hope it doesn't cost me.' Sighing in defeat, Riku looked at Gippal. "Fine, I'll stay until the festival. But, I won't stay any longer than that." Gippal let a sigh of relief "That's fine with me Riku. Now that's out of the way, lets get back to the base. It is getting late, and you are going to need all the rest your going to get." Riku chuckled at Gippal "Since when did you become my mother?" Gippal shoved Riku "Hey!"

The next day Riku returned to his ship and checked for any messages he may have received. He had two messages from the king and to his surprise none from Sora. 'That's weird, I would have thought that Sora would be freaking out about now.' Riku simply shrugged and opened up the first message from the king.

Riku, how is your mission going?

End of Message

'Well that was short' thought Riku in surprise. 'All well, guess I should check the next message and then respond.

Riku are you okay? I have not heard from you in weeks. I hope you are merely busy with finishing your mission and not in trouble. I have one world left and then I shall be headed back to the castle. However, if you need help, I would gladly come and help you.

End of Message

Riku finished reading the message then began to write his own to the king.

I am doing fine Mickey. I have sealed one world and due to some problems, my mission was delayed. Do not worry about me, I am fine and nothing is wrong. I will be heading to the next world soon and hopefully it will go more smoothly.

Riku finished typing and sent his message to the king. 'No need for him to worry about me. He has to focus on his own mission.' Riku then began to prepare his ship for takeoff. He spent the rest of the day checking the system to see if everything was working.

Riku returned to the base to eat dinner with Gippal and surprisingly, Lulu who had appeared out of nowhere. Even though Riku and Gippal pestered Lulu about where she went, she merely ignored them and continued to eat. Gippal gave up and began to describe the festival to Riku and what events that will happen during and after it.

"Your going to the festival?" Riku jumped in surprised and turned towards Lulu. "uh, Yeah I am. Why, are you going?" Lulu shook her head "No, I'm not going to the festival. I don't really feel like celebrating. I also thought you would be gone by now. Taking break?" Riku pointed at Gippal "No, I'm not taking a break! This person here wouldn't let me think about leaving until he felt I was fully healed." Gippal laughed "It's true Lulu, I was able to talk Riku into not leaving till after the festival."

"So" said Lulu "you going to be leaving after the festival and travel to the next world?" Riku nodded. Lulu was silent for a second before turning to Riku. "The world you're going to, is it full of heartless as well?" Riku nodded again "Yeah, the worlds I'm headed to all have heartless overflowing into their world. That's why I'm traveling in the first place." Lulu seemed to think about what he said "I see… Well I hope you enjoy the festival tomorrow. Have a nice night" Riku watched as Lulu cleaned up her plates and then go outside. He turned to Gippal with a confused face. "What was all that about?" Gippal merely shrugged. "I have no idea man. It's to hard trying to figure out what Lulu is thinking. Anyways we should go to bed early today. That way you can be fully energized for the festival tomorrow!"

Riku stood up "Okay then Gippal, good night."

-[Line Break]-

Riku woke up cranky. 'Man I didn't get much sleep because of what Lulu said. Maybe I shouldn't go to the festival. I only promise Gippal that I would wait until the festival. I never said I would go to it.' Riku shook his head 'It's to late to think about this anyways. The festival is already here.' Riku got up and went to the bathroom for his morning ritual. After he took a shower, he dressed in some clothes that Gippal had given him since his original pair was dirty at the moment. The shirt was a simple white shirt with red stripes around the shoulders and gray baggy pants with multiple pockets along the sides. Riku grimaced at the way he looked. 'Not what I would normally wear. All well, guess I'll just have to put up with it till I clean my other clothes.' Riku was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard someone knocking on his door. He walked over and opened it to see Gippal standing there in fancy clothes. Riku couldn't stop himself from laughing. "Hahahaha, why are you wearing clothes like that!"

"Shut up Riku!" yelled Gippal "Me and the other leaders all have to give a speech today and Nooj made it painfully clear that I better be presentable." Riku merely shook his head at Gippal "So you came all this way to show me your new clothes and complain about what Nooj is making you do?" Gippal shook his head "No! I came by to tell you that I will be leaving earlier than you. Got to get there early and meet with Nooj and Baralai."

Riku nodded "I see, so I guess I'll meet you later then?"

"Yeah, sorry about this but its my duty. See yeah later Riku!" Gippal waved at Riku and ran out of the building . Riku yawned 'Gippal always seems to have to much energy where does he get it all and where can I get some' Riku stomached growled 'Well I guess eating would be a good start.'

Riku grabbed some breakfast and sat down in the dinning hall. He was surprised when Lulu entered the room and chose to sit down by him. "Morning Riku"

"Good morning Lulu."

"So are you ready to leave for the festival, Riku?"

Riku nodded "Yeah, I'm just grabbing something to eat. Gippal came by earlier and said that I would have to go by myself because of this important speech he had."

Lulu took a piece of toast from Riku's plate "So you going to go by yourself?"

'She ate my toast!' Riku grumbled in his head "Yes, might as well have a look at this festival before I go."

Lulu seemed to think while she chewed on her(Riku's) toast. "So your not worried about falling behind in your mission?"

Riku tried to say no but couldn't "Yeah, I'm worried about spending to much time here but I'm already here so I might as well enjoy it."

Lulu snatched another toast "Well do you have anyone else that is going with you?"

'Stop eating my toast!' Riku felt his eye twitch. "No, why are asking? Do you want to come to?"

Lulu laughed " No, I don't want to go. I just wanted to know if you were going to go with anybody." After her reply, there was a long pause as Lulu chewed on her(Riku's!) toast. "Hey Riku, do you ever get lonely?" Riku looked at her in surprise "What?"

Lulu shifted uncomfortable "Well I just want to know if you ever lonely. I mean you're traveling the worlds alone and now your going to a festival and have no one to celebrate with. I was just kind of thinking that it seems lonely to be by yourself for so long."

'Yes' Riku forced himself to smile "No, I'm sure I will find something to entertain myself at the festival and I can always meet new people at the worlds I go to. So you see I'm always able to make new friends on the planets I visit."

Lulu stared at Riku and then stood up with a smile on her face "Sure Riku, whatever you say." She stole the last piece of toast off of Riku's plate and walked away.

Riku could only think of one thing as he watched her leave. 'She ate all my toast!'

-[Line Break]-

When Riku first arrived at the festival, his mood was lighter than it had been in days. There were many stores with interesting merchandise, games with prizes, and entertaining shows aligned along every street. He played a few games and watched as performers showed off their talents. However, his mood quickly became darker as he looked around him. Everyone was laughing and people were walking around in groups of two or more. Children were running around unsupervised and in large groups with one goal set in mind, candy. Riku began to feel out of place as he walked along the streets by himself. Riku found himself sighing 'Lulu was right, I am kind of lonely. The only people I know here are Lulu and Gippal. Gippal is to busy being a leader and Lulu didn't come.' Riku entered a restaurant and sat down at a booth. He order his lunch and then leaned back. 'I should have left and not gone to this festival. I should just hurry and finish this mission and return to home with Sora and Kairi. At least there I can have some peace.'

"Is that really true Riku? Have you really ever felt peace at that place you call home?"

Riku's eyes snapped open and he rigidly sat up. 'Damn that voice is back. I forgot all about it for the past few days.'

"You say you would feel at peace at Destiny Islands, but I know that you are wrong. What was the reason you originally fell into the darkness?"

Riku was surprised by the question 'Why did I first enter the darkness? …I remember, it was originally to get off the islands and later I entered even deeper into the darkness to save Kairi. Then later I went even deeper to awaken Sora.'

"You see Riku, that place you call home has all the things that made you fall into darkness in the first place. Wanting to go back to the very place and people who are responsible for awakening your darkness is not what I thought you would see as peaceful."

'Your wrong!' thought Riku angrily. 'I was able to leave the darkness because of my friends and I realized that my home is with them. You won't trick me into betraying my friends again!'

"The only one you are betraying is yourself. By all my means return to your friends. They should make it much easier in dealing with you."

'What do you mean by that?' Silence was the only answer Riku received. 'Answer me, what are you planning.' Riku gave up when he received no answer again. 'Damn it, he's gone. Hopefully, I will prove him wrong when this is all over.' Riku suddenly felt restless. 'I need to hurry on to the next world. I only hope that voice is wrong about my friends.'

Riku hurriedly ate his lunch and then traveled to the port to get a ship to return to the base. An hour later, he was packed and standing in front of the gates. Riku took one last look at the base behind him 'See yaw later Gippal, Lulu. Sorry that I won't be able to say goodbye, but I have a lot of time to make up.' He began to walk away but stopped when he saw a figure in front of him.

" Trying to leave without saying goodbye?"

Author's Endnotes: This was originally suppose to be a short chapter but it seems I got into a good rhythm and it became bigger than I expected! My other story should be up in a day or two so if you like this one try out my other one.