Good day everyone and Happy Holidays. Since it's that time of year, I decided to write a Christmas special. This will take place right after Max and the gang return from Corneria. So please enjoy.

Special Chapter: A Maximum Hearts Christmas

"I can't believe it's almost here…" I whispered to myself as I stared at the dark clouds. Snow covered the streets, decorations covered the houses, and giant coats covered the people. Yep, it's that time of year again. It's when families get together, sit around the tree, share presents, laugh together, and eat a fabulous dinner. Yeah…It's Christmas and everyone around Kairi's house is happy and cheery, except me.

It will be my first Christmas away from the flock. We've never really had a proper Christmas before, but with the help of my mother and Ella, this would've been our first. But that wouldn't happen because…

"Max!" I heard my name being called from below. I looked down to see Kairi, all bundled up in a big puffy red coat. "Max, we're about to start dinner. Come down from the roof and join us!"

"I'll be there in a minute!" I answered. Once Kairi went back inside, I got to my feet, and made my way to the ground. It would've been much easier with my wings, but they're currently being used by a complete stranger.

At first I was shocked that people celebrate Christmas in a different world, but then the depression kicked in. I hid it from Kairi and the others, so they shouldn't know. But I wondered how long I can hold on to this charade.

I walked inside the house to see Kairi and Selphie making their way towards the dinner table, where Hideo was putting the finishing touches. "You girls ready?" He asked with a big grin on his face that just screams out Christmas joy.

"Yeah!" The two teenage girls cheered as they ran towards the table. I sat next to Kairi while Selphie and Hideo sat on the opposite side. In the middle of the table, there was a giant turkey surrounded by some side dishes.

"Wow. You really outdid yourself this time dad!" Selphie congratulated her father as the hunger in her eyes grew.

"Thank you." Hideo let out an embarrassed laugh. He then turned his attention towards me. "I hope you enjoy our Christmas Eve dinner Max. It's sort of a tradition here."

Kairi handed me a piece of turkey as I chewed on some of the mashed potato, which was phenomenal. "Oh don't worry I am!" I answered. "But… I thought people usually have their Christmas dinner… well ON Christmas?"

Hideo gave me a heartfelt chuckle. "Usually, yes. But this little tradition was started by my wife."

"On Christmas Eve we have a big dinner, like Thanksgiving!" Selphie began the explanation. She then began munching on a turkey leg, leaving Kairi to finish the explanation.

"And on Christmas day, we go out to the homeless shelter and help out." She said.

"That's not going to be an inconvenience to you? Will it Max?" Hideo asked me.

I shook my head. "Of course not. You let me stay in your home when I had nowhere to go, helping you guys is the least I could do." I took another bite of the delicious turkey as Hideo laughed once again.

"I'm glad you'll join us." He said as Kairi and Selphie look at each other and giggled.

"Sora? Yeah it's me." Kairi whispered to her cell phone, trying not to wake up the sleeping Max. "Yeah, she's asleep right now…So are we still on for tomorrow?" She stayed quiet, letting Sora answer. She heard the answer she wanted to hear. "Great! I'll see you tomorrow!" She cheered as she hung up her phone.

She then stared at the sleeping Max, who was resting on the guest futon. She looked so peacefully as she counted sheep.

"Wake up Max! It's Christmas!" I heard a voice, trying to bring my consciousness back to reality, which was the complete opposite of what I wanted to do. I tried to ignore the pestering noise, but now the owner of the voice began poking my shoulder.

I tried my best to keep my eyes closed, but the force didn't hold back. Eventually, I gave in to the noise and began opening my eyes. The first thing I noticed was bright scarlet red hair, then I saw a big grin on the owner's face. "Why do we have to wake up so early?" I complained as I tried to go back to sleep.

"No can do, Max! You promised that you would help out at the shelter and you can't go back on it now." Kairi explained as she began to pull away my blanket. I began to fight back, but even though today I had my wings (which included my super mutant strength), she still managed to take the blanket away from me. Suddenly a blast of cold air ran throughout my body.

I involuntarily opened my eyes to find Kairi wearing a bizarre, yet very accurate, red dress with white fluff at the bottom and arms, and a festive santa hat. I stared at her with a raised, concerned eyebrow. "I don't have that, do I?"

"Of course not!" Kairi giggled the answer I wanted to hear. But as soon I let out a sigh of relief, she pulled out clothes out of her closet. It was a green and red dress with little bells hanging at the bottom of it. And to top it all of, a green elf hat with a little bell hanging at the end of it. "You'll be wearing this!" Kairi said with a big grin on her face.

"Great…"

…

"We're here girls!" Hideo said as he parked his car in front of a giant cubed building. It looked like it was a church because of the stained glass windows that cover the building.

I looked down at my elf outfit, in which rainbow colored kneesocks, green pointy shoes, and pointy elf ears were added in. I absolutely hated this outfit, but I guess it matched with what everyone else in this car was wearing. As stated before, Kairi was wearing a Mrs. Claus outfit. Selphie was wearing an elf costume that matched mine. It seemed like she was disappointed because she wanted to be Mrs. Claus, but her mood quickly changed when she realized that she wouldn't be the only elf. And Hideo, you can probably figure it out with the process of elimination,was dressed up as Saint Nick himself. The white beard really fits with his all around saintly attitude (not to mention his chubby belly).

As we all got out of the car, the effects of winter blew through my legs. My legs felt like they were immediately frozen. It seemed like Kairi and Selphie felt exactly the same, because all three of us immediately ran towards the building.

"Ho ho ho!" Hideo laughed as he casually walked towards us while holding a giant bag full of goodies. "Can't handle a little winter weather?"

"You're one to talk dad!" Selphie complained. "You're the one wearing full pants while we're wearing dresses!"

Hideo laughed once again. "Well then, let's go inside before you three freeze to death." He opened the door and began to walking inside. We followed Santa as he made our way through the hall. The halls were pretty wide with doors on each side with little windows on them. I tried to look through them, but all I could see was darkness, which to tell you the truth, it made me feel a bit uneasy. Hideo suddenly stopped in front of two doors. I heard voices coming from behind them… a lot of voices. Suddenly the door slightly opened up and a woman wearing a business suit, glasses, her hair tied up into a bun walked through it.

"Ah! Mr. Tilmitt! You finally made it!" She said as she greeted Hideo. She then looked towards us in the back. "Good morning Kairi, Selphie, and…" She paused when she got to me. "Oh my! And who might you be?" She asked with such politeness, that Kairi might have some competition.

"I-I'm Max…" I whispered out, embarrassed that I have to introduce myself in such an outfit.

"She is currently staying with us and she agreed to help us." Hideo saved me from looking like a complete fool.

"Ah perfect! You know what they say. The more the merrier!" The secretary said with a big grin on her face. She then rested her hand on the door. "Okay, now we can begin." She walked through the door and we closely followed. The inside was actually a gymnasium full of people, surprisingly mostly children.

"HO HO HO!" Hideo laughed gaily as he lifted the sack of presents, making all the children cheer. They all began running, completely surrounding us. I can handle mutants and androids, but children are a different story.

"Now now… one at a time." Kairi giggled as she picked up a present and handed it to a little boy. I noticed that Hideo and Selphie were doing the same. So I started picking up presents and handed them out one by one.

"Thank you Ms. Elf." A little girl thanked me as I gave her a present.

To tell you the truth I was caught off guard. The little girl stared at me with a big grin on her face. Her face was dirty with dirt and clothes ripped from years of wearing, but she had a smile that screamed innocence. "No problem little one. Now remember to stay a good little girl."

The little girl nodded right before she turned around and ran towards two people, who I figure are her parents. She started unwrapping the box and found a teddy bear inside.

"Warms your heart doesn't it?" I heard Kairi speaking to me. I looked at her to find her staring at me. Her smile looking just as innocent as the little girl's. She quickly looked away and continued to give children presents.

I couldn't answer her because of the chaos, but Kairi was right. Seeing the smile on, not just that little girl, but on every little kid, made me feel happy. They looked so overjoyed getting simple things. Coming from someone who lived in the streets most of her life, I can understand how the smallest things can make anyone's day, even if it's garbage food after you haven't eaten in days. I think I found a new tradition for when my world comes back. I wonder how Fang would look like in a Santa Suit…

…

"Come on Selphie! We're going to be late for the party!" Kairi complained as we made our way through the streets of Destiny Island. After we left the shelter and a quick costume change, Kairi, Selphie and I were making our way towards Sora's house for a Christmas party. Underneath the coat, Kairi was sporting a cute pink strapless dress that goes down to her knees and made her hair into twintails (which took hours I might add). Selphie was wearing this very fancy yellow dress with her hair completely straight (which looked odd on her). I'm wearing a blood red dress that Kairi let me borrow. It was a little out of my taste, but hey, a dress is a dress.

"Well excuse me! I'm highly sensitive to the cold!" Selphie complained. Even though she was covered from head to toe, she was still shaking and her teeth were chattering. Can't really blame her. The temperature was probably in the teens.

"If we don't hurry, Tidus will be SO disappointed!" Kairi said as she winked mischievously. Suddenly Selphie stopped shaking and began marching past us.

As Kairi giggled, I walked up behind her. "So who's this Tidus guy?" I asked.

"An old friend of ours. Selphie has a huge, obvious crush on him."

"Ah...Just like your crush with Sora." I responded.

"Wha-WHAT?!" Kairi looked at me with a flushed face. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing…" I started walking away from the flustered Kairi.

"Come on! Or we'll be late!" Selphie yelled what Kairi yelled a few seconds ago.

…

Kairi rang the doorbell as we stood in front of a house. I could hear loud music and a lot of voices. The door opened and boy with dark blond spiky hair came out. "Selphie! Kairi! You made it!" He said.

"Hey Tidus!" Kairi greeted. She then pointed towards me. "This is Max, a friend of ours." I waved at Tidus sheepishly, still not used to being greeted like this.

"Great! Come in!" He let us in to a room filled with people. The music was loud, and people chatting loud enough so they could hear the music. And thus my claustrophobia started to kick in.

Kairi grabbed my hand. I looked towards her to find her giving me a reassuring smile. She then looked at Tidus. "Hey Tidus, where are Sora and Riku?"

"Last time I saw them they were in the kitchen."

"Kairi, Max, you go on ahead. I'll stay here." Selphie said, continuously staring at Tidus.

"Okay then. Come one Max." Kairi began to pull me through the crowd of people. As I was being pulled through the ocean of people, I realized how out of place I was. All these teenagers are from this world, while I'm not. They all grew up here, had a childhood here, had many Christmases here. But not me… And that fact alone made me miss my family more and more. Then I got to thinking. Is this how Sora, Riku, and Kairi feel every time they go out to a different world?

We finally arrived to the kitchen where there were less people. Sora and Riku looked like they were having a serious conversation, but quickly changed expressions when they saw us.

"Hey guys! You finally made it!" Sora greeted as we made our way towards them.

"Took you long enough." Riku said with smug smirk on his face, which I think is a permanent thing.

"We would've gotten here faster, but someone had to fix her hair, which took hours I might add." I said as I looked at Kairi with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I wanted to look nice!" She yelled at me with flustered cheeks, making everyone, including herself, laugh.

…

"Merry Christmas guys…" I whispered to myself as I stared at the sky. Staring at all the stars in the sky, feeling an odd sense of deja vu. I stepped outside to get away from the noise inside. Sora and Kairi were dancing with other people, Riku was surrounded by plenty of girls from his school, and Selphie was flirting with Tidus. In all honesty, I felt more left out than ever before.

I don't know anybody else besides Kairi and the others. I don't know the music they're dancing to. And I have no idea how far I was from my original home. When we were at the shelter, I felt needed and helpful. It felt great seeing the smiles on the children. But here… The only thing I felt here was loneliness.

"Max?" I heard a voice coming from behind me. I turned to find Kairi standing in front of the door. "So there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Well, you found me…" I said as Kairi made her way towards me. She stared at me with concerned eyes, but then gave me a motherly smile.

"Listen. I've been meaning to give this to you later, but…" She started going inside her purse. She then pulled out a seashell that was shaped like a star. There was even a little face drawn on the top part of it. "Here!" She said as she handed me the seashell.

"What's this?" I asked, still looking at the shell.

"It's a lucky charm. Sailor's held on to these to ensure a safe voyage." Kairi explained as she rested on the railing next to me. "I'm giving this to you as a promise that we will bring your home world back. Listen…I know you're feeling lonely. You're missing you're friends and family back at your world, especially now, during Christmas. But don't forget that you have friends out there as well. You have Sora, Riku, Selphie, Rapunzel, Flynn, The King, Yen Sid, and...and you have me as well." She turned to me and gave me and smiled while her eyes were getting watery.

Seeing her starting to cry made me tear up. I looked down at the lucky charm. It was just a simple seashell that kids could make in an arts and crafts project. But as I squeezed it, I realized that it was one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. "Thank you…" I whispered.

"Just remember that you're never alone, no matter where you are, you'll always have us." Kairi cried out as she hugged me. Her arms were around my back, tears rolling down her face and I admit, I couldn't help myself. Tears began to fall out my eyes as well. I hugged Kairi back, continuously thanking her.

"Kairi, did you find- Oh!" I heard Sora's voice coming from the door. I quickly looked away from Kairi and brought my attention towards Sora. He stared at us with wide eyes, but soon they began to calm down. "Don't mind me, I'll just get back to the party."

Kairi separated from me then stared into my eyes with a smile. "We should head back as well." She said as she made her way towards the door where Sora was waiting. I was about to head towards the door, but my eyes drifted upwards, and my feet instantly stopped. I continued to stare upwards, soon getting the attention of Sora and Kairi.

"What's wrong Max?" Sora asked. It seems like they looked in the direction of where I was looking because I heard Kairi squeaked with shock. "A-a-a-a MISTLETOE!" Sora yelled as he realized that him and Kairi are under the little green plant.

"What's that doing under the doorway?" Kairi asked, cheeks filled with blush.

"My dad must've put it there!" Sora answered flustered, looking for any escape possible. The crowd inside seemed to notice and a lot of ooooohs can be heard.

"You know what they say when two people are under the mistletoe…" I pronounced with a snarky grin on my face.

"MAX!" Kairi yelled. She then looked at Sora. "It's just a dumb rule, Sora. We can just go inside."

"No you don't" Riku said, blocking their only escape route. "You can't break Christmas tradition…"

"RIKU!" Sora yelled. He then stared at all the people who were staring at him. Holding their phones, recording a magical moment, a true Christmas miracle. He then looked back at Kairi. "I guess we have no choice…"

"Yeah…" Kairi nodded, her face probably now a permanent red. She then looked at Sora and closed her eyes. Sora did the same and the audience was waiting in anticipation. Soon Sora and Kairi's head get closer and closer. Their lips soon touched. The photos were being taken and the people were cheering. When they separated, Sora and Kairi stared at each other.

They stared at each other, smiled, and simultaneously said "Best Christmas ever…"

The end...