Author's Note: THIS IS KINDA IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS CHAPTER Right, hopefully you'll read this now, because I imagine some people like to skip the notes. This chapter does not fit into the storyline. It takes place some time after the story (since Vivli has blonde hair in it) and is my own little way of wishing everybody a Merry Christmas (or whatever you like to celebrate): The Final Fantasy XI Chronicles Christmas Special. It's meant to be more light-hearted than before, and as a result, I tried to make the villains even more comical, and a surprise appearance by an old cast member in there somewhere!

Two of the characters, Logan and Aaron, are names from one of TheFrogKiller's stories, but I changed them slightly for a light hearted Christmas adventure. I hope you don't mind how silly they behave! It's all in good fun, right? Oh, and I hope somebody gets one of the references in here. Well, the only reference really. If you do, I'll be very happy!

On a more serious note, I'm thinking of looking into opening a forum that the main page kept talking about. Is anybody interested in having a forum? I mean, one for FFXI fanfics in general? Or the FFXI Chronicles series (it's a bit vain to assume people would want a forum just for my stories!). Apparently author's can open them now, and it might be a nice way for writers and reviewers to get to know each other. Or actually speculate and discuss on the plot of this series, if people are interested, since I'm always writing (and taking ideas, so you could suggest things too). What do people think? Please let me know if you think it's a good idea!

(Oh, and on a side note, this is the first chapter not named after a Final Fantasy track, but the last one was an altered title, the actual one being 'Inside A Boss Battle' from the remade FF1, I had to change it. It's hard naming chapters that limited, so I may have to break convention soon).

THE FINAL FANTASY XI CHRONICLES CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Voldos sighed as he waited for Bootus. The two were stood in a small shop in Bastok, shopping for presents for the Starlight Celebration; Zinkata and Vivli were doing the same elsewhere. After all, it was difficult to buy presents secretly for each other when you were always together. Voldos raised an eyebrow as Bootus walked over to him, grinning.

"I've got Vivli a present she's simply going to love." He said with a grin that could only mean that Vivli was going to hate her present.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what it is." Voldos grumbled.

"Pom poms!" Exclaimed Bootus, holding up a pair of fluffy white pom poms. Voldos couldn't hide a smirk.

"Oh, she's going to kill you." He laughed.

"With what?" Bootus shrugged. "It'll be hilarious. Even got a pink miniskirt to throw in."

"You might as well make out your will now. You're dead." Voldos laughed.

"There's nothing she can do." Bootus smirked. "Besides, she'll find it funny. One day. Eventually."

"Well, I'd rather not annoy her into plotting to kill me, so I still need to find her a present." Voldos decided.

"Oh, just get something girly and be done with it." Bootus told him.

"I said I wanted to not annoy her." Voldos reminded him.

"Oh, right. Sorry, new concept to me." Bootus joked.

Vivli picked up and browsed through one of the books as she heard Zinkata walk over to her.

"We're not going to find anything in here." Vivli sighed. "Bootus wouldn't know a book if it fell on his head and the only title Voldos is interested in is Vana'diel's Greatest Chat Up Lines, but he's married now, so that's useless."

"I found one for Bootus." Zinkata laughed.

"Oh?" Vivli asked, her tail perking up showing her curiosity. Zinkata held it up and Vivli's face fell. "You cannot get him that!" She cried.
"Why not? He'd love it!" Zinkata grinned.

"101 Blonde Jokes? Who do you think he'll use them on?" Vivli shrieked.

"That's not my fault, is it?" Zinkata mocked.

"Ziiiiiiiiiin!" Vivli screamed. "Don't!"

"Well, you led us in here." Zinkata pointed out.

"I just wanted to look at books." Vivli sighed.

"You realise the idea of Starlight shopping is you shop for other people, right?" Zinkata explained.

"Yes! Fine! Well, what are we going to get Bootus and Voldos, then? What do you buy two people like that?" She shrugged.

"Shallow graves?" Zinkata joked. Vivli laughed.

"Just buying them a coat will do. It's freezing." Vivli decided.

"Viv. We're in Bastok. In, you know, the desert?" Zinkata pointed out.

"It's still cold!" Vivli grumbled. "Fine. What about a new weapon or something?" She suggested.

"Bit boring Viv. Plus you're a white mage, you're not supposed to encourage killing." Zinkata reminded the little mithra.

"Maybe I'll get Bootus a razor. He can shave that stupid beard off." Vivli tried.

"I don't know. The image of a galka without a beard is actually quite scary." Zinkata laughed.

"Well, what can we get them then?" Vivli whined. "Altana, you're impossible sometimes."

"No, they're impossible." Zinkata pointed out. "I'm just helping you notice that."

"Every day you remind me more and more of Bootus, and that cannot be good." Vivli sighed.

Voldos continued to look for presents, getting wearier at the pain that was Starlight shopping.

"Found anything for Vivli yet?" Bootus asked.

"No. But Zin will like the shield I got him, at least." Voldos replied.

"What about these? Earrings?" Bootus suggested.

"Mithra don't have ordinary ears!" Voldos pointed out. "And I think their ears are far too sensitive for normal earrings."

"Point." Bootus conceded. "I don't see why we're bothering anyway. The moogles give out plenty of presents for everybody."

"Yeah, but it's not personally from us, is it? This is an act of friendship, you see?" Voldos explained to Bootus, who simply held up the pom poms. "At least, it's supposed to be." He added in a grumble.

Vivli let out another sigh.

"I can't believe you bought Bootus the book of blonde jokes!" Vivli protested.

"Well, what did you get him?" Zinkata asked, arms folded.

"It's not my fault they don't sell brain cells!" Vivli cried. "Or a Why White Mages Are Better Than Dark Knights book."

"That's because they're not." Zinkata taunted.

"Are too!" Vivli yelled at him childishly. Zinkata rolled his eyes. "Besides, you didn't get anything for Voldos!"

"101 Things Not To Say To A Girl should not be a present." Zinkata criticised.

"Hey, it's a good present for him. About time he learned." Vivli replied, folding her arms. The two were stood outside of the bookshop now. Vivli shivered slightly and looked up to the sky. "The moogles will be coming soon. Wow. It must be so much fun, giving presents out to everybody, seeing how happy it makes them."

"You'd hate it Viv, they're getting around by airship." Zinkata grinned.

"Oh." Vivli sounded disappointed, remembering how airsick she got. "I wonder what they'll give me this year?"

"Something to shut you up?" Zinkata grumbled.

A loud slap echoed across Bastok.

Elsewhere, a figure plotted darkly, before his gaze rose up to the sky. Another was sat behind him, doing a crossword. But it was an evil crossword. It had words in it such as 'murder', 'evil' and 'lawyer'. The man doing the crossword looked up to the other, who seemed deep in thought.

"Gee, Logan, what do you want to do tonight?" He asked, obviously bored with his (evil) crossword.

"The same thing we do every night Aaron." Came Logan's calm reply, before he spun around with an evil glare in his eyes. "Try to take over the world!"

"Oh. That." Aaron replied, his light brown hair wavering in the wind. "So, what are we going to try this time?"
"It's Starlight Eve." Logan grinned. "Tonight, all the foolish adventurers are expecting their little presents from the moogles."

"Urm, aren't we adventurers?" Aaron asked.

"Yes." Sighed Logan.

"So are we foolish?" Aaron questioned.

"No!" Logan snapped.

"So, we're not expecting presents then?" Aaron sounded disappointed.

"Of course we are!" Logan yelled.
"But we're not the foolish adventurers, so how can we?" Aaron found it necessary to ask.

"Look, shut up!" Logan cried. "Tonight we shall make sure they don't get their presents, because we'll have them!"

"We will?" Aaron seemed puzzled.
"Yes. We'll board the airship and take the moogles prisoner, taking the presents for ourselves." Logan told him triumphantly. "And then, when we have every adventurer begging at our feet, we'll demand they hand us Vana'diel on a silver platter!"

"What? So we have to give back the presents?" Aaron sounded disappointed.

"Once the world is ours, we'll have all the presents we want!" Logan announced, bursting into evil laughter, which Aaron joined in with, simply wanting to be included.

It was some time later that Vivli emerged from her moghouse with a weary sigh, having finished the Starlight shopping a few hours ago and now working on the next vital stage of present giving.

"I hate wrapping presents!" She exclaimed. Bootus turned to see her and laughed.

"You've still got some sticky tape in your hair." He pointed out. "I don't even want to know how that happened."
"It was difficult, okay?" She whined. Bootus walked over and pulled it out. "Owwwwww!" Vivli screamed in pain.

"Haha, I got myself a few blonde hairs." The galka observed, looking at the sticky tape. "Does that make you less of a stupid blonde now?"

"Stop bickering you two." Zinkata shot. "We'll exchange presents when the moogles show up."

"Aren't they meant to have come by now?" Vivli asked, slightly disappointed.

"The airship has been circling for almost an hour." Voldos observed.

"Maybe something's gone wrong." Vivli suggested.

"We could always check it out in the Raven." Zinkata mentioned.

"Urm, on second thoughts, let's stay on the ground." Vivli said with a fake smile.

Minutes later and the Raven tore through the air. Vivli was huddled at the back of the deck, looking very green.

"I hate you guys." She whimpered, clutching a bucket and feeling as if any moment now that lovely Starlight Dinner she had enjoyed was going to be escaping from her body.

"We're approaching the other airship now!" Cid cried from the controls.

"Right! We'll lower the rope ladder and board that way." Zinkata decided.
"Hate you so much." Vivli managed to say, staggering to her feet and looking at the huge drop between the airships.

Logan rose an eyebrow as somebody vomited all over the deck of their commandeered ship.

"Logan?" Aaron began to shout, running out on deck. "There's another ship above us!"

"Yes, I did notice." Logan grumbled, looking at the vomit. "They must be coming to free the moogles! Ready the trap!"

"Oh, right, the trap!" Aaron snapped his fingers and ran towards the bridge.

There was a loud thud as Bootus landed on deck, followed by two much lighter thuds, and one barely audible one. The four Light Warriors drew their weapons, and prepared to take down just whatever happened to be threatening the world this time. They eyed up Logan, a fairly tall man with tangled black hair and signs of stubble. He either grew it to look cool, or was just too lazy to shave. Either way, these thoughts weren't the immediately important ones to the Light Warriors.

"Who are you?" Zinkata cried.

"And where are the moogles and my presents?" Vivli added. "Urm, I mean, our presents." She added as she caught Bootus's look to her.

"Tied up below deck." Logan grinned. "And unless you surrender Bastok to us, there will be no Starlight Celebration for anybody!" He cackled evilly while the Light Warriors glanced to each other.

"What makes him think he can stand against us?" Voldos asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Hey, I've been trying to take over the world every night for years, I'm experienced!" Logan explained.

"Yet you've never succeeded? Makes you a failure in my book." Bootus pointed out.

"Oh, shut up!" Logan snapped. "Aaron! Deploy the trap!"

"Trap?" Vivli squeaked.

"To hell with traps! We'll take this guy!" Zinkata cried as the four took fighting stances.

"Urm, why do we seem to be stood on a net?" Was the last thing Voldos managed to say before Aaron pulled a lever and a net snapped up around them, trapping them and leaving them hanging in the air. Logan gave Aaron a signal and he cut the rope, causing the four trapped Light Warriors to crash down onto the deck.

"Owwww!" Vivli whined. "It's cutting into my skin!"

"How do you think I feel?" Bellowed Voldos, crushed under Bootus.

"You didn't complain last night." Bootus commented. The other three Light Warriors looked horrified for a moment, and shuddered. "Joking!" Bootus exclaimed sometime afterwards.

Logan eyed up his bickering prey, and laughed.

"At last! Now there is nobody left to oppose me! Nobody!" He cackled.

"Urm, correct me if I'm wrong, and I often told I am, although at that point I generally ask how the person telling me I'm wrong doesn't know he's wrong, because if he's wrong, and he calls me wrong, then I'm right and he's wrong, therefore none of us can really be too sure who was right and wrong, but why does defeating four people mean there's nobody left to oppose you?" Logan growled, and slowly turned.

"Crazy Steve!" Vivli exclaimed happily.

"Aaron!" Bellowed Logan. "I told you to take out the airship pilot!"

"I know." Aaron replied. "But he just kept talking until I gave up!"

"Now, you see, I'm not saying that there's not only four people in the world, because it's possible I'm just not very good at counting. I mean, I think I know maths, but who's to say I'm right? I mean, one add one equals two, but who taught me that? And who taught the person who taught me that? What if the person who started teaching in the first place was wrong, and one add one does not equal two? Then we're all wrong! So maybe there are only four people in the world, and I can't count, because the person who taught me was taught by a person who was taught by a person who was taught by a person who was taught by a person who was taught by a person who was wrong, and there's no way to be certain, but assuming I have counted correctly, only assuming mind, then there are lots of other people to stop you." Crazy Steve didn't seem to need to stop for a breath, the bald hume looking a bit puzzled at the apparent confusion now on Logan's face.

"Dammit! Aaron! Kill this guy!" Logan ordered. Aaron drew a sword and began to walk towards Crazy Steve.

"Why are you pointing that sword at me?" Crazy Steve asked. "If it is a sword. I mean, it could be a shield. Who knows anything these days? How can we rely on our teachers?"

"You can't be seriously stupid enough to wonder why I'd point this sword at you, can you?" Aaron asked with a smile. Crazy Steve stayed silent for a moment, and then in a blur grabbed Aaron's arm and broke it, before driving the sword he now had into Aaron's foot. Aaron didn't have time to scream before Crazy Steve back fisted him, knocking him out cold. Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Actually I was wondering why you would bother when I could win so easily." Crazy Steve told him. "Although, in retrospect, I shouldn't have expected you to know that, considering the flaws in the education system I've been noticing as of late."

"Yay!" Vivli cried. "Go Crazy Steve!"

"Fan girl." Bootus shot.

"Oh, shut up!" Vivli replied, trying to hit him but unable to in the net. Logan looked around in panic and sprinted towards the end of the deck, where the rope ladder leading up to the Raven was.

He skidded to a stop as a sword was levelled at him. Zinkata grinned.

"Next time you imprison people in a net, make sure they don't have bladed weapons first." He smirked. Logan's eyes went wide.

"Urm. So. Starlight spirit and all. You going to let me go?" He asked hopefully, before Crazy Steven smashed him on the back of the head and he dropped down unconscious.

"I guess not." Voldos laughed. Crazy Steve smirked to the gang.

It was several hours later when the moogles had finally completed their rounds, and the Light Warriors smiled at their new presents. Of course, they hadn't opened them yet, but instead had all gathered together, to exchange the gifts they had given each other. Vivli, obviously the most excited about Starlight, got to go first. But before she could open her presents, something small and white landed on her nose.

"What the-?" She began.

"Snow?" Zinkata asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's snowing!" Vivli suddenly exclaimed.

"Snowing? In Bastok?" Voldos questioned with a puzzled look.

"It's a Starlight miracle!" Vivli grinned. "That's why it's been so cold lately! We get snow! A white Starlight! Even in the desert!" Vivli smiled to herself. "Those elvaans in San d'Oria are going to be so jealous." Bootus and Zinkata smirked as Voldos folded his arms.

"Well, at least we have nice forests instead of stupid desert." He pointed out.

"Well, go on then, Viv, open your present." Bootus prompted, barely able to hide his anticipation at her reaction.

All was silent across Bastok for a few seconds, before one word tore through the city, awakening every citizen.

"BOOTUS!"