The three children rush to warn someone. What they don't know is adults have a few flaws. One of which is knowing when it's important to listen when a child is warning you about your future alien overlords. Most of them just assume that it's some or other game that's been thought up. Sadly that's exactly what happens here.

"Mommy! Mommy, Mommy!" Malaika runs up to where her parents are standing. "Mommy there are...there are aliens and they're going to try take over the lodge."

"Malaika, now is not the time." Alice, feeling tired as it is, isn't in the mood for childish fantasies.

"But Mom, she's telling the truth!" Thepo insists.

Alice is still trying to work out how exactly they're going to get home, or if they're even going to be able to get home is not in the right mood to hear any of it. So in a stern voice she repeats herself, "I said not now."

Thepo and Malaika are now followed by Molly who's just as insistent that they should be listened to. They know something and everyone needs to be warned. "Please listen. I promise we're telling the truth."

"That's enough. I said not now." Having reached the point that everyone who's ever spent more than five hours with little children reaches, Alice loses it for a moment. "The grow ups have things that they need to sort out right now. Why don't you go play over there for now, okay?"

Over there being a small holiday club set up in the corner of the room. It looks festive enough without actually having set up anything that could break or be knocked over. The sight of a cookie decorating station, and the tone of her voice seems to be enough to convince them that they might need to regroup and make a plan. They would have to find a way to get someone to listen to them. Thepo was the first to talk. He took his sister by the arm and whispered, "Come on we might as well talk it over, over there. Come up with a plan."

So off they went to the little table. Two girls in their late teens, dressed as Christmas elves, helped them settle in. They mess around with cookies, sprinkles, and icing. After all they need to look busy so that the aliens don't suspect anything, or at least that's how they see it.

Meanwhile the lodge owner, feeling a need to keep everyone happy, has told the kitchen to make a lot of candy-cane hot chocolate. This has now been poured into generous mugs and is being handed out all around the lodge. James seeing Molly settled over in the Christmas corner with the other children he relaxes a bit. He then takes two of the free hot chocolates, and having spotted the Christmas-Snow-Angel-in-Green walks over to her. She's sitting down on the stairs away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the common area. "Is this seat taken?"

"Mmmm?" She looks up at the stranger. His words interrupting her thoughts just as they're starting to run wild. "Sorry I didn't hear you."

"That's okay. Do you mind if I sit down?" He offers her one of the mugs.

"I don't see anyone sitting here." Which is her way of saying yes. She accepts his offering, and thanks him. He responds with a smile. She sips it taking in everything about the moment. she notices the odd taste, not unpleasant, just odd. After a second she works out what it is. "It's a bit too Christmassy isn't it?"

"Too Christamssy?" He sounds so shocked by the idea, "How can anything be too Christmassy?"

Mia holds up the mug and gives him a knowing look. He shakes his head in response and takes another sip of his. He then grins at her. "You know what they say. It's the most wonderful time of the year."

Giggling she shoots back, "I swear if you start singing I'm leaving."

"Not a fan of Christmas carols then?"

"Not a fan of Christmas in general." She says not looking at him, he tilts his head and looks at her struck with confusion.

"What's not to like?"

"It's an overly commercialised holiday that lies to children in an attempt to feed capitalistic views." She begins the overly prepared argument she stores in her head for conversations just like this. "The overpriced themed items that any other time of the year no one would think twice about, they're now buying without hesitation. The whole thing is a cult like scam, and Santa is the symbol for it all."

He holds his hand against his chest as if he's just been wounded, "Ouch. You hurt me with your words Snow-Angel. You're looking at it all wrong."

She raises her eyebrows and yet continues to sip her hot chocolate, "And how should I be looking at it?"

"Well Christmas is wintery. There's the magic of the snow..."

"I hate winter...and snow"

"Okay, well there's all the spiced cookies, the smells and tastes of the season."

"I've never eaten those." She confesses cutting him off again. A start of quick fire debating. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't enjoying the fact that he wasn't changing his view. She liked a challenge when she argued.

"You don't know what you're missing out on then." Having grown up with the smells and tastes of Christmas spices James is more than ready to swear that they'll make anyone smile in the cold. "Well as an ambassador of the North Pole and All Things Christmas to Cynics of the holiday season, like you, it's my duty to help you find the magic in Christmas."

The whole absurdity of it makes Mia laugh, "I wouldn't count on it, but I'd certainly like to see you try."

"You're on then. By the end of this I'll have you believing in Christmas." He smiles accepting it as a small victory. He however is interrupted before he can start with phase one of the five phase plan he's starting to form in his head, because Molly runs up to them.

You see while decorating cookies the three of them had spotted Mia and James sitting off to the side away from everyone. Molly convinced the other two that James might just be their best bet if they're going to get any grown up to listen to them. That and she convinced them that her brother's military standing might help them as well. She couldn't have been happier that he had come back for the holiday. Malaike and Thepo having seen that he was sitting Mia made him okay by their standing. Anyone Mia was okay with was okay by them. So after throwing around a few ideas they picked up their cookies and ran over to the two of them.

"James!" Molly almost knocks him over as she tries to slow down.

"Woh, what's up Hurricane-Girl?" He asks, noticing how worried she looks.

Molly barely taking a breath dives right in, "James there are Aliens here and they're trying to take over the world, but their ship crashed. And now they're going to try to take over the lodge here. And you have to stop them!"

"Okay, "He takes a moment to try to calm her down, "Molly you know that is no such thing as aliens, right?"

"But there are!" Thepo backs her up. "We heard them talking!"

"Teppy, are you sure that's what you saw?" Asks Mia trying to get him to think about what he's saying.

"He's telling the truth. I promise." Malaike pipes in. The three of them look up at Mia. Their eyes look as serious as they can.

Just as Mia and James are about to start to try to explain that they couldn't have heard something that wasn't real talk, when two things appeared at the balcony that overlooks the lobby, and common area. "Hello Earthlings. I am Dave, and this is Jeff. We come in peace. We also come to take over your world and enslave your loved ones."

Jeff holding a small gun accidentally fires it off. A whizzing sound following a burst of light hits the roof and leaves a scorch mark on the ceiling. Dave then scolds him, "Jeff, we're going for a..." He pauses to check his notes, "non hostile takeover. I'm sorry Jeff here isn't exactly with the whole plan. Now as long as everyone participates we won't need to do that again."

The four fingered being pages through a small handbook. The ship running low on power stopped projecting their cloaking forms. They now stand in their normal forms, which contrary to popular belief aren't green, but purple. Once he finds the page he begins to address everyone again. "Alright according to the book we need you to get into two groups. Could you please all get into two groups, thank you. One for the old and one for the young. Thank you so much for your cooperation."

All three children give them I-told-you-so looks, as everyone in the lodge moved to whichever side seemed to be more fitting to them.