"Well... Merry Christmas?" Mia said weakly, holding up a mug of hot chocolate as she slumped onto the couch.

Annie gave her a long, unimpressed look, crossing her arms. "Mia, Christmas is supposed to be with friends. Emma's in space doing who knows what, and Blackie is sulking in the corner because he didn't get the special tuna he wanted."

Blackie, perched on the armrest of the couch, flicked his tail in annoyance. "I can hear you, you know. And yes, I am sulking. Christmas without premium tuna is hardly Christmas at all."

Mia sighed. "Want to... open gifts?" She gestured to the small pile of presents under the tree, their colorful wrapping paper reflecting the soft glow of the fairy lights.

"What's the point?" Annie said, throwing herself onto the chair across from Mia. "Emma's the one who gets overly excited about presents, and she's... probably skiing on a comet or something."

Just as she finished, Mia's phone buzzed on the coffee table. Both girls exchanged a knowing glance before Mia picked it up.

"Speak of the devil," Mia muttered before answering. "Emma, where are you now?"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Emma's voice rang out, so loud that even Blackie flinched.

"Where are you?" Annie demanded, leaning closer to the phone.

"Guess what? I found a planet made entirely of snow!" Emma exclaimed. "I'm calling it 'Wintertopia,' and it's got snowflakes the size of dinner plates! Oh, and the penguins here? Adorable!"

"Penguins?" Mia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup! Space penguins. They're kind of blue and glow a little. Super friendly though-they even gave me a scarf made of stardust. It's so sparkly!"

Annie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Emma, why are you out there doing this on Christmas? You should be here!"

"I was gonna come back," Emma said defensively, "but then I got distracted. Oh! And I built a snowman that's taller than a skyscraper! I named him Frost Giant Fred. He's my new holiday buddy."

Blackie sighed dramatically. "Even the penguins get stardust scarves, and I get nothing."

Mia groaned. "Emma, are you at least coming back today?"

"Of course!" Emma said brightly. "Well, maybe. Probably. I just need to figure out how to get the penguins to stop following me-they keep waddling onto the ship."

"You better hurry," Annie said, her voice full of exasperation. "We saved you some cookies. But if you're not back soon, Blackie's getting your share."

Emma gasped. "No! Tell Blackie to keep his paws off my cookies!"

"Too late," Blackie said smugly, licking his paw.

Mia sighed again, shaking her head. "Just get back here, Emma."

"On it!" Emma chirped. "See you soon!"

The call ended, leaving the room in silence.

"Well," Annie said, slumping back in her chair, "guess we'll see her next Christmas."

"Or sooner," Blackie muttered, "if the penguins revolt and kick her out of Wintertopia."

Mia sighed, finally getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a small can of premium tuna in her hand. "Alright, Blackie. Since it's Christmas, you win."

Blackie's ears perked up instantly, and he hopped off the armrest, tail swishing excitedly. "You mean it? The good tuna?"

Mia chuckled, kneeling down to open the can. "Merry Christmas, you spoiled furball."

As soon as the tuna hit his bowl, Blackie was a purring mess. He rubbed against Mia's legs, his deep rumbling purr vibrating like a small motor. "You're the best, Mia. The absolute best!" he said between mouthfuls.

Annie watched from her chair, amused. "Wow, I've never seen him this happy. He's like a walking fluff-ball of gratitude."

Mia grinned, scratching behind Blackie's ears as he devoured his treat. "Oh, I love it. When he's like this, it makes up for all the chaos he causes the rest of the year."

Blackie paused mid-bite, looking up at Mia with wide, innocent eyes. "Chaos? Me? Never."

Annie snorted. "Yeah, sure. Says the cat who knocked over an entire tree last year chasing a shiny ornament."

Mia laughed, stroking his fur as Blackie returned to his feast. "Whatever. It's Christmas. Let him enjoy it."

Blackie purred even louder, curling up against Mia's side once he finished his tuna. "You're officially my favorite human," he declared.

Mia smiled, scratching under his chin. "Merry Christmas, Blackie."

Blackie purred so loudly it almost drowned out the sound of the TV. Annie shook her head, laughing softly. "You two are ridiculous."

"And you love it," Mia shot back, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah," Annie said with a smirk. "Merry Christmas, Mia."

Just as Mia was enjoying the rare moment of peace with Blackie purring contentedly in her lap, her phone buzzed again. She groaned, knowing exactly who it was.

"Let me guess," she said, answering the call. "You've discovered a planet made of candy canes now?"

"Not exactly," Emma's voice came through, oddly sheepish. "But, uh... I kind of need help."

Mia sat up straight, nearly dislodging Blackie, who let out an annoyed "mrow." "What do you mean, 'help'? Where are you now?"

Emma hesitated before responding. "So... funny story. Remember the penguins? They sort of hijacked my ship."

Annie, who had been lounging on the couch, immediately sat up. "They what?!"

"Yeah," Emma said, her voice still casual despite the situation. "Apparently, they really liked the idea of coming to Earth. They're currently trying to figure out how to steer the ship."

Mia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Emma. Let me get this straight. You let space penguins take over your ship?"

"I didn't let them," Emma protested. "They're very persuasive, okay? Also, they bribed me with stardust snacks, and I got distracted."

Annie threw her hands in the air. "Of course you did. Because why wouldn't you accept snacks from space birds?"

Blackie, still lounging in Mia's lap, muttered, "If those penguins step foot on Earth, I'm establishing my dominance immediately."

Emma, ignoring the chaos on the other end, continued. "Anyway, can you guys, like, track my signal and... I don't know, send help? Because they've decided they want to meet Santa."

Mia's jaw dropped. "Emma. It's Christmas Eve. Santa's busy. And besides, how do you even know he's real?"

Emma scoffed. "Oh, he's real. The penguins told me they met him once during a galactic gift exchange."

Annie buried her face in her hands. "This is insane. This whole day is insane."

Mia sighed deeply, scratching Blackie's head to calm herself. "Okay, Emma. We'll figure something out. Just... try not to let them crash into anything, okay?"

"Will do! Thanks, guys! Merry Christmas!" Emma chirped before hanging up.

Mia stared at the phone for a moment before tossing it onto the couch. "Why is this my life?"

Annie laughed humorlessly. "Because we're friends with Emma. That's why."

Blackie yawned, curling back into Mia's lap. "Wake me when the penguins invade."

Before Mia could even process what Emma had said, there was a loud knock on the door. She exchanged a worried look with Annie before opening it to find Master Wu, Lloyd, and Kai standing there, their faces unusually serious.

"Uh... Merry Christmas?" Mia offered weakly, still holding the door.

"There are penguins," Wu said calmly, though his tone had an edge of urgency, "falling from the sky."

Mia blinked. "Penguins?"

Lloyd nodded, stepping forward. "Yeah. Not just normal penguins, either. These ones are glowing blue and have... capes."

"Capes?" Annie echoed, standing behind Mia.

"Yup," Kai said, looking both bewildered and exasperated. "They're just dropping out of the sky all over Ninjago City. People are freaking out. One even landed on my head!"

Blackie, who had hopped onto Mia's shoulder, narrowed his eyes. "Space penguins. I knew it."

Wu raised an eyebrow. "Space penguins?"

Mia sighed, rubbing her temples. "Emma. She's in space. Apparently, the penguins she picked up hijacked her ship and decided to visit Earth. This... is probably her fault."

Kai threw his hands up. "Of course it's Emma's fault! Who else could make penguins our problem on Christmas Eve?"

"We need to stop them before they cause any more chaos," Lloyd said. "They've been landing on rooftops, stealing decorations, and sliding down icy streets like it's a competition."

Annie groaned, grabbing her coat. "Alright, let's deal with this before it turns into a full-blown invasion."

Blackie smirked. "I'll come along. Someone needs to teach these penguins that cats are the true rulers of this world."

Mia grabbed her phone and called Emma as they all headed out the door. "Emma, your penguins are here. Care to explain why they're stealing Christmas lights?"

"Really?!" Emma's voice was filled with excitement. "Aww, they're probably just trying to decorate! They love shiny things."

"Emma," Mia said firmly, "get back here. Now."

"Okay, okay! I'm on my way," Emma replied. "But make sure they don't get hurt! They're just curious."

Kai groaned. "Curious or not, they're about to get a stern talking-to. Who knew penguins could be so much trouble?"

As they reached Ninjago City, they saw the chaos firsthand-glowing penguins sliding down railings, waddling through the streets, and chirping happily as they played with stolen ornaments.

Mia sighed, shaking her head. "Merry Christmas, huh?"

"Yeah," Annie muttered, pulling out a net. "Let's round them up before this gets any worse."

Mia sighed as she watched Kai wrestle the last glowing penguin into a makeshift pen made from Christmas lights. The birds chirped indignantly, clearly unhappy with their temporary confinement.

Turning to Annie, she gave a wry smile. "Is this how you expected our Christmas Day to be?"

Annie crossed her arms, giving Mia an exasperated look. "No. I expected to be under your monastery in our cozy little hideout, sipping hot cocoa, maybe opening a gift or two. But nooooo," she dragged the word out dramatically, "Emma just had to go to space."

"She has a knack for that," Lloyd muttered, brushing snow off his jacket. "Of all the Christmas emergencies we've faced, glowing space penguins might be the weirdest."

"Don't forget they're thieves," Kai added, pointing at a penguin waddling around with a shiny ornament still stuck to its wing. "They've stolen half the decorations in the city!"

Blackie, perched on Mia's shoulder, swished his tail. "Serves you humans right. You decorate everything shiny and don't expect someone to take it? Typical."

Mia sighed, scratching Blackie behind the ears. "Not helping, Blackie."

Suddenly, Mia's phone buzzed. She groaned, already knowing who it was. Answering the call, she didn't even give Emma a chance to speak. "Emma, get down here now. Your penguins are wreaking havoc."

"I'm on my way!" Emma said, her voice muffled by what sounded like wind. "I had to make a quick pit stop on Mars. They wanted snacks."

"Snacks?!" Annie nearly shouted, grabbing the phone from Mia. "Emma, if you're not here in five minutes, I'm launching you into space myself!"

Emma's laugh came through the phone. "Relax, Annie! I'll be there before you know it. Oh, and save some hot cocoa for me, okay?"

"Unbelievable," Annie muttered, handing the phone back to Mia.

Wu, who had been calmly observing the chaos, finally spoke. "Christmas is a time for unexpected surprises. Perhaps this is just... Emma's way of celebrating."

Mia groaned. "Yeah, well, next year, I'm hiding her spaceship keys."

"Good luck with that," Blackie said smugly. "She'll probably just borrow mine."

Hey guys

Merry Christmas ⛄ ⛄ 🎁 🎁 🎁 🎁 🎁 🎁

Also The_Sage_Ninja_Morro you gotta stop flinging urself into space

Please

Annie and Blackie are getting annoyed

Lol

And DumbassWriter17 you might want to tell Emma to next time not take your scarf because..... Uh.....