Author's Note : Hello all you wonderful members of the community! I hope you are having a fantastic holiday season so far! I am so excited to finally be publishing this companion piece to Of Milk and Cookies – Operation Christmas Lloyd, which takes somewhere in between the end of Double Trouble and Child's Play. It will follow a similar writing style, but I plan to incorporate the other ninja more than I do in Of Milk and Cookies – and hopefully a few Jaya moments as well. There is currently no set updating schedule, but I hope to publish more often than I do with my other story. Please enjoy!

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Nya hummed along to the perky tune that was currently blaring over the speakers of Wall-to-Wall-Mart as she checked items off of her grocery list. She loved the holiday season. It was quite possibly her favorite time of year. She caught a faint whiff of peppermint from somewhere nearby and inhaled deeply. Mmm. Scratch that, it was definitely her favorite time of year. There were simply too many wonderful things to enjoy! Nya had leapt at the chance to get away from the recently reclaimed Destiny's Bounty (where she had spent far too much time cooped up lately due to the colder weather) – and Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo by extension - and see the large multi-purpose store's Christmas display when Wu had requested that someone go shopping for supplies. And maybe partially because of the fact that certain members of her team usually managed to come back with only half of the things they needed and twice as many things they didn't need. Although Dareth's insistence that they take a portion of the winnings from the Ninjaball Run for 'necessities' had certainly been a blessing, Nya often wondered how difficult it could possibly be for her brothers to stay on task. Like, what on earth did Jay think they needed with 5 rolls of bacon scented duct tape? Honestly. It was no wonder that the others frequently forgot that she was younger than them when her impulse control capacity was so much greater than theirs. Speaking of which, it was probably time to start focusing on shopping again – and not her brothers (and boyfriend) and their eccentricities.

"So, Lloyd, where to next? The fruit isle, or the first aid section?" Nya inquired, wanting to get back to shopping. She didn't receive a response.

"Lloyd?" She asked again, louder. Still not getting a reaction from the small boy, Nya glanced back at him, confused. Was this his way of telling her he was bored? Usually he complainedvehemently about being forced to accompany her on errands instead of getting to go beat up bad guys. Lloyd wasn't there. In fact, he didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. Don't panic, she told herself. He probably just got distracted by the candy isle, or something...

Heading for the aforementioned section of the store, Nya found a wide assortment of brightly wrapped lollipops, chocolates, and other sugary products, but no Lloyd. She continued her search to little avail. The toy isle, electronics section, and even the book isle turned up similar results. Lloyd wasn't playing with the fake weapons, testing out the latest video game, or looking at spoilers for Kai's favoritebook series so he could use the knowledge to annoy him later – one of Lloyd's favorite new tactics for driving his sibling insane. Where could he possibly be, then? Glancing up each and every isle with no luck, half an hour had gone by without any sign of Lloyd. Now she was starting to panic. Though several months had passed, the last time her family had managed to lose track of Lloyd was still fresh in her memory. And how much they had gone through to get him back. The whole Fire Temple fiasco had nearly ended in disaster. Surely he wouldn't pull something like that again? He was 11 now. He should be able to take care of himself... Still, maybe it was better to call for reinforcements… As she pulled out her phone, about to text her brother – he seemed the most likely to offer actual help instead of teasing her (in this situation, at least; Kai was very protective of both her and Lloyd) - she finally found her partner in crime. In the one place she hadn't checked yet, because it was at the opposite end of the store from where they'd been when he'd disappeared. There, completely oblivious to everything around him, stood a small boy in an emerald green winter jacket, staring at the elaborate Christmas display. Lloyd. The softly changing colors of the nearest Christmas tree seemed to mesmerize him as he swayed to the faint music.

/\/\/

Lloyd wasn't sure he'd ever seen so much color and light in one place before. He wasn't normally super impressed by flashy lights or decorations (actually, he had little experience with such things anyway), but something about this display, whatever it was for, spoke to him. Though he should have stayed with Nya, he had quickly gotten bored of following her around as she checked items off her list. She had been so focused on her task that she hadn't even noticed him leave. He'd originally planned on disappearing just long enough to grab some candy to sneak into the shopping cart when Nya wasn't looking. However, the closer he got to the display, the more it drew him in. It just was so bright and peaceful and happy, and after everything that had happened lately, he liked feeling that way. Even if it did make him feel a little dorky. This was so much better than the candy isle! He'd never seen a light up tree before. And what were those stripy things that were shaped like pirate hooks? Fascinated by these discoveries, Lloyd quickly lost track of time, unaware of Nya's growing concern for his safety.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he heard her ask softly, after what seemed like an eternity. He tore his eyes away long enough to look over at her.

"Oh. Hey, Nya. What… What's all this… Sparkly stuff?" Lloyd asked the teen, a little surprised she hadn't started scolding him for ditching her. Nya looked a little confused.

"These? These are for Christmas... You do know what Christmas is… right?"

"Psh… Of course I know what Christmas is! What kind of loser would I be if I didn't know what Christmas was…" Replied a defensive Lloyd. He could tell from the look on her face that she didn't believe him.

"It's just… Christmas wasn't really something we did at Darkley's. Everything thought it was too nice… So, I kinda.. Maybe… Don't have a lot of experience with Christmassy stuff… Like, at all…" He finally admitted, a little sheepish. Nya huffed, clearly offended by the thought.

"Well, that's just stupid! We're gonna have to fix that asap." She said determinedly as she pulled him along with her towards the rest of the Christmas department...

"So you've really never decorated a Christmas tree?" asked Nya a few minutes later as they wandered through the store, back to accumulating goods.

"Nope."

"Gone caroling?"

"No."

"Eaten a candy cane?"

"Nada. But it sure sounds like my kind of thing…" The samurai nodded in agreement. Anything with sugar would be met with positivity on Lloyd's part.

"Stayed up super late waiting for Santa?"

"Santa? Who's-" Lloyd was starting to get a little tired of the conversation Nya had insisted on having.

"I cannot believe you don't even know who Santa is!"

"I don't know why you're so surprised. You already knew my life sucked royally before Uncle Wu found me…" He said, rolling his eyes. Nya stopped in her tracks.

"Lloyd, life without Christmas is like Cole without cake – or Kai without his hair gel – or… or Sensei without his tea – or-"

"Okay! I get it. You really love Christmas. Like, to an unhealthy level." Interrupted Lloyd.

"Sorry… I guess I was getting a little carried away… it just frustrates me that someone as deserving as you has never gotten to enjoy all the wonderful things the holiday season has to offer…"

"What's so great about Christmas, anyway?" He asked. A dreamy smile crossed her face. Her time had come.

"It's such a magical time," Nya replied, gesturing to the decorations surrounding them, and to the other shoppers, who seemed to be off in their own separate worlds, "People make an effort to be so much kinder than normal. They give to each other without expecting anything in return. Then there's the music, and celebrations, and how people always come together as family, regardless of differences…But really, at least for me, it's the story behind it – a story of ultimate love and giving– that really makes it meaningful… I guess it's really something you just have to see for yourself…" She finished. Lloyd nodded thoughtfully. He'd certainly like to experience Christmas if it was anything like what his sister had just described. And he knew Nya would stop at nothing to make sure he got to celebrate it with his family.

"Now come on! I say you deserve a candy cane before we brave that snow!"

/\/\/

"So… You gonna tell us why you insisted we meet you in the kitchen after our favorite green bean went to bed?" Cole asked later that night as they gathered around the table. Nya had demanded that none of them retire until she'd spoken with them. She hadn't accounted for how long it would take to bring their small charge down from his sugar high brought on from eating an entire package of candy canes in one go. He'd only shared a few of them with the others, which made for a long evening.

"Yeah," Jay agreed, "It is getting kinda late. Not that I'm complaining, cause I'd never complain about something you did…" Nya rolled her eyes at the duo before addressing everyone.

"Guys, I found out something horrible today!"

"What? Has Jay been wearing perfume again?" Kai snickered. She shot him a dirty look. This was not an appropriate time for his teasing. Her allergy was not to be taken lightly.

"There's a blizzard heading for Ninjago City?" Zane offered. Nya had to give him credit for suggesting something that would actually qualify as horrible.

"No. You know how I took Lloyd shopping with me earlier?" She asked, "Well, he wandered off and found the Christmas display – which, by the way is super awesome this year – Anyway, we got to talking, and he told me that he'd never celebrated Christmas before…" For a moment, no one responded. Then, chaos struck as everyone tried to talk at once.

"What? Is nothing sacred anymore? "

"That's absurd… Surely even Darkley's isn't that cruel!"

"You're kidding, right?"

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know." Nya said, slamming her hands on the table in an attempt to bring back some semblance of order. "But it's up to us to do something about it."

"What did you have in mind?" Her boyfriend wondered.

"I'm glad you asked. I think it's time to call this emergency meeting of the Super Awesome Sibling Squad to order…"

"We're seriously calling ourselves SASS?" Kai wasn't particularly impressed by her chosen acronym. She glared at him.

"Do you have anything better in mind?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Kai, can we please stop arguing about pointless acronyms and get back on track. If you don't mind, I'd like to actually get some sleep sometime this century." Cole commented, effectively silencing his brother. Now it was time to begin planning in earnest. This was going to be the best Christmas ever. No matter what. And so, with a great deal of friendly debating and a healthy dose of yawns, the team got to work on the project they had dubbed "Operation Christmas Lloyd". They'd probably regret staying up so late the next morning, but hey – it would be totally worth it.

/

And there you have it, folks! As always, I hope you enjoyed reading the beginning of my Christmas companion to Of Milk and Cookies! Please feel free to leave reviews if you have feedback or ideas (I can't guarantee that they'll be used, but I'll sure try!)! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read.

-GwenBrightly