Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Programming the Black Box was turning out to be a lot harder than Antonio expected, and he knew right from the get-go that it was going to be hard.

He had all the power symbols programmed, now he just needed to get them to work together to combine their powers and open up the box so he and the other Rangers could have a new weapon.

But this was where things were getting tricky. Every Samurai symbol that ever existed was crammed inside the small box and for some reason they couldn't all work together. It was no wonder the red Rangers couldn't get this little device to work. Not only did he need the elements to cooperate and work as one, but he needed the folding Zords to work with him and their fellow Zords. It was definitely a difficult task, and it would be a while still before he opened the box. He just hoped that when he finally got it, it wouldn't be too late. His only saving grace was Master Xandred's refusal to send Arachnitor back into battle. If the spider Nighlok did return and Antonio didn't finish the Black Box, the Rangers were screwed.

So Antonio worked hard, day and night, to get everything running smoothly inside the box so it would open. He knew in order for that to happen he would have to understand the power symbols and the elements and he decided to start his quest for knowledge by reading the history books in the common room and working his way up to the Rangers and what they knew about their own powers and elements.

As he flipped through the pages, he couldn't help but notice sticky notes and markings on the pages, as if someone had been studying them intently. Antonio knew Mia had a moment where she wanted to learn all she could about Dayu and it suddenly occurred to him that the pink Ranger hadn't mentioned the villainess' name in a long time.

Distracted from his work on the box (because it was long, boring and hard), Antonio grabbed the book in his hand and got up from his seat. He walked into the dojo where Mia was training on her own. He cleared his throat, catching her attention. She turned to him with a smile.

"Hey, what's up?"

Antonio held up the history book, "I saw you left pages and pages worth of notes in this book."

"Yeah," Mia grabbed her towel from the bench and wiped the sweat from her brow, "It had a lot of information on Master Xandred's army and how it came to be. I didn't find too much on Dayu in there, though, but it's still good to know about Master Xandred. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Antonio shrugged, "I just saw them and… well… I realised you haven't been studying as hard as usual. The books are always on the shelf and you're either in here or cuddling up with Kevin so…"

"I'm not studying Dayu anymore, if that's what you're asking," Mia snapped back. Antonio looked down at the book.

"Oh… um… well… why? I mean… it got a little annoying, you protecting her and stuff but I think it could have really come in handy, you know, if you had figured something out. Something to humanize her or…"

"Dayu's not worth it," Mia shrugged and she turned back to the punching bag. "Because of her that Nighlok nearly got his hands on Urumasa and you, Kevin and Emily almost drowned."

"Because of her? You quit because Dayu's a bitch?" Antonio asked with a chuckle. "She's always been a bitch, Mia. There's more to it than that."

"You weren't there, Antonio," Mia sighed. "You don't know what happened. My studies distracted me from my Samurai duties."

"But…"

"I didn't pay attention," Mia interrupted. She didn't want to argue with Antonio and she wasn't going to give him the chance. She would drill her point into his skull if she had to and she wouldn't give him the chance to fight back. "I focused too much on Dayu that by the time I got back to the Nighlok, it was too late. Dayu, whatever she is and whoever she was, isn't worth losing any of you."

"In case you forgot," Antonio said, "The reason we were down in that water was because Kevin, Emily and Jayden had a funny feeling. The reason we almost drowned… that's not your fault."

"But…"

"Mia," it was Antonio's turn to interrupt, "We all get distracted with Nighloks and stuff. One thing I learned is you have to focus on the results in this line of work. Who cares how we destroy the monster? Who cares how it happens? As long as we all make it out in the end victory is ours."

"Did you really have to say that," Mia's lips curled up and she let out a small chuckle. Antonio smirked.

"Besides, if it wasn't for you and your Turtle Zord, we wouldn't have made it to safety. Kev, Em and I were pretty far out. Kevin's a good swimmer, but pulling Emily all that way back would have killed him, and I know Octozord was too beat up to make it. I'm surprised he could pull me to the surface like he did."

"I guess…"

"So," Antonio drummed his fingers on the cover of the book, "do you think you'll ever go back to studying Dayu? Maybe your study doesn't have to be as intense as before, but it could help. It worked with Dekker."

"Don't remind me," Mia sighed. "Dekker was a fluke, I'm sure of it. If he wasn't in love with Serena…"

"Things work out when we put a little effort into what we do," Antonio held out the book for Mia to take. "Dayu's not going to figure herself out and she's not going to open up to us anytime soon. As long as we all promise not to drown again… maybe you could go back to studying?"

"I don't know why you care," Mia took the book from Antonio.

"We can be study partners," the gold Ranger chuckled. Mia smiled.

"Alright, you convinced me. I'll look into it a little bit. Nothing major, though. I'm not going to let myself get distracted by Dayu again."

"I promise no one will drown this time," Antonio placed his hand over his heart. The moment he did the doorbell rang, causing both him and Mia to jump. Antonio looked down at his chest in shock.

"Was that me?" he asked.

Mia shook her head. She had heard the doorbell ring once before so she knew what it was. She chuckled and patted Antonio on the shoulder as she walked to answer the door.

"I wonder who that could be," she said out loud. Antonio followed her.

"We have a doorbell? Why do we have a doorbell?"

"For when Rangers forget their keys, I guess," Mia shrugged. "It's probably just one of the guys who locked themselves out by accident."

She reached the front of the house and opened the door. She gasped loudly and her eyes widened when she saw Spike standing on her doorstep. He wasn't looking at her just yet; he was busy admiring the training equipment in the yard.

"That's some cool Samurai stuff!" he said without turning to the door, "You folks must really be Ranger…"

He trailed off for a moment when he turned and saw Mia and Antonio standing at the door. Suddenly, his mouth began to work again, but his brain was still lagging slightly.

"M-M…M-Mia! I… I mean… I… Pink… Pink… Pink!"

Spike was pointing at Mia's training uniform, lined in pink. Mia looked down, realising what he was trying to get at. He already had his suspicions about her and this didn't help quiet those suspicions.

"Uh… Spike," Mia closed the door a little bit, limiting Spike's view of the inside of the Shiba House, "how did you find this place? I live in the middle of nowhere."

Spike was blushing madly as he stared at Mia with love-sick eyes. Slowly, he managed to point to the forest as more words fell from his mouth.

"Training… want… Samurai… Uncle… lost… house."

"What? Spike, full sentences, please," Mia groaned. Behind the door she gestured for Antonio to go find Emily. If anyone could make sense of the love-sick teenager it would be her.

"You're so pretty when you're surprised," Spike grinned. Mia dropped her head in her hands and sighed.

"Why me…?" she felt a tap on her shoulder and signalled to Spike to wait on her doorstep, though she was sure he wasn't about to leave her anytime soon. She closed the door and turned around, finding Emily looking up at her.

"What's up?" Emily asked. "Antonio told me there was an emergency?"

"Spike," Mia pointed to the door. "Fix this problem now."

"Spike? Here?"

"That's what I want to find out," Mia nodded. Emily gulped loudly and started to open the door. Mia pulled her back suddenly.

"Wait, wear this!" she reached for the coat rack and pulled off the closest sweater she could reach. She tossed it at Emily, "Hide your yellow, before he really gets suspicious."

Emily glared at the red sweater, "Mia, I'll drown if I put this on."

"Just do it!" Mia snapped. Emily grumbled, slipped the sweater on and stepped outside to deal with Spike.

Mia raced to the kitchen where she found the four boys. Antonio seemed to be filling them in on who was at the door.

"Hide all the Samurai stuff," she told them.

"Is it true?" Mike asked, "That Spike kid, he's at our door?"

"Yes."

The boys stood frozen for a moment. The Shiba House had been placed in the middle of nowhere to prevent situations like this from arising. It was so far away from town and so deep in the forest that no one was ever supposed to wander out and accidentally find it. Unfortunately, Spike seemed to be an exception.

"Well?" Mia asked when she saw the boys were in shock, "Emily can't keep him distracted forever. We need to hide everything related to the Samurai Rangers."

"I'll work on the dojo," Kevin raced out of the kitchen with Mike on his tail to help. If Spike did come into the house, the dojo would be a dead giveaway to who they really were.

"Antonio and I will hide the books," Jayden bolted out to the common room. Antonio was right behind him. Mia groaned loudly. Suddenly, the Ape and the Bear Zord whizzed around her head. She snatched them out of the air and stuffed them into her pockets.

"Sorry, guys. No flirting today," she told them before racing around the house to find the rest of the folding Zords.