Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Disney/Haim Saban

"This place," Jay said. "Is beyond creepy."

"Totally," Ris agreed, attempting to scramble over a moss covered rock, only to fall flat on her ass.

They were once more dressed in civilian clothes, using the Ranger suits only to get out of the town in the off-chance someone spotted them. Here, deep in the forest, there was no one to see them. They hoped. And besides, in their Ranger suits, they vision was limited by their helmet visors.

With a bitten off laugh, Eva helped Ris up. "Looks like moss is slippery," she said, running her hand over the soft sprawling plant.

David looked at her with a sweetly crooked smile. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you city girl?"

"Shut up," she replied. "Concrete and metal is my environment. This was meant for the animals."

"Yeah, yeah," Jay teased. "Just say you're out of your element and we'll leave you alone."

"You're out of your element," she promptly replied and had Jeanie grinning at her.

"Good comeback," she approved.

"Thanks," Eva said. "I thought so too."

"Hold up a minute," Trev ordered and they stopped to look at him. "I've just lost my bearings. Stupid compass is going nuts," he muttered, fiddling with it.

"That's impossible," Jeanie said. "There nothing polar enough here that would do something like that."

"Look," he held it out for her to see and, true enough, there little red tipped needle was spinning as crazily as a kid on a merry-go-round.

"What could make it do that?" Ris asked, tapping the plastic that encased the needle.

"Really strong magnetic forces," Trev replied. "But seeing as we're in the middle of a forest that has never shown any signs of being magnetic before, I don't know what's going on."

"Do you think we're close to where the Zords are? Maybe that's what's making the compass go nuts," Jay suggested.

"Makes sense," David agreed. "Trev, what does the map say?"

"That we're nowhere near the Zords hiding place." He frowned at the parchment Dayton had given him. "And without the compass, I have no idea where to go."

"Maybe it's on of the Centaur's tricks. A test." At Eva's suggestion, they all turned to look at her. She shrugged. "Dayton said the Centaur was suspicious, right? So, if I was a suspicious half-horse hiding something, I'd probably set up tricks, tests, traps, etc. so that someone trying to find what I'm hiding is the one who's supposed to. If that makes any sense," she added.

"Surprisingly enough, it does," Jeanie said. "Could be." Grinning blue eyes met serious almond shaped brown ones. "Looks like you've got a pop quiz Trev."

He frowned, looking pained. "And I haven't revised."

"How do you revise for a pop quiz?" Ris wondered aloud.

"By peeking at the test papers on the teacher's desk," Jay said with a grin.

They all laughed in answer to his quip. "Okay," David said, once they'd calmed down. "Let's try think about this logically. Eva, did Dayton ever mention to you what the Centaur's power was?"

"No. I asked him once. He said you all have to find it."

"Oh, that's great," Trev snapped. "Real great. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Trev. Jeez, calm down." Jeanie said, scrambling up on the moss covered rock. "Just think of it as meditation. You know what your dad always says…"

"Meditation is a form of finding and recharging your inner ninja. I know." He sighed and sat down as well, leaning his back on the large rock.

"I never do understand all this inner ninja stuff you guys talk about," Eva said, sitting down beside Trev. The others joined them, backs against the rock as well.

"Well, it's basically the energy is us that enables us to use our ninja powers," David explained. "Not everyone has it; that's why the ninja academies have screening test."

"Screening test?" Eva asked.

"It's a test that allows the ninja teachers to see which martial arts students have the ability to become ninjas or not. Even we had to go through it," Jeanie said. "No short cuts for anyone."

"The screening test is like common ground," Jay added. "At that point, the ninja students could go to any academy. It's the elementals test that really decides where you're put."

"Elementals?"

"Why do we even call it that?" Ris asked in a general sort of voice. "I mean, some of the academies aren't even element based."

"Okay. Hold up." Eva said. "Just how many academies are there?"

"About three hundred." Trev said in a dry voice. "And that's just in the U.S. Most of the academies are based around the same elements but focus on different parts of the ninja training. Some are more spiritual, some focus only on fighting. The Wind and Thunder Academies are pretty much all rounders."

"You know, I've always wondered why one of you guys aren't fire ninjas," Eva said idly.

A corner of David's lips curved upwards. "Fire isn't an element. Not really. It's broken into two parts; heat and light. The Fire Earth Academy takes ninjas of both elements. The Light Academy only takes ninjas of the light element."

"And then there's snow and ice elements." Jeanine added.

"Lightening and storm." Ris said.

"Rock and sand." Jay reminded them.

"Lots and lots," Trev ended with a short chuckle at the expression on Eva's face. "There are lots of elements and some of them are also broken up. Most ninja students get an opportunity to choose which academy they can go to – which curriculum suits their interests best. They can also transfer if they want. It's just like choosing a regular school. Of course, you have to take into account it the academy's in your area and such."

"Whoa. I didn't realise it was so complicated." Eva said.

"It is a bit," David said. "Especially when it has to be kept secret."

"It's not as complicated as Trev though," Jeanie said from above them.

Eva looked up though she couldn't see her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Trev's got a slight problem because his dad was, as you know, the Green Samurai Ranger. Uncle Cam's dad is an air ninja, so Uncle Cam's got an air affinity, but his mother was a water ninja, and that's what got handed down to Trev." Ris said.

"Whoa. Ris. Stop. Too confusing." Jeanie said. "Let me try; keeping it simple, Trev's a samurai from his dad, and an water ninja from his grandmother. Now, this is where it gets confusing because Trev's also got a thunder affinity."

"What?"

"It means he has some control over thunder," Jay explained. "And, because Aunt Leann is the daughter of Sensei Omino, and so, is a thunder ninja. Trev's grandparents are the advisors of both schools. So Trev is kind of tossed between the Wind and Thunder Academies."

"Wow." Eva looked at him. "You've got it bad."

"Not that bad." He replied. "Mostly, I work on my thunder abilities outside of the academy, like David does with his water."

Eva swivelled her head to look at him. "Ahem?"

He gave her a half smile. "My mum's a water ninja and my dad's a thunder ninja, so I'm a bit of both. Mostly, I focus on thunder, because I prefer it but I work on my water power as well."

"How'd we get onto this subject?" Jay wondered.

"Eva," his cousins answered.

She shrugged. "Curious, is all."

"How long have we got?" David asked everyone in general.

Trev checked his watch. "About two hours thirty minutes."

"Right. Trev, I suppose you should get meditating and try find your power."

"Right." He sighed and crossed his legs, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the rock. Everyone else fell silent to wait.

After a long while, Trev opened his eyes again. "I can't do it," he said in an irritated voice. "All I can find is my inner ninja. It keeps getting in way."

"Try again," David said. "Try pushing further."

Trev scowled. "Okay, but I don't think it'll work." He closed his eyes again. Soon, all around him began to glow crimson and blue and green.

"What's that?" Eva asked, pointing to him.

"That's all his ninja powers manifesting themselves in light," Jeanie explained. "The blue is for water, crimson for thunder and green for his samurai spirit."

"Looks like he's having difficulties," David commented, noting his cousin's grim expression and the subtle tightening of his jaw. "Jeanie, any ideas?"

"We could all meditate, find our inner ninja and send our energies to help him," she suggested.

"What about me?" Eva asked. "I'm not a ninja."

"Send your special power to him instead," David suggested. "I think he needs all the help we can give him."

"All right."

They all closed their eyes to concentrate. Eva dived down within herself to find the power she knew was nestled deep. It glowed a quietly powerful blue. Knowledge. Slowly, at her command, the light seemed to uncurl and, following her directions, went flying through the rock to where Trev's head rested on it, as the others were doing. And, though none noticed, the rock began to glow, and glow, and glow. Until light blasted from it and threw them feet from it.

"What was that?!" Jay flipped to his back to stare at the rock.

Jeanie scrambled to her feet to stare at it. "It's glowing," Ris stated the obvious.

Then it began shaking. "Crap, crap, crap," David said.

"What've we done?" Trev asked.

The rock shifted, shook and began to change form until… "Is it just my imagination or is that thing becoming a statue?" Jay asked.

"No!" Jeanie cried out, grinning like an idiot. "It is forming a statue…"

"Of a centaur!" Trev yelled, jumping and punching his hands in the air in a rare show of exhilaration. "We did it!"

David was grinning too as he looked at Eva. "I have no idea what we did but whatever it was, it worked."

Sure enough, with a screeching grin of rock sliding against rock, a statue of a centaur was formed. With the body of a horse and the torso and head of a man, there was no mistaking what it was. The centaur was noble faced and his torso and arms were well built. One arm was lifted and its hand pointing.

"Call me obvious but I'm guessing that's where we're supposed to go," Jay said.

David laughed. "Come on, let's get moving!"

A/N: . . . I have no excuses for this chapter. I know it's all pretty much chat and it's probably pointless but it's a chat I've been wanting to do for a long time. I'm sorry if either you thought WTF?? or boring...

Mmore action coming coming next chapter!