Chapter 2 - See the Light Again

Sammy could no longer associate himself with animals who fraternized with humans, so he decided he would abandon them all together. Nearly without any hesitation, the red Miniforce ranger snuck away to Nine's secret fortress. Once inside, he either snuck passed or destroyed any Zero Bots in his way, and eventually found Pascal with his back turned to him.

"Welcome—Sammy." The said red ranger nearly flinched when hearing his name being spoke in such darkness, but he couldn't go back now. Pascal slightly turned and continued, "Finally, you are where you truly belong. And now, you can take your vengeance out on those humans—for this."

The dark purple former Miniforce ranger then grabbed Sammy's right shoulder in a vice grip, making him gasp in shudder in pain.

"I won't lie to you, though. You chose this path, and you're going to follow it. Do I make myself clear, Sammy?" Pascal growled, leaning closer to make sure he had his attention.

"Y-yes…M-Master Pascal," Sammy reluctantly replied, convincing his new master to let go and chuckle darkly in appeasement.

When morning came again, Volt and the others awoke to a surprise: Sammy was gone without a trace. But before they could look for him, their Force Gems suddenly went off. And so, Volt, Lucy and Max quickly headed down to their secret headquarters, where a hologram of a very disappointed Commander Chen was already waiting.

"Something terrible has happened. Our very own Sammy has been corrupted, forced to join Pascal's army," the old white cat sadly informed.

"What?! How could this happen?!" Lucy cried.

"I don't believe this!" Max shouted in disbelief, "Sammy would never do something like that!"

"Not on his own, he wouldn't. Something tells me Sammy's aggressive behavior had to do with that wound…" Volt pondered aloud.

"You're very right, Volt. Sammy was unfortunately struck with the dark powers of Pascal's spear during one of your last battles, and the darkness that seeped into him was too strong for even him to resist. And when the meteorite fell, the ultimate evil concentration multiplied to power of Pascal's spear, further tainting Sammy's unfortunate past."

"Sammy's unfortunate past?" Volt asked with surprise.

"When Sammy was young, his wings were broken beyond repair by a couple of delinquent boys and their slingshot—ultimately, stripping him of his ability to fly forever," Commander Chen informed the blue squirrel.

"Oh, poor Sammy…and we had no idea," Lucy whimpered, tears threatening to spill from the emotional pink cat's eyes.

"I still can't believe this," Max hissed, the yellow beaver baring his teeth in rage, "How could someone do that ta Sammy?!"

"As morbid as Sammy's past is, it is all in the past and there is nothing we can do to change that," Commander Chen cut in firmly, "But what we can do is help him see the light again."

Suddenly, Commander Chen's transmission was cut off, and a holographic screen of Pascal took its place. "Greetings, Miniforce! I would like to introduce my newest and most trust worthy henchman—come on out!"

"Sammy?!" all three Miniforce rangers exclaimed when none other than Sammy appeared next to Pascal on the screen.

"I'll have you all know that you are always welcome to join Sammy—and be my subordinates," Pascal pointed out darkly, but the blue leader of the Miniforce was not happy, as he scowled and growled at the hologram.

But Pascal ignored Volt's belly aching and continued on, "If you want to see Sammy again, you can find him at the abandoned factory any time. Besides, who doesn't love a murderous reunion?!"

The transmission blinked away with Pascal's cackling laughter, leaving Volt even angrier than before.

"Don't worry, Commander! We'll rescue Sammy immediately! Let's go, Miniforce!" Volt firmly reassured, and prepared to head out with Lucy and Max.

"Hold on!" The others screeched to a halt when the old cat called after them. "You won't be able to turn Sammy back to normal all on your own—you're going to need the help of a very special friend."

Pascal and Sammy waited alone in the abandoned factory they told the Miniforce to meet them at. And soon, the red, yellow and pink Miniforce rangers showed up in one of the old warehouses, and Sammy and Pascal were waiting for them in plain sight on the other side of the rusted building.

"Well, you're early. Eager to die, are we?" Pascal taunted.

"No, we came to rescue our friend!" Volt quickly protested.

"Sammy, c'mon! We know you're in there, Buddy!" Max begged.

"We believe in you, Sammy, just come back to us!" Lucy pleaded.

"I'm sad to say that the Sammy you knew is gone forever—there is only my apprentice of evil, now," Pascal pointed out with a hiss, in which Sammy gave a saluting nod to.

"What did you do ta him?!" Max boomed.

"Nothing, really—just corrupted him with a little dark magic, is all," Pascal chuckled as the crest of his scepter began to glow, "It's not too late for you to let the darkness take you as well."

"You're such a coward, Pascal! Forcing the only light left in this world to work for you by brainwashing it!" Volt snapped, "Well, it'll never happen!"

"Hmm…very will," Pascal sighed in disappointment, "We shall do this the hard way. Get them!"

At Pascal's command, a fleet of Zero Bots flew out to attack, but the Miniforce quickly summoned their Force Guns and handled them all. But even though the cronies were all taken out, there was still one of Pascal's henchmen they didn't account for.

"Sammy—dispose of them."

"Yes, Master!" With that, the red Miniforce ranger used his powerful legs to lunge at his old teammates, firing at them with his Force Gun and effortlessly driving them out of the warehouse.

Sammy followed them out into the parking lot, the opponents standing at opposite sides like a western standoff as the red ranger had his gun pointed at his old friends.

"No! Sammy, stop!" Sammy only ignored the cries of his pink friend.

"Don't do this, Sammy!" The demands of his former blue leader went unheard, as he only tightened his finger over the trigger.

"How does it feel to have a friend as an enemy?" Pascal mocked and waited behind Sammy to watch the carnage. But either way, he was going to have some fun, too. So, the dark purple ranger summoned more power to his scepter, firing at his enemies with no hesitation.

But Lucy once again came to the rescue by summoning another magical shield, just barely deflecting the powerful beam in time. The force of the beam still sent a shockwave throughout the three Miniforce rangers, knocking them all back effortlessly.

"Time for the finishing blow, Sammy," Pascal ordered his red apprentice.

"Yes, Master Pascal," Sammy replied with a firm nod, aiming his gun at Lucy first.

"NO!" Sammy was perplexed when he heard the familiar voice of Volt and Max, as the blue and yellow rangers sprinted to shield Lucy with their own bodies.

"You'd never shoot her, Sammy—you'd never shoot us!" Max protested, tears obvious in his breaking voice…and Sammy lowered his gun for a mere second.

"Yeah, Sammy! We're your friends, and we believe in you!" Volt tried to get through to him.

"LIAR!" Sammy snapped, raising his gun and tightening his trigger finger once more, "You don't know what I've been through, or what those damn humans have done to me!"

"You're right, Sammy," Lucy began meekly and stood back up, "We'll never understand the pain you've endured all your life—which is why we brought someone who does."

"What're you blathering about?" Sammy sneered in disbelief.

"Sammy!" A far away voice called, and it sounded new yet…familiar. And it grew louder. "Sammy!"

Sammy swore memories were flooding back, especially the tragic memory of when he broke his wing…and when he lost her. But just when the thought of his dearest friend was beginning to clear up, the red Miniforce ranger suddenly got the wind knocked out of him by a dive bombing blur of light blue.

Sammy grunted when he landed hard on his back, and the impact was powerful enough to send his Force Gem flying right out of his pocket. Without his Force Gem, Sammy quickly morphed right back into a small owl.

But there was still one thing very different about him, and that was the darkness that clouded his eyes with rage and revenge, as they showed his very anger with an aura of bright purple colors. Even as Sammy leaned back up and threatened the object on top of him, the evil within prevented him from seeing what was really there.

"Sammy, please! I'm not the enemy here, we are not the enemy here!" the sky blue object begged, trying her best to hold Sammy down as he continued to squirm violently beneath her. "We were best friends, Sammy! Why can't you just see that?!"

Sammy suddenly froze when the angelic voice began echoing throughout his head and memories, causing more to come back to him. He grunted and gripped his head in pain, starting from when the boys knocked him out of a tree and broke his wing, then going farther back to when he would soar through the sky like an eagle…and finally, he saw her again.

"Sammy, you're my very best friend."

"And you're mine, too, Sky."

"We'll always be friends forever, right?"

"Yeah, forever!"

It all came back to Sammy. His eyes went wide and his beak agape, as the evil within faded away and he could finally see the beauty before him. It was Sky, an owl like him, and his best friend; she wasn't as young as she used to be, though, as she was even more beautiful in Sammy's eyes than when she was just an owlet. And Sammy could never look away from her warm and beautiful silver eyes, as they helped pull his from the temptation of Pascal's dark powers.

"S…Sky?" Sammy uttered meekly, and smiled for the first time in a very long time.

"Oh, thank goodness you're ok!" Sky cried out in tears of joy, even pulling Sammy into an unexpected hug. And even though he was taken by great surprise at first, Sammy couldn't help but hug back even tighter.

"How dare you?!" Pascal interrupted with a boom.

"Told you we'd win, Pascal," Volt informed boastfully, "Evil never triumphs over good."

"No, you can't do this, Sammy! These are the bastards that help humans, the same ones that took away your ability to fly! Because of them, you're barely even a bird at all!" Pascal raged on.

"You may be right about, Pascal," Sammy began firmly, pulling out of the hug before turning back into a ranger, "But that's all in the past. Thanks to my friends, I've learned to move on."

"Ugh! Fine! Since you really do want to do this the hard way, than let it be so!" With that, the dark purple ranger slammed his scepter on the ground, creating a shock wave and quickly disappearing afterwards. But the battle wasn't over yet, when the shockwave summoned a cycloptic Mechamon from within the old warehouses.

"Get out of here, Sky!" Sammy ordered the said blue owl.

"The last time I listened to you, I thought I lost you forever!" Sky protested and flew up to Sammy, "I'm never leaving you again."

"Guys, now's not the time ta be all lovey-dovey! Summon the Force Cars, team!" Volt cut into the touching moment, and Sammy reluctantly followed orders and summoned his Force Car like the others.

Soon, the Force Cars were transformed and ready for action, but the cycloptic Mechamon quickly retaliated with a powerful blast, striking all Miniforce rangers. But Sammy was once again the only one able to dodge the attack, as his enhanced agility came in handy again.

"Oh, no! I can't move!" Lucy panicked when her Force Bot fell to the ground and lay motionless.

"Mine, too!" Max added in terror.

"It's the power of the meteorite! Just one hit, and the Force Bots are out of commission!" Volt explained, "Sammy, it's up to you!"

Sammy froze and gulped when he realized he was the only one who could stop the Mechamon now.

"You can do it!" Sky called, flying in circles around Sammy's Force Bot, "You can do it, Sammy! I believe in you!"

"So do we!" the other three Miniforce rangers cheered.

And from there, Sammy finally realized the true power that his friends had given him, and he was so blind as to not see it before. Even when he was corrupted by Pascal, it was obvious. And with his oldest and best friend back as well, Sammy truly felt unstoppable.

"Alright! Volt, Max, Lucy, I need you to give all the remaining energy from your Force Bots!" The others hastily followed their red friend's orders, and sent the remaining power in their Force Bots to Sammy's.

Soon, Sammy's Force Bot glowed with immense power, and he began effortlessly deflecting the Mechamon's attacks, allowing him to prepare his own retaliation. And without hesitation, Sammy used the combined strength of his friends and swiftly attacked the cycloptic Mechamon with a Force Blow.

In the blink of an eye, the Mechamon's torso was split in half by the Force Blow and sent him collapsing into a large pile of scrap metal. Good has once again won.

"We did it!" the Miniforce cheered.

"Good job, Sammy," Sky giggled softly.

That night, the Miniforce and Sky all returned to the village of Bluebell, where Sammy went to discuss some important matters with Susie.

"Susie, I…I heard you loud and clear, and I know how hard you tried to take care of me," Sammy began bashfully, as emotional speeches weren't his favorite topics, "So, I'm eternally grateful."

"Oh, I'm just so glad you're ok!" Susie cried hysterically and suddenly scooped the red owl up in a tight hug, much to his dismay.

"Hey, wait a minute! I said I was sorry, not invade my personal space!"

As poor Sammy squirmed in Susie's strong grip and called out to his friends for help, they couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune. Even Sky couldn't hold back a few giggles, as she slowly snuck away to leave Sammy spend some time with his new friends. She knew she and Sammy were still close, but she couldn't possibly invade in all the new friendships he's made.

But eventually, Sammy managed to escape the redheaded girl's bear hug, just in time to notice that Sky had mysteriously disappeared. So, he ran out of the house without another word and out into the front yard in search of Sky. He saw nothing but the clear and starry night sky, illuminated by the bright full moon, and the sound of many chirping crickets filled their air.

But there was still no sign of Sky.

"I really like your new friends," came a gentle voice, and Sammy quickly turned to find Sky landing, "They seem nice."

"W-well, y-yeah! They're nice and all, b-but they could never replace you!" Sammy sheepishly reassured.

"And vice versa," Sky added softly, her smile growing as she gently hugged Sammy, "I've really missed you."

"You think I didn't miss you?" Sammy asked with shock, but still hugged back, "I thought you were…you know…"

"A goner? I thought I was done for, too. But when I fell out of the sky, there was a lake to break my fall, and the park ranger that chased the boys away took me to a vet…but after I was fully healed, I went back to look for you and you were gone."

Sammy could hear the obvious sorrow in Sky's voice, and he felt especially guilty when she sighed and pulled away from him, but she smiled at him again anyway.

"But just know that I couldn't happier to see you again, Sammy."

"Y-yeah…same here, Sky…a-and one more question: You're really never leaving me again?"

"Of course not! To live the daring life of fighting evil with the Miniforce sounds way too fun!"

The two old friends couldn't help but share a little laugh at that, but they still knew it was true, nonetheless. Nothing would ever separate them again.

Could you spot the Fox and the Hound reference?

Also, do not fear! The story is far from over!

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!