Pandora enters her father's office in a rush. Jove is sitting at his desk alone this time. He immediately looks up to see his daughter.

"I lost her." declares Pandora.

"You lost her? What happened?" her father asks.

"She took off. We were on the Ferris wheel and she just took off."

"And you didn't go after her?"

"She jumped from like 15 feet up. I climbed down but by the time I ran after her..."

"She was gone." Jove says with understanding.

"I'm sorry." says Pandora with an obvious regret.

"It's all right, we'll find her."

"But she's in stage two. She's starting to intentionally affect people. She had some kind of... magical wave, coming out of the things she says. I've been seeing it since she... affected me but now she's... she was talking about using it to let people do whatever they want."

"It's all right. She won't go far." insists Jove.

"How do you know?" Pandora asks, clearly uncertain.

The fire alarm goes off. Jove points up as the alarm continues to go off, "That."

After a few long moments of uncertainty, Tom, Jove's assistant, enters.

"Sir, we have to evacuate."

"What do we know?" Jove asks his assistant.

"The teachers seem to be following protocol and evacuating, but no word yet on why it was pulled."

"All right, let's proceed with the evacuation until we have reason to believe it's a false alarm."

"Yes sir."

Tom leaves.

"Dora, let's go."

Pandora and Jove leave Jove's office.

* * *

A large amount of students and faculty file out of the school. Jove, Pandora and Tom are with them. There is a large amount of confusion and uncertainty among the faculty and staff. Jove turns to the exiting students, doing his best to get their attention.

"All right, I need everyone to stay with their classes and either sit or stand next to the bleachers to be as far away from the school as possible."

Jemma suddenly appears at the top of the school, megaphone in hand, "Attention mindless followers!"

Pandora, Jove and Tom all look up.

"Free your minds from the indoctrinated nonsense that your oppressive overlords feed you." a rather bellowing megaphone enhanced Jemma insists as she unfurls a banner over the side of the school roof which says 'Think Outside The Box', "Be free!"

The words 'be free' emit visible magical waves from the megaphone which hits the crowd.

"Be free!" yells Jemma as more magical waves hit the students.

The students and teachers begin cheering.

"Tom, I need you to..." Jove starts to ask as he turns to his assistant, before realizing Tom is cheering for Jemma too.

"What's going on Dad?" asks Pandora.

"Pandora, do you still have The Box?" her father asks.

"It's... in my locker."

"She's reached a critical mass. Being able to tap into magic is one of the final stages. Now is the time to help her." explains Jove.

"What do I need to do?" Pandora asks with uncertainty.

"You'll need something of hers. Something personal. You need to put it in The Box. That will connect her to it long enough for it to draw the spirit out. Do you think you could find something?" explains Jove.

It only takes Pandora a few moments to remember the bracelet she found earlier, "I know exactly what to use."

"Be careful. Someone at this stage tends to be volatile. There is no guarantee that you wont be affected by her abilities." Jove tells his daughter, adding, "They also tend to have a very short fuse. The wrong word could set her off."

"Okay... I'll be careful."

"Here are the keys to the roof." says Jove before handing Pandora his keys.

Pandora starts to run towards the school before stopping to turn to her father, "Hey Dad?" which makes Jove look at her, "I love you." then runs off into the school.

It isn't long until Pandora reaches her locker. People in the school are still evacuating. Just then, a teacher approaches Pandora.

"Pandora." making Pandora turns to the Teacher, "What are you still doing here? You should be evacuating."

"I know, but my father, the principal? He wanted me to get something from my locker that he left for me. He gave me his keys to prove he asked me." Pandora says as she shows the Teacher the keys, "See?"

"Shouldn't your father have gotten it himself?" asks the Teacher.

"He would have, but it's in my locker. It was just easier for me to get it."

The Teacher looks Pandora over for a moment before responding, "Hurry up then, I wouldn't want your father coming down on me for not getting his daughter out."

"Yes sir."

The Teacher leaves. Pandora opens her locker. The Box is sitting there and the second she opens it, there's a black glow to it for a few seconds before alternating between black and yellow. After a few moments of hesitation, she picks up The Box and pulls out Jemma's bracelet from her pocket.

* * *

Pandora walks onto the roof. Jemma is standing near the edge with her arms raised as crowds cheer, "You don't have to take it from those idiots who want to tell you what to think and how to feel. You wanna do something? You can just DO IT."

"Jemma." Pandora calls out.

Jemma turns around to face Pandora. Pandora hides The Box behind her back, "Pandora, have you come to join the party?"

Pandora gets closer to Jemma.

"Yeah, I mean, it's awesome what you're doing. Freeing from the oppressors."

"Really? Cause you didn't seem excited before when we were talking about the idea. You kinda freaked out when I..." starts Jemma but being cut off by Pandora.

"No I am excited. I've had time to think about it and... you're right. I wasn't sure before but you were right. I'm all for thinking for yourself. Setting your mind free and all that. I am... I'm just... I'm a little nervous."

"Why?"

"Because of what happened at the amusement park. When I told you the truth about me. That I'm... you know..." Pandora tries to explain.

"I told you that you didn't have to worry about that. I can fix that for you. All you have to do is ask." insists Jemma.

"Yeah... I get that now. I just... I wasn't sure." Pandora says as she continues to get closer to Jemma.

"Sure? Sure about what?"

"About... how I feel. How I feel about you... about... us."

"And now you are?" questions Jemma with uncertainty.

Pandora and Jemma are in front of each other.

"Well... yeah. I mean, you make a pretty convincing case. You're... really freaking hot. And... being a virgin is just another rule that other people put on you to keep you from having any fun. Why should I let that stop me? To live up to some kind of idea that other people have? About me? Who I'm supposed to be? That's my decision."

"Exactly." Jemma agrees with excitement.

"So, I'm taking my power back. Doing things by my own rules, and I'm going to start... with this."

Pandora grabs Jemma and kisses her deeply. As they kiss, Pandora puts The Box against the small of Jemma's back. The yellow light of the spirit infecting Jemma is drawn out of her and into The Box. The light isn't pure though, there's a darkness to it, almost a grey shadow to the yellow light as it's drawn into The Box. Pandora's eyes open during the kiss and there's a dark yellow glow in her eyes for a moment before Jemma breaks the kiss and stumbles backward.

It takes Pandora a moment to try and shake off what happened, "Whoa, you... you should... should really sit down." Pandora helps Jemma sit down. The cheering from below them on the ground dissipates. "And I thought knocking people off their feet was just a myth."

"Yeah. What happened?" asks a clearly dazed Jemma.

"What do you remember?" Pandora asks, playing dumb.

"I... I don't know. It's kinda hazy. More of a feeling really. Since the party I've been feeling really amped up. Like I was out of control or something. Then all of the sudden I felt weak." says Jemma.

"Whatever happened, just rest for a minute before doing anything." Pandora insists.

"Probably a good idea."

After making sure Jemma seems okay, something comes over Pandora and she turns away from her friend. Pandora's eyes glow again but this time the color is black. She's quick to shake it off.

* * *

Pandora, Jove and Uni are at home hours later, sitting together. They're sitting in the living room in the same place they were when they first talked about The Box.

"And Jemma's going to be okay?" Jove asks.

"It took her a couple minutes but it's like she's back to normal." explains Pandora.

"Good, it sounds like you got to her early enough then. There's usually no lasting physical effects."

"What if she tells someone?"

"Tells people what? That she started a bunch of fights, broke into an amusement park and pulled the school fire alarm?" states Uni in a dismissive tone.

"I guess you're right. But what about the whole magic thing?"

"And they'd believe her because?" Jove asks rhetorically.

"You did really well for your first time, you should be very proud."

"Thanks Mom." Pandora says adding. "Uh... do you...?" then deciding not to.

"What is it sweetie?" wonders Jove.

"It's nothing. Not important." Pandora says.

"You're sure? Because if anything else happened, you can tell us."

"No, I think I'm just kinda tired. With everything that happened you know?"

"Okay Dora, but you know, it's only going to get harder from here. Things aren't always going to be as straight forward as they were." says her mother.

"But we know that you'll be up for the challenge." Jove tries to reassure his daughter.

"And we'll be there for you when you need it." adds Uni.

"I appreciate it."

"Now, why don't you go and get some rest? The school should be up and running again by tomorrow. We expect you to be there."

"Yes mom." Pandora says as she starts up the stairs to her room.

She stops just outside the living room door and her parents notice.

"Dora?" asks Uni.

Pandora turns back to her parents, "I just... I don't understand how it could've gone this far."

"Which part?" Jove asks looking for clarification.

"I mean, how could someone like Jemma get so out of control? She seemed so normal." wonders Pandora.

"People are a lot more complicated then we like to think Dora. They have all kinds of sides that most of us never see." explains Jove.

Uni continues, "Which is why these spirits are so dangerous. They bring it out in people in a way that amplifies the bad parts without the balance of the good parts, and sometimes destroying the good parts entirely. Jemma is no different. She's just as vulnerable to them as anyone else, including us."

After a few long moments looking at her parents, Pandora disappears up the stairs and when she is far enough away, Uni seems to cringe suddenly. She leans forward and grabs her head as if she's in some kind of pain.

"What is it honey?" Jove asks his wife as he leans forward to see what's going on.

Uni rubs her eyes as they glow yellow, "It's nothing. Just... the spell."

"You took a real risk by doing what you did for Dora." Jove says.

"I know, but it was the only option. We thought she could handle it but..." Uni is cut off by Jove.

"Still, we could've found another way." insists Jove.

Uni's eyes return to normal and she looks at her husband, "There was no other way and you know that. I had to do something."

"I know but..."

"It was my decision and I made it. I'll deal with the consequences."

"We may all have to deal with the consequences... a lot sooner than we think."

* * *

In a dank and dark basement of the school, the Teacher that Pandora was talking to earlier is pacing back and forth. He seems oddly proud of himself.

"The girl is good, I'll give her that. She sacrificed herself even when she knew that there would be consequence. That will make it a lot harder then I initially thought. Most people wouldn't make that call. They'd sacrifice others for their own well being. She has a lot of potential. Even with her parents for help though, I'm pretty confident that I can get it away from her."

The Teacher shape shifts into Hermes.

"What do you think?"

The real Hermes is tied up in the corner, struggling against his bonds. He tries repeatedly to speak but is muffled by the gag around his mouth. Just then, a mysterious figure emerges from the shadows a bit but not enough to reveal himself.

"Indeed," says the Shadowed Figure in a booming and clearly angry voice, "And if not, then your little revenge all but assures us our victory. Her inherent goodness will cause her to fall into our trap willingly. If we can't get The Box away from her, she will end up serving us and our cause anyway. Help her to see the folly that only her original predecessor was ever able to."

"That a mortal protecting The Box is a fool's errand. It's something that only a god can truly do."

The Shadowed Figure begins to step out of the shadows and the real Hermes can now see who it is. It's Ares, the God of War. Ares gets in close to the real Hermes. He grabs the real Hermes by the throat and starts to squeeze.

"Now tell me..." the Shadowed Figure asks, "Where is the other one?"

The End

Author's Note: There's now a sequel to this, it's called Pandora's Box: Maenads. Be sure to check it out.