“Trickster!” Sam parried another slash of the villain’s kopis. “What did you do to Marcus Flint?!”

“Why don’t you just call him by his real name?” The Trickster challenged, cackling afterward.

“Shut up!” Sam growled. “And who said you could dress like me?”

“Do you like it?” Trickster stepped back from Sam’s attack just so he could twirl around and show off his knockoff suit. “Got it on sale. Meaning I only had to kill three people to cobble this together.”

Sam’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t need to do that… Your plan to pin the crime on me failed. So, this suit’s purpose is moot.”

“Well, that whole bit with blaming you for Crow-Man’s abduction was just a bonus,” the Trickster admitted. “This suit’s real purpose is to piss you off… and I say it’s working perfectly.”

“Trickster!” Sam charged forward with his sword raised high.

They exchanged one, two, and then three slashes, none of which managed to cut the other.

He’s gotten way better since you last tangoed. Less wasted movement with sharper swings, Chiron reported. If I didn’t know better, I might think this bastard’s become saner and started training too.

As Sam blocked the Trickster’s fourth slash, he noticed that golden lines were beginning to appear on his kopis’ bronze blade. He wasn’t sure what this meant though.

That thing’s dangerous too, Chiron noted. I think it’s… Styx, dodge, kid!

Steel clashed against bronze for the fifth time, and those golden lines on the Trickster’s kopis began to emit a brilliant flash that left Sam blinded, causing the hero to stagger backward.

“How do you like my new blade?” The Trickster whispered into Sam’s ear. “It’s called Pandora’s Sacrifice. Got it from your sister, Sam~~m!”

Hearing his name come out of the Trickster’s lips sent Sam into a panic. He swung Gram toward the Trickster’s voice but struck only air. Then he felt a blade smack against his side, but the Armor of the Odyssey repelled the attack easily enough.

“I see your new look isn’t just for show,” the Trickster sounded almost disappointed. “And here I thought we could go twinsies!”

Sam swung blind. He hit something hard that forced Gram back, but the complaint that followed wasn’t the one he expected.

“You nearly cut off my arm, mate!” Jackboot complained.

Finally, Triple-A announced that the negative status effect [Blind] was taken care of, and Sam opened his eyes to discover that Jackboot was standing beside him.

“Sorry, Jack,” he said.

“It’s fine.” Jackboot raised one of his tonfas. “Good to know this one’s sturdy enough to block Gram.”

“But where’s the—”

Sam’s opponent was already darting away back toward Medea’s solar dragon which had now unfurled its wings to reveal that the sorceress was still casting her spell.

Meanwhile, Thunder and Dr. Hearthstone were slowly wading through a crowd of sacrifices to get to Medea, but the Chimera agents who weren’t carrying soul stones aloft also seemed hellbent on keeping the two heroes at bay.

Beside him, Jackboot frowned. “I hate to say this, but I’m beginning to loathe seeing your sister on a battlefield.”

Just like Jackboot, Sam could now see his sister standing in front of Medea. In Serena’s hands was the evilest jar in the universe which she was already beginning to uncap.

“Serena!” Sam yelled over the din of battle. “Don’t do it!”

His sister didn’t listen to his plea though as her Pandora the 8th persona was in full control of Serena’s body at that moment. She uncapped the jar, unleashing another terrible monstrosity on her brother and his friends.

A giant hairy mass with eight spindly legs protruding out of its bloated body appeared to block the way to Medea and the hole in space-time expanding behind her. Eight pairs of bulbous red eyes zipped in all directions, taking in the positions of each of the heroes who’d gathered on the valley floor.

“Bloody Duat,” Jackboot cursed. “It just had to be a bloody arachnid.”

Like the terror that Sam and Thunder had subdued in the Bronx during their first adventure together, an arachnid was a horror born of uncontrollable fear and one that was a higher tier than the typical terror. Moreover, from its massive size, Sam guessed this arachnid must have enjoyed a meal of high-class darkness inside Pandora’s Box.

“Can you keep more agents from picking up the remaining soul stones?” Sam asked his partner.

Jackboot glanced at the glowing crystals scattered around them. “I’ll do my best.”

“Get Ice Brand to help you… he’s good with crowd control,” Sam added.

Believing that Jackboot would get the job done, Sam raced forward and toward the other end of the procession of enemies to where the big scary monsters were hanging. He caught up to the Trickster first, sending Gram slashing across the villain’s back with a relish only to see the colorful sparks of an illusion breaking down. Instead of the Trickster, Sam’s attack hit an unsuspecting Chimera agent instead. As for his budding archnemesis, the Trickster had swapped places with the fallen agent, and he was now a good ten yards away from Sam.

“Are you ever not going to fall for that?” the villain cackled over his shoulder.

Sam was just about to throw Gram at the villain’s back, but a lightning bolt struck the Trickster’s side and beat him to the punch. The force of the blast sent the villain careening into a cluster of would-be sacrifices like a bowling ball knocking down some white pins.

“That was for Maeve, Jackass!” Thunder said as she appeared beside Sam with anger alight in her gaze. “I wish he’d just stay down for once.”

“Let’s leave him be for now… we need to get to Medea,” Sam insisted. “Come on!”

More and more Chimera agents were dropping lifelessly to the ground while the soul stones they carried began to emit that horrific ghostly light that was the complete opposite of the warm teal glow of life force.

“We’re running out of time!” Thunder yelled.

“I know!” Sam replied. “Doc, clear us a path!”

Ahead of them, Dr. Hearthstone had been tanking the arachnid to keep the horror from turning the tide in the villains’ favor. Miracle Girl was assisting him with buffs that lit up the doc’s body with glittering starlight, making him glow even brighter than his usual fiery aura. Meanwhile, Raven Knight had tied up half of the horror’s spindly legs with coils of shadows, ensuring that the arachnid couldn’t run wild.

Seeing Sam and Thunder run past her, Raven Knight called after them. “You have to save him!”

“Okay!” Sam yelled back.

With their friends tied up, it was up to him and Thunder to stop Medea from finishing her spell while also saving Crow-Man in the process. Yep, it was just another day of hero work for the pair. Unfortunately, from the roaring sound it emitted, Sam guessed that the now door-sized black how was nearly ready.

Thanks to Dr. Hearthstone keeping its attention, Sam and Thunder zipped past the arachnid’s side without getting attacked. There was zero resistance past the horror too, with the dead bodies of Chimera agents scattered ahead of them.

“Godsdammit…” His chest ached at the sight even though they were his enemies. “Why would they do this?!”

Sam felt Thunder’s hand reach for his, with their fingers intertwining.

“We’ll avenge them too,” she promised.

Medea and Pandora the 8th were close enough now that Sam could have swung his blade and Ripple would have torn into their bodies. However, before he could even contemplate physically harming his sister, dragon fire exploded over their heads. Luckily, Sam managed to raise Bulwark’s teal wall in time for protection, but even his improved ability wouldn’t hold out long against the solar dragon’s power.

“We have to split up,” Thunder insisted. “You save Crow-Man. I’ll stop Medea’s spell.”

“Wait, we’re not supposed to split the party like this!” Sam called after her, but Thunder had already left the protection of his wall. She’d gone right, leaving Sam with no other option but to turn left, which was where he clocked a human-sized bundle lying on the ground close to Pandora the 8th’s feet.

“Save the hero, save the world,” Sam repeated. “Yeah, right. Like it’s ever that easy…”

His danger sense kicked in, and Sam ducked to avoid the solar dragon’s tail swiping the space his head had just vacated. Unfortunately, he was too slow to avoid the large golden fist that smacked against his side, which he was lucky enough to block with Gram’s blade. The impact of their collision sent Sam reeling backward though, allowing the Trickster to run past him and reach Crow-Man’s body before Sam could.

“Trickster, let him—”

Sam’s eyes widened.

Thunder had arrived before Medea, but she was also too late. The sorceress had already completed her spell, which meant she was prepared for Thunder’s approach.

Knowing full well what Pandora the 8th meant to the heroes, Medea used Sam’s sister as a meat shield that prevented Thunder from hurling a lightning bolt at her. Thunder’s hesitation cost her, and she was struck down by forks of purple lightning that coiled around her body that held the hero tight.

“No…” Sam leaped forward with Herculean speed, but he knew that he wouldn’t make it. “Thunder!”

Medea offered Sam a beguiling smile before she hurled Thunder into the black hole that was now large enough to accommodate even her solar dragon’s girth. Speaking of Medea’s dragon, the great horror’s tail whipped out a second time and blocked Sam’s path to the sorceress. He was forced to stumble back and watch helplessly as his girlfriend disappeared into the void.

Onus appeared in Sam’s free hand, but he didn’t throw it at Medea. He sent his hammer streaking into the hole, hoping it would follow Thunder and give him a way to find her again.

“What a pity…” Medea chuckled. “Perhaps you’ll reunite in Hades. Perhaps not.”

With that final taunt, the sorceress and her party stepped into the black hole, while Crow-Man was slung over the Trickster’s shoulder. Pandora the 8th was last to go, and it almost seemed to Sam like there had been pity reflected in his sister’s eyes.

Sadly, Pandora the 8th disappearing from the mortal plane didn’t mean her summoned horror would vanish too. This meant that his friends would be held back longer, and Sam knew he couldn’t wait for them.

“Sam!” Dr. Hearthstone called. “Wait for the Argo VII!”

Sam glanced over his shoulder and gave his friends a look of clear-eyed determination. “I have to go to her… Find us later. I know you guys can do it!”

With that word of encouragement escaping his lips, Sam stepped into the void. His destination was the underworld few heroes had ever come back from.