Hello from the Author:

Hello everybody! Today's the Fourth of July. Congratulations America! This story is very fun and interesting. This is a one-shot, but it's a long one-shot isn't it. Oh well.

Konnichwa, minna-san! Kyou wa shichi gatsu yokka desu. Amerika ni ometetou gozaimasu! Kono hanashi wa totemo tanoshikute, omoshiroi desu yo. Kore wa wan-shotto desu demo, nagai wan-shotto desu ne. Maa ne.

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Locked InBy LokiGirl

Chapter One:

It had been a normal morning—almost normal morning—at Loki's mansion. Mayura had come over bright and early questioning if any 'fushigi mysteries' had occurred while she wasn't there during the night, and of course Loki said no—even if there had been, he wouldn't have told her. But that morning he wasn't lying and with a pout on her face, Mayura ran to school… or tried to run to school. Not even out of the study's door, Mayura tripped and fell face first onto the hardwood floors. Of course, her short school uniform skirt had a mind of its own—not that Loki minded; he quite enjoyed the show. Dusting herself off, Mayura turned towards Loki and said good-bye again before actually running to school. Slowly, Loki made his way to his desk chair and began to read the book that he had began reading before Mayura had interrupted him. Only the goofy grin plastered to his face betrayed the events that had just transpired.

"Loki-sama, I'm leaving!" cried Yamino.

Loki walked out of his study and down the stairs to find Yamino holding a packed suitcase. "Have a good time at your convention Yamino-kun."

"Thank you Loki-sama. I'm sure I will."

Loki opened the door and waved to Yamino as he walked down the sidewalk. "When will you be coming back?"

"In three days!"

"Have a good trip," Loki paused, noticing Ecchan floating with Yamino. "Is Ecchan going with you?"

"Yes he is. Punyaan-san wants to find a tray that fits on his head better. Bye, Loki-sama," finished Yamino waving back at Loki before he disappeared out of sight.

All alone in the mansion, Loki closed and locked the front door. With no real purpose in mind, Loki walked back up to his study. It was only fifteen minutes later before he slammed shut the book he was reading and sprinted into the bathroom. Turning on the warm water faucet, Loki cupped some water in his hands and splashed his face. Besides a little red in his face, nothing seemed to be physically wrong with him. He waited five to ten minutes before shutting off the water and returning to his study. But it was only thirty minutes more before Loki was once again sprinting to the bathroom. This time however, Loki turned on the cold-water faucet and repeatedly splashed his face. Blast this childish body! Loki was breathing hard, and definitely looked a little more than flustered. His face was beet red and he was sweating like he had just run a mile in scorching thirty-two degree heat.

(A/n: 32 degrees Celsius… or 90 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Why is this happening now? I've never reacted like this before… even when Freya made me touch her yesterday. I've seen plenty of flashes in my day… hell, I've seen a lot more than flashes! Loki splashed his face with another handful of cold water. Curse this childish body! The images… the mere thoughts are enough to overload this pathetic shape! Well, that wasn't completely true… but Loki wasn't going to admit what 'mere thoughts' his subconscious mind had been coming up with. He stayed in the bathroom for a good twenty minutes before shutting off the water again. "What should I do?" Loki asked out loud to himself. I can't go back into the study… I'll just end up in here again. There's got to be somewhere else… something else I can do. Loki paused in thought. "Ah! I know!"

Loki went down the stairs and into the basement. He stopped and sighed at the bare metal stand that once held the precious purple flames of jaki. "All that work for such a limited time…" Picking his head up, Loki looked at the stand in determination. "I will return to the world of the gods Odin… mark my words. I will return… in my true form, and there's nothing you can do but delay that day."

Feeling better, Loki continued on his way to the place he had in mind. He stopped in front of the wall, a solid stone wall. Waving his hand, tiny lines of power crept up from the floor. When they reached about seven foot high, they turned inwards towards each other. The two lines met in the middle and a back surge of green energy went through the grooves they had created. Loki uttered something like a riddle or a poem under his breath, and within seconds, a worn brass ring emerged from within the stonework. Tugging on the ring, which suspiciously looked like a doorknocker, the wall swung open without a sound. Behind the area where anyone would have sworn was solid wall was a dark small room. Loki reached in and lit a torch that hung on the inside wall of this newly discovered room. Although the torch didn't give off much light, it was obvious that Yamino didn't know about this room. Dust, dirt, and grim covered the floor, while cobwebs and dust littered any of the open space. Loki sighed and blew out the torch before closing the secret door.

He was back fifteen minutes later with a bucket full of water, a mop, several scrub brushes, a duster, and lots of soap. He once again opened the secret door and lit the torch. Picking up his first weapon—the duster—Loki began to attack the cobwebs so he could actually step in the room. Coughing and sneezing at the dust he raised, Loki still managed to clear everything in a short amount of time. But that was the easy part. Walking into the now unobstructed room, he lit the chandelier that had been previously hidden. Loki looked at the floor. It had never bothered him much before… not enough to actually consider cleaning it, let alone have the implements on hand and the determination to do the work. Yamino-kun… what have you done to me? Loki had grown accustomed to nice clean floors that your shoes didn't stick to, and counters not covered in dust. He sighed and picked up the mop. It's not going to clean itself. And if you want a clean floor in a room only you know about, I guess it implies that you're the only one who can clean it. Loki sighed one more time as he dipped the mop into the bucket and began to scrub the floor clean.

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It was around noon when Loki finally had the floor to his satisfaction—in the corners, he had even scrubbed the floor by hand. Wiping the sweat off his brow, Loki looked about the room in satisfaction. He then glanced down at the mop and single scrub brush he had used. Good thing I used Yamino-kun's discards. I wouldn't want to know what he would have done if I had used one of his 'still good' tools. I don't get it. They looked fine to me… before. And now that the floor was clean, he had space to clean and temporarily place all the items he had haphazardly stacked and packed in the room. Counter space cleared, Loki took the second scrub brush he had brought down and started to wash the shelves, wooden storage chests, and counters. It was one thirty in the afternoon when Loki returned the bucket and soap to Yamino's broom closet on the first floor. I should have remembered about the broom closet in the basement. It would have saved me walking… up… and down… these… steps… with all… this… stuff. Discretely Loki threw the mop and scrub brushes away. Yamino was a very thorough cleaner after all, and Loki didn't want to make him suspicious.

Returning to the basement, Loki admired his handiwork. But since now the room was clean, he had to organize all the stuff that he had laid out on the floor… not to mention the who-knows-what stored inside the wooden chests, or the various things piled on the shelves. "Now I remember why I despise cleaning… it always makes more work. Yuck…" But he only meant it half heartedly since he genuinely felt proud about all the hard work he had done that day and he was really looking forward to searching through all his 'illicit' and 'you're not supposed to have that' items he had gained, borrowed… or well…'found' over the years. He had several of Bragi's quills incase he needed to write or umm… rewrite official documents, a horn of plenty he had borrowed and not returned from Freyr, several of Freya's cords for marriage in different colors—you never know when in quickie and or secret wedding would be nessessary—as well as many other similarly acquired items of the gods.

Hanging from the ceiling in the far left hand corner was a mobile of small rotating prisms. Inside them were entrapments of light, capturing mostly embarrassing situations of his fellow gods in Asgard. Some of the pictures—you could call them that—were of Thor in Freya's wedding dress… Odin really drunk with a lampshade on his head… Sif without hair… Freya looking like an old hag… and many other beautiful blackmailing pictures. In the far right hand corner was another similar mobile, but it was filled with pictures of his and Glut's wedding, and of course pictures of his children as they grew up. Eisa and Einmyria… Loki let a few tears trickle own his cheeks. He hoped they were happy with their mother in Hel's domain. On the second tier were pictures of Sleipnir… although he didn't even recognize his own mother anymore. The third tier contained pictures of Fenrir, Midgardsormen, and Hel. I really need to get a new picture of Midgardsormen… I mean Yamino-kun. Yamino is such a nicer name. Not Norwegian, but still a nicer name. Hanging from the near corner on the opposite side as the torch was yet another hanging picture mobile. But Loki didn't go over to look at those pictures. He knew what was within those prisms and the wound was still too fresh for him to look upon them with fond memories of better times and maybe just a tear or two in his eyes. He knew that in time he'll be glad he didn't destroy those pictures just like he was now with his first wife and his first children's photos. But… not now.

The next thing he began to search through were the shelves he had hung above the three large wooden chests that were neatly pushed against the wall. Placed on the shelves were small boxes ranging from something the size of a shoe box, to those small as a ring boxes. In fact, he had several of such boxes that held precisely that, rings. Not that they were all his rings… most were being 'borrowed' from Odin. But he knew Odin wouldn't miss the 'few' solid gold rings he had nicked through the centuries. Loki kept them as security. Currency often changed on Midgard and the other worlds such as Muspelheim, Nidavellir, and Svartalfheim, but pure gold was always accepted and its value remained pretty much constant.

Other larger boxes contained different powders and magical herbs that could be used in some type of potion or another. Normally Loki would just ask Verdandi for a potion since she was much better at it than he, but there were times when he wasn't in the best… terms with Verdandi as well as times when he couldn't ask her to mix the potion he needed. Like the potion he made that gave all the gods the seven-year itch. Loki laughed. Now that was really funny.

On the lowest shelf was one of the largest boxes on the shelves, but it also was the lightest. The box itself was nondescript. In fact, the box was so ordinary that most people would have completely overlooked it. But that box was the most precious of his whole collection. Cradling it carefully in his hands, Loki placed the box on the counter before he opened it up to see its contents. Inside were slices of dried apple—slices of Idun's Apples. The other artifacts in the room would greatly anger almost all of the gods were they to ever learn about his secret storage room, but these apple slices were different. Those stolen slices—yes, even he admitted to them being stolen—would sentence him to death. And not this weird 'let's try to kill Loki' game Odin is playing either. No, these would give me instantaneous death by Odin himself. Loki knew he was playing with fire… but when did fire ever intimidate him? Closing the lid, he placed a second sealing incantation on the lock… just to be safe. He then carefully placed it back on the lowest shelf, with would have been about chest high in his true form. The last thing I need to do is to slip break a hip when I'm old and decrepit and desperately in need of a slice of apple. There is one good thing about this exile Odin placed me in… I don't age, but that's also my curse.

For some strange reason, an image of Mayura getting undressed popped into his mind. Warmth flooded his through his body, heating up his blood. Loki closed his eyes serenely, and savored the limited pleasure his youthful body could withstand. One flash, like he has seen that morning, was usually enough to supply his mind with enough ideas and images to keep him happy for a month or two… which of course made having any fun during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and earlier twentieth centuries more challenging. Then again, seeing the knees of a girl past twelve was a bit more… enticing back then. But Loki was all for the feminist movement… hey, who was he to complain if the girls wanted to wear shorter skirts? Exactly

Loki stayed away from the Islamic countries completely however. It just isn't fair! What is it with Islamic men and their need to cover their women from head to toe in cloth for anyway? They were all glad that he didn't have his full powers, or they would have all found themselves trapped within the body of nine year olds for… oh a century or two, just to see how they liked it.

Loki tilted his head up to the ceiling, knowing that he was still safely alone for another two hours at least before Mayura barged in asking about any new fushigi mysteries that might have occurred while she was at school. "Mayura…" A small smile crept on his lips. He grudgingly admitted that lately, Mayura's name was always on the tip of his tongue during these moments, but he attributed that to the fact that she was the supplier of most of his fantasies. Well, what would you expect? With that indecently short skirt and her uncanny clumsiness she must flash me at least two or three times a month! What he wasn't ready to admit, accept, or even consider was the fact that sights of other girls didn't have the same effect on him as Mayura did. Freya for instance could probably walk in at any point during the day or night, strip down to nothing in front of him, and yet he would miraculously remain stoic through the whole thing… alright, so not quite that. But something as innocent as Mayura's skirt lifting up in the wind would send Loki's hormones into action.

Loki opened his eyes as the sensations passed. "Huhhhh…" he sighed shaking his head. Getting back to work, Loki opened the third of the three wooden chests, which was in fact, the oldest. He opened up the lid cautiously, since he had forgotten what was stored within. "No wonder why I forget about this," stated Loki. Inside the chest was polished armor: a helmet, chain mail, a small round Viking shield, and a sword. I never used this stuff when it was popular and common to go around dressed in that getup… geez. He closed the lid down after scanning over the contents. Loki then proceeded to the second chest which contained clothes he had worn on the several in-disguise pranks he had pulled. They were items that he didn't want to throw away, yet couldn't keep in the open since… well they were rather incriminating. Loki pulled up the top article of clothing—the lady's in waiting dress he had worn that time he had gone with Thor to reclaim Mollinjir. "Oh, this thing brings back so many memories," he laughed, placing it on the floor and picking up the next piece underneath. Loki checked each article, making sure there were no moth holes in any of the fabric. He placed them back into the chest neatly, folding each one before replacing the mothball bag hanging from the underside of the chest lid. Wiping his hand together, Loki congratulated himself on the work done so far. There was only one last thing to straighten up, but he knew that wouldn't take too long, which was a very good thing since Mayura was due in about an hour.

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Unbeknown to Loki however, Mayura was already in his study calling out his name. "Loki-kun! Loki-kun, where are you?!" she cried looking underneath the two sofas as if he might have been hiding there. "Mou… where are you Loki-kun. I know Yamino-san was leaving today for his kitchen convention but…" Mayura paused as an idea crept into her head. If Loki-kun isn't here right now, he wouldn't mind if I search around for ghosts, or aliens, or magical potions! Mayura bounced up and down in glee. But where should I look first? ... Umm... I know! The kitchen! Mayura raced down the stairs and into the kitchen where she first decided to check the cabinet under the sink, and then all the other cabinets around the room. In desperation she even checked the refrigerator, but she didn't find any ghosts or UFO's. In the refrigerator she did find however two slices of cake. One plate had a card with Mayura-san written on it while the other plate had a similar card that said Loki-sama. Mayura took out the slice of cake that was obviously meant for her. Delicious… Thank you Yamino-san!

Reenergized by the confectionary sweet left by the every caring Yamino-san, Mayura decided to start her search of Loki-kun's house afresh, and she knew exactly where to search… the basement! After all, if Yamino-san wouldn't let her go down there yesterday, there must be something really interesting to see. But Loki-kun might get mad at me for that… she sighed. He can't be mad about something he doesn't know about right?! I'll just have to be paying attention for when he comes back home. Mayura nodded her head in approval of her plan. Excitedly she tiptoed to the basement door. As soon as she started down the stairs, the door creaked shut behind her. What was that? Mayura turned around nervously. Hooo… just the door… silly Mayura. She walked down the rest of the stairs as quietly as a cat. Wow! This is just like exploring an underground dungeon! ..... Gulp... There's poltergeist, and zombies down in dungeons… Mayura took each step one at a time, becoming more fearful with each inch she descended. At the bottom of the stairs, she saw nothing but weird looking candelabra thingy on the ground. Nothing to be afraid of… Mayura wanted to sigh in relief and cry out in boredom at the same time, but she did neither, afraid that Loki-kun might have gotten back from whatever he was doing and find her snooping around in his basement.

Deciding on impulse, Mayura took a left from the stairs, not bothering to even look to the right. If she had, Mayura would have seen Loki kneeling before some sort of a container staring glazy eyed at a delicate pure white cord. But, Mayura's nature being the way it is, she boldly walked to the left and through the archway leading into a second room. It's so dark in here… huh? Something had caught her right eye. What's that reflection? "Waa…" whispered Mayura. "Why does Loki-kun have such a big mirror in an otherwise dark and empty room? ..... fushigi mystery!" Mayura came in closer to examine the mirror and cautiously touched it with her right hand. The glass shimmered and went blank before the silhouette of a pink haired girl—looking much like Mayura—suddenly appeared and started to reach out towards her. Mayura backed up in terror. "Stay… stay away from me…" she whispered. But the shadow within the mirror didn't seem to take her heed. Screaming, Mayura turned and ran full tilt towards the stairs. That's when she saw the secret room and Loki within it. "Loki-kun… help!"

Mayura's screaming pulled Loki out of his thoughts. But by the time he had orientated himself and looked up to see what was going on, Mayura had already smashed into him and was pulling the door shut. "Wait Mayura don't do that! ... No!" shouted Loki in alarm waving his arms franticly. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Mayura turned around to look questioningly at Loki's panicked warning, but the door had too much momentum to be stopped… sealing Loki and Mayura in.

Back in the basement proper, the shadow within the mirror stopped moving when it hit the glass of the corresponding viewing mirror elsewhere—for as everyone knows, you can't travel through mirrors. Softly the shadow began to speak, "Loki-kun huh? She trusts you, but do you care for her back? Or do you ignore her just like me? Either way, that bit of information may come in very handy if the Norns fail to kill you… father." Hel's shadow disappeared into smoky black nothingness.