On the Grecian island of Crete, everything had taken a turn to the wild side as many colorful fireworks lit up the night sky! Nearly the whole population was in good spirits and at least a little tipsy, including even a few of the animals! A kri-kri goat was acting as a bartender, mixing up a mess of strange ingredients with its horns, while a team of long-eared hedgehogs played a very competitive game of darts with the quills that adorned their backs, hurling their quills at each other when they lost! The snakes wriggled in rhythm to the music from the lyre, the harp, and a chorus of singing frogs and toads! People surfed on the backs of sea turtles, hanging on for dear life while dolphins and whales sprayed them with water, some knocking the humans back to shore and surfing atop the turtles' shells in their place!
As the merriment began to morph into madness, a curious blonde woman dropped in on them, marveling at and soaking up the chaos of the scene. She walked up to the bartending goat, who gave a bleat of approval.
"My oh my, the party never stops for you, does it, Loki?"
The goat grinned and with a flash of magic, the animal changed into Atlantean Loki's appearance. "Ah, nice to see I've left a memorable impression on you, Eris."
"You do have a bizarre thing for horns, darling." Eris replied.
"Well yes, they've very majestic, very magical, a symbol of strength and status! And obviously you have a thing for mischief, correct?"
Eris raised her eyebrows. "Only the really wild kind! Even so, mischief doesn't begin to compare to true chaos!"
"Well, how's this for chaos: how would you like to meet me in Atlantis, stir up some real trouble?"
"What kind of trouble do you have in mind?"
Loki grinned, eyebrows raised in response. "The really wild kind!"
Eris shapeshifted into a dolphin and dove underwater just before Healer slank his way back to his host, a snake who shapeshifted back into Detective Loki. "She's going to break his heart, isn't she?"
The false Atlantean Loki nodded and reverted back to her usual appearance. "Most likely."
"I must say, Syl, you were quite charming for a Loki who grew up outside palace walls!"
"Why thank you, Prince Charming! So, what's her story, Grievance- er, Healer?"
"She met your variant after hearing how much trouble she was from her sisterrrs. The other you became increasingly curious after hearing about all the mischief she made for others, and after a bunch of boring talking, they pulled this hilarious prank involving eels, seawater, and hot sauce, and then they got, as you would say, intimate."
"And you acquired the DNA sample?" Loki asked him. "Is it fit for evidence?"
"Yesss. She is not the mother."
"Excellent, then all we need to do is-" Loki paused. "Did you just say…. Eris is not the mother?"
"I did."
Mobius sighed. "Then it wasn't a daughter of Zeus after all!"
"And we have no clues as to who the mother is now or even where to look!" Sylvie added.
"Healer, I don't suppose you could multiply yourself like before and take DNA samples of every woman on Earth, or even in Atlantis and Olympus?" Loki suggested.
"Lokiii, the last time I made multiples of myself, it was one cityyy, and I was scanning their collective memories for one image! It takes time to take DNA samples and match them: I would exhaust myself long before I sample a city's population, let alone a realm's! To be honest, I am getting sick of this task already!"
"Alright, you've certainly earned a break for now, my friend. Mobius, Sylvie, let's put our heads together, shall we? If you were a Loki who lived underwater and the son of Poseidon, what kinds of lovers would you be looking to consort with?"
Mobius shook his head. "Loki please, out of every event and detail I've studied in your life, the last thing I care to analyze is what kind of people you've been making crazy mischief with."
"We know he likes Eris, and it sounds like they hit it off pretty well at the party." Sylvie stated. "So I figure he met the mother sometime earlier than her, probably someone from Atlantis. I think that's the most logical place to look next."
Mobius nodded. "Like mermaids? They do have the same sleep-inducing song power as him; I doubt it was a coincidence that his servant brought us to them. I'd say there's some sort of connection there..."
"Perhaps." Loki replied. "What about Loki himself? Even if we can't enchant our variant, perhaps Healer could look into his memories too? He did look into mine not long after he bonded with me!"
"It was my bond with you that allowed me to do so, but I would be willing to try with that Loki too."
"You know, maybe we should try looking into fishy Loki's mind too." Sylvie suggested.
"I thought Lokis' minds were too strong for you to control." Mobius
"One was, for me, but two Lokis were able to enchant a monster that could eat entire timelines for breakfast, so I think the chances of two Lokis and his alien power-booster being able to see one Loki's memories are pretty high!"
"Well, when you put it that way…" Loki grinned. "Then it shall only be a matter of finding him again!"
"And if for some reason we can't, if this Loki can block Healer out, we could look into his servant Ozoa's mind too." Sylvie thought up. "I suspect she knows more than she's letting on."
"Yes, I thought so too. She did seem more loyal to Loki than to his-" Loki gaped in sudden realization. "-his father!"
Mobius looked Loki in the eyes. "You're not thinking what I'm thinking, are you?"
Loki nodded. "I'm almost certain I am. Yes, that's it! Quickly, we must return to Casey in Atlantis!"
"What is it, Mobius? What'd you and Lo figure out?" Sylvie wondered.
"Hopefully, the identity the our killer."
"I'm not absolutely sure I'm right, but I have a strong hunch!" Loki replied. "First, we'll need to become Atlanteans again ourselves." Loki used his magic to change back into the Atlantean form that Poseidon granted him earlier, and Sylvie did the same.
"What about me?" Mobius asked. "Can you shapeshift me?"
"I doubt it, but we know where to get you a suit."
The Time Detectives returned to Casey, who was sitting and chatting with Ozoa. "Oh hey guys, did you find your suspect?"
"I believe we have." Loki assured him. "I don't suppose you still fancy the mermaids?"
"They're pretty, but there's a lot more cool stuff here that I want to see!"
"I feel the same way, hearing you describe the land, but I fear the surface dwellers might try to eat me if I went up above." Ozoa admitted.
"No, they wouldn't do that, and we wouldn't let 'em." Casey nodded to Loki, who seemed uneasy.
"Ozoa, how long have you served the Atlantean royal family?" Mobius inquired of her.
"Over 260 years ago, since I was a young girl. I've been working here longer than most of the other staff."
"So when your prince was a child. Does he trust you? His father said he does."
"Uhm, yes? Where are you going with these questions?"
"We'd like more information about my variant." Detective Loki answered. "What can you tell us about him? Is there anything odd or unique about him, other than his powers of hypnotic song? Is there anyone he trusts, anyone he's especially fond of here in Atlantis?"
"He has a pet narwhal named Diplókeros, while most other Atlanteans ride whales."
"Let me guess, he likes the horns."
"Good guess. Diplókeros is actually one in a long line of narwhals he's cared for, the great-great-great-great grandson of the one he rode when I met him. Their family is basically part of his own, even more than us servants, in fact!"
"Really? That must be some bond, spanning over generations like that!" Mobius remarked. "What about the Atlantean ladies? Has he ever expressed interest in them?"
"…A few, from time to time, but nothing that's really lasted. Nothing recent."
"And the mermaids… since they share his vocal techniques, does he hang around them often?"
"Well, sometimes…"
"Do they cause mischief together?"
"You mean… with their singing?"
Loki smirked. "Any kind of mischief, really. He enjoys making mischief, does he not?"
"Not always with the mermaids, but they have been known to cause trouble sometimes. Why?"
"Oh, just making conversation." Loki smiled as his Symbiote relayed information to him telepathically. "And buying a little time."
"For what?" She and Casey both asked.
Loki sighed, lowering his head. "I'm sorry, Casey. Healer?"
The Symbiote emerged from Loki's chest once more and faced Ozoa. "Congratulations, you are the mother!"
"WHAT?" Sylvie and Casey both appeared shocked to hear the news, while Ozoa looked ashamed and more somber than Detective Loki.
"Are you sure?" Casey asked. "He did the DNA sample thing with her and it's not a mistake!?"
"It is no mistakeee. Sooo, Mother Jellyfish, are you going to tell the others your story, or shall weee?"
"Hold on, did she know?" Mobius wondered.
Ozoa shook her head. "I've always been very fond of Loki, ever since we were little. He trusts me implicitly, like you said; he told me that he was invited to an orgy at Olympus and not to tell the king, but I was able to camouflage myself with my bioluminescent abilities and follow him there without being noticed. Part of me wanted to make sure he made it home safely, since the Olympians have such a reputation for being a wild and dangerous crowd, but the other part…"
"You were curious." Sylvie guessed.
"Yes, and I was opportunistic. I wanted to see an Olympian orgy for myself, and when Loki was having fun with Zeus's daughters in the cloud… he was so intoxicated… I figured he wouldn't notice if I jumped in there with them…" Ozoa turned a bright red, the light of her embarrassment visible from the entire kingdom. "And I don't think he did, because he doesn't remember me being there."
"Wait… how were you able to follow the Atlantean Loki to Olympus without suffocating?" Sylvie wondered. "He can breathe out of water cuz he's originally a Frost Giant with trident magic, but how did you?"
"I'd say the clouds." Mobius answered. "There'd be plenty of water in those big, puffy, Olympian cumulonimbuses to hydrate her gills."
Ozoa nodded. "I didn't know… I didn't know he would become pregnant! This is the first time it's ever happened to him, and then I was hoping the mother would turn out to be one of Zeus's daughters."
"You betrayed him…" Casey said, hurt. "Loki trusted you. …I trusted you."
"I'm so sorry… to you, Casey, to you detectives, especially to my prince, but if my king ever found out…"
"Well, you should definitely tell your Loki first." Mobius advised. "Especially since he doesn't want his dad to know either, I'd bet that he'll be on your side, but he really deserves to know the truth. It is his child!"
She nodded. "Of course."
"Speaking of telling, I guess we'd better tell Eris that the party's off, since she isn't the mother after all."
"Nah, you can't stop chaos just like that." Sylvie argued. "I have a feeling she wouldn't care about this complicated situation anyhow: she'll just want to have a wild time!"
"Right." Loki agreed. "Let's just find the other me and fill him in."
"No need for that." Atlantean Loki's voice countered him. "I already know the whole situation."
Ozoa jumped slightly, as he, his narwhal, and Eris's dolphin form had snuck up on her. "You mean- you knew I followed you to Olympus all along, and you didn't- you didn't say anything?"
"No, I didn't know, I just found out myself. As for my father, I haven't told him anything yet, and I presume you private eyes haven't blabbed to him yet?"
"Not yet, your presumptuousness." Sylvie mocked and subsequently cracked her knuckles. "And please tell me you're going to try to stop us again with another lovely lullaby, because I frankly wouldn't mind having an excuse to rip out your pretty little vocal cords."
Eris smirked. "Ooh, now her I like!"
Atlantean Loki rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Eris and I have been brainstorming on how we break the news to Father, especially since this… erm, predicament was more or less an accident." He sighed and turned to Ozoa. "Ozoa, I'm sorry, really. I am fond of you, and you've been a faithful servant and even a good friend to me over the past 200 something years, I just… you're not the one I-" He sighed again.
"I know. You don't have to say it, and I'm the one who should be sorry. I took advantage of you, orgy or not." She simply responded."But still, since Eris isn't the mother, why are you two planning together?"
"Because we're hatching a plan that involves a lot of chaos! Come, let's return to the palace, and I'll tell you about it when I tell my father. Just follow my lead!" Loki Aegaeus quickly rode back home with the others swiftly on his tail, ready to face his adoptive dad!
