December 21st, 2015

Burrard and Dunsmuir, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Day 1, 3:06pm

The limousine bounced as it went over the speed bump and into the underground parking. Alex gazed out the window at the rows of parked cars as the limo went down level after level.

"How far down are we going?" She asked.

"Eight levels." Luke said, "The private elevator has four stops. Bottom of the parkade, top of the parkade, the main entrance, and my apartment. Normally I use the main entrance, but if we want privacy the bottom entrance is best." He looked at her and smiled. "Few people have parking spots that far down."

Alex nodded before leaning back into the seat. The ride over had been absolutely nerve wracking. What should have taken ten minutes had stretched to three times that as the limo had to avoid two car accidents, which were now in the process of turning downtown Vancouver into a parking lot, and a police drunk driving checkpoint. The bottle of wine in the side compartment was definitely more tempting than it had been earlier.

"You feeling alright Alex?" Richard asked as she sipped a glass of red wine she had found somewhere.

"Tired." She replied as she toyed with one of her tails. Stroking them when she was nervous was quickly turning into a nervous habit. Still it helped her calm down. "I just want to go back to bed right now."

"I hear ya. It's been a long day, and it's not even four yet." Richard said. She sighed and looked down into her wine glass. "This was not what I expected when I went to sleep last night."

Alex snorted. "That's an understatement. Get turned into foxgirl. I didn't even think it was possible let alone something to expect."

Silence descended on the limo even as it descended the last few levels of the parkade. It came to a stop with bump. "We're here." Luke said as Albert opened the passenger door. He stepped out only to turn around. "I realize this is tougher on the two of you than the rest of us, but we'll get through this. Promise." Alex recognized the winning smile he gave the two of them as the one he'd used to break more than a few hearts over the years.

"You'll tell a pretty face whatever she wants to hear Luke." She snarked before smiling, "Just keep in mind who's behind that face alright?"

The millionaire waved her off. "I'll remember don't worry. Now Will on the other hand…"

"Oi." The blonde protested as he exited the other door. "Alex is the one who tried to smother me, not the other way around."

The kitsune rolled her eyes as she got out. God her friend's just couldn't take a joke could they? Well Luke could, Will on the other hand. "A joke is all it was Will. I'm not about to try and steal you from Claire…" A mischievous smile reappeared on her face again as she added, "Not yet anyway." She laughed at the dirty looks they sent her way. "Honestly I've been a woman for… less than twelve hours? I'm perfectly straight, or is that gay?" She paused confused for a moment before continuing. "Either way I'm not going to make a pass on Will again Claire. Promise. Not even as a joke."

With good reason as well, that last time had been… well holding another man like that just hadn't felt right. She suppressed a shudder as she stepped out. No she wasn't going to play that joke on them again, not anytime soon. Claire on the other hand… would probably kick her ass for trying anything. Probably best to just restrain her sense of humour.

Turning her mind from the conversation, and old jokes, she spotted the elevator looking quite out of place in the concrete wall. The door was plated in gold and bronze with a motif of a flying eagle swooping low from a mountain.

"How old is this place Luke?" Claire asked.

"Not that old. My parents had it built in the nineties, and it's the single largest investment I own." He said pulling a card out of his pocket and heading over to the elevator. He slipped it into the reader next to the door. A moment later the door opened and he retrieved his card. Waving them over he stepped in.

The four of them filed into the elevator, which proved to be barely big enough for Alex with her tails, forcing the others to be shoved to one side to make room.

"Normally the idea of a private elevator would be awesome." Richard complained, "But having to share it with Alex takes a bit away from the experience."

Alex blushed as she tried to reign in the nine waving tails which seemed to insist on taking up as much space as possible. "Sorry." She apologized.

"Not a problem Alex. It's not your fault this elevator is smaller than the one in your building. It's only meant for a couple people really." Luke said as he pushed the button for the top floor.

The ornate door slid shut and the floor jerked as they ascended. Less than a minute later the door slid open and they filed out of the elevator quickly. The entrance hall they entered was tastefully decorated in a deep burgundy. Portraits of landscapes hung from the walls and Alex could spot a closet artfully disguised as a fresco of the roman coliseum next to the front door.

"It's beautiful." Claire said.

"It's the entrance hall." Luke deadpanned with a shake of his head.

"So?"

Alex turned back to her friends. "What now? We're 'safe' for now so what's the plan?" She asked. In all honesty she doubted they'd come up with anything beyond 'get to Luke's place' since there really hadn't been time for more.

"Right now? Get you guys settled in." Luke said, "Unless anyone has another idea for the moment?" Seeing no one pipe up he gestured for them to follow and left the room. Alex followed behind as he turned the corner into a hallway much like the entrance hall.

"This hallway runs the length of the apartment, and there's an identical one the next floor up as well. Down here you'll find the kitchen, living room, and a small ballroom my parents insisted on having for parties. I don't use it myself but it's there." He said as he walked them down the hall. "Also down here are two of the five bedrooms and three washrooms. Richard you can use the bedroom next to the kitchen. It's a little bit smaller than the others, but I think you'll like the fact it's between the kitchen and one of the washrooms. Washrooms with showers and baths are only upstairs though. Down here is strictly utilitarian, except for the one ensuite attached to the other bedroom by the living room." He glanced over at Alex as they passed a rather well equipped kitchen. She only got a quick glance but size of the table meant they'd have plenty of room.

They drew up to a set of stairs and Luke stopped. "These stairs lead to that other hallway I was talking about. My bedrooms up there as are two spares. Will, do you and Claire mind sharing or?" He asked.

The two looked at each other and blushed before nodding. "Yeah we're fine with sharing." He said finally. Alex grinned, she'd been wondering how far they'd gotten for a while now, and this was the next best thing to confirmation.

Luke grinned at them redoubling the blushing. "Right you two get the room across from mine, try and keep it down if you don't mind."

"Luke!" Claire complained, her face more red then anything now.

"Alright moving on. Other than the bedrooms, each of which has an ensuite; there's the games room, which has a few PCs and other stuff set up; rec room, where I have some exercise equipment and a pool table; and also the patio. The patio normally has a pool, but given that it's December." He shrugged.

"Yeah, bit cold for the pool." Richard said with a smirk.

Alex shifted uncomfortably at the thought of it being pool weather. While she had engaged in some good natured teasing up 'til now that was all it was, teasing. Wearing something like a bikini… She shuddered at the thought. No she definitely did not want to do that.

"Well, you going to show us the upstairs?" Will asked.

Luke waved him off. "Later. Not much point showing you the rooms until Albert brings your things up. You can wander around if you want, but for the moment I'd like just relax for the moment. It's been a stressful day."

"Which way to the living room?" Alex asked. If none of them had plans for the moment she was going to get some shut eye.

"Keep walking down the hallway. Last door on the right is your room. I'll have Albert bring your things to you later." Luke said understanding her intentions.

"Later guys." The Kistune said as she headed down the hall, a flurry of sleep wells following her. She passed a pair of large oak double doors on her way, probably the infamous ballroom, but quickly found her room at the end. A simple black painted wood door marked her room. She opened it and stepped in, only to stop immediately on sight of the room.

To start the floor seemed to be tiled in polished obsidian, while the walls had the appearance of hand carved basalt. Scenes of wars and epic tales from throughout history decorated the walls and the open archway that led towards what she assumed was the ensuite was flanked by a pair a human-sized Cerberuses seemingly carved from the walls, and over which another carving of a European dragon seemed to merge the floor and ceiling. The ceiling itself had a single stalactite that hung all the way down to the ground, merging on its way with a stalagmite that had seemingly pushed its way through the floor. Carved from the two was the single largest bed she had ever seen. Large enough even that she doubted the word furniture even applied.

"What the hell is this?" She whispered only to jump as Luke spoke up behind her.

"An in-joke between my parents." He said pushing her into the room. "I'm not clear on the specifics but my mother made some comment when they were getting married about how my grandparents acted like evil overlords or something, not the burning and pillaging part but the whole lord of an empire thing." Luke shook his head in exasperation. "Dad made this thing as both the master bedroom and a prank on mum. Far as I know no one's ever used it. Mum thought it was a bit too crazy and it's not my style."

"Crazy…" She looked at him carefully. This was more than crazy. "How much money do you have again?" She asked.

"Why? Going to proposition me like Richard?" He asked sardonically.

Alex shook her head. "No I'm not, but this is ridiculous." She said gesturing at the room. Now that she had yanked her eyes from the absurd sight in the middle she could spot a few well hidden closets much like the entry hall.

Luke laughed. "Yeah it's crazy, but you'll find most millionaires have something like this to act as a talking point for guests. It's a work of art so I've never bothered getting rid of it. It's also got the one thing you need right now." He said.

"And that is?"

"Space." He gestured at the bed and room. "Other than the statues and the bed everything else is built into the walls. There's nothing for you to knock over by accident and the bed is big enough your tails will have room to spread out as well. They seem fond of that." He shot a glance at the nine tails that were even now fanned out behind her waving in the air like a living wall. "Also the ensuite is just as crazy. Bathtub is built into the floor, and it's the size of a swimming pool. Also useful since I'm not sure how comfortable your tails would be in a normal one."

"Into the floor?" Alex repeated before shaking her head. "Your dad did this just as a joke."

"My mum almost tried to kill him before he could explain. Then she did try and kill him. It took six stitches to hold the knife wound shut." He said dryly.

The nine-tails sent him a look of pure disbelief. "She stabbed him?" That was a bit much for a prank.

"Well no. She accidentally kicked him through a display case holding a bunch of antique knives. One of them got stuck in his arm." Luke confessed with a shrug. "Anyway I'll leave you to it. Room's yours for as long as you want it." He said before heading out, leaving Alex staring around in disbelief.

Walking towards the bathroom Alex poked her head in for a second then stepped back shaking her head. The 'bathtub' was an artful recreation of an underground pool complete with water flowing in from the walls and ceiling. Meanwhile a small waterfall in one well marked corner was probably supposed to be a shower… that or a water feature it was hard to tell. Finally while she was sure the series of rock pools along one wall were the sinks. Oh and there was a toilet as well, black as night and seemingly carved of obsidian.

The cost of both rooms was probably more money then she'd ever seen in her life. "And I wondered why his mum tried to kill his dad." She muttered as she tested the mattress. It was softer than any bed she'd had before. With a shrug she crawled into the 'cavern' it was in and lay down on top of the sheets staring at the 'roof'. Fumbling revealed a switch built into the headboard that lit a single light built into the top of the chamber. She turned it off. Crazy or not she was tired, and this was the best bed she'd ever seen. She was unconscious in seconds after the light went back out.

December 21st 2015

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Day 1, 5:02pm

The Hotel Vancouver was an icon of Vancouver, and although it was technically the third such hotel it was considered one of the most desirable locations to stay at or host a party. It was a reputation Inspector Spencer Hock of the Vancouver Police Department believed was about to take a bit of a hit. The forty-one year old officer had a long career in the VPD stretching back twenty-one years and in that time he'd seen everything from theft to murder, and even a couple of hockey riots. None of it prepared him for the sight that greeted him in the Pacific Ballroom on the third floor. The smell was the first thing he noticed as he stepped off the elevator on the third floor of the building. If he had to describe it the closest he could manage would be a meat packing plant after a month without refrigeration, or a particularly bloody medieval battlefield.

The moment when he entered the doorway of the famous Pacific Ballroom was something that would remain scarred into his brain for the rest of his life. The room had obviously been set up for a Christmas party when the event had occurred. Wreaths and garlands hung from the wall and a pair of Christmas trees decorated the stage. None of that registered in his mind, not like the rest of the room. Tables were overturned, chairs lay scattered in all directions, and amidst were bodies or more accurately what was left of bodies.

Blood soaked the floors and walls of the Pacific Ballroom, some had somehow managed to make the twenty foot leap to spatter across the ceiling. Pieces of flesh from arms to partially crushed heads and more than a few intestines lay scattered about in the hundreds across every surface. Amongst the carnage VPD forensic specialists were picking their way through the room leaving hundreds of evidence tags in their wake.

Spencer turned and promptly vomited into a bucket a stoic police sergeant held out to him. After a few minutes of emptying his stomach he cough and wiped his mouth with a proffered paper towel. "Thank you sergeant." He gasped a moment later.

"We all did that Inspector. It's why I brought the bucket." The man said softly.

"Right, thank you all the same." Spencer said taking another look at the scene. While it was close he managed to force down the bile that rose again in the back of his throat. "My god, what the hell did this." He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and pulled up the camera, using it to zoom in as best he could since he wasn't allowed any closer than the doorway without a hazmat suit.

The sergeant set the bucket aside. "No idea. I've seen things like this in horror movies before, but unless some mutant bear decided to crash the party I have no idea what could have done this." He said.

"Mutant bears are, last I checked, under the urban myth category. On those days they're not listed under impossible." Spencer replied the disgust still in his voice. "Dear lord this is ridiculous. How many people were supposed to be here again?" He asked.

The sergeant checked a clipboard hanging from his waist. "Uh… Guest list says about two hundred, however thanks to the snow only about a hundred thirty showed. When news of this breaks I bet those guys are going to be happy they missed the party." He said.

"How you're making jokes at a time like this is beyond me." Spencer said, "Who was the party for?"

"Pattison group. Big shindig for the managers and executives. Mr. Pattison doesn't appear to have attended though." The sergeant flipped through the pages of the clipboard again. "No, looks like he missed it."

"Something I'm sure he'll be thankful for." Zooming in on what Spencer thought was the chest of one man near the door he frowned. Unlike the others this one looked… different. "Look at this for a second. Does this look odd to you?" He asked.

The sergeant looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "Odd how? It's the disembodied chest of some poor guy. Look at that cut along the waist. It's like he was carved in half by a laser." He said.

"Exactly." He said pointing to several nearby bodies. "Most of these have been completely ripped apart. This guy though. Whatever killed the rest certainly didn't kill him."

"What about the teeth marks?" The sergeant said pointing to the torso. Where the arms used to be a slight serrated pattern could be made out through the blood.

"If I had to guess I'd say post mortem, look at the way the blood is clotted. Still I'll leave the ruling to the coroner." He turned the phone of and turned away from the grisly sight. "Right, I heard there was a witness correct?"

"Sort of. No witnesses to the event itself, but there's the maid who found this. She's already given a statement, but she should still be here if you want to talk to her."

Before Spencer could reply there was a shout from across the room. "What the hell is this thing!" Followed immediately by an, "Oh shit it's alive. Get back."

Spinning on his heel Inspector Hock managed to spot one of the forensic tech throw himself back from the blood stained doorway next to the stage as a strange four legged purple creature about the size of a Labrador smashed through the steel fire door. The Inspector was struck immediately by the impression that this was what the unholy offspring of a crab and velociraptor might look like. For a moment everyone stared at the thing before it reared back on its hind legs and let out a cry that resonated with something deeply unpleasant inside each one of them.

The forensic techs bolted immediately as the Inspector's hand went to his waist, skipping the Taser and going straight for the nine millimeter handgun. Next to him the sergeant did the same drawing his own weapon. The creature made a leap at one of the techs, fortunately missing as it barrelled through an oak tabletop. Tumbling to a stop it picked itself up and shook off the landing like a dog would water. Before it could make another move a half dozen handguns from around the room opened up on it. It screeched in anger and irritation before charging straight at the Inspector. His magazine ran dry as the thing barrelled heedlessly across the room. A loud bang echoed through the room and the beast toppled into a roll, right through another table. It didn't get up again.

Looking across the room the Spencer spotted a constable with a shotgun standing up from his crouch. Waving his thanks he reloaded his gun and carefully advanced into the shattered room. Stepping around the table he reached out and made to poke the beast with his foot, only to stop as he realized its blood, also purple, was burning a hole in the floor.

"Damn. Guess we know what killed everyone." The sergeant said as he got a good look.

"Perhaps." Spencer said before frowning. "Somehow I doubt it though. One of these things killing an entire room of people without anyone finding out until the next day? I don't think so."

"So… more aliens?"

Spencer holstered his gun before bending down over the beast. "If that's what this thing is, then yeah. More aliens." He said as he turned the beast over and looked into its three yellow eyes.

December 22st, 2015

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Day 2, 7:02am

The first thing Alex noticed as she awoke was the feel of her mouth. It felt like someone had taken sandpaper to the inside during the night. She sat up yawning and wiping the sand from her eyes. The room was far brighter than she remembered when she went to sleep, which was odd because she didn't remember any windows. Crawling to the edge of the large bed she peered out of the stalagmite and spotted the source of the light immediately.

On the far side of the room, opposite the bathroom, the false basalt wall had been folded to either side revealing a large stained glass window that allowed shards of coloured light into the room. The window depicted a battle between two angels, one clothed in robes of white and wearing armour of gold with wings the colour of snow; the other was clad in concealing black armour that dripped blood from spikes of obsidian. Around them armies battled and men prayed to the heavens and hells.

After looking at the spectacular sight for a moment longer Alex sighed and shook her head. She'd obviously slept like a log if she missed someone opening that up. It was also another demonstration as to why this entire room was crazy. Standing she yawned and stretched. Her stomach growled loudly.

"Maybe some food would be a good idea." She mused as she made her way out the door. The penthouse was quiet as she walked towards the kitchen. As she got closer she could hear sizzling, like something being cooked. Which meant someone else was up as well. Rounding the corner into the kitchen she spotted the black butler from yesterday. What was his name again. Albert?

"Hello Albert." She said causing him to jump slightly.

He looked up from the bacon he was flipping and smiled. "Good morning Ms. Pallas. Did you sleep well?" He asked.

Alex shifted uncomfortably as she sat down at the island counter. Miss. It just didn't sound right being referred to as a woman. "Could you not call me miss, please." She asked.

"Ah. My apologies… Do you mind if I call you Alex?" He asked.

"Go ahead." So long as he didn't call her miss went unsaid but he seemed to understand.

He fished out a few eggs from the fridge. "Would you like some breakfast Alex?" He asked as he cracked the eggs into a mixing bowl.

"Doing something in particular?" She asked.

"Anything you wish. Waffles, pancakes, omelets. I do a rather good eggs benedict, or so Master Mitchel tells me." He said with a smile.

"Eggs, bacon and toast would be nice." She said not wanting to create a bigger fuss than necessary.

"Something simple then." He said, pouring the eggs into the pan, "Scrambled or?"

"Scrambled is fine." She said noticing the newspaper a short ways down the counter.

"Doing something more complex is no problem Alex. It's technically my job." He said with a laugh.

Alex looked at the African man curiously. Luke had called him a butler, but what exactly did that mean? "Luke called you a butler. What, exactly, does that mean?" She asked.

"It means I do what he needs, when he needs it." He said simply. "Everything from cooking to chauffeuring him around. I don't clean though, not unless there's a party." Digging into a cupboard he pulled out a loaf of bread and put a couple pieces into the toaster. "Now, you avoided my question earlier. Did you like the overlord's room or not?" He grinned cheekily at her.

"Is it actually called that?" She asked incredulously. It fit certainly, but it seemed a little corny as well.

Albert laughed slapping his thigh as he did so. "No, no, at least not around Master Mitchel. It has a bit of a reputation as you can imagine. Now did you like it or not?" He asked as he plated the eggs and bacon along with the toast and placed it on the island counter. Not missing a beat he quickly started to prepare more.

"It was… interesting." Alex hedged carefully as she dug into her plate with a word of thanks. In truth the room was a bit much to experience. Just entering it made you feel like you'd stepped into another world. Her conscious mind was of the opinion that the entire place was so far over the top as to be ludicrous, and yet she'd be lying if she said that some small part of her didn't love the dark grandeur of the room. It was crazy, forbidding and yet exhilarating all at the same time.

"That's one way of putting it." The butler said, "I'm surprised you slept there, and so well." At her curious stare he elaborated. "While there's nothing wrong with the room, other than the obvious, it's a bit too much for most people. They look inside briefly and that's it. They'll avoid the place, not purposefully, but because Luke's father succeeded a little too well in making if feel like something out of a story book. It's too unreal for most people."

Alex laughed at that. "That might be why I didn't have any issues." She said snickering into her plate. Her tails swayed purposefully behind her to help make her point.

"I can't imagine why." Albert snarked with a smile, sending her into further fits of laughter.

"Well someone's having a cheerful morning." Said Richard as she came into the room. She was dressed in a fluffy white housecoat and white bunny slippers. Her white hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a black scrunchie. She yawned as she sat down.

Alex raised an eyebrow as her friend tried to bury her head in the counter. "Well, someone had a late night." She said.

"Not really." Richard mumbled, "I got to bed by nine. It was just a long day yesterday."

Alex cheerfully stuffed a strip of bacon into her mouth and nodded. "I hear you. Weirdest day of my life." She said, "Ever."

"Did not expect to turn into a girl." Richard agreed through her arms.

"And what does Ms. Holt want for breakfast?" Albert asked.

"Waffles. Waffles and bacon." She said after a minute.

"Then Waffles you will have." He said, passing a small plate of bacon to her. She lifted her head and smiled.

"Thanks." She said and stabbed a piece with a fork he passed her. The room fell silent except for the sounds of cooking bacon and the clattering of cutlery. It didn't last long as Richard finished her little plate and looked over at the newspaper. "What the hell." She said grabbing it and pulling it over. "Have you seen this Alex?"

"Seen what?" Alex asked around a slice of toast. Richard slid the newspaper down the island and Alex stopped it with a single manicured nail. Her eyes went wide and her toast fell to the plate as she stared at the front page headline.

140 Dead or Missing After Disastrous Christmas Party

Bloodbath In The Ballroom At The Hotel Vancouver

"Nasty business that." Albert said looking sorrowfully at the paper. "Apparently someone or something massacred the entire party night before last and no one found out until yesterday afternoon."

"The afternoon, but someone had to have heard something." Alex said astonished. "You don't kill that many people without making a racket. The gunfire, the screams. Someone had to have heard something."

The butler shrugged as he flipped a waffle onto the plate and slid it down the island. "Don't know anything that's not in the paper, but it makes no mention of the means used to do it. Apparently the police are stumped, no idea who or what did it. They did say they had ruled out poison, apparently they didn't die peacefully." He said.

Alex looked down at the article and skimmed through it as quickly as she could. By the time she was done she knew about as much as before. The police had no idea who, or what, did it. It did make mention that, according to anonymous sources, the entire party had apparently been ripped limb from limb without a single person in the hotel hearing a thing. Richard was leaning over her shoulder and said, "They must have really good sound proofing at the Hotel."

Alex shot her a reprimanding look. "Don't joke about this. People are dead." She said indignantly.

The archer shrugged and ripped another chunk off her waffle, oddly enough covered only in butter. "Joke or not, you have a better idea what happened?" She said. Alex shrugged before turning back to the paper.

"I've attended functions in the Pacific Ballroom before." Albert said, "It was back when Master Mitchel's parents were alive. I can tell you right now those walls might not be thin, but they're about at sound resistant as open air. I agree with Alex, there's no way no one heard a thing while this was happening. Not unless something strange was going on."

The two women exchanged a look. "You don't think someone like us was involved do you?" Alex finally asked.

"I'm not pointing fingers, but you don't know when you all changed, nor do you know if you're the only ones." The butler pointed out as he finally helped himself to a slice of toast. Slathering it with honey he continued. "I don't know much about this game, League of Legends but I spent last night looking up what I could. Some of the so called 'champions' are things right out of the Cthuhlu mythos story. Tell me, have any of you acted somewhat differently since you woke up?"

Alex frowned and turned her thoughts inward. Had she been acting differently? Perhaps she had, just a bit. Somehow while this was all strange and traumatizing all it had taken was a few moments with her friends to start adjusting. She glanced back at her tails. Every moment she was awake her control over the strange appendages was growing. Twenty-four hours earlier she had been knocking over everything nearby, now she could consciously pick out the feelings and sensations of an individual tail and control it with only a little difficulty.

"A little." Richard said before Alex could finish her introspection. "I've caught myself almost commanding my friends to do things for me. It's this feeling like 'I'm their queen they owe me'. Which is ridiculous, because for one thing I'm not royalty, and while can be a bit pushy I've never felt like I was better than someone before. It's not me, but it's somehow there." The concern was obvious on her face as she bit her lip. "Then there's the archery thing. I'm not sure if it's just the bow or if it's something else, but if you'd given me a bow a week ago you'd have to run and hide to keep yourself from getting caught in an accident."

Alex found herself nodding. It was true that while Richard had certainly tried to learn archery in the past, his talent for it was, if anything, less than non-existent. Arrows were not intended to be fired backwards. Not as in shooting a bow behind your back without looking, but as in firing an arrow with its fletching pointed at the enemy.

"So I've heard." Albert said with a chuckle before growing serious. "From what I understand Ashe is a Queen, but a relatively benevolent one. That goes a ways to explaining your issues. On the other hand, you Alex, are Ahri, a Kitsune, correct?" Receiving a nod he continued. "Have you experienced anything strange yet? Perhaps an urge to perform acts of mischief?"

Richard snorted. "No need for that. She's had that urge her entire life." She said.

Alex shot her friend a glare before laughing. "True. To be honest I spent most of yesterday asleep or really, really out of it. The only thing I've really noticed is an intense craving for meat. Actually could I have some more bacon?" She asked looking hopefully at the butler. Her tails flicked back and forth eagerly and she failed to notice as they nearly knocked Richard off her stool. She did notice when Richard reached up and gave one of her fox ears a sharp tug. "Ow. Richie!" She complained rubbing the sore ear.

"Stop hitting me with your tails then." The white haired woman complained as she rubbed her arm and shoulder.

Alex looked at her blankly. "I did what?" She asked.

"You hit me. Repeatedly." The archer was looking at her with quite the annoyed expression on her face. Their face off was interrupted by the quiet chuckling of Albert as he stocked up another plate with bacon.

"I think I know enough now." He said placing the plate in front of Alex. "You've both been affected by this, even in the short while since it occurred. Those who you… I suppose the word inherited is the description. Those you inherited your current forms and abilities from were benevolent in nature. Now can you imagine what might have occurred if you gain it from something more malevolent?"

Alex paled rapidly as she exchanged a disturbed glance with her friend. The thought of having turned into someone like Renekton or Mordekaiser was horrifying. What sort of effect would that have had on them?

"What have I said about talking psychology at breakfast Albert?" Drawled Luke as he strolled into the room, stifling a yawn as he did so.

"Not to Master Mitchel. A coffee sir?" The butler asked.

"Sure. The usual way." Luke said as he slid onto a stool next to the two women. "Sorry about Albert's poking and prodding. He's always looking for a reason to use the psychology degree he got years ago."

The butler sighed dramatically as he slid a cup of coffee over to his employer. "I'm hurt sir. You left out the bartending classes." He said with an overdone expression of misery.

Alex snorted at the byplay. "Well that explains that." She said before sliding the newspaper over to Luke. "We were talking about this before we got sidetracked."

Raising an eyebrow he read the article while sipping on his coffee. "Interesting." He said setting down the coffee. "Strange as well. No one heard a thing… It almost sounds like-"

"Someone like us is involved." Richard and Alex chorused.

"We were just going over why someone would when you came in." Alex said, "Albert thinks our changes are more than just appearances, and might even effect our personality."

Luke ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Well that's a disturbing thought. Still even if there is, it's not like we can do anything about this." He said, "All of you came here to keep out of the spotlight until we figure out a way to fix this."

"Assuming it's possible." Richard said as she munched on a second waffle.

Luke inclined his head in recognition as Alex spoke up, "We can't do nothing. If there's someone out there like us, and I realize all we've got is a newspaper article, then they're making a horrible first impression. If the world finds out about people like us because of their actions…" Alex trailed off. She was a fan of comics and movies and she remembered quite well the problems that frequently cropped up for those who were different.

"That leaves out the whole issue of if they can kill an entire room without anyone finding out, can the police handle them?" Richard asked the room.

"If the police can't handle them, then no chance we can." Luke said simply. "We can sit here all day talking about this thing, or we can accept the simple fact that it doesn't actually involve us." He picked up the paper and tossed it back to Alex who caught it looking particularly disgruntled. "Look I get you've always been eager to help people Alex, but this has nothing to do with us, and all getting involved is going to do is expose us, or get us killed. For god sakes we only got into this mess yesterday and now you want to make it bigger?"

Alex winced at that before looking at the headlines. Luke was right, getting involved would be rather foolish. They had enough trouble as it was, and if someone like them was involved the feat of slaughtering an entire room of people without being found out spoke of a significant degree of skill, as horrible as that sounded. Comparatively she hadn't even tried to see if she could do any of the things Ahri could do. Will and Luke had both proved that they had the same abilities as the champions they resembled, but neither of them had any real control.

"You're right." She sighed setting the paper back down. "It just doesn't feel right, knowing something and being unable to do anything about it. Do the police even realize what they might be dealing with? I want to go down and talk, tell them what we suspect. But that would sorta ruin the whole 'hide at Luke's place until we have a plan' thing wouldn't it?"

"Just a little." Richard chirped as she through an arm around Alex's shoulders. "But hey, rather than mope think of it this way, we might be completely wrong and there's nothing to worry about. All we've got is a one silly news article and nothing else."

"Now look what you've done Albert." Luke deadpanned as he pointed his cup accusingly at the butler, "Now you've got Alex all wound up. She's going to be stuck on this all day."

"My apologies Alex, I did not mean to upset you." Albert said with a short bow.

She waved him off and sighed. "It's fine. Stuff like this just gets to me… Not the first time I've had to be held back from doing something about stuff that doesn't involve me." She said with a sad smile before shooting a look at the paper. A part of her wanted to go down to the police station and talk to whoever would listen. The only thing holding her back was the small part that agreed with the fears that Claire had spoken of the day before. People feared what they didn't understand, and feared more what which was powerful. She and her friends all possessed powers unexplainable to most people, powers that people with influence would probably kill to have. No, the only thing keeping her in the penthouse was the fear of waking up strapped to a table while some faceless doctor cut her open to see what made her tick. The police would have to deal with this themselves.

"So," She said, "what's the plan today?"

Richard looked at her and smiled. "Why, what we do every day Alex. Today we-"

"Are not taking over the world." Alex deadpanned. The archer pouted as her reference was cut off. "Right now what I need is a bath or shower or something that'll get me cleaned up." She said before looking to Luke. "Also I need clothes. This and an identical set are all I brought. Nothing else fit. Is there some way to get clothing shipped up here?" She asked.

Luke frowned as he sipped his coffee. "I can think of two ways." He said. "First way you order online, probably the safest but you're not getting the clothes until after Christmas that's a guarantee." Seeing her nod he continued. "There's another option. Several high end boutiques are willing, if enough money is involved, to send sales people, tailors and they're stock out to customer's homes. They are also by necessity very discrete. If word got around that they violated their customer's privacy they'd lose money regardless of the reason. So we should be safe if we went that avenue. That said it's still a risk, even if it is a small one. You'll get the clothes today though. I can guarantee that."

"Are you sure about the privacy thing?" Alex asked.

"My parents were willing to talk about corporate matters in front of them." Luke said with a shrug. "While I've never needed their services personally I do know of several by reputation who would be ideal. I've also got plenty of money so you could consider this a Christmas gift."

Alex smiled at him for a second before a thought struck her. "I forgot the gifts I bought." She said dropping her head onto the countertop. A soft curse from Richard made it clear she wasn't the only one.

Luke chuckled. "I could send Albert out to pick them up if you want." He offered.

"Please." Alex mumbled through the marble countertop.

"Very well, Albert if you could get their keys and deal with that later I'd appreciate it." He said.

"Of course Master Mitchel."

"Now, online order or bring in a boutique?" Luke repeated.

Alex lifted her head and shared a look with Richard. The white haired woman nodded in agreement. Alex turned to Luke and both said, "Boutique."

The bearded man chuckled. "Get their keys after you call…. Hmmm which one was the one my parents favoured?" He asked the butler.

"They favoured several. Cloves and Horseshoes shut down a few years ago, but both Marita's and the First Order of Business are still open. However I suspect neither would cater to the tastes these two prefer. Perhaps Take The First Shot might be a better option? I hear they cater to more modern tastes. Reliable as well from what I've heard." The Butler said promptly.

"Call them and see if they'd be willing to come in this afternoon. Tell them to send someone a bit… open minded." He looked pointedly at Alex's tails causing her to blush.

"Right, I'm going to wash up. Um… is there any shampoo I can use? Soap to now that I think of it." She asked as she stood up.

"I stocked the bathroom while you slept Alex." Albert said, "There should be plenty under the sinks."

"Right…" She looked over at Luke and said, "Also are there any more lights in there? It was rather hard to see anything in the bathroom or bedroom last night."

He drained the mug and set it aside. "Yeah, I'll show you where the light switch is. Richard, want to see Alex's room?" He asked with a smile.

"Sure." Richard swallowed the last of her waffle quickly. "Let's go see this mythical room Luke's put you in."

Alex groaned before glaring at Luke. "Friend or not I can get you back for this." She said.

"You want a different room?" He asked. After several seconds of silence he laughed. "You don't do you?"

Alex could feel the blush spreading across her face rapidly as Luke laughed and Richard broke into a fit of giggles. Walking stiffly out of the room, her tails drooping a bit in embarrassment, she pointedly tried to ignore them during the short trip to her borrowed bedroom. She opened the door to the room and stepped into the colourfully lit room. She paused to appreciate the stained glass window, it really was beautiful. Her appreciation ended quickly as Richard stuck her head in.

"Oh. Oh wow." The white-haired woman said looking around stunned. "It's like something out of a movie or book. Luke, why do you have an overlord's bedroom in your penthouse?" The last line came out with a mischievously suspicious look at her friend.

"My father decided to take an off-hand comment my mother said and ran with it." Luke said with a sigh. "Anyway I see you figured out the shutter controls."

"I didn't open it. Someone else did when I was sleeping." Alex said as she made her way over to the bed. Sitting down she leaned back on her hands and said, "So, you going to show me the controls?"

Luke stepped forward and sat down next to her. Alex shied away slightly as he accidentally brushed one of her tails. "First thing to remember is that this was created as a joke on my mother. That means he kept this as in-line with the joke as possible. Now everyone knows that overlords and kings like to have everything available at their fingertips. All the controls for this room at in the walls of the bed." He said without showing any sign of noticing her nervousness. Reaching out to the right wall he touched a section of the wall and with a click a panel slid away showing an entire control panel of labelled buttons. Among which Alex could make out labels like 'Blue Flame Scones' and 'Shutter Control Open'.

"What did you push to open it?" She asked leaning around him as best she could without touching.

Luke closed the panel and pointed a three points next to it. "Here. See these three points. Push all three at once to open." He said, doing just that as the panel popped open once more.

Alex squinted at the three points. "Is that… I'm sorry is that a triangle with an eye in the middle of it?" She asked incredulously.

Richard gasped dramatically. "Illuminati!" She whispered with all the seriousness of a ten year old, breaking into giggles immediately.

Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. "You'll find little things like that all over the place. Illuminati, the free masons, etcetera, etcetera. That was the other reason my mother hated this room. It's got all sorts of small hidden compartments marked by one thing or another." He said, "I think he even used the NOD logo from command and conquer for the lock on the closets."

Alex and Richard stared at the young millionaire. "Your father was a nerd." Richard said finally.

"He was crazy is what he was." Richard said with another sigh. "Still this room has all kinds of cool little things. Here watch this." He tapped a button and the fake wall slid back across the window dropping them into darkness. He pushed another and with a whump of displaced air blue flames shot up around the room as bronze candle scones folded out of the walls and ignited.

Richard stifled a scream of shock as it happened. Alex wasn't so controlled. She yelped loudly and in the blink of an eye buried herself beneath the pile of pillows that covered the back corner of the bed. Both of her friends stared as everything but her nine tails disappeared under the throw pillows. First Richard started giggling as she stared at the sight of a pile of, apparently, nine-tailed pillows. The giggling were soon joined by Lukes roaring laughter as one of the pillows shifted, revealing Alex's pointed black fox ears.

After a minute Alex sat up, blushing once more, with a pout on her face. "Don't do things like that Luke." She whined loudly, giving both of them a hurt look. It really wasn't funny as far as she was concerned. When the flames had shot up something inside her had simply screamed that she had to get away, now.

"S-sorry." He replied between gasps of laughter. Richard wasn't so polite however as she fell forward onto the bed laughing.

Alex continued to pout as her friends laughter continued for several more minutes. Finally Richard managed to get enough control over herself to sit up and wipe the tears from her eyes. "S-Sorry about t-that, but- oh god a nine-tailed pile of pillows. It looked so silly!" The archer managed to get some control of herself but some giggles managed to get out even so.

The nine-tails huffed and looked away from them, her eyes falling on the blue flames of the scones. The flames flickered in a slight breeze that slipped through the cracks of the door. Her ear twitched. Why were her friends being so mean right now? She sniffed. Really did they have to make fun of her for being scared. The flames flickered in and out of existence for a few moments as a tear formed. She wiped it away. No point in giving them more to laugh at her for. The flames flared as the tear was wiped away.

A hand clasped her shoulder startling her. The flames winked out. She blinked. The flames went out, but why were they still burning in the scones?

"Alex?" Richard asked with concern. A contrite look on her face as the nine-tails looked at her. "Are you okay? I'm sorry for laughing." She looked sorry to Alex, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Yeah." Alex said after a moment. "Yeah I'm good."

"You sure?" Luke asked from her side, his own voice just as concerned, "You sort of zoned out and… well." He trailed off as Alex looked at him curiously.

"Well what?" She asked impatiently. He hadn't apologized like Richard.

"There was fire." Richard said gesturing around Alex. "Fire floating in the air around you. It was blue and sparkly and I think I might have burned my finger a little bit when I poke one." She held up her pointer finger, which was slightly discoloured in the blue light.

Alex stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment before realization set it with the force of a truck. "I summoned Foxfire?" She asked.

"Yeah." Richard said with a crazy grin as she lean in, "You summoned foxfire."

End Time

December 22st, 2015

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Day 2, 8:15am

Author's Note:

Oookay two chapters now. Maybe this isn't quite so 'impossible' as I thought. As I write this I'm already working on the third chapter. Constructive criticism is welcome so point out any mistakes I missed in the review. Also let me know what you think of the characters. Cheers and happy father's day everyone :)