'Say, Alex, did they specify what kind of dancing we are going to do?' Magnus asked. Alex shrugged.

'No, I don't think so. I hope it is not Swing dancing, because that sounds like the type of dance where one dies from embarrassment before you die of something legitimate.' Magnus shrugged.

'Yeah, you're right, I think.'

They both shot a prayer to the gods before entering the club. There were already a lot of people trying to move their feet in a graceful matter. Alex carefully listened to the music. 'Hm. I know it is not swing music, but I do not know what else it is. '

While trying to figure it out, the music faded. When it came back, it was something completely different. When he recognised it, Magnus already felt like screaming. 'Wait, that's a tango! How are we supposed to be properly dancing a Tango? We haven't even...'

'Hey! Blondie and Greenie in the corner! Try something, at least! Greenie, hand around his waist... blondie, hand around her shoulder...' Magnus decided that it was dance or die now. He listened to who he supposed was the dance teacher and put his hand around Alex' shoulder.

It was difficult, but they managed to move around a little in a not completely un-elegant way. Luckily, the music changed to a tune better suited for waltzing a few minutes later.

Waltzing wasn't very difficult. While he was slowly leading Alex around, Magnus noticed that a group of einherjar looking like actual vikings walked into the club.

'What are they doing here? They don't exactly look like the dancing type!'

'You are stepping on my foot. And I don't know or really care, but we might need to stay far away from them. I have seen cute looking girls with knives hidden in their buttons and heels around here. If they can do things like that, I do not want to find out what these guys do.'

The next tune was the Charleston. Alex and Magnus decided that that was the perfect moment to take a break, even though they had only been dancing for about fifteen minutes.

They decided to get a drink at a small bar that was probably set up to give the dancers the feeling that this was an actual club and not a battleground. Magnus took a sip of his orange juice. 'I am hoping for something more modern next.' Alex nodded.

'Would be nice. Although I think we are going to get an ancient Scandinavian dance.'

'That is something I do not even want to think about!'

Alex snickered. 'Well, you'll have to when...'

'Hey! Why are you two not dancing!?' In front of the two einherjar appeared a woman in a complete flapper outfit. 'You cannot pass up dancing the Charleston for nothing!'

Alex took a sip of her pomegranate juice. 'I seem to be perfectly capable of it.' The woman kept looking at Magnus and Alex.

'No, you are not.' Slowly, Alex put her pomegranate juice down on the bar. She felt a weird tingle in her stomach. Like she could feel the music oozing through her. Her legs had to react, they simply had to. She started shuffling her legs and moving her arms, suddenly being able to do a perfect Charleston.

Magnus followed quickly after her. They both felt dazed, but could still tell that the Charleston girl must have put a spell on them, so that they must move.

'How long do you think this will last?' Alex said through clenched teeth. She had trouble relaxing her jaw - she had to smile and could just produce the sounds. Magnus tried shaking his head, only to find out he couldn't. 'Either until the song is over or until we die!' he gasped.

'The bees knees!' Alex answered, out loud this time, but she really wished she hadn't.

The song seemed to last an eon (Maybe it did), but eventually the sound faded. Alex felt the muscles in her legs and face relax. She and Magnus slowly stumbled to the bar. Their juices were still on it, but neither of them felt like drinking it - who knows what kind of weird junk somebody put in. The bartender saw it. In an act of kindness that must have made her source of kindness run dry for the next decade, she offered them two new juices, which Alex and Magnus happily accepted.

A slow number followed the Charleston music. 'Alright, so at least we miss nothing exciting by taking a break,' Alex sighed.

Magnus looked at his watch. 'I don't even know how late it is anymore. Do you want to go on?'

Alex nodded determinedly. 'I will show this room my breakdance skills even if it will kill me!'

'Oh, it is most definitely going to kill us. I just hope it will after we showed them our skills!'

Alex grabbed Magnus hand and held both his and hers in the air, causing Magnus' drink to spill slightly. 'Now that is the spirit! Now that we have had our warmup, lets knock their socks off!'

They had to wait three more very slow, boring songs until they could knock people's socks off. Yet, when the long awaited hip hop number finally came, they managed to do it literally. While getting down on the ground, Alex fell against someone's legs and accidently hooked her finger into their socks. The person was wearing short heels, without a strap over the instep, so both the sock and the heel came straight off. The person turned towards Alex, who noticed her face was dangerously close to the other heel. She quickly jumped up and ran away, before the person could make the obvious next move.

Tired, they walked back to the bar. 'We didn't even die! I say we leave now before we push our luck too far!' Alex exclaimed.

Magnus wanted to nod, but then the music slowly changed. While the rhythm did, so did the people in the room. Magnus recognised the tones as just the thing he feared: Ancient viking beats. The tall viking guys, who had just been waiting in the back of the club, now formed a line. There was no choice - not dancing an ancient einherjar dance meant that you were insulting the gods right to their faces.

They joined the line, having the strange feeling that something was going to go wrong in a very hotel Valhalla like way. The music seemed louder than before and the rhythm was almost more compelling than the Charleston. The dance itself was not very difficult at all. The issue was that most hotel residents prefered to dance it with their weapons out, which you should definitely not try at home. Magnus certainly wished he didn't, because it kinda hurt when they made the first turn and the person in front of him stabbed him right in the stomach. 'Good luck, Alex,' He yelled, before evaporating, hoping someone would save him some desert from the dinner that night.

Alex held on tight. She could not get out her own garotte, as that would mean letting go of the people she was dancing with. She just had to skip right out of the way of the weapons everywhere.

She managed to do it, for some time, glad to find out it got easier the longer she danced - more people disappeared, after all. She grinned when the music died down. Great, she was done, now she just had to...

She felt like screaming when another viking song came on, even louder than last time. She got her garotte out, even though she still wasn't able to do a lot with it.

Her annoyance turned to suspicion when the song after that was another viking dance. She stumbled back onto her feet.

'Hey! Tiny person! Get onto your feet!' A tall man yelled from a row of dancers.

'Have some patience!' Alex screamed back.

'The gods will not be patient. I am doing nothing but protecting you.' Alex grinded her teeth, but she entered the row.

This dance was stampier than the one that came before it. Alex had to watch out, otherwise she would get stomped on by one of the tall, heavy, probably real vikings she was now standing in between.

After almost being squashed for the millionth time, Alex decided to pull out the ultimate weapon. Her mother might not have been a great person, but at least she gave her child the ability to turn into a grizzly bear. With her arms still around two brick walls of humans, she changed into a big she-bear. The guy on her left screamed and jumped out of the row. Without looking back, he ran away from the dance floor. The boy on the right stayed in the row, but Alex could feel that his heartbeat and breathing had gotten quicker.

Man, why had she not thought of this earlier? Dancing as a bear was one of the most liberating experiences ever. Nobody got to close, no-one stepped on her toes, when he felt a sudden gender change his clothes did not give him dysphoria. He even felt a little saddened when the song came to an end. The next song was something peppy. He decided it was finally time to leave.

That did not mean he changed back into a human. The people had a lot more respect for personal space when you were a bear, so Alex decided that it was way easier to just stay like that until he reached the right floor.

With a yawn, he stepped out of the elevator (Which he did not have to share with someone who smelled like cheese or gum for once). T.J. Just came out into the hallway when Alex made his way to his room. He screamed and jumped back in, which caused Halfborn to peek out of the door. He dropped to the floor from laughter. 'That must have been one helheim of a dance party!' Alex rolled his eyes, while strolling into his room.

After a quick clothing change, he walked into Magnus room. 'I knocked my own socks off,' he mentioned when he saw Magnus was already awake from having been gone. Magnus looked up. 'Did you shapeshift?' Alex nodded with a huge grin.

'I did.'

'I want to hear everything about it - but over dinner. I'm starving. Lets go.'