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Hey everyone! Sorry for the super late update! I had lots of work.... Again. I'll try my best to make sure this won't happen! Read, enjoy, and please comment!

Chapter 16: When all is done and over with

Will woke up and found his brother sitting next to him. Thankfully the door wasn't on fire this time.

"Will! You're up! Thank goodness!" Arthur hugged him. Will let his brother smother him for a few minutes, and then gently tapped him on the back, subtly telling him to let go. As he let go, Will took a look around, looking for Dan.

"Where's Dan?" Will questioned his older brother.

"What, no 'I love you' or 'I missed you'?" Arthur gave Will a teasing grin. When Will gave him a blank stare, Arthur sighed. "He was here a few minutes ago, but he left. And speaking of gods, we really need to talk about this."

"What 'this?'" Will gave his brother another blank look. Arthur looked slightly frustrated as he ran his paw through his mane.

"Will, I'm sure everyone told you this over and over again, but what were you thinking? I get why you had to make a contract at that time, but why did you even make the talisman for it in the first place? And don't give me the 'I thought that it might come in handy' excuse. I know that you can think up better ways to boost your power than that."

Will fell silent. It was true that the contract was not necessary, at least when he was making the contract.

"Well, to be honest, it was more like a personal project. You know, one of those 'just for fun' projects? It seemed really complex, and I thought I might cut my teeth on it. And before you ask, I brought it with me because I thought that it might come in handy. I mean, I was nervous about my first test."

Arthur looked less than happy, but he seemed satisfied with the answer.

"All right, but things will be complex from now on. You do know that as a partner of a god, you're required to attend meetings with elders, right?"

"Wait. Meeting with the elders? Why do I have to attend?" Will stammered. He was sure that he researched everything about contracts, but he never knew something like that.

"What, you didn't know?" Arthur gave a slight grin. "You've made a contract with a god, so that means that you're pretty much an unofficial representative for the gods. They would also want to take a look at you and ask you some questions. It's just to see if you're worthy of using the power, or if you won't misuse the power."

"Ugh. I never knew that...... If I did than I might have thought twice!" Will exclaimed, throwing his head back.

"Well, since Dan is here with you on our world, you'd be okay for the most part. It would still mean a world of trouble for you, though."

At that point, a white tiger like Will strolled in, whistling and carrying a gigantic box filled with packages the brothers couldn't identify.

"Man, the mortal world is better than ever! I almost don't want to go back!" Dan, the white tiger deity, dropped the box on the floor and waved his paw as he sat down. As he sat down, liquid metal formed on the ground and flowed to form a chair, supporting the god's weight.

"Where were you? And what's up with the packages?" Will asked the god as he pointed at the box beside him.

"I went shopping. The food here is amazing! We have the same stuff up there, but it still tasted a bit off. Besides that, I've been talking with the elders, sort up catching up on things."

"Wait, so you went shopping? How did you even pay for it?" Will questioned the god, his paw subconsciously going to his pocket.

Noticing the gesture, the god rummaged around his shirt pocket, and pulled out a credit card.

"I'm a god. We have millions and billions just for us. Oh, and a pretty sweet home, too."

"A home?" Will spoke incredulously, and Dan prattled on. "Yeah, right in here. It's not that big, but it's okay. Pity I won't be staying here for long."

"Wait, you're going already?" Will asked, feeling surprised. He thought that the god might stay for a while, what with the 'unfinished businesses' he hinted at earlier.

"Well, yeah. In a few days, after I help you deal with the elders. They're already here, you know?"

"But I thought that you might stay here with me all the time." Will spoke.

"What, you want me to stay here all the time?" Dan asked Will. Before the younger tiger could speak back, the god tossed his head. "Well, I won't really mind, but I can't. If I stay here too long, I might lose my divinity."

"Lose your divinity?" Will echoed. He assumed that the only problem he would have with keeping Dan here would be the problem of whether he could afford the power spent.

"Yeah. The realm of gods have an element of divinity, sort of like how mana exists in the air for you werebeasts and humans here. Without it, we slowly lose some of our powers, even though we can delay the process by using mana. But time is still limited, so we have to go back to our realm if we want to stay gods. I can stay for roughly 8 days max, so I'll have to leave in a week. Then I can't return to the mortal realm for that much time. So if I stayed here for 5 days, then I can't return for 5 days. If I do, I'm severely weakened."

"If that's the case, then why do demons keep on trying to enter our world? Won't they lose their powers if they stay here too long?" Arthur suddenly spoke up from the corner, surprising Will. When he thought about it, it did sound rather odd.

"Most demons aren't gods. Demons and angels are just creatures made by gods. So they are still powerful without divinity. Besides, demons don't really feed on divinity, but rather the dark emotions generated by mortals." Dan spoke dismissively.

Awkward silenced came upon the room for a while, as the three were lost in his own thoughts. The silence was broken when Dan suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, you're going to have to come with me tomorrow. The elders want to see you."

"That soon?" Will exclaimed, feeling nervous and slightly panicking.

"Relax. You have me with you, so it will be a breeze for the most part. I'll see if I can free you from having to attend meetings. You hate those, right?"

"I don't really hate them, but I just feel nervous about such a large responsibility." Will answered, staring down on his paws. "And besides, meeting with the elders sounds pretty scary. I mean, aren't they pretty much the rulers of werebeasts?"

"Nah, they're more like the supreme court. They deal with the most important issues, like god issues or if werebeasts are exposed to the public. They do have a lot of authority, but they don't really exercise it that much." Arthur tried to reassure his younger brother.

As the conversation drew to a close, a nurse came closer. She was the one that was with the bothers last time, when Arthur blew up a door.

"Could the two of you excuse us? Will will join you shortly, after the checkup."

"So I could go?" Will asked eagerly. He was rather bored, sitting around doing nothing but talking .

"Well, after I make sure." the nurse gave Will a smile as she pushed Arthur and Dan out of the door, slamming it shut.

As the door shut behind them, Arthur found himself alone with the god. He had been with the god before, but he felt rather awkward this time. After all, what could he say to a god?

While the dark lion was lost in his thoughts, the god suddenly spoke to Arthur. "You're not 100% werebeast, are you?" Dan enquired, leaning in closer. Arthur could see the deity's nose sniffing the air around him, possibly detecting the dark aura around him.

"It's a long tale." Arthur spoke simply, turning away from the god. As he did so, he felt the god grab him and spin him back. Arthur allowed himself to be spun around, afraid that the god might react with hostility.

"Hey, what's up with that attitude? Did you think that I might hit you or something like that because of you being half demon?" as Arthur gave a slight nod, Dan burst into laughter.

"Oh please! I'm not that stuck in the mud like the other gods! I mean, it was obvious that you could be trusted from the start. Will trusts you, and from the limited insight into your thoughts, I could see that you're alright."

"Wait, you could sense my thoughts?" Arthur instinctively threw up wards around his mind, only then noticing the thin tendrils that were poking around him.

"Yeah, sorry for not telling you. I was just making sure you were okay. And besides, some of it was unintentional."

"Well, if you put it that way....." Arthur trailed off. He could sense genuine friendliness from the god, something he hadn't felt in a while. Usually, most werebeasts had a tendency to feel nervous when he told them about his past, sometimes outright avoiding him. It was rare when he found someone that didn't mind that part of his past.

"Hey, you want to know something good?" Dan leaned on the wall with a grin. "I think I know who your father is."

"You know who my father is?" Arthur yelped, looking at the god with astonishment.

"Yeah, I could tell from your demonic aura's scent. It was a familiar scent so it wasn't that hard to find out." the god then gave a smug grin. "Don't be surprised, but I think your father was Asmodeus."

"What, the demon representing lust?" Arthur dumbly spoke back. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his father was a major demon.

"Probably. Like I said, same aura. He's pretty friendly to werebeasts though. So don't be surprised if he suddenly makes a Sphere searching for you."

Arthur was on the verge of opening his mouth to say something else when Will stepped out.

"Did I miss anything?" Will questioned, uneasily looking at the still-stunned Arthur and the relaxed Dan.

Arthur calmed down, resolving to ask Dan about everything he might know.

"No, nothing. Let's go and get lunch."

"Ooh, so you're paying?" Dan piped up. Arthur had to laugh when the god did so. For a god, he was pretty secular.

"You know, for a god, you feel pretty.... well, not divine. I mean, aren't gods supposed to be more solemn?" Arthur gave the tiger god a triumphant grin.

"Hey, gods have various personalities. I mean, haven't you seen all those legends, with some crazy berserker gods that kills everything or wise gods that try to help humanity? Gods are rather like mortals in that we all have different personalities." Dan shot back as the trio left the infirmary.

After several hours, Will collapsed onto his bed, after a relaxing shower. His roommates were missing for various reasons that he forgot about. Arthur left for home because of an urgent assignment he had, while Dan also left for urgent assignments the deity claimed that he had. While he rolled around in his blankets, he saw Jake enter the room. The wolf took a glance around the room, and then settled on Will. Will thought that the wolf looked rather startled, but figured that he was just surprised to see Will.

"Will! You're back!" Jake suddenly threw his backpack aside and caught Will in a powerful hug. Just as suddenly, he leapt back, looking flustered.

"Sorry. It's just that we were really worried about you." Jake mumbled as he sat down on a chair.

"Well, thank for worrying, but I'm fine now. The doctor gave me an all-clear." Will lightly spoke, facing Jake. There was a moment of silence, and then the wolf hastily rose up.

"Uh.... I gotta go. I have all sorts of stuff to do. See you tomorrow, I guess?" Jake stepped back, only to slip and fall. After a bout of creative cursing, Jake then ran out of the room. Will looked at the whole incident with rather bemused eyes. Something felt off, but Will chose to think about it later, burrowing into his blankets for a much needed sleep, although he had been sleeping only a few hours ago.

The next day

Will knocked on a door, which was the only thing between him and the elders. As the door magically opened on its own accord, Will gave an anxious look at Dan, who gave him a quick grin and a small pat on the back. When the door fully opened, Will entered the room. Unlike the group of werebeasts he saw after his kidnapping incident, this group of werebeasts was rather elderly, all of them being male. After coming to a stop in front of them, he stood silently and bowed to them.

"So, your name is Will?" a wolf that sat in the middle asked Will. He resembled a generic old character straight out of comic or cartoon series, with a robe and an extremely long beard. As Will nodded, the wolf squinted at him.

"Well then, can you explain to us how you've manage the contract, and why?" Will immediately launched into his tale, trying to emphasize that what he did was necessary, and that he didn't really mean to make a contract, but just to work with it.

"So, you're telling me that you've made a contract- a very complex spell- just to practice and you've just happened to bring it against a demon?" a tiger spoke up, his voice skeptical. He looked rather seedy, and Will found himself disliking him.

"I believe that we already went over this, but I've taken a look at Will's mind. He will not be a threat to anyone unless that said person threatens to destroy the world or do some other equally evil deed." Dan calmly stated, but he looked at the tiger with obvious dislike.

"That aside, we must discuss his punishment for illegal attempt to communicate with a god." one of the elders-a rabbit like Will- spoke calmly.

"But.... But I didn't know that there was a rule like that! Besides, I really didn't mean to use it, at least, not without proper help!" Will interrupted. However, the elder that spoke gravely shook his head.

"And how will you prove that you weren't trying to summon a god?" before Will could speak, the elder went on. "Making a contract with any being is dangerous. Not just for the person trying, but also to anyone else that might be near. We don't stop people from making a contract; we simply look them over to see if they are worthy of making a contract, both mentally and magically. It is something that all books regarding contracts have written down."

Will paled. When he took the book out to try, he simply skipped the earlier few chapters, which were mostly warnings about the dangers of contracts and other things about contracts. He never imagined that he might need a permit to make one. Suddenly, an elder that looked slightly younger than the rest clapped his paw.

"Well, I'm sure that we can ask the great Tiger for the confirmation! Now sir, did this boy know anything about that?" when the deity shook his head, slightly startled, the elder carried on with a bright voice. "Then, I think that the boy's not at fault here! He didn't know about it."

The elders were silent for a while. As Will sat in front of them and waited for a verdict, he had a feeling that the elders were somehow communicating without speaking. Telepathy? Will wondered, filing the information away to ask the god later. After several minutes of silence, the wolf that spoke first cleared his throat. Will straightened his back, trying to look attentive.

"Now, we've come to an agreement about your punishment." Will's throat tightened: it sounded as if he was going to be punished after all.

"At first, we were under the impression that you knew about the restrictions about contracts, and yet did it. If that was the case, the contract would've been forcibly nullified, and you would have to pay a fine and be put under surveillance. However," at this, Will suddenly felt hopeful. "You didn't know about this due to your experience in magic and the limited time as a werebeast. In addition, you've used this power to save people, who would've all died. So, we've decided that a warning will suffice this time. However, the next time we won't be that nice." the wolf stared at Will with piercing eyes, and suddenly broke into a gentle smile. "So the next time you try out a spell, do look up all restrictions regarding that magic." Will let out an audible sigh of relief.

"You're dismissed." the wolf elder spoke, pointing to the door. Will slowly walked out of the room, only barely noticing that Dan was right behind him. As soon as they were out of hearing, Dan grabbed the younger tiger, and put him in a headlock.

"Well, lucky you! You get off scot-free!" Dan cheerfully spoke. Will tried to throw the deity off, but to no avail.

"It was scary! you never told me that they might punish me!" Will weakly protested at the god.

"Hey, I forget things. I'm as old as.... well, the universe. Besides, I knew you'd get off; you didn't do anything wrong, and had good reasons."

Will was silent for a minute, before he remembered that he wanted to ask the god about the silent conversation that the elders had. "Dan, did the elders use telepathy when they were silent?"

"Yeah. I guess they thought that it was less hassle than making you go out." Dan spoke casually.

"Also, why does the tiger werebeast elder look like he really hates me? He was the only one who didn't trust me."

Dan looked slightly surprised at Will's questions. "You noticed? I think that he was jealous of you." the answer surprised Will. "Jealous? Why would a powerful elder like him be jealous of me?"

"Because you made a contract when he couldn't." Dan simply spoke as they walked out of the building. "Contracts are very dangerous, just like what the elders over there said. You might burn, explode, or go crazy. Sometimes you lose your identity, and become a minor copy of that god or demon or whatever. Even most powerful and wise wizards tend to fail at it. So imagine when a kid, a nobody, makes a contract with a god, a very powerful one at that. He's going to be jealous. From what I remember, his family tried to make a contract with me or the tiger from the zodiac for ages. They mostly failed or went insane, and here you are, safe and sound."

Will tried not to feel insulted at the "nobody" comment. It was true, after all.

"But that's not a valid reason for behavior like that!" the white tiger spoke, slightly indignant.

"Hey, people work in all sorts of ways. Not everyone is as nice and pure as you." Dan spoke lightly. "Man, I'm feeling a bit hungry. Buy me lunch, willya?"

"You ate just before we went in! That was like, an hour ago?" Will spoke incredulously.

"Hey, I'm big. It takes a lot of calories to keep fit like this, you know!" Dan joked. Suddenly, he brushed by Will and ran, shaking a wallet. "I'll just borrow this if you don't want to pay me!" Will only needed to search his pockets for a second, and then he began to shout, chasing the god with all his might.