A/N: First off, Happy belated Birthday to Lord Voldemort (sorry, I just had to!), and I wish everyone a wonderful New Year ^_^
I also apologize for the longer than usual wait – I got a brand new laptop and it took ages to configure everything! Eep D:
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.
Chapter 13: The Bribe
A telepathic chorus of both glee and distress arose from the godly audience. Anubis himself looked as though he had been slapped.
Ma'at held up her hand, signaling for silence. She returned her gaze to the oldest of the three Wammy alumni.
In order to come into contact with them, you must have touched one of their notebooks. Is this true?
"Uh…"
Mello rounded on Near.
"What did you tell her?" the blond hissed, confirming Ma'at's suspicions.
"Nothing that she couldn't see for herself," Near answered, unperturbed by Mello's palpable agitation. "She read my mind like a book."
And it would make a very interesting book, indeed.
Matt noticed that the demon, Ammut, had suddenly stopped drooling. In fact, the reptilian-mammal hybrid was glaring at Mello as though the blond was a disease-ridden hunk of steak.
Anubis wore a similar expression of annoyance. He sniffed loudly. I cannot, in good conscience, allow Ammut to consume a soul that has been tainted with Shinigami magic.
Mello's hand automatically flew to his chest at this.
Ma'at tut-tutted consolingly. What Anubis means to say is that we cannot allow a person that has been exposed to other realms to enter our afterlife without the privilege of choice. It is not that you are impure, but innocent or not, the three of you hold knowledge of other gods, and therefore, we must forfeit exclusive jurisdiction over you. We cannot justly impose our own rules upon you when you are aware of others.
Anubis folded his arms. You could have saved us a lot of trouble if you had mentioned our cousins in the first place. Silly mortals. The underworld guardian's nostrils flared in contempt.
"Your cousins?" Matt exclaimed.
"Well, it's not like we would've known that!" Mello bristled.
What? Do you really think that I am the only death god in existence? That Osiris is the only king that rules Paradise? Do you really think that the Duat is the only purgatory that resides in this universe? That the Two Fields is the only heaven for the innocent or deserving? Just as you humans have different nations, us gods have ours.
Mello's eyes glimmered with hope, which quickly hardened into victory. "That's reasonable."
Near smiled knowingly.
Matt's mind was reeling. He had been an atheist his entire life. Religion had never interested nor rang true with him. It had even taken him approximately a fortnight to come to terms with the existence of Shinigami and Kira's supernatural weapon, via Mello's word.
Up until this point, he had purposely overlooked the fact that the ancient Egyptians hadn't only been dabblers in magic, but had also been one of the most religiously-bound civilizations in all of history. These gods and goddesses weren't just mythical extraterrestrials – they were divine beings, worshipped by the human race. They weren't just fantastical figures born from legends, created to scare people into following moral laws.
They were real.
And as for the heart-devouring demon…
Those who are eaten cease to exist.
Mu.
Nothingness.
As if on cue, Ammut opened her mouth to yawn and Matt caught a glimpse of the gaping black vortex that emulated the fate of guilty Egyptians.
"Did you know this would happen?" Mello demanded, eyeing Near skeptically.
"I had a hunch."
Mello let out a loud guffaw. "Sure, why not." Underneath the bravado, Matt could detect a note of relief in the ex-Mafioso's voice.
"I also have a hunch that because there is no reason to keep us captive, Ma'at will return us to the mortal realm, as we are not truly among the dead…"
The goddess nodded.
"…and that she will give us what we came for to, ah, buy our silence. The honey."
Ma'at didn't even hesitate.
Deal.
Matt exchanged an excited glance with Mello. This was it. They were seconds away from youthful immortality.
Anubis looked resigned when Ma'at gestured for Thoth to put away his tablet and pen. Her bird-headed husband did so wordlessly and promptly dissolved into thin air, presumably joining the rest of his invisible associates in the gallery.
Ma'at unsheathed her ankh key from her belt, and for a moment, Matt could've sworn he heard a soft, prayerful chanting emit from the metal object. A crystal vial of amber liquid materialized in Near's outstretched hands.
Ambrosia does not make one immortal forever – it just stops one from dying. Remember this.
"What is ambrosia made of, exactly?" Near asked reverently.
Faith. Just as the Shinigami require human lives to add onto their own life spans, we require human faith to feed us as their deities. Gods are only as strong as the belief invested in them – when faith in a godly race dies, so does our magic. This is how ancient religions and civilizations are lost. We exist simply to those that worship us, just as heavens and hells exist for those who believe in it.
Apparently, the rest of the gods in the vicinity understood the gravity of the situation; they were as quiet as stones. Near was essentially blackmailing them with the Wammy trio's familiarity of the Shinigami race. If word got out to the Egyptian mortals that Osiris was not the ultimate King as they had always thought, their belief system would crumble, and Osiris's kingdom would fall apart without its source of power.
If you do not uphold your end of the bargain, I will personally see to it that you are punished for eternity, Ma'at added, her pitch-black eyes roaming over each of the three geniuses. This also goes for the events that are occurring in your natural time, Nate River.
"Kira will remain a secret," Near promised.
Ma'at's severe expression diminished. See to it that Thebes gains an heir. Grand Vizier Ay shall get what he deserves for his treachery when he finally reaches us in the afterlife.
Matt frowned in confusion. "Wait… hasn't he been here before?"
The goddess shook her head. No.
"And the high priests?" Mello said slowly.
There were never any priests.
"Ay must've gotten rid of them somewhere in the Duat," Near said confidently. "And since he couldn't follow us this time, he messed with the spells and sent us straight to the Hall, hoping that we would be penalized for trying to take a shortcut."
"Well, I'll be giving him a piece of my mind," Mello muttered darkly.
"Me too," Near responded, reaching for his two companions' wrists.
Matt glanced down in surprise at the soft touch. He flexed his fingers experimentally; the gamer's knuckles popped audibly, sending ticklish jolts of pain through his bones.
He could feel again.
The spell was wearing off… no, rather, Ma'at and Anubis were lifting the Vizier's enchantment off of the three boys. And as the illusions slipped from their physical forms, a soothing blanket of darkness fell upon them, wrapping them up and whisking them off to where they were most expected – dead or alive.
A/N: I find it pretty disappointing that Death Note has a million religious/philosophical overtones (especially in the anime) yet none of them are exactly explored properly, except in fan fiction. Ah well, more fun for us ^_^
Special thanks to the latest readers and reviewers: Kira the Wolf, akatsukifan (thanks for the amazing encouragement, hope your holidays were happy as well! :D), TheCatchingLightAlchemist, Kishimojin (Merry Christmas to you too! I'm ecstatic you loved the…surprise :P), CharizardCyndi, MyChemicalDarkness, bffs4evaMattandMello, TeamDeanWinchester4Ever, Friday (thank you! Haha, I do like sharing random trivia xD), anon (I'm assuming your name was something like "Near is an idiot" before it was censored out, lol! But thanks for your wonderful review in regards to Mello!), Pink Star Art, OhMyGeePinkSucksAss ~
*Voldy's gone moldy…*
Oh wait…