"Another bounty hunter dead," Philza sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and swivelled towards me in his chair. "That's the third skilled person Smiley has taken out this week."
"Who was it?" I asked, frowning slightly.
"Hyacinth," Phil replied. "Gifted with invulnerability."
"How do you kill someone with invulnerability?"
Phil shook his head miserably, but he bit his lip in a way that suggested that he did know how. I squinted at him suspiciously. "Phil, this is vital information. Tell me."
He hesitated, looking me over warily, before consenting. "Fine. Being a Gifted means you have powers, but all strength has its weaknesses. I'm a healer, but it takes strength out of me every time I do it."
That was a surprise. It meant that every stupid injury I got cost Phil more than it did for me, and not only that, but I got stupid injuries all the time. If I had been smarter about the way I went around doing things, a lot of them could've been avoided.
Phil caught the look on my face and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Techno. You're my son. It's my responsibility to look after you."
"And it's my responsibility to look after you, too," I snapped. Then I sighed. "Please, Phil. Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"I didn't see any reason to," he replied. "I knew you'd freak out, just like you are right now."
"I'm not 'freaking out.'"
"By definition, yes, yes you are."
I sighed again. I still hated that he hadn't told me all this sooner, but at least I was getting the knowledge now. As much as I wanted to, there was no use in arguing. "Alright. What about other powers?"
Phil scratched his head. "Well... it varies from person to person, but I do know a few. Pyro-Gifted typically can't be injured by their own flames, but they can get hurt from other fire. Hydro-Gifted dehydrate easily. But those are only for elemental powers. Other ones that are more effort on the mind have different side effects. Like... what happened with your power."
My power. I remember what had started to happen when I was young, first beginning to use it. The whispers in the back of my mind that had started to follow me everywhere. It had made no sense to me at the time, but being told that it correlated to my powers actually felt nice.
So I wasn't going crazy.
"So invincibles have a weak spot, then?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Phil nodded. "Their Achilles' Heel. Only they know where it is. But you can tell because when you hit it, they stiffen up for a solid ten seconds. That's only if you can hit it. They're usually pretty good at keeping it hidden and protected."
"And yet Smiley got it," I said.
"Smiley's one of a kind."
"Who's going after him now?"
My adoptive father stared at me, and I stared right back, undeterred. I knew Tryxel would have to send anther person out. There was no way around it. It was a good and fair bounty, with a high reward at that, and to give it up would be admitting defeat. None of the Heads would stoop down to that level. Philza might, since he knew when to cut his losses, but the other two? Not likely.
Finally, Phil dropped his gaze. "We're sending out Naida. He's clever, and he doesn't have any weaknesses that come with being a Gifted that can be used against him."
"'Naida?'" I said in surprise.
"Hm? Do you know him?"
"Kind of?" I shrugged. "I talked to him once with Tubbo. He was cool. Very cool name. But are you sure to send him?"
"He's our fourth resort," Phil sighed. "Not that great of a fighter and definitely not really well-known, but we're counting on that. Either Smiley won't know what to do against him, or he'll defeat him immediately."
His words had reminded me of something. "I'm one of the best. Why didn't Tryxel send me out?"
"Because I didn't want you to die," Phil said blatantly. "A selfish decision, but I'm not ready to give you up yet. I want to be the father figure you had lost. I can't do that if you join your parents in the grave."
He looked so unhappy that I felt bad for asking. Suddenly, I realized how much darker the circles under his eyes were. How much worry had I placed on him for merely doing my job being a bounty hunter? A lot, I was sure. But I was too far down the path to stop.
"I don't die, Phil," I said, reaching over to hold his hand tightly. "I promise you that. Besides, I'm too good of a fighter to just become deceased, duh. Technoblade never dies."
Phil laughed, a sound I welcomed warmly. "I know."
***
I found Naida in the bounty room, leaning against the wall, gazing over at the bounty he had been assigned to. His expression was resigned, not worried or anxious like I had expected. In fact, he looked a bit... irritated.
"So, now you've got the highest bounty to go after," I said, slipping into the room to stand next to him.
He barely looked over at me. "Yeah. What an honor, huh?"
"You don't seem that honored," I noted.
Naida gave me a sideways look. "Would you be honored to be told to go off towards your death?"
That was a good explanation as to why he looked kind of miffed, but there seemed to be more to it than that. Naida didn't look worried about how to stay alive. Instead, he looked like he was trying to find a way out of his situation.
What situation was it? Well, clearly he didn't want to go after Smiley. But he didn't have a choice.
"You have no choice," I said, like the straight-forward guy I was.
He scowled at me. "Gee, I know that. But at the same time...."
"You're willing to let someone else take the fall for you?"
Naida turned his attention to the ground. His expression hadn't changed at all. "Maybe. If someone can go after Smiley and win, then yeah, I'd let them take the fall. Why not? I'm just throwing away my life if I do."
His thought process was the same as mine. But somehow, him saying it out loud didn't make it sound so nice and humane anymore.
"You'll be fine," I said, sounding about as certain as I felt. "Don't worry about it too much. I'll handle the funeral expenses."
"Thanks. I feel so much better."
He smiled at me, a smile so genuine that it almost seemed real. Even though I knew it was fake, it was nearly good enough to fool me.
This guy is good.
"Alright, it's time for me to go," Naida said, looking away from me. "Don't worry about it, I'll come back. I always will."
That felt ominous, but at least he had accepted that he had to go do his job. I looked him over with an odd resigned feeling. Was I going to see him tomorrow? He could be dead the next morning and I didn't even know it.
Naida brushed past me, heading towards the door. At the doorway, he stopped and looked back at me. "Be careful, Techno. You're gonna be sent after him too. Can you survive?"
He smiled gently. I frowned slightly as he walked away, feeling a bit like I had just been challenged. Of course I could survive. I was Techno, after all.
...but, could I?
Stop it with the self-doubt, I chided myself silently. You got this. You're one of the best, remember?
Storm was one of the best too, the small voice at the back of my mind said. Lapis wasn't bad either. How can you withstand what they couldn't?
Great. Leave it to myself to bring myself down.
I reached up and patted the mask on my face, just to assure myself that it was still there. Suddenly, I wasn't too keen on hunting down a bounty. It was as if all of my self confidence had just whooshed out of me in one fell swoop.
With a start, I realized that I hadn't seen Tubbo all night. Probably already out and about. I hadn't checked in with him in a while to see what sort of bounty he had been after, which probably wasn't something that a good friend would do. But he was fine. Probably.
The other people in the room were starting to give me looks, probably wondering why I was just standing there, not moving. I ignored them all and moved closer to the wall I was facing, glancing around to see if there were any bounties worth chasing after. A few high numbers caught my eye, but after thinking about Smiley's five million bounty for so long, none of them felt worth it.
After Bandanna Guy, none of the Heads had approached me with a new task. Probably trying to give me some room after getting poisoned, which I appreciated, but I was also bored out of my mind. I wanted to stab something.
One of the papers taped to the wall grabbed my attention. It was a picture of a man wearing a large blue sweater, glancing back at the camera with a startled expression. White goggles were balanced on top of his brown hair. A black streak ran across the bridge of his nose, marking him as a Gifted. It was a brightly lit photo, probably thanks to the fire burning in the background, casting a red light over everything.
He seemed interesting. Whoever was stupid enough to get caught in front of the fire they had just set ablaze should be easy enough to catch. And he had a decently-high bounty, too. Half a million. I could work with that.
I raised my phone and took a photo of the paper, just to make sure that I had the information for later. Something about his expression, though, made me question whether or not the picture was wholly accurate. I had faced off against arsonists before, and none of them were usually pyro-Gifted. They also seemed a lot less mentally sane and aware of the consequences as the guy in the photo looked to be.
Eh. It didn't matter. I was going to go after him anyways.
***
The paper hadn't given me a name, but his face was clear enough that I was sure I would find him eventually.
I jogged down the street, being extra mindful of the dark alleys between buildings. Despite how cliché it was, a person could easily hide in the shadows and be completely missed by any passing civilians. I didn't want to rush past my bounty, completely unaware, and come to regret my decisions later on.
Dark storm clouds rolled in above my head, warning of rain. I was fine with rain, but if I slipped and fell, I wasn't going to look especially intimidating to my bounty.
Despite the dangers that came with being a bounty hunter, I liked it. Not only did it get me money, but it also gave me time to be alone with my thoughts.
Most people would probably hate that. I remembered reading somewhere that a large percent of society would rather be shocked with a taser than spend time alone with their own thoughts. I'd probably be fine with either. Getting shocked? I was bored. It sounded interesting.
The cold was starting to get to me. I pulled my cloak tighter around myself and glanced up at the sky. Rain was beginning to fall down, making small dark dots on the road, before starting to pick up in strength and ferocity. My hair draped down around me, seeming longer now that it was wet.
Please let me get this done and over with so that I can get out of the rain.
Finally, I got my first hint as to where my bounty was going to be.
Most people would take shelter to hide from the storm, but to someone who was either on the run or had a bounty over their head, this would be the best time for them to get out of town or something. Which meant that I would have to stay in the rain for a while longer.
Already, the streets were starting to clear out. I smiled to myself as I flipped up my hood and continued forwards. A shadow moving through the mist caught my attention. Even from a distance, I could tell that they were looking around a lot, wary of their surroundings. Their eyes fell on me. Immediately, they started to run.
Well, no one runs from a random stranger in a pig mask unless you recognize that stranger in a pig mask to be Technoblade, a bounty hunter with at least a decent reputation. I took it as a sign and sprinted after them.
I was excited to redeem myself after what had happened with Bandana Guy.