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Techno's ears prick a little when he hears the notification alarm of his communicator ring out. He retrieves it from his pocket to check it, and quickly sees that the message is from an anonymous sender.
I'm not really supposed to help you guys, the message reads, but I just found out some information that I think you should probably know.
Techno blinks before beginning to type a reply. Such as?, he writes back.
Can't talk here, comes the immediate response. Meet me at the Port-aux-Francais tonight at 10?
Without hesitation, Techno agrees. Reckless, maybe, but it's not like he can't handle himself if something goes wrong. He'll be on Antarctic territory, too, so at the very least he has that advantage if things go south.
A certain avian peering over his shoulder seems to disagree, though. As much as Techno respects him, he can be rather nosy sometimes.
"Is this a good idea?" Phil asks in a tone that makes it clear he already knows the answer is no and that Techno knows it too. "Could be a trap."
"How many people here are competent enough for that?" Techno shoots back. (He can think of a few people, but that doesn't matter right now. It's a very small number.)
"Doesn't matter how competent they are or not if you're going in acting like you own the place," Phil scoffs, but his voice is soft - more amused than genuinely concerned. "Be careful."
"You already know I will," Techno replies flatly. He appreciates the concern, as indignant as he acts. He knows Phil just cares about him and wants him to be safe.
When Techno arrives that night, he's greeted by an all-too-familiar face. Hypixel's infamous death fae – Business Bay's unfittingly competent second-in-command. Deo's expression is as unreadable as ever – he and Techno are alike in that way.
"I've learned something about this place," Deo says calmly. If he's scared, his voice gives nothing away and the sunglasses that cover his eyes block any emotion that could be read from his expression. "Something that you need to know. It's important."
"Out with it, then," Techno replies. "Don't waste my time, Deo." He crosses his arms, waiting for the faerie to start talking already.
"Hmm," Deo's voice is thoughtful, but with a biting edge to it that makes it clear it's not entirely sincere. "Tommy doesn't want me to tell you, though."
"Who cares what Tommy thinks? He's like, what, five?" Techno snorts.
"Fifteen, actually," Deo corrects him with a hint of humor in his tone. "And he's still my boss, so, I do. But the importance of this information outweighs that." He stretches with a loud yawn. For someone with supposedly pressing knowledge, he doesn't seem to be in much a hurry to share it. (Perhaps he's trying to fish out a deal? After all, they're businessmen at the end of the day.)
"Like I said, are you going to tell me or not?" Techno snorts. "You're wasting my time."
"This place isn't real," Deo blurts out. His voice almost sounds panicked - which catches Techno off guard.
"What?" Techno blinks slowly, trying to process the words. He can't even begin to make heads or tails of the statement.
"It's not real," Deo repeats, calmer this time. "It's like… It's an experiment. This whole world is."
"What does that even mean?" Techno says, tilting his head a little. "That doesn't make any sense. Bruh."
"It's… Hard to explain," Deo sighs, shaking his head. "I barely even understand myself. It's apparently some kind of like, computer simulation? I don't fucking know, dude."
Techno just blinks at him. "...Heeeh?" is all he can manage in response to that. His head hurts. Maybe he should have listened to Phil. Not because of the 'what if it's a trap' thing, but because this is stupid.
"Look, I don't know, I just couldn't not tell someone about this, it seems like pretty fuckin' important information to not share," Deo says quickly, clearly just wanting to get this over with so he can go back to acting like he never learned this in the first place.
Techno really can't blame him. He can't even begin to wrap his head around what any of this means, and it doesn't exactly seem like Deo can either.
"Well, okay, I guess," Techno says after a moment of thought. "I'm not sure what to do with this information, but thanks?"
"If you tell anyone you know about this, Tommy will kill me," Deo says, returning to his usual stoic tone. He adjusts his hat on his head, and his wings flitter slightly.
"...You can't hold your own against a fifteen year old?" Techno asks, his voice lightening with amusement. He knows it'll get under Deo's skin. The only thing that could bother him more would be to bring up that damn Midas sword.
"I didn't say that," Deo scoffs in response, looking down to type something on his communicator. "But I'd rather not have to fight the little bastard in the first place, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Techno replies. "Your weird secret's safe, I guess. Actually, can I tell Phil, or no?"
"Uh," Deo pauses to think, humming quietly. "Do you think he'll go around telling people?"
Oh, right, Deo doesn't know Phil very well, Techno thinks. That hadn't occurred to him at the moment. He thinks back to the time the two got in a scuffle back at Business Bay's scuffled little casino, before quickly shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
"Nope." He says.
"Then yeah, whatever. Go ahead. I trust your judgement, anyways." Deo grins. "I gotta go now, Tech. See ya later!" He calls as he takes flight, disappearing to god knows where.
Techno lets out a huff, writes a few notes down in his communicator, and turns to make his way back to the Empire's home base, knowing that he'll probably be up the rest of the night trying to make sense of what Deo told him.