Chapter Text
"You're dead to me"
Those words echoed in Philza's mind as he looked at Ghostbur's angry expression.
It had been five days since he said the words that brought so regret.
Five days since his grandson went missing.
L'manburg focused their efforts on finding Fundy the moment he vanished but it was like he vanished into thin air.
Technoblade was oblivious to how Fundy's disappearance saved him from an unjust execution. Philza didn't tell him about the attempt on his life because The Butcher Army changed to The Lost Orphan Retrieval Team, though Tubbo had to stay behind to run L'manburg.
Philza was actually grateful for that change in priorates. His grandson vanishing was bad enough but to lose his best friend on the same day would destroy him in a way no amount of visits with his wife could fix.
Now he was staring at the ghost of his son, knowing why he was angry.
"You made my son disappear. I understand why you were angry but you shouldn't have said that. You knew how fragile his mental state was when Eret didn't show up for the adoption and yet you turned around and basically told him that you never cared for him."
Philza shouted "I do care for him."
Ghostbur asked "Then why was it so easy for you to toss him to the curb and say what you said?"
Philza couldn't answer.
Ghostbur said "I'm going to go find my son." and left, leaving Philza alone.
Philza really wished he could go back in time and stop himself from saying those words to Fundy.
Whatever good came out of this was outweighed by all the pain and regret he was feeling.
He sent his crows to look for Fundy and waited for them to disappear before he sat down on his bed began to softly cry.
He'd been crying a lot those past five days.
His poor grandson was probably lost, alone and on the verge of starvation.
And it was all his fault.
Fundy didn't know how long he had been traveling in his fox form for but he knew he couldn't return to L'manburg in this state.
He sat under a tree and cried for what felt like hours.
Once his cries changed to soft hiccups, he began to dry his face and noticed his surroundings.
He realized he had, somehow, jumped over a fence into a backyard of sorts.
Suddenly, he heard two unfamiliar voices.
"Garroth, this better not be a misunderstanding. It's three am and I need my sleep."
"Zane, I know I heard something in the backyard."
Fundy realized he needed to leave before he got caught by this 'Zane' and 'Garroth'.
He looked at the fence and braced himself for the jump.
As he jumped, he was suddenly grabbed.
Apparently, it was 'Garroth' who caught him.
"Look, Zane, I told you there was something outside."
Zane's voice responded "Garroth, it's a fox. Foxes get into backyards all the time."
Garroth said "But this one is different. Look at the hat he's wearing."
Oops. Guess Fundy forgot that his hat stays during his fox form transformation.
Zane said "Maybe he has a owner. We'll look for his owner in the morning."
Garroth carried Fundy inside the house.
It was tightly packed but oddly cozy. Zane made a makeshift nest out of blankets and Garroth placed Fundy in the nest.
Fundy felt so tied that he instantly fell asleep in the nest.
He'd get some rest, thank Zane and Garroth for providing shelter and then head home.
It would be that simple, right?