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The desert heat of Las Nevadas was almost unbearable, the sun beating down on Fundy. Fundy was bone dead exhausted from working all day in the heat. He looked at the uncompleted S.S. Sally while he wiped the sweat off his brow, deciding that he had done enough work today. (At least he hoped, he wanted to make Quackity proud.) Fundy downed a whole bottle of water before he started the trek back to the center of Las Nevadas, which wasn't that far away, but it felt like it.
When Fundy finally made it after what felt like hours, though it was only a couple of minutes, he sat down under the shade of the pin tower (which looked suspiciously similar to Purpled's UFO, but that was a thought for another time). He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning his head against one of the quartz beams holding up the tower appreciating the coolness of the material on his sweat-soaked body. Fundy didn't know how long he sat under the tower basking in the shade and dozing off until he heard footsteps approaching him.
Fundy opened his eyes, expecting it to be Quackity or any of the other residents of Las Nevadas. Instead, he saw the newly resurrected Wilbur Soot approaching him. Fundy scrambled up, his ears pinned to his head and his body stiff as he took in the appearance of his father. Wilbur was wearing his signature Pogtopia trenchcoat, but instead of the plain white shirt under it, he wore Ghostbur's signature yellow sweater. He looked like he had aged twenty years, with some wrinkles on his face and gray hairs, the most noticeable being a long streak of it at the front of his hair. His eyes were no longer the light brown he had known his father to have all his life, instead, his pupils were now blood red. Wilbur's face was blank, showing no outward emotion. But his eyes had the same crazed shine that they did in Pogtopia.
Fundy wanted to run far away. He wanted to bolt out of there, find somewhere to hide. But he was frozen in fear, and no matter how hard he tried his body refused to cooperate. Fundy swallowed as Wilbur stopped in front of him, face breaking out into a crazed grin, the same grin he often wore in Pogtopia.
"Well, well, well, look who it is! My traitor of a son!"
"H-hi Wilbur." Fundy greeted, voice shaking.
"What? You're not happy to see dear ole dad?" Wilbur taunted, slapping Fundy on the shoulder.
Fundy flinched away, taking a step back. Huh...guess his body finally decided to move. "No no...I am." he said quickly, trying to placate his father.
Wilbur seemed to grin even wider as he chuckled darkly, "So, you're still lying to me." he said, grabbing Fundy by his collar and lifting him up, "I was a fool to think you had changed. After all these years you're still a disappointment."
That stung. As much as he hated to admit it, Fundy always wanted his father's love and approval. When he was growing up, Wilbur was always too busy to pay attention to him. But he always had time to pay attention to Tommy. His precious little brother, who Wilbur chose over his own son. As a child, Fundy would try to be like Tommy, thinking that he could get his father's love that way. Wilbur loved Tommy and not Fundy, so if Fundy acted more like Tommy, Wilbur would love him, right? Fundy remembers following the younger around like a lost puppy, learning to mimic his behavior. But it still wasn't good enough. Wilbur would reprimand Fundy for the same things he praised Tommy for. Eventually, Fundy gave up, recognizing that his father would never love him as much as he loved Tommy. But that didn't mean that Fundy didn't want his father's love, it just meant that he accepted that he would never get it.
When Fundy became a spy, he thought that when he revealed himself as one to Wilbur that he would finally be proud of him. Sure, Fundy had helped tear down the walls that his father built, but it was to get closer to Schlatt to be a more effective spy! Surely Wilbur would understand that he had to do it. Tubbo had done some bad stuff under Schlatt and Wilbur wasn't mad at him, so surely he wouldn't be mad at Fundy. He was dead wrong. Wilbur called him a traitor and that hurt more than anything. He was just trying to help and do what's right! Why couldn't Wilbur understand that? That moment just solidified his full acceptance that Wilbur would never love him like he loves others.
When Wilbur died and Ghostbur came around, Fundy had mixed feelings about the ghost. Wilbur had hurt him and abandoned him, but Ghostbur always came around and proclaimed how proud he was of Fundy and how much he loved him. And those statements made Fundy's heart flutter. He was finally getting the acceptance and love he always craved. But that still didn't erase the hurt that Wilbur had caused and Ghostbur, though he didn't remember any of the bad things Wilbur did, was still Wilbur. Fundy yelled at the ghost a lot, and he always regretted it and felt super guilty afterward. But Ghostbur still came to visit him even after he had been treated so horribly by his son. Fundy wishes that he could go back and spend more quality time with Ghostbur, never yelling at him and telling the kind ghost that he hated him.
But Ghostbur is dead, and Alivebur is back. The Wilbur that had hurt him so much and went insane in a ravine. The Wilbur that called Fundy 'no son of his.' And that Wilbur was standing right in front of him, belittling him again, calling him a traitor and a disappointment.
Fundy was about to retort when an angry voice spoke up behind him, "Put him down right now."
It was Quackity. He came to save him! Quackity would protect him, Quackity was his friend and he promised that as long as Fundy was a citizen of Las Nevadas, he was under Quackity's protection.
Wilbur didn't let up, tightening his grip on Fundy's collar, "Big Q! What a pleasant surprise!" he said in a fake chipper voice.
The feathers on Quackity's wings puffed up, "I said, put him down right now. I won't ask again."
Wilbur laughed, "And what can you do to make me? You're unarmed, and I'll be honest with you, your hand-to-hand combat skills are horrendous."
Quackity smirked and pulled out an enchanted netherite sword and put on his netherite armor. "Really? I'm unarmed?"
Wilbur's smile dropped. Quackity pointed the sword at Wilbur.
"Now let him go, or you'll find out what happens to people who hurt those under my protection." Quackity threatened.
"Fine." Wilbur sneered as he dropped Fundy, who quickly ran over to Quackity, hiding behind him.
"Now get the hell out of my country."
Wilbur turned around and sauntered away, face red in anger. After a few minutes, he finally stepped out of the borders of Las Nevadas to go sulk in the crappy stone house that Tommy built. Quackity then turned to face Fundy, cupping his face in his hands, searching for any injuries.
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" he asked gently.
Fundy leaned into the soft touch, "No he didn't. He just called me a disappointment, but what's new?" Fundy replied.
Quackity took his hands off Fundy's face as his expression shifted into anger. "None of what he said is true. You are not a disappointment. You are one of the greatest people I've ever met!" he said sternly.
Fundy's eyes widened as tears gathered in his eyes. "Really? I am?" he asked, disbelieving.
"Of course you are! You are hard-working, I mean look at how much of the S.S. Sally you've completed in only a few days! You're also kind and loyal to your friends, even if they have treated you badly before. You're always willing to meet new people and welcome them into your life. You met Slime and even though most people wouldn't want to be in the same room as him because he's a little strange, you decided to befriend him, even if you were weirded out at first. You also welcomed Purpled and Foolish with open arms! You're also brave! You fought in wars at such a young age and you're still standing!" Quackity exclaimed, waving his hands around while he spoke.
Quackity pulled Fundy into a hug, "You are not and will never be a disappointment." he whispered.