The next day, at Darcy's House...

"Lincoln, why are you asking me such a question?"

Lisa sat on her side of Darcy's bed, with Darcy making a drawing nearby, trying not to pay attention to Lisa's phone call.

"It's just that, while I was making sure I didn't, I realized that you never mentioned Dad during your little rant explaining your issues with the whole house," the white-haired boy answered. "I was wondering if you had any idea of what happened to him?"

"I'm afraid I'm just as lost as you are, Lincoln," Lisa shook her head. "Quite honestly, I think he simply escaped my mind while I was doing the rant. Although, now that I think about it, I don't think we've seen him for a while now."

"Do you think something happened to him?" Lincoln asked.

"I don't think so, Royal Woods isn't a place of big or frequent crime, it's fairly safe," Lisa argued. "Although, while we can rule out the idea that something happened to him related to crime, he might've been busy with something else at the moment. Perhaps he got a very important customer in his restaurant, and he's spent a lot of time there?"

"But it's been days since we last saw him," Lincoln pointed out. "He hasn't even called us or anything to explain his absence."

"Perhaps he's just busy with his restaurant," Lisa suggested. "You know what happened last time he had a food critic and we were there to muck it up. Sure, the critic liked the mundane thing he made, but just cuz one critic did, doesn't mean they all will. Just be patient, I'm sure he'll appear eventually."

"I hope so," Lincoln sighed. "Well, I gotta go get the girls ready to change for the better. Goodbye."

Lisa ended the call, and as soon as she hung the phone, Darcy went to her side and revealed her drawing to her: The drawing was of Lisa with her sisters, all looking happy... and the sisters looking completely different from the real deal.

"I made it to give you motivation just in case something happens," Darcy glanced at her drawing. "I kinda had to go blind since you never told me how your sisters looked like, either that or I don't remember, but I hope you like it anyway."

"Darcy... thanks a lot for the drawing," Lisa said as she grabbed the picture. "But, I need to ask, are you okay with the whole operation so far? I think it's a bit unfair that I don't hear your opinion on it, since I'm acting as a symbiotic organism in your household for an extended period of time."

Darcy raised an eyebrow, prompting Lisa to chuckle and explain:

"I'm living in your house for a while, but I haven't asked if you're okay with the idea."

"Oh, well, yeah, I don't mind it," Darcy hugged Lisa. "I mean, it's like I have a sister who's much smarter, but wants to learn how to be a normal toddler! It's like I was your bigger sister! Although, I wonder if you're really younger than me."

"I believe we're around the same age. I think." Lisa patted Darcy's back and sighed, "I'll have to ask both my and your Mom to confirm my assumption, won't I?"

"Speaking of Mom, I think you should ask her about this, too," Darcy and Lisa separated. "Although, maybe later, since she might be a bit... upset today."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by, upset?"

Next thing the pair knew, they were down in the living room, watching as Darcy's Mother checked her mails, inspected the lower level of the house, and in general, she seemed to be doing half a dozen things a second.

"Okay, now I see what you mean by "upset," Lisa remarked. "This is the first time I see your Mother acting like this, is somebody important coming?"

"Actually, Dad's going to come pay me and Mom a visit today!" Darcy chirped. "The reason he's coming is because his other family would most likely drive both of us nuts, so, for our sake, only he'll pay us a visit."

"Your Dad had another family, despite having you?" Lisa asked, earning a nod from her friend. "What kind of parental figure would do that?!"

"A divorced one, according to Mom!" Darcy giggled, then whispered close to Lisa's ear, "What does divorce mean, by the way?"

Naturally, Lisa didn't have the heart to tell the sad truth to her friend, so she simply patted her back and answered, "You'll find out when you get older."

And soon enough, somebody knocked the door, catching Darcy's Mother's attention. She walked to the door, with Lisa and Darcy by her side, and opened the door, expecting a certain someone to come along.

And the guy outside... was revealed to be Lynn Sr.

"What the-!?"

And he held a "to-go" food delivery, "Food delivery, right here!"

Lisa sighed in... slight relief as Darcy's Mom said, "Thanks a lot, I didn't have enough time to cook dinner myself, and knowing my husband, he's probably going to bring nothing either. You're a life saver."

"And all I ask in return is that you'll be my wallet saver," Lynn Sr. quipped before extending his hand forward. "This delivery will be 20 dollars. This part, at least."

The woman took out the money and quipped, "You know, for a wallet saver, you seem rather cheap. Most people would ask for more money."

"This is just the "appetizer" as the man who ordered this called it," Lynn Sr. explained. "One of my colleagues will bring the rest later, and that'll be paid by him later."

Darcy's Mother sternly frowned. "I think I have a good idea who bought this, then."

"And the buyer told me to keep you company, just in case he doesn't arrive in time," Lynn Sr. sheepishly added before handing the woman a note. "And in case you don't believe me, here's his written order."

"Okay, now I 100% know who bought this," Darcy's Mother bitterly stated as she read the order. "Well, if Darcy's Father's such a bum he knows he probably won't come, we might as well treat the freaking food delivery man like he was her real father."

"But he's my father," Lisa pointed out.

"Lisa?" Lynn Sr. blurted, walking closer to meet the girl face-to-face. "Why are you here?"

The Prodigy looked at Darcy, who just shrugged, and then she turned back to her father and said, "There's something I gotta tell you."

A little bit later...

Darcy, her mother, Lisa, and Lynn Sr. sat at the kitchen table, eating the food the man had ordered-well, Lynn Sr. wasn't eating it, for obvious reasons-and the man scratched the back of his head as he processed what the situation Lisa told him dealt with.

"I see, so that's what happened," the delivery man remarked. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart, I wish I could've been there to try and get things to calm down."

Lisa shrugged. "Being honest, you probably wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway."

Flustered, Lynn Sr. stuttered, "B-But still, I could've tried!"

"Maybe, but that's not important right now," Lisa turned to Darcy. "So, it's been a while, and my father's statement made me curious; Are you sure your dad's even going to come?"

"Dad will come, he usually takes a long time to arrive, that's all!" Darcy rolled her eyes and turned to Lisa. "Just be patient, and if you can't do that, we can play "Dance, Dance, Resolution" until he gets here! It'll be fun!"

"That sounds... fine," Lisa looked elsewhere. "But... well-"

Darcy frowned. "What is it?"

"...Nah, nevermind," Lisa waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "I'm already asking a lot of both you and your Mother by letting me stay here for a month, dragging you into my issues would be asking too much."

With that said, Darcy narrowed her eyes and stated bluntly, "Lisa, as long as you're in my house, you're my honorary sister. And whether you're older or younger, sisters are there for each other whenever one's troubled! So don't feel bad about telling me what's wrong, 'cause I don't mind helping you."

"Well, my issue lies mostly with my father unit," Lisa revealed, before turning to the man himself. "You see, just a moment ago, Lincoln called me and said how he and our siblings discovered that you haven't appeared in a while. When you came through that door, I was worried that you were Darcy's father, which would make us half-sisters."

"Oh, Lisa, I'm sorry about that, it's just that I've been incredibly busy with work lately that I haven't been able to stay at home for long," Lynn Sr. explained. "Like a week ago or something, the same customer I mentioned? His order was so big, that the other chefs and I had no choice but to stay working overtime since then to try and get everything done in time."

"Huh, sounds like Darcy's father has a flair for exaggerations," Lisa quipped, before sighing, "I understand, though. Hopefully, when you get back home, you can help Lincoln change Mom and my sisters for the better."

"It's the least I can do, right?" Lynn Sr. quipped.

Everybody chuckled, and Lisa went back to eating the food, hoping that everything was going well on Lincoln's end. After all, there were still a couple weeks before the month finished, the sisters had plenty of time to change, just like how Lisa had plenty of time to enjoy being a normal toddler.

Hopefully, things would only get better from here.