Chapter Nine- Dan vs. Future

"That was a long time ago," Johnathan laughed. Dan stood with his arms folded, his expression oddly deadpan. "I was young and stupid-"

"And stalling," Dan interjected. Johnathan sighed.

"You're right," he admitted. "And you're right to want to know."

"So?" Dan asked again. Elise and Chris looked at each other with concern on their faces.

"Well lets just say my meeting her wasn't a coincidence," Johnathan started. "She had a her sister were both an infamous duo. Their wanted posters had enough zeros to fill a carton of eggs...each."

"That sounds about right," Elise smiled proudly.

"So all of it was just a ploy to spy on her?" Dan concluded. Johnathan nodded.

"That's what the whole thing started out as," he admitted. "But as unlikely as it sounds-"

"What? You ending up having feelings for her? " Dan sarcastically scoffed. "Please!" Johnathan ignored him.

"Of course, she discovered the truth eventually," he murmured. "And it lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions." He continued but Dan was only half listening.

Elise furrowed her brow. Dan might not have been able to notice, but her trained eye picked up on all the subtle gestures. An upper teeth gently piercing the bottom lip, and despite his chuckle tone, eyes serious for the first time since they'd meet.

"I had no answer for them, so she took you and left," he sighed. "A few years later, I got a call, and, well..." he paused. "She was gone. That's when I first began to doubt Broface's reliability."

"Wow, great story," Dan yapped. He shook his head and walked pasted his father, heading up the stairs. "Sorry I asked to hear it," he muttered, before closing the door behind him. Chris followed him out with a worried look, while Elise stayed behind.

"That's it?" she said.

"Afraid so," Johnathan replied. "It's time we all got normal jobs anyways. You know I used to do movie trailers? "Coming soon to a theater near you!" he boomed a voice Elise recognized from their one way video chats.

"I meant about Dan," she frowned. "With all due respect sir, he's your son."

"What should I say?"

"Anything," Elise sighed. "You lured us, him, out here for a reason, placed all those hints. It wasn't just an accident. He's here now. Don't let him just walk." Johnathan was silent for a moment. Then, without a word he ascended the stairs with Elise close behind him.

Outside, the library, and the entire rest of the mansion had disappeared. Instead replaced with a deserted plain without a sign of civilization in site.

"Dan?"

"Save it," Dan interrupted. "Let's just forget all of this ever happened and move on with our lives."

"But I don't want to move on," Johnathan said. "I tried doing that once before, and it ended up being the worse mistake of my life. So this time I'm going to trying something different."

"It's a little late for that," Dan replied. Elise turned to Johnathan who just nodded slowly.

"But if you insist," he muttered. "Dinner's on you." Johnathan mouth curled into a smile, before shrugging, faking indifference.

"Alright."

A/n: So that's it. Hope you enjoyed it. I know this chapter was super short, but I've been on this story for years since it was largely unplanned so I wanted to finish it quickly. Maybe I'll write an epilogue or sequel if you guys are into it. More planned out this time.