The next day, when they left, Luciano offered to drop off Vern's motorbike back at the base for him. Vern thanked him both for that favor and for letting him and his companions stay before the four headed out on horseback once again.
    It was another day's travel to Yoglabs, during which time a lot of banter and jokes were shared in an effort to keep away from awkward silences or simply boredom. Andy often brought up the fact she had found Clancy and Vern practically on top of each other on the couch that morning.
    Clancy's cheeks would always get red and Vern would always find some way of insulting Clancy to make it very clear of his distaste for the scientist.
    They arrived at Yoglabs, since they left Roma early and took few breaks, just after sunset. They saw the lights in the distance and Clancy knew they were close, when they each in turn rose over a rise in the earth and paused to look.
    The science facility was marked by its signature, ridiculously massive iron door. It was round, perhaps a hundred feet tall and the same wide. Sticking out of the same mountain the door was built into was a rusted pipe, spilling what looked like just water into the river below.
    Vern wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I read those are chemicals."
    "You read wrong." Clancy said. "It's simply water."
    Vern glared at Clancy side long. "I also read that the Labs like to keep secrets from meager interns, Clarence."
    Clancy stared at him a few seconds, then started forward with a quiet, "Don't call me that."
    Vern rolled his eyes and followed Clancy towards the unmissable door. Andy followed him with a tired sigh, Deanna looking about to fall out of her saddle from exhaustion for some reason.
    Andy looked at her. "Tired, dear?"
    Deanna sighed. "I couldn't fall asleep again last night after that nightmare..."
    "Nightmare?" Vern asked. "What would you possibly have a nightmare about?"
     Deanna shook her head. "I don't know... I can't remember any of it."
    Andy smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure it was nothing."
    Deanna didn't answer, looking down.
    Clancy stopped at the door and as the others stared up at it, he swung out of his saddle and pushed the small button by the side. There were a few moments before a voice came from the grate above the button.
   "Yes, hello?"
   "It's Barlow, I'm here to do some investigating on the Star case."
   "Yes, yes, Sky Army called ahead. Go on."
   There was a loud click before the door cracked open wide enough for all four riders and their horses to step easily through. Instead of climbing back onto his horse, Clancy took hold of its reigns and led it inside, the others following.
    After all were in, the door closed behind them, causing Vern to jump and glance back at it. He then looked around. He was in a big white room. On the ceiling was a sort of room, filled with glass. It was the security room, where guards would watch newcomers from above. Vern assumed they also had screens inside to watch other rooms via camera.
    From the sort of lobby they were in came two hallways, winding far out of sight to who knows where. As he was looking around, the four heard a voice.
   "You arrived sooner than expected."
   Clancy looked up and smiled, but his expression held no joy. "Professor Gosencrantz." He greeted.
   The old man nodded to him as he walked from the far right hallway over to Clancy. "You're well on schedule, Intern Barlow. You may as well start investigating tomorrow." Gosencrantz said.
    Clancy shrugged. "Fine by me. So what are their rooms?" He nodded to the others."
    "Oh, unfortunately, you'll have to share." Gosencrantz said.
    Clancy blinked. "All of us?"
    "In one room?" Andy asked.
    "Yes, young lady, we have a shortage of dorms at the moment." Gozencrantz turned and started walking, waving a hand. "Leave your horses there, they'll be cared for. I'll meet you all at the crime scene tomorrow morning. Barlow, I'm sure you haven't been away so long you've forgotten the way to your room. Or are you just as foolish as always?"
    Clancy sighed. "No, Professor..."
    "Good. Goodnight, young ones." Then he left the same way he had come.
    Clancy stuck his tongue out after him before turning to Vern, Andy, and Deanna. "C'mon."
    As led his friends into one of the hallways, Deanna ran up to his side. "Does Professor Gozen-guy not like you?"
    "Nobody does." Clancy said, his voice low. He didn't seem to be in too great of a mood all of the sudden.
    "That's simply not true!" Andy said. "I like you a lot."
    "Me too!" Deanna agreed.
    "I don't like you at all." Vern put in, crossing his arms.
    Clancy rolled his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know, Italy."
    Vern scoffed. "Whatever. We passed a break room back there, I think I'll get a coffee."
    "Knock yourself out." Clancy said waving a hand. Unfortunately, he didn't quite pay attention to what Vern had said.
    Vern branched off from the group before Clancy stopped at a certain door. He pulled his keys out of his labcoat pocket and unlocked the door, stepping inside. He flicked on the light and Andy and Deanna both peered inside.
   It was one room, with a bathroom door open. There was no closet or any other door beside the bathroom door and the front door. There was no furniture besides a rather uncomfortable-looking bed with old green sheets and a floor lamp beside it.
    Andy shrugged mildly. "...Could be worse..."
    Clancy shook his head. "Nah, it couldn't..." He flopped down on the bed. "Home sweet home..."
    Andy and Deanna exchanged sad glances. Deanna cleared her throat awkwardly. "I-I think I'll take a shower..."
    "Go ahead hon." Andy said. Clancy said nothing. Andy leaned in the doorway and stared at Clancy fixedly for several minutes, until she heard the shower water start in the bathroom. She closed the front door.
    "You hate it here." She said.
    "It's fine..." Clancy said.
    Andy shook her head. "This place is poisoning you. The second you walked in you lost ninety percent of your charm and your wit. Why?"
    "You wouldn't understand." Clancy sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed, staring down at them.
    Andy hesitated for several seconds before she walked over to him, her heels clicking on the solid white floors with every step before she sat beside him. "Try me." She said.
    Clancy looked up at her and searched her face before he sighed. "Look, it's simple. I don't have any friends here, and all the professors hate me."
    "Why?" Andy asked.
    "...I don't know." Clancy lied. He knew exactly why. He was too smart to not realize why. He was too observant to notice their distastes for him grow after the incident. He knew precisely why everyone had grown to treat him as the shadow in the corner, the anti-social kid who always worked alone. He knew.
    Andy stared at him, then sighed. "When are you going to start trusting us?" She asked.
    Clancy raised an eyebrow. "Who's us? You? Deanna? Vern?" He shook his head. "I'm starting to trust you. Deanna is impossible to mistrust. But Vern? Not in this lifetime."
    Andy looked away. "He has good intentions, Clancy. He just doesn't know how to deliver them."
    Clancy snorted. "Good intentions... If people were judged purely by their intentions, do you realize how many super villains would be heroes?"
   Andy smiled sadly. "You're right... But something is bothering you."
   Clancy didn't speak for several minutes. Then he looked down. "I think my feelings are playing tricks on me."
   "How so?" Andy queried, tilting her head.
    Clancy huffed. "I think I have a crush on Exodus." He looked at Andy. "Is that wrong?"
    "Wrong?" Andy asked. "Honey, no feeling is wrong. No, no, no, you can feel whatever you like. You can be at a funeral feeling no remorse for the dead at all. As long as you don't act on the negative feelings, you're perfectly alright. That's Vern's problem. He says his feelings, even when they can be hurtful. I think he's become so accustomed to telling the truth, he can't help it anymore. Be patient with him, Clancy. He's trying his best. And as for Exodus? I'm sorry to say he doesn't swing your way, dear. But I must agree, he is quite attractive isn't he?"
    Clancy chuckled slightly. "Yeah... I think it's the hair."
    Andy shook her head. "Nah, I like his shoulders. Very broad. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the bigger built."
    Clancy smiled a little. "Thanks Andy..."
    Andy ruffled his hair. "Hopefully soon you'll trust me enough to do your roots."
    Clancy looked up. "Are they starting to show?"
    "Oh honey, you're starting to look like you've got brown and blue ombré."
    Clancy winced. "Alright, fine, I'll let you do my roots."
    Andy grinned. "I'll tell Deanna!"

About an hour later, Deanna and Andy has gone to bed, sharing Clancy's bed. Deanna had done Clancy's roots for him with magic, which was quick and clean. He was quite impressed with the job and liked the coloring. Yes, he should definitely keep the blue.
    Clancy sat on the floor in his dark room, unable to sleep. He thought of his usual oddities for a while before, inexplicably, Vern popped into his head.
   He's been gone for quite a while now. He said he was just going to the break room right?
   Clancy thought on that for a few seconds before it sank in. He froze.
    The break room.
    Clancy scrambled to his feet and quickly left the room, trying his best not to wake up the girls but knew that wasn't the big issue at the moment. He ran down the hall and looked into the break room, where the door was agape.
    In the back of the room, by the coffee machine, there was a glass of 'coffee' spilled on the floor. Clancy and the other interns at the Labs knew better. They knew that whatever was in the coffee machine was anything but coffee. But Vern had no way of knowing that.
    Clancy let out a panicked sound and sprinted out of the break room. He ran up the stairs and into the security room.
    Of course, the security guard on duty was asleep as usual. Clancy looked at the monitors, his eyes wide. He wasn't looking long before he found Vern. His eyes widened even more. Vern had gone into the cloning lab.
   He gasped and ran back out of the security room and down the stairs again. He wasn't used to running this much, but he didn't care as he ran past the door of the clone labs and down the stairs. "Vern! Do not touch anything!" He stopped as he saw Vern reaching towards a cloning vat. "VERN!"
    Vern jumped and looked over at him. Clancy grabbed his hand, dragging him away from the vat. "How much coffee did you drink?!"
    Vern laughed a little. "So many."
    Clancy tilted his head. "Uh... Okay. Okay, but you do not ever go in the cloning lab, do you understand."
    "Go in the cloning lab." Vern said, nodding. "Got it." He started to pull away clumsily, tripping over himself. Clancy quickly pulled him close to catch him. "Vern, c'mon, I need you to work with me here, we need to go!"
    "I don't wanna...!"
    "I'm not asking Vern, we need to leave, now!"
    "But-!"
    "Barlow!"
    Clancy froze. He closed his eyes, his expression full of regret. He let go of Vern, who was staring behind him with wide eyes. Clancy turned around, opening his eyes again. Standing before him was a man, tall and slim. He wore a white labcoat over a blue striped shirt. He had short brown hair and a well-groomed beard, and blue eyes glowing with rage.
    Clancy stared at him. "Let me explain, si-"
    "We're far past explanations, Barlow." Professor Lewis Xephos said, looking very, very angry. "This lab is restricted. Are you aware of what that means?!"
    Clancy sighed. "Yes, sir."
    "I don't think you do! Or perhaps you're stupid enough to break that rule anyways!" Lewis glared at him steadily for several seconds before he looked away.
    "You're fired."
    Clancy froze. "...P... Professor-!"
    "I don't want any if, ands, or buts." Lewis growled. "As soon as the investigation is over, you are to leave this place and leave your labcoat and ID at the door."
    Clancy stared at him in horror.
    "You heard me, Barlow. We'd be relieved to be rid of your foolishness anyways. Not get out."
   Clancy looked down, before he grabbed Vern's wrist and practically dragged him out of the Labs. Vern appeared to know he had done something wrong, and he looked down.
    Once Clancy finally arrived back in his room, he shoved Vern inside so hard he fell to the floor on his backside. "What is wrong with you?!" Clancy shouted at him, slamming the door shut.
    Andy and Deanna both snorted awake. Andy squinted at them. "What's goin' on...?"
    Clancy ignored her. "What, did you think it would be funny?! Is this some sick revenge for your sister?! That want my FAULT jackass!"
    Vern stared up at him somewhat fearfully from the floor.
    "What, now you have nothing to say?!"
    Andy got out of bed as Deanna sat up, her eyes wide. "Clancy, what happened?"
    "He got me FIRED." Clancy shouted.
    "I-I didn't mean-"
    "JUST SHUT UP." Clancy shouted at him, making Vern reel back in alarm.
    "Clancy!" Deanna squeaked.
    "This place is my life! It's my home!" Clancy yelled. "Without Yoglabs, I have nowhere to go! Are you happy now Vern?!"
    Vern hesitated before he spoke quietly. "I-I don't know why you're so upset... Yoglabs is a-awful anyway."
    Clancy stared at him in silence for several seconds before he let out a loud roar of anger and lunged at him. Vern let out a cry. Andy gasped loudly, covering her hand with her mouth.
    But before Clancy could reached him, Deanna stepped between him. Her face was strangely stony, her eyes dark. She held out her hands between each of them.
    Before anyone could react, Deanna's eyes flashed a neon green and sparks of darker green shot out from her hands, throwing Clancy and Vern back against opposite walls hard enough to knock both of them out. The green in Deanna's eyes faded to its usual dark brown and her hands dropped to her sides. She looked at Vern, then at Clancy as Andy watched in total shock.
    She didn't think Deanna had any magic. But here she was, using spells characteristic of a Witch, the most powerful of all Magists. Deanna seemed to realize this too, and she looked at Andy with wide eyes before her legs gave out from under her and she too fell to the ground unconscious, leaving Andy the only one standing.
    She swallowed. "...Well..."