Yon’s place had changed little since they were last here, though this time no one came close to getting shot. They gave the turret, still in the same location as last time, a wide berth. Kano called for Yon until she came down to meet them.

“What’s up?” Yon said. “Have you come for another dissection?”

Kano nodded. “Pretty much. This time I want you to take a look at my brain.”

“Wait, really?” Yon asked, eyes wide.

“Yep.”

Yon’s face split into a grin, and she gestured toward her lair. “I’d be delighted. Right this way.”

“What brought this on?” Yon asked as they walked through the refurbished ruin. “I’m guessing it wasn’t because you enjoyed the experience so much last time.”

Kano shrugged. “Last time was fine, but I’m here because I’ve been… forgetting things. And I was hoping you could figure out why.”

“I see,” Yon said. “Well, I can’t promise anything, but I’m more than happy to have a look.” Outside Yon’s workroom where she’d opened up Kano last time, the necromancer pointed at Thirty-Six. “Who’s that, by the way?”

“Thirty-Six,” Kano said. “I took a whole bunch like them from that other necromancer, the one you told us about.”

Looking like she’d forgotten all about it until Kano reminded her, Yon said, “Oh, right. How’d that go, anyway?”

Kano rolled her eyes. “I obviously killed him. I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“That’s a fair point,” Yon said, nodding. “I suppose I owe you a favor, then.” Kano waved her off, and Yon continued. “So he made these things? What made you take them with you?”

Kano shook her head. “I’m not really sure. That’s part of what I’m hoping to find out.”

“All right. Let’s get you back on the table, then.” Yon turned to the others. “I’m assuming you two don’t mind waiting out here?”

“They’ll wait,” Kano said.

On the other side of the doors, Yon instructed her to lie down on the operating table, just as she had before.

“I’m sorry,” Yon said, pleased, “but I don’t have the equipment to look inside your head without cutting it open, so we’ll have to use a more direct approach. She set up a clamp that would hold Kano’s head in place and fastened it. The pressure on her skull was unpleasant but bearable.

“Is this really necessary?” Kano asked.

“Of course it is, I need your head to remain as still as possible to reduce the chance of damaging your brain. And I don’t think any of the drugs I have will work on you, which leaves us few options.”

Taking a deep breath, Kano closed her eyes and waited as Yon went to work. The electric motor of Yon’s bone saw whirred to life behind her. Kano felt only a prickling sensation as the saw cut a series of small holes in her head. Once that was done, Yon set the saw aside and Kano heard her fiddling with surgical instruments but couldn’t feel whatever it was she was doing. It was uncanny, knowing someone was doing something to her brain even though she couldn’t see or feel anything.

“How’s it going?” Kano asked.

“Don’t talk,” Yon said. “I need to concentrate. I shouldn’t be too much longer.”

Staring up at the ceiling, it felt like a long time to Kano. But eventually the necromancer set aside her tools and patched over Kano’s new holes. Yon waited until Kano was unclamped and sitting up before saying, “I couldn’t get a complete picture without more extensive surgery, but you seem to have suffered extensive damage to your brain. It’s almost certainly what’s affecting your memory, but it’s not just that. As far as I know, it should be affecting a lot more than just your memory. Are you sure you haven’t been experiencing any other problems?”

Stolen story; please report.

Kano shrugged. “None that I can think of. Other than my memory, there hasn’t really been anything wrong. What was the damage like? Do you have any idea what could have caused it?”

“From what I could see,” Yon said, “it looked like an object penetrated deep into your brain, though it seems to have happened quite a long time ago. I’m guessing you have no recollection of such an event?”

“An object?” Kano asked. “Like a bullet?”

“No, something considerably larger. More like this.” She held up a small metal dish about the size of Kano’s palm. “Honestly, I’m surprised you survived.”

Raising her hand to touch the covering on the back of her head, Kano stopped herself halfway. “Okay, so now that we know what we’re dealing with: Can you fix it?”

Yon sat down on one of the bench tops, chin resting in her palm. “I could try, but I doubt it would work. The brain is a very delicate organ. I could probably create something roughly similar to patch the hole, but I think that would cause more problems than it would solve.”

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Kano got up. “Then what am I supposed to do? Just go on living like this?”

Yon shrugged. “You have so far. But if you really want to get better… then I think there’s a way. There’s an ancient facility out in the ruins, a relic from the old world. From what I know, it should have the equipment necessary to help you. Assuming any of it still works, of course. It’s far from guaranteed, but I think it’s your only real chance.”

Kano cracked her neck. “Where is it?”

“Let me get a map.” Rummaging around in a drawer, Yon produced a hand-drawn map of the region, rendered in painstaking detail. “According to my research, it should be somewhere around here,” she said, pointing to a location in the northeast. “I’ve narrowed it down as much as I can, but my ghouls haven’t been able to get close to investigate that area in any capacity.”

“Why not?”

“Every one of them I’ve sent there ends up turning back of their own accord,” Yon said, “but I have no idea why. I’d considered going on my own, but the area is crawling with abandoned ghouls.”

Yon’s excuses seemed flimsy to Kano, but she supposed it was just the cowardice of a necromancer. So long as the facility could do what Yon said, Kano didn’t care. She’d cut a path there on her own if need be; a few ghouls were no threat. But she would need someone to operate it… “All right, I’ll go. But you’re coming, too.”

“Me?” Yon said, raising her hands. “No, no. I’m much too busy. Maybe when you’ve figured out if the facility is functional or if it’s even standing.”

Kano grabbed her by the shoulder. “You’re coming. You still owe me for taking care of that necromancer, remember?”

“I know, but—”

Kano tightened her grip and said again, “You’re coming.”

“All right, all right,” Yon said, brushing Kano’s hand off. “Just give me a little while to get ready.”

Bringing her two followers outside with her to wait for Yon, Kano explained the situation. “Do you still want to come?” she asked, addressing Thirty-Six. “It’ll probably be dangerous.”

Kano smiled at Thirty-Six’s determined expression. It seemed she needn’t even have asked. “It’s okay,” Thirty-Six said. “I’m not afraid. I’ll go with you.”

Urick sighed. “I’m guessing I don’t get any say in this.”

“Nope,” Kano said, winking at him.

Yon emerged from her lair with three ghouls heavily laden with packs in tow.

“Why are you bringing ghouls?” Kano asked. “I thought you said they couldn’t approach the place we’re going.”

Yon nodded. “That’s right. I’m just bringing them to carry supplies and protect me on the way there. I’ll send them back once we get close.” Kano didn’t see the point. It wasn’t far, and Kano herself could provide all the protection Yon would need. But she had no reason to object to their presence. Maybe Urick would find it encouraging to have more of his kind around.

They made their way through the rubble-strewn streets, making frequent detours due to their path being blocked by collapsed buildings. Kano noticed a few small groups of other ghouls along the way, but she detected them long before they found their group. Kano changed course each time, avoiding them.

It wasn’t until they were close enough to their destination and Yon sent her ghouls back that they encountered any real danger. A large number of people, at least a dozen by Kano’s reckoning, were inside a building on the path ahead.

“Can’t we just go around?” Urick asked.

“We could,” Yon said, “but there’s no guarantee that we could even enter from that side. And the other side could easily be just as dangerous, if not more.”

Kano was a little surprised that Yon had preempted her like that, but what she was saying made sense. “That’s right. We’ll charge right in and kill them all before they become a problem.”

“We?” Yon asked, arching an eyebrow. “I hope you’re not expecting me to help.”

Kano shook her head. “Seriously? You’re part of this, too, you know.”

“That may very well be the case,” Yon said, “but I’m not suited for combat. What do you need my help for, anyway? You seemed awfully confident that you could handle things on your own.”

Kano was disgusted. Were all necromancers such cowards? It would fit with her low opinion of them, but it still came as a shock. Maybe she’d just thought Yon in particular would be better than that. “Fine, stay here with Thirty-Six. Urick and I will handle this.”