It took a lot of convincing to convince Yon to let a human accompany them. It seemed like she’d refuse until Thirty-Six pleaded with her. She’d never realized how good Thirty-Six was at persuading people. Maybe she was more valuable than she seemed. Though she agreed to travel with him for a little while, Yon kept a considerable distance between them, which seemed to suit Bornon just fine.

He led them through the streets to a building separated from the rest of the city by at least a hundred meters on all sides. With its thick walls and guard towers, it looked more like a fortress than a research facility. The thick concrete that made up the building looked to be in much better condition than the rest of the city.

“This is it,” Bornon said. “I haven’t been here in years, but it hasn’t changed a bit.”

“You’ve been here before?” Kano asked.

“Yeah, this is where we were all stored.”

“Then why did you leave? It looks like a better place than where you live now.”

“I doubt any of us would have left if we had a choice, but after we were brought out of suspension, the automated defenses demanded we leave. A few people tried to return over the years, but the defenses scared them off. Or worse.”

“Worse?” Thirty-Six asked.

“Some of them were shot.”

“Oh.”

Kano scratched her head. “Then how are we supposed to get in?”

“No idea,” Bornon said. “I thought you’d be able to figure out something. You’ve got a necromancer with you, don’t you? She must be able to do something about them.”

Kano caught up to Yon, who was walking ahead, and explained the facility’s situation.

“I can probably work something out,” she said, “so long as you’re willing to lend me a hand.”

“What do you need?”

“You can start by approaching the defenses and seeing how they react. It’s possible they no longer function.”

“But what if they still work?”

Yon shrugged. “Try not to get killed. You dealt with Gresitosis; you should be able to handle this.”

With a glance back at Thirty-Six and Bornon, Kano approached the facility. When she was within a few hundred meters, a siren sounded from a tower on the facility’s walls. Its piercing wail assaulted the ears of anyone within several kilometers. Kano was thinking about turning back when a series of bright flashes erupted along the walls.

Throwing up her force field, she watched as a stream of large-caliber bullets bounced off. Even at this distance, much of the gunfire was on point. Mission completed, Kano retreated before she ended up as a meat slurry. The firepower on exhibit was such that she didn’t think even Nove could get close. Breathing a sigh of relief once she was far enough away for the gunfire to cease, she went to report to Yon.

“Yep, the defenses are definitely still working.”

Yon frowned, brushing dust from her robe as she got to her feet. “Yes, I heard. It’s unfortunate, but it seems we’ll have to do this the hard way. Unless… I don’t suppose that human you brought along would be of any help?”

“I don’t really know, but I doubt it. It’s worth checking, though.” She went over to the human.

Bornon shook his head. “If I knew how to get in, I wouldn’t be standing around out here.”

“I know that,” Kano said, irritated at being so close to her objective but stuck outside, “but isn’t there anything you know that might help us get inside?”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Kano ground her teeth in frustration. Were all humans this dumb? It was unbelievable. Bornon was worse than Urick. Well, maybe that was an overstatement. But she’d met ghouls who were smarter than this, even if she couldn’t think of any right now.

“Like a way to get closer without being shot at, or maybe you could explain how to get inside if we can get close enough.”

“There’s not really any easy way in, not without the proper authorization. Which, before you ask, I don’t have. Neither do any of the others. It was built to be defensible, there shouldn’t be any obvious weaknesses.”

Kano sighed. “I see. Thanks for nothing.” Picking her way through the rubble, she returned to Yon, who was surveying the area from the roof of a mostly intact building.

“Find out anything?” Yon asked.

“Nothing useful. Are you sure we can actually get inside?”

“Of course, it’s just not going to be easy. At least for you. First, I need you to cut me some blocks of concrete, about that big.” She pointed to a chunk around the size of Kano’s head.

“How many?”

“A lot. I’ll tell you when there’s enough.” Yon descended and made her way to a clear patch of ground where she waited. Lugging the blocks around was hard work, even for Kano, so she focused on cutting the closer bits of rubble first. She stacked over two dozen in front of Yon, but it still wasn’t enough.

“How many more can you need?” Kano demanded.

“I said I’d tell you when I had enough. I’ll need at least four times as much as what you’ve brought me so far.”

“Four times?”

“That’s correct.”

Slouching, Kano stomped off in search of more material. She took her anger out on the unfeeling rubble, slicing and stabbing with her force-field-encased hands. By the time she’d gathered enough to satisfy Yon, she was exhausted. But she felt better. The necromancer had her arrange them into two humanoid shapes, then went to work.

Withdrawing four of the delicate crystalline matrixes that housed artificial souls from within her robes, she affixed a pair to each of the figures. The soul receptacles flashed with a pale light, once, twice, then dulled. Breaking apart into tiny pieces, they were lost to the wind.

Yon nodded in satisfaction as the figures before her changed shape, becoming more humanoid. The concrete used in their creation molded together into a coherent whole. By the end of their transformation, their forms were still rough and covered in sharp edges. Their limbs were blocky and uneven, and they struggled to stand. But stand they did. Yon guided them through the streets toward the facility, moving them by force of will.

“What’s the plan?” Kano asked, walking beside the procession.

“It’s simple. These two will act as decoys and shields for you. The dual souls make them quite unstable, so they won’t hold together for long, but it should be enough to get you there. Once you’re there, you need to find a way to disable the defenses. Any questions?”

Kano scratched her head. “Isn’t this still quite dangerous?”

“Yes. I never said it would be safe. Now get going.” Yon’s creations staggered off at speed, and Kano trotted to keep up. Just as before, once they got within a certain distance of the facility, the automated defenses opened fire. The golems charged forward, bullets shattering against their bodies or chipping off fragments. Kano waited until they were a few paces ahead before running after them. They weren’t that fast compared to her, but their long legs ate up the distance.

It occurred to Kano after they’d crossed more than half the distance that it would have gone very differently if the facility had anti-armor weaponry. Thankfully, it appeared to be equipped to deal with softer targets. Kano was breathing hard by the time she reached the bottom of the wall, taking shelter from the gun emplacements at a dead angle.

Checking her body, she found she’d acquired a few new scratches and bruises from the flying shrapnel. Still, she’d come through well, all things considered. The golems hadn’t fared so well. One had its leg shot out from underneath it. It continued crawling its way over, despite the withering curtain of gunfire. Its partner had fared little better, covered in deep gouges and bullet holes. Had they been ghouls, they’d have been dead many times over by this point.

The remaining golem stood at rest, facing forward. Much as Kano would have liked to sit down and rest, her job was far from finished. She still had to figure out how to disable the defenses. With her force field, she could make short work of them, if only she could reach them. However, most of the emplacements were far above her head. She could still destroy them, but it would require demolishing much of the very thing they’d come so far to find.

No, she’d have to get inside somehow. Keeping her back against the wall of the building, she circled around until she reached a door. A stream of red light appeared from a sensor above the door and swept toward Kano. She flinched and brought her field up, expecting an attack. When none came, she approached the door with her field still active, ready to cut her way inside.

However, as she came within reach, the doors slid open. Stopping in her tracks, Kano edged her way forward. She was happy to enter if they’d let her in, but she kept her eyes open for a trap. It couldn’t be this easy. Maybe the human had no idea what he was talking about? She’d have to ask Yon about it, right after she figured out how to disable the defenses.

The steel of the entry corridor gleamed, looking as if it were built yesterday. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been somewhere so clean. It was otherworldly. Was this truly something from the old world? As Kano walked through the hallway, the transparent image of a blue man appeared before her, hovering just above the ground. She recoiled, raising her hand to strike.

“Welcome to the Armonin Research Center,” he said, his voice crisp and clear. “How may I assist you?”

Kano put her hand through his body and waved it around, and it passed through without finding purchase. What was this thing, some sort of ghost? She’d never seen anything like it. It did little to make the facility feel more like it belonged in this world.

The projection chuckled. “Yes, I’m a hologram.”

Strange as the thing before her was, it seemed like something Kano could use to her advantage. “How can I turn off the defenses?” she asked.

“The defenses are there to protect this facility from outside incursions. Why would you want to turn them off?”

Kano floundered for a response. She could hardly tell them it was because she wanted to bring a necromancer inside. Then she remembered Bornon. “There’s a human who needs help. Shouldn’t you let him in without shooting at him?”

“Regardless of his circumstances, only authorized personnel are allowed access to this facility. All others are to be driven off.”

“Then why did you let me inside?”

“My directives state that I am to provide shelter to registered personnel, even if they are not part of this facility’s staff. However, due to the current state of emergency, the external defenses will still fire upon them unless they are accompanied by someone with the proper authorization.”

Kano scratched her head. “Well, where can I find someone with the ‘proper authorization,’ then?”

“Unknown. All authorized personnel are listed as dead or presumed dead. And this is just my own conjecture, but it is likely that there are no such individuals still alive.”

That made more sense to Kano than most of what he’d been saying. Of course the people who worked here would be long dead. Then why did it seem like he was waiting for them to return? He knew they weren’t going to. “You should just let people in, then. What’s the point of protecting this place if there’s no one left?”

“That is not for me to judge. I can only follow my directives. The only authorized response to the base being deserted is self-destruction. However, the self-destruct mechanism has been rendered inoperable and is beyond my ability to repair. Thus, I am left with no choice but to maintain and defend the facility.”

“You just stay here? All on your own?”

“That’s correct.”

What a dull existence. Kano doubted she would be able to tolerate it. “But why?”

“Because the directives I am bound by give me no other option.” The man’s voice remained cheery and unconcerned, as if they were discussing the weather rather than his imprisonment. If being forced to stay in this barren place didn’t bother him, then perhaps there was no problem. She wished that were the case but found it difficult to convince herself.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Kano asked. “Wouldn’t you rather be free?”

For the first time, the hologram paused. When he spoke, he sounded unaffected. Were it not for his slight frown, Kano could’ve believed he didn’t care. “Compared to my duty, my wants are immaterial.”

“But what if you could be free of this place?”

“That would… not be undesirable.”

It wasn’t much, but Kano felt the inkling of an idea forming in her mind. “What would happen if I disconnected you? Would you still have to follow these directives or whatever?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I would be free.”