The dark soldier that had once been Kazan grabbed his guns quickly, aiming out at the crowd, inciting an immediate panic, screams of terror as the creature prepared to fire, but found his impulses blocked, a look of confusion spreading across its maniacal face as it brought one of the guns to its face, staring at its finger. it wouldn't budge, it refused to. The beast then turned, hearing the scream from above. A familiar voice, one that it would like to silence as it leapt up the stairs swiftly, reaching the top with bizarre speed and somersaulting overhead, landing on the wall and pointing one of the guns at Robyn and Grant again, snickering as it did so, it was getting control again, it could feel the finger weakening.

But the more it stared at Robyn the more something felt very wrong. It's arm jerked violently, the gun angling itself to hit the beast in its own face and cause it to tumble off its perch and onto the wall in confusion, jaw opening in a shriek of confusion, the black haze had disappeared from the arm momentarily before reconstituting itself, but then its other arm moved out from under it, causing him to fall flat on his face. The hand dropped the gun, reaching then to its own neck, trying to strangle the creature.
But again the haze returned and it aimed again at Robyn, but again a malfuction, half its face faded away to reveal Kazan beneath it, his eye was dull, almost as if he wasn't really there at all, but something was evident. There was another war raging inside.. It reached p to cover the half that had faded, forcing it to reconstitute and raising a gun at Robyn once again.

Except it wasn't aiming at Robyn, well, it certainly would have been if it wasn't for the blinding light that forced itself between Grant, Robyn and the beast. Even as the rest of the dark soldiers began scaling the walls, the dark Kazan stared up at this glowing light, for in it stood Naraya, wearing a simple dress, a peaceful look on her face,
To change destiny, a sacrifice has to be made.. And I made it.
Her voice echoed softly as she looked over her shoulder at Grant, smiling, before she lunged towards Kazan, lifting his conflicted body,
Back to sleep with you.. She added softly, her hand going through the beast and tearing away the entire black haze, it dissipated around him like smoke and he lay there, heaving, gasping for breath, but the light had gone, disappearing in a flash, only to re appear in the field, standing before the Emperor.
A residual energy hung in the air by Robyn and Grant, swirling around them before the pieces homed in on Naraya's sun, absorbing into him, piece by piece,
My gift is now yours, my son, use it wisely, take them to Bartlett, the new future requires this, or it is a loss that will aid a darker end..

Out on the field, the Emperor stared in disbelief at the figure before him, not even paying attention to the battlefield, the fighting on the walls as the rest of the dark soldiers continued their renewed rampage,
"This kingdom is too good for you to destroy. Neither you or your puppets will win today. Begone!"
"And if we refuse?"
"You speak as though you had a choice." Naraya responded with a smile. The glowing light of her form beginning to expand and spread, tearing itself apart into a swarm of dovelike shapes that streaked through the air quickly, ploughing into the dark soldiers on the wall, forcing them off, destroying the dark essence. And the burning light, the holy energy..
The emperor stumbled back, away from it, screaming at the sight of it, he had to escape, to flee, perhaps this once, but they would be back. They would be back..

Robyn and Grant both watched as the apparition of Naraya appeared. Almost immediately, though, Robyn's attention was pulled to Kazan. She didn't think she'd ever been so afraid as she had been when the guns that she had made had ended up being pointed at her by the man she made them for, and she was grateful that she hadn't been killed. But now, her focus was shifted from that to Kazan again.

As soon as the blackness dissolved, Robyn pulled herself free from Grant's hold and fell to her knees next to Kazan.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she moved to help him up. "Kazan?" Please be alright, she added in her head desperately. Please be my Kazan again. She wasn't even paying attention to anything else anymore; all of her thoughts were on the man in front of her.

Grant, on the other hand, was struggling to narrow his focus again. His heart lurched when he saw his mother, and he felt the child-like impulse to beg her to stay, even though he knew it was too late for that. He was distracted enough that he couldn't hold Robyn back any more, and she slipped from his grasp.

He didn't have time to really think about anything else before the apparition of his mother vanished and the light she left behind started to absorb into him. At first, nothing seemed to happen, and then it was suddenly as if his mind had opened up and was trying to do everything at once. For a moment or two that felt like an eternity, all he could see were vague flashes and images and snatches of sound that dissolved as quickly as they appeared. Then the torrent lessened a bit and he was able to concentrate on the outside world again.

The ghost of Naraya turned to look at the city for one last moment, smiling at it, it was a shame to leave, a shame to surrender her tight grip on the protective shield she'd developed to cover her son from this world. But she knew she could accept now, that he was old enough, capable enough to survive without her to guide him, she whirled up into the air softly, becoming a simple glowing sphere that shot up towards the sky. the future now had an uncertain future, it was up to the current generation to avert ultimate disaster, there was no more she could surrender.
It was time to see an old friend..

Kazan shifted after a moment, his skin seemed pale, the blood drained, his form cold, but he was alive as his eyes stared up towards the sky, watching the spirit of Naraya whirl into the heavens, disappearing into the clouds. It was oddly soothing, but after a moment the sounds of reality caught up with his brain. Kazan's eyes shifted to Robyn, looking at her face, the sound of desperation in her voice, the look... He moved again, turning so he could slowly push himself up into a more stable sitting position,
"Oh man.. It feels like I tried to challenge Bear to a hugging contest, several times.." He uttered with a groan, barely aware of what had just occurred, "What happened..?" He questioned, looking around, "Last thing I can remember.. I was looking at The Emperor out on the field,"

When Kazan looked at her, Robyn threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and holding on.

"Please don't scare me like that again," she mumbled into his shoulder. She wasn't sure if she was trembling or if he was, but she didn't quite care at the moment. For now, she was more focused on reminding herself that he was there and back to normal. "Ever." She clung to him, not wanting to get go, as if he would turn back into a monster if she did.

Grant still felt a bit dazed, but he was coming back out of it gradually. He went back over the last few minutes in his head, trying to sort out what had actually happened from what had only gone on in his mind.

"Something... happened," he ventured, working through everything in his head. "You... turned into a monster... I think?" He glanced at Robyn for confirmation, and blinked when he saw the mechanic clinging so tightly to the soldier. Robyn nodded, although she still didn't let go of Kazan.

Indeed, there was an old friend waiting for Naraya.

"I wasn't expecting you to take so long to show up, Naraya," Seamus O'Brien teased, chuckling. "What took you?"

"Don't sass me, you, I was a little busy looking after my son, changing the fate of the world as we know it. You know.. The usual." Naraya's voice replied to Seamus with a distant chuckle, "Do they have any good drinks up here..?"

"I did what now..?" the soldier asked, staring blankly at Grant, "I'm pretty sure I'd remember if I.." He stared at Robyn as she confirmed it, "Oh.. Crap.." He muttered, grimacing at the idea of whatever had happened, it had upset Robyn, that was bad enough, he reached his arms around her carefully, hugging the mechanic, though he could feel the sudden fatigue hit him, whatever had happened, he felt drained, frankly part of him was feeling sick internally. the thought of turning into a monster didn't seem right, yet he felt almost as if he should have known that would occur, especially after the last attack.

Which meant whatever it was..
"I don't think that's the last time we'll see it.." He muttered, letting go of Robyn and turning over to push himself up on his feet. He rose to full standing and for a moment glanced over the battlefield. what remaining forces there were of Varstradt, they were fleeing now, some still being shot down. he could see the fallen forms of soldiers where they had not previously been, voids where they had. It didn't make sense.. Had they returned to life..?
Finally he looked at Grant again, wanting to stand firm but he ended up stumbling back a little, having to lean against the wall for support,
"Is there anything else your mother my have said about me..? Any clue as to what's wrong with me..? I want this thing out, I want it gone, I cant fight Varstradt if they can do that to me again.."

Grant shook his head even as he worked through everything whirling through his mind.

"I don't think so," he said carefully. He turned his head towards Robyn and Kazan, but he wasn't looking at them, rather, he kind of stared past them with his thoughts elsewhere. "Although... she did tell me to take you to see Bartlett... She mentioned it more than once, and said it was important." He blinked a few times as his thoughts began to clear, and he shook his head a bit.

Robyn went over and tucked herself under one of Kazan's arms, giving him a bit of support. She didn't blame him for being unsteady after what happened, but she didn't make any sort of comment on it, either. She wanted to stick close to him, though, and make sure he was really okay.

Seamus chuckled again.

"The first thing you ask for is a drink?" he teased. "Well, I suppose I'm not one to talk... I did, too. Great minds and all that, ya know." After a moment, he decided to change the subject a bit. "I don't suppose you would know if my apprentice has managed to get herself into trouble since I've been gone, hm?"

"Oh no no no, she's perfectly fine.. Well.. So long as my son gets her and what is currently a ticking time-bomb of a boyfriend to my dear old brother." Naraya replied rather casually, though she had faith in her son, "I just hope he takes that sword along too.. Or things are going to get very complicated.."

"Bartlett?" Kazan asked, wondering who Grant was on about, he didn't actually know anyone by that name in this town, at least not yet, he certainly hadn't explored everywhere. Kazan stopped, there was anoise coming from the city, close tot he wall.. It was cheering. That's right, people had probably learned by now that the Varstradt empire had been beaten back again, another humiliating loss, but a lot of the people cheering were looking up in their direction, in the direction of the mighty cannon that had saved their home.
He walked with Robyn to the edge of the wall and looked down, the sound of the cheering rushed up the wall far louder and he took it in for a moment, staring across the street at the celebrating people. The soldiers had not even breached the walls, although there were man fallen and wounded to tend to, the people were hopeful.
It sent an odd pulse of pride through him. Something he hadn't felt for a long time he was pretty sure.

He leaned back from the noise, glancing over at Grant,
"You probably know what's best now.. where do we find this Bartlett?"

Seamus paused when he heard that.

"Ticking time-bomb boyfriend?" he repeated, in a bit of disbelief. "What has my apprentice gotten herself into now?" He gave a small snort. "I guess things are getting interesting." Last he checked, Robyn hadn't been interested in anything but machines. Apparently, that had changed.

"Yeah," Grant replied. "My uncle, of sorts. Mother said we need to go see him as soon as we can." He paused, trying to go through all of his new information. "...And she said something about a sword...?" He looked at Kazan and Robyn. "I think she meant the one that Bear just finished... I don't know of any others she could possibly have been referring to."

Robyn just shook her head a bit, since she couldn't shrug while supporting Kazan.

"Maybe," she said. She blinked when she heard the cheering, and went over to the side of the wall with Kazan to see what was going on. She was surprised to see so many people from the town out and about already. She had expected them to stay inside for a while, until they were sure everything was overwith.

Grant nodded when Kazan said it was probably best to find Bartlett.

"I know where he is," he replied. "I think it would be best to rest at least until tomorrow, though. Until you can walk under your own power again and all."

"Oh she's as blind as bat to the extent of her feelings towards that young man, but I'm rather sure it will be cemented in her mind for good soon.. Or perhaps later.. I didn't think that they would be re-established so soon though.. The Lastdvell Knights.. They don't know it yet.. But alas.." Naraya tapped her nose gently with a malicious grin, "Spoilers, sweety.."

Kazan glanced aside to Robyn for a moment, looking at her a bit more clearly, now that he felt a little more strength in him he couldn't help but remember that she'd bee clinging to him so desperately when he awoke.. He almost found it odd, but then maybe not..
"We should go home and get things ready.. Hey Grant you mentioned a sword, you mean the special one he has in that case, right?" Kazan questioned, remembering it himself, "You should go ask him about it. If your mother mentioned it, it's probably important." He moved towards the stairs, "Come on, I think I finished my notes on the manipulation of energy in fire-arms. They should prove useful to your guild if they intend to use it while we're not here."

Grant nodded.

"That's the one," he confirmed when Kazan asked about the sword. "I need to talk to him and ask if we can take it. I have a pretty good idea now of who commissioned it, even if I don't know why."

"Then let's go back," Robyn piped up. "Get cleaned up and everything." That, and she wanted to make sure Kazan was really okay, and she wanted a chance to unwind just a little after everything that had happened. She glanced up at Kazan. "Are you okay to walk back home?"

Seamus snorted.

"Naraya, dear, knowing you for as long as we did, Clay and I got used to your spoilers," he said. "At least tell me one thing... will my apprentice get through whatever it is you planned for okay? I was supposed to look after her, and now I can't even do that..."

"I take offence to that! I didn't tell you the really good things, like your favourite apprentice coming to you. Speaking of whom, her destiny is.. Interesting to say the least.. You dont need to worry any more O'brien, she's in good hands."

Kazan smiled towards Robyn calmly, her concern was oddly comforting in itself, he nodded, but he placed an arm around her anyway, he didn't know which action was the bigger lie, the nod or the use of her to help balance. He knew he'd be able to walk all right but a little lack of confidence made him trust her to keep him on his feet.
He wasn't even aware of the raging turmoil still fighting within. Whilst quelled and forced into the recesses of his soul, it lurked there.. Two sides threatened to tear themselves apart. Every glance at Robyn brought balance, kept it at bay..
"Robyn.. I didn't hurt anyone when I.. Changed.. Did I..?" Kazan questioned curiously, gaze fixed on her again, he had to know he hadn't gone completely out of control and he wasn't sure why, he just wanted to know there was some semblance of him still there. The prospect of turning into a monster wasn't an enjoyable one.


As they closed in on the crowd of people there was a moments silence as they stared at him, many of them had been there when he fell from the wall, but to see him as himself.. And considering all he had done to fight off Lastdvell. The latter seemed to overtake their senses as they began cheering again, some reaching out to touch his armoured shoulders or arm, others placing their hands on Robyn in the same respect, smiling and pouring their thanks forth.
If the people of their street knew anything, it was that a creation like the cannon was down to the genius of a mechanic like Robyn and since O'brien wasn't here, the logical creator was none other than the girl who had helped them all so many times before.
Kazan meanwhile was again feeling that strange emotion, that euphoria.. To be cheered on by a thankful crowd..
Incredible..

Robyn kept herself tucked neatly next to Kazan, letting him lean on her if he needed to. Even though he said he was alright to walk back, his actions told a different story, and she could feel him leaning on her every so often. She bit her lip when he asked whether or not he'd hurt anyone.

"You... tried to," she replied reluctantly in a low voice. "A few times. But... you kept... stopping, like you were fighting to stop yourself." She didn't say anything about how he'd pointed his guns at her. He didn't need that on his shoulders, not at the moment. They all had enough to worry about without adding that on, too. She paused when she heard the crowd start to cheer for them, and blushed a little when she realized that they weren't just cheering for Kazan, but for her as well. She wasn't used to being recognized like that, and she had no idea how to really handle it. She didn't shrug off the touches on her arms, though. She didn't want to seem like she didn't appreciate their thanks or anything like that. She just kept walking with Kazan back towards home.

Grant walked behind them, glancing around and keeping an eye on them both. The crowd wasn't bothering them at all, which was good, and he would make sure it stayed that way. He briefly entertained the thought of heading towards the forge, rather than the workshop, so that he could talk to Bear about the sword, but thought better of it for the moment. He would follow Kazan and Robyn back to the workshop, offer minor healing services if they were needed, and THEN go to the forge.

"Good to hear," Seamus admitted. "I've regretted not being able to look after her and finish teaching her." Because Naraya was right... Robyn was his favorite apprentice.

It had been encouraging for Kazan to not have harmed anyone, although Robyn's hesitation made him worry, he could not even imagine what she had seen. He tried not to think about it.. Remembering that one day he'd lost control of his temper.. the blind rage, even if he couldn't see himself as a monster, he had felt it that day and he did not enjoy it. As they finally got to the workshop, Kazan made his way tot he living room.. It was odd, only a while ago had he awoken here, injured, but alive, saved by Robyn..

And now he was turning into some kind of local hero.. He almost felt like it was a lie, after all he'd first come here to attack these people.. He bit his tongue on that little bit of guilt, he was sure he'd proven the kind of person he was to them.. But the kinds of things they would no doubt think if they learned the absolute truth..
The thoughts seemed to threaten to spiral out of control but once more he tossed them aside as well as he could. The man stood in the middle of the room for a moment and breathed a hefty sigh before looking towards Robyn,
"Help me out of this..?" He asked. It was about time to remove the armour, he felt like he was getting a bit warm in it, and frankly he wanted to go wash up. He wasn't entirely sure if he was going to use it unless something big came up again, but those guns, he would not abandon them if he could help it.
He looked up for a moment, feeling something odd,
"Hey Robyn.. Did you ever have that feeling that some-one was talking about you somewhere..?"

"You're an idiot, Seamus." Naraya responded with a heckling chuckle, "That girl's a better mechanic than you. You had to work your whole life to get as good as she is now, she's a natural, that's why you took her. Though she could use a little work in the sense department.." She chuckled once more, "Good thing Clay's still there to keep an eye on her.. You know, he even took up his old weapon again. He always said he'd never touch it, but I guess you can't really take the animal out of the Bear."

Robyn toed off her boots near the door once they got home, and reluctantly hung her tool belt near the entrance to the workshop. She turned around just as Kazan asked for some help with the armor, and she nodded.

"Sure," she said. Going over, she started to undo all of the closures on the armor and took it apart piece by piece. It was in surprisingly good shape-- she couldn't see any real damage on it past a few scratches and dings here and there. It would need a good cleaning, but it didn't need to actually be repaired. "Bear does good work," she commented as she laid the pieces aside carefully. She glanced up again when Kazan spoke. The question caught her a bit off-guard, and she had to think about it for a moment. "Sometimes," she said. "Kind of feels like you've got someone's attention on you, but you can't find them." She got that feeling every so often, but she also knew some people who would talk about her; her parents, primarily, and maybe a few people around town. Somehow, though, she got the feeling that that wasn't quite what Kazan was asking, but she didn't have a better answer than that.

"Well, don't sugarcoat it or anything, Naraya," Seamus replied with mock-offense. He chuckled. She was right, as much as his pride took a bit of a blow admitting it... He'd taken Robyn as an apprentice because he knew she had so much potential. Briefly, he wondered if his apprentice had taken on any of his old projects. If nothing else, he knew she would appreciate the mechanical doors in the guild hall... "Clay always swore he would never touch that thing again... What made him do it now?"

Kazan also admired the pieces once they'd been removed, staring at it calmly. Bear really had some great handiwork, he was a clever old smith.. it was no wonder Lastdvell was such a major target for the Varstradt empire, the people here were artisans, craftsmen, amazing inventors.. And with Bear's help and fine craftsmanship even the cannon was complete. The man found himself his usual place on the cough and practically collapsed in it, leaning his head back, the sound of battle was still filling his head, the noise of gunfire from the cannon, the shouts and yells of the rebels on the wall.

It seemed like it would still be a long time before he could be rid of war for good.. The soldier in him prized the chance to fight, but something else had been growing a little more prominent, a desire for peace, yet when he concentrated on it he got flooded with thoughts of battle again,
"For a moment when I blacked out.. I thought I saw Grants mother.." He leaned forward on the seat, leaning on his knees with his elbows and looking over at Robyn, "She was.. Bathed in white light and there as a man there with her or.. Well I dont know.. Maybe he was closer to me, they both grabbed me, then I just woke up." Kazan chuckled a little,
"Cant tell you how good it felt to see your face again. I didn't want to just die or something without saying that i-" Kazan caught himself, realizing what he'd almost blurted out, but then clamped his jaw shut, lowering his head, "Sorry.. I'm just being silly.."

"I would want to say he wanted to protect Robyn.. But there are other motivations.. Something obscure I didn't get to see in time.. I dont think I'll ever know.. So shall we?" Naraya asked, "I think we've hung out here long enough.. show me everything.."

Robyn went and settled herself on the floor next to the couch. For the moment, she just wanted to be close to Kazan, and she didn't want to go upstairs or into the workshop yet.

"She was there," she replied, nodding when Kazan mentioned what he'd seen. She paused when he mentioned a man being there as well. "I don't remember any man with her, though... I just remember seeing her." She was about to ask what the man looked like when Kazan's next words made her pause. "What were you going to say?" she asked. It had sounded like it was important, so why would he just stop...? "It's not silly, really." Especially considering what they'd just gone through. She sat there, waiting for him to answer. She knew she couldn't make him say anything if he didn't want to, but she hoped that he would tell her. "I'm glad you came back, too. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't..."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Seamus replied. "Let's go then. I think it's about time you've earned the chance to kick back and relax for a while. We need to let them take it from here."

Kazan looked at Robyn for a while, although she was sat on the floor, he felt the inclination, the desire to be closer to her, so he slipped from it, lowering himself to the ground to sit closer, half turned to keep his gaze on her, e reached over with one hand, brushing stray strands of hair aside from her face, however withdrew the hand, again adjusting his sitting position this time so he was on both knees more evenly,
"We've spent a great deal of time together. Ever since you first saved my life. When I'm with you, everything else threatens to slip away until it's just us." He tried to explain the feeling,b ut in some ways it seemed even more difficult to say now that he wanted to admit it fully.

He pushed himself up, getting into a standing position and offering her his hands to help her up, but he wouldn't let go right away,
"Every day that passes and I'm with you, the more I can't imagine being without you.." Kazan smiled oddly, sadly, face almost mournful, but sincerity remained as he leaned a little closer, "What I'm trying to say in not so simple terms.. Is that I want to be with you for an eternity or more, because I dont like you, I'm not even fond of you." He stated the last two parts almost grimly but then smiled, "I love you.. Everything else is.. insubstantial.."

Robyn's heart began to beat faster as Kazan spoke. Even before he'd managed to complete the first sentence, she couldn't help but know where he was going with it. But... he couldn't possibly care for her like that... Could he? That was exactly what was going through her mind, right up until he said those three magic words. At that moment, Robyn would have sworn that her heart skipped a beat... maybe more than one. It just didn't seem real...

"You... do?" she said. "But... I'm not... I never thought..." She stumbled over the words as she tried to reconcile what Kazan said with what she'd always believed. She hadn't let herself hope that anyone would care about her that way, and even more than that, she wouldn't let herself hope that Kazan would care about her that way. She looked up at him, still struggling to get her thoughts together. "I..." Gently, she pulled her hands from his and pressed her lips together. She hesitated for split second. "I need to think..." Turning, she bolted for the workshop.

Once she was in the safe familiarity of the workshop, she sat down heavily at her desk and hunched over it, propping her head in her hands. She had no idea what to think at the moment. She'd spent quite a bit of time lately watching Kazan, as she slowly realized the fact that she cared about him, and cared quite deeply. But she'd always just watched, so sure that he only cared about her in a platonic way. She hadn't wanted to believe that there could be something more... and now this.

Of course, part of her (most of her, in fact) was overjoyed. A small part of her was a bit suspicious, but she quickly stamped that part out. It wasn't like Kazan to play cruel jokes like that, so she could only assume that he was sincere. And to be honest... She was pretty sure she loved him, too.

Crap..
Kazan closed his eyes when Robyn escaped to the workshop. He couldn't help but think perhaps he should have waited longer.. He shifted, loking towards the guns she had crafted for him.. It didn't take him long to pick them up and find his place on the couch once again. He held up the left one, closer to his face, so he could read the inscriptions softly to himself.
The right meanwhile rested beside him.

As he stared closely at the steel he noticed his own reflection for a moment, but then something else.. There was a shape he didn't recognize after his focus changed, his gaze shifte dpast the gun and he stared at it. a standing, dark figure, no colour, just the black, and the eyes, staring at him.. He blinked for a moment, but int he same instant held up the right gun, pointing it int he creature's direction, the metallic clicks of the gun being prepared, the hammer being pulled back by his thumb but as he opened his eyes the creature was gone.

He looked about quickly, aiming tt he sides, then got to his feet and turned, looking about the room. There was no sound of movement or even any evidence that something else was here, just the strange feeling inside. he moved quickly to the work shop, guns lowered but he looked around the room quickly before focusing on Robyn, she seemed all right.. His face was slightly pale, it had been quite a sudden fright, whatever it was.. And for all he knew it was still here, somewhere..

Rather than going to the forge, Grant had sat outside for a little while on a bench, trying to let the fresh air and little green things around him clear his head. He was still trying to sort through everything his mother had left him, and he concentrated best when it was quiet. After a little while of giving some attention to the plants around the bench, he stood up with a sigh. It was probably a good idea to check in with Kazan and Robyn.

Going to the door of the house itself, rather than the workshop, he knocked and waited. When he didn't get an answer, he frowned for a moment and reached for the doorknob. It was strange that he didn't get an answer... Opening the door, Grant stopped in his tracks when Kazan turned around, aiming a gun at him. Before he could say anything about it, though, Kazan had already turned away again, as if looking for something. Grant watched, a little confused and suspicious at the same time. Granted, he knew he hadn't made a lot of noise as he opened the door to check on the two of them, but it wasn't like he'd been sneaking around, and he was standing right there, so how did Kazan not seem to notice him...?

"Kazan...?" he asked carefully. "Is everything alright?"

Kazan continued to look stunned as his eyes wandered about the place, lost. When Grant spot again Kazan aimed in his direction, but then blinked again, staring at him. In that instant he'd tensed and jumped slightly, not even sure if he was imagining it or not, but he believed in Grant's existence. He pointed the gun up almost as soon as he'd aimed it, breathing a soft sigh of relief, but then looked about again,
"You scared me." he started, turning on his heels, eyes flitting everywhere, "I saw something.. It was right here.. All black, red eyes.. It was just staring at me.. Then it just.. disappeared. If it's magic I get it, it could be invisible or something, right?" He asked, but then if it was just invisibility, how could he explain the lack of sound if it had been moving to avoid detection? He certainly hadn't heard it approach.

He did not realized that he had essentially described, in its simplest form, the kind of creature he had transformed into. He didn't even realize that it had never been there.. Not in the physical realm,
"It was there.. Right there.." He pointed one of his weapons at the spot Grant was standing before his eyes turned to the left, his eyes wide, it was much closer this time, but two meters away, still staring at him silently,
"Grant.. What is it..?" He asked, not even aware that the man could not see it.. How could he see what was deep within the soldiers mind? The darker truth that lurked there.. Right before his eyes..

That wasn't good at all. Grant wasn't sure what Kazan was seeing, or why, but he knew it had something to do with what had happened earlier, up on the walls. Kazan's descriptions of what he was seeing matched his own appearance earlier with enough of a likeness that it unnerved Grant a little.

"What were you doing before you saw it?" he asked, ignoring Kazan's inquiry for the moment. He didn't want to flat-out tell the man he was seeing things, and he was hesitant to even say that the hallucination sounded eerily similar to earlier. As he waited for the answer, he glanced around. He was about to ask where Robyn was, but he noticed the light on in the workshop and suppressed the question. The girl was always in her workshop lately... He turned his attention back to Kazan. "Well, regardless... I think we should go and visit my uncle, and sooner seems a lot better than later, now. I wanted to wait till morning, but maybe it's best if we got that sword from Bear and left tonight."

It wouldn't take them long to get to Bartlett, he knew. It really wasn't too far, and he knew several shortcuts. And now, with something strange happening to Kazan, he figured it was probably best to get there as soon as possible. Maybe Bartlett could help with whatever the problem was.

"What the..." Kazan started.. he was still staring at the same place before looking over at Grant again, "It just.. shrivelled up and disappeared. like something was.. I dont know.. Taking it away or something... I was just reading the inscriptions on the new guns and I-AGH!" The man stumbled back a couple of steps raising the back of his hand to his head, still aware he had a gun at least, trying to press against the sudden shot of pain in his head.

He breathed in sharply, making his way over to the nearest table and sitting his guns down, he wasn't sure what was wrong but eh didn't want those in his hands if something happened again, hands raising to his head, it was like a splitting headache, almost literally, the two sides felt like they were pulling apart but he was stuck in the middle, hands held up against his forehead as he tried to fight off the pain,
"S-so this Uncle Bartlett..? He have some kinda super anti-headache tablet..?" Kazan asked with an offhand chuckle, oddly the pain was subsiding but the rest of his body was beginning to feel tense, almost rigid, he could move but it was like every muscle was turning to stone..
"I hope it has one hell of a kick.."

Kazan leaned on the table, half covering his face with one hand, the other working to keep him balanced, but he was having some difficulty, couldn't he just have a day where nothing happened.? It would be so nice.. Then he and Robyn could just be alone.. They could sit together.. They could eat together.. He could put a gun to her head..
He froze on the last thought, staring at the guns in front of him and backed away from them sharply, looking over at Grant,
"That monster you mentioned..." He stated almost hoarsely, "It isn't gone yet.. Is it..?"

Grant watched carefully as Kazan struggled to get himself under control. And he was struggling, that much was obvious. Whatever Grant's mother had done to banish the monster, it was only temporary, and it seemed to be wearing off even as Grant watched. That wasn't good, and it only reinforced his decision that going to see Bartlett as soon as possible was a good idea.

"I don't think it is," Grant replied. "Whatever my mother did, it wasn't permanent." He glanced from Kazan to the workshop and back. "I think we should get ready to go. I don't think going to see Uncle Bartlett can wait until tomorrow anymore." He paused for a moment. He was originally going to talk to Bear himself and ask for the sword, but now it didn't seem to be a good idea to leave Kazan on his own, especially if nobody knew quite what was going on in his head. "Where's Robyn, in the workshop?" The workshop light was still on, but he couldn't hear any sort of tinkering going on, leading him to wonder what Robyn was doing in there. She'd been clinging to Kazan after everything earlier, so why was she in another room now? "Did something happen between the two of you?"