As the rubble began to fall Aoi moved her blade in front of her and crouched as two pieces of it peeled from either side of the "unused parts" area of the blade and merged to form a buckler shield. She angled this slightly up, fearing that the target was preparing a swoop attack similar to that of a Chi-you. After a few moments that felt like an eternity behind the shield, she peeked around the side to see that her foe had disappeared, crushed beneath the onslaught of destroyed building from above. She also saw [i]them[/i]. Black shapes began to crawl out of the wreckage, slowly moving down the hall toward her. Ethereal chains bound the shapes, but they did not seem to prevent their progress. Soundless screams echoed in Aoi's mind as they approached her quivering form. She pulled her shield closer to herself in an attempt to reassure herself, to somehow make herself safe from this unknown entity... [hider=Will Save] [01:12:03] d20 [01:12:06] <+DiceBot> Sodium, (d20) 18. [01:12:35] Damn, I was hoping for a panic attack. [/hider] A sudden calm began to spread through Aoi. This surge of bravery was pushed on by her very own words just minutes before: "I'm ordering you to not die!" She couldn't give someone an order and not see it through herself. With a clank, the shield returned to the sides of her blade as she stood. She swung the blade in front of her and the shapes hesitated a moment, long enough for the chains to suddenly reel them back into the shadows from whence they came. For a moment Aoi believed it was her bravery that had sent the shapes packing. The skittering of a rock broke her reverie. She looked for the source and found it standing beside the rubble. A humanoid shape, much more so than the now-buried attacker, stood facing away from her and gesturing at some chains on its wrist. It didn't seem to be approaching her, but it also bore two similarities to the now-departed shapes: it bore chains and it had appeared by the wreckage. Unsure of how to proceed, Aoi decided words were the best option. "Uh, are you capable of words?" Her voice wavered slightly, a lingering effect of the shapes' horrific appearance. [@Moonman]