"Churi?"

"Airin?"

Takayanagi Akane has her eyes on the bare fleshed friend she knew in SKE as Airin Furukawa. Airin was and was covering herself with a pillow and blanket.

"You...were....having..."Churi stuttered.

"I have to make money Churi, or my master will get mad at me and hurt me. But, its so great to see you!"Airin cried on Akane's shoulder.

Churi patted her head as tears drenched her shoulder. She couldn't believe that her quirky and friend Airin was now reduced to a lowly e and husk of her former self.

"Don't worry, I am getting you out of here. Just stay with me. And I promise you I will never leave you alone."Churi said.

Churi then stood up and turned to Ybor and Osgar who were just finished arguing with each other. The two brothers were not facing each other and had angry faces imprinted to them. Their argument sounded heated as Churi would hear it since they were hurling Gimaelic words.

"Ybor what do we do now?"Churi asked.

"We need to get you and your friend Airin out of here. I don't think we can save your other friend Jurina."Ybor coldly said.

"No! Their has to be away to rescue her too."Churi cried.

"I am sory but with this many Kelebihans we can't get even close to your friend who is tied up to Nisrina's finger. We need to get out with your friend fast."Ybor replied.

Churi had tears in her eyes, she was this close to saving her friends but she felt like she has to make a sacrifice and abandon Jurina to her fate.

"Hol-hol-hold on Birdie, If I know anything of wine, alcohol and beer. Is that the Ardent Mages makes some really great drinks."Osgar said.

"Now is not the time Osgar for your drunken mumblings."Ybor said.

"Shut up Osgar!"Churi shouted. She sat down and clenched her knees and cried, swaying her body as she did.

"No wait! I can tell you guys something Let me explain."Osgar protested.

"Ok, you have this one moment."Ybor crossed his arms in impatience, the longer they are here the harder it is for them to escape.

"Ok, Airin. Do you have access to the kitchen?"Osgar asked.

"Hai, I do. I also serve drinks to guests."Airin said.

"Good, thats perfect! I need you to get these drinks for me."Osgar said. He whispered words into Airin's ear who eagerly listened.

"I can do that. Wait here."Airin clothed herself and ran out of the chamber.

(5 minutes later)

"Here they are." Airin said. She placed a large tray of  various liquors on to the small dining table in the room that everyone is hiding in.

"Thanks now lets do this."Osgar said.

He grabbed the bottles and started mixing all of them together. Osgar took care that he poured enough of all the ingredients into an empty bottle.

"So what are you making?"Ybor asked.

"An improvised fire bomb brother. I remember this from an old party gag from a friend one time when we f****** around when we got drunk. Churi, cut a piece of cloth and pass it to me." Osgar explained.

"Your going to bomb this place?" Airin said.

"Shh... be quiet!"Churi shushed.

"Did I hear what I think I hear?" A voice came from outside. It was one of the Kelebihan henchmen.

"Oh no! Its a guard!"Airin shouted.

The guard passed through the gate and his eyes widened to see Osgar doing his chemistry with the bottles.

Churi reactively threw her daggger that she keeps hidden in her clothes at the man. It landed on his chest and he fell to the floor.

"That was close. Quick hide the body."Ybor said.

Churi and Airin carried the corpse to a dark corner of the room where noone would see him. Churi noticed that the guard was carrying a shotgun and took it and his bandolier of shells.

"Its that one of those weapons that you Earthlings use?" Ybor asked.

"Yes, I know how use one."Churi said.

"And done! Ok here is the plan. I will throw this bomb in the middle of the party when everyone is stoned up from all the drugs. In the chaos that follows use that opportunity to get to your friend. Then we run out of here!"Osgar said.

"Hai! Lets do this." Airin pumped herself up.

"For Jurina."Churi clenched her fist.

The group went out of the room and into the door way leading to the main party hall.

"Yes, everyone is dense as a rock. They smoke to much herbs. Ok remember, run to your friend and get her out of here. Where is she by the way."Osgar said preparing the fire bomb bottle in his hand.

Churi focused her eyes trying to look for her friend and finally saw her. Jurina was chained infront of Nisrina as some sort of trophy for all of the Kelebihans to see.

Anger raged through her veins as Churi pointed to Osgar.

"Ok lets roast these bastards!" Osgar lit the bottle with a torch that was conveniently next to him and threw the bottle into the room.

Just as Osgar should predict, a great fiery explosion rocked the party shocking everyone.

"Now!" the Daguth brother said in unision. They covered their faces and ran with Churi and Airin following.

The whole party was shocked by the unexpected attack and everyone was scattering for the exit. The chaos was so great that even Nisrina forgo her new prize of a Black Dust Mage and ran off with her bodyguards.

Jurina who felt the deaths of the people who were killed in the explosion screamed.

"Ahh!!! GET THEM OUT OF MY HEAD!!!"

"Jurina! Whats wrong with you?"Churi cried.

"It must be the people we killed, the Black Dust is affecting her head! We need to go now!"Ybor said.

"Hai!" Churi used her shotgun to blast the chains holding Jurina to set her free. Osgar carried Jurina over his shoulders since she was too weak to walk.

"We have to get out of here. Nisrina is probably looking for whoever blew up her den already."Osgar said.

The group hurried outside where everyone was exiting the building from. Injured people were limping their way out of the building. Most of the injured have injuries that were mortal wounds and they were all struggling to get out even though they are doomed to die. The bomb that Osgar made was indeed powerful.

"Too....many......souls....pass.....away...."Jurina's eyes opened. But to the shock of Churi and Airi, her eyes were pitch black.

"Hey what are you doing with her!" One of the Kelebihan henchmen shouted alerting everyone in the room.

"Well, well isn't it my former debt collector. I can tell you, you should have stayed with me for a few more months. You could have it big with me and everyone."Nisrina turned around and addressed to Ybor.

"I saw more opportunities that were better at first during that time. Don't blame me for that."Ybor answered back.

"And look at how ironic it is for you to work against me."Nisirina faked a frown.

"What the hell did you do to this poor girl. Shame on you for infecting her with Black Dust. You know what that stuff does to people."Osgar said.

"I didn't do anything. I just....enlightened her and exalted her ten fold! Guards kill them all! But do not lay a finger on the Black one."Nisrina pushed her arm commanding her minions to attack as she gracefully got out of the building with the rest of her retinue.

The henchmen fired magic missles and bullets from their seized Earth weaponry to the group.

"Get down!"Churi yelled. The group got behind a couple of large pillars which shielded them from the barrage of the Kelebihans.

"Fire back!"Ybor yelled, he shot his AK-12 that he looted off from one of the guards and opened fire killing a few of them. Churi also helped him out by unloading a shell of her shotgun at another Kelebihan who came close to her.

All of this was happening with Jurina tucked to Airin who was covering her ears and closing her eyes from the chaos around her. Jurina however...... her eyes opened and they were pitch black.

"Qad yakun wafatuk sarie!" Jurina spoke in a foreign tongue. Black Dust escaped her open mouth and flew around the room. It got inside the Kelebihans through their mouths and they droppd their weapons and grasped their necks.

The henchmen started to writhe in pain as they went down to floor. Suddenly......

"Keep your head down and run out of here! Go! Go! Go!"Ybor yelled to everyone.

Churi and Airin carried Jurina with Osgar and Ybor protecting them. To the girls horror they saw the full extent of what Black Dust was capable of.

The Kelebihans had their stomach acids dissolve their bodies inside out untill only their skeletons remain. Others were drowning in their own blood or vomit that was colored as black as night.

"My God Jurina, what did they do to you?" Churi said to herself.

The group made a quick exit to the door and Osgar locked the door before running away to safety.

-------------------------------------

Everyone panted as the group slothed themselves in Ybors house. The lantern barely lit the room and Jurina who was still shocked from the use of her powers was resting in Ybor's bed. Churi was on look out by the door, Osgar was having a hard time choosing what is he going to drink next from his brother's stash of food, Airin was rubbing off the sweat off of Jurina with her clothes and Ybor was just sitting on his chair cleaning his AK-12 that he decided to keep.

"Did anyone inhaled the Black Dust? Is anyone seeing black dots flying around in your face? Does your insides feel like liquiefying?"Ybor asked after finishing the polishing of his new gun.

"I don't think so."Churi said.

"No."Osgar replied.

"Me neither." Airin replied from across the room.

"Good, because direct contact is always fatal."Ybor said.

"How do you know all of these things?" Churi asked.

"Well I am glad you asked, sit down girl I got a story to tell you...."Ybor replied.

-------------------------

He explained:

Ybor Daguth, the elder brother of Osgar Daguth was the former owner of the Daguth sheep ranch after their parent died. Both of the Daguth brothers plus Osgar's sisters were excelent shepherds and they owned over 100 sheep at a time. They live in a fertile valley region in the southern most part of Gimael which is ideal for grazing.

One day one of the neighboring shepherds guided his sheep too close to the traditional Daguth Family grazing grounds. This was a violation of the law in Gimael and Osgar ran off to find the Sheriff to plead his familiy's case.

But when the Sherrif and Osgar arrived they saw Ybor mericlessly stabbing the trespassing shepherd with his seax. He was immediately arrested on the spot and was found guilty of murder. Since the crime wasn't premeditated, the court offered Ybor a choice, Death by the Ironbox or Exile with nothing but the clothes on his back to Baizan.

Choosing Exile, Ybor tearfully farewell'd his family and homeland to his exile. This stigmatized Osgar and his sister with the other shepherds as he was branded as a murderer's brother (which later motivated Osgar to join the Gimaelic Army where he eventually got the rank of Bodyguard to Rainoric).

In Baizan, Ybor would perform odd jobs from simple boat carpentry, janitor and a debt collector for the Kelebihan circle. Then one day, a Vanoran emissary came to Baizan for recruits to the Vanoran Foreign Legio.

The Foreign Legio is an army of people who aren't Vanorans but are willing to fight for them for money. The term of service is 5 years but the training is brutal with failure often met with severe punishment. Many people died in basic training but Ybor survived and saw action in the Taifa* of Aksyar as a fortress guardsman. He has seen firsthand the Black Dust mages who reside in the desert kingdom and their awesome mastery of necromancy and the usage of Black Dust as a means of eating up the dead carcasses of animals and peoplle who perished from the beating sun as a deomposer in the food chain so that new life can emerge.

---------------

"Agnija still never forgave me right?"Ybor asked Osgar about his sister.

"Her hair is falling off and her face looks like mom before she died so yeah she didn't yet I think."Osgar replied.

"So what did you see in Aksyar?"Churi asked, curious of this new place in Auriga.

" 'An oasis in the middle of the desert' or thats the motto. Its a small but prosperous kingdom across the sea west of here where the Vanorans go to get exotic Spices that they just love to eat with their food. LOVE to eat. I even got some in the pantry. You hungry for some dried fish?"Ybor offered.

"Sure why not."Churi enthusiastically said. All that action got her hungry and everyone could use a meal for tonight.

After a few minutes of gathering the spices and sprinkling them on the dried fish before serving to everyone with a side of Bucella bread.

The SKE48 girls bite their respective meals and an explosion of stimulating tastes mesmerised their tongues. It was a perfect blend of spices which made the often stale and tasteless fish  taste like a journey to an exotic country with a rich and vibrant culture.

"This is so good!"Airin said.

"Can I have more of this?"Churi asked.

"Relax! There's enough for----"Ybor said but was interrupted by.

"Ybor! I know you are there! Think you can run away from me an take my prize?"the voice of Nisrina yelled outside.

"Damn! She's back and she brought some friends!" Osgar shouted.

"F***! Churi, get your bird thingy and write up a message to Wulfgar that he needs to rescue us. Airin, take Jurina down to the basement and don't come out unless I say so. Brother, help me lock down the house. We have a siege in our hands."

Airin carried off Jurina into Ybor's basement and locked the door shut. Churi quickly wrote a letter for Wulfgar and gave it to her bird Papipo and sent him flying. Osga helped boarding up the doors and dugged himself in with his spear in hand.

When all of their makeshift fortifications were established, Ybor peeked over the windows of his home.

"If you want her? Come and take her!" Ybor taunted before unloading a hail of lead with his AK-12 at the Kelebihans.

-------------------------

The dust from the floor above them and the constant thunder of bullets, screaming and yelling was heard from below Ybor's house. Airin lay Jurina down by a wall and made her feel comfortable as she leaned on it. She was terrified of what she is currently in right now.

After Rena ran away from the Kelebihan Pimps, Jurina and Airin were taken to Nisrina where they were whipped, trained and drugged by the Ardent Mages. Several scars can be seen from both girls which served as a momento of their ordeal.

One day, Jurina was taken to Nisrina to undergo what the Kelebihans described as, 'an Examination' from a man wearing black baggy robes from a far off nation who came to visit. Airin could remember the look on Jurina when she acquired her Black Dust powers.

(Flashback)

"Let go of me fiend!"Jurina objected. Her feet was dragging and she was trying to yank her self off of the hands of her captor.

"Shut your mouth! Mistress wants to show you to someone! Oh! Airin! Where the hell is the wine! You want another flogging again!"the Kelebihan said.

Airin quickly followed them with a cup of wine in a golden goblet in hand. She has learned to be submissive to her new masters but Jurina just doesn't know how to give up. She has been beaten many times by the Kelebihans and their 'clients' for refusal to 'service' them. She would always see Jurina bruised and bloodied after every day and Nisrina had decided to make Jurina serve her 'Sadistic' clients due to her fighting nature and endurance in the face of severe injury.

They have entered Nisrina's private chamber where she is entertaining special guests from the desert kingdom of Aksyar.

Jurina was thrown to the middle of the room with her head lowered and hair covereing her face. She didn't want to see Nisrina or any of her heavily scarred and pierced body parts and she closed her eyes as Nisrina walked next to her.

"Here she is emissary of the Sands."Nisirina introduced Jurina.

A man in a dark gray headress wearing a mask made from Dust and cladded in scaled armor appeared from the shadows of the usually dark room.

(photo of the Aksyarrite Sentinel)

"Are you sure this.....pathetic looking child is one of us? I honestly doubted the stories you say of her." The man spoke. His eyes glowed indicating to Airin that it is one of those Broken Lords or 'Armored Yokais' that her fellow Japanese slaves coined. She had grown fearful of these strange aliens as their behavior and power was unlike anything that Airin has seen (Even in what her imagination could fathom for her Manga writings).

"Its her indeed Sentinel. She had shown me signs that says she can manipulate Black Dust. I recalled that she predicted the death of one of my most senior associates a week before passed away. Another time she was reported to be screaming after 'hearing' someone dying of poisoning upstairs while locked in a cell with the thickest walls. And don't even get me started on her insomnia, my guards couldn't sleep for days because of her."Nisrina explained.

"I shall be the Judge of that. Vikram, the Dust please."The man clapped his hands.

Another similarly dressed man walked up to Jurina carrying a small clay hand grenade and threw it at her. Jurina whimpered and screeched as the buring Black Dust scorched her skin. Normally the Black Dust would have eatenn her up like a mad cannibal but the Black Dust simple just sticked to Jurina's skin as if her body was accepting the foreign substance to ravage her.

The man in the Dust Mask raised his hand forward and began to speak in his native tongue that sounded like he was praying or reciting a litany.

"Ahhh!!! They are screaming! They are everywhere! They are knawing me apart! They....NO!!! YES!!!! MORE!!! COME!!!"Jurina roared in a deep inhuman voice.

Airin could only helplessly watch as she saw her young friend being tortured infront of her.

(End Flashback)

"LET THEM CRY TO ME.....LET THEM CRY TO ME......LET THEM CRY TO ME......."Jurina said in an inhuman voice.

Airin pushed away Jurina and dragged herself away from her. Jurina then rose up in a zombie like manner with blackened eyes and frothing with black saliva bubbles.

"SO MUCH....DEATH...."Jurina commented. Her veins becoming darker as the battle that was going on happening outside.

"Jurina! What has happened to you?"Airin cried.

"Jurina is no longer here. DEATH IS HERE....IN ME!"Jurina lounged herself to Airin.

Airin was helplessly cornered by Jurina and the Black Dust mage brutally knocked her down.

When Airin lay dazed on the floor. As she looked on to more pressing matters, Jurina's form became of Black smoke and it risen it/herself up to the ground level of Ybor's home.

---------

Churi emptied her 12-gauge shotgun on an Ardent Mage who tried to charge at her with a spear. She has been running low on ammo but her aim was true and she had down a couple of thousand Kelebihans with her gun.

"No f****** fair Birdie! You get the bigger stick!"Osgar tease while he ed his spear into a Kelebihan splattering his blood on the floor.

"Hey get I just brushed that floor! *looks forward* What the hell?"Ybor said.

He saw before him one of the Kelebihans he just gunned down with his gun. His torn flesh was the same but not it bega to ooze black colored blood. The Kelebihan turned around to reveal he became a Dust Zombie from the influence of Black Dust.

And just as soon as he saw the zombie, more of the previously slain were reanimated into corpse minions.

"Bloody f***! I told Airin to keep Jurina calm!"Ybor yelled unloading another volley of bullets to the zombies who divided themselves from attack the still living Kelebihans and the people defending the Daguth house.

"Churi! Jurina..... she's...."Airin barged her way out of the door of Ybor's basement. She had a huge bruise on her head but she still has the strength to unsteadily stand up.

"Jurina is what?"Churi said.

Then a convulsion of Black Dust formed in the middle of the battlefield. Everyone turned their eyes to the source of black light and the Dust formed none other than Jurina Matsui, the Black Dust mage. Her eyes were sinister and strange looking tatoos formed around her bare skin.

"These dead shall make a fine army!"Jurina said. Her voice was no longer familiar to Churi as the former puppy eyed girl whose eyes now filled with dark magic reanimated the dead Kelebihans into her zombie minions. And then even more zombies came out from the ground when their remains sensed the power of Jurina's Black Dust powers.

"Oh f*** me in the a**. There's going to be more of them!"Osgar yelled.

Ybor finished off the last of his ammunition from his gun and he quickly pulled out his sword the four friends backed them selves behind a window. They were ready to fight to the last breath when.....

*Loud gunfire noise*

A large man in a decorated and colored green Paladin armor with a white robe carrying a large belt-fed gun laid 100 caliber (because 50 caliber is too mainstream) punishment on the surrounding zombies.

(credits to Mike_pl)

"Show me your fury!"the man said.

"Is that Paladin armor? I thought they were just myths."Osgar said awestruck.

"More like is that a Deathsworn Knight?"Ybor said.

"Eh? Deathsworn Knight?"Churi said.

"No time to talk now Birdie. A Death Sworn Knight despite him being a Ghogthal is still a welcome sight."Osgar said.

"Indeed I am Gimealic.Sargeant Carrick of the Deathsworn Knights reporting for battle. Baron Heinrich is at the dock yard and Eslek sent me to rescue you. Eslek got your Dust Bird with the message. And where did these damn zombies come from anyway?"Carrick said. Carrick is a Ghogthic name.

"I knew Papipo could do it! You see that girl over there? She's is making the zombies. We need to stop her." Churi said.

"Damnation, we need more men here. King Gewis is at the docks rallying the soldiers. There's been zombie's coming out of graves all over the island. We need every man at the docks. The Governor Zolya ordered an evacuation and we need to buy the civilians time. And Papipo? What kind of stupid name is that?"Carrick said.

"Oh not again.... lets get out of here!"Churi frustratingly ran out where Carrick went in.

"But what about Jurina?"Airin asked.

"You want to be zombie chow? We need to leave now!"Carrick said. He gave covering fire for the group to leave with his heavy machine gun before he ran away from the zombie horde himself.

---------------------
 

"No...stay back....no!!!!"Nisrina screamed her last words as the zombies munched down at her and tore her body apart. The essecnce of her power still locked inside her bones. The zombies would have accidentally ate them if Jurina intervened.

"Halt my children. Leave the bones."Jurina commanded. The zombies unquestionably dropped the bones infront of her with some remnants of flesh still clinging on the bones. Dust was still entreched in the bones of the slain Kelebihan boss.

They were in the brothel that they were in a few hours ago. She had overpowered the other slave girls and turned them into zombies and now serves as her bodyguards.

Jurina raised her hand and touched the bones of Nisrina absorbing her powers. Nisrina  gained her power of being the boss of the Kelebihan syndicate by being the most powerful mage. Yet she her psychic power's muscles weakened due to unuse. But Black Dusted and power mad Jurina will put her essence to good use.

"May you find peace. Even if you have sinned."She said stoically.

With her powers increased tenfold, Jurina smiled. She conjured in her hands a two foot long Black Dust Katana with a burning essence of death enchanting the blade.

"Now, this realms corpse shall fertilize the next cycle."Black Dusted Jurina said.

She turned around to her legion of 10,000 zombies at her command....

(THE ARMY OF THE UNDEAD ARISES!!!!!!