"My God...Where the hell am I now?" she mutters as she gazes at a black fortress in the distance. "I wonder whose castle that is."

She starts to walk toward the castle when she notices one of the four Netherworld gates to her left.

The gates! That must be what sent me here. If only I could get through the gates back to Tokyo. She sighs. If only... She sits down roughly. Damn it! If only I could open that gate...

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" an armored figure appears beside the gate.

Startled, she turns and gasps. Sagi!! Oh, shit!

"It seems that Master Talpa will have an unexpected guest," Sagi grins evilly.

"Let me go, you asshole!" Yuri curses as she tries to fight out of Warlord's firm grip. Then she stops as she notices other Warlord appearing. Seven more... What the hell?!? They aren't human. They're animals! Or at least animal-human hybrids.

"This just isn't my day," she mutters, sweatdropping, as he sets her roughly on the ground. Then Sagi powers down to his sub-armor.

"No, it isn't," a female Warlord, trimmed in white, snickers evilly, but stops suddenly as a cold, gust of wind blows throughout the dark room.

"All hail, Master Talpa," the Warlords chant and bow. As they stand erect again, they hit their fist against their chest. "Ruler of the Netherworld."

"It's been three weeks since your first fight with the Ronins. You still haven't defeated them yet!" Talpa's transparent head appears, floating several inches above the ground. "What do have you to report, Sagi?"

"It seems that Kayura and the Warlord managed to escape," Sagi approaches him and bows again. "They seem to have left the Netherealm. However, I did find something interesting, Master." He and another Warlord, trimmed in red, step to the right, allowing their master to view Sagi's catch. "It seems that one of the girls from the dungeon has escaped."

"Ooh...the all-powerful, Talpa. How scary," Yuri crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. The Ronins must be the ones in my dreams. Kayura must be the one that gave me the bracelet.

"How dare you disrespect Master Talpa, wench!" a red-trimmed Warlord hisses as he brings his arm up to hit her. As he brings it down, she quickly grabs it and flips him on his back. She places her foot to his throat.

"Don't you ever try to hit me again, bastard," she growls menacingly as Talpa and the other seven Warlords laugh at him. "Or I'll do more than just flip you."

There's something strange about that girl. Sagi thinks as he raises an eyebrow. Suddenly, two Dynasty soldiers appear behind her and grab her arms, pulling her off embarrassed Warlord.

"Bitch," he frowns as he dusts his armor off and walks back over to his original position.

"You better believe it. I'm the worst bitch you'll ever meet," Yuri hisses as the Dynasty soldiers pull her back a few more feet.

"It seems you've found a spirited one, Sagi. As a reward for your service to me, you can do whatever you wish with her," Talpa says. "You may leave."

"Yes, master," he bows, walks over to her, and grabs her by the shoulders.

"You'll pay for embarrassing me," the red-trimmed Warlord glares evilly as he lifts her head up by her chin. "Just you wait until Sagi gets finished with you. You'll pay all right."

"Bring it on, squirrel-boy," she sneers, as her body is engulfed in a silver light. It then recedes to her forehead, forming the kanji of Honor. As it disappears, she falls unconscious.

"Bring her forward, Sagi," Talpa commands. He carries the fainted girl to his master. "Yes.. Just as I thought. The bearer of the Aerostar armor has finally appeared."

"Aerostar, master?" he questions. "I thought there were only nine armors that made up your body."

"True, there are only nine. But long ago, when I was a boy, I heard of a legend of an armor, the Aerostar that will increase the power of its owner. The armor itself is made from a metal unknown to both the Earth and the Netherworld. It was crafted from a meteor that struck the ground and was said that it could only be worn by a person of its choice and not of this dimension." he chuckles, knowing that he is only telling on part of the legend. "And it seems that its wearer has arrived. Once I have control of that armor, added to the others, I will be unstoppable. Now, take the girl away. Once she has regained consciousness, send her to me."

"Hai, master." Sagi bows and teleports himself and Yuri to his room.

"Master," the red-trimmed Warlord says thoughtfully. "If this girl is the bearer of Aerostar, why did she not use it to defend herself?"

"She doesn't have her yoroi jewel yet," he says. "The armor will find its bearer soon. I suspect that it is buried somewhere on Earth. The girl will eventually learn of the yoroi's whereabouts and I intend to make sure she is under my control when she does." He disappears in a gust of wind.

All the Warlords bow at his exit and teleport out of the room.

'Where am I?' Yuri looks around. Surrounding her is a dense dark shadow, moving as if it were alive. 'What is this place?'

'We are in your dream,' a soft, masculine voice says. 'Aerostar.'

'Who are you?' she calls. 'Please don't be any dynasty goons.'

'I'm not from the Dynasty.' the man appears out of the shadows. 'I am Anubis. I was once a Warlord, but turned against Talpa and was killed.'

'Oh. What do you want?'

'We don't have much time. Soon Talpa will try and invade the Earth again. You and the Ronins must stop him.'

'How am I supposed to do that? I don't exactly have the means to do so.'

'Yes, you do. The armor of Aerostar. YOUR armor.' as he says this, her kanji appears on her brow. 'Your virtue, 'Honor.' It helps you link with your armor.'

'Ah, but I don't have any armor. I'm just a normal girl who can't do shit.' she says angrily.

'You do have a set of armor. You just have to find it.'

'Just tell me where it's at so I can help get rid of Talpa.'

'It won't be that easy, Aerostar. First you must learn how to use and become one with you armor. The Ronins have had years to prepare.'

'I see... I'm sorry for being snappy. This whole save the world thing has me off a bit, as any...well... normal person would be.'

'I understand.' he smiles wistfully, then turns serious again. 'It seems my time here is ending.'

'Hai.' she glances up at his fading form. 'Is there anyone I can trust in the Netherworld to get me out?'

'Yes, there is. Just go with your instincts to find them. And be careful. Ja ne.' he disappears.

'Ja ne, Anubis-san.' she bows respectfully. 'And thank you.'

"Uh... Where.." Yuri removes a damp towel off of her head as she slowly sits, instantly regretting it as a wave of dizziness sweeps over her. "Oh, yeah... Talpa's fortress... Damn bastard."

"You shouldn't talk about the Master like that," Sagi appears in the room. "He has spies everywhere."

"Feh," she scoffs. "He's the least of my worries right now."

"You're lucky, you know."

"How's that?" she raises an eyebrow. "I'm stuck in some unknown world with evil Warlords and a floating samurai helmet-head thing. You call that lucky!?!"

"Good point," he faintly smiles. "I'm talking about the other Warlords. Had one of them found you, they would have used you as just another whore like the other women."

"I guess you're right," she blushes, then pales. My, god... then a thought entered her head. Could Sagi be an ally here? There's something different about him.

"What's your name, Aerostar?" Sagi asks, disturbing her thoughts.

"Eh?" she snaps her head in his direction, startled that he interrupted her.

"Your name?"

"Yuri," she looks at him in bewilderment. Why would he want to know my name? We're supposed to be enemies right now.

*Is there anyone I can trust in the Netherworld? Yes, there is. Just go with your instincts to find them. And be careful.*

Maybe I can trust him. I hope so.

"Yuri... It's a pretty name, but it definitely doesn't suit you," he smirks.

"Ora?" she growls, as she stands. "Bastard."

"I try."

She chuckles, looks around the room, noticing its decor. It is moderately furnished in dark tones. On the far wall to the left, different kinds of weaponry hang in a meticulous fashion. The wall in front of her is bare, unlike the wall behind her, on which a gold, black, and gray tapestry hangs limply. The bed, covered in dark bed sheets, rests against another barren wall. To the left of the bed is a door.

"Nice room. A whole lot darker than mine, but it's cool."

"What's your world like?" he asks abruptly.

"It's okay I guess," she shrugs, then looks at him quizzically. "Why?"

"I was just wondering what your world is like."

"I see," she sits on the bed. Maybe I can trust him. "Sagi.."

"I must go. I'll be back later," he disappears.

"Hmm..." she walks over to Sagi's weapons collections. "I hope he doesn't mind if I borrow a weapon. I have to get outta here."

She inspects each weapon, unable to decide which to use. Suddenly, one of the swords, a no-datchi, begins to emit silver aura.

I guess I should get that one. she smirks and takes the no-datchi off the wall. Is that a energyball etched on the hilt? It is. Cool. As she walks over toward the door, she feels a bulky object in her pocket. She reaches in a pulls out the bracelet. Nice bracelet. I wonder why Kayura-san gave it to me. She puts it on.

Grasping the sword tightly, she opens the door next to the bed. Seeing that the hallway is empty, she slips out the door.