CRACK!! Mitchell Nelson swings the bat, sending the baseball flying toward Yuri�s end of the field. Cheers erupt from his team as he heads toward first base.

"Run Yuri!" her teammates shout as she races after the sailing baseball. It flies past the small fence into the woods.

"Damnit!" Yuri Anderson, adjusting her Zelda baseball cap, groans as she swings her right leg over the fence. "I�ll be right back!"

"Hey, Ri," her best friend, Dustin Thomas, runs to her. "Be careful in those woods. Strange things have happened in there."

"Cheah, right," she laughs. "You may believe in all those old ghost stories, but I don�t believe in them and ain�t afraid of shit!" Still laughing, she enters the woods.

"Still! Be careful!" he calls out, but she waves him off.

Walking carefully and dodging various trees and roots, Yuri searches for the lost baseball.

Damn it, Mitch. You had to hit it into the woods didn�t you. she sighs. Where in hell is it?

After walking about a mile, she sees an eerie bluish light at the end.

What the hell?!? she gasps as she reaches it. Before her lays a barren wasteland. She slides down the small, steep hill and finds the missing baseball. I wonder..?

Seeing no one around, she begins to climb a small cliff. Grasping a thin dead tree, she pulls herself up over the top and gasps.

"My God...Where the hell am I?" she mutters as she gazes at a black fortress in the distance. "It looks like the Talpa�s castle from the Ronin Warriors. I wonder..."

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

The gates! They must lead to Earth. If only I could get through the gates to the Ronins. She sighs. If only... She sits down roughly. Damnit! If only I could somehow contact the Ancient or if I knew for sure whether Talpa is still around or Kayura-san and the Warlords were turned over to the Ronins side...

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

Startled, she turns and gasps. Anubis? What the hell?

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

"Yuri!" her friends call as they comb the woods searching for her. "Yuri! Where are you?"

About half-way through the woods, they call it quits, figuring that she went home. If they had only traveled a little bit further, they would have noticed the eerie light at the end of the woods.

"Let me go, you asshole!" Yuri curses as she tries to fight out of Anubis� firm grip. Then she stops as she notices the other Warlords� appearances. Sehkmet? Cale? Dais?

"This just isn�t my day," she mutters, sweatdropping, as he sets her roughly on the ground. Then Anubis powers down to his sub-armor.

"No, it isn�t," Sehkmet snickers evilly, but stops suddenly as a cold, gust of wind blows throughout the 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."

"What do have you to report, Anubis?" Talpa�s transparent head appears, floating several inches above the ground.

"I could find nothing of the Ronins, Master Talpa," Anubis approaches him and bows again. "They seem to have left the Netherworld. However, I did find something interesting, Master." He and Sehkmet step to the right, allowing their master to view Anubis� 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.

"How dare you disrespect Master Talpa, wench!" Sehkmet 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, Cale, and Dais laugh at Sehkmet. "Or I�ll do more than just flip you."

There�s something strange about that girl. Anubis thinks as he raises an eyebrow. Suddenly, two Dynasty soldiers appear behind her and grab her arms, pulling her off Sehkmet.

"Bitch," he frowns as he dusts himself 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 feet.

"It seems you�ve found a spirited one, Anubis. 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," Sehkmet glares evilly as he lifts her head up by her chin. "Oh, you�ll pay all right."

"Bring it on, snake-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, Anubis," Talpa commands. He carries the fainted girl to his master. "Yes.. Just as I thought. The bearer of the Aerostar armor."

"Aerostar, master?" Dais questions. "I thought there were only nine armors."

"True, there are only nine that form my body. But long ago, when I was a boy, I heard of a legend of an armor, the Aerostar, that could increase the power of its owner. The armor itself is made from a metal unknown to both the Earth and the NetherRealm. It was crafted by the most skilled blacksmiths of both worlds and was said that it could only be worn by a person of its choice and not of this dimension," he chuckles.

"And it seems that its wearer has arrived. Once I have control of that armor, I will be unstoppable. Now, take the girl away. Once she has regained consciousness, send her to me."

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

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

"She must not have the yoroi orb 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.

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

"Ja ne, Ancient." she bow 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 that sweeps over her. "Oh, yeah... Talpa�s fortress... Damn bastard."

"You shouldn�t talk about the Master like that," Anubis 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 Anubis be an ally here? I know he turns to the Ronin�s side by the first battle with Talpa. Could he help me get to the gate? But I can�t take the risk.

"What�s your name, Aerostar?" Anubis 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 him. And be careful. Maybe I can trust him. I hope so.

"Yuri... 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, a display of different kinds of weaponry hang in a meticulous fashion. The wall in front of her is bear, unlike the wall behind her, which gold, black, and gray tapestry hangs limply. The bed, covered in dark 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.

"Well, it�s okay if you like to breath in polluted air," she shrugs. "There are too many people, 6 billion, I believe. In my opinion, it sucks." she looks at him quizzically. "Why?"

"I was wondering just how much the world had changed in 400 years."

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

"Talpa has summoned me. I must go. I�ll be back later," he disappears.

"Hmm..." she walks over to Anubis� 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 nodatchi, is bathed in a silver aura.

I guess I should get that one. she smirks and takes the nodatchi off the wall. Is that a energyball etched on the hilt? It is. Cool.

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