She was surrounded by darkness, not even the dimmest light could reach her. Faintly, she could hear the trickle of water and what sounded like gentle drumming. The priestess tried to reach out with her reiki, but found herself stifled. Once again, she was unable to call upon her powers… She felt along her arm to the cold metal of shackles binding her wrists and ankles. From her bound wrists, she followed a chain to what she could only think of as a wall and tried to follow it as far as she was able. Not long after reaching what felt like a rounded edge, her chains pulled taut and she was unable to traverse further. This is as far as she made it, with each attempt in any direction.

She had tried to keep a measure of the time she had been in this darkness, to no avail. It was nearly impossible to keep track of time with no light to divide day from night. The priestess had also tried to keep track of how many times she had traced the nearby walls, but had quickly lost count of that, as well. She was unsure of meals, as they were never brought, nor did she feel thirst. This she found odd, but she did still sleep, so it wasn't impossible for her captors to have found a way to deal with those and other such necessities while she slept.

This brought the priestess to thoughts of her dreams. She spent her time in dreams mostly with her family and friends in the village. Sometimes, she dreamt of the times they would travel. More often, as of late, her dreams were of times spent with her sister and female traveling companions, who had quickly become as sisters to her, themselves. On rare occasions since her capture, her dreams were her own to command. The young priestess would find this to be one of those times…

As she drifted off to sleep, she didn't feel the oppressive aura that had been commanding her dreams, leading them, seeming to search out information through her memories. She opened her eyes to a bright white expanse of nothingness. In the distance she could see the forms of two males, one of whom she was quite familiar with. Before she could think, she started to run to the males. As she drew closer, she realized they were similar in appearance. Silence surrounded the males.

She called out as soon as she knew she would be heard.

"Brother!"

They turned to her, surprise in their eyes.

"How did you get here?!" one of the males demanded. She ignored him.

The priestess stumbled as she reached the male she had called out to. He stepped toward the priestess, breaking his bonds and catching her as she fell, even as she started to sob into his silks. He looked up to the other male before attempting to comfort the young female.

He let out a low, soothing rumble to try to calm the trembling miko. She gasped when she heard his growl, before burying her face in his shoulder for a moment.

As the priestess calmed, she took a deep breath and looked into the big Inu's face.

"Brother," she started. "You must tell my mate to stop looking for me." Her voice trembled at that particular thought and tears filled her eyes. "He has to stop looking for me, it's a trap. They want to turn him against you as they're trying to turn me!"

"Sesshomaru, who is this female?" Touga asked, as said female took a moment to try to calm her tears once more.

The Daiyokai ignored his father's question.

"Sister," he started, "where have you been? Before this one was trapped here, you and the other miko both disappeared… We know where she went, but where are you? You are family… That's why we search for you, still!"

"Brother, you MUST stop! You must make him stop! You will not be able to find me…" she gasped. "I have no idea where they've taken me. All I see is darkness, there is no light. I don't even know how long I've been here!"

As tears slowly rolled down her cheeks, Sesshomaru continued to try to comfort the female, gently brushing the tears from her cheeks.

"Kikyo, use your reiki. We will find you," he said.

She started crying even harder at this. "I can't!" she wailed. "I'm chained and cannot touch my powers!"

Touga was noticeably startled by what he learned. "InuYasha has a mate?" he said in wonder. "My youngest child has a mate?! And she's….. gone." he finished in horror.

Amaterasu appeared in the dream plane at that moment, taking in the sight of the younger Inu gently comforting the intruding female. She slowly approached the pair before speaking.

"Young Miko, come to me, please," she softly commanded.

Kikyo started to protest, but was pulled behind an oddly protective Sesshomaru.

He growled at the sun goddess. "You will not harm her."

The goddess shook her head. "I have no intention of harming her, pup. I only wish to see if I may help," she explained. "I need contact with her, otherwise it's a moot point."

Sesshomaru continued to growl at the goddess. Touga stepped behind his son, realizing that there was a pack bond with the young woman.

Kikyo looked up to the familiar looking male, only to find eyes very much like those of her mate looking at her. She reached for him as she asked curiously "who are you?"

Sesshomaru stopped growling at the sound of his pack sister's voice. As he turned to look at his father, the sun goddess stepped past him reaching for Kikyo.

Amaterasu hissed as her fingertips came into contact with Kikyo's wrist. She looked to the two Inus in warning.

"My brother has her physical body." she told them gravely. "It is not possible for us to retrieve her or release her powers."

As Amaterasu finished speaking, Tsukiyomi and Elias entered the dream plane.

"Who holds the female's body, sister?" Tsukiyomi questioned. "And why is she here?"

Amaterasu turned to the new arrivals. "Susanoo has her body, brother…" she started. "The mate of Inu no Taisho's youngest son is being held captive in the Underworld, and she wishes to escape."

Elias gasped, gaining the attention of the others. Sesshomaru growled menacingly as he caught sight of the newest occupant of the vast nothingness that made the dream plane.

Tsukiyomi sighed in exasperation. "Would you stop growling, pup?" he asked. "Shall I find new ways to bind your form, or will you behave? Learn something before you attack?" the moon god growled.

Sesshomaru instantly stopped growling, startled that he hadn't realized he was no longer bound. "When did you release the binding?" he asked Amaterasu.

Touga laughed at his son's confusion. "She didn't, son." he explained. "Your selfless need to comfort a pack mate released it. You really should behave like that more often… Would be good for you."

Sesshomaru started to swat at his father but stopped mid strike when he felt the gentle hand of his brother's mate on his shoulder. As he turned to her, he noticed she was starting to fade.

"What's happening?" he demanded of the two gods.

Kikyo answered before they could. "I'm waking up, brother. Please relay my message to Inuyasha, and give him my love."

He reached to hug the priestess saying "I promise, Sister."

As Kikyo's form continued to fade, the sun goddess called out to her, "Don't give up, little Miko. We will find a way."

With that, Kikyo disappeared from sight.

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A/N:

I'M ALIIIIIIIVVVEEEEEE! (insert maniacal laughter here)

Ok, mostly just not dead. Thought with that whole "new year, new me" tripe that gets tossed around by pretty much everyone this time of year, I should revisit my laptop and pound out a new chapter for you all... Maybe more, if my muse decides to play nice. Still have more things that happen in future chapters coming to me than current events. Dont be surprised if I start to skip the mundane bs and just bring that up in flashbacks as it becomes relevant, if it ever does. I'm still not quite right in the head after the summer, that will take quite a bit longer to happen, (if it ever does) so things may not flow as they did in earlier chapters, characters may be a bit more "out" than before. To this I say: get over it. Fan fiction is rarely ever true to the original, Mine wont be any different. Promise. If things feel a bit "fluffy" or filler-ish, keep in mind what Touga said in chapter 11... Things are not always as they seem. Yes, there will be fluff and fill, and most likely it will hold hints of foreshadowing. If you're clever enough to put it all together, please dont shout it out in the reviews. If you wanna flow along for the ride, I welcome the company. Just be sure you contribute to the refreshments, I cant feed all you ravenous beasts, lol.

I had my cast list, and am choosing to leave it out, this chapter. Future additions may or may not be researched, they may come straight from the nightmare that is my brain. I will do my best to keep things straight and clear. Clear as mud at the moment, I know... But give me time. Things will get clearer. Like I said before, Things are not always as they seem... My original characters are no different- they arent what they seem. Not even close. My OC's dont currently stand out, and there is a reason for this. And... Certain plot devices. They may seem like overdone crap, but they do serve a purpose! Those will also have a moment of explanation at a later time.

Als, I haven't really edited this, so please let me know if there are errors.