Kagome woke on a hard, dirty floor. Every part of her hurt, and she felt somehow empty, like she was only half of herself. She wanted to leap to her feet, ready to face whatever situation she was in now, but she could barely move. So instead she slowly eased her way into a sitting position and looked around. The room was small, and completely bare. No art on the walls. No furniture. One closed door and no windows. It was cold and the air felt moist and thick. Was she underground?

In a rush, everything that happened came back to her and she forced the ensuing emotions into submission. There was no time or need for despair, regret, or fear. She had to figure out where she was, where Naraku was, where Inuyasha and her friends were, and what to do from here.

Needing a small bit of reassurance, she reached into her shirt to feel the necklace her mother had given her, the one she had worn to battle for strength. But her fingers only felt her chilled skin. She looked down. All her other clothes were still intact and undisturbed. Why would Naraku take her necklace? Just to mess with her emotionally? What a bastard…

"So you're awake." Kagome's head snapped up. Naraku was leering at her from the doorway. He was back in his regular form, looking relaxed and smug. She tensed. Why hadn't she sensed him there?

"Where am I?" she asked.

He only smirked in response.

"Have you figured out what's missing yet?" he asked tauntingly.

"My necklace. Give it back."

"You mean this?" he asked, dangling the trinket from his fingers. "That's not what I was referring to. And besides, this is mine."

"It is not! My mother gave it to me after…" Kagome's voice trailed off, remembering the timeline. Her mother had given it to her right after she had married Naraku. Kagome had taken it as a gesture to help her get through the transition. But if what Naraku said before was true, her real mother was dead by then. Which means… "You gave it to her to give to me? Why?"

Naraku's sinister grin deepened. "It's no ordinary stone, my pet. And I knew if your dear mother gave it to you, you would wear it." He advanced into the room, shutting the door behind him. She heard the lock snap. "Shall I show you what it's done?"

Kagome squared her shoulders. "Stay back. If my mother's dead, I have no reason not to fight you anymore."

Naraku laughed sickeningly, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Kagome quickly took the opportunity to summon a blast of energy from her palm. But nothing happened. She felt the tug on her inner reserves, but nothing came forward to meet it. Slowly, Naraku opened his eyes again and smiled at her silkily. He held up the necklace once more, swaying it in front of her. "It's been collecting your powers," he chuckled gleefully. "And now that you gave it one final great burst of power and it's all done, it's sealed them. They're mine." He closed the remaining distance between them and grabbed her chin with his other hand, forcing it up. "And so are you," he whispered. Kagome felt cold shivers run down her back, but refused to look away.

"There's that spirit," Naraku cooed approvingly. "I'll have fun breaking it. But not today. I want to start playing with my new toy right away. Then I'll come back for my old one." With that, he strode back out of the room, snapping the door shut behind him.

Kagome slumped to the ground, her energy sagging out of her. What would she do now? No powers. No friends. No idea where she was and presumably no escape.

Kagome. Where are you? Kagome froze. Inuyasha's voice had just rung clearly in her mind. How?

Inuyasha? she thought uncertainly, trying to focus her mind in his direction. Not that she had any idea what direction that was.

Kagome!? He sounded shocked. Suddenly a flood of questions filled her mind. How are you doing this? Where are you? Are you hurt? Is Naraku with you? Has he done anything to you? Tell me where you are so I can kill him!

Kagome rubbed her forehead trying to relieve the tension from his sudden explosion of inquiries. It was a strange feeling to have someone else's thoughts in her head. Tight. Like too much water in a bag. And the bag was her head.

Slow down, she thought. I'm mostly ok. I hurt, but I don't think I have any actual injuries. Naraku's here, but I don't know where here is. I'm not safe, but he hasn't done anything to me yet. Well, except take my powers. All of them. I don't know what he's planning to use them for, but it can't be good.

Her mind was silent for a while, empty of his voice. She waited, sure that he was taking in and adjusting to her news. But when his voice rang in her mind again, it wasn't about Naraku.

I thought I'd lost you, it whispered softly. The affection in his voice made her want to cry.

Well, I'm not dead yet, she thought back. And I'm glad you're not either. Are you hurt?

Feh. That meant yes, but probably not too badly. Good. Kagome pushed herself up again and tried to stand.

I don't know how we're communicating right now, but we'll figure that out later, she thought. Right now, what's most important is stopping Naraku. Let me tell you everything I can about the room I'm in.