Thank you to Hita-Chan, She Promised Us Lamingtons, White Fairy, and HappyGirl282 for reviewing the last chapter, and I'm sorry it took so long to get this one out!

Also, I mentioned in my last chapter that it was written sort of spastically… Luckily, it seemed like none of you really had a problem with it. For a while, a lot of the story is going to be written like that as there's so many characters and they aren't all in the same place at once.

Chapter Four

Confused, Honey tilted his head upwards in the direction that the voice had come. He was in a tunnel of some sort, and his eyes were slowly adjusting to the dim lighting. Flickering lightbulbs swung from the ceiling, and to his right stood a rickety, wooden watchtower. It was from the top of this structure that the voice came again.

"Mitsukuni Haninozuka…" The voice very nearly crooning his name from above possessed a definite edge of cruelty to it, but now there was something off. Before, he could have sworn the voice had an almost croaky quality to it- like that of an old woman. Now the voice, for all it's cruelty, had a sweeter sound to it; it more closely resembled that of a young girl.

"Who are you?" It was a challenge, but he didn't get a response. The moment Honey took a step forward, every one of his limbs was met with a sharp, piercing pain. However, this only lasted for a moment, as darkness overtook him a second later.

Every part of her ached as if she'd just been through an intense workout. Haruhi gasped awake, wondering how it was physically possible to be so sore and not have been run over by a large truck.

"Are you awake?"

The voice addressing her forced Haruhi to open her eyes, regardless of the pain pulsing through her skull every time she drew a breath. It briefly occurred to her that she must look like a frightened wild animal the way her eyes kept darting back and forth as her vision adjusted to the light. Once more, the sun was being blocked out. She could see, but everything was characterized by shadows.

Slowly, Haruhi dragged herself into a sitting position, every one of her muscles screaming in protest as she did so. Her grimace must have been evident, because whoever was sitting in front of her smiled sympathetically.

Haruhi sighed and focused to see a girl who looked to be about her age, maybe a year or so in either direction. She had a heart-shaped face, and her eyes looked kind even if it was impossible to discern exactly what color they were in the poor lighting. She had light brown hair that fell just past her waist- almost to the floor now that she was sitting with her legs tucked underneath her. She was wearing a faded yellow dress, and not to be rude, but Haruhi would guess that she hadn't bathed in a few days.

"Where are we?" The pain was slowly fading, but her throat was so scratchy that it still hurt to talk.

"The dungeon underneath the castle," the other girl answered simply, as if this fact didn't affect her in the least. "My name is Auriell, by the way."

"Haruhi," the honor student returned. "Why are we in the dungeon? And what castle?"

"Prisoners that are seen to be a direct threat to the royal family are kept in the dungeon. And the castle in the heart of Somnium, of course. That's the royal city in this world."

"Somnium…," Haruhi said slowly. "That's Latin for 'dream'."

Auriell smiled at her. "Yes. You're very smart."

"That's what they say," she replied with a sigh. "But not smart enough to stay out of jail, apparently."

Haruhi got to her feet, stretching her stiff limbs. For a castle, the structure they were in was very simple. Both the left and the right panned out into an impenetrable darkness, but the cell only stretched about ten feet in either direction. Metal bars reached from floor to ceiling and the door had a large, rusty metal lock. Just outside their cell was a long set of wooden stairs. Really, it looked more like a cellar than a dungeon. The jail would likely be fancier and more reminiscent of a castle if it were in Ouran Academy.

Auriell looked up when the door at the top of the stairs was suddenly thrown open. The light from beyond pierced the darkness of the basement, but the man coming down the steps was cloaked in shadow. His steps were heavy on the stairs, and the girls watched with suspended breath.

When the man reached the bottom, he inserted a key into the lock and threw the door to their cell open too, but still neither captive moved. He was holding something, supported solely by his other arm, but that was as invisible to them as his face. Not for long though.

Haruhi watched in horror as Honey's motionless body fell to the floor.

Tamaki sat up with a groan. He rubbed the bump on the back of his head, wondering why he was lying on the ground in the middle of a forest. Where was he? How did he get here?

Haruhi! His memories were slowly filing back into place, but this thought hit him like a brick. He had to find her! But as he jumped to his feet, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Enough of this civility. Don't you think we've beat around the bush enough?"

"Not at all, Ryouji. Or would you like me to call you Ranka now?"

Tamaki rushed forward and stopped at the edge of a clearing. In the middle was a very peculiar scene. In fact, it looked very much like a tea party. On one side of the table sat Ranka. And perhaps Tamaki had hit his head harder than he'd thought. For on the other side of the table… Well, the host king could have sworn it was Haruhi's mother.

But that was impossible! However, Ranka disproved this impossibility just a second later.

"Kotoko, you can't do this! I thought you stood for justice."

"Don't you dare throw my morals back at me. I am fighting for justice- the only one doing so around here."

"Really?" Ranka challenged coolly. "You call putting an innocent little girl in jail 'justice'? What was her name? Auriell?"

Kotoko's hands contracted into fists on the table. "If that's what it takes to make change, then yes, I do."

Ranka's voice was grim. "You're out of control, Kotoko. But this meeting isn't about your work. Tell me, where is my daughter?"

"Our daughter is safe. That's all you need to concern yourself with."

"I think you gave up any claims to Haruhi when you abandoned her ten years ago."

"Haruhi would understand that what I'm doing is right!"

"Oh? You think that would just make it all better? You think it's okay that you chose your job over your child?"

His provoking had worked. Now Kotoko's voice was equally shrill and passionate.

"I trusted you to take care of her! You didn't have to tell her I died!"

"Well, excuse me for thinking it would hurt her a little less than having her find out that you'd just packed up and left! I warned you from the beginning that if you were going to get this involved here you would have to choose: Either you're a mother or you're a lawyer!"

In his rage, Ranka had jumped up. Now, Tamaki watched in horror as every one of the man's muscles seemed to seize up. His eyes widened and a horrible choking sound emerged from his throat. Kotoko watched the entire ordeal stoically as her former husband paled and fell to the ground, at last rising to her own feet.

"You forgot one option, dear Ryouji," she murmured to herself. "I've never believed it to be impossible to do both."

"Hikaru! Hikaru!" Kaoru crashed through the undergrowth, not having a clue where he was going, or caring, for that matter.

He'd been so distant to his brother lately… but his twin meant everything to him! And now they were separated in an unknown and possibly dangerous forest. What if he never saw him again?

"Hikaru!" Once again, he received no answer, and he continued on, his panic building. What else could possibly go wrong today?

Review please!

And thus… it is finally complete! I may be the only one cheering…

Sorry again for the wait! I don't own Ouran High School Host Club… But I do own a handful of original characters now…