Author's Note: Tada! Chapter 2! Wow, there was a pretty big response to chapter 1 there- I was really surprised. 9 reviews in only 150 hits? That's huge. At least by my standards. I'm really, really happy to see that so many of you are reading and enjoying my story.

Anyway- onward!

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For the five minutes after Yuki appeared in front of me, nobody had said anything. We eventually all sat down around a table in the library, and waited. For what? I'm not sure. For me, I think it was because I was simply too shocked to formulate any coherent sentences. Sato was busy trying to burn away the cigarette between his trembling fingers in record time. And Yuki was... well... Yuki.

Suddenly, Sato spoke in a wavering voice, still rattled by what he saw.

"S-so... you're a ghost, right? A witch maybe?"

"No."

"Then... what are you?"

I thought back to the time when Yuki told me what she was, and what was going on around me. She told me matter-of-factly that she was an interface to the Data Integration Thought Entity. She was absolutely resolute. That's why her response caught me by surprise- almost as much as her actual appearance did.

"...I'm not sure."

I finally spoke up, suddenly very, very confused.

"What do you mean? Aren't you an interface to the Data Integration Thought Entity?"

Sato gave me a funny look. Again, he inhaled deeply from his cigarette.

"...No. My connection to the Data Integration Thought Entity has been severed."

And here we are- the essential question: "What happened, Yuki-chan?"

Yuki opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Sato.

"...I saw you in a dream. It... couldn't have been a coincidence."

Yuki nodded.

"Yes... Perhaps it would be best if I started from the beginning. When I had originally resolved to terminate Suzumiya Haruhi, I had considered the possibility of my data link being severed before I was able to complete my task. In order to compensate for this risk, I made an imprint of myself-", Yuki pointed toward the bookcase, "-on that book."

Yuki paused, allowing us time to assimilate this new information.

"...I delivered this book to the post office with specific instructions. In the event of my death, the book, along with a letter detailing what to do with that book, were to be sent to Itsuki Koizumi."

I interrupted, a thought suddenly occurring

"Wait a second... Koizumi didn't deliver the book until last year. Why is that?"

Yuki shook her head.

"The reason behind Koizumi's delay in complying with my request is unknown. If you wish to know, I would suggest asking him."

I nodded. If I ever saw him again, I'd ask. It wasn't like Koizumi to be so slack about something like that. Yuki continued.

"Disregarding Koizumi's lack of expedience, things did not go as smoothly as I expected them to. The trigger that would allow my backup to activate... was for that bookmark to be placed on the last page of the book."

Oh god...

"You mean... You expected me to read it?"

"Yes. I expected you to read it."

Oh, that's fantastic... Out of all the books I've been reading... I neglected to read the only one that matters. I guess... I just got so hung up on the bookmark that I forgot about the book entirely. I'm an idiot...

"I'm sorry, Yuki."

Yuki shook her head.

"It's okay. Despite my existence being completely tied to that book, I was still conscious, though with very little influence. My abilities were limited, to say the least. I observed you from my place on the bookshelf, as you read through a different book every few days. Eventually, it became clear to me that I needed to take some form of action."

Yuki turned her attention to Sato.

"When you fell asleep at your watch station earlier tonight, I sent you a message."

Sato laughed nervously.

"Yeah... well... getting payed to sleep is a pretty nice deal, am I right?"

"Heh... Why am I not surprised, Sato?"

Sato became serious again.

"But why me? Why not Kyon?"

"I had been observing you as well. After some time, I became convinced that you could be trusted."

Sato shook his head.

"That doesn't answer my question though..."

Yuki nodded.

"You have the keys. Which brings up another problem..."

Sato chuckled good-naturedly at her reasoning. Yuki ignored him and turned her attention to me.

"...Because I am no longer linked with the Data Integration Thought Entity, my data manipulation abilities have become... limited. We can not rely on my abilities as much as we used to."

I nodded, uneasy, but still happy that Yuki was with me again.

"So... what's the plan, Yuki?"

"...First, we must go to the security station and edit the video recordings for the past 30 minutes and the next few hours."

Sato coughed roughly, spitting his cigarette onto the table. He quickly snatched it up before it caught anything on fire.

"...Shit... I knew I forgot something."

I nodded in agreement. The last thing I want is for Sato to get into any kind of trouble over this. Especially when he's trying to keep his nose clean for his fiance.

"Can't you edit the recordings from here, Yuki?"

Sato shook his head.

"Of course not... That's ridiculous..."

Instead of responding to Sato's remark, I waited for Yuki to respond. I wasn't surprised that Sato was still skeptical. After all, it took a life-threatening situation to get me to believe Yuki's claims.

"I will need to be much closer in order to manipulate the video recordings."

"Okay... but what do we do after that?"

Yuki looked at Sato expectantly, waiting for him to respond. Sato removed the cigarette from his mouth and ground it into the palm of his left hand, without even flinching. I'd seen him do it before, but I'd never asked him about it.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. Neither of us disturbed him as he thought about Yuki's unspoken request. We all knew what that request was- there was no need for her to spell it out.

And then I started thinking about Haruhi again. Here we were, making plans for a jailbreak... and I really deserve my time here. It's not like I was framed or anything. I looked up at Yuki, the guilt bearing down on me once again. I'm still guilty... I'm still guilty...

"...Haruhi..."

I barely whispered her name, but it was enough to bring Sato out of his reverie. He spoke slowly and carefully, with deathly seriousness.

"...If you can edit the videos to make it look like I had nothing to do with the escape, then I'll help you."

I looked at Yuki again. For the time being, my self-doubt was put to rest in those eyes of hers. I nodded and stood up.

"...But what about the other prisoners."

Sato shook his head and waved me off, clearly not concerned with them.

"The ones that aren't asleep are either masturbating or staring at the ceiling. As long as you two don't talk, there's nothing to worry about from them."

I nodded uneasily, grimacing slightly at the mental image that Sato conjured up.

"...Okay, let's go."

And so we went.

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Once we were inside the security room, Yuki made her way immediately to the terminal and went to work. Her eyes glazed over slightly as her fingers flew across the keys with all the practiced ease that I remember. I saw various windows open and close in less then a second. Mostly videos, but I also saw a map and a few windows comprised entirely of text flash by. Sato watched in amazement, clearly not expecting her to be capable of such a thing.

After about 5 minutes of this, Yuki stopped suddenly and stood up, gesturing for Sato to sit down in the chair.

Slack-jawed, he sat down carefully and opened up a few videos, seeing that they all not only showed nothing suspect for the past half hour or so, but there were recordings for the next 2 hours. Speechless, he turned around in the chair and stared at Yuki. He looked back at the screen and scratched his head.

"...I must be dreaming."

"You are not."

She said it matter-of-factly, completely disregarding any notion that Sato was asleep. He laughed again and stood up, patting her, and myself on the back.

"Hahaha... Well, I guess we should get moving then."

Sato opened the door and steeped out into the hallway, Yuki and I following closely behind. Sato led us through the maze of corridors, not stopping once. In a relatively short time, we were outside, where I was immediately overwhelmed. Being outside of prison for the first time in years... it was a euphoric experience. Overcome, I turned Sato and bowed deeply

"Thank you Sato... Thank you so much..."

"Don't worry about it, Kyon."

He handed me a baseball cap and a poncho. I donned them immediately, knowing exactly what it was for.

"...You're going to need to find some clothes that look less suspicious soon, Kyon...and a haircut too."

I nodded, and waited for him to continue.

"...I can't help you out any more from here, Kyon. Not now at least. You'll have to find shelter and food on your own. To that end...", he handed me a couple bills- about 5,000 yen, "... take this and use it for whatever you need."

"Sato, you don't need to-"

He put up his hand in front of my face in a stopping gesture.

"No Kyon, take it. It's nothing."

"...Thanks Sato."

Sato bowed slightly, and stepped back.

"Goodbye, Kyon... I hope to see you again some other time."

I nodded, deeply grateful for everything Sato had done for us.

"Yeah... see you later, Sato."

He turned around and went back inside, making a vague waving motion with his hand. I watched until the door closed before turning back around toward Yuki. I met her eyes and smiled uncertainly.

I looked out at the buildings in front of us, feeling slightly intimidated by their looming height.

I carefully grabbed Yuki's hand and stepped forward, without any idea about where we were going.

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Author's note: 11 reviews now. 2 more popped up while I was writing my story. O.o

Now- what do you think? I think I explained the situation as thoroughly as I can at this juncture without giving away anything important concerning the plot. If you feel otherwise, and would like to call me a talentless hack, (I am, after all, a talentless hack) or if you would like to tell me how much you like my writing, then please, go ahead and review. I respond when I can think of something to say.

One more think- I'd like a little bit of feedback concerning Sato. I know- he's an OC, and the general consensus of the community is 'burn them at the stake', but I figured I'd ask anyway. I plan on fleshing him out a bit more- but he's not going to be a primary character, so you don't have to worry about that.

Anyway- review please! Nothing gets me motivated to write quite like feedback. Always assume that your reviews bring the next chapter a little closer to being released- because that is usually the case.