A/N: I have to apologize for the delay in this chapter. Life happened. xD Hopefully, the slightly longer-than-average chapter helps make up for it. If I write another fanfiction after this, I'll probably stick with a weekly or twice-weekly schedule.

As always, I greatly appreciate any feedback you folks leave. That's how you improve, right? So if something doesn't sit right with you, feel free to let me know. As the plot incorporates a bit more from the original novels and thus becomes more complicated, I can't help but worry that I'll miss a detail somewhere that ends up throwing a wrench into my plans.

I hope you enjoy chapter eight. Thank you to everyone who's been reading so far, and an extra thanks to Uberlemming for calling me out and holding me accountable character-wise. :D

"Kyon, are you even listening?"

I jerked my head up to look across the table at Haruhi. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I guess I wasn't."

"Jeez. You need to pay attention! This is important."

Somehow I doubt that.

After meeting up at the electronics store, the seven of us had decided to grab some lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. If King Arthur had the Knights of the Round Table, we'd be the Knights of the Lazy Susan.

"I'm talking about our plans for the summer," she said. "Once we get Yuki back, we're going to do at least twice as much as we did last year! I'm talking big, epic adventures, the likes of which this club has never seen before!"

Koizumi, Miss Asahina and I exchanged concerned glances. We hadn't talked much about how we were going to handle Haruhi and her powers once she got them back, but I don't think it'd be a good idea for her to remain aware of her godlike status. The longer things went on, though, the more I was starting to dislike the idea of just wiping her memory. It was nice to not have to tiptoe around her, and having her as an acting member of our team made things feel more complete.

Haruhi picked up on our apprehension. "What's wrong? You guys don't seem very excited about all this... Oh, don't worry. We'll get Yuki back, I'm sure of it."

That's not what's bothering us, but I'm glad you're staying optimistic.

"Anyway, we need to decide what we're going to encounter first. Maybe the ghost of a woman who's out for revenge after being horribly murdered, or a giant monster that drags people away in the middle of the night to turn them into one of its fiendish henchmen!"

On second thought, maybe wiping her memory isn't such a bad idea.

As Haruhi went on, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Tachibana had been trying to make eye contact with me. As soon as I returned it, she gave a couple of quick glances to Sasaki. Oh, no. I know what you're thinking. She already said she doesn't want that kind of power, and even if I thought it was a good idea, I wouldn't want to force it on her, so you can just forget it.

She sulked for a second, but perked up when Koizumi's phone started ringing. The conversation died as everyone waited for him to answer.

"Hello?... Yes... Oh, that's wonderful! How long do you think it'll be?... I see. I can't thank you enough, Mr. Tamaru."

He hung up, then just smiled at us as if he was waiting for someone to ask. Well, I won't give him the satisfaction!

Haruhi, on the other hand, took the bait. "What was that about?"

"It seems we've acquired both the generator and the cell phone. Over a third of the 3G phones that were issued ended up being recalled due to an error, so getting our hands on one was a bit harder than we'd anticipated, but it looks like it all worked out."

"Alright! Way to go, Koizumi! You rock!"

Haruhi, as soon as we get Nagato back, I'm having her install a volume knob on you. And Koizumi, it's been what, an hour? No matter how you look at it, that's still pretty fast.

"How long until they get here?" Sasaki asked.

"It shouldn't be more than an hour or two. In the meantime, perhaps we should head back to Fujiwara's apartment so he can start assembling the rest of our TPDD. Once everyone's finished eating, of course."

I started refilling my plate.

Unfortunately, Haruhi saw right through me, and shortly thereafter we were back at Fujiwara's apartment. Even though our makeshift TPDD couldn't be completed without the final three pieces, the sneering bastard was at least able to start connecting the pieces we did have. To be honest, I was curious how these seemingly random components could form the framework of a time machine, but it was probably over my head anyway.

"Way over," Fujiwara said. "Even if I tried to explain it, you couldn't begin to understand."

That's probably true, but you're the last person I want to hear it from. "Whatever," I said. "I'm gonna go take a walk to relax."

Koizumi reached for his jacket. "That sounds good. I think I'll join you."

Didn't you hear the part where I said I wanted to relax?

He just laughed. "It's been a while since we've had one of our guy talks. I think there's plenty for us to discuss."

Luckily, everyone else was fully engrossed in the construction of the TPDD. Everyone but Kuyoh, that is. So far, all he'd really done was take the toy car apart and connect a bunch of wires to the laptop, but that was enough to keep Haruhi distracted for a while longer. "Fine, let's go."

"Wonderful weather, isn't it?"

It's hot and humid. And you don't have to waste your time making small talk. I know you didn't tag along just to chat about the weather.

He feigned surprise. "It looks like you've seen through me once again. You do seem a bit less patient than usual, though. Perhaps Miss Suzumiya is starting to rub off on you?"

No. Oh, god, anything but that.

"Of course, I'm only joking. But you are correct that I had another topic in mind when I decided to join you on this walk."

I sighed. "Alright. I'll play along. Is it about Miss Suzumiya?"

"It's about Miss Suzumiya."

No surprise there. Even when she's not special at all, she's still special. "What about her?"

He took on a more serious tone. "Assuming Miss Kuyoh is able to restore her abilities, we'll then face the dilemma of what to do about her memories."

It only took about a minute of conversation for Koizumi to say what was on his mind. That had to be a record. "Well, once Nagato's back, she can just erase the whole thing from Haruhi's mind, can't she?"

Koizumi looked up at the sky. "It's possible. But in order for that to work, we have to trust that this reality will be able to survive Miss Suzumiya being in possession of and aware of her powers long enough to revive Miss Nagato. Our understanding of the situation is just too limited to say that with certainty. It's possible that her innermost desires would be fully realized the moment the transfer is complete."

I'm not sure if that's how it works. It seems to me that Haruhi should at least have some conscious control over it, shouldn't she?

"That may be the case. It's a scenario we've never been able to observe, so we really have no idea what will happen."

Well, what are our alternatives? I hope you're not considering leaving Kimidori in charge.

"Of course not. In fact, I'd say we're in more danger than ever now that our existence rests in the hands of a being that has no real interest in us. Our world could be wiped out at any moment. It's actually quite scary."

You're telling me.

"It would be better if we could erase Miss Suzumiya's memories beforehand. If Miss Suoh were to make her forget about everything she's learned, we could leave her behind, out of harm's way, and transfer her powers back after Miss Suoh has defeated Miss Kimidori."

So take Haruhi out of the equation entirely. That would probably save us a lot of headaches, but wouldn't it be dangerous to leave her alone like that?

He was quiet for a moment. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? Actually, that's been bothering me for a while now. I'm a bit concerned that we haven't seen more opposition by now."

So it wasn't just me. Either Kimidori didn't think it was necessary to keep an eye on us, or she didn't think it was necessary to intervene. As much as I hoped it was an oversight on her part, I couldn't get myself to believe it.

"Oh, so you've realized it, too. I asked Miss Suoh if we're being followed by any other interfaces, and she said we aren't. In fact, she can't seem to locate any of them."

Any of them? Does that mean the Data Integration Thought Entity is able to keep itself hidden completely now that it has Haruhi's powers?

"That's a good question."

We finally stopped at an intersection. Rather than waiting for the light to change and let us pass, I decided to turn around and start heading back.

"By the way," I said, "have you told Haruhi about last summer?"

"I haven't. I was sort of hoping I could leave most of the explaining to you."

Why should I have to do it? You're the one who's always talking my ear off. Try aiming it at her for a bit.

For once, his laugh seemed genuine. "Maybe I should. I could probably explain everything pretty clearly, actually. No, perhaps I should rephrase what I said. I'm not asking you to explain things to her, I'm asking you to tell her about it."

Yeah, Koizumi? Those are the same thing.

The rest of our walk was awkwardly silent. When we got back to the sneering bastard's apartment, Haruhi was waiting for us.

"There you guys are! Where the heck have you been? Fujiwara's got the laptop all set up for when we get the rest of the parts!"

No way! He did it that fast?

The laptop screen was displaying a bunch of meaningless numbers and letters; I couldn't make heads or tails of it. A mass of tangled wires was plugged into every available USB port, and the whole thing sat atop a half-gutted microwave with an antenna sticking out.

It looked like something my little sister might come up with if I asked her to draw a time machine.

Fujiwara scoffed. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand the interactions going on here. It's designed for functionality, not elegance. If you wanted something prettier, I'd need resources beyond the primitive garbage available in your time."

You know, you could come up with a much better alias than Fujiwara. How about Malfoy?

Sasaki leaned in to examine where the antenna attached to the microwave. "So this thing can really send us back in time?" she asked. "Once you add the other parts, of course."

"That's the plan."

Miss Asahina seemed uncomfortable. "But, how do you know how to make something like this? We didn't really talk about physical TPDDs in training, not since... What I mean is, we don't use them anymore, so how do you know how to build one?"

Wait a second.

"That's none of your business," he said. "It's not like it would matter if I told you, anyway."

Wait a second.

It finally clicked. Apartment 205. I mentally repeated the full address in my head, just to make sure I was right. No wonder it had felt so familiar. Back in February, after encountering the sneering bastard for the first time, I'd mailed a partially damaged memory chip to an unknown address. Nagato had said it contained important information that would allow humans to travel through time, but chunks of the data had been corrupted. I'd never have imagined I'd end up mailing it to this arrogant bastard. Did he even have a way to read it? And if he did, is that how he knows how to build a TPDD? Just how far ahead had the older Miss Asahina been planning?

At any rate, I'll wait until later to tell the current Miss Asahina about it. If I tried to bring it up now, Haruhi would hit me with a barrage of questions.

Time was passing agonizingly slowly now that we were back to playing the waiting game. Fujiwara had retreated to his bedroom, which was fine by me. The less I see of that bastard's face, the better. The main issue was that Haruhi had gone back into question and answer mode. She had two espers, a time traveler, and an alien all under the same roof, and she wasn't letting that opportunity go to waste.

If there's anything I've learned to do in the past year or so, though, it's tune Haruhi out. Sorry, everyone, but if I'm a part of this conversation, it's only a matter of time before she asks me about what Fujiwara said earlier. I'll just use this chance to take a quick nap...

"Kyon, wake up."

That's not fair. I had only halfway dozed off!

"What are you talking about? You were snoring," Haruhi said. "Koizumi's friends are here with the generator, and we need your help bringing it inside."

Begrudgingly, I got to my feet and shuffled out the door. Why was I more tired now than I had been before?

Outside, a white van was parked in front of the apartment building. A couple of men got out, and I quickly recognized them as the Tamaru brothers. Despite what Koizumi always says about the Organization having a lot of members and influence, it seems like I only see the same few members over and over.

"It's good to see you again," Mr. Yutaka said. "Kyon, was it? We've got this thing all fueled up and ready to go."

That was handy, but as we each took a corner and lifted the thing, I found that a full tank of fuel only made our job harder. The generator had to be at least several times my body weight.

Miss Asahina hurried back toward the building. "A-Ah! Let me get the door!"

Oh, please, don't trouble yourself! You don't need to—

Dammit. Now I can't even think like that without Koizumi's words coming back to haunt me.

We eventually got the generator into Fujiwara's apartment, where we could finally set it down. My hands were red from gripping the edges, but at least I was more awake now.

"Oh, and here's the phone you asked for," Mr. Keiichi said, holding out a small box. "I'm told it was quite a hassle to find one like that."

Koizumi smiled and took the box. "I see. Thank you for all of your help, both of you."

Now all we needed was the cylindrical circuit from Miss Tsuruya's place.

"Shouldn't school be letting out soon?" Tachibana asked. "We could meet up with her while Fujiwara incorporates the phone and the generator into the TPDD."

"There's no point in all of us going," I said. Besides that, it didn't feel right bringing everyone to Miss Tsuruya's home. They probably already knew where it was, but on the off-chance that they didn't, I'd hate to get her mixed up in all this.

In the end, it was me, Haruhi, and Miss Asahina who ended up going. Miss Asahina because she was Miss Tsuruya's best friend, me because I felt responsible for involving her in the first place, and Haruhi because it would have otherwise been just me and Miss Asahina. I guess some things never change.

"Heya Mikuru! I was worried when you didn't show up for class today, nyoro. It must have been something important for you to all skip school together, right? You should invite me next time!"

Ah, Miss Tsuruya, your boundless energy would actually be somewhat refreshing if not for the fact that I spend day after day with an equally energetic and far more insufferable girl.

The circuit was kept in a vault toward the center of the Tsuruya residence. We weren't allowed to go inside; instead, she went in and brought out the glass case that contained the rod. It ended up being a bit bigger than I'd thought, probably closer to fifteen centimeters than ten.

Miss Asahina was in awe. "I can't believe you had something like this all this time," she said. "But, how much... Um... Do you...?"

"All I know is it's something you guys need, right? That's all that really matters, so you can just take it!"

That's right. Miss Tsuruya had realized something was strange about the members of the SOS Brigade a while back, but she didn't really know any details. Maybe after this was over, Miss Asahina would be able to let her in on the secret.

After saying goodbye, we headed back to Fujiwara's apartment. Miss Asahina sat in the front seat, leaving the circuit in its case between me and our beloved brigade leader.

"So who did tell you where to dig?"

Crap! Come on, Haruhi. You ask me that now? I'd be happy to tell you, but I can't with Miss Asahina sitting right there. "I... can't say. Not right now, anyway. Why don't we talk about it in private later?"

She sighed. "Fine."

Success!

Wait, no! That's not what I wanted! If we talk in private, I know exactly what she's going to ask me about next. Dammit, why did I have to say that?

By the time we got back to the apartment, Fujiwara had already finished working the phone and the generator into the makeshift TPDD. Not that there was much to do, mind you. The generator was presumably for power, so all he really had to do was plug it in.

"Hah! If only it were that simple," he said. "Did you bring the circuit?"

Haruhi held the case out, letting everyone get a good look at the mysterious piece that made our entire plan possible. "Tada! I don't know how it works, but here it is. Now hurry up and finish this thing. You've got thirty seconds!"

Fujiwara took the case, gritting his teeth the whole time. I won't lie, it was satisfying to see him getting so frustrated and not being able to do anything about it.

I sat back on the couch while we waited for Fujiwara to do whatever it was he was going to do. The laptop's casing had been pried open, and it looked like the cell phone had been haphazardly jammed inside. I could only assume there was a more complicated interaction taking place within.

"It's fascinating, isn't it?"

I looked up at Sasaki, who was standing over me. "Oh, yeah," I said, "I just hope it actually works."

"Me too. I think he knows what he's doing, though. Personally, I don't think I'm really needed here. I'm not much use, you know?"

At least you have some sort of power. Even if it's only creating closed space, it's better than nothing.

"You think so? Honestly, I'd rather not have anything to do with it. It seems like there's too much risk involved."

You can say that again.

"Alright, that should do it."

Fujiwara stood back, arms crossed. "It's rickety, but it'll get the job done."

Haruhi leaned in to get a closer look. "You're serious? It's really done? How far back can we go?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" he asked. "We have to use the same access point you used last time."

Tachibana looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Speaking of which, where did you say it was, again?"

The hole in the time plane? Let's see. We'd been running through Haruhi's closed space, and we took refuge in an alley, and then...

"Wait," I said, "so we're going to have to leave from that alleyway? That's a little... public, don't you think?"

"What the hell do you want me to do?" Fujiwara snapped. "I don't make the rules here. None of us do. That's what it's going to take, so you'll just have to get used to it."

Well, we could probably hide from view without too much effort. Kuyoh might even be able to make us invisible or something.

Wait a second. We're going to have to move this thing again?

The good news is, Haruhi helped us load the TPDD, which was even heavier now that it was fully assembled, back into the van. The bad news is, her idea of "helping" involves barking orders and not actually lifting a finger herself. Still, it was worth it to see Fujiwara struggling to hold up his corner of the generator. I wasn't doing much better, mind you, but I'm pretty sure my arms weren't shaking as much as his. I'd asked Kuyoh if she could just teleport us to the alley all at once, but she said it was best to avoid using her powers as much as possible. Apparently, it would be some kind of red flag to the Data Integration Thought Entity's other interfaces, wherever they were.

As if that wasn't enough, Fujiwara had insisted on coming with us. I didn't trust him for a second, but as it stood, he was the only one who knew how to operate our pathetic excuse for a time machine.

"Isn't it better this way, though?" Koizumi asked. "In medieval times, the king would have a servant taste his food to make sure it wasn't poisoned. The same logic applies here. If Fujiwara is willing to use this TPDD himself, we can assume that it's relatively safe."

What, you think he might have rigged it to send us on a one-way trip to the Paleolithic Era or something?

He shrugged. "I don't think that's possible, but you never know. At any rate, I'm glad he's confident enough in his creation to come along with us."

I guess, but I still wonder about his motives. I seriously doubt he's tagging along just to reassure us.

We were currently on our way to the "access point", as we'd started calling it. I was lucky enough to avoid riding with Haruhi this time around, instead ending up with Koizumi, Tachibana, and Kuyoh. I'd tried to convince Haruhi, Miss Asahina, and Sasaki to stay behind, since they wouldn't really be that useful in the first place, but they'd turned that logic around on me. Then Haruhi went on this rant about how we all needed to be there when we got Nagato back, and how backing out now was treason.

And so, the SOS Brigade and its semi-evil counterpart joined forces with the express purpose of restoring both Haruhi Suzumiya and Yuki Nagato to their former glory.

Of course, I'm not an idiot. Last time we met the sneering bastard, his entire plan had revolved around using Haruhi's powers to alter the timeline, and I'd have to be an idiot to think he'd give up on that so easily. He has something up his sleeve, I'm just not sure what it is.

With those thoughts weighing heavy on my mind, I leaned forward to look over at Tachibana. "Hey. If Fujiwara tries anything, can we count on you to be on our side?"

She seemed surprised, but she didn't hesitate in her response. "Of course. I never would have helped him back then if I'd known what he was planning."

I stared at her for a couple of seconds before I was satisfied. "And what about you, Kuyoh?"

She was the real wild card. Difficult to predict, impossible to read, and the crux of our entire plan. If anything was going to go wrong, she'd be the one who'd either stop it or cause it to happen in the first place.

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything.

"You're the only one who can perform the transfer," I said. "If Nagato's brought back, you may still have a shot at communicating. Plus, I doubt you really feel comfortable letting the Data Integration Thought Entity have so much power. Am I right?"

Still no response. Just the same artificial silence.

"I guess what I'm trying to ask you is, can we trust that you'll help us if Fujiwara tries to interfere? I know you were on his side before, but surely you've realized by now that he doesn't really care about your objectives, right? He was just using you."

"—I... understand," she said. "Our goals are the same. I will do my best to help you."

That's all I could really ask for. She could still by lying, but I honestly don't see how the Heavenly Canopy Dominion could be happy with Kimidori in charge. I'd really like to talk to Koizumi about preventing Fujiwara from interfering in the first place, but on the off-chance that Tachibana or Kuyoh are in on it, I can't afford to have that discussion right now.

After what felt like an eternity, our caravan pulled into a parking garage. There was really only one way we were going to be able to pull this off in the middle of the day, but I wasn't too happy about what Koizumi was planning.

"Alright, let's go."

It was probably the first time I did something that actually felt... cool. Sure, all we really did was change vehicles, but the way everyone hurried out of the cabs and into the nondescript white van felt like something out of a spy movie. Not to mention the fact that there was a time machine on board.

Once we were all in, though, it felt a lot less cool. With eight people and a 250 kilogram time machine, it was pretty cramped.

Mr. Keiichi looked back at us. "Everybody hold on tight, okay? We're about to start moving again."

I gripped the handle over the door, and as we started moving, I felt a hand grab the back of my shirt.

"Hold still," Haruhi said, wobbling slightly as we pulled out into the street.

"Hey, are you still sure you wanna do this?" I asked. "It's dangerous. If you're having second thoughts, now's the time to speak up."

She gave me a stern look. "Of course I'm sure. Don't ask stupid questions."

Right. I guess I already knew what her answer would be, anyway. It was pointless to try to dissuade her. Even when the odds are stacked against her, Haruhi is still willing to stick her neck out for her brigade members. It's one of her better qualities.

Stop looking at me like that, Koizumi.

We turned, and a couple of short honks told me we were getting into position. In order for this to work, we had to cut across several lanes of traffic.

Fujiwara held out a cable. "Everybody grab on to this," he said. "That's the only way we'll all make the jump, assuming this works."

Wait, what do you mean "Assuming this works"? You sounded perfectly confident a few minutes ago!

We did as he instructed, each grabbing a portion of the cable. Miss Asahina was whimpering somewhere behind me. She was probably scared out of her mind. Hearing sounds like that coming from an experienced time traveler was a bit disheartening.

"How long do you think we'll have before the hole begins to expand?" Koizumi asked.

"There's no way to know exactly how long it'll take. Less than an hour, for sure. Best case scenario, we might have about thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes to find Kimidori and take Haruhi's powers back. And that's the best case scenario?

"That's plenty of time," Haruhi said. The burning excitement in her voice had died down to a simmer, and was replaced with a sense of determination. It must have been contagious, because I felt a surge of confidence swell up in my chest, too.

The van pulled forward, easing into the alleyway. How far into it had we gone, again? It couldn't have been more than thirty feet.

"Everyone hold on," Fujiwara said. "As soon as we hit the right spot, we'll—"

Before he could finish, a spark of electricity burst from the microwave. I remember feeling my hair stand on end for a second before the world seemed to explode around us.

Then, everything went black.

A/N: On a side note, there's a vague Steins;Gate reference in the ingredients of the homemade TPDD. If you haven't seen or read Steins;Gate, definitely check it out. It's a pretty great series.