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<11/12/149,566 {Avion 148} - 13:01 | Corral Position, Genosis, Altiri Sector Space>

In the brief time that passed, after taking another dozen minutes to calm myself, my sisters and I made emergency contact with the queen to deliver our report. Such was not an unusual protocol for people like us, people who have a purged human to tend to. I cared not that the Royal Altiri knew of his condition, but I placed my faith that they may have some answer for what I saw down there.

"We understand that this is a difficult moment for you then..." For reason I didn't comprehend, the queen kept her telepathic voice to us mute for a moment longer, as if to process something I knew not of. "Lumina. I know it has been a while since we last spoke in person. While I still hold our conditions present with an extension of time, I want you to know that I am on your side as well; I want you to make everything right, even if I still have my personal doubts."

"I don't care about that right now, my great queen." She's trying to bring it up again, how I and all of my sisters betrayed sacred Altiri law by purging someone we weren't supposed to. Winning Reed over to our side just enough to like the Altiri is something the queen wants from us, but I'm not doing this for her. I just want Reed to be happy, and just as well safe from any harm. "Please just tell me if you have an answer for this incident."

As the queen thought long and hard, having already run the situation through some of her trusted Royal Scryers, I waited stone still without breath, uncertain what she might decree. "Based on what you described, we believe the incident to be that of a psychological ailment rather than a physical one, but without more information, we cannot be sure. I will start by saying, in all of the previous 23 purges we have had in all of our history, this really would be the very first time anything of this nature has happened. I believe that based on what we do know, Reed's mind began to race into a trance of rampancy, before he was forced to snap, collapsing afterwards under the weight of his own uncontrollable stress and rage."

"Even if it has never happened before, is this something that a purge could have caused?" The queen knew I was grasping at air for answers, but I needed to hear every open possibility, especially if this is somehow my fault. Not all is known about the purge and its latent effects on humans. For all I know, this purge could have triggered something deep inside of him that laid dormant for so long, be it physical in nature, or psychological. If it is something the purge has done, then I'll never forgive myself, but it is only fair that Reed knows the truth.

"It is our consensus that, we scryers do not have enough information to make a conclusion in the first place. Had this been a purge like the others, I would have been inclined to deny the purge's own involvement, but nothing about your situation is normal. There is all good multitude of reason that we demand permission and examine a purge candidate before approval Lumina. One of these reasons is to assess the medical and psychological aspects of the human in question before beginning. In all of our time, the purge has been used on women, and in addition to this, a high majority of which were in near perfect health, from any angle you can imagine... I still think I am missing data on Reed, but it is possible he has numerous conditions that far differ from what would be normal in a purge candidate. If this is the case, it is therefore possible that your purge could have amplified such conditions, or at the least brought something out from dormancy. However, I speak of possibilities, not certainties. There isn't really a way to know for sure what brought on this sudden onset. Alarming as it is, we need more time and info to be sure."

"I see... You're not sure either."

"Lumina?" Junko addressed while sitting next to me. "I think the best thing we can do right now is just wait. Wait until Reed recovers enough to call you back. It's probably the only way you might get any more info."

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"That's just the thing Junko. What if this is something he doesn't recover from? What if he never heals?!" I couldn't bear the thought of losing him forever just like that, and Junko knew as much, but the possibility dug into my peace of mind too often to ignore.

"In all my time knowing you Lumina, I must say that this nervousness in you is too uncharacteristic."

What does the queen mean by that? "Uncharacteristic? Forgive me great queen, but, you weren't there when it happened. I saw everything Reed was going through, felt most of it, and I even watched the gradual unhinge of his mind, without any reason or sense."

"Oh, this is precisely my point, leader of the Cy-Stars. I know you have felt cornered and worried before, but not quite like this. You are most often the calm and collected one of your group, capable of making insane decisions during insane times, yes this once incident laid with no final conclusion bars you from all action? I'm curious to say the least."

"Maybe it's because you don't know what it means to purge someone, to interfere with their life, to push yourself into them, in a way which can never be taken back..." Amidst my mild defiance to our queen's claim, a silence ensued before Sherika went loud, aiming her mind at me.

"I don't know Lumina. She has a point; you have been acting differently from this. I'm not saying you are doing anything wrong. It's just, how should I put it...?"

Fionne finished Sherika's thought for her, proving that most of my sisters realized this about us already. "We already knew you were attached to Reed, and that you care about him a great deal. However, I think all of us underestimated exactly how strong those attachments are. This might go far beyond wanting to make a human friend..."

Don't say it! Not in front of the queen!

"You really do love him don't you?" I didn't answer Fionne's question right away, partly embarrassed for everyone else to hear about it. I wasn't entirely sure myself how this all felt. All I was sure of is what I mentioned earlier, about wanting to be in his life, wanting to be his friend, and wanting Reed to be happy. Does that suddenly mean that I love him? Maybe Fionne refers to love in a different way? Before I could collect more thoughts, her very question set off Hurma like before.

"Not this again Fionne. How many times do we have to tell you that our Lumina isn't crazy enough to fall head over heels for some dumb jerk? Reed doesn't deserve to be friends with anybody, rather slave to us who know him, as all heathens should be."

As much as I wanted to correct Hurma's rudeness, the bigger issue was still on my mind first. "You're all missing the point! Of course I'm distressed over what happened. Who wouldn't be after seeing something so horrible? I care about Reed with everything I am, and I'm not about to feel ashamed or guilty over it. It's not just because I know he isn't a heathen; it's because I know he is such a good person. He told me himself that he's been feeling a lot better from my own presence. How could any of his worlds make sense if were as Hurma says?"

"I wasn't aware anyone was making you feel ashamed at all, Lumina. I only wanted to point out that your behavior, while expected from most, seemed a bit strange, that after all which has enhanced you, an uncertainty in Reed's current health was all it took to bring you near the bottom in an instant. It is only for this reason that I agree with Fionne's assessment... I presumed you cared about Reed as much as sudden family; you would have to in order to break our laws and purge him... Yet, I still wonder..."

"Queen?" What is she wondering? Why are we not talking about what to do?

"Though it matters not for this moment. In order to protect the privacy of all who are purged, only my trusted scryers will check up on Reed, and only as necessary. It has not even been but a couple of hours, so the situation is too new to make any conclusions. Please, Lumina. For once, listen to your sisters, to Junko especially, and keep yourself calm and collected. Right now, all you can do at the moment is wait out this storm of mystery."

I didn't want to wait at all, but nothing I did would change anything. As an Altiri node involved in a purge, I am incapable of reaching out to Reed for communication on my own. Reed has to be the one who helps link us together, the only one who can call me. If everyone is telling me to be calm and wait, I still have no choice but to try. "I will try, my great queen."

"Your purge on Reed was successful Lumina, and so far, things have gone your way, against all expectation including my own. Do not squander your own life by melting your mind with worry for what you cannot alter in the moment." She makes it sound so easy. Even though the queen is right, I wonder how many times she has used clairvoyance to see and track people of the world, how many times she has seen such sadness, such devastation, such unfairness, and such cruelty for people who don't deserve it. People on Earth suffer immensely all the time, and no matter what, sometimes even with a purge, there are just things we Altiri cannot change.

How many times must I feel this way? How many more times am I going to be held captive by my own sympathy, watching again and again while people suffer with no way for me to intervene? I somehow survived all of the times it has happened to others, but it is unimaginable that doom consume Reed entirely. If even he is subject to such unluckiness, how long will it be until I crack under this pressure?