Luke sat quietly as she ran through the ramifications of her altered memories. The thought that she had been tailor-made to manipulate Ureha had already occurred to him, as had other equally disturbing permutations of that logic chain. With only the facts at his command, he realized there was no way to know for sure.<br/><br/>For several minutes, he waited as she struggled to compose herself. 'Well, there you have it. We couldn't ask for a more perfect opportunity to take her back to Marcos and finish this job once and for all. Right?' Nirvana said. 'Under almost any other circumstances, I'd agree with you. But there's still Ureha to consider.' 'What about him? You said it yourself, he's not our problem.' 'No, he's not, but think about it: we know he's emotionally attached to the girl, one way or the other. And we know he's exceptionally powerful, and that his abilities are tied to his emotions. So what would happen if we subjected the kid to one more psychological trauma, such as, oh, say, stealing the woman he loves, on top of all he's already experienced?' '...Oh.' 'Right. 'Oh.'. He'd probably snap and destroy half the city. And then where would we keep our stuff?'<br/><br/>As the pair finished speaking, Luke stretched out a hand and laid it tentatively on the girl's shoulder, offering a gentle squeeze. Her sniffling had diminished somewhat, but she was still clearly broken up.<br/><br/>"I don't know why you were put through this, Gwin. You or the Urehas. But you're the only one who can say if staying with him is the right thing to do. If you really feel that you can't trust yourself, or him, then say the word and I'll take you out of here right now. Otherwise...and, I can't<span class="bbc_u"><em>believe </em></span>I'm saying this...I don't see any harm in sticking around for a little longer, and seeing what comes back to you on your own. Because I can promise you this, kid: right now, you are one of the safest, most protected people on the planet.<em>Nothing </em>is going to hurt you. Period."<br/><br/>His smile returned as hers did, and her tears finally stopped. 'Are you sure it's wise to make a promise like that? I mean, I know we need her to trust us, but-' 'What's the difference, as long as it works? Besides, it's true. As long as she remains in our custody, nothing<strong>is </strong>going to hurt her. Except maybe one of us.'