If it was possible for a computer program to be concerned, Avi was the definition of concern. Zoe had wrapped her mind in a cacoon of coding to protect herself from the pain and she seemed unwilling to return her mind to her body. Running a detailed scan focussing on Zoe's head, Avi found parts of her limbic system swollen, mostly the amygdala. Quickly connecting to the network, Avi accessed the medical database, assessing what could be done.

Dedicating some of its processing power, Avi sent location queries on the nearest teams. Delta was still closest, but would have to backtrack a day.

Avi was definitely concerned.

~

Scooping up Tyson gently, Joe cradled the psychic as he walked back into town, Maddison on his heels.

Serma, one of the council, trotted up to them, breathless. "A few collapsed, but woke promptly when that lunatic stopped his assault." She glared at Tyson. "Also, Zoe is still unconscious."

Maddison bolted, leaping over the rubble in the breach and tumbling down the other side, landing on her feat. She was by Zoe's side in only a few heartbeats.

"Avi, what's wrong with her?" she demanded, crouching next to Zoe.

"Swelling in the limbic system centered on the amygdala. Med kit on board does not contain appropriate materials to treat this injury. Only a healer or specific machines may assist recovery."

"Should she be unconscious? Will she wake up?"

"Unknown," Avi replied. "Brain injuries are troublesome. Her mind is here, in my system, but she is not responding."

Serma nodded and ran off, searching for all the healers she could find. Maddison gently took Zoe's hand and squeezed. "Come on girl, we won, you can come back now."

~

It wasn't long before Serma came back with a couple of people, one a lanky teenage boy chewing on a celery stick and the other a young woman with scars covering her visible skin. Both quickly looked over Zoe, the boy placing a hand on Zoe's forehead and closing his eyes. Shaking his head, he nodded to the woman, who put her forehead to Zoe's.

"This is gunna hurt," she said aloud.

"Please Lina," Maddison asked.

Line smirked. "No pain, no gain, right?" Closing her eyes, she traced a finger along the base of Zoe's skull and her own at the same time. As she did, a line of blood appeared on her neck, which she kept going till she stopped just before she hit her carotid artery. "Michael, check her please," she whispered through the pain, sitting heavily on the ground.

The teen, still chewing on his celery, placed a hand on Zoe's forehead and went still for a few heartbeats before nodding. "You got it, it feels normal now. Let me get your neck."

Lina sat still as Michael pulled a small wad of chewed celery out of his mouth, stretched and squished it to the rough shape of Lina's neck wound before placing it gently over the wound. Lina sighed as the chewed pulp turned into flesh and knitted the wound together, leaving a fainter scar than most of the others on her body.

"I'll never get over how gross that feels," Lina said, touching the fading wound.

"Would you rather another nasty infection you couldn't deal with?" Michael replied, voice dripping sarcasm.

Lina swatted at Michael's leg as Maddison moved to sit next to Zoe in the buggy.

"You're not concerned for Tyson?" Lina asked, looking to where Joe had taken him, a nearby building. They could see through the front windows to where Tyson was laying on a couch, its bright yellow fabric dirty from many years wear with no care.

"He'll be fine, he always is," Maddison replied. "It's not the first time he's lost control, and likely wont be the last. His brain weathers the storm better than most."

"I'll check on him," Michael said, sauntering off towards the building.

Serma helped Lina to her feet and they followed Michael, leaving Maddison alone with Zoe.

"Avi, have you told her Lina healed her?" she asked in a small voice.

"Affirmative. She seems to be unresponsive still."

Maddison sighed, looking around, trying to avoid looking at Zoe and Tyson. "Let me know when she wakes up," she said, getting out of the buggy and going to assist the repairs and clean up.

~

Early afternoon saw a large plume of smoke rise a little ways from the town. The cremation of the dead was essential to the town and on the occasions they had to do so, they had an area set up for it. The work was unpleasant, but even those from the Bloodless who survived and surrendered assisted.

Thankfully for both sides, the losses were minimal, mostly due to Tyson's assault. The majority of those he caught had just been knocked out, making them easy to disarm and capture.

The Bloodless Pact foot soldiers were released after finishing the cremations in the evening, sent on their way with as many injured as they could carry. The officers who survived were put into a holding cell in the escape tunnel labyrinth under the town while the council decided what to do with them.

The smell of cooking meat woke Tyson up. His stomach growled, hunger pains and sickness wracking his body. Rolling over, he focussed on the ruins outside the house he lay in.

Maddison entered the room and wordlessly handed him a meat skewer. As he sat up and accepted it. He also accepted the hard slap she gave him, nodding in reply before he gingerly started eating.

He knew he deserved that. He shouldn't have lost control. His sister was right. Again.

~

Avi... fretted. The AI had run two hundred and eighty five scans on Zoe's body, adjusted the heat in the seat to optimal comfort levels and lowered the back of the chair so Zoe was laying down. Maddison had complied with Avi's request for a blanket. After Avi had made contact with Delta team and Community comms, it had been decided that if she didn't come out of her 'coma' by morning, the cargo plane would come for her.

Scan 286: Results within normal parameters.

Avi relayed the results to Zoe's cyber mind, adding the info about the decision from home to send the plane in the morning and the update about Tyson walking up.

A slight snore reached Maddison's ears as she set up her bed next to Avi. Looking over Zoe, she smiled as a little drool made it's way down her jaw.

"Avi, any update?"

"Affirmative. Her mind seems to have returned to her body, though there is still a strong presence in my system."

"Good."

~

Stomach pains woke Zoe and a loud gurgle from her stomach brought forth giggles from Maddison. "Hey," she said, feeling weak and fragile.

"Hey," Maddison replied, handing her a small loaf. "You haven't eaten in over a day, so take it slowly."

Zoe ate as instructed, wondering why she was now seeing her mindscape without touching Avi or other electronics. Even her head gear had been taken off of her, but she could still feel it, though not as clearly as she felt Avi.

"Avi, status report please," she asked after washing the bread down with some water. Before Avi could reply out loud, the full status report appeared to her. "Wait, Avi, please confirm I don't have any electronics on me."

"Affirmative. A permenant link seems to have been established during yesterday's trauma."

"What happened yesterday? I don't remember anything after... Yasmin. Just pain."

"Tyson lost control," Maddison said softly. "Under extreme emotion, he lashes out. His anger at her death caused him to break. Joe was able to break through to him."

Zoe chewed thoughtfully. "Did any other's with psychic or shaping abilities get hurt like me?"

Maddison shook her head. "They were affected more than those near them, but not hurt like you."

"I don't think I was actually hurt."

"Zoe, your limbic system was damaged," Avi interjected. "The healer Lina helped repair the damage while your mind sheltered in my system."

Zoe stared at Maddison, who nodded in confirmation. "I think this confirms a theory about shape Talents like myself."

"Oh?"

"The theory is that we can shape things and do so with our mind, rather than our bodies, making us psychics attuned to our medium. The example being me with technology, or Yasmin..." Zoe took a deep breath. "I think this confirms it."

"Avi says you have a permanent link though."

"Trauma is one of the triggers for a person's Talent awakening. Mine was puberty, so I wonder if when my Talent awoke, it wasn't fully active. Or, my brain just got messed up. No one really know how a brain truly works."

Chuckling, Maddison ruffled Zoe's hair. "Yeah, you sound okay."

"Hey Avi, I can read you, can you read me?"

"Negative, not in the way you imply. I can only read the part of your mind in my system. This seems efficient for communication."

Thoughtful silence lapsed over the pair as they chewed through their morning meal. They didn't break their silence as Tyson joined them, Maddison glaring and Zoe giving a small smile.

~You are aware that your plan for a Talent made landing strip is now not an option~ Avi said directly to Zoe.

~Yes. Have you searched for other viable airfields?~

~Affirmative. Nearest is north, Somersby air field. It will be difficult to land the cargo plane there. Warnervale airport may be a more ideal location, though further north.~

Scanning all available information, Zoe agreed with Avi's assessment. ~Start acquiring satellites and expanding the network in the area where we need coverage.~

~Affirmative. Aggressive satellite acquisition engaged.~

Zoe mentally shrugged. No one else was using the satellites, so as far as she was concerned, they were hers to play with.

~Avi,~ she said, hesitantly.

~The chances of lasting brain injuries are unknown. Typical worse case scenario with injuries to that region of the brain is PTSD and behavioral problems, like heightened aggression. You are currently not exhibiting typical symptoms of your injury.~

Zoe let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding on to. Maddison tapped her knee and gave her a querying raised eyebrow, to which Zoe replied with a weak smile. "Avi was just assuring me that I'm not going crazy yet."

"We'll keep an eye on you too," Tyson stated, squeezing her shoulder. "Also, I can hear Avi as an echo through your thoughts. It's very strange."

He took her hand in his. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I hurt you and I'll never forgive myself for that because I already owe my life to you. I can only hope to repay your kindness and trust over time."

Zoe squeezed his hand. "Accidents happen. We just have to learn from our mistakes and move on, trying to not repeat previous mistakes." Her smile at him was filled with genuine warmth. "I'm glad I found you two because I'm sure this trip would have been much less exciting otherwise."

A small beeping sound started up from Avi's dashboard and its systems, echoing in Zoe's head, alerting her to an incoming call. Gladly accepting, she activated the screen in the dash. Hayden's face appeared, worry easing into happiness. "You're up!"

Zoe absently brushed her hair behind her ear, smiling back at him. "Yeah, I seem to be fully functioning currently. Thank you for helping arranging support while I was down."

Hayden waved a hand dismissively. "You would have done the same for anyone, mi amor. Avi has already sent stand down's to everyone, I just wanted to check on you myself."

Mini took this moment to arrive, floral pajamas brightening up the screen. "Zoe! You feel clearer to me, it's not a struggle to sense you now! What did you do?"

Zoe reached out and grabbed Tyson's collar, dragging him into the frame. "It's his fault. He had a tantrum which hurt me, but seems to have made me stronger in the process. What are you doing up missy? Isn't it your bed time?"

"I had to see you first! Naomi told me that Avi said you woke up."

Zoe chuckled. "Go tell Naomi good night and give her a scratch behind her ear. Good night Mini."

"Bye!" Mini left as quickly as she arrived, leaving Hayden alone. "Delta has been stood down from it's alert standing and is continuing along the mountains, Atlas is setting up the foothold and is awaiting the teams return. You've still got nine days to get there, so take your time."

"You're still worried," Zoe replied. "Avi assures me that its watching for any abnormalities in my behaviour and these two have my back. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, moya lyubov'."

Hayden nodded. "Keep me updated?"

"Always," she replied, blowing him a kiss before signing off.

~

After meeting with various members of Asquith's leadership, it was decided that Zoe would scout out the air fields north of the city and judge them for viability. Then, Asquith and Llandilo would prepare to join up and travel together over a few weeks, taking it easy and carefully, making their way to where the plane would collect them from.

It was decided that one of the electric cars with four of the town residents would go with Zoe, help scout the air field then go back to town so they knew the way and potential stops for the migration.

~

"Tyson," Mini asked, "can I please use you as a signal booster?"

"A what? Wait, Zoe's told me, yeah, go ahead. Do you need me to do anything?"

"Nope, just don't fight me."

They sat on the edge of the Somersby air strip, the sun setting over their camp. Zoe had called the Community, updating them, advising that this air strip was likely too small for the cargo plane.

Zoe had been stretching her Talent, seeing what she could do now. Accessing Avi and the buggy was simpler, no contact required, she didn't even need to close her eyes. It was strange, but also wonderful, as it made doing things with the codes even easier. As for other tech, as long as it was broadcasting a signal that Avi could receive, she could also access it, but it was harder. Previously, she had been working in proxy with the distant tech, sending bulk program commands. Now, she could reach out and alter them directly, as long as it could link to Avi. She targeted one of the satellites Avi was using for gps and pushed. It was hard and sweat broke out on her forehead, but she felt that she could directly alter the satellite programming if she wanted to.

Breaking her connection to the satellite, she exhaled heavily. It almost felt like swimming underwater. She figured it would become easier over time, with practice.

"That is weird," Tyson said as Mini 'connected' to him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I promise I'm not fighting little one, this is just very odd."

Zoe stifled a giggle behind her hand. Mini had tried using her as a booster earlier, but the recent changes had made that... difficult. Mini said she was still there, and clearer to feel, but harder to see through than before.

Her report had detailed as much information about what happened to her as she could relay, including her thoughts and feelings. She knew her report would go through an assessment, so she made sure to get Maddison and Tyson to do a self profile with her. She was more worried about how their profiles would be viewed than her own.

"Ok, thank you Tyson," Mini said a few minutes later, sounding drained, but still strong. "Zoe, two big groups north, one along the coast, one along mountains. There is also a few smaller groups, two to five ish, all the way up to..." she paused for a second, looking at the map. "About Newcastle. After the next two groups, Newcastle has people, but not many Talents. I'll send probable locations to you in a sec."

"Thank you Mini. Go rest."

Another of the comms operators appeared, handing Mini a warm drink. "Hey Zoe, anything else to report?"

"I'll relay the large group to Delta then decide where I want to go. Otherwise, nothing else Sam."

"Okay, good night, see you in a few."

With that, Zoe sat with the small group, discussing the lay of the land. No one had heard of a large group by the coast, so thought they were nomadic. The group inland was a small town that had shed most of its population and were not open to changing much, regardless of the Talents born.

It was a couple of people from Asquith that warned against Newcastle, saying that it was governed by people who didn't like Talents and would drive them out, if not kill them. Zoe knew she would have to get past Newcastle to get further north to Brisbane, so started gnawing at that problem while she figured where to go next.