Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

What Can't be Undone

It was all an impressive demonstration of teamwork.

But for some people it would be too little too late.

The people of Orion knew it.

Goldshield medical volunteers had been sent in to assist the people of Orion, and from here Adam watched as the survivors were treated for their injuries shellshocked and wrapped I reflective emergency blankets looking out at their destroyed town which was now a post-apocalyptic nightmare, the storefront windows smashed, cars overturned, skeletons smoke blackened with oil fire.

Casualties: 800 and climbing.

Adam had seen the lists, spotted names of people he knew.

Ms. Hernandez, the little old lady who owned the ice cream shop down the street, who sometimes gave him free ice cream as long as he didn't tell anyone, Troy Mackowitz, the bus driver that had taken Adam to school. May Redford, a quiet girl from his graduating class. Still hundreds more were missing. Adam imagined there were some young women who would never be found, their repurposed void bodies so corrupted that they dissolved when the body was destroyed.

But it was better that way.

Better to be missing than for the families to know what their bodies had been repurposed for.

He shuddered eyes coming to rest on one of the fields just outside of town, where now rested a slowly growing grid of white sheets.

Bodies.

Enough for a mass grave, though Adam would never have allowed that.

They deserved better.

From here, with his now enhanced Maker vision, Adam could see the bodies in great clarity through the sheets that covered them, Some tall, some thin, some big, and some, very, very small.

But soon, thankfully his vision began to blur obstructed by warm tears, which he didn't bother to wipe away as they began to fall freely down his cheeks; Dripping from his chin and onto the body of his armored suit. Adam had long since given up trying to fight such urges. When he was younger he had fancied himself a stoic, like all his action movie heroes.

It had taken him years to come to terms with the fact that.

He just wasn't .

He wasn't an emotionless brick despite what the white hair, scars, and armor might have said.

Besides, holding in his tears wasn't going to bring back the people they had lost, and weren't these people worth the loss of a little dignity? Didn't they deserve all the tears that could be shed for them? He could only hope they had all made it to the Makers, to Revelation.

He heard her before he saw her.

Both in his head and out loud.

He tried not to pry on her thoughts, but it was difficult. Adam had not had time to come to terms with the changes that had occurred after the surgery. He wasn't entirely sure what it had done to him, at least not completely. But he knew he could hear thoughts, and more than that he could feel emotions.

That's why he was here.

Instead of down there.

Because he couldn't take the pain aggregated times a hundred, all the misery and fear and loss from all those poor people welling up inside him and threatening to drown him. Dealing with his own grief was hard enough without having to drown in everyone else's. Eris and Conn told him it was possible to shut the ability off, though it would take time and practice.

For now, he could only manage blocking one person at a time.

He felt her hand come to rest on his shoulder.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You feeling ok?"

He turned to look at her, not bothering to cover his face. She already knew the answer to that question. She just didn't know what else to say .

"I'll live."

That was true enough.

At least he could manage to keep his voice even.

He took a deep breath tilting his head back to look up at the rising sun. The land behind them was awash with golden light, slowly approaching across the open wasteland. At least Sol was unchanged as she always was.

Sunny didn't say anything but put an arm around him.

He could still feel it through his armor, but it wasn't the same.

Still he was thankful for her presence as they sat quietly atop the hill.

"What happens now?" She wondered.

Adam felt his jaw flex hard as his teeth ground together, "Something must be done. Kazna and the void have gone too far, and I have failed to act time and time again."

"This isn't your fault." She said eyes locked on him quite firmly as she did so., "I am as much a part of this as you. She is my mother after all."

"Still can't believe you two are related."

Sunny sighed, "Believe me I wonder the same thing."

Adam reached up to wipe his face, but the metal of his gauntlets didn't exactly do the best job. He gave up and dropped his hand to the side, "Point being, I think we have been on the defensive long enough. Its time that we take the fight to her. Someone is going to have to finish this eventually, and I want it to be us."

Sunny nodded once, "Do you have a plan."

"Kick Kazna's ass."

He watched her eyebrow ridge raise, "So no?"

Adam huffed, "No, not YET, but it starts with strengthening the GA. We've been divided too long at that has left us vulnerable as we have seen today. If it was up to president Hunt earth wouldn't have had ANY allies to help it. Thousands more would be dead. We can't let that happen." He nodded to himself as he spoke growing ever more firm in his convictions as he spoke.

"And.... Your Anima?" Sunny said gently urging him. Inside her head he could sense the curiosity like an aur.

"I don't know yet." He admitted, "I can read minds now, my vison is better, I feel stronger, I can use Anima energy but I.... I'm not entirely sure what else there is."

"Its alright, we have time."

He turned back to look down at the wreckage of his old town, and found he wasn't so sure that was the case.

Finally the sun broke from behind the mountains, and Adam's face was suddenly warmed by early morning light. Fr the first time in many days his body shivered with delight. He closed his eyes feeling the warm caress of Sol for the first time in years. The sensation was.... Indescribable. He let himself revel in it for a moment, the one thing about earth that had not changed and he hoped never would.

It took a few more minutes for him to speak but when he finally did, "You know since we are no longer banned from earth I want to bring kay here."

Sunny hummed her agreement.

At least that was the one good thing that might come out of this.

Kay would get to see earth.