CAUTION! THE FOLLOWING MAY RUIN ENDEMIC'S ENDING FOR YOU! D:

Wave: Endemic - Splash

CHROMATIC DIVIDE

Note: WHAT? ENDEMIC IS BACK!? AaaaahahahahaHA! I'm such a liar!

Yep! Consider this like an add-on to Endemic's conclusion. It's an origin story, and since Epidemic is going into depth with a lot of the Autumnridge events, I thought to pull back and start a special little part of Endemic called Splash. No worries though. Epidemic's still going strong.

I'm gonna say nothing more about Splash! It's up to the reader, if he or she dares, to dive right back into the story that started it all. Again, if you value the original ending of Wave: Endemic and don't want to corrupt it in any way, these chapters won't change anything, really. Otherwise, feel free to skip over this if you wish~!

DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN POKEMON WOOHOO PUNCTUATION

It was too late to count the hours. They brushed by like paint strokes of loud color, a swarm of bugs and a meteor shower.

At the time we invaded the hospital, we were compromised by special weapons and tactics forces. The Circle was gone, and I was nearly alone. The Hummings family was with me. They helped me reach Cruce. He was asleep, and I didn't think he was ever going to wake up. I had only myself to blame for this.

It should've been me.

But then he would've thought the same thing. I failed to find reason in giving up on someone who has brought me more joy than the sun and the sky. Living without him felt nothing like living at all, but surviving.

While the armed police force collected their fill of infected civilians, we were crowded into a room, waiting for the door to go down, or for loud, fast footsteps to stampede through. I didn't move from Cruce. I was laying against him, eyes closed, wanting to feel his arm cradle me. My body was as tiny as I felt to the road ahead.

It seemed like hours passed before we heard any noise outside of the room. Intensive care hadn't been touched by the Autumnridge forces. We had thought that they were simply making trips. Logic crawled its way into the room, however. Why would they come back? There was nothing to gain from pulling the cat's tail. We were infected, and every step they took toward Autumnridge was a risk for the sickness to spread elsewhere. We knew nothing of their plans, but we had agreed that they wouldn't come back for all of us.

More hours, and then there was so much sleep in this room. I felt heavy once more, only counterbalanced by the relief of being with Cruce—the relief of being with the Hummings family: pichu, pikachu, raichu...

There was the buzzing of the lights and the breath of a loved one. Surely he was immune to my cold. That made sleeping with the dead so much better.

I shouldn't think like this.

Two of them went underneath the bed. The largest one, Zack, stayed beside the door like a bouncer. The bravery had passed. Now that the fight was over, the fear came back. It was fascinating. Why did it work that way? I never felt too afraid when the fires were burning. But when the lights went out, I never found myself without a whimper or a quivering lip.

Oh.

Yes, that was right. Laza was still here. He was the fear. He was so quiet. We had been here for long now, and I'd heard nothing from him since the last encounter.

Then there was Vince. He was gone.

We'd assumed he was captured by the humans, which almost certainly meant that they had passed us by. We knew little about Vince's quest, despite how alike it may have looked. He came here to find Drew. But Drew was like Cruce. He was in the gray area. We prayed for those two brothers, because we knew very well how important Drew was, and how probable it could've been that the humans were waiting at his bedside. How horrible it would've been for Vince to lose the chance to spend last words on one of the most important people in his life.

The next time my eyes met the analog clock above the doorway, I noticed the short hand a centimeter beyond the four. I was still with Cruce. He lay motionless except for his breath. He knew to breathe, and every breath he took felt like a new flavor of heartbeat.

I wasn't sure why I had awakened. I thought I had heard a noise, but I was still scared, and that made everything a "noise". My small, dark eyes meandered from my cousin, back to the clock. There was something wrong with the clock. No. Not the clock. The space beneath the clock.

A foreign glow bled into our auburn lit room, the door ajar, with two bright blue paws around the ridge. The glow didn't emanate from the hallway alone, but those golden eyes to which the owner of the paws belonged. The air around this carrier of infection was familiar somehow. It was like Laza, but it felt real. I felt like I could touch him now. I pushed myself to my small feet, observing the blue creature. He was feline, with tall ears, whiskers ridged with dark blue, a tail fluffier than my body was large, and a golden, spherical bell around his neck, swirls of soil brown melting into the center. Zack was asleep, sitting against the wall, arms crossed.

I looked into his eyes, and when I did, he looked into mine. He saw something. He blinked a couple times, his eyelids darker than his fur. The door squealed as it slid forward, ajar, open. I saw one of the feline's ears flick. He was standing there, arms at his sides, speechless as I. Though, I felt comfortable like I had been with Laza. He was a welcome stranger, not only because he was infected, but because he was silent and beautiful.

"Hello?" I lashed through the quiet like a round through glass. My voice was louder than I had intended.

"I can still save you." He said, his voice milky. He stepped into the room. "I'm Edge. I want to help you." He repeated, his eyes beaming onto Cruce.

"Excuse me?" I stuttered, moving atop my cousin's chest and laying there, doing my best to protect him. I didn't see this Edge as a threat, but fear was prevalent where suspicion faltered.

"Laza." He whispered, his tail flicking behind him, then swerving like a blue blur as he spun around, reaching for the door and guiding it shut, leaning against it before looking back to me. "Laza's here. I can feel him."

"Please," I began. "If you can offer any help at all, we need it."

"Yes, yes." He nodded twice, approaching, watching Cruce still. "Is he yours?"

"Mine?" I questioned. "He's my cousin."

"No, no." He shook his head twice now. "He's not a Pokémon, but you're touching him. You're special like Laza, so that means this human is yours."

"I'm like Laza?" I queried, voice slowing down. My gaze fell to the floor in front of Edge. I remembered the moment Laza came to me in the dream and I looked different than this shaymin body. He said I was still a shaymin, but I was on two legs, with tall ears and green spiky hair. He said that I had gamma inside of me, and that I saved Cruce by taking some of the gamma in him. It meant nothing to me, because it was too far beyond me. These were giants who were speaking.

"You had gamma before Laza came to you. You beat him. There's another brain being made in your cousin and it's like yours. If I can get the other mind out, we can wake him up. We can beat Laza. Yes." He spoke, his pace picking up, growing more excited as he neared the end of his explanation. I rallied with him.

"What?" Was all I could say, however. Edge was a waterfall of information.

"What's your name?" He asked, folding his paws in front of his waist.

"I'm Topher."

"Pleasure, Topher." He bowed, holding the position for a few seconds before lifting his back up once again. He was smiling. "There is still hope with you, but we need a lot of time. We can't be here."

"Why is that? I want to be with Cruce."

"I can't pierce Cruce's mind. I need to talk to him through you, but the gamma is too strong for me here."

"I don't understand any of this. Anything you can do to help wake him up is fine, but we can't go outside. The humans will capture us."

"The humans? The humans." Edge repeated, looking at the ceiling. "Are they the ones Laza is fighting? They are the ones. No, you're right, they're mad, I think. But Laza is smart. He knows that your cousin is dangerous to him. He's here. He's watching like always."

My heart skipped a beat. Was Laza really that fear? Was he honestly watching Cruce and I?

And who were you, Edge? Where have you come from? I wanted to sink my trust into you, but I would be doing so because you were like Laza; you made me feel good. Why did you make me feel safe? Why did you know Laza?

Questions were obsolete now. He wanted to save Cruce. He wanted to stop the infection from spreading. While he had me at the former offer, I felt a new duty well up inside of me.

Laza gave me two choices: I was to join him, let go of Cruce, and change the world because I was like him, like Edge said that I was... The other option was the one he didn't offer me. I would find a way to save Cruce. I had a way to fight back now. The blue miracle before me, as fresh as his eyes were to mine, gave me a moment to consider a light that twinkled into view, one which I reached for with small arms, letting it pull me wherever it may trail off.

I gave Cruce a kiss on the cheek. His face was the same peachy hue I had seen upon entering the room. He was so large, like a giant.

There was a haste to leave, but the action was absent. The Hummings siblings were still asleep. Edge and I agreed to try and awaken them. I offered to pull Zack from his slumber, fearing he would've grown the most incredulous of Edge. As I approached the larger Pokémon, I shoved my nose into his tummy. I was limited, after all. He groaned, eyes opening halfway. The first thing he must've seen was Edge's tail swishing around like liquid fluff.

Within a few seconds, I saw two yellow forms emerge from beneath the bed. The smaller of the two, Zelda, refused to lift her head from her brother's side, sleepwalking. Zatch looked after her well, despite the blue distraction. The siblings didn't want to go. We had found safety. We knew we were in trouble. All bets to return home felt as off as they could ever be, like a light switch for order and chaos. It made me feel like a small child again, running from my authorities, seeking sanctuary in disgusting places which became so much more gorgeous knowing I was safe.

Edge briefly explained his presence to the three, who were swaying about, accepting his words so that they may soon sleep again even though we didn't. We left the room, and with it, Cruce. He just didn't want to budge. He was a heavy sleeper, after all. As heavy as sickly tears.

And so my adventures with the blue mystery began.

We left Cruce's room closed to the world, making our way to the emergency stairwell. It was then that Zatch decided to pull a blunt query from his quiver and sling it Edge's way.

"Where did you come from?" The pikachu fired, descending the steps with his sister by his side, hopping down each step as though it were a windowsill.

"I..." Edge hesitated. He came to a stop midway between one stair and another. He put his foot down with his answer. "Don't remember. I know I was with Laza. Someone saved me. She was pink."

"Pink?" Zack sounded, eyes tracking each of us momentarily. "No one here's pink."

"She's gone now." The blue feline said. "Laza sent her away. He's dangerous. He's going to destroy the world you know."

"Laza is really this strong?" I asked, taking the steps as slowly as the others would let me.

"He's like a deity. He's immortal. There's no way to kill him."

"So then what's the plan?" Zack asked, fighting back a yawn like it was a sneeze.

"I'm not sure, but I know we have to start by waking Cruce up. Laza can't touch him, and there's use for that. I just know it." Edge stressed. I saw his ears lay flat against his skull. "He's here with us. He follows me everywhere. He's like a shadow. No, so much worse."

"Calm down, kid, I don't think Laza's going to do anything to us. We're Pokémon already." Zack stepped in once more.

The urban descent was over. We were at the bottom of the building. With the raichu's help, the emergency door was heaved open, leading to the capacious waiting room, lights flickering above the front desk with computers and furniture tossed about like toys. The sight was short lived, as we had made our way to the open glass doors, greeted with the sight of a ravaged parking lot. It wasn't unlike the scene inside, with cars overturned and smashed, a few abandoned SWAT trucks, and abandoned equipment. I saw some scorch marks on the brighter pavement.

The parking lot's lights showed us everything, like we were part of a drive-in film, the world behind the screen meeting its audience. The sky was open to the stars. I could see navy blue brush strokes to the west, just above the outlines of the pitch black valley. It was so many miles away. That's where the infection could be already.

My heart tugged on me, implored me to return. I kept moving forward, passing through the destruction—the dismay—like I always knew how to do and always ended up doing. With Cruce.

"Where are we going?" Zatch asked. He was close to me now, instead of behind me.

"Hey, I have a place." I rang, somewhat confident, mostly uncertain. "Near our house is a park that leads right to the woods, and it has a small grotto where we can hide."

"We can't go through the woods?" Zelda groaned, her question transforming into a yawn.

"It's separate from that part of the woods." Zatch informed her. As he did so, I turned to the east. The treeline was here, a perfect ridge from parking lot to forest, man to nature. It was so close. It was like freedom. Like freedom. Not freedom.

"Near your house?" Zack started, turning to face me. He was walking backwards. It looked a bit silly with as hunched as he was, being a raichu and such, but he was growing adept at maneuvering around in his new body. "Your place is on Orion Avenue, yeh?"

"Yeh yeh." Zatch answered for me. He knew well enough.

"It's a few blocks from here." I informed, finally facing away from the eastern treeline.

A few blocks on new feet meant a number of grueling miles. We weren't alone. There were others in the night, human and infected. We had powers, I was aware. So did they. They had weapons to rival us. The only advantage we had was a mysterious boy with the knowledge of Laza, and a girl who knew Pokémon. It was shocking how she made no comment or question about Edge.

On the route to Orion, we were quiet under the haze of sleepy wishes. I closed my eyes while I walked. I saw faces. They were human and belonged to Nick, Emelina, and Patricia. My friends were gone. I was torn between anger and sorrow, flames and frozen water. Every net swung was like a strike on the head with stone. I wanted to scream at the next uniform-clad human I saw. Why? Why did you want to take them away? They did nothing to you.

They only wanted to take them from us because they were afraid of being taken themselves.

And I was afraid, too. I was afraid of the fate of the Circle. They were plunged into the unknown, the backwards destiny of the infection. There were two unknowns, and we treated them both like death. You were infected. That was like death. You were taken by humans. That was also like death. Everything was death. Laza was death.

I followed the stars home. Every streetlight had bugs flocking around, fluttering. They looked disorganized, vying for the light, buzzing about. But the light was too hot to touch. And the next light. And the next. I looked ahead. There were spots with glowing scarlet light scattered around like fireflies. The more the sun climbed, the less apparent the lights became.

Enough time had gone by for the sky to take color again. We were prepared to run at any time. Today, I'd imagined people to leave their homes in evacuation. There was no large scale plan. It was all played by ear. Did you want to leave today? Where would you go? I hoped for their sake they had somewhere safe. I felt something gnawing, biting my feet and tugging the flower petals by my face. It was telling me that things were about to blow over like a hurricane. I didn't like the way the ground felt. It was too cold and dead.

We came to my home street. Orion Avenue was torn straight from the woodland, a schism of roads and houses tearing straight through the wilderness like a scar. The central lane divider was preserved, with oaks and willows that created a tunnel of leaves at the thickest parts. There was a canopy over the street. It felt so lovely to be back; it felt this way to be back and to see that there was nobody waiting here to seize us. I still didn't feel like I was home.

We were moving along the sidewalk going against the traffic. Incidentally, a car had passed by on the other side. Whoever it was, we had no time to worry about being noticed. The park was close, but my house was closer, and I'd intended to stop and attain the comforts that remained.

We arrived at the woodsy brown abode of mine. Both of the cars that my aunt and uncle owned weren't present in the driveway. The garage door was down. I'd thought it would open any second. My uncle had a habit of awakening early and fiddling in his workshop to soft electronica music. If both of the vehicles were in there, he wouldn't have had any room. It was very possible that they were both long gone. It was farfetched, however. I knew deep inside how much they adored Cruce and I, and I found no appropriate way to be grateful enough to them for taking me from stone-faced parents.

The rose bush in the front yard was becoming an issue as it was wont to do in early fall. The lawn was growing, but still in that sweet spot that made the outer décor of the house synergize with the overgrowth of Orion Avenue. I approached the door, my eyes reading out the faded welcome mat, before scanning the square pattern of the door up to the small peephole. I wondered how to knock. Without question, Zack came to my side, the tip of his tail touching the doorbell nearby. He smiled at me. I grinned in return.

There were seconds that I felt happy to be back, then those seconds became blank units of time where I wanted to hide because I thought that I was going to be grabbed from behind. I shuddered.

But then the doorknob made a sound. There was a low-pitched click, then a light rumbling noise. Just as Edge had pulled the door open a crack at the hospital, my uncle had done the very same. I saw his forehead poke around the lip of the door. He hadn't even put his glasses on yet. He was making big eyes, forcing his hairline back. That was a goofy face. It didn't look like he was scared. Oh, it was hard to tell with Uncle Gibson sometimes.

"Gibsy!" I squeaked, smirking widely. "Gibsy, it's me! Topher!"

"Baby Jesus, Topher, what's the matter with you, little'un?" He asked me, furrowing his eyebrows. I could see his jawline move, but I could barely even see his nose beyond the door.

"I got caught up." I whined, looking back. Zelda waved at me. I looked ahead again. "I'm infected."

"I noticed." He nodded once, with a gentle tilt of his head, despite it already being basically ninety degrees to one side. "Your aunt's not had sleep. Too much crying. So you'd better get inside."

"But I'm infected." I repeated, frowning.

"Get in here, you." Gibsy dismissed, opening the all the way. He practically vanished upon doing so. Maybe he was hiding behind something now. I didn't notice. The garage entrance was near the front door, so he could've hopped in there. "Your friends, too. I think it sucks outside? That's what the news says." He started again, his voice more distant. He was having to raise it in order for us to hear him.

"Oh my God, is he serious?" Zatch asked, monotone. He was aghast before he was concerned.

"C'mere." I smiled my widest, wide enough to make my cheeks uncomfortable with a face this small. "All of you. We're safe here. Everything's going to be alright."

I saw everyone inside: Zack, Zatch, Zelda, and Edge. As he passed me by, he opened his mouth as if to speak. It looked like he was going to thank me. I winked. I wasn't sure why. He blushed and hurried inside. I ran in after him. Zack and Zatch made a team effort to close the door behind us, the pikachu on the raichu's back. It was a much more effective attempt than they had done in their recent past.

"You guys all make yourselves at home! Topher, go see your aunt." I heard Gibsy's voice. The garage door was closed. He was totally in there.

"Yeah..." I sighed, my eyes shut lightly, taking in the scent of clean laundry and green apple candle wax. My senses told me I was home. I looked at Zatch, noting the white walls and picture frames behind him. He smirked. I ran off through the hardwood floor-coated hallway, stopping short of the master bedroom. It was wide open. The window was closed, and the room dark, flashing with the TV screen. The bed was messy. There were sheets and blankets on the floor. Most remained on the bed. "Auntie?"

"Ashley? I heard Gibs. You get your sick tush up here right this moment, young lady." She commanded. I trembled, wanting to cry. She wanted me back. She didn't care if I was ill. She wanted me back. I was frozen. "You there?"

"Yes, yeah, I am... I can't jump up." I uttered, my gaze watching the outline of the bed. The springs began to make noise, and I could see a sheet or two tossed out of the way. Then suddenly, the tired, young face of my aunt, messy with curly strands of black hair here and there. There were dark spots under her eyes. She looked like she was crying, like Gibsy said. I saw lines on her cheeks.

"Aww, look at'cha." She chirped. "Come here." She told me, both arms swinging forward, hanging over the edge of the bed. She had to move forward a few inches, but managed to reach me, her warm fingers wrapping underneath my white belly, thumbs on my back. It tickled. I giggled, legs dangling. She pulled me back, letting herself sit up before falling into her pillow, her body bouncing after the drop. She squeezed me and I felt my chest rumble like I was purring. I didn't know I could do that, but it felt so good, so I kept doing it, and she kept hugging me. She smelled of fragrant moisturizing lotion. I let my eyes close with my nose planted right into her chest.

"You're infected, Auntie." I sniffled. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It's okay." She said, repeating the two words over and over in a whisper I haven't heard from her in so long. It was the same whisper that she blew into my ear when I came to Autumnridge. It conjured tears. "I don't care what happens to me. All the pain in the world can't compare to losing my kids."

I sobbed with her. I was the reason for her grief, but she took me in regardless.

I won't let them take you away from me.

It was too late to count the hours. They darted by like drops of rain making their individual splashes in the river.