Dragon Across the Multiverse (Si-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 6: Endgame Begins

RPD Parking Garage – Leon’s POV

After finally escaping the labyrinth that was the RPD, Leon stepped into the parking garage, and for the first time in hours, he let out a breath of relief.

There it was, the exit gate.

Seeing it so close brought a flicker of hope. Maybe he was finally done with this nightmare of a city.

Normally, he’d be worried about Claire and Akari, but after checking the security feeds earlier, he knew they were doing a hell of a lot better than him. If anyone was going to survive, it’d be those two.

Hurrying over to the control panel by the gate, he tapped the screen—only to be met with a red error message.

Keycard Required.

Leon let out a groan and rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn it. I thought I was done playing hide and seek with doors.”

And as if the universe hadn’t mocked him enough, he heard a low growl behind him.

“Grrrrr...”

He spun, grimacing as an infected dog crouched, teeth bared, muscles coiled.

Before he could even draw his handgun, the dog lunged.

Leon hit the ground hard, the dog landing on his chest with a snarl. He braced himself, one arm pressed against its throat to keep the snapping jaws at bay, while the other fumbled toward his holster.

“I’m starting to hate dogs,” he growled through clenched teeth.

A moment later, two sharp gunshots rang out.

The infected dog slumped lifelessly onto Leon’s chest. He shoved the corpse off with a grunt and scrambled to his feet, immediately pulling his handgun up—

Only to find himself facing a woman in a brown trench coat, standing a few meters away with a pistol already aimed at him. Her black hair framed a face partially obscured by dark shades, giving away nothing.

“Lower it,” she ordered coolly, her voice calm but commanding.

Leon hesitated—until she slowly reached behind her and produced a badge.

“FBI.”

His eyes narrowed. Reluctantly, he lowered his weapon. “Seriously? You’re FBI?”

Before the woman could answer, another voice cut in—smooth and amused.

“FBI, huh? Hmhmhm… that’s cute.”

A blur appeared behind her. The woman tensed instantly as a gleaming blade came to rest just beneath her chin, held in a reverse grip by a new figure that had seemingly materialized from the shadows.

It was Akari.

Smiling lazily, his golden eyes glinted with playful menace. “Maybe next time, don’t point a gun at my friend.”

“Akari!”

Leon’s voice rang out in surprise, a mix of confusion and relief flooding his expression. It was clear he hadn’t expected to see a friendly face anytime soon.

“Hey, Rookie,” I said with a casual grin, eyes still on the woman in my arms. “I had a feeling you’d still be breathing.”

=====

Akari’s POV

Leon looked like hell warmed over. Scraped up, worn down, but still standing. I had to give him credit—he was tougher than he looked.

The woman in my grip, however, was another story.

“Try to kick me,” I said smoothly, voice barely above a whisper, “and I slit your throat.”

She froze immediately, her muscles going rigid before she forced herself to relax again. She’d been just about to make a move—I’d felt it. But at this range, with my senses and reflexes? She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Akari, while I’m glad to see you doing alright,” Leon began warily, his gaze flicking from me to the woman and back, “where’s Claire? And what did you mean by your last comment?”

With a flick of my wrist, her pistol—still in her hand—was sliced cleanly in half, the top half clattering to the ground. She tensed, but I tightened my hold, both to remind her of her position and to indulge in appreciating the warmth of her curves.

“Claire’s fine,” I replied, tone light. “She’s helping a little girl search for her mother. They should be safe for now.”

Leon seemed relieved at that—until I tilted my head toward the ‘FBI agent.’

“As for Miss Trench Coat here?” I tightened my grip just enough to make my point. “That badge is fake. She’s not FBI. She works for The Organization—Umbrella’s competition in the bioweapon arms race.”

Leon’s expression darkened instantly. His gun came back up, trained on the woman in my arms.

Ada—because I already knew her name—remained silent, her body language unreadable.

“…How?” she asked quietly, finally speaking, though her voice betrayed just a sliver of shaken confidence.

I just smiled.

“Trade secret.” I gave her a wider grin, unable to fully hide my amusement. “By the way… how’s your pal Wesker doing these days?”

That got her.

Ada’s eyes narrowed behind her shades, and I could practically see the calculations happening behind them. Her reactions were a goldmine of entertainment. I wasn’t even trying hard, and she was already rattled.

“…Who are you?” she asked at last, her voice now completely on edge.

“Akari Tempest,” I said smoothly, giving a mock bow while keeping my blade near her throat. “At your service. Though I doubt that name means anything to you.”

She didn’t respond, but her silence said more than words ever could.

Then, without warning, I flicked my wrist again. A surge of controlled wind followed my Kunai as it arced through the air—striking the steel gate behind Leon in an instant.

Both of them flinched.

With a deep groan of metal and a loud hiss, a large X was carved clean through the gate. Both halves slid outward and clanged to the ground, leaving a clean opening wide enough for someone to walk through.

Leon jumped in shock, spinning around to stare at the not-so-natural door.

“Whoa! What the hell?” he exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Even Ada stumbled slightly, caught completely off-guard. Her sunglasses slid down the bridge of her nose, revealing a sharp pair of brown eyes filled with both confusion and alarm.

“If you were trying to kill me, that would’ve worked,” she muttered, eyeing the doorway, then my blade, then me.

“Relax. I like pretty spies,” I replied, finally stepping back and lowering my weapon.

That earned a faint scoff from her, but I could tell she wasn’t sure if I was being sarcastic or dead serious.

“Are you…” she hesitated, then finally voiced the question. “…Are you a living bioweapon?”

I tilted my head slightly, the smile never leaving my face.

“Would that make you more or less interested?”

Ada regarded me for a beat, her eyes narrowing in thought. Then, slowly, a sultry smile curled her lips.

“That depends,” she said smoothly. “On how dangerous you are.”

“Hmhm… unfortunately, we don’t have much time to get acquainted, Ada,” I said, letting her name drop with casual ease. “This city’s going to be wiped off the map by dawn. Pentagon’s orders.”

Her smile froze.

“What?” she whispered, eyes sharpening. “…How do you know that?”

“Secret,” I said with a wink.

“There are still people here who haven’t been infected!” Leon burst out from behind us, voice full of disbelief and outrage.

I shrugged. “Tell that to the U.S. government. I’m just the messenger.” Then I reached into my coat and pulled out a sleek black GPS device, tossing it to Leon, who caught it with a frown.

“This’ll take you to a chopper I secured. You’ll meet my brother there—Veldora—and Jill, the woman I mentioned earlier. Wait for us, we’ll make our way there after handling a small matter.”

Leon hesitated, eyes flicking between me and Ada. He clearly had questions but kept them to himself—until I tossed him another object.

“A Magnum?” he asked, catching it instinctively.

“It packs enough punch to keep you alive. That, and a few boxes of ammo,” I added, handing him a pair of full speedloaders. He took them without complaint this time, slipping them into his belt pouch.

“You sure about this?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“Go. Me and the lovely spy here need to have a little heart-to-heart.”

He stared at me for a long moment, then nodded with reluctant acceptance. “Alright. But we’ll wait for you. No matter what.”

He turned to go.

“Oh,” I called out casually, “and don’t mind my brother. He’s a little… unhinged. But he’ll protect you.”

Leon waved over his shoulder without slowing down, disappearing through the opening I’d created earlier.

I turned back to Ada, raising a brow. “I’m surprised you didn’t use that opportunity to slink away.”

She scoffed and, with an annoyed huff, pulled off her trench coat—revealing her signature red one-piece outfit beneath. Arms crossed under her chest, she leveled a scowl at me.

“With those abilities? I wouldn’t have gotten five steps before you sliced me in half.”

“True,” I said with a nod, not bothering to deny her words—if anything, her scowl only deepened at my calm acceptance.

Then my smile faded.

“So here’s how this is going to go.” My voice dropped low, serious. “You have two choices.”

Ada straightened instinctively.

“One—continue your little mission to collect the G-Virus, and I’ll kill you… along with your entire organization.” I let a fraction of my killing intent bleed into the air. Enough to make her flinch and let her know I was serious.

I kept going.

“Two—ditch your employer and work for me. I always need good spies in my line of work.” I finished with a smile, teasing but unmistakably firm.

She was quiet for a while, unreadable behind her narrowed eyes.

“You really believe you can kill me and take down the Organization?” she asked at last. “Even knowing who I work for? Are you insane, or has that power gone to your head?”

I laughed.

“Doubtful huh?” Then I tilted my head. “But what you really want… is proof, right? That if you switch sides, I can protect you.”

She didn’t answer—but the lack of denial was all I needed.

Still smiling, I casually swiped my left hand downward through the air. Then shoved both hands into my coat pockets and waited.

Ada glanced at the wall behind her, unimpressed. Then raised a brow. “Nothing happened.”

“Look again.”

Her gaze flicked back—and froze.

Her lips parted in shock.

The wall now bore a massive diagonal slash, easily ten feet wide, running clean through its structure. It was as if reality had glitched and the world was just catching on to the fact that something had happened.

The line didn’t stop there. No—her eyes followed the impossibly precise cut as it cleaved through the RPD… and beyond. Far beyond. Buildings, streets, and the horizon itself were split in two, like someone had drawn a blade across reality.

I grinned. “So… impressed?”

=====

Somewhere in Raccoon City

The sounds of explosions, gunfire, and loud, maniacal laughter echoed across the ruined city—originating from one very specific direction… and one very specific dragon.

“Kuwahahaha! With most of the city nothing but zombies, I can finally stop worrying about holding back!”

Jill fired another round from her sniper rifle, nailing a distant zombie square in the head before lowering the scope with a deadpan stare.

“Is he always like this?” she asked, turning to me with a blank expression.

We were perched on the rooftop of a half-collapsed shopping center, casually cleaning out the remaining undead that still wandered the streets. Well, I was a clone—original me was still with Claire and Sherry.

“You get used to it,” I said, casually popping two zombies from a few hundred meters away with a little bit of wind chakra to boost the bullet speed.

Jill arched an eyebrow. “You’re not even trying to hide your powers anymore, huh?”

“Meh,” I shrugged. “At least I’m not throwing out city-level attacks li—”

WHOOM

I was immediately cut off as a colossal blade of compressed wind—visible only to those who could perceive the absurd—tore across the skyline from the direction of the RPD. It sliced through buildings like butter, cleaving a swath of destruction through everything in its path.

Jill blinked.

I sighed.

“…I stand corrected.”

=====

Original Akari and Claire

“What was that?” Claire asked, suddenly stopping in her tracks and glancing upward as the entire underground structure shook. “Was that an earthquake?”

“Are we going to be okay?” Sherry asked nervously, clutching Claire’s hand as dust rained from the ceiling with every rumble.

“Hey Ciel? Is it crazy that I want to strangle my clone right now?” I thought dryly.

“Don’t worry, Master. I’ve already reprimanded your misbehaving clone,” Ciel replied, sounding just a bit too pleased with herself.

I sighed. I could feel bad—after all, my clone was me—but I shoved the thought aside before I started treating them like separate people entirely.

We’d been trailing a little behind Leon’s route, keeping a measured pace. A few minutes later, we reached the parking garage… only for Claire and Sherry to stop dead in their tracks, jaws slack as they stared at the absurd sight in front of us.

Specifically: a massive, diagonal hole cleaved through the concrete wall of the building—like a giant katana had slashed it out of existence.

“…What the hell happened here?” Claire asked again, this time in utter disbelief.

“Don’t worry. Whoever made that,” I muttered, nodding vaguely toward the giant wall-gash, “is probably friendly.”

“…You know something,” Claire suddenly said, narrowing her eyes, hands going straight to her hips like a scolding older sister.

‘What the hell? Did she just read me from my voice? I thought I had my poker face locked down by now… or is this a redhead thing?’ I broke into a nervous sweat.

“Well?” Claire pressed, a little more sternly this time when I didn’t answer right away.

“I’ll tell you later. We’ve got company,” I said, forcing a weak smile before it vanished entirely. I had just sensed someone. I gave Claire a sharp glance, subtly directing her attention to the corridor just ahead.

She caught the signal and nodded. “Fine. But I’m holding you to that.”

“Sherry!?” came a sudden voice from the far end of the garage.

We turned just in time to see him.

Brian Irons. Chief of Police. Certified scumbag. The kind of man you’d shoot on principle even without a badge.

He stepped into view, a fake smile twisting his features. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Sherry…”

The moment his hand began drifting toward the revolver strapped behind his back, I moved.

Four magnum rounds later, both of his hands and legs were ruined. He hit the floor screaming.

“Aaagh! You bastards! Give me the pendant!”

“Whoa!” Claire flinched, instinctively stepping back and putting Sherry behind her. “Akari, what the hell? You just shot a cop!”

“Relax,” I said evenly, lowering my magnum and giving her a calm look. “He was going for his gun. I shot first. And besides—look at him. Does that look like a good guy to you?”

Irons continued shrieking and cursing from the ground, spitting threats and demanding something about a pendant like a lunatic.

Claire glanced between him, the bloody mess he was, the revolver on the ground and me.

“…Okay,” she muttered. “Point taken.”

“Now let’s go. We’ve still got Sherry’s mom to find, right?” I said casually, already turning toward the cleanly cut exit my clone had made earlier.

Claire glanced down at the screaming mess of a man we were leaving behind. “We’re just going to leave him there?”

“Trust me,” I replied, barely glancing back. “If you knew what that bastard had done, you’d shoot him on principle. And with how much blood he’s losing, I give him a few hours—if the zombies don’t find him first.”

“…That bad?” she asked, her voice quieter now as she and Sherry moved to catch up beside me.

“Yes,” I said simply.

It didn’t take long after that. Sherry led us quickly and surely through the streets until the familiar outline of the orphanage came into view—crumbling but still intact. I remembered this place. The underground entrance should be hidden inside, leading deeper into the Umbrella facilities.

The pieces of shit used it to have an easier time to experiment on children, preying on their need of wanting a family.

But we didn’t get the chance to step in.

I felt it before I saw it—heavy, thundering footsteps, the weight of unnatural rage shaking the pavement beneath us.

“Ah, shit.” I stopped cold, my eyes narrowing as the monstrous shape of William Birkin lumbered into view from the opposite street. The mutation had covered most of his body by now, with only some of his blonde hair resembling anything human.

“He’s back,” I muttered. “Claire. Sherry. Go on ahead. I’ll handle this.”

“What? Again!?” Claire snapped, turning to me in frustration. “How much longer are you going to keep doing this? Just run with us this time, Akari!”

I gave her a small grin as I gently pushed the two of them toward the orphanage entrance. “Your time will come, Claire. Just be patient.”

A tentacle lashed out toward me from Birkin’s form—and I responded instantly, kunai flashing in my grip as I cleaved the grotesque limb clean off in a spray of ichor.

“Hands off, asshole,” I growled, eyes flashing gold. “I’m only into girls.”

‘At least this time Sherry hasn’t realized that’s her father so I don’t have to feel too bad when I murder and sell him to the Company.’ I thought, watching the girls disappear into the orphanage. Claire tossed one last glance over her shoulder—equal parts worry and trust—before the door slammed shut behind them.

I turned back to William.

“Alright,” I muttered, rolling my shoulders as golden wisps of energy flickered around my fingertips. “Let’s wrap this up. I’d rather not let you evolve into Kaiju form while we’re underground.”