A place unfamiliar to him.
That was where Chris Redfield had ended up in the blink of an eye. He was not dressed in his usual soldier get-up. He was not armed with his weapons. He was not in some odd facility tour that promoted a strange substance called Fuse. There was no Coalition in sight. All Chris Redfield could tell was that he was in an unfamiliar place. From his observations, he seemed to be in some sort of empty bar, wearing casual, comparatively comfortable clothes for a change, instead of that bulky, impractical BSAA garb.
But who even was "Chris Redfield" anyway? The mystery was to be found out soon.
He shifted about in his stool, looking around the place. It was empty, and quiet as a whistle as that. No sounds. The lights were not humming, and the television in the corner mounted on the wall was off. Here, Chris felt truly alone. As alone as he tended to feel before. As alone as when he thought Jill had died, and as alone as when...
Well, almost as alone as when he came back.
Death was a strange phenomena. It was something Chris was very familiar with. He had spent decades combating bioterrorism and other worldwide threats, which involved gunning down zombies and those who were infected with whatever viruses Wesker would come up with. He had also lost a fair share of friends, including Piers Nivans and...
Ah, that's right. Piers. He was a tricky subject. Chris would vividly remember fighting alongside the man during the Edonian Civil War during the rise of the C-Virus, as well as the campaign in China. Well, perhaps "remember" was the wrong word. That would imply that he recalled a memory that had happened in the past, but in Chris's reality, it had yet to happen. But of course, with all that multiverse mumbo jumbo, who was to say that perhaps it had already happened in other dimensions? After all, as explained to him by a Makoto Naegi, the one who had introduced him to the Coalition that he fought for now, time was relative to each dimension. For every dimension where he had yet to be born, there was another where he had already passed on.
But he was jumping around, getting ahead of himself. With all the quiet, and no place to go, Chris figured he may as well stay seated and try to start from the beginning.
So where did it all begin?
Well, ironically enough, the clearest starting point Chris could think of was the end. Well,
his end, to be exact. Though his memory was a bit shoddy on the details of his so-called demise, he knew that he had been brought back to life by some sort of miracle, some sort of mistake, and once he had awakened again, Claire was there by his side in a strange world. Claire had somehow brought him back and brought him to a utopia that could only exist in dreams.
A utopia where the bioterrorism he had nearly spent his whole life fighting did not exist. A world where Umbrella was not some sort of terrorist organization bent on spreading their viruses all over the place. A world where the good didn't have to die for no reason. A world where everything was right. A world with no worries at all to care for.
This world that was nothing more than a lie.
"Heya, Chris. Fancy meeting you here," a familiar voice spoke rather casually, a young woman pulling up a stool and sitting down next to him out of the blue.
Looking at her in disbelief, Chris could only utter her name, attempting to register why on Earth she would be in a place like this.
"C-Claire...?"
His little sister, Claire Redfield, had just appeared out of the blue and sat down next to him.
"Hey, what are you giving me that look for? You look like you've seen a ghost," Claire said with a smile, playfully nudging him on the arm. Like a normal little sister would. Though Claire Redfield was no little girl anymore, no longer the little child that young Chris wanted to protect, she was still one in her brother's eyes, even after the things she was capable of doing, and the things she had done.
Yeah, that was right. Claire had brought him back from the dead, and in doing so, had also damned many others to a living hell, including that Ellie girl that had showed up in the tour Chris had infiltrated along with that creepy priest. She had damned others to a living hell in some incident that would only be referred to as "Silent Hill," and then later, the "Murder Game" phenomena that the then-newly revived Chris would decide to fight and put an end to.
"I... Well, I guess I do, huh? Days have been rough lately," he mumbled, looking away and looking around for something to drink. This was an uncomfortable and difficult situation indeed. The last time he had seen her... didn't end so well. But he was getting out of order again, and needed to collect his thoughts. Something was definitely wrong here, that was for sure.
Right, so timeline so far. He died. Claire brought him back to life. He found himself in a utopia where everything was well and good. A utopia that was formed when Claire had doomed all the others in a Murder Game in Silent Hill. This utopia that Chris could not accept. It was nothing more than a giant lie. Most others would be shocked and surprised out of their wits that someone they cared for went ahead and damned others to hell just so they could bring them back, and some might even be flattered. But Chris could not see this as anything but just absolutely the worst thing one could do.
"Oh, yeah? Whatcha been up to?"
What was more, the "resurrection" process had somewhat gone awry. Though Chris didn't know the details of his mystical resurrection, he knew that he was not the exact same Chris that Claire had in mind. To put it simply, he, the Chris Redfield that had come to life, had gone through events that the world had yet to transpire. His body, mind, and soul were from that of the year 2013, but his sister, the world she came from, and the world he was brought back to, was from that of the year 2001. To put it simply, he was, for all intents and purposes, from the future. But to her, it was good enough. To Claire, he was still the same Chris Redfield for the most part.
"Ah... y'know. Things. Unfinished business."
Chris had initially rejected Claire for the horrible things she had done, all just to bring him back. He could not bring himself to appreciate or thank her for being resurrected if it meant not thinking about the others who were not saved in the meantime. He could not bring himself to be grateful if it meant that all of the days, all the memories, all the times he had suffered, bled, shed tears, and poured sweat into his actions, had all amounted to absolutely nothing. He could not bring himself to be grateful if it all meant that someone else instantly did all the protecting and saving with just a wave of a finger, compared to all the suffering and hard work that Chris had went through in the life that he could remember.
"Huh? What just things? That's way too broad. C'mon, tell me! Specifically."
But even after all the horrible things she had done for him, Chris still could not bring himself to completely hate her either. After all, she was his little sister. She was family. And family cleaned up after each other's mistakes. Though he didn't quite completely forgive her, he didn't completely resent her either. No matter what, he could never hate his own flesh and blood. That was why he would fix the issue that she had created himself, and he would make sure she would simply let him make everything better. After all, if he wasn't able to work to save and protect others, what could Chris Redfield do in life anyway?
"Uh... well, you wouldn't believe me. After all, bioterrorism's no longer a threat. Everything's all hunky-dory in this world, right? Besides, it's... a long story."
Initially, he had no means to actively combat whoever was behind this false utopia. But in the nick of time, as fast as a shooting star,
they appeared. They showed up and gave Chris the path he needed to walk down. Makoto Naegi and Darth Rex. The leaders of two organizations, the Future Foundation & G.O.R.E., who had collaborated together to create the Coalition, a group dedicated to fighting the mysterious Murder Games and the ultimate mastermind of everything, Arch Demon Akibahara. They were the ones who convinced Chris that all was not lost, that he still had fighting to do, that he could undo his sister's wrongdoings. So without hesitation, he joined them, naturally. Even if she was not entirely sorry for what she had done, he still forgave her in his own odd way. But perhaps if he spoke more, he would become self-contradictory. For now, that was where the backstory ended. At least, as far as he could remember for now.
"Hmph. You still haven't caught up? What a pain."
Wait, what?
"Huh? Claire, what are you...?"
What was she talking about?
"You're not in the utopia, you know. Well, not that utopia anyway. You're in an even better place. Beyond the world where the threat of Umbrella is nothing more than a fleeting nightmare. This is a place where not only is the threat of Umbrella and TRICELL a fleeting memory, but the Murder Games and the Arch Demon are gone as well. See, isn't that what you wanted? You can't complain if there's nothing left to fight for."
What? But...
"... How?"
It was illogical. But... what, was this the work of the portal or so? Either way, this had to be some sort of illusion! Some sort of trick that someone or something was playing on him!
"Still questioning things even after it's all well and done? I'm not sure if that's exactly like you or unlike you at all, Chris."
A reality like this...
"Look... stop playing games with me. Who are you? I know damn well you're not Claire! Not the real one anyway!"
... couldn't be anything else other than a lie...
"I'm whatever you want me to be. Would you prefer if I take the form of Jill Valentine? Or maybe Sheva Alomar? Either way, it doesn't matter. This place is for you, Chris. You have been provided with an escape plan. The world that you would dream your efforts would end in. A world where not only is Wesker defeated, but as is Akibahara as well. You've fought for long enough, Chris. Now it's time to rest. Here, you can peacefully live out the rest of your life without any worry of whoever else might be suffering. Because suffering doesn't exist here if you don't want it to be, after all. If you stay, you'll get to rest forever, but if you choose to leave, you'll damn yourself to a fight you don't know how it might end."
... Just like the other place...
"No, no... you're not the real Claire. Claire wouldn't..."
... Because there was no such thing as a perfect utopia.
"I'm as real as the other Claire Redfield incarnations out there, Chris. And you're just another incarnation in the vast multiverse. But that is besides the point. I--"
But that doesn't mean that he couldn't keep fighting to get to the closest one could get to a utopia. Even if he spent the rest of his life fighting, he wouldn't mind as long as he could see results for a better tomorrow. That was what he had decided when he signed up for the military, when he became a member of S.T.A.R.S., when he co-founded the BSAA, when he had joined the Coalition.
"That's where you're wrong. It's not beside the point. It's the entire point. The multiverse is exactly what's at stake if I decide to fight. This place... is this supposed to tempt me? Don't waste my time! How could I possibly rest here knowing that I'd be potentially damning the entire multiverse if I stay? This empty place, full of illusions... There's nothing for me anyway. I want real, genuine peace. Not this fake shit!"
Just like with the other utopia that Claire had brought him to, this was all fake, and like that one, he didn't want something fake. There was nothing to fight here, and nothing to fight
for. Staying here would be an utter waste, and he didn't intend on wasting anything. Not time, not the lives of others, not anything!
"I see... So is that your real choice?"
There was no choice. This was the only path he could take from here on out.
"Yeah, it is."
The thought did not occur to him even once to stay here. To him, this so-called utopia where Wesker and Akibahara were already defeated was just as useless to him as the utopia where Umbrella was a simple, humble company with innocent enough intentions.
"Very well, then. I can't stop you. Then in that case, go... Go back to your world. Keep suffering, keep fighting..."
Her words had no passion, no hatred, and no malice. Almost like a robot. She did not seem sad, happy, angry, or anything of the like. Simply... understanding? Perhaps that was the wrong word, but before Chris could think of a better one, bars like that one would see in a prison cell would appear out of nowhere, separating him and Claire. A heavy load would be felt on Chris's body, and as he'd look down, he'd see his old armor and equipment back on him, as though he had always been wearing it.
Instinctively, Chris grabbed the bars, as though intending to break them, gritting his teeth briefly. But that was a futile effort. And he shan't dwell with actions that were futile. Not like fighting for the sake of the multiverse. So with that in mind, he calmed down, taking a breath and letting go of the bars that separated him from the ideal worlds beyond.
"I'll make everything right! Just you wait and see! I'll fix every mistake you ever made! You won't have to worry about a damn thing! Your big brother's gonna make it all okay again!"
He didn't know why he said that. After all, this was not the same Claire Redfield that had brought him back to life, so here, his words had gone over the individual's head, but despite so, he imagined that from here, he could reach his younger sister. But how would he know anyway? Perhaps it was a pointless gesture, but even so, it didn't mean he couldn't try, right?
With that being said, he'd turn around and quickly run off, heading towards the first door he'd see. The exit to the bar he was just in.
And in the blink of an eye, he'd find himself back in the tour, back to the task of fighting for the Coalition.
To fight for hope.
