"Dear God, it's like the Ōmukade; the demon centipede from Japanese legend!" Sara exclaimed.

The monster reared up and lashed out at the group.

"Get outta the way!" Leon shouted.

Everyone leaped aside as the Ōmukade swept itself across the ground, trying to snatch them up in its mandibles.

Leon rolled onto the ground, drawing his guns and opening fire. The bullets glanced off of the B.O.W.'s carapace, failing to pierce its body, but enraging it.

The Ōmukade flailed toward him, slamming its body down in an effort to crush him, but Leon managed to roll out of the way as it struck.

Sara and Jake fired a volley of bullets at the creature, but it only clicked and squealed furiously. It reared up again and expectorated a glob of bright blue fluid. They dodged it an instant before it struck the area where they had stood. The goo hit the exposed steel beam of a building, corroding it instantly and releasing a cloud of gray fumes.

"Does the legend offer any extermination tips?" Leon asked grimly.

"Fire might work, but I don't exactly see any flamethrowers lying around," Sara replied.

"Take cover!" Leon cried. "We gotta regroup!"

The three of them sprinted off and quickly took refuge behind the remains of a small office building.

"Hey, Wondergirl, why don't you zap that thing like you did back in the house?" Jake suggested.

Leon turned to Sara. "It happened again?"

"I… Yeah, it did." She glared at Jake. "But it doesn't have a power switch. I can't just turn it on!" she snapped.

The Ōmukade squealed, lashing its lower body against the sooty remnants of a restaurant and reducing it to shards of glass and dust.

"That thing'll level everything in seconds," Jake grumbled.

Leon reloaded his weapons, his mind racing. "It's gotta have a soft spot somewhere," he muttered.

Daring a glance around the building's wall, he quickly scanned the length of the monster's body. His eye fell on its underbelly which glowed a deep ultraviolet. He withdrew, an idea occurring to him.

"If I could just―"

He was interrupted by the Ōmukade crashing onto the roof of their hiding place. Everyone ducked, shielding themselves from the explosion of debris that followed.

"If I could get underneath it, maybe I could do some damage," Leon finished.

"Sounds like a plan. But I don't like it," Sara piped up. "I'll distract it. Get ready to move."

Inhaling sharply, she took off. "Be careful!" she shouted back to him.

"Wait! Sara―"

"Impulsive, ain't she?" Jake remarked.

Leon sighed gutturally. Sara's impetuosity often impressed and intrigued him, but it also worried him immensely.

"Okay, Hero. You find its bullseye, I'll keep it confused," Jake said.

Leon heard Sara's gunfire. He peered around the building to see the Ōmukade shift its bulk toward her. She flung a chunk of cement at it.

"C'mon!" she taunted.

Jake ran out in the opposite direction, shooting. The B.O.W. turned a gleaming red eye on him and swung around to face him.

The Ōmukade spat out an acid projectile which Jake evaded with a smooth jump and roll. Leon saw his chance; his friends had bought him some time.

While the Ōmukade was occupied with Jake, Leon shot forth at full speed, diving to the ground in a spectacular slide that propelled him under its quivering body. He fired several rounds, causing violet-hued hemolymph to shower upon him.

The Ōmukade reared up, shrieking in agony before twisting itself awkwardly to reach its attacker.

Hastily swiping hemolymph from his face, Leon launched himself aside in a well-timed roll. The Ōmukade untwisted itself, snapping its mandibles as it prepared to spit at Leon.

Just then Sara fired again. "Over here, you oversized licorice stick!"

The Ōmukade forgot Leon and hurled its deadly fluid at Sara. She dodged the steaming acid, but the noxious fumes overwhelmed her. She shrank away behind another building, gasping and coughing violently.

"Sara!" Leon exclaimed.

Jake reappeared, firing off two more shots. Leon took advantage of the distraction to seek Sara. Behind him, the Ōmukade crashed down in an unsuccessful attempt to smash Jake who ran after Leon, skirting his way behind the building's remains.

Leon searched desperately for Sara. He heard her panting and murmuring unintelligibly, but he couldn't see her.

"Sara! Where are you?" he called.

Turning a corner, he saw her. She was doubled over, gripping her head.

"Sara?"

Sara sprung upright and stared at Leon, her eyes wild and her face ashen. "David Ramsey?!" she exclaimed. "No, it's impossible! Y-you died!"

Leon frowned, nonplussed. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I watched Halcyon Isle burn! You're supposed to be dead!" Sara fired a shot.

Leon ducked aside and retreated behind the wall, barely managing to evade it.

Heart pounding, he pressed his back flush against the wall, perplexed at Sara's sudden erratic behavior. "Sara," he called. "Listen, it's me: Leon. David Ramsey is long gone, you know that. Whatever you think you see, it's not real. Clear your mind!"

The Ōmukade roared, the horrid sound followed by smashing and rumbling as it decimated yet another edifice.

"It's on the move!" Jake shouted, coming up beside Leon.

"Be careful; Sara's not herself. She just took a shot at me," Leon replied.

"Aw, shit… What's wrong with her?" Jake demanded.

"I-I'm not sure."

Leon warily emerged from his cover to see Sara still aiming her gun bewilderedly. He spread his hands. "Sara, it's me."

She blinked uncertainly. "You… sound like Leon, but…"

The Ōmukade charged into the edifice, causing a cascade of rubble to drop. Leon lunged at Sara, shielding her with his body as he pushed her away from the crumbling structure. Jake dove beside them.

Leon raised himself off of Sara, looking at her anxiously. She was gazing directly into his face; clarity and recognition returning to her eyes. "Leon. Oh, my God… I shot you!" she realized.

He shook his head, relief flooding him. "No; I'm okay."

"The acid fumes have psychotropic effects," Sara explained breathlessly. "They're hallucinogenic!"

"That explains a lot," Leon answered, rising quickly and pulling Sara up with him.

The Ōmukade burrowed through the wreckage, seeking its quarry.

"Incoming! Move your asses!" Jake barked.

They darted across the road, taking cover behind yet another building. The Ōmukade caught sight of them and flung more acid, narrowly missing them. The monster pursued them, thrusting its head around the corner wall, its mandibles opening hungrily.

Everyone opened fire simultaneously on its face, their rage and frustration apparent in every shot.

The B.O.W. shrieked, hemolymph spraying everywhere. The persistent gunfire tore one of its gargantuan poison claws, causing blue acid to flow thickly. Its left eye exploded like a ruptured water balloon.

Despite its extensive wounds, however, the Ōmukade advanced jerkily. Its movements were slower, but determined.

"Okay; we're in deep shit," Jake conceded, his eyes fixed on the B.O.W.

The trio stepped back, unsure of the next course of action. Even Leon was at a loss. Suddenly, he saw a projectile streak through the air toward the Ōmukade's head. It struck its target in its dead eye, causing it to shriek and rear up.

"What the hell?" Sara breathed.

An arrow now protruded from the Ōmukade's eye. Leon's eyes widened as he realized that the arrow was flashing rapidly.

"That's an explosive arrow. It's gonna blow! Move!" he shouted.

Everyone took cover, hunkering down behind a pile of rubble just as the arrow detonated. The Ōmukade roared shrilly, falling onto its side with an earth-shaking crash, hemolymph gushing from its head. The next moment, the hemolymph ignited and the angry flames raced over the length of its body, rapidly consuming the Ōmukade.

The creature writhed and thrashed in death throes, squealing and shrieking before finally going still. Seconds later, only the smoking, blackened carcass remained, its foul stench riding on the wind. The ultraviolet glow from its underbelly pulsated faintly then went dark.

The trio stepped out, staring at the dead B.O.W.

"That's that," Jake said. "Reduced to the world's biggest charcoal lump."

"Fierce," Sara remarked. "Incinerated by its own blood. But where did that arrow come from?"

As if in reply, a soft thud sounded behind them. "Well, well. The more things change, the more they stay the same," a smooth, feminine voice said airily.

Leon's stomach suddenly felt leaden. His jaw clenched in displeasure. He knew that voice all too well.

Everyone turned to see the speaker. Before them stood an attractive, slenderly-built Asian woman. She was dressed in fitted black pants that hugged her slight curves and a short black leather jacket over a red Mandarin-collar blouse bearing a butterfly burnout design. A black butterfly choker encircled her neck. Her ruby-red lips were curved in an insupportably smug smile over her ivory-hued face.

Leon's expression steeled. "Ada."

The name fell from his lips like a mouthful of saltwater as a storm of memories overtook him. He remembered their first encounter back in Raccoon City when she had deceived him into believing she was an FBI agent. She had tricked him into securing a sample of the deadly virus, sealing her lie with a surprising kiss.

A young, inexperienced cop, Leon's senses had been stirred deeply. Ada was sexy, seductive, sophisticated, and skilled. Although he hadn't trusted her for an instant, he had been taken with her. In the years that followed, Ada had appeared in his life during the most terrifying bioterrorist attacks; always the beguiling trickster―the conniving thief in search of a virus sample.

Until he had met Sara, Leon's affections had been tethered to the shadowy agent who had duped him, teased him, and used him like a pawn before vanishing into the shadows. But today, as she stood before him in her usual conceited attitude, he felt a sense of self-congratulatory elation. Her presence had no effect on him other than to provoke concerned suspicion and revulsion at his former weakness.

Ada listed her head at him, careless locks of raven hair falling across her forehead. "Long time, no see, handsome," she said, her smile broadening slightly. She rested her weapon―a collapsible crossbow―against her shoulder.

Leon could almost feel the tension rolling off of Sara who had gone rigid beside him.

"Hey, I remember you," Jake said, stepping forward. "You're the mystery woman who gave out those 'enhancers' to me and my unit back in Edonia. You turned them all into a bunch of freaks―almost did the same to me."

Ada turned cool almond-brown eyes on her accuser. "That was the work of my doppelgänger, the bioterrorist clone Carla Radames. I had nothing to do with it," she replied. "But I do remember you, Jake Muller, and pretty little Sherry Birkin, too, back in China. Your blood really came through for the vaccine. Kudos."

"I figured that wasn't your handiwork; taking out the entire world isn't your style. But I know you had been working for the mastermind, Derek Simmons, before that incident," Leon said.

"Girl's gotta make a living," Ada answered coolly. "I'm glad you put Simmons out of his misery, though. The idiot was obsessed with me. He couldn't take 'go to hell' for an answer. Besides, widespread destruction definitely isn't on my agenda."

"So you won't pull the trigger," Sara said frigidly. "You'll just hand the gun to whoever will. Not very wise, considering the fact that if the world burns, you burn with it."

Ada's haughty gaze flicked over to her. "Hm. I haven't had the pleasure," she said dryly.

"But I know who and what you are, Ada Wong. Thief, liar, traitor… Did I leave anything out?" Sara arched a brow at her.

Ada tossed her head lightly, smirking at Leon. "Well, I'm famous, it seems."

Leon regarded her austerely. "Well, you have built one hell of a reputation."

Ada scoffed, returning her attention to Sara. She eyed her appraisingly. "Ah, you're the girl who survived the Halcyon Isle experiments. Interesting."

It came as no surprise to Leon that Ada knew about that case; somehow she always had a store of illegally obtained information at her disposal.

He glanced at Sara whose flinty gaze was unwaveringly deadlocked with Ada's.

Ada's eyes slid from Sara to Leon then back, identifying their relationship with impressive acuity. A vague shadow of resentment flitted across her face briefly. "Very interesting."

"Let's cut through the bullshit, lady. What're you here for?" Jake demanded bluntly.

Leon narrowed his eyes at Ada. "Yeah. You're not here to help us; altruism isn't exactly your strong suit. So…?"

Ada winked. "That's classified," she replied.

Realization then dawned on Leon. He chuckled mirthlessly."Déjà vu. It's Raccoon City all over again. Your 'employer' intercepted the SOS message sent from here. You responded to the sender posing as a PSIA agent in order to infiltrate the facility."

"Sharp as ever, Leon," Ada answered, inclining her head.

"She's after the virus that caused the recent outbreak," Sara deduced.

"Good guess," Ada said patronizingly. "But not quite. The tainted fragrances were just the beginning―a goldfish released into the ocean. There's a far bigger catch to be made."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jake pressed.

Ada glanced at him superciliously. "The kidnapping and attacks are just a smokescreen for something much worse."

"There's another virus being engineered?" asked Leon, his brow furrowing deeply.

Ada bobbed her head. "And it's going to be unleashed globally in pretty little packages." She looked at them all in turn. "Nothing is what it appears to be," she said cryptically. "But if you destroy the masks, you might just be able to win the game."

Having said this, Ada turned away, slinging her crossbow over her shoulder. She drew a grapple gun and aimed it at a bare beam on a nearby rooftop.

"That's it?" Sara snapped. "You drop a riddle and run?"

Ada shot her a withering glance. "You've got your assignment; I've got mine. It must be tough playing with the good guys, huh?"

Leon scowled at her as she fired the grapple hook, launching herself into the air and executing a flawless aerial somersault before landing smoothly on the roof.

She turned back, looking down at the group smugly. "By the way, I'd watch my back if I were you. The DSO's got a mole, and soon they'll know more about you around here than you know about yourselves."

Ada raised her hand languidly in farewell before swinging her way to another rooftop and vanishing from sight.

The trio stood silently for a moment, staring at the vacant roof.

"I really don't like that bitch," Jake remarked at length.

"Jake, I think you and I are gonna get along okay," Sara declared, turning away and pacing a few steps.

Jake snickered softly.

"I think it's safe to say Ada's never won any popularity contests," said Leon.

He glanced at Sara surreptitiously, wondering what she was thinking. It was impossible to tell if she was angry or jealous. As if in response to his mental query, she turned abruptly to face him, looking simultaneously disgusted and amused.

"So that's Ada Wong―the typical femme fatale with an ego as big as the Ōmukade." She chuckled wryly. "Poor Leon. Guess it happens even to the best of you boys."

Leon quirked a brow in surprise. That wasn't the reaction he'd expected from her.

"You had a thing with her?" Jake inquired.

"Not exactly. It's… a very complicated piece of ancient history," Leon replied with marked emphasis on the last two words.

Sara crossed her arms. "She's going to be a problem, isn't she?"

Leon sighed deeply. "I'm betting on it. But right now, we've got bigger problems than Ada. If there really is a mole in the DSO, that spells trouble on a hundred levels."

"Maybe she was lying?" Jake suggested.

"I don't think so," Leon said gravely.

"I believe it," Sara agreed. "Before we met Glow Worm over there, Leon and I got a comm transmission from a strange woman. She knows our names and our history―including yours, Jake. That can only be an inside job."

A somber silence fell among them as the truth set in. This mission was becoming more convoluted every minute.

The comm devices went off, breaking the tense stillness. Leon and Sara exchanged uneasy glances.

"We're getting a transmission," Leon explained in response to Jake's questioning look. "It may or may not be FOS."

"Only one way to find out," Jake said.

Leon nodded at Sara before taking the call. "Yeah?" he responded uncertainly.

"Leon, Sara, I've got the info on Shiroi Yoake you requested," Ingrid Hunnigan's voice answered.

"Hunnigan! Are we glad to hear you!" Sara exclaimed.

"What? What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Our comm system was hacked into," Leon explained. "Things took a real bad, unexpected turn. And we've got reason to believe there's a mole within the DSO acting as an informant against us."

"Oh, my God… How do you know?"

"The hacker knew who we were―our history and origins. Only the DSO has those files," Sara replied.

"All we can do is keep going, but we'll really have to watch our backs." Leon said. "Anyway, tell us what you found."

"Well, turns out Shiroi Yoake does have significance. It was a startup skincare company, and the lifeblood of Fukushū. When it burned down, that was pretty much the end of the town.

"I did a little more digging, and it seems Shiroi Yoake had a dark side. According to records, there were rumors of unethical business practices and unsanctioned research projects. Cursory investigations were made, but they were all inconclusive. And the fire that wrecked Fukushū? It originated at Shiroi Yoake's research and development center."

"There's our red flag," Leon declared. "That may be the tie-in we're looking for."

"I figured you'd want to check into it, so I took the liberty of sending you a mapped route to the RD facility. As a matter of fact, you're close to it."

"Excellent. Thanks, Hunnigan. I need another favor. I'm sending you a picture of a girl I came across. See if you can identify her for us, will you?" Leon requested. "I get the feeling she may be involved somehow."

"I'll get right on it," Hunnigan responded.

The transmission ended, and Leon quickly uploaded the photo.

A few seconds later, the comm device sounded, displaying the route. It pointed to a dilapidated facility several yards away.

"So that's Shiroi Yoake," Sara murmured.

"Where's the field trip to now?" Jake asked.

"Shiroi Yoake headquarters―or whatever's left of it," Leon answered. "Seems I may be on the right track; it might've been the Umbrella Corporation of Fukushū. According to Hunnigan, there was some shady business going on, and the fire that practically razed the town started at their RD building."

"So we head on over to scour for leads?" Jake inquired.

"That's the plan," answered Sara.

Leon placed his hands on his hips and stepped forward, his eyes trained on the sprawling building rising up in the distance.

"Okay, then," he sighed. "Let's see what we see."