Leon quickly approached the console, gazing at the monitors in search of Jake and Sara. He spotted them instantly. The sight enraged him.

Jake was confined to a surgical table with steel body restraints. Several electrodes were connected to his head and neck, attached to various machines. He was staring up at the ceiling fixedly, his expression stony. As though sensing that he was being watched, Jake craned his neck to look at the camera. Even from a distance, Leon could see the fury in his eyes.

Leon turned his irate gaze to the next monitor which displayed Sara's containment room. He seethed at the sight of Sara lying on a table, her arms and legs bound by electronic restraints. A strange metallic device was attached to the base of her head.

"What the hell…?"

Sara lay deathly still, her unblinking eyes riveted to the ceiling. Indeed, Leon would have believed she was dead had it not been for the vital sign monitor beside her displaying active readings.

Leon leaned heavily against the console, anger and weariness threatening to suffocate him. He drew a deep breath to steady himself. Before he could free his friends, he had to prepare for the next step. One thing was certain: all hell was about to break loose. It was time to call for backup.

Leon rummaged through his pack in search of his health tablets and the kokeshi doll containing the antivirus and memory card. Fortunately, both were present.

Expelling a relieved breath, Leon donned his gear and quickly ingested several tablets.  His earpiece sounded, startling him slightly.

"Hunnigan?" he answered warily.

"Leon!" the support agent exclaimed. "My God! I've been trying to reach you and Sara for over an hour! I was beginning to think the worst. Are you all okay? What happened?"

"The shit's really hit the fan, Hunnigan," he answered gravely. "The three of us were taken captive by Hana and separated. With a little help and some luck, I escaped. Now I'm trying to rescue Jake and Sara.

"There's a lot to update you on, but I don't have much time, so I'll give you the abridged version. We managed to get the antivirus just before we were captured. Now, thanks to our hostess, we're finally at Deddoraito castle. She confiscated our gear, but she didn't check it, so she still doesn't know we've got the antivirus.

"And our mole in the Division, Marcos Queiros? He's been here the whole time as Hana Matsuo's star lackey. We just had a little… scuffle. Unfortunately, he escaped. I don't know where he is, but I know we'll meet again very soon."

"Jesus… You've been busy, all right," Hunnigan sighed.

"Yeah, and there's more. Hana's got a sick plan to 'purge' the world and repopulate it with kids that she kidnapped from nearby towns. She's keeping them locked up here in the castle somewhere."

"Dear God! Well, what's your plan now?" inquired Hunnigan.

"First I gotta get to Sara and Jake then we have to find a way to stop Hana from shipping out the tainted cosmetics. Hunnigan, we're gonna need the cavalry out here. We're running low on resources, and there's no way we can get the kids out on our own. If things get seriously out of hand, we won't be able to control the situation."

"Okay," said Hunnigan. "I'm going to reach out to Far East BSAA to arrange for backup to your location ASAP."

"I need you to call in a solid favor with North America BSAA. Captain Chris Redfield is leading the NA unit out here; I'd really like to have their support, too," Leon requested.

"Got it. Anything else you need?"

Leon paused, thinking. "Yeah, I do, actually. See if you can get me the floor plans for Deddoraito when it was a museum. I don't like running blind in here; that's the last thing we need."

"Okay. Let me see what I can dig up. Hold the line if you can," Hunnigan answered.

While she worked at locating the requested data, Leon returned to the monitors. He stared at the computers, his heart sinking at the daunting realization that the text was written completely in Japanese.

"Damn it!" he hissed.

He couldn't read a single line, much less issue a command.

Leaning forward, Leon shut his eyes, trying to think of a solution. The three of them had come too far and worked too hard to be stopped by locked doors. He opened his eyes again, his pensive gaze traveling the length of the room. Presently, he noticed a power panel on the far left wall. An idea occurred to him.

Leon hurried to the panel and flung the door open. He hastily surveyed the wiring.

"…hear me? Leon!" Hunnigan was calling.

"Yeah, sorry. Hit a little snag here, but I think I can smooth it out," Leon replied. "Were you able to get the floor plan?"

"Yes; I'm sending it to you now. But I have to warn you: a lot may have changed since Deddoraito was a museum."

"Doesn't matter; the basic layout can't have been altered much. Some idea is better than none. Thanks a lot, Hunnigan," Leon responded.

"Of course. I'm on standby if you need anything else, and I'll update you on your backup status."

"Copy that."

Having disconnected the call, Leon checked his comm device, briefly studying the floor plans. He returned his attention to the power panel.

Leon drew his knife. "Okay. Now initiating shutdown."

Leon turned on his ear mount flashlight and proceeded to carefully sever the wiring. The next moment, the room was plunged into absolute darkness. A few seconds later, a set of emergency lights flickered on.

Snatching up Jake's and Sara's gear, Leon exited the Security Room. He cautiously stepped out into the corridor which was now shrouded in shadows broken by intermittent patches of the dull, yellowish light of the emergency lamps.

Casting a final regretful glance at Oiwa's corpse, Leon hurried on, seeking out the staircase to the third story.

Having traveled the second floor's perimeter, he finally came to the stairs. He froze at the sound of approaching footsteps and fragments of exchanged dialogue uttered in guttural, raspy voices.

Leon quickly switched off his light and ducked into a dark corner, trying to meld with the shadows as the B.O.W. guards ran past him. One of them halted abruptly, glancing around suspiciously.

Scarcely daring to breathe, Leon pressed himself against the wall, watching tensely as the creature's glowing eyes swept over his hiding place. It growled softly, inching toward him.

Leon slowly reached for his knife and wrapped his fingers around its hilt tightly, prepared to attack.

The first creature shouted to its companion, no doubt having discovered Oiwa's body and the destroyed doors. Snarling low, the creature turned and hurried away.

Leon exhaled quietly and carefully ascended the stairs to the next floor.

The third story was even darker than the second as there were fewer windows and emergency lights to illuminate the corridor.

Leon stood listening for several seconds. Hearing nothing, he proceeded, relying solely on the dim lamplight to avoid attracting attention to himself.

As he turned a corner, he was suddenly blindsided. The unseen attacker dealt him a backhanded blow to the face and a sharp kick to the abdomen.

Leon rallied quickly and blocked the next incoming assault. He pushed his aggressor backward and whirled around in a spinning roundhouse kick.

The assailant rammed into the wall with the impact, falling under the dingy beam of an emergency lamp. Leon's eyes widened.

"Jake!" he exclaimed.

"Leon?! Is that you?" Jake blinked, glaring into the shadows uncertainly.

Leon stepped into the light. "Yeah."

He offered his hand to Jake who quickly lifted himself up.

"Sorry, man. I couldn't see you. I thought―" Jake stopped and stared at him, taking in his bloodied, battered state.

"Holy shit. You've definitely seen better days," he remarked.

Leon scoffed. "Yeah, not too many."

"What the hell did they do to you?"

Leon grunted. "Long story. I'll give you the rundown when we get to Sara."

"She's here, too?"

"Unfortunately," replied Leon. He picked up Jake's gear, which he had dropped, and held it out to him. "Here; got your party favors back for you."

Jake took his equipment. "Now we're talkin'. Thanks." He donned it quickly. "Do you know where Sara is?"

Leon shook his head. "I only know she's up here and that they've got her immobilized. I saw you both on the security cams downstairs. I had to cut the power in order to unlock everything."

"Whatever works," Jake shrugged.

A sudden series of shouts resounded throughout the corridor. Leon and Jake turned to see two guards coming at them. In their scarlet-gloved hands, they wielded katanas. The brilliant blades flashed in the low light as they dashed at the men.

"Yeah… but it came with a price," Leon sighed, watching them advance.

"Pfft. I've got this," Jake affirmed, swiftly
drawing his gun.

"Uh, that won't―" Leon began.

But Jake wasn't listening. He quickly fired twice, managing a perfect headshot to each guard.

The two guards collapsed to the floor instantly.

"Problem solved," Jake declared. He holstered his gun and turned back to Leon. "We're gonna look for Sara or what?"

Leon didn't reply. His grave gaze remained fixed on the fallen guards. He drew his own handguns quietly in expectation. The creatures did not disappoint.

First one then the other began to quiver. Their flanks burst open, showering the walls and floor with blood as eight arachnid legs sprouted from the ruptured flesh.

"Hope you're not arachnophobic," Leon remarked tersely.

Jake whirled around. His eyes fell on the mutating guards. "Ah, shit."

Now fully transformed, the creatures skittered madly toward the men.

"Whatever you do, avoid their webbing. That stuff sticks like industrial glue!" Leon advised.

Without further comment, he opened fire on the B.O.W.s. The creatures screeched and slowed down momentarily, but they recovered quickly and continued their advance.

"Our ammo's not gonna hold out for long," Jake said, firing off several more rounds.

Leon perceived that problem himself, and even as the atrocious creatures charged forth, he sought an alternative. He caught sight of the katanas the guards had dropped.

Up close and personal wasn't his preferred combat method, but the situation was dire.

Leon ran toward the B.O.W. coming in from the left. Having gained velocity, he launched himself into a horizontal wall jump and sailed over the oncoming monster. Landing smoothly, he transitioned into a shoulder roll, catapulting himself within reach of the weapon.

Leon snatched up a sword and hurled it toward Jake. "Use this!"

"A sword? Shit! C'mon!" Jake grumbled.

"Whatever works!" Leon retorted.

He seized the other sword just as the second creature scrambled around toward him. It leaped at him with an ugly hiss.

Quickly dodging it, Leon spun aside, slashing the B.O.W. as it rushed past him. The razor-sharp blade sliced through two rear legs and the spinnerets, drenching Leon's arm and shoulder with blood. While the creature writhed and screeched in agony, he lopped off its head.

Sword in hand, Jake dealt with the remaining B.O.W. As Leon had warned, it used its webbing against him, flinging forth a funnel of silk. Jake ducked and rolled away even as the webbing hit the wall.

Undeterred, the creature scuttled up the wall and onto the ceiling with surprising speed.

"Jake, heads up!" Leon shouted, looking upward.

Jake swiftly aimed his gun up at the advancing B.O.W. and fired a single shot. The creature dropped to the floor on its back, its legs waggling furiously as it struggled to flip over.

Brandishing his sword once, Jake thrust it into the monster's underside then hacked the blade through its body, cleaving the thorax from the abdomen. The creature died instantly, each end quivering momentarily.

Panting, Leon approached him. "You're pretty good with that," he said, nodding at the katana.

Jake huffed. "Didn't say I couldn't use it. I just have a slight aversion to blades." He indicated his scarred face. "Bad experience. Give me a gun any day."

"Hear that. Survival is a contact sport, unfortunately," Leon replied.

"No shit. C'mon, let's find Sara and get the hell outta here."

As the men prepared to depart, two more sets of approaching footsteps echoed through the corridor. Leon turned around to see another sword-wielding guard heading toward him.

"Incoming on my twelve," Jake declared, glaring at the second guard rushing at him.

"Sandwiched," Leon muttered somberly.

The men stood back to back, each facing their opponent.

"Never thought I'd need to take up fencing," Leon remarked, poising himself for the fight.

"This'll be interesting," Jake said, smirking. He flourished his sword.

The next instant, the B.O.W. guards were upon them.

🌔🌕🌖

Sara blinked her burning, salt-crusted eyes. Tears streamed down her face and into her ears―the result of being able to blink only once every twenty seconds. The room was pitch dark except for the glow of the vital sign monitor, which was now running on its backup battery. The darkness puzzled her momentarily, but she now heard the sounds of battle out in the corridor as well as Leon's and Jake's voices shouting indistinctly. Realization dawned on her.

"They're alive!" she gasped, nearly choking with relief.

The words tumbled out of her mouth, surprising her. She had been completely immobilized since her captors had restrained her and attached a device they referred to as a cerebral inhibitor to the base of her head. The star-shaped device sent alternating signals to apply pressure to the medulla oblongata, preventing movement.

The instant the electricity had been cut, however, the inhibitor had ceased its painful, pulsating currents. Sensation slowly returned to Sara's extremities. She reached behind her head and tore off the device. Inhaling deeply, she sat up then endeavored to stand.

Her legs refused to cooperate, however, and Sara collapsed to the floor.

"Damn it!"

She clawed at the linoleum in frustration as she struggled to her feet, gritting her teeth.

Having regained her footing at last, Sara stumbled out into the dim corridor, groping the walls for support. She hesitated briefly, listening to the sounds of clashing steel and the grunts of exertion from her companions. Sara pushed herself into a heavy jog.

Rounding a corner cautiously, she caught sight of her friends at last. They were fighting hard against two guards―clearly B.O.W.s, judging by their glowing eyes. Sara was stunned to see Leon and Jake fending them off with katanas. Jake was doing surprisingly well, but Leon was struggling.

Unarmed and still somewhat disoriented, Sara's ability to intervene was limited, but she didn't falter.

Sara shut her eyes, striving to focus beyond the din and the scene before her. She reached within, trying to summon her power from the depths of her being. The effort brought on a throbbing headache, but Sara ignored it, concentrating only on building the energy.

The current flowed down into her hands. It felt unstable and erratic, but Sara fostered it regardless. Her power quickly reached its zenith. Opening glowing, golden eyes, Sara unleashed a bolt of blazing electricity at the nearest guard who was raining blows on Jake even as he strove to parry them.

Channeling the force, Sara chained the bolt through the first guard on to the second who had trapped Leon in a tense deadlock. Like a fiery spear, the electrical bolt pierced both creatures, engulfing them in waves of orange electricity until their bodies burst into flames.

Leon and Jake turned to stare at Sara, stunned by her unexpected and dramatic arrival.

Pain exploded through Sara's skull, abruptly severing her power current. She crumpled to the floor on all fours, crying out in agony. A stream of blood issued from her nose. Through a passing episode of tunnel vision, she watched as Leon and Jake shook themselves out of their surprise and decapitated their conflagrant foes.

Unconsciousness seemed imminent, threatening to pull her into oblivion, but she fought it, clinging to the sounds of strife as an anchor to awareness.

"Sara! Sara!"

Leon's deep, mellow voice roused her faculties. She felt his strong grip on her shoulders. He shook her gently.

"Sara! Can you hear me?" Leon demanded.

Sara raised her head, wiping the blood from her face as she blinked to focus her eyes. "I-I'm okay. It was just too much too soon, I guess."

At last her vision cleared and she found herself gazing into Leon's saturnine face. She stared, aghast, at the contusions and lacerations he bore. "Oh, my God! Leon! What happened to you?!"

Leon scoffed. "Just business as usual."

He pulled Sara into an embrace. She heard his relieved exhalation before he withdrew to analyze her gravely. "What did Osakabe do to you?"

Sara shook her head. "She didn't have time for much; she's too busy with her master scheme. But she put something on me called a cerebral inhibitor that paralyzed me and suppressed my abilities. Walking here was an achievement of itself, but when I saw you guys in trouble, I just…"

"Acted on impulse," Leon finished, nodding slowly.

"Yeah. But I'm fine now," Sara added quickly. "Just a… slight case of neural overload. Don't worry."

Leon sat back on his heels and sighed gutturally. "I worry. But I can't ask you to be less than you are."

Sara beamed appreciatively.

Jake crouched before her, his expression of grim concern mirroring Leon's. "Hey, daughter of Thor," he joked, "thanks for havin' our backs, but don't overstep your limits. Sure you're okay?"

Sara smiled at him, somewhat surprised. "Absolutely," she said. "I'm glad to see you both. I was afraid Osakabe had…" Her voice trailed off.

Leon helped her rise slowly.

"It's on her agenda," he explained. "But she has research plans for you and Jake. Me, she just decided to carve up."

Sara's eyes widened as she noted the damp bloodstains across his chest. She swallowed hard, glancing up at his collected countenance.

"It's not so bad," Leon said quietly, addressing her distressed look. "The tablets are helping. And my executioner didn't get to do much damage; Ada showed up."

"Ada! She's here? Great…" Sara mused aloud. "Well, now I don't know whether to thank her first or just shoot her on sight."

Jake snickered, and even Leon chuckled lightly.

"Ada's always ahead of the game, ain't she?" Jake remarked.

Leon grunted. "Pretty much. And if she's still here, it's only because she hasn't found the sample yet. As for my painful makeup job, that's courtesy of Kuroki, who happens to be our resident DSO traitor."

"Kuroki's Marcos Queiros? Well, shit," Jake said, shaking his head.

"Somehow, I'm not really surprised," Sara remarked.

"He killed Sunako and―"

"She's dead?" Sara interrupted, the news oddly disturbing to her.

A rueful shadow crossed Leon's face. "Yeah."

"Damn. But she's probably better off," Jake said. "Her husband and her kid screwed her up good."

There was an element of truth in that, but it saddened Sara nonetheless.

"Kuroki and I faced off," Leon continued. "But he got away. I have a bad feeling we'll meet again sooner than I'd like."

His features hardened. "There's more to tell you guys, but we gotta move. I'll explain as we go."

Leon retreated momentarily, returning with Sara's equipment. He handed it to her.

"How'd you get―  Never mind. Do we know where we're going?" she asked, securing her gear once more.

Leon nodded and drew his comm device. "I spoke with Hunnigan, and she sent a map of Deddoraito. We need to get to the main keep. Most likely, that's where Osakabe will be."

"Guess we'd better keep these," Jake said, picking up the katanas again.

"Samurai warriors, eh?" Sara said wryly.

Leon chuckled, but quickly became sober again. "Gotta conserve our ammo. We're not out of this by a long shot."

Jake flourished his sword. "We'll carve our way out if we have to. One way or the other, that crazy bitch is going down."