Chapter 4 is up, I actually like this chapter alot longer then the last one that was rather short. Too short if you ask me. Anyways I think this one's better but hell feel free to tell me otherwise. Cant improve till I get some feedback. So I encourage you to review.

Firemon and Ashley (c) Me

Swordmon and Jacob (c) Lindsay

Cole (c) Cole

Digmon (c) Bandai

And now enjoy

Firemon paced recklessly back and forth at the exit of the alleyway. Where the hell was Ashley? She really should have been there by now. He couldn't help thinking that something bad might have happened to her. He should go see if she was alright but she had told him to meet her here and he would meet her here. He sighed and continued waiting.

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Ashley stumbled through the alleyway heading towards the exit. That needle must have done something to her but she couldn't let it bother her. She had to continue, she had to think of a way to beat Jacob, she had to… she had to… What did she have to do again? She couldn't remember everything was getting fuzzy.

She pressed forward. It was nothing, she had to focus, but it was getting harder. 'No' she told herself, she had to continue, just a little farther now. 'What was that?' Was someone following her? She couldn't distinguish between reality and fantasy, it was getting harder to walk, her footsteps swayed.

She managed to get the exit and to a very worried Firemon. "What take so long?" He asked his voice on the edge.

Ashley looked down at Firemon, he looked up at her. The look on his face was one of worry but that's not what Ashley saw. Whatever she saw must have been funny because she broke out into a fit of laughter.

She doubled over laughing for about 30 seconds, Firemon just starring at her blankly not knowing what to do. This had never happened before; Ashley had always been in control, at least on the exterior. Firemon knew that Jacob had shaken her but he didn't know about the needle. Then she started coughing up blood.

Ashley coughed and coughed and when Firemon moved to help her she waved him off. She was trying to stay in control of herself but she was getting delirious she wanted to laugh, and cry, She coughed one last time and then her vision darkened. She fell forward and before Firemon could catch her she hit the pavement face first; passed out.

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She awoke later, her head pounding. She didn't know how much time had passed; she couldn't remember what had happened. Her memory was fuzzy as was her vision; it was still hard to concentrate.

She saw a patch of red in her vision, "Firemon?" she called out uncertainly. A voiced replied to her, she didn't know what it said but she knew it was Firemon. She recognized his voice anywhere.

'You recognized Jacobs voice anywhere to.' She said and then her whole body shook. All the memories came back to her, memories of that horrible voice. The voice that was Jacob, and yet wasn't.

She cried out in pain her head pounding. Firemon rushed and poured some liquid down her throat, she fell asleep shortly after that.

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When she woke again her head was clear and her vision had returned. She was not in any physical pain, but then again that wasn't the worst kind of pain there was. Her heart felt like it was being torn in two, she had to kill the virus (which in itself was a problem) but the chances that Ashley would also destroy Swordmon, and Jacob along with the virus was high.

"Damn that fucking virus!" She yelled at the sky above her. She forced herself to stand up. Firemon was gone somewhere. She'd have to wait for him to return. She had no way to contact him.

It gave her time to think though, there had to be a way to defeat the virus. Jacob had said something about an anti-virus. But where the hell was she gonna find something like that? Even if there was a way to get some sort of anti-virus how would she make sure the virus got it? Would it fix the enviable damage that the virus had almost certainly caused to the digital world?

'Too many questions, not enough answers.' She thought to herself, 'I'll worry about that later right now I need to focus on what's going on right now…where the fuck am I?'

She looked around she couldn't see anything but trees. Not much of a clue to tell her where she was. She had definitely got out of the city though, for what it was worth. Firemon must have taken her here. She had to hand it to the little guy he certainly was strong.

Her pack lay at the foot of a tree. She hoped there was food in it because she was starved. She walked over and opened it; she grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head before rummaging around and grabbing a loaf of bread.

Just as she took a bite from it Firemon came running back. "How be you?" He asked, she admired how even now he carried himself.

"I'm fine…my memories a little fuzzy, I couldn't hear you before and my head hurts but its nothing." She bit into the bread again and it must have stirred up something in her stomach because she hurled it all back up and then some.

Firemon made a move to go help her but Ashley put her hand out stopping him. She recomposed herself and said as if nothing was wrong in the world, "Ok guess I'll skip on food for a while." Seeing the look on Firemons face she moved on discussing what really mattered here. "Few questions, one where the hell are we? Second, do you know what was in that needle? And third and it's the most important…The virus, we need a way to stop it, what do you suggest we do?"

"We outside city, about half digi-span and a bit. Don't know but I think you should wait, wait till you all better. If we are to find way, perhaps we should seek Cole. He know much on human terms such as 'virus'"

Ashley nodded; she didn't want to resort to the others. She wasn't sure they'd understand, could she even trust them? As much as Jacob had fucked up she didn't want to hurt him, and she wasn't sure she could count on the others for that. She wasn't even sure she could be counted on for that. But under the circumstances she had no choice. She solemnly said "Fine we'll get Cole, but I hope your damn good at hitchhiking."

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It took Ashley and Firemon a week to get back to where Cole lived. The trip normally would only have taken two or three days…If Firemon had been able to Digivolve, or she had a car. Apparently people were still wary of picking a hitchhiker with a Digimon. Not that she blamed them they were practically walking weapons, never mind worrying if she had a gun or not.

When she finally did manage did get back to where it had all started she was exhausted. She had had little to no sleep; her dreams had made sure of that. And food still hadn't managed to stay down long enough to consider anything a 'meal'. She felt ready to die but she still had a job to do.

She knew that Cole would still be in school now so she waited by his house. Not on the property she didn't want his parents to see her and freak out wondering where the hell she'd been. No that would have caused problems. Instead she waited down the street and in amongst the trees with her hood pulled up over her face.

She didn't have to wait long for Cole to come walking by; she grabbed him and pulled him into the clump and trees. He was about to scream for help when she pulled her hood away revealing her face. Then he was too shocked to do anything, much less scream for help.

Then he got over it and started babbling. "Ashley! Wha …what are you doing here? I thought you had died for sure, you never contacted any of us, and Jacob would never say if he knew anything. I tried to contact you but when you didn't reply I...I assumed..."

"Shut up and listen for a moment would you." She said rudely and he immediately stopped babbling and listened. "I ran away you saw my parents when I told them about Firemon, I would have had a worse life with that, worse then it was anyways. I couldn't take it, and you know that." She said staring him directly in the eye. Her cold ice eyes penetrating, but beneath the coldness was something…else. It showed all the pain in the world you could get lost in it and break down into despair; such was the sadness behind it.

Cole looked away he saw the sadness and he couldn't look it in the eye. His parents were divorced but he never had to suffer the way Ashley did. He couldn't sympathize because he knew nothing and Ashley wouldn't have wanted it, she wasn't that type of girl. "But you didn't even tell us…" He said in a low defeated voice. He knew why she hadn't told them, but he still felt the need to say it.

Cole was the tallest out of all their group of Tamers, he was tall and he was skinny and he was perhaps the smartest out of them all, but what he wasn't was a quick thinker and definitely not in the thick of battle. He didn't have half the survival instincts of Ashley, or even Jacob. Ashley was a short girl and Cole was very tall but he couldn't look her in the eye, he couldn't stand up to her. Ashley knew this but she didn't care, all she cared about right now was saving the Digital world, and maybe even Jacob and Swordmon in the process.

"Don't pretend you don't know why I didn't tell you. You're smart enough so figure it out. If I had told you, you would of told your parents, my parents, the police, someone. It not even just you anyone would have blabbed, I couldn't risk it. I had to hide…completely." She put emphases on the last word hoping Cole wouldn't pry too much into what she just said. For she had told someone, someone she had thought she could trust. But just look where that was going.

Cole knew she trusted Jacob, or rather he suspected. It was impossible to know Ashley she never revealed more then she wanted you to know. He left it alone though it wasn't worth what she would do to him if he suggested it. "So why come back?" He said as if he didn't already know, rather then play idiot again he quickly added, "I gather its something to do with the digital world. Last time I went there my D-Arc turned black and I had to leave it behind when I returned to the real world. What's going on?"

Ashley paused as if thinking over what she was gonna say or maybe her composition was breaking. Cole couldn't be sure but if whatever this was, was breaking even her it had to be serious. "It a virus…"

She trailed off half because she didn't want to explain the rest and half because Cole cut her off. "A virus? How did a virus enter the Digital World?"

Again another pause, "…It's…Its Jacob." She said regaining the confidence in her voice, back to simply stating the facts allowing no emotion into her voice. "When Swordmon 'disappeared' months ago it because a virus somehow managed to work its way into the Digital World, It attacked a nearby village and Jacob defended it. He didn't call for help and the Virus Deleted Swordmon." She ignored the look on Cole's face and the silent mouthing of 'deleted?' "The Virus took over Swordmon and corrupted him. Jacobs Digivice became corrupted, since all Digivices are connected his corrupted one corrupted the rest.

Jacob...he…he had come to warn me, When Swordmon was deleted Jacob saved part of his core and created Blademon from it. I didn't like this so before he could warn me I got on his case about it. He eventually released Swordmon's core and Blademon disappeared, without it he couldn't live in one solid form. Jacob then told me about the virus, he left immediately after warning me about it dropping his D-Arc along with it. On it I saw Swordmon, he was corrupted he mocked me then disappeared.

Jacob wasn't gone for long, He came back but then again… he didn't. He was Jacob but different. Somehow the virus got to him to, I ordered Firemon Digivolve into Ashmon and he… Digivolved or something I don't know what to call it. Suddenly he was like Jacob and Swordmon combined but only with something else to. It was like them and then it wasn't. When he…it…talked it sounded like Swordmon and Jacob but it was distorted. We fought but when it became apparent that I could not win we retreated, but not before my own D-Arc became corrupted and I was forced to leave it behind when I left the Digital world."

Cole was now looking right at it, his expression was difficult to read; there were too many emotions passing through it. It was then Ashley's turn to look away; she was doing everything in her power not to cry. She had never cried before she wasn't going to break now. She was however shaking; she regained her composure by the time Cole had processed all this information.

"Ashley, we will beat Jacob. It's a virus, so we need an anti-virus. Simple, eh?" He said putting on a fake smile and trying to be light hearted like he had been in the past. But things weren't like then, they were changing and they had to cope. "That's what you came to me for wasn't it? You wanted to see if I could figure out how to beat it."

Ashley looked back at him and nodded.

"Then it'll be done, promise."