Author's Note: Sorry for the inconvenience. I was away for three weeks, and I was nowhere near a single computer. Thank you for patiently waiting.

————

Chapter Eleven

Knowledge is Power

Lina, David, Mikara, Riley, and Josh stood in front of a huge factory with their Digimon beside them. It looked like it hadn't been used for years. Its pipes were empty and the yard was littered with trash. The building itself was dilapidated—all that was stone or brick was slowly crumbling, and all things metal were rusting over.

"Gee, I wonder how if anyone lives here," Lina wondered.

"Don't you think that if it looks this decrepit it wouldn't be inhabited?" David asked her.

"Well, sorry! And stop using big words!"

David glowered at his sister.

Riley stepped forward and placed her hand on the door. "We might as well go in. We could rest here if it's comfy, then we can head across the mountain pass when daylight comes."

Josh nodded, grinning. "Good idea. Let's go! C'mon, Patamon!"

Inside, the building was just as rundown as the outside.

"Well," Gabumon said, "it seems like no one's been here for a while."

"No duh," Nekomon replied. She sighed. "We better explore this place before doing anything else. We might find something useful."

Lina and Sytamon peered into an adjacent room. "There's nothing in here," Lina told the others. "Just darkness. And there's a lot of rusty metal stuff in there, too."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING RUSTY!!!?"

Screaming, Lina and Sytamon ran to the opposite side of the room and hid behind Mikara. A Guardromon entered the main room, followed by two Tankmon. The Guardromon wore a rather indignant expression. He raised his arm and shook his fist at Lina and her Digimon.

"I've oiled my gears every day since Andromon became the boss! I wanted to please him, so I've scraped all the rust off my body! Don't ever call me rusty!"

Mikara held her D-Force at the three Digimon. "Guardromon: Champion level. His attacks are Protection Grenade, Warning Laser, and Homing Barrage. Tankmon: Champion level. Their attacks are Hyper Cannon and Machine Gun Arm."

Lina came out of hiding. "All right, all right! You don't have to throw a hissy fit," she told Guardromon.

"And I am not throwing a—what did you call it?—oh, yes, a hissy fit!"

The Tamers and their Digimon exchanged skeptical looks.

Suddenly, the light went out, and a very loud voice yelled, "THE POWER ENGINE'S NOT WORKING AGAIN!"

The Tamers and their Digimon winced at the volume of the scream. Three Hagurumon floated in from yet another room. One hovered next to Guardromon.

Mikara held out her D-Force again. "Hagurumon: Rookie level. Their attacks are Darkness Gear and Drag."

"It just shut down," the Hagurumon reported. "I dunno what's the matter with it. I think someone sent the Trojan Horse virus through it again."

The Guardromon looked at the Digimon who were present. "All right, who did it?"

There was a brief silence.

"No one did it?"

Every Digimon (except the Tamers') shook their heads.

Guardromon eyed the confused humans and their Digimon. "What about you, troublemakers?"

Josh held out his hands in an innocent fashion. "We just got here. We don't know what you're talking about."

"How can I trust you? Satanmon and VileDevimon tell their servants not to listen to humans."

Mikara stood between Josh and Guardromon. "Listen, tinhead, we don't know what you're talking about. And besides, why are you saying that to my brother? Hey, I know he's annoying at times, but he's my brother. He's only ten years old!"

Guardromon eyed Mikara suspiciously, then Riley. Then his eyes fell upon Lina and Sytamon. "What about you?" he asked. "You called me rusty. I think you did it!"

Lina became furious. "No way would I send a virus through your power engine thingie!" She pointed at David. "He's good with techno stuff. He might know how it got there."

David blinked at his sister. "Lina, that's the first comment you've bestowed upon me."

Lina shrugged. "Mikara's right—you're my brother. No matter how annoying you are."

David smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, little sis."

"So…what's wrong with the power thing?"

"I dunno. I haven't seen it yet."

Lina nodded, then turned to Guardromon. "Listen, Rustymon—"

"GUARDROMON!" the reddish-brown Digimon screeched. "MY NAME IS GUARDROMON!!!"

Lina stepped back, blinking. "I was only kidding. Well, anyway, Guardromon, my brother can help you. Show us the engine thing and he'll be right on it!"

Guardromon turned to the others. They all had pleading looks on their faces. Sighing, Guardromon nodded and turned back to the Tamers. "All right. Follow us."

Two Hagurumon accompanied Guardromon to the main power chamber. In the chamber, the walls were covered with pipes and cables that spread out like a spider's web in all directions. There were no windows except at the very top—and these were mere slits. However, the center of the chamber attracted everyone's attention. There was a metal cylinder, possibly twenty feet high and seven feet around, glowed a mysterious pinkish-purple light, blinking slowly. The Tamers felt the power flow through the room as the glow brightened, and they felt the power lessen when it dimmed.

"Whoa," David breathed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "This has got to be…I dunno…three decades old by the exterior covering. But the power…it's almost nuclear!"

A Hagurumon nodded. "You're correct. It is nuclear. Nuclear power doesn't run out."

The other Hagurumon butted in. "That's why, when we first built this factory, we decided on nuclear power. We wanted power that would last forever, and beyond forever."

"How long is 'beyond forever', Josh?" Patamon whispered into his partner's ear.

"I dunno. I gotta ask Mikara later," was the reply.

"Okay."

David was deep in thought, watching the monotonous blinking of the light. He stared at the power engine intently, counting the seconds between a bright glow and another bright glow. Without turning his head, he asked the Android- and Machine-type Digimon, "So this has been going on for years?"

"Well…yes and no," Guardromon replied.

This got David's attention. "What do you mean 'yes and no'?"

"It has been blinking light that for thirty years, but not as slow. It's been slowly just recently. I think it started six months ago. That's when the viruses started to appear in it. When it goes this slow, it's not functioning."

David reached out to touch the power source, but it cackled with electricity and thrust his hand back. David clutched his hand, which was slightly burned.

"That happens sometimes, too," the first Hagurumon informed. "We must be careful. If the power is this low, then we might burn ourselves."

Shaking his injured hand, David studied the engine from a safe distance. Then he asked, "Which one of you knows this machine the best?"

"I do," the second Hagurumon replied proudly. "I built this thing."

"Good. Now, I have a plan." He turned to face the Digimon, a determined light in his eyes. "But I must first know how you deactivate the machine."

The machine was deactivated, and David, crawling inside the machine's interior, checked the engine's circuitry. "I don't see any—wait! Aha!"

"What did you find?" Mikara asked.

"Some broken wires and—whoa! The main drive! It's…"

"What is it?" Guardromon asked.

David hastily backed out, sweating slightly. "It's…uh…sliced in half and barely stuck together with electrical tape and what seems to be some glowing material."

"Nenon?"

"Er, I guess."

Guardromon turned to the Hagurumon. "All right, what happened?"

"Nothing, Guardromon!" the two chimed together.

"I'll tell you what happened!"

Every being in the room turned to see a tall white-and-gray Digimon standing in the doorway.

"Boss!" the Hagurumon exclaimed happily.

"Andromon!" Guardromon trilled.

Lina pulled out her D-Force. "Andromon? Hm…Ultimate level. Well, he looks friendly enough."

The first Hagurumon floated to Andromon. "Hiya, boss! Don't mind these humans—they're only helping."

"But I do mind them!" Andromon growled. "I see you've solved the problem. But do you know who caused it?"

There was silence.

"I DID!!!"

Guardromon and the two Hagurumon looked shocked. "Boss! How…why…please!" the second Hagurumon stuttered.

Andromon smirked evilly. "I sent the virus through the power engine!"

"But…why?"

Andromon towered over the black-and-bronze Rookie. "Foolish Hagurumon! With a virus in the engine, we can produce Segron instead of Nigron!"

The Hagurumon was trembling. Guardromon stepped in between the two. "But Segron is what Satanmon and VileDevimon use in creating Dark Cables!"

"Exactly, Guardromon. If we ship the Segron to Satanmon and VileDevimon, we will gain more profit!"

Lina stepped into the argument. "Waaaait a second! Are you telling me that you sell this power to the Digimon we're supposed to fight!?"

Andromon glared at Lina. His arm shot forward suddenly and hit her, throwing her back a few feet.

"Lina!" Sytamon and David yelled. Sytamon charged at Andromon, only to be thrown back. Lina groaned, sat up, and coughed roughly.

Andromon raised his arm, which spun and formed a drill-shape, electricity surging through it. "Lightning Blade!"

"STOP!!!" David roared, planting himself between Andromon and his sister.

"David!" several voices cried in unison. David was knocked over by Wormmon. The attack sliced through the air where David's head had been a second before.

David staggered to his feet, his glasses dangling from one of his ears. He adjusted his glasses and pointed at Andromon. "Wormmon, go get him!"

Wormmon jumped forward. "Sticky Net!"

Andromon neatly sliced the webbing with his arm.

"It's no use, Wormmon! You have to Armor digivolve!" David told his Digimon.

"Then I'm ready!"

David held up his D-Force. "Digi Armor Energize!"

Wormmon glowed a fiery white light. "Wormmon Armor digivolve to…Searchmon, keeper of Knowledge!"

Searchmon screeched, his red eyes glowing fiercely.

Andromon smirked again. "A big old bug doesn't scare me! Lightning Blade!"

Searchmon's shell glowed white while the Crest of Knowledge burned a bright purple. "Hertz Jamming!" Energy crystals shot out from the shell and stopped Andromon's attack.

Andromon was clearly frustrated. He jumped onto Searchmon's back—definitely not the wisest thing to do.

"Searchmon, destroy him!" David yelled angrily.

"Hertz Jamming!" Searchmon roared.

Only then did Andromon realize the danger he put himself in. Searchmon's shell glowed, and energy crystals shot upwards, ripping through Andromon's body. The Ultimate-level Digimon yelped in pain, then slumped forward. A black mist rose from his body and exited through the ceiling of the room, and soon afterwards, Andromon was a small cloud of data.

————

"Thank you for stopping Andromon," a Tankmon told the Tamers. "But who will lead us?"

Gabumon butted in. "Simple. We decided that since all of you are very honest, willing, and skilled, you should choose among yourselves the rightful boss."

"But we'd like to nominate Guardromon," Riley added. "He's pretty…uh, what's the word you used?"

"Well-versed," David said promptly.

Guardromon was flushed with pride. "Th-thank you, Riley and David!"

"Good luck on defeating Satanmon and VileDevimon!" all of the Hagurumon trilled.

"Thanks!" Lina exclaimed.

"Wait!" another Tankmon exclaimed. He held forth a small box, and in the box were five colored pendants. Each glowed a different color.

"What are these for?" Nekomon asked.

The Tankmon shrugged. "We don't know. They make good parting gifts, though!"

The children took the pendants while thanking their new friends. And so the Tamers and their Digimon headed across the mountain pass, glad that they could help. However, as they walked away, Josh suddenly asked:

"Mikara?"

"Yeah, Josh?"

"How long is 'beyond forever'?"