"Mightyena, let's get a move on."
"Woof—"
Rufus and the Mightyena hurried off to one side together.
In all the time they had been hunted, Rufus had been underground, in the woods, in the water — every wretched place there was — changing from one to the next without a break to shake off the pursuit behind him. Happily he had managed it, and so far the men behind him had not caught him up.
And his Mightyena, under his own unrelenting work, had risen to Elite; it was its protection that had let him survive in those wretched places at all.
"Bang—"
One Dark Pulse from the Mightyena blew aside the several Beedrill in their way, and man and Pokémon went past at speed.
An Elite-class being can live in the wild, and in some districts can go where it likes with nothing at all to check it.
"Not far to Cinnabar Island now. Once we're there we'll be safe."
Rufus muttered it, looking at the map in his hand. Where he stood was in fact nearer to Dark City, but he was not going to Dark City; he did not think it safe.
The branch there had been destroyed not many days ago, which was reason enough.
"Rustle, rustle—"
What he did not know was that a pitch-black shape was already behind him, and a pair of blood-red eyes were watching him.
At a river, after running a long while, Rufus stopped to rest for a moment and came down to the water to drink.
"Is the water good, Agent Rufus?"
A cold voice, coming from a large tree not far off.
"Who's there?"
Rufus was on his guard in an instant, and the Mightyena sprang in front of him and faced the newcomer.
A black robe was thrown back to show a gaunt-faced man with a hawk's eyes and a hooked nose. His shadow stirred, and a Gengar leapt out of it.
"Heh heh—"
The short, fat Gengar pointed at Rufus and cackled at him.
"Well done, Gengar. I'll see you properly rewarded when we get back."
"Heh heh—"
"All right. When we get back I'll get you more of that energy with the source essence in it."
"Heh—"
The Gengar gestured with both hands, as though asking him for something.
"Very well, you shall have the Suicune's. Its power is gentler, too."
"Heh heh—"
The Gengar looked thoroughly pleased.
Watching man and Pokémon settle it between them as though nobody else were present, Rufus was highly displeased, and could do nothing whatever about it.
He gave the Mightyena a look.
"Boom—"
An explosion, smoke and dust rolling up, and Rufus and the Mightyena ran hard away into the distance.
Rufus lay along the Mightyena's back and let it carry him; a Mightyena a little over a metre long carrying Rufus looked faintly ridiculous.
The two of them worked together smoothly enough. They had probably done it often.
A Mightyena's build is not made for a mount, but at a time like this there was no help for it. Getting away alive came first.
Rufus knew the man, too. They were in the same section. He was good at raising Ghost-type Pokémon and had five Elite-class Pokémon all told, and the Gengar in his hands was close to Gym-class — near enough that it might break through at any time.
He had only the one Elite Mightyena, and even with some advantage of type there was no beating that.
And with this man turning up, the others would know where he was as well.
At the height of their run a black shape appeared below them, a pair of burning red eyes staring straight up at him with no good in them at all.
"Heh—"
"Mightyena, get clear, then use Dark Pulse."
The Mightyena sprang aside and Rufus let himself drop from its back, so that it could use everything it had.
"Awoo—"
"Heh—"
The Gengar vanished again in an instant behind one tree after another, and the Mightyena's attack found nothing.
"Ooo, ooo, ooo—"
Several pairs of sinister eyes lit up one after another out of the shadows, and Pokémon appeared one by one.
Gengar, Misdreavus, Banette and the rest came out and closed in a ring round the Mightyena and Rufus.
Cold sweat stood out drop by drop on Rufus's forehead. He was not getting away this time, and thinking of the people he had seen put to the torture turned him cold inside.
His own end would very likely be no better, because he had touched on the heart of their business.
"You can run, boy, I'll grant you that. Run now, then. Let's see how far you get. Ha ha ha."
The man appeared again and said it grimly, with pleasure in his voice. Taking Rufus would count as a considerable service.
Those above had given the order over and over: alive if alive, his body if dead; and, most important of all, that material he was carrying.
"Where is it??"
"Where is what? I don't know anything about it."
"Still talking tough, at this stage? It seems you won't be honest until you're shown a thing or two."
At the word, several of the Pokémon closed in.
"After all that work, and I still go down here today. I can't accept it!!"
At this stage Rufus had given up hoping for luck. His face hardened. If he was going to die, he would fight it out to the death.
"Found him — he's here. Fearow, Air Cutter."
At the moment of Rufus's despair a shout came from the sky, and Talbot made his entrance riding a Fearow.
"Kreee—"
The Fearow loosed Air Cutter as well, driving several of the Pokémon back so that Talbot could come down.
Others of Team Rocket came down after him.
"You'll be Rufus. How do you do. My name is Talbot. I'm a Team Rocket member of the Dark City branch."
The moment he was on the ground Talbot gave his name and standing, to show Rufus he need not be alarmed.
Then Nesbit and the others came down one after another.
Their branch had been split into several parties, and theirs was one of them; they had come this way and, catching the noise of it, arrived in time.
There were several Elite Trainers on Team Rocket's side now, and they put themselves round Rufus.
"Saved?? Ha ha. I knew it. Great luck and a long life."
Rufus's face lit up and he laughed aloud.
That is the way a life goes, up and down. At the moment of despair the rescue arrives.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
Talbot and Nesbit and the rest came to grips with the Godbeast Gang party, and against all of them together the newcomers could not hold at all.
In no time three of the five Elite-class Pokémon were killed, and of the two left one was badly hurt and one lightly; and among those below Elite the losses were heavier still.
The lightly hurt one was the Gengar at the peak of Elite, which on sheer weight of strength broke out of the ring of Pokémon trying to kill it and withdrew with its Trainer.
"Follow them a little way and no further. If it can't be done, don't force it. We withdraw."
With that several of them went off together in pursuit, and the rest escorted Rufus away from the place.
"Wooo—"
A long, carrying cry came from far off, and in the direction the pursuers had taken there was a shock, and then quiet again.
"Go, quickly. The Godbeast Gang's officer is here."
On the Fearow's back, feeling the pulse of energy behind them, Rufus shouted it.
"You are not going anywhere."
A figure appeared suddenly on a hilltop in the distance, with a Suicune beside him.
A Water Gun came tearing through the air and knocked the whole Team Rocket party out of the sky.