"Nothing at all, then. This one really is a dead loss. All I've got out of it is the experience of a fight to the death."
Vance said it with displeasure.
He had searched that shattered ground a long while and found nothing whatever.
Under an attack as terrible as that, with the weight of heaven and earth behind it, anything at all would be turned to ash and scattered.
Even the Suicune's body had gone to ash and smoke, let alone Korran, who had only an ordinary human body, and whatever he had been carrying.
He had thought he might get something out of the man — information about this Godbeast Gang of theirs, say, so as to understand them a little.
And now it had come to nothing.
He went over the ground once more and still found nothing, and then Vance dragged his injured body away from the place with regret.
This time he really had lost on the bargain. It was the first time his whole team had been put out of action, and he had not come away with anything of value either.
Grady, the last time, had been the most dangerous of all, and his Pokémon had been badly hurt and still stayed conscious; and after the fight there had been a quantity of supplies as well, and a strip of Elite-Four-class cloth.
Set against that, this time was a loss and no mistake.
Elsewhere, Talbot and Rufus and the rest had already reached the Team Rocket base in Dark City, and the other divisions, having had Talbot's message, had all hurried back.
"You're telling me the Branch Chief went alone, by himself, against that Trainer with the Suicune?"
Ambrose asked Talbot over again.
"Yes. The Branch Chief did go to hold that man off."
Talbot told it plainly. The several Division Commanders present glanced at one another, and their faces were of different sorts.
Put like that, was the Branch Chief not in very great danger? And if he really were to fall, would they have to change leaders again?
And if the leader changed, what then of the standing they held now, and what of all those appointments?
The first thing they thought of was not whether Vance was safe, but where it left their own positions.
"How strong is this Suicune, roughly?"
Ambrose asked next, with worry showing on his face.
"Elite-Four-class."
Talbot answered. Like Ambrose, he hoped Vance would come back safely.
"Elite-Four-class. Then it ought to be all right." Ambrose said it with his brows drawn together, remembering that Vance had mentioned a hard fight with an Elite-Four-class Dusknoir.
Only this time it was no ordinary Pokémon. The opponent was Suicune. Could he really come through it?
"Rufus, what have you been at this time, that they'd go to such lengths to come after you?"
Ambrose looked over at Rufus beside him, wound about with white bandages.
"I'm sorry. That's the one thing I can't tell you."
Rufus answered, and refused to say more.
"Hmph."
He had been rash, and Ambrose gave a snort to show he was not pleased, but said nothing further.
"Then what do we do next?"
At that point one of the Division Commanders put the question.
"What else is there to do? We wait for the Branch Chief to come back, of course."
Talbot said it at once, and his tone did not waver.
At that they all looked at one another, and said nothing more.
..................
"Finally done."
Vance put the medicines away and let out a breath.
The Gyarados and the others were back to normal, still sleeping on, but their injuries had been stopped.
Seeing that they were all right, Vance relaxed as well.
He recalled them into their Poké Balls, took out the Team Rocket internal communicator and looked at it. No signal.
"Never mind. I'll stay here, then, and see how it looks once I've recovered."
Vance took out his medicines and dosed himself. In the space of a single month he had been on the pills twice, and twice overdrawn on his power to force it out.
He would have to be steadier about it. He could not go on this way.
If it went on like this, his body would not stand it.
Today's injuries were the lighter of the two, and would still take several days of care. It was fortunate that he had the Viridian Power to hold him together.
Vance sat down cross-legged on the ground and sank into meditation, the Viridian Power welling up in him and slowly restoring him.
Two days went by quickly. The first to wake was the Blaziken.
"Blaziken—"
The Blaziken came out of his Poké Ball and brought his warmth with him.
"Boss, Boss, what happened?"
The Blaziken was clamouring for it. In the fight he had been put out of action early on.
"It's settled. The Gyarados and the others were all hurt, and they're still asleep." Vance did not so much as open his eyes, and answered him by telepathy.
"Ah. Even the Gyarados and the Slaking were put out of the fight?"
The Blaziken could hardly credit it. It was the first time he had known such a thing.
In all this time it had never happened before.
The Blaziken thought too of how dangerous it must have been, and could not help worrying for his mates, and felt ashamed of himself for being the first to go down and out of the fight.
"There's no need to worry. We won in the end."
Another Poké Ball stirred, and the Aerodactyl came out. It was very nearly recovered.
The worst off were the Gyarados and the Slaking. The two of them had stood in front, and had taken the greater part of the force.
"Just in time."
Vance opened his eyes and said it with a quiet laugh.
A little later the Aerodactyl was in the air with Vance on its back, making for Dark City; and on the way the Zweilous woke as well, though the team's two chief cards were still asleep.
He had been out here so many days that he had no idea how the branch was doing. He had not gone back — surely they would not have taken him for dead?
If any of the restless ones had come out of the woodwork, it would be a good moment for a purge.
Vance did not use the communicator to tell anybody. He went alone to a base outside Dark City.
He entered the code, had his identity verified, and stepped inside.
Inside, the base was as quiet as ever. The staff of every department were each at their own task, with no quarrelling and no noise.
"Good day, Branch Chief."
As he came out of the lift, some members caught sight of him and greeted him, looking at him with awe.
"Mm."
Vance nodded slightly, then thought of something and called the two of them back.
"Has anything happened at the base these last few days? Are the Division Commanders all at the base now?"
"Reporting to the Branch Chief: Commander Blaine of Cinnabar Island arrived two days ago and is at the base at present. As for where the Division Commanders are, I couldn't say. All I know is that Division Commander Calder and Division Commander Talbot are at the base."
"Mm. Go on about your work."
Vance waved a hand and let the two of them go.
"Blaine has come here, has he. For Rufus, I should think?"
Which was reasonable enough. It was the only thing that could have brought him.