Chapter 11 The Rosemary Brigade
"Flytrap" Cosmos had planned to capture the duo quickly. But it seemed that they were ready for her. Cosmos should have suspected that by the way the purple haired one was acting, but it didn't matter she was sure she would be able to capture the two even without the element of surprise. "How ugly you two are." Cosmos said "Trying to escape capture like the weeds you are."
"The Magic Council?" Marco asked "I thought they were the good guys?"
"Usually they are." Sakura said "We might find them incompetent but they don't actively try to get in our way."
"Officer Saxam has requested your arrest." Cosmos said "So I fulfill his orders beautifully."
"Ugh" Marco groaned "Would it be possible to do this without fighting? I'm really not feeling up to it."
"Quiet I'm speaking to your master." Cosmos scolded.
"Master...?" Marco then remembered the leash and his temper flared "You know fighting suddenly doesn't seem so bad."
"Oh you've done it now." Sakura sighed "Summon Kitsune" A white nine tailed fox sprung out of the card.
"Oh finally Mistress Sakura I've been waiting ages for you to summon me again." Kitsune said.
"Not the time!" Sakura said "We've got the council on our tail!"
"Hmph" Kitsune scoffed "Truly you can't go anywhere without running into trouble can you?"
"Oh what a beautiful creature!" Cosmos cooed "I'll be glad to take it off your hands little girl."
"Excuse me?" Kitsune said offended "I am not just some creature, and I certainly have no interest of traveling with you."
"Yeah what makes you so sure you'll capture us anyways?!" Marco growled.
"Quiet servant the important people are talking." Cosmos said dismissing him."
Marco grit his teeth "That's it..." "Mind Dragon Memory Fist" Marco smashed the ground leaving a crater in the pavement "I have no master got that?"
"Dragon Slayer magic?!" Cero gasped from the rooftop "But that magic has been lost for three hundred years now!"
Cosmos rapped the flower on her coat "Poppy, Rose, this will take a bit longer then expected go on without me."
"Do you require backup?" Rose asked.
"Yeah sis we can turn your flurry of strength into a powerful blizzard of lightning!" Poppy laughed.
"No I can handle this myself this myself I'll have them locked up in no time." Cosmos said "It wouldn't be nearly as beautiful with you both here."
"Understood I'll see you back at base." Rose said.
"Oh your no fun" Poppy sighed "I'll just have to chase after shades to make up time."
"Sounds like the others are in a bit of trouble." Sakura said.
"Let's Just focus on our own problems for now alright?" Kitsune advised.
"I'll have her on the ground in no time!" Marco roared. "Mind Dragon Memory Fist" Marco charged at Cosmos only for his hand to be caught by a vine and thrown aside. Marco shoved it out of the way "Mind Dragon Laser"
Cosmos lifted herself in the air using a giant flower. The laser tore through the flowers stem sending it crashing down, but Cosmos had made lily pads in the sky for her to walk on. "This is the true beauty of my garden magic." Cosmos jumped of the lilypad and jumped onto a giant dandelion that she created. "So beautiful yet so dangerous." "Seed Bomb"
The seeds flew off the dandelion in all directions. "Kitsune!" Sakura called.
"Understood Mistress Sakura!" "Sacred Flame" Small blue wisps flew off Kitsune's tail and onto the falling seeds causing them to explode on impact.
"Mind Dragon Roar" Using the noise and smoke from the explosions as cover he launched a powerful roar at the unsuspecting Cosmos.
The attack sent Cosmos flying several feet back but she caught herself on a vine before she hit the ground. "Well that wasn't beautiful at all." she sighed.
"Get used to it." Sakura said "Fighting isn't usually pretty." "Requip" Sakura took out four daggers and threw them at Cosmos. "Kitsune!"
"Got it!" Kitsune nodded "Sacred Flames" The fire surrounded the knives as they flew through Cosmos.
"Quite the contrary." Cosmos said "I find the art of battle to be quite beautiful indeed." "Bark Protection"
Tree bark rose from the ground acting as a shield for Cosmos. The flaming knives hit the shield dead on and began to burn it down. "Mind Dragon Memory Fist" Marco had managed to surprise Cosmos once again, by punching through the wall of flaming bark to hit her.
"Some impressive comrades the shadow mage has found." Cero said "Cosmos is able to dodge Marco and Sakura's straight forward attacks easily. So instead Sakura creates distractions while Marco inflicts damage. Cero smirked "Cero wonders if it's too late to convert them to the council." A device on Cero's waist then began to beep. Cero sighed and the device grew into a full sized communications lacrima. "What is it?"
"I've made contanct with the enemy is that okay?" Maria said from the other side "I'm requesting your presence in case of outside influence, you can understand that right?"
Cero sighed "Cero will be right there." he said 'Cero will just have to leave these three unsupervised for now' Cero began to drool again 'Besides money always comes first.'
Meanwhile Cosmos was also beginning to see Marco's strategy. "It seems that my ranged attacks are doing me more harm then good." she mused "So I'll have to go in close. "Vine Tendrils" Vines thrust up out of the ground and began to lash out at Marco and Sakura.
The vines threw Marco back out of the garden. "Lots like she wised up a bit."
Sakura groaned in agreement "Yeah but still..." "Requip" A singular katana appeared in Sakura's hands which she used to chop apart the vines.
"No my beautiful vines!" Cosmos cried.
"Why is this the second time I've heard someone say that this month?" Sakura grumbled.
"Oh don't be so glum Mistress." Kitsune said "At least your opponent's magics have been easy to counter." "Wheel-o-Wisp" to prove her point Kitsune summoned a large circle of fire that burned down the vines around her.
"How disgusting!" Cosmos roared "I can't wait until I bring you to Officer Saxam he'll make sure you learn true beauty!" "Fruit Grenade" Four flowers sprouted from out of the ground and bloomed revealing a giant mouth surrounded with teeth launching what appeared to be giant watermelons.
"Sakura! Kitsune! Behind me!" Marco yelled. The two nodded in understanding running behind Marco quickly. "Mind Dragon Shield" A purple barriar appeared in front of Marco protecting him from the deadly produce.
"Kitsune light it up!" Sakura yelled as she lifted her katana into the air.
"Of course mistress." The fox said as she set the blade aflame.
"Sakura lets finish this right now!" Marco said.
"One step ahead of you!" Sakura smirked "Sacred Slash" A beam of fire flew out of the sword as Sakura swung it.
Cosmos grit her teeth "Bark Protection" An even thicker layer of tree bark rose out of the ground to protect her but Sakura's slash cut straight through it and hit Cosmos dead on sending her to the ground unconscious.
Pete stared nervously at the red haired member of the magic council. He could easily sense that she was much stronger then him and to add insult to injury from her outfit he could she was lower on the chain of command. From what Pete could remember about the magic council's ranking system the amphibious servants are at the very bottom of command. Above them are the dune knights and above them are lieutenants, what this girl was, above them were the officers, and above them the admirals, and at the very top are the chairmen, while they aren't usually very strong they have a lot of political power.
Pete grit his teeth, anyone above the rank of Rune Knight would be a big problem. He was already ready to run if she made any sudden movements.
"Pete Karlov, or Pete the shadow mage that is your name correct?" Maria asked "You've dome a very good job of hiding yourself haven't you?"
"No way!" Jacob gasped "The same mage who attacks the prestigious Council woman Jinah?!"
"Prestigious my ass." Pete muttered "That whore deserved everything coming to her."
"Kage onno, Nobusuma are you there?" Maria asked. The two Yo-Kai appeared on each of Maria's sides.
"Yes Madam!" They answered.
'Shit I've got to get out of here!' Pete panicked.
Pete began to run away from the red head but she calmly turned to Kage Onno "Would you like to do the honors?" She asked.
"Of course madam." She answered "Shadow Bind" Kage Onno faded into a shadow and fused with Pete's.
"What the hell is this?" he asked "I can't move."
"Sha-sha-sha" Kage Onno laughed "Your trapped in my sweat embrace."
"A Yo-Kai!" Pete realized "Then she must be a Yo-Kai Tamer!"
Nobusuma flew from above Pete "Don't forget about me!" He screeched "Darkness Grenade" Pure black orbs fell from out of Nabusuma's paws.
"Awwwwwwwwwwesome!" Jacob cheered "I get to see a member of the council in action! I just have to take a picture!" Jacob got a shot of the scene but the camera's flash was still on causing Kage Onno to wince in pain and gave Pete time to escape Nobusuma's bombs.
"Why would you do that!?" Maria asked "Didn't you realize that was a wanted criminal!?"
"I'm very sorry." Jacob said sincerely "I just wanted to get the shot."
"Kage Onno could you go after him?" Maria commanded.
Kage Onno could be heard licking her lips "Of course Mistress nobody escapes my grasp twice." She then disappeared into the shadows after Pete.
"Nobusuma keep an eye out for Cero." She commanded "I'll keep an eye on our reporter friend here."
"This is so not Awesome." Jocob sighed.
Pete ran as fast as he could away from the shadow following him but no matter what he did he couldn't seem to shake it. "Shadow Octopus" Tentacles sprouted from out of the ground and Pete began to climb them like a staircase. Kage Onno followed close behind easily able to travel through the shadows.
"Did you really think you'd be able to escape me in the shadows?" Kage Onno asked "You can give me a better thrill then this."
Pete grit his teeth "Shadow Hawk" a large hawk appeared out of Pete's shadow and he jumped on. Sadly for him Kage Onno managed to do the same.
The hawk's head did a complete one eighty "Nice try" Kage Onno said "But I rule the shadows."
Panicked Pete quickly dispelled the hawk which startled Kage Onno "Think Pete think" he muttered "She only seems to be able to affect things with shadows, otherwise she would go on the offensive. Then... of course!" "Shadow Spore" Pete's shadow exploded from under him and tiny pieces of it flew all over all the road.
"What's this?" Kage Onno asked "What kind of attack is this?"
Pete turned around "It's not an attack." he said.
"Oh I see..." Kage Onno snarled "Your a sneaky bit of prey aren't you."
"You should just give up." Pete suggested calmly "Your magic won't work unless I have a shadow right?"
Kage Onno laughed "Yes that may be true but your living Shadow magic is ineffective against me as well."
Pete nodded "You can't bind me unless I have a shadow, and using my magic would grant you the very shadows you require."
"It's the ultimate stalemate." Kage Onno laughed "Neither side can do anything to win."
"Yes but the only problem is..." Pete threw a flash bomb on the ground "This isn't a fight I need to win!"
The blinding light sent Kage Onno to the ground "Damn you!" she screeched "You'll pay for this I swear!'
"Maybe I will" Pete said "but not today."
When Pete met back up with Marco and Sakura h was surprised to see they had an unconscious member of the magic council with them. "Looks like you ran into some trouble too huh?" Marco said upon noticing how out of breath he was.
"Looks like you fared a bit better then I did though." Pete observed.
"She tried to capture us for no reason." Sakura sighed "So we figured she might be able to give us some answers."
Pete nodded "Where are the other two?"
"We don't know." Marco sighed "Worst case scenario they're locked up somewhere."
Pete face palmed "Those idiots."
Saxam was not happy, not only had his associates only managed to capture two of the mages loose in his city but apparently two more members of the council had arrived in town. Saxam groaned he really didn't want to have to deal with any more disruptions. "What about Cosmos? She should be here with two more correct?"
"We aren't sure sir." Rose said "She said that her sneak attack failed and she needed more time then she originally though."
"But it's been an hour since then, and I'm more nervous then a mother bird leaving the nest for an acid storm." Poppy said.
"The flames of passion burn bright in you, an expert of fighting and we know that it's true, but her only weakness is when she tries to compare, her nonsensical statements are oh so unclear." Saxam wrote.
"Your not the most sensical man yourself mister Poe." Rose muttered.
"What was that?" Saxam asked.
"No-nothing!" Rose reassured.
"I believe it's safe to say that Cosmos failed." Saxam sighed "Which means I'll have to move onto step two a little earlier then I would have hoped." Saxam moved to a large machine which was holding jars filled with a strange light blue liquid."
"Hm? What's that sir?" Rose asked.
"Spectral essence." Saxam replied "Lady Jinah sent us here to extract some for her."
"What does it do?" Poppy asked.
"It's mostly used for supernatural purposes cult activity, demon summoning, forced transformations that sort of thing. But Zentopia also uses it for exorcisms and we have to supply it for them somehow." Saxam answered.
"How interesting." Rose muttered
"Now if you'll excuse me." Saxam said "I have very important work to do, go to the basement and watch the prisoners for me."
"But what about Cosmos?" Poppy asked.
"Don't you worry about her." Saxam said "I'll make sure we get her back."
"Alright... sir." Rose said skeptically as she and Poppy walked down to the basement."
The image changed to a white haired girl with a large smile on her face
Saxam grit his teeth "Sousam... I do this for you. When Lord Ricardio succeeds... your dream will come true."