Another Oppurtunity
Adagio looked on at the grinning wizard as his hand still glowed with green energy. Honestly, Naugus's sudden appearance was unnerving to her and she began to back away from him slowly.
"Ixis Naugus?" She said with distaste. "Just who and what are you exactly?"
"No need to be frightened, child." Naugus responded as he brought his clawed hand down, making the energy disappear from it. "I am a powerful wizard who spends most of his days traveling. Whenever I can, I appear to those who are in need of aid and it sounds like you, my dear, could use a helping hand."
Naugus attempted to get closer to Adagio, but she suddenly stood up straight and stared him down with a skeptical and hostile look, much to his confusion as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I don't buy that all." Adagio dismissed. "I'm no fool and definitely not some normal girl. From what I've seen so far, you certainly don't look like you spend your days spreading 'kindness'. Now, you better tell me who you really are or else. I happen to be in contact with a goody-two shoes who could get here in the blink of an eye."
Adagio's description made Naugus realize immediately that she was talking about Sonic, causing him to form a look of dismay as his eyes widened.
"What?! You know the Quicks-" Naugus slipped in a tone of panic before he covered his mouth. Hearing this made Adagio's eyes widen with curiosity as Naugus started to regret his sudden outburst.
"Aha! I knew there was something off about you and it sounds like you really don't want to meet my contact. Spill and maybe I won't point him in the right direction." She threatened, causing Naugus to grit his teeth.
"(Curses! This girl is much more intelligent than I thought. She's nothing like the last one!)" He thought to himself. ("Though this may not necessarily be a bad thing......)"
"Start talking. I don't like waiting." Adagio demanded, making Naugus scowl as he growled quietly.
"Bah! Fine then, I guess there is no point in trying to keep up a charade!" Naugus agreed as he raised his clawed glove up in the air. "I am Ixis Naugus, a wizard, and follower of the mighty ancient Order of Ixis!"
"Wizard, huh? So you must have experience with magic then?" Adagio said in a curious tone. This situation was starting to sound interesting.
"Of course! My powers are unrivaled by none!" Naugus boasted. He then looked down at Adagio with a look of interest as he put his hand to his chin.
"Now, then, what about you? As you said before, you don't seem like an ordinary girl and your words about regaining lost magic have piqued my interest. Just who are you exactly?" Naugus questioned.
"Well, my name is Adagio Dazzle. And you are correct, there's nothing ordinary about me. The truth is, I am actually siren from another world who was banished to this dimension and was trapped in this form." Adagio explained. " I did, however, retain my magic, which was the ability to enthrall anyone under my control with my voice but it was taken from me."
Hearing this captured Naugus's attention 100 percent. A magical creature from another dimension who once had the ability to control others? This sounded like it could be useful somehow.
"Hmmmm..." Naugus said as he stroked his beard after listening to Adagio's story. "How very intriguing. It appears the two of us have more in common than we thought. I believe I might have a proposition which could work in both of our interest.
Adagio raised a cautious eyebrow. So far, she didn't trust this Naugus figure at all. However, his talk of being a wizard did gain Adagio's curiosity and honestly, she so wanted her magic back. She felt as if though she had an opportunity in front of her and she didn't want to waste it.
"(If I play my cards right, this encounter may work in my favor. I'll play nice with this wizard for now.) She thought to herself. "Fine, I'll bite. What did you have in mind?"
"Well, perhaps it would be easier if I showed you." Naugus said as he turned his back towards her. "Grab on to my cape."
Adagio was hesitant at Naugus's order but she wanted to see what he had in store. With reluctance, she grabbed onto his cape.
"Hold on tight. This method of travel is quite unorthodox." Naugus warned.
"Wait, what do you-" Adagio began before she and Naugus suddenly melted into the shadows at the bottom and began to move around at high speed.
Sometime later, a large black puddle emerged underground in some kind of hole. The puddle started to bubble before Naugus and Adagio emerged from it. Naugus stood up straight and dusted himself off while Adagio fell to the ground as she started coughing and gasping for air. She then took a few deep breaths before she turned to Naugus with a furious look.
"What was that?!!" She yelled. "That was one of most unpleasant experiences in my life!!!"
Naugus slightly lowered his eyebrows as he heard her complaints.
"Feh." Naugus replied as he turned to Adagio and gave her a glare. "For your information, it is called Shadow Melding, an efficient way to travel for those with true magical power."
"You could have given me a warning!" She shouted.
"I did." Naugus answered. "Now enough of your whining and follow me."
Adagio grit her teeth. She did not like the way Naugus spoke to her, but his plan could have been promising, so she just bit her tongue and followed him.
Naugus stepped forward in near the walls of rocks in front of him and raised his hand. As he did, a chunk of the wall opened up, revealing the entrance to a pathway of some kind as Adagio looked on.
"Come in." Naugus invited as he walked through the entrance, with Adagio not too far behind.
Adagio followed Naugus through a dark and rocky pathway, making him close the entrance as soon as she joined them. He then began to lead her deeper into the path. The two of them walked through for some time. Adagio couldn't see a thing, so she had no idea where the path led.
"Just where are you taking me?" She inquired to Naugus.
"You'll see." Naugus said. As he did, Adagio noticed a light coming up from ahead, which indicated they had arrived at their destination.
Adagio and Naugus headed towards the light and entered the area which was its source. When they did, Adagio was able to see where Naugus had taken her. It was a large room of some sort and scattered around the wall were ancient symbols which seemed to glow purple. Below them were several triangular shaped markings, each separated by glowing orange flames which gave light into the room. In the center was a large round platform surrounded by smaller triangular markings. Adagio looked around the entire room as Naugus approached the platform. He then stood on it as he turned to face Adagio with a sinister grin.
"What is this place?" She asked him.
"This, my dear, is a Ritual Chamber that can only be constructed by a wizard from the order of Ixis. " Naugus explained. "This is used by a magician in order to amplify their powers to cast a magical spell. After my last...defeat...I spent all my time constructing this chamber for a chance to hatch my plan."
"Which is?" Adagio replied.
"My goal is to cast an Eldritch Rites, a spell which allows me to enslave the minds of anyone under it. I wish to unleash it on a larger scale, so I can have an entire population under my control. With all those minds bent to my will, I will be able to revive the order of Ixis!" Naugus exclaimed with a malicious smile, while Adagio looked on.
"(Enslavement spell, huh?)" Adagio thought. "So, if you have this chamber ready, why haven't you cast the spell yet?"
Naugus then looked down to Adagio and frowned.
"Because I am missing two important elements. One, I need to wait for an entire population to be in one place at the same time in order for the spell to have full effect. Second, I need an artifact of great power to amplify my powers to ensure the spell succeeds one hundred percent. An example of such an artifact would be a Chaos Emerald. Nauguse elaborated.
The missing pieces of Naugus's plan sounded interesting to Adagio. She began to go over them until she got an idea as she formed an ambitious smile.
"(Looks like I've just found my chance.)" She decided. "Well, I have some interesting news I think you'd like to hear."
Naugus turned to Adagio with a look of interest, which indicated he was listening.
"First, I've heard that there's going to be an event, a special concert that's going to occur in Canterlot soon. Knowing how popular it is, I'm sure most, if not all of the city's population will be there." Adagio started, causing Naugus's eyes to widen with delight.
"Really?! This is excellent. That would be the perfect time to cast my spell!" Naugus eagerly said. "Now, if I could just do something about getting an artifact.."
"Well, it's a good thing you've met me. I happen to be...acquaintances with people who have access to an artifact you're looking for, a Chaos Emerald. Based on your statements from earlier, I assume you know Sonic?" Adagio went on, which made Naugus face her with a bewildered look.
"So you really do know the Quickster." Naugus said as he stroked his beard once more as Adagio nodded.
"I can win his and his friend's trust and get you a Chaos Emerald, giving you what you need to cast your spell." Adagio nodded, which made Naugus's face break into a greedy smile as he began to chuckle.
"Yes....yes....excellent!" Naugus said with pleasure. "This is wonderful! You have proven yourself to be quite useful so far for my plan. Perhaps you'd like to be my apprentice?"
This made Adagio gain a look of displeasure as she crossed her arms.
"Hold on just a second. If I'm going to help you, we need to settle on a couple of rules." She stated, making Naugus confused.
"Rules?" He asked as if he didn't hear right.
"Yes. First, I don't do apprenticeships. You're not the one calling the shots here. If I'm going to help you, you're going to have to treat me like an equal." Adagio said, which made Naugus give her a glare once more.
"You...who do you think you're talking to?! This is my plan and I-"Naugus started before Adagio cut him off.
"Keep up that attitude and maybe I'll just blab to Sonic your entire plan. You know how much he loves stopping evil plans." Adagio threatened which made Naugus growl. "Aside from that, you need me to get you an emerald in an easy way."
Naugus was stuck. As much as he hated to admit it, Adagio had a point there. Using her would be the quickest and most efficient way to carry out his plan. He couldn't afford to waste any more time.
"Fine. I suppose we can be equals in this plan." He begrudgingly agreed. He'd meet her demands...for now.
"That's a good wizard." Adagio said in a sly tone. "Second, I want to use that Chaos Emerald to restore my magic. So we'll share its power between us."
"I see no problem with that." Naugus agreed. "The two of us can have this entire city under our control!"
"Good, then in that case, I'm all aboard." Adagio said. After she said this, Naugus turned to her with an intrigued expression.
"Though I must know, if you are a friend of the Quicksters, why are you so quick to betray him?" Naugus said, which made Adagio scoff.
"Please! He's not my friend. Between you and me, I personally don't like him at all, no matter how hard he tries to be friendly." Adagio dismissed. Hearing this caused Naugus to burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! I love it! You're close to the Quickster and he doesn't know that you're willing to betray him right under his nose!" Naugus cackled.
Hearing this caused Adagio to form a look of unease as she gripped her arm and looked down a little. However, she then quickly shook her head and lifted it back up again.
"(Wait, what was I doing? I can't hesitate now. This is my best chance to get my power back and that's all that matters.)" She reaffirmed in her mind. She then stared back at Naugus.
"All right, Naugus, let's get this plan of ours started." Adagio told him with a sly smile.