Trouble in Paradise
Summary: The Mystic Isles Protectors have fallen victim to chaos, thanks to an evil entity called Necazuri. Cedric and Sofia join Butterford to stop her, but while on their mission, the sorcerer is plagued with off-putting visions and Necazuri's taunting voice in the back of his mind, causing him to question everything and everyone around him, even Sofia. (Takes place 3.5 years after my Season 5 stories, and most notably after the events of The Tainted Ten)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First. I do own Charlie and Serena (both mentioned), Butterford, Muscles, Ira (mentioned), the AutoCoach, and Necazuri. Nana and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X.
A/N: Butterford's gloves are mentioned in here because this takes place not long after Beauty. Even though he has the rose tattoos now, it's taking him time to adjust to not wearing them. Just wanted to clarify that.
Chapter 2: Unhinged
To say that Cedric and Sofia were both alarmed and confused by the time they reached the Mystic Isles would have been a massive understatement. The whole area seemed to have descended into a state of chaos. People were verbally arguing, physically fighting, and even magically dueling with each other, for seemingly no apparent reason.
As they exited the AutoCoach in haste, they even saw Orion and Vega squared up, their powerful magic surging as they glared at each other.
"Orion! Vega!" Sofia had barely stepped forward to hurry to her friends when she felt herself pulled into an unexpected hug, both she and the other person falling to the ground, him practically on top of her. She blinked and blushed a bit, noticing her Guardian above her. Startled, she asked, "J-Jas? What are you doing?"
Butterford muttered a brief apology before nodding in the direction of the older Protectors. "All the Protectors who are wearing their Enchantlets have apparently fallen under some strange spell. They've been doing this for hours now, and they're lucky there have been no fatalities. I've been trying to stop them, but nothing I do seems to work." He sighed, feeling the princess reach up and tuck some of his hair behind his shoulder, and he smiled appreciatively down at her. "I saw some other Protector earlier—someone I don't know—nearly destroy another Protector, just barely missing him when she threw some magical blast at the guy. It was crazy."
Cedric folded his arms as he pointedly stared down at the friends on the ground. "Yes, well, while I can understand your state of disbelief and surprise about this strange occurrence, would you kindly help my wife to her feet?" He tapped his fingers against his arm as the two friends blushed modestly, beginning to scramble to their feet, sheepish expressions on their faces. "I can appreciate you protecting her, Jas, but I think you could be taking your Guardian role a little too seriously."
"There's no such thing, Cedric," Butterford murmured softly as he gazed toward Sofia, offering her a caring smile, a warm feeling flooding him when she returned it. "I'll always take protecting my friend seriously…" He cleared his throat as Cedric hummed thoughtfully. "Anyway… As far as I can tell, the only way to stop the Protectors from attacking each other is to do something to their Enchantlets—destroy them, disable them, or something… The Protectors are apparently under some sort of spell, and their Enchantlets have all been glowing a weird pink color since this whole thing started."
"I'm glad I don't wear mine often anymore," Sofia mumbled before taking Butterford's words into consideration. "Maybe we could neutralize the Enchantlets, huh?" She glanced at Cedric, who nodded toward her, and they both withdrew their wands. "Together?"
"Together," Cedric agreed as he aimed his wand toward Orion's Enchantlet while Sofia took Vega's. "Now."
The couple spoke the neutralizing spell simultaneously, watching as the lead Protectors paused and dropped their arms to their sides, seeming a bit dazed and perplexed as they sought each other out, holding onto one another as they checked to make sure the other was all right.
"I apparently have no memory of the last…however long it's been since this morning," Orion admitted as he held his hand to his head. "What happened?"
Butterford adjusted his gloves as he looked at Orion and Vega. "All I know is there was a woman with unusual light pink skin and hair, and she had these glowing pink eyes. She looked like she was brainwashing you guys and all the other Protectors through your Enchantlets, because before I knew what was going on, everyone was fighting with and attacking each other. I've never seen anything like that before."
"Necazuri," Vega declared, frowning. "That's got to be her."
"Who?" Cedric wondered.
"She's an evil enchantress whose powers include brainwashing, manipulation, and fatal persuasion."
Sofia winced as she grasped her amulet, almost like a security blanket of sorts. "What about our girls? Have you seen them?" It was clear from her face that she was worried, as any mother would be. She clutched her precious gem more firmly as she awaited her response.
"They're with Ira and Chrysta, far from here," Orion assured her calmly. "The Junior Protectors are on a mission away from the Mystic Isles and should be quite safe if they were not within Necazuri's line of sight."
Cedric narrowed his eyes, folding his arms. "No offense, Orion, but given that you were a bit 'indisposed' for an undisclosed period of time, I'm not entirely convinced of that." He looked toward Sofia. "We should go and find them."
"Actually," Vega interjected, holding up one hand to stop the sorcerer, "Orion and I will handle finding the girls. We can track them through the Enchantlets, after all, and you three don't have one and will have difficulty doing so." She smiled apologetically toward Sofia, who sighed. "Instead, while we look for Nana and Tanya, you could locate Necazuri and…handle the situation as you see fit."
"How?" Butterford asked, baffled. "Sure, you can track Protectors through the Enchantlets, but how do we locate some evil enchantress? I'm sure magic spells can only do so much."
Cedric wasn't sure why, but that comment sounded rather callous to him, even though he was sure the Guardian hadn't meant it to sound that way. He shook his head a bit, feeling a strange pulsing sensation in his temple. He lifted one hand, pressing his head gently, trying to alleviate the discomfort.
"Necazuri was an early owner of the Amulet of Avalor," Orion informed the trio, watching as they each stared at him in surprise. "All previous owners are connected via your amulet, Sofia, and you only have to ask it to guide you to Necazuri. I'm sure you're well versed in its magic by now."
"I am, but…" She picked up the gem, staring at it in an almost scrutinizing manner. "A wicked enchantress had this before? I wonder just how many people have owned it…"
"It's an ancient magical item, my love," Cedric reminded her, his headache subsiding as he placed a hand on her back, smiling at her. "I'm sure it's been through many owners, but it is by far in the best hands now."
"Cedric," she giggled, smiling shyly at her husband. She would never get over how sweet he could be when he wanted to be.
"Sofia," Butterford gently urged, smiling at her. "The amulet. We're trying to find that enchantress, right?"
She nodded as she regained her senses. "Right, right…" She lifted the amulet a bit, holding it to her eyesight. "I wish to know where Necazuri is located." As soon as the words left her lips, the amulet reacted, and a swirl of pink and white magic flew from within, forming something of a holographic map above them. Sofia narrowed her eyes as she read it. "There," she told them, pointing toward a pulsing light hovering over an isolated area.
"That appears to be about two hours via AutoCoach from here," Cedric informed her before glancing at Orion and Vega. "Promise me that you'll find our daughters and keep them safe while we're on this journey."
Orion smiled disarmingly and nodded. "Of course, Cedric. You have our word as Protectors."
"Let's go," Butterford told the couple, gesturing above them. "We'll lose daylight if we wait too much longer."
The trio gathered into the AutoCoach and left the two Protectors behind, both Vega and Orion trying to decide where to even begin.
"We have a lot of work to do," Vega remarked, sighing. "We'll have to neutralize all the Enchantlets in the Mystic Isles, and…" She reached up to the Enchantlet on her left arm, frowning. "Perhaps we first need to get ours back in working condition before we do anything…"
"Agreed." Orion nodded. "And afterward, we can split up to cover more ground."
"No. We stay together and have a stronger force." She folded her arms. "We have seen what happens when people split up, Orion. I will not take that chance."
He smiled and acquiesced, "As you wish, Vega."
To be continued…
Next Chapter: On Guard