Walter Naugus

Ixis Naugus is one of the last surviving members of the Order of Ixis and a powerful magician, born from the fusion of three other members of that group. After his creation, he was appointed Royal Wizard by Frederick Acorn. During his time in this role, Ixis helped Kodos produce a scenario in which Nate Morgan was removed from the scene in Mobotropolis. Later, Ixis created the Zone of Silence as a safe haven and a zone where he had complete control of the elements. After being locked in the Zone of Silence, Naugus remained there for years until he managed to escape along with Maximillian Acorn. Ixis became an immidiate enemy of Sonic the Hedgehog and was chased around the globe for some time until he once again was trapped in the zone. He was eventually released again by the Arachne, but after being a prisoner of one of Dr. Eggman's Egg Grape Chambers, he lost his sanity. After this he blindly served Mammoth Mogul, who had revealed himself as the founder of the Order of Ixis until his mind was restored by a Chaos Emerald given to him by his apprentice. Following this, he began making plans to retake the throne from the Acorn family.

Origin
Agunus the rhino, Nusgau the bat and Suguna the lobster were the last three members of the Order of Ixis (aside from Mammoth Mogul) to survive the Forgotten War. Their goal was to find out just what the Days of Fury, the cataclysmic events that began Mobius' history, were and what preceded them, but were unable to determine it. The three, desperate for this knowledge, and for mastery of the one elemental power that eluded them all (fire - the trio having already mastered earth, air, and water), used their abilities to race to the sun, only to find themselves evenly matched. Despite treachery on the parts of each, they reached the sun at the same time, and fell into it together. This resulted in the birth of Ixis Naugus, a being with the merged talents of all three and mastery of fire to boot, who then offered his services to the Kingdom of Acorn. (StH: #66, #163)

Service to Kingdom of Acorn
Ixis Naugus career as the royal wizard started while Frederick Acorn was king. He was content with his position of power until Nate Morgan was rescued and became an ally to the king. Nate Morgan's scientific creations were proving to make Naugus' magicks obsolete. In order to counter this, he enlisted Warlord Kodos to frame Nate for treason. The plot worked and soon the conspirators started the Great War. Kodos wanted to make sure no blame could rest on him, so he tried to kill the twisted wizard, only to find out his target was an illusion, as the real Naugus was creating his Zone of Silence so he could wait out the war and rule over the ruins. Unfortunately for him, Kodos sealed the Zone, stranding him there. (StH: #65, #66, #73)

Imprisonment and Escape
While imprisoned in the zone he found all of its workings and soon brought it under his control. Not long after he was soon joined by the huge Mobian, Feist who pledged to serve the sorcerer. Soon Kodos was banished by Julian Kintobor (aka Robotnik) to The Zone of Silence and he too pledged himself to the wizard. Uma Arachnis also came and served then came King Maximillian Acorn who agreed to be Ixis's servant and to make him king should they escape, in exchange for becoming crystal to surviving in the Zone of Silence. Many years later the king was rescued by the Freedom Fighters. Soon after a probe was sent into the zone by Rotor to provide data on it, which allowed Naugus and his vanguard to escape. (StH: #41, #53)

Attempted Takeover
When Naugus escaped from the Zone of Silence, he claimed himself to be the ruler in place of King Max. When Sonic and the Freedom Fighters refused, Naugus had his minions Kodos and Uma Arachnis attack. While Kodos and Arachnis proved no match in their organic state, Naugus used his scepter to turn Uma and Kodos into invincible crystal warriors. But the tide was turned when Sonic discovered Ixis could only crystallize inanimate objects or those who swore loyalty to him and destroyed the scepter, making his vanguard immobile. Ixis took this as his cue and fled. After this failure, Naugus then planned to rule the Kingdom of Acorn and Mobius by possessing King Max with his magics and inciting a civil war between the Mobian and Robian populations. While originally no one realized Naugus was controlling King Max, when the recently recovered Sword of Acorns began reverting people back to their normal states of mind, Princess Sally realized that someone with exceptional magical abilities had to be responsible and concluded that only Naugus could be behind Max's actions. Upon this discovery and a near-death confrontation with Sonic who used the Sword to nullify his abilities, Naugus once again fled the scene. (StH: #53, SSS: #4)

On the Run
Following Naugus' retreat, it was decided that until he was returned to the Zone of Silence, Naugus would continue to pose a threat to the Kingdom of Acorn. Thus, Sonic and Tails were dispatched to track Naugus down using a scanner designed by Uncle Chuck to register the unique ion pattern that Naugus left wherever he went. At one point, the two did catch up to Naugus without realizing it as they flew through a storm front that he had assumed the form of. While Naugus managed to force their plane the Tornado to crash land outside of Sand Blast City and delay their search, they finally tracked Naugus down to the Southern Tundra. At first Naugus had an edge in the fight, but the arrival of Eddy the Yeti and an avalanche caused by a mysterious satellite in orbit above them lead to a temporary reprieve. Using his magick, Naugus hid himself inside the flamethrower built into Eddy's cybernetic arm and waited until they passed into the castle of Nate Morgan to reveal himself. The advantage was short lived however, as Morgan exploited his greed and thirst for power to trick Naugus into returning outside the castle walls by going after a holographic Power Ring, forcing him to confront the stronghold's magical wards. After a prolonged period, Naugus finally managed to get in again by using the elemental form of earth to pass through the walls and appear right in Morgan's immense Power Ring storehouse and absorbed a massive amount of Magic Rings from his private stash to transform into Ultra Naugus. Sonic and Tails were there at that exact moment and also used an untold number of rings to confront Naugus as Ultra Sonic and Hyper Tails while he attempted to merge the Void with the Zone of Silence in order to grant him unlimited power. The three fought, but the energy Ultra Sonic and Hyper Tails used burned up too fast, forcing them back to their normal states, and it seemed as though Naugus had won. Not wanting to leave any loose ends, Naugus then tried to kill Nate so that he could not interfere, but was blasted back into the Zone of Silence when Morgan used the energy of a Power Ring housed inside his eyepiece, putting an end to the crazed wizard's ambitions for the time being. (StH: #62, #64, #65, #66)

Naugus once again managed to briefly escape from the Zone of Silence. Sonic, who was visiting the grave site of Eddy the Yeti who had saved them during their previous battle with Naugus in the Southern Tundra, found Naugus trying to use the power of the Magic Rings remaining at the battle scene. Sonic was able to defeat Naugus once again using these same rings and trap him in the Zone of Silence. (SSS: #15)

Joining Mogul
As part of Anonymous's (who later turned out to be A.D.A.M.) scheme, Naugus was freed when the Arachne used the Sword of Acorns to open a portal to the Zone of Silence in Dr. Eggman's Egg Grape Chamber, allowing the evil wizard to escape. The Arachne, who were now Naugus' servants, gave him the Sword of Acorns and he promised to Eggman that he would have retribution before freezing Mecha and escaping with his new henchmen. Naugus, now seeking the Crown of Acorns, encountered the being who had it: Mammoth Mogul. Mogul was also after the Sword of Acorns, and so the two started dueling each other while the Freedom Fighters battled the Arachne and Mogul's Destructix. But when Mogul revealed to Naugus that he was once the founder of the Order of Ixis, Ixis Mogul, the wizard was shocked and pledged allegiance to Mogul, giving him the Sword of Acorns and causing the Arachne to also join Mogul. Naugus and his new master started battling the Freedom Fighters as well, only for the Source of All to be destroyed by Sir Connery, Paladin of the Ancient Walkers. The two villains remained intent on continuing the battle, but Eggman's Egg Fleet showed up and teleported the group to the Egg Grape Chamber. (StH: #163, #164)

While in captivity, Mogul somehow used Naugus to protect himself from the Egg Grapes' effects, also resulting in Naugus completely losing his mind and becoming an idiotic beast. A.D.A.M. eventually freed the two (in exchange for Mogul's Chaos Emerald) and they escaped New Megaopolis, serving as a distraction to lure Shadow the Hedgehog away until A.D.A.M. could use him in his own plans. Later, Mogul got wind of Rouge the Bat having the Master Emerald and decided to go after it with his new mindless minion, not knowing it was just a ploy. But the two ran into the Freedom Fighters and although Naugus tried to use his new ability to Shadowmeld to defeat them, he was easily defeated by Bunnie Rabbot. He was then sent to Knothole Prison along with Mogul, Nack the Weasel, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear. (StH: #168, #173)

Not long after, Naugus and his fellow prisoners were captured by the Egg Fleet when it attacked Knothole, resulting in Naugus being sent back to the Egg Grapes. But Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy Rose broke out all of Eggman's prisoners, including Naugus and the others. When everyone was sent to New Mobotropolis, Nack, Bean, and Bark joined Mogul and Naugus and they attempted to take over the city, but were simply teleported to it's prison by NICOLE. Naugus later watched Sonic's fight with Tails. (StH: #175, #176, #177, #178, #179)

Shortly after the campaign of the second Enerjak, Mammoth Mogul concocted a plan to free himself and his minions. Revealing that he had over the years placed post hypnotic suggestions in several heroes-Tails, Mina Mongoose, and Mighty the Armadillo-Mogul took control of them and had them attack Sonic. When he proved too strong for them, Mogul sent them all into danger and threatened to force them to die unless Sonic brought him a Chaos Emerald he had acquired from Feist. Reluctantly obeying, Sonic brought Mogul the Emerald, and Naugus was freed along with his fellow prisoners. The group then disappeared, Mogul having decided that he would not attempt global domination again until Sonic was dead or too old to oppose him. (StH: #185, #186)

Regaining Sanity
After Mogul established himself as a casino owner, Naugus was kept out of sight so that he would not upset the clientel, spending his days hissing and drooling in a completely unaware state of being. He was present and chained in Mogul's office when a visitor arrived, carrying a large jewel and proclaiming his intent to restore the "true" king to the throne and that Mogul had the last thing he needed, something Naugus payed neither heed nor understanding to. During their conversation, Geoffrey claimed that he intended to use the Chaos Emerald to restore Naugus's sanity, which could potentionally be benefitial for Mogul's business and, most importantly, much to Sonic's chagrin. With Mogul's permission, Geoffrey gave the Chaos Emerald to Naugus, and the resulting surge of power restored him to his former sanity. He soon repremanded St. John, who was revealed to be his apprentice, enraged that he had failed to eliminate the Acorn family. After being informed that the Acorns were needed to maintain the new kingdom, and insisted that he should lead the wizard back to the throne, Naugus reluctantly followed. After promising to take care of some unfinished business with Mogul, he and Geoffrey proceeded to the outskirts of New Mobotropolis where his apprentice updated him on current events. He once more plotted to take the title of King. (StH: #219, #220)

Within New Mobotropolis, he and his apprentice watched from afar Mina's concert. Sensing a "poison fog" of fear, he used his magic to amplify the citizens' fear. With this, he claims that they will be "baying for blood" soon, and when the time comes they will call out to him to "save them". (StH: #221).

Powers & Abilities
Ixis Naugus's most powerful ability is his knowledge of the Ixian Magicks, giving him power over fire, water, earth, and wind. This gave him a variety of abilities, including manipulating those elements around him and transforming his body or parts of it into them. He also commanded powerful mental abilities, capable of invading and controlling the minds of others, as evidenced by his brief possession of Maximilian Acorn. He's also displayed the ability to manipulate and amplify negative emotions, causing people's existing feelings to be blown out of proportion, often leading to panic or rash, hateful acts. One of his signature techniques was turning the bodies of his minions into crystal, giving them enhanced strength and the ability to endure the Zone of Silence. However, when Naugus lost his mind, he also lost these powers, but gained the power to Shadow-meld, a technique that allows him to travel through shadows. Naugus could also manipulate the Zone of Silence into whatever he wanted when inside of it, including fusing it together with the Void. He came to rely rather heavily on this ability, to the point where Mogul accosted him for it during their battle. But seeing as how it is now the Special Zone and Feist rules over it, it is likely that Naugus can no longer do this.

Personality
Greedy beyond belief, Ixis Naugus is willing to go to any lengths to increase his own power. Incredibly vengeful, he never forgets being offended, and does his best to pay those who have done so back. Naugus is also partly if not completely insane, making him a dangerous and unpredictable opponent. His mental state has also made him relatively fearless, allowing him to insult his lessers or betters without qualm. The displays of immense ego and treachery are doubtless remnants of his three component personalities, whose own infighting nature led to Naugus' "birth."

As with many villains, he sees his minions only as pawns to use in his various schemes. In contrast and unlike most villains his level he shows little if any actual dignity, other than a few moments of grandiosity he is mostly a blunt person. He did show a great deal of respect for Mogul during their battle with the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix, though this was only after being trumped in every area and learning of Mogul's identity as his original instructor in the arts of magic. Following his escape from the Egg Grape Chamber, he has seemingly been robbed of his intelligence, leaving only blind loyalty to Mogul. After his mind was rejuvenated by the purple Chaos Emerald, Naugus reverted to his old, boisterous self.

Background information

 * Ixis Naugus is (as is the case with most of the original cast) based on a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon often referred to as SatAM by fans. In the series, this character went only by "Naugus", and is an evil wizard trapped in the Void while exploring it because he was betrayed by Robotnik.

Appearance
Ixis Naugus appears as a tall, gruesome Mobian with bat ears, a rhinoceros horn emerging from his forehead, a long white beard, and a gloved lobster claw in place of a left hand. He wears a suit that has been colored either purple or blue at various times, always with a long black cape, glove on his right hand, belt, and boots. Though his SatAM incarnation possessed a long tail, Naugus has never been depicted with this appendage in the comics.