Issue 21: The Shaab Stone

The Shaab Stone is the twenty-first issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
Belizarius, the wealthy owner of the TradeMagix Company, has just moved into Magix City after encountering a few "difficulties" but now that he successfully moved, he wishes to commission local magic users to help him with his dealings. However, the magic user he meets with, Headmistress Griffin, refuses influence Belizarius' trade partners. Wanting to blackmail Griffin into working for him, Belizarius ends up finding out about a mysterious stone that is capable of canceling out the effects of magic and he has his men search for the stone. Unfortunately for him, everyone else has heard of his plans thanks to Helia, and now it is up to him to lead the retrieval mission. Will Helia be able to show how much of a successful leader he is or will something get in the way?

Plot
Somewhere in Magix City, there is construction going on for a company called TradeMagix Co. The Winx and Specialists are near the site as Timmy explains to them that the digger-robots on the construction site are controlled by one supercomputer that is the latest in magical technology. Stella teases Timmy over his interest in the digger-robots and walks away. Sky explains that just gets a bit too excited whenever he sees a crane and Tecna teases Timmy, asking if he thinks that cranes can be more beautiful than he finds her to be. Timmy says that he finds her more beautiful than any crane, but is interrupted by Brandon, who asks what they are building in the first place. Sky tells him that a very shrewd and wealthy dealer by the name of Belizarius plans to settle his business in Magix.

Meanwhile, Belizarius is holding a welcoming party somewhere else in Magix. A man walks over to Belizarius to congratulate him and Belizarius thanks the man for donating a large sum of money to help him in his project. The man leans in and tells Belizarius that he had to get past a lot of "difficulties" to get him into Magix and Belizarius apologizes, saying that bureaucracy is complicated and rather difficult to work around. The man further explains that Magix has recently dedicated itself to magical philosophy and that Belizarius' type of business will not be welcomed, but tells him that he was able to make his business happen in Magix anyway. Belizarius thanks the man and the man walks off. Belizarius then calls his butler, Servidio, over, where he tells him that everything will go down as planned now that they have blocked off the latest supplies. Belizarius chuckles at how he was able to make most of the wealthiest people in Magix finance his business even though, for the most part, they do not really know what his business is about. He further claims that being able to conduct his underground dealings in Magix will double his profits. Servidio asks if he has any of the schools in Magix in mind and Belizarius orders him to go make an appointment with the headmistress of Cloud Tower. The very next day, Belizarius meets with Griffin in her office. He tries to butter her up with compliments on her way of running Cloud Tower but, when he tries to smoke, Griffin is quick to burst his cigar into pieces; warning him that he cannot and shall not smoke anywhere so long as he remains in Cloud Tower. Griffin demands that Belizarius cut to the chase, to which he confesses that he has had a particular interest in black magic for quite some time. Griffin confuses this for a request to enroll but Belizarius tells her that he would need the witches to cooperate with his business for rather underhanded means, like changing contracts to fit his best possible interests or convince a person to do as he would like. Belizarius promises that Griffin would get ten percent of all his profits if she were to comply but Griffin refuses his deal. He tries to bump the ten percent up to fifteen but Griffin still refuses, claiming that while witches do study wickedness and dark magic, they are not evil people; comparing them to that of fairies. Belizarius tries to threaten Griffin by claiming that he would make a very dangerous enemy to make but Griffin is not buying it and promptly asks him to leave her school. Belizarius storms out of her office. Afterwards, Griffin calls up Faragonda to tell her about her rather unpleasant visitor.

Meanwhile, outside of Cloud Tower, Belizarius makes it to his limo and tells Servidio that the deal went sour. Servidio tells him that Griffin did not want to see him in the first place but Belizarius insists that no one could ever say no to him because he is such an important and wealthy man. As they drive off, Belizarius claims that Magix is too important to be left in the hands of "useless teachers" such as Griffin and plots for revenge.

The next day, at Alfea, the Winx find out that the headmasters of all three schools have been called in for a very important meeting. Bloom tells the girls that she overheard a conversation while working at the White Horse, with a witch claiming that Griffin must have been crazy to turn down such a deal. She explains the deal that happened at Cloud Tower and that the wealthy man has been going back to Cloud Tower trying to force Griffin into the deal. With all of that plus the meeting that the headmasters are currently having, Bloom is suspicious that something serious is going down. Lockette asks Bloom if this man is really a devil, but Bloom explains that it is just an expression. Tecna wants to know who this rude wealthy man is and Bloom tells her that his name is Belizarius and that he is the person who is responsible for all the construction on the outskirts of Magix that they caught a glimpse of days earlier. Stella immediately gets annoyed at the very mention of the construction site because everyone seems to be talking about it; especially the boys. Tecna adds that Timmy has been so excited over it that he is even building his own remote control miniature model. Flora mentions that even Helia mentioned the construction and that Saladin has mobilized the Specialists in response to Belizarius' recent behavior. She is worried about what could really be happening, since she has not been able to make contact with Helia ever since then.

In Magix, Servidio comes into Belizarius' and tells him that despite all of the research he has done on the three schools, he has not been able to find one weak-spot. He further mentions that the three schools have fought with many powerful forces and were able to resolve the issues brilliantly. Belizarius flies into a rage, screaming that there is not one person in the entire Magic Dimension that cannot be bought and, if he cannot dig up any dirt on the schools then he might as well start filing false accusations. One of his workers come into his office and reports to him that he noticed a peculiar area just north of the mountains from Magix. The area is known as the Enclosed Territory and, for some mysterious reason, magic does not work there. Belizarius asks his worker why magic does not work in the Enclosed Territory, to which his worker explains that he has picked up on information that has purposely been hidden for everyone else. He tells Belizarius that, long ago, a mysterious meteorite fell right into the center of what is now known as the Enclosed Territory and that the meteorite had disintegrated upon impact and its dust scattered all over the area. He further explains that the dust is known as the Shaab Stone and that it seemingly eliminates any and all effects of magic. Belizarius gets the idea to get the Shaab Stone and use it to blackmail the Cloud Tower witches into working for him. Servidio points out that if the meteorite has become nothing but dust in the air then it would be impossible to collect, but his worker explains that there are possibly fragments left of the meteorite and Belizarius orders his worker to round up the rest of his men to retrieve one of the Shaab Stones. His worker leaves the room and quickly mobilizes as much men as he can to complete the task. As the men are setting everything in order, Helia is spying on them from a nearby skyscraper. When he gets enough of the information he needs, Helia quickly and quietly gets to his hoverbike and returns to Red Fountain.

When he makes it back, Helia reports his findings to Faragonda, Griffin, Saladin and Codatorta, telling them that it is being conducted as a secret military mission. Saladin realizes that this all fits with the other information that they have on Belizarius and asks if his men could be searching for the Shaab Stone. Griffin confirms Saladin's suspicions and tells him that, while using her witchcraft, she was able to overhear Belizarius' discussion with his butler and one of his men. She further explains that if Belizarius is successful in acquiring the stone, then his influence over Magix would increase and quickly get out of hand. Faragonda suggests that they warn the Fortress of Light Council but Saladin tells her that they must be dealing with more important affairs and that maintaining Magix's harmony is strictly their business. Codatorta insists that all of their Specialists are well-trained enough to handle the situation on their own and Saladin adds that they are going to form different groups of Specialists, fairies and witches to study every move Belizarius makes from then on. He declares that if a fragment of the Shaab Stone exists then they will take it upon themselves to find it before Belizarius' men do and destroy it. Faragonda and Griffin agree to this goal and Codatorta even makes Helia the commander of the mission after he was able to discover what Belizarius was up to in the first place. Helia is unsure at first until Saladin encourages him; telling him to believe in himself and his own abilities. Hours later, word of the mission has already spread throughout all three schools and all of the students have to gather up in their assigned groups. The Specialists arrive at Alfea and meet up with the Winx. Stella is excited about the mission since she and Brandon have a chance to be together without anyone else trying to flirt with him. As the rest of the Winx are making their way inside the ship, Aisha "accidentally" bumps into Flora, causing her to fall into Helia's arms. Helia asks if she hurt herself but Flora shyly insists that she is fine. Riven reminds Helia that they needed to leave as soon as the Winx came aboard and so Helia takes his post. Bloom asks Sky if Helia is the commander of the mission and Sky tells her that he is and that he is really happy for Helia. Riven tries to claim that Helia only got the position as commander because he is Saladin's grandson and that he will need to prove himself if he wants to take over for his grandfather as a member of the Fortress of Light Council. Bloom insists that Riven should not be talking about Helia in such a way. Sky tells him that Saladin is nowhere close to retiring and that the headmaster of a magical school is appointed through merit, not by familial ties. Riven tries to get them off of his back and tells them that they just need to see how good of a commander Helia will make. Helia orders Timmy to prepare for takeoff and Timmy has the ship make its course to the Enclosed Territory.

Arriving at the Enclosed Territory, Helia asks Timmy if he is able to find anything, only to find that their scanner is not picking up. Timmy explains that the land is causing interference to the scanner, so Helia makes contact with the rest of the groups via radio to see if any of them had caught sight of Belizarius' ships. Unfortunately, they have not been able to find anything either. Riven suggests that they fly the ship higher up in order to get away from the land's interference but, when Timmy is about to do so, Helia calls off the order, claiming that if they fly too high up then Belizarius' men could spot them. Helia suggests that while they still have the element of surprise, then they should try to beat Belizarius' men to the Shaab Stone but Riven cuts in, reminding Helia that they need to stick to their orders to stay behind and watch their every move. Sky agrees with Riven but Helia insists that he has a plan that is worth trying. He explains that the Shaab Stone must be located at the center of the crater the meteorite made and that they should search in that area. Brandon tells Helia that there are no craters on any of their maps and Riven insists that they stick to the orders they were given, but Helia tries to convince everybody to go along with his plan, claiming that the crater could not have disappeared even if it is very old. Riven insists that this plan is too rash but Flora tells him that they should at least try out Helia's plan. Aisha agrees but she reminds Flora that they will be taking a huge risk in doing so.

Hours later, however, there is still no sight of such a crater. Brandon suggests that they take a break and Helia is starting to wonder if he was letting the power get to his head by making everyone follow his plans. Flora calms Helia down by telling him that not everything goes as planned but, as Helia is admitting this faults, Bloom claims to have found something on the maps. Bloom directs everyone's attention to the rock formations on the maps, showing them that they seem to be arranged in a circle and that there is a very large crack in the middle. Timmy converts the maps from 2D to 3D and finds that it is the crater left by the meteorite. Bloom claims that the maps could not pick up the crater because of how ancient it is but Riven insists that the rock formations are simple rock formations unrelated to the Shaab Stone. Helia thinks that it is worth checking out anyway and has Timmy pilot the ship towards the rock formations.

When the group arrives at the rock formations, they catch sight over another ship heading in the same direction. Timmy quickly identifies the ship as the one Belizarius' men must be on since it is not a Red Fountain ship and Helia has him land in a hidden spot. Helia, Sky and Brandon get to a higher point to spy on Belizarius' men and find that they have had a campsite in that part of the Enclosed Territory for a few days now. To make matters worse, Belizarius' men have just found the Shaab Stone! Stella starts panicking and Riven becomes enraged due to how much time they wasted. Sky tries to calm him down but he claims that if they started a solo mission then they might as well finish it and proposes that, while the men celebrate their supposed victory, they sneak into the camp and steal the Shaab Stone from under their noses. Helia and Sky try to remind Riven that they have to work under the law, but Riven insists that they pull this off while they are still nearby. Helia warns Riven that Belizarius' men are trained professionals and that, rather than trying to attack them, they keep a close eye on them from their ship. He then orders Timmy to contact the other groups and returns to the ship. Riven claims that Helia is just a coward, but Musa tries to talk some sense into him. Riven tells her that he is taking the mission as seriously as everyone else and that they need to get rid of the stone as quickly as possibly, but Musa does not believe that the harmony of Magix will be completely disrupted by some rock. Musa then tells Riven that if he wants to win other people's respect then he should start respecting other people first and heads for the ship, leaving him behind.



That night, the Winx and Specialists are still keeping an eye on Belizarius' men. Timmy reports to Helia that backup will arrive within two more hours and Helia tells the others that they will only initiate an attack if the men try to leave with the Shaab Stone. Sky asks for the Winx help but, thanks to the stone's influence, they cannot use their magic to turn the boys invisible. Sky instead tells Bloom and Stella to watch their backs as they sneak into the campsite to sabotage the men's ships so they cannot escape. As Timmy returns to his position with Riven, Riven pulls him in and hides him behind a boulder as two of Belizarius' men pass by, carrying the stone. The men brag about how much money they will be paid once they hand the stone over to Belizarius and that their boss, Lothar, has finally decided to leave the campsite. Riven insists that they take the opportunity to knock out the two men and make off with the Shaab Stone but Timmy objects. Timmy tells him that backup is on its way by Riven insists that they do not have enough time to wait and goes in for the attack. He is able to knock out one of the men as Timmy stuns the other with a shot from his paralyzing ray. They try to make off with the Shaab Stone but are quickly caught by three more men who are armed.



Just then, the rest of the Specialist ships arrive. Codatorta orders the men to lay down their weapons after being surrounded but Lothar tells them that they will not accept any negotiations, threatening to kill Riven and Timmy if they do not let them allow him and his men to leave peacefully. Lothar and his men then take off from the crater with the Shaab Stone and their hostages.

The next day, Helia tells Sky and Brandon that Riven and Timmy are alright and that Lothar and this men freed them in the outskirts of Magix when they realized no one could follow them anymore. Sky tries to convince Helia to tell Saladin that this was all Riven's fault but Helia feels that he is still to blame since he was made commander of this mission and he pleads with Sky to not mention it either. Codatorta leaves Saladin's office and tells Helia that his inquest has begun. Helia leaves to meet with Saladin and Codatorta shuts the door with an obvious look of disappointment.

At Alfea, Flora tells the girls that Helia was given a demerit and that he was considered to be responsible for how the mission fell apart. Musa feels like she is responsible for being unable to convince him otherwise and Tecna threatens to give Timmy a piece of her mind. Bloom tries to settle everyone down, telling them that this is not the best time to be making accusations. Now that Belizarius has the Shaab Stone, nobody in Magix can use magic.

Spells Used
None.

Mistakes

 * As the Winx and Specialists conduct their part of the mission, Helia and Brandon's pins are colored incorrectly; switching from purple to yellow to orange and blue to green respectively.
 * When Lothar and his men have Riven and Timmy captured, Timmy's pin is missing.
 * Codatorta's badge is missing when he attempts to make negotiations with Belizarius' men.
 * As Riven and Timmy attack the two men and try to make off with the Shaab Stone, their gloves constantly switch from being fingerless to full gloves.
 * Riven's pin is yellow on the cover of the issue instead of purple/magenta.

Debuts

 * Belizarius
 * Lothar
 * Servidio

Characters

 * The Winx Club
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Flora
 * Musa
 * Tecna
 * Aisha
 * The Specialists
 * Sky
 * Brandon
 * Riven
 * Timmy
 * Helia
 * The Pixies
 * Lockette
 * Tune
 * Digit
 * Piff
 * Alfea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Cloud Tower Staff
 * Griffin
 * Red Fountain Staff
 * Saladin
 * Codatorta
 * Enemies
 * Belizarius
 * Servidio
 * Lothar