Winx Club - Episode 203

Rescue Mission is the third episode of the second season of Winx Club.

Synopsis
Aisha leads Bloom and Stella back to Lord Darkar's castle with the help of the Specialists Lord Darkar has captured Aisha's friends, the sprightly Pixies, and the fairies are determined to help them before it's too late. But the underground path is treacherous and filled with monsters.

Plot
Aisha wakes up in the clinic and proceeds to open the window. The bright light stuns her a bit and she immediately notices Piff flying around. Concerned, she rushes into the hall and is startled by Knut. He wonders who she is but continues his way. Nurse Ofelia then appears with Faragonda as she tells Aisha that she still needs to rest. Faragonda introduces herself to Aisha and lets her know she had met her and her father when she was very young. She mentions that the Pixies spoke greatly of her which turns Aisha's attention to Piff. She asks the two of them where the outside is and and proceeds there in a haste.

She runs outside frantically which appeared strange to Lolina and Lavigne. She sees Piff fall asleep mid-flight and rushes towards her. But the pixie awakens in flies through a window in to a class. Aisha runs into the sad classroom and this time successfully catches Piff as she falls asleep mid-flight once again, but at the same time, she disrupts Wizgiz's lesson.

Now recovered, Aisha talks with Faragonda in her office. She explained her situation and are uncertain as to why the Shadow Phoenix kidnapped the Pixies. Faragonda believes that he may be after something but is not sure who this dark creature, though she has a hunch. However, their priorities is to rescue the Pixies.

She calls the Winx into a classroom to discuss the circumstances - Aisha will be their guide and only Bloom and Stella, due to their magical affinities, will participate in this mission. The others question this and so Faragonda demonstrates why. Tecna's technomagic will help them monitor the group at Alfea. And with a magical simulation of the Under Realm environment, she shows that Flora's powers are useless in an environment with no living plants and Musa's powers are too dangerous to use in an enclosed cavern. This upsets Musa but she is comforted by Faragonda and Flora.

The girls, Faragonda and Saladin are outside in the quad waiting for the Specialists. Before they go, Faragonda hands Aisha Seeds of Light that will drive away shadow creatures once and should only be used in emergencies. When the Specialists arrive they set off for the Darkar's Fortress. Tecna begins monitoring with her palmtop.

Timmy and Riven drops off the girls, Brandon and Sky, at an old mine cave entrance. After entering the entrance, Tecna loses signal and feedback stops, she then tries to reestablish the connection.

As the group continues deeper into the cavern, Stella complains of the lack light and trips over something. Having enough, she transforms and illuminates the cavern, giving better visuals. However, the group are targeted by monsters of the cave. They quickly move and reach a closed gate. Stella tries to blast it open but it absorbs magic. So Brandon decides that explosives are needed but need time to set it up. To make matters worse, shadow monsters appear and are ready to attack. The girls transform and attack them, as well as buying time for Brandon to set up the explosives.

The shadow monsters are impervious to magic but weak against light. Stella then uses her light magic and defeats them, just in time for the explosives to blast open the lock.

The gate opens but the other monsters are trying to attack them again, so they hurry past the gates and close it on them, with Aisha reinforcing the gates. She then de-transforms to rest. The group continues their way but Bloom and Stella start to feel drained and weak, returning back to their civilian form. As it turns out, this area drains all magical energy and it will take awhile for it to return to its full usability.

Unbeknownst to them, the Shadow Phoenix is watching them and sends the Trix to stop them from getting closer to his fortress.

Meanwhile, the group arrives near the crystals. Aisha cannot contain her excitement and proceeds to the end of the tunnel where the crystals are. Brandon takes another path and ends up at a lower depth than the main group. Aisha warns that Brandon should not separate from the group. Her warning was correct as a shadow monster came out and cornered Brandon. He kills it but the edge crumbles and gives way, taking Brandon with it.

In desperation, Stella jumps down after him, despite the fact she cannot transform. Bloom screams in horror as two of their group had fallen into the chasm.

Major Events

 * Bloom, Stella, Aisha, Brandon, and Sky go to the Darkar's Fortress.
 * Aisha is introduced to the Specialists.
 * Aisha's powers are revealed. She has the power of Morphix, a pink fluid that she can bend to her will.
 * Aisha, Bloom, and Stella's powers get drained.
 * Brandon and Stella get separated from Bloom, Sky and Aisha.

Debuts

 * Seed of Light
 * Demolecularizer T29

Major Characters

 * Winx Club
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Flora
 * Musa
 * Tecna
 * Aisha
 * Specialists
 * Sky
 * Brandon

Recurring Characters

 * Specialists
 * Riven
 * Timmy
 * Aflea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Ofelia
 * Wizgiz
 * Knut
 * Red Fountain Staff
 * Saladin
 * Pixies
 * Piff
 * Enemies
 * Darkar
 * Tar Monster
 * Brute Monster

Minor Characters

 * Alfea Students
 * Eleanor
 * Lolina
 * Lavigne
 * Kimmy
 * Alice
 * Miky
 * Amaryl
 * Ahisa
 * Kaie

Spells Used

 * "Scepter, give us light!" - Stella using her scepter to brighten the cavern.

4Kids

 * We Are the Winx
 * We Are the Winx (Transformation)
 * We Are the Winx (Instrumental)

Cinélume

 * Under the Sign of Winx
 * We Girls are the Winx
 * The Girls of the Winx Club

Scripts

 * 4Kids
 * Cinélume

Trivia

 * The fairies cannot stay too long in their fairy forms or they transform back, unlike in the previous season where that was not a problem. For example, Stella was is fairy mode the whole trip to Cloud Tower without losing her magic. This is due to Darkar's negative energy which is present in Darkar's Fortress and which absorbs the power of magical creatures and weakens them greatly, preventing them from remaining in the their fairy form for too long since fairies need to use their own magical energy to be able to remain in the fairy form.
 * Scenes from this episode, episode 27, 28, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51 and 52 were used for the final Winx club special scene "The Shadow of Phoenix".
 * This episode marks the first time that Aisha transforms.
 * This is also the first time Bloom's transformation was shown since before she lost her powers in "The Font of Dragon Fire".
 * This episode marks the first hearing of the shortened "We Girls are the Winx" song.

Differences Between Adaptations

 * In the Cinélume version:
 * Aisha runs into Knut in the hallway while trying to find Piff. She freaks out at the sight of an ogre in the school.
 * Faragonda did not test the girls, as she had already decided to have Bloom, Stella, and Aisha go on the mission for good reason:
 * Aisha - She knows the area.
 * Stella - She has light magic, which is effective against shadow monsters.
 * Bloom - She possesses the Dragon's Flame, which makes her the powerhouse.
 * Instead of testing the girls, Faragonda shows Flora and Musa why they cannot go through a realistic, magical representation of the caves. There would be no living plants for Flora to use, making her powers useless. Musa had sound but in the cave her powers could resonate; these vibrations could prove fatal to the group and cause a collapse. Tecna stayed as her technomagic will assist them in tracking the group.
 * Aisha was actually flattered by Brandon after calling her a cutie and asking if she was new to the group.
 * In the 4Kids version, Faragonda tested all the girls to see who could go on the mission. Bloom, Stella and Aisha passed, while Flora, Musa and Tecna did not.

Mistakes

 * During Wizgiz's class, Bloom's sleeves are missing.
 * Faragonda's lips go missing when talking to Musa.
 * In one scene, Aisha's Winx shoes are orange instead of green.
 * When Aisha was transforming back to her explorer outfit, her shoes were merged with her Winx outfit even before she changed.
 * There is a scene where Bloom's are eyes are tan instead of blue.

Quotes
"But, we do everything together!"

- Bloom

"Musa, listen to me. You're just as important as your friends, your powers will be needed soon enough."

- Faragonda

"Are you okay? Was that something important?"

- Sky

"Yes! My MAKE-UP KIT!"

- Stella

"I have to admit, for once, I miss school!"

- Stella

"Forget about the clunky flashlights, my scepter is the only way to light up a room."

- Stella

"You may be the light of my life, but a good flashlight has saved me more than once."

- Brandon