Issue 55: Temptations

Temptations is the fifty-fifth issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
There have been a recent string of kidnappings throughout Magix and its schools in where female students are being whisked away and forced into magical trafficking rings. The Winx begin to worry about these kidnappings after a Cloud Tower Witch named Wendy goes missing right from under Griffin's nose but, because they have a date with the boys scheduled, they try not to dwell on it too much. Unfortunately, their group date is ruined when a group of men suspected of trafficking break into and are apprehended in the middle of the White Horse café. Since the Winx and Specialists were all witnesses, they have to come in to Magix City's Central Police Station to prove tell the police of what they saw. For some reason, Riven's interrogation takes longer than everyone else's and he becomes much more distant afterwards, especially towards Musa. Refusing to bring down her friends' moods, Musa turns to an online chat site to find someone to confide in. As for Riven, he continues to grow more distant from Musa and his friends to the point where they suspect him of seeing another girl behind their backs. As Musa becomes more emotionally vulnerable, Riven becomes more distant, and it seems as though Musa may be tempted to end this cycle before it becomes too much for her to bear.

Plot
It is morning at Cloud Tower where the police suddenly arrive at check one of the dorms. Headmistress Griffin storms out of her office, unable to believe what she has just been told.

Soon enough, word quickly spreads on what happened. In their dorm, Musa tells the rest of the Winx that one of the witches from Cloud Tower went missing. Stella asks Musa if she knows who disappeared but Musa does not know the answer herself. She then tells Stella that a girl named Wendy has not been answering her calls all morning. Stella wonders how she could have gone missing and starts to suspect that she ran off with a boy. She starts fawning over the idea of eloping until Tecna asks her where she thinks Wendy would have ran off to. Stella claims that she and her lover could have run off to wherever their hearts took them until Bloom chimes in, trying to settle Stella down. She then asks Musa about Griffin's thoughts on the matter and Musa explains that Griffin is furious with what has happened as this is the first time something like this has occurred. Musa further explains that it looks like Wendy had been kidnapped and that her parents are even rushing to Magix in order to help the police find her. The girls realize how serious the situation really is and Stella asks if Wendy's kidnappers left a ransom note. Musa claims that Wendy's family is not rich and that she was just taken overnight. She advises the rest of the Winx to be careful as there are people out there who would enjoy kidnapping them to make them slaves or use them to make sinister things out of magic. Flora starts to get scared and asks Musa if she thinks that Wendy was kidnapped for those reasons until Stella chimes in by claiming that she heard a rumor about magic filters being made from the hearts of young witches. She advises Flora to stay close to Helia so that he can keep her heart safe and Flora agrees, claiming that she could not ask for anything better. Bloom advises the girls to seriously be careful as there are bad people in the world and the girls salute to the Winx Club as Bloom tells them to stay united. Stella then changes the subject by asking about their plans for the weekend as they only have two days where they are free and Bloom claims that they will just do the usual: hang out at the White Horse with the boys. As Bloom had suggested, everyone is hanging out at the White Horse later that day. Sky urges Bloom to seat with them for a bit and Bloom agrees to do so. She brings up how there seem to be more customers than usual today and asks Sky how he has been. Sky tells her that there is no need to ask him that since she is always looking great herself. Bloom claims that Sky is being too kind today but Sky insists that he means it and advises her not to work herself too hard.

Musa offers Riven a pastry but Riven asks what they would do if they all got chubby. Musa insists that she has not put on any weight and asks Riven if he thinks that she has gotten chubby. Riven trails off as he begins to answer which causes Musa to playfully pound at his chest. Sky notices that there are a lot of new faces at the café and Bloom explains that there are not just the usual customers from Magix's major schools but people from the city, too. She points out a group of "dodgy guys" who seem to be trafficking something but she quickly changes the subject by asking Sky what they have in mind for them to do that night. Sky tries to tell her that he and Brandon came up with something but he is interrupted by a man shouting at someone to stop. The group then turns around to find that the police have arrived and are chasing the group of suspicious-looking guys.

The guys scramble and run outside of the café where they are caught by another group of police officers. One of the guys insists that he is innocent as the officers load the two of them into the back of the police truck. Stella, Tecna, Timmy and Musa watch on from inside the café. Timmy is mesmerized by how easily the police caught the two men and Musa wonders who they could have been. From behind them, the police chief tells them that those men were foreigners who were conducting some shady trafficking. He asks if any of them know the men that were just arrested but Sky claims that they had no idea who they were. The police chief explains that the men recruit other youths to assist them in their trafficking deals with the promise a handsome profit if they do so. He then announces that they will have to interrogate everyone who was inside the cafe for the next few days and requests for them to stick around. Sky starts to think that the police chief suspects him but the chief clears up the misunderstanding by telling Sky that he will still need his statements even if he is innocent. He will also need Sky's friend's statements as they may have noticed an important clue without realizing it and adds that he and his men are more determined than ever to put a stop to the trafficking business. Sky agrees to lend the police chief his assistance and the police chief tells Sky that he will let him and his friends know when it is their turn to be questioned after thanking him. One of the officers starts questioning Riven as Bloom laments over the fact that their afternoon has been ruined. Sky, however, believes that the police are simply doing their jobs and tells Bloom that they should not be bothered by them. He then asks Bloom if Madame Greta would let her put some music on as he wants to dance and Bloom hastily agrees, believing that dancing could help them ease the tension from what happened. She asks Sky to wait for her as she rushes behind the counter to put some music on.

Later that week, the Winx and Specialists are making their way to the police station in Magix City. They see Timmy exiting the building and Brandon asks Timmy how it went. Timmy explains that they asked a lot of questions but he could only give one answer sind he does not know much of the situation. Brandon claims that Timmy was saved thanks to his "angelic face" and Timmy asks Brandon how questioning went for him. Brandon claims that it was the same for him: that the police asked him if he knew about anything suspicious or if he knew this guy or that guy. Musa asks Timmy about Riven since he went in for questioning before her but he still has not come out yet. Timmy the reveals that he has not seen Riven but believes that he should be coming out of the station soon. Just as Timmy said, Riven finally exits from the station and meets up with everyone. Musa asks him what happened but Riven insists that it was nothing. Brandon is relieved that they have all finished being interrogated as they can all spend the rest of the day together. Riven, on the other hand, claims that he is not coming with them because something has come up. Musa tries to change his mind but Riven hops onto his hoverbike, apologizes to Musa and drives off. Bloom tries to cheer Musa up by telling her that they can still spend the day together but Musa insists that she is not coming if Riven will not. She further claims that she would prefer to be by herself as she rushes for a nearby bus stop. When she gets there, the bus arrives and she hops on, looking distraught. Meanwhile, everyone else arrives at the lake. Bloom feels bad for Musa as they could have still spent the day together, but Sky insists that she and Riven will be okay by tomorrow.

Musa returns to Alfea and makes her way to her dorm room where she rests her head on her desk. She quickly snaps out of it, however, hoping to find something that can keep her busy. She tries to play her flute but cannot seem to play a single melody so she puts it down, insisting that today is not a good day for her. She decides to surf the internet instead, hoping to find something interesting to pass the time. She comes across a chat site where she quickly notices a message left by someone named Tristan who asking if anyone is feeling worse than he is. Musa types about how her boyfriend has been treating her rather badly today and Tristan responds by claiming that he would spend all day with his girlfriend if he had one. She asks Tristan why he does not have a girlfriend and Tristan claims that he has not found a girl who understands him yet. Musa continues to chat with Tristan for most of the day.

It is already sunset at the lake as Bloom and Sky make their way out of the lake's waters. Sky is relieved that Bloom finally got a day off and asks if she gets too tired working at the White Horse. Bloom claims that Greta is really kind to her and treats her almost as if she were her own daughter. As the two dry off, she adds that the job helps her earn money, which can come in handy as she gradually becomes more independent. Sky asks her what that could mean as he could give Bloom whatever she wants and Bloom claims that being independent would mean that she could leave Sky whenever she wanted, like if he got too annoying or ugly. She playfully tells Sky that if he wants her to stay with him, then he must win her over again and again and Sky jokingly tells her that he always knew girls were bad news. Stella and Brandon walk past as Bloom is laughing and Stella asks about what was so funny to her. Bloom insists that it was not something funny as she reaches into her bag for a change of clothes.

Sky advises Brandon to be careful as the girls will start telling them what to do, but Stella insists that they have already been doing that; the boys just have not realized it yet. Brandon asks if Stella is talking about him, to which Stella explains that she is not as Brandon is handsome, sweet, and someone she could never leave. Brandon asks who she could be complaining about and Stella begins to describe someone as a guy who complains about not having a girlfriend, is forgetful, and mistreats his girlfriend as soon as he gets one: Riven. She confesses to Brandon that Riven greatly gets on her nerves whenever he mistreats Musa like he has done today and Brandon tries to settle her down. He insists that Musa knows how to take care of herself and that Riven just has his off-days. Tecna and Timmy come out from the lake as Timmy points out how distant Riven was being once he got out of his interrogation and calls it strange. Sky asks if Riven might be involved in the trafficking scheme but Brandon does not believe that Riven would be dumb enough to fall into such acts. He then claims that Riven may have been mistreated by the officers questioning him and got annoyed. Bloom then urges everyone to get ready to leave and insists that they can talk to Riven later tonight. Everyone hops onto the guys' hoverbikes and they drop the girls off at Alfea before heading back to Red Fountain. The girls quickly make it to their dorm to make sure if Musa has been okay by herself. Bloom finds her in hers and Tecna's room and she asks if she has been doing alright by herself. As Bloom makes her way to where Musa is, she asks her if Riven had called or if they managed to sort things out. However, Musa claims that he has not called and neither has she. She tells Bloom that she was not all that interested and spent the whole day reading and playing on her computer. She then makes her way to the bathroom, leaving Bloom feeling confused. Meanwhile, at Red Fountain, Sky and Brandon find Riven outside of their dorm staring at the moon. Brandon tells him about the wonderful time they had with the girls by the lake and hopes that Riven can join them the next time they do so. Riven still seems distant so Brandon asks if there is anything they can help him with. Riven insists that there is no problem and hastily heads for his dorm, claiming that he needs to get to bed early.

Not long after, Bloom gets a call from Sky, who explains that Riven did not tell them anything. She asks if he was able to make up with Musa but Sky does not think so and believes that Riven is acting strangely. Bloom adds that Musa had also been acting rather strangely as she was not sad or upset when they came back. The two eventually decide to not meddle in Riven and Musa's affairs and Bloom starts asking Sky if he loves her. Sky tells her that he obviously does as Brandon teases him from his side of their room. Bloom tries to get Sky to tell her how much he loves her and Sky tells her that he loves her loads, trying to get off the phone as quickly as possible in order to stop Brandon from teasing him. Once he gets off the phone, Sky throws a pillow at Brandon and warns him that he will really let him have it once it is his turn.

The following morning, Wizgiz is having Musa come up with a solution to his formula in front of his class but the bell rings as Musa is struggling to remember the missing ingredient. Wizgiz tells her that he will be calling on her first thing next class as she makes her out to the corridor. Bloom asks Musa if there is anything wrong because she knew the lesson better than any of them and Musa claims that she is just feeling a bit confused. She is upset that Riven has not been answering her, despite having sent ten messages that morning, and Bloom tries to calm her down. At that moment, Musa gets a call from Riven and she frantically pours out all of her questions onto him. She starts shouting and arranges a meeting with Riven that evening at seven. She hangs up and starts tearing up, to which Bloom and Stella try to cheer her up. Musa insists that it is nothing and that she will be able to sort things out with Riven tonight. She then leaves the two girls alone and claims that she does not feel like talking right now.

That evening, Musa and Riven meet up at the walkway just outside the White Horse as planned. She confronts Riven by asking him what is going on, but Riven claims that he cannot tell her. She asks Riven why he cannot tell her and suspects that he may think that she will not be able to understand, but Riven simply tells her that something new happened. He claims that he still cannot tell her but promises to explain everything at the right moment. However, he is cut off by Musa, who confesses that she cannot keep waiting for "the right moment" to come along and that she is tired of all of it. She has been lonely all week while her friends have been cheerful and much happier, and she claims that she really needs someone to lean on, but she realized that Riven is not the person she is looking for. Riven asks what she means by this and Musa shouts that she is breaking it off between them as she can no longer stand him. Later that evening, Musa returns to the chat site and tells Tristan that she is feeling upset because she just broke up with her boyfriend. Tristan claims that he feels sorry but also really happy and hopes that Musa will forgive him for saying so. He explains that he feels as if he can talk with Musa more openly now that she is single, like he can take off his mask. Musa asks if he can send a picture of himself and Tristan does just that.

Meanwhile, at Red Fountain, Timmy knocks on Brandon's door. Once Brandon answers, Timmy tells him that Riven has not come back yet and he wants to check if he was hanging out with him and Sky. Brandon claims that he has not seen Riven at all today and asks Sky if he has but Sky has not either. Timmy explains that they have an instrumental guide practice exam tomorrow but Riven did not even attend the lesson earlier that day and Brandon realizes that Riven was not there. Brandon wonders what Riven could be up to and Sky suspects that he may be involved with a girl. Timmy starts to think that this could be why he has been acting strangely with Musa and Sky claims that Riven will be back by tomorrow and fail the exam that he did not prepare for.

At Alfea, Musa is back to talking with Tristan on the chat site asking if she can be able to meet with him any time soon. It is then that Tristan proposes that they meet up tomorrow evening by the lake.

Meanwhile, in Timmy's dorm, he is anxiously watching the clock. He has been trying to call Riven for a while but his cellphone has been turned off. Timmy fears what Codatorta might do if he were to find out about this.

That very morning, as the boys head to class, Timmy tells Sky and Brandon that he is very worried about Riven. His phone is always off and, even if he was seeing another girl, he most likely would have told Timmy about it just to keep Musa at bay. Brandon asks Sky what he thinks about all of this and Sky claims that they cannot tell Codatorta yet. He urges them to lie about Riven feeling sick and declares that they will look for him after class. Sky then confesses that he finds Riven to be a pain in the neck whenever he chooses to be and claims that he will say so to Riven's face when they find him.

After class, Sky, Brandon, Timmy and Helia speed through Magix City on their hoverbikes looking for Riven. Each one of them splits up to find him and it is Sky who finds Riven's hoverbike parked in a beat-up shady-looking place. He relays this to the rest of the boys via walkie-talkie and, as he waits for them to arrive, spots Riven riding in a truck with a suspicious-looking man. The boys quickly arrive and Sky tells them of what he just saw. Brandon asks Sky what Riven would be doing in such a suspicious place but Sky does not know why either. Now that he is curious, Sky speeds after the truck on his hoverbike to see what is really going on. Meanwhile, Musa leaves Alfea at sunset to catch a bus that will stop by the lake.

Back on the boys' end, they ended up losing sight of the truck Riven was in. Timmy recognizes their current surroundings and tells the guys that it is a notorious place for criminals. Sky, convinced that they will never be able to search for Riven in such a large area, calls for backup, which turns out to be Bloom and the Winx. Bloom picks up and asks where Sky is after greeting him. Sky tells her that he and the guys are in the Astro-Port area looking for Riven and claims that he thinks Riven may be in trouble. He then asks Bloom if she and the girls can come help as the search would be easier with their powers and Bloom agrees to meet them there straight away. After ending the call, Sky tells the guys that the girls will be arriving soon but they should still investigate while they wait.

The boys make their way farther into the Astro-Port with caution as Timmy tries to understand what Riven could be doing in a place like this. Just then, there is a loud banging noise from closeby and, when the boys turn around, they come face-to-face with Riven, who leaps out of a window! Once he lands safely, Riven realizes that his friends are also in the area and is confused as to why they are here. Sky asks Riven what he had just did until men with guns start chasing after Riven, calling him a spy as they give chase. Riven claims that he can explain everything later and urges for his friends to run, but the five of them are stopped by two more men who spring out of a nearby corner. Sky and Brandon attack the two men before they have a chance to shoot but more and more men quickly surround them. That is until the police chief orders for the men to put their hands up.

Riven is greatly pleased as it turns out that the police have surrounded the area. Sky realizes that this may have been a trap set up for the traffickers and the Winx arrive as well. That is when Riven reveals that he was working with the police in order to set a trap for all of the traffickers in Magix and that he purposely stayed away from all of his friends because he did not want to put them in danger. He quickly notices that Musa is not with the Winx and asks where she could be. Bloom reveals that she does not know where Musa ran off to and Riven darts out of the Astro-Port to look for her as he needs to explain everything to her, too. Unfortunately, Riven cannot get a hold of Musa because her phone has been turned off. He tries to call Greta instead and learns from her that Musa may have just arrived by the lake. Riven hops onto his hoverbike and speeds off in the direction of the White Horse, now fearing that Musa may have gotten herself in danger.

Speaking of Musa, she has just arrived by the lake and is looking for Tristan using a copy of his photograph just as Greta had suspected. She walks past a van and an old man as she hopes that Tristan was not trying to play her for a fool.

Suddenly, the van zips in front of Musa and the old man shoves her into it! Musa tries to struggle but the two men manage to get her into the van with a burlap sack over her head. Riven makes it just in time to see the van speed off and is able to zip in front of it. This startles the driver which causes the van to swerve off of the road and into a tree. The old man limps out of the van and is immediately punched by Riven. Riven then rushes towards the van and asks Musa if she is okay as he helps her out. Relieved that she is safe, Riven hugs her closely.

A short while later, the police have gathered by the White Horse and are arresting the traffickers that almost kidnapped Musa. The police chief thanks Riven for his cooperation as, thanks to him, they were able to put a dangerous mob behind bars, and he reveals that the trafficking mob is the same one that kidnapped the witch student named Wendy days earlier. He further reveals that the trafficking mob would lure young girls in by posing as guys their age online and, when they captured these young girls, they would sell them off as slaves. He then assures everyone that, now with the mob arrested, the police can focus on finding the kidnapped girls and releasing them all from slavery. Musa asks Riven if he could ever forgive her for mistreating him earlier but Riven insists that he is also at fault because he never told her the truth. He confesses that he did not tell Musa in order to keep her out of danger but feels that he should have had more faith in her. The two of them kiss and make up now that they can put this entire ordeal behind them.

Spells Used
None.

Mistakes

 * As Musa rushes for a nearby bus stop on page 13, her sleeves are missing in the top-most panel.
 * As Riven runs off to try and catch up with Musa on page 40, Bloom is shown in her Enchantix instead of her Believix.
 * Musa’s tights were missing in page 11 and 36.

Debuts

 * Traffickers
 * Tristan
 * Police Chief
 * Wendy

Characters

 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Musa
 * Stella
 * Tecna
 * Aisha
 * Flora
 * The Specialists
 * Sky
 * Riven
 * Brandon
 * Timmy
 * Helia
 * Cloud Tower Staff
 * Griffin
 * Cloud Tower Students
 * Wendy (mentioned)
 * White Horse Staff
 * Greta
 * Alfea Staff
 * Wizgiz
 * Humans
 * Police Officers
 * Police Chief
 * Red Fountain Staff
 * Codatorta (mentioned)
 * Enemies
 * Traffickers
 * Tristan

Trivia

 * This is one of the few times that Musa and Riven break up in the comics, with the other instance being in Issue 79. Unlike Issue 79, the breakup in this issue is brief and is caused by a misunderstanding.