Issue 45: Suspicion and Deceit

Suspicion and Deceit is the forty-fifth issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
With more and more assassination attempts, Sky and Brandon must return to Eraklyon when King Erendor falls under critical condition. The Winx lend their aid to the people of Eraklyon to find the rebels before they can take Erendor's life.

Plot


It is morning at Alfea, where Tecna is frantically running through the halls. She makes it to her dorm, where the rest of the Winx are sitting together, and tells them to turn on the TV because something terrible has happened. Once Tecna turns their TV on, they all see that the royal airplane carrying the king and queen of Eraklyon had crashed, as Tecna tells them that they were found to be seriously wounded from the crash. Luckily, both King Erendor and Queen Samara were able to live through the crash. Bloom starts to panic at the thought of Sky's parents being critically injured until Stella tries to calm her down, urging her to watch the rest of the report.

The news reporter claims that Erendor and Samara have been taken to a nearby hospital as the royal guards surround and guard it. An assassination attempt has not been ruled out and it may be the case, due to recent uprisings that have been occurring in various parts of the kingdom. The news cuts to an on-scene reporter telling an old-looking man that the uprisings are, in truth, organized criminal activity that have been organized by fanatics in order to conceal their true intent: to seize the throne. The reporter then asks if Sky will be ready to succeed Erendor if he does not recover. The old-looking man claims that Sky is very well prepared despite his young age and he has the support of many of the kingdom's denizens. The report then cuts to another on-scene reporter who is at Red Fountain with Sky. The reporter asks Sky if how he feels about the situation and Sky is obviously upset, promising to return to Eraklyon straight away. The reporter asks Sky if he is willing to accept the throne if his father does not recover, causing Sky to become even more stressed than he already is. He tells the reporter that he does not want to talk about it as he flees back into her dorm.

Bloom worries about Sky and wonders why the reporters do not leave him alone when it is obvious that he is upset about the attempt on his parents' lives. She tries to contact Sky but his cellphone has been turned off. Bloom then asks if tagging along with Sky to Eraklyon is a good idea until Tecna tries to quiet her down, trying to hear the rest of the report.



The reporter at the station reports that many of Eraklyon's dignitaries have come to the kingdom's capital to show their support for Sky and the royal family. As he reports about how Sky will need the advice of the dignitaries in case he needs to succeed Erendor, Bloom catches sight of Diaspro and her parents on the TV screen.

She starts to worry over Sky being alone with Diaspro once he returns to Eraklyon until Stella interrupts, urging Bloom to also go to Eraklyon in order to keep Diaspro away from Sky. Bloom is unsure of going, but Stella believes that Diaspro may take advantage of the situation if it turns out that Sky did not return with Bloom in his arms and further urges Bloom to take a little "vacation" to Eraklyon in order to stay close to him. Flora and Tecna also urge Bloom to go, believing that there is nothing wrong in trying to stay close to Sky at a stressful time in his life, and Bloom decides to call Sky.



At Red Fountain, Sky gets a call from Bloom, who tells him that she will also be going to Eraklyon with him. Sky likes the idea but he is worried that Bloom skipping her classes may cause unnecessary problems, but Bloom insists that she can catch up with the classwork later. He agrees to let Bloom come with as he tells her that he and Brandon will be leaving in the afternoon and that they will come by Alfea to pick her up.

Stella asks if everything is alright, to which Bloom confirms by telling her that Sky and Brandon will be leaving that afternoon. Stella starts to panic, finding it unbelievable that Brandon is also leaving, and Bloom reminds her that he is still Sky's squire. Stella then panics about the thought of having to spend the weekend alone until Tecna asks if she will also go to Eraklyon with Bloom. Stella, however, cannot tag along because there is a practical curses test tomorrow that she needs to pass in order to save her average grade. Stella then asks if Flora and Musa can take the test for her but Musa insists that Professor Wizgiz would only want to quiz her even more if she does not show up. Stella ultimately gives up, agreeing to stay at Alfea, as she pleads for Bloom to keep a close eye on Brandon as well, as there may be many beautiful girls on Eraklyon. Bloom promises to do so but tells Stella that Sky may not have time for the two of them since he will be very busy. Bloom then leaves for her room to pack her bags for the trip.



Soon enough, a Red Fountain shuttle lands in the middle of the Alfea Courtyard, where Sky and Brandon greet the Winx as Bloom climbs aboard. Stella asks if Brandon will be staying on Eraklyon for long, to which Brandon hopes that he will not have to, as he does not know for sure how long he will be on Eraklyon. Once she is aboard, the shuttle takes off. Inside, Bloom asks Sky who the tough-looking men are, and Sky reveals that they are bodyguards sent from Eraklyon to accompany him. Bloom then asks if Sky feels as if he is in danger, to which Sky claims that he is not sure as the inquest has not yet proven whether the airplane crash was an assassination attempt directed at Erendor or if it was a simple accident. Since the results are unknown, many dignitaries from Eraklyon wish for Sky to be as cautious as possible. Bloom starts to regret her decision, but Sky is glad just to have Bloom by his side. He believes that people with very important positions are often surrounded by untrustworthy people so having people he can trust (Bloom and Brandon) makes him feel a lot better.



Soon, the trio arrives on Eraklyon, where Sky is greeted by three old men: two of them appear to be high-ranking military officials and the one in the center is the same old man that the Winx saw on the TV report earlier that day. Sky complains about how much military is around as it may intimidate the people of Eraklyon, but the old man insists that they are treating the situation with the utmost delicacy and concern. Sky then asks how his father is doing, to which the old man claims that the doctors believe Erendor's health is improving. He gives Sky his hopes for the situation to pass as quickly as possible and Sky introduces Bloom to him. The old man introduces himself and then insists that Bloom may also need a bodyguard since she is a close friend of Prince Sky's, assigning one of his best agents to guard Bloom's life. The agent is none other than Adrian, who also happens to be a lieutenant. Bloom and Adrian are glad to see each other, which confuses the old man until Adrian reveals to him that he and Bloom met during his most recent mission on Magix. Sky then interrupts the three of them, urging them to get going. The old man complies as Sky may have a large number of engagements scheduled. As they head inside, the old man lets Sky know that protocol demands that he greet the dignitaries that have gathered in support of him and his family.



Once inside, Diaspro jumps into Sky's arms. The old man insists that Diaspro wait her turn, as protocol states, but she insists friends should not be so formal with one another. As she clings closely to Sky, she notices Bloom and greets her, obviously trying to make her jealous. She then tags along with Sky as he goes to meet with the rest of the dignitaries that are present.

As he does so, Bloom looks on in scorn now that Diaspro is so close to Sky. Adrian approaches Bloom, telling her that she should get used to Sky leaving her alone now that he is close to succeeding the throne. Bloom claims that that is not the case and blames herself as she should have known that Diaspro would pull something. She claims that she should not have come in the first place, but Adrian lets her know that he is very happy to see her again. As the two of them talk, Sky notices this from the corner of his eye and does not seem too pleased about it.



That evening at the royal palace, Sky confronts Bloom about how she and Adrian were so close that they seemed like old friends. Bloom claims that it came as a surprise to her and that she never expected to see Adrian again, but Sky claims that she was truly hoping to see Adrian. Bloom claims that it was not her idea to have Adrian be her bodyguard and points out that it was his minister's idea. Sky agrees to this, claiming that he should have had the minister consult him instead of ordering him around. He then changes the subject by accusing Bloom over coming to Eraklyon with Sky in order to see Adrian again. Bloom is in utter disbelief as Sky claims that she has only had her eyes out for Adrian. Bloom defends herself by accusing Sky of neglecting her to be with Diaspro all evening, but Sky claims that he had no choice since Diaspro is the princess of a very royal family. Bloom insists that that very reason is the reason why she came with Sky, but Sky cannot believe that to be true. He accuses Bloom of coming to see Adrian again, even going so far as to call it a trap, storms back into the palace and shuts the door in Bloom's face.



Later that night, Stella and the rest of the Winx get a call from Bloom, who tells them about the fight he just got into with Sky. Stella asks why Bloom did not call Sky an idiot for lashing out at her so suddenly, to which Bloom claims that she could not do so because he was already so furious. Stella then asks Bloom if she was at least able to tell Diaspro off, but Bloom could not. Stella gets mad at Bloom's indecisive actions until Bloom notices that she does not have any more time left on her phone. Before she hangs up, Stella has Tecna use a spell through Stella's cellphone so that Bloom's cellphone will forget her call with the Winx so that it does not lose any more time on it. Once that is all settled, Stella asks Bloom if she knows what she must do. Bloom, however, is too upset and believes that she could never stand up to Diaspro. She further claims that she and Sky may end up fighting and breaking up for good at this rate! Stella calls Bloom a pain and tells her that she and the rest of the Winx are coming to Eraklyon tomorrow so that they can support her. Since tomorrow is part of a three-day weekend, they will have plenty of time to spend with Bloom. Bloom thanks the girls and hangs up.

Stella starts to cheer over being able to spend four days with Brandon, since they will also be taking Tuesday off. Tecna is not happy about Stella promising Bloom that she will come to Eraklyon under the pretenses of friendship just to see Brandon, but Stella makes it clear that their main priority is Bloom; Brandon just happens to be there, too.

Two days later, the Winx arrive at the Eraklyon Royal Palace, where Bloom waves at them from the entrance. As Musa marvels at how spacious the palace is from the inside, Stella reveals to Bloom that Headmistress Faragonda and Headmaster Saladin have also come with them, since they wanted to know how King Erendor is doing. Bloom tells the girls that Erendor is still recovering, but he is still very weak. Stella then asks about Sky, to which Bloom reveals that he is currently in a meeting with many of the ministers and state officials and that he must study a lot in preparation for succeeding Erendor. Stella asks if Diaspro has been up to anything, but Bloom claims that Diaspro has also been unable to stay close to Sky with how busy he is. Stella is relieved to hear that piece of news and then asks Bloom about Adrian. Bloom confesses to Stella that she was able to see Adrian again and, with a lot of thought, she has decided that she will keep loving Sky over him. Stella congratulates Bloom on her decision and then asks if she has seen Brandon around. Unfortunately, Bloom has not because he is a guard at the hospital Erendor is staying in. She then tells the girls that the royal plane crash was caused by a malfunction but because Erendor has so many enemies, they could possibly take advantage of the situation to harm Erendor at the hospital. Stella then gets the idea to visit Brandon but Bloom tells her that nobody is allowed into the hospital without authorization. Stella decides to drop the subject and asks Bloom if they can go shopping. The girls then talk about possibly going shopping as they head farther into the palace.



Later that afternoon, Stella is leaving the royal palace to go shopping on her own. However, once she is far enough from the palace, Stella makes her way to the hospital.

From a street corner, Stella notices the large amount of guards surrounding the outside of the hospital. However, Stella believes she has come prepared and takes off her coat, revealing that she is wearing a doctor's outfit. She remembers a certain spell that requires her to hold her breath in order for it to work and approaches the hospital once she has done so. When she approaches the guards, they see her as a woman named Doctor Vanilla and let her inside. Stella rushes inside and frantically starts breathing again once the doors close. Now that she has successfully made it inside, Stella goes looking for Brandon, wherever he has been posted.

A short while later, Stella almost crosses paths with one of the guards and hides in a nearby storage room. She sees the guard go into the room across from the one she is hiding in and figures out what to do. However, the guard leaves the room before she can and she catches him leaving dressed as a hospital worker. Stella sneaks out of the storage room from behind the man and continues her search for Brandon.

Brandon is returning to his post, where he hears a voice call out to him from behind. When he turns around, he is surprised to see Stella and tells her that if she is seen by any other guards, then the both of them could get in trouble. Stella asks if Brandon is not happy to see her, to which Brandon tells her that he is very happy to see her and thought that she stayed behind in Magix. Stella tells him that she could not bear to stay away from Brandon, but she is cut off by a hospital worker leaving Erendor's room, telling the other guard that Erendor is resting and would not want to be disturbed. As the hospital worker walks by, Stella tells Brandon that she saw the same man earlier, in the southern wing of the hospital. Brandon remembers that no one is allowed in the southern wing and chases after the hospital worker. The worker bolts past a corner and Brandon warns the other guard to follow him as he sees what he did to Erendor. Stella urges him to be careful but Brandon rushes to Erendor's bedside, checking his IV to see what the suspicious man put in it.

A short while later, doctors have identified the contents of Erendor's IV and report that the compound used leaves no trace once it mixes with the patient's blood, but since Brandon stopped any more of it from flowing into Erendor's body, they can now conduct an analysis. The other guard Brandon was stationed with comes back into the room, reporting in that the fake hospital worker got away but he left a mask behind. Stella realizes that the man must have snuck in assuming various disguises, with that mask being one of the pieces, and when the police arrived, he took off after ditching the mask. The Eraklyon Minister is relieved that Erendor is still alive and proposes that they move him to the palace until he recovers, however, the doctor believes that the hospital is better equipped. A younger doctor rushes into the room and reports that the situation is a lot worse than they thought. He reveals that the poison administered on Erendor is under a constant magical influence, making it impossible for them to create an antidote. The young doctor fears that a mercenary wizard has gotten involved, and Stella asks who this mercenary wizard is. The Minister explains that the mercenary wizard is also a scientist and he sells his skills to the highest bidder. He is very skillful and all attempts to uncover his hideout have failed. Stella suggests that she and the Winx could help if magic is involved, claiming that it is worth a try if it means Erendor's safety will be assured.



At the Eraklyon Royal Palace, the Winx, with the help of Faragonda and Saladin, are preparing a spell. Once the spell is used, it will show the girls where the poison was made, which will ultimately lead them to the mercenary wizard. Stella lets Faragonda know that they have finished filling the cauldron and Faragonda pours in the last bit of the potion. She steps back as the Winx perform an incantation. Pink smoke rises from the cauldron and takes the shape of two mountains. The Eraklyon Minister identifies the two mountains as the Pass of the Two Towers. However, shortly after the minister identifies the mountains, the smoke explodes, blasting the Winx off of their feet.



Sky and Brandon rush to the girls' side, asking if they are all okay. Tecna claims that whoever caused the smoke to blow up on them must be a powerful wizard and Stella agrees. Sky then asks the minister if he confirmed the mercenary wizard's whereabouts before the smoke cloud exploded and the minister confirms this, urging them to get there quickly. Sky orders the minister to round up a squad of elite commandos in an attempt to surround the wizard and find an antidote for his father.

Some time later, the squad of commandos come across the Pass of the Two Towers and land their shuttles. Upon landing, they quickly mobilize their forces and get into position. Sky, Brandon and the girls also land near the mountains, where Brandon starts to doubt their decision on letting the Winx come along. Stella insists that they will need their help if they are going to be dealing with a wizard as the rest of the Winx step off of the shuttle.



Somewhere nearby, some of the commandos make an attempt to approach the mercenary wizard's lair, but are attacked by a tree. Stella identifies it as a guardian tree and Flora quickly disarms it. Other nearby commandos notice that Flora made the tree dry up in an instant and Brandon applauds her quick thinking. Flora assures everyone that the tree will recover quickly, gaining new leaves within a few days as they make their way to their positions. The Winx find a small crevice opening and Stella claims that they have lost the element of surprise due to the tree attack.

Inside the cave in fact, the wizard has found out about the commando forces surrounding his lair. He then executes a powerful spell that creates two stone giants out of the mountains that make up the Pass of the Two Towers.

The commandos try to shoot the giants down but their lasers have no effect. The Winx then transform and try to take down the giants themselves. Stella notices that her blasts of light are having no effect and, as she is pouting over it, Tecna rushes to her side and conjures up her Energy Shield; protecting Stella from one of the giants' attacks. Stella notices that the giant's hand is crumbling from the impact it made on Tecna's shield and Tecna concludes that individual attacks are powerless against the giants. The girls then create a magic net to bind the two stone giants together and attack them all together. The Winx manage to successfully destroy the stone giants and the commandos, led by Sky and Brandon, storm the mercenary wizard's lair. Little do they know is that the wizard is already making his escape, vowing to take revenge on the fairies for destroying all of his work.



Inside the mercenary's lair, the girls inspect the various bookshelves, believing that the antidote must be in one of the ancient texts. Tecna spots a large vial sitting atop a table and tells the girls that they will not have to do a lot of looking.

At the hospital, the doctor thanks the girls for finding the antidote and assures them all that King Erendor is now out of harm's way. Sky is relieved that he will not have to succeed his father as he believes he is not ready for such responsibility just yet. The minister agrees but reminds Sky that he will have to take up the throne sooner or later. Sky accepts this, hoping that he will become king at his own pace as he has enough problems to deal with, but the minister does not understand what other problems Sky could possibly have. Stella pushes Bloom to talk it out with Sky and Bloom confesses to Sky that she only loves him, further claiming that no one else matters more to her than him. Sky also professes his love for Bloom and apologizes about doubting her so harshly early on. The two then share a kiss as they walk off in each other's arms. The minister, on the other hand, is confused by this turn of events. He asks Stella who Bloom is to Sky and if he missed anything, to which Stella claims that he has missed everything but claims that he got to see the best part.

Spells Used

 * "Dimenticandum clamata trafficumque!" - Used by Tecna to make Bloom's cellphone forget her call with the Winx so that she can talk with them for longer.
 * "Lead us, oh venomous smoke, to where your creator is hiding. Use your harmful knowledge and weave a canvas from evil doing!" - Used by the Winx to locate Erendor's attacker.
 * "May the forces of earth and stone be with meeee!" - Used by the mercenary wizard to summon giant rock monsters.
 * Energy Shield - Used by Tecna to protect Stella from being crushed by one of the rock giants' attacks.
 * Magic Net - Used by the Winx to bind down the two stone giants.

Mistakes

 * Musa's hairbands have a tendency to switch between being pink and being red.
 * On page 12, as Sky tries to get Bloom away from Adrian, his eyes are a dark grey color instead of their usual blue in one of the panels.
 * On page 21, once Bloom tells Stella that she has decided on her feelings for Sky over her feelings for Adrian, Stella's eyes are blue instead of brown as she asks about Brandon.
 * Most of the Winx's Enchantix forms hold various mistakes.
 * Stella's wings are missing their orange borders which makes them look blue and her gloves are colored closer to her skintone than being colored pink.
 * Musa's hair stays dark blue instead of becoming more purplish and the borders of her Enchantix wings are purple instead of yellow.
 * Flora's wings have purple borders instead of pink ones.
 * Tecna's gloves are closer to a purplish color instead of a bluish one and the bottom pair of her wings are yellow instead of purple.
 * Aisha's entire outfit is colored differently: her shirt is yellow with a pink pattern with blue floral bits hanging off instead of being blue, green and pink with a blue pattern with blue floral bits hanging off of the top. Her skirt is blue with purple stripes instead of green with a blue and pink stripe and she has purple crystals on her footless sandals.
 * On page 41, as the Winx destroy the stone giants, Aisha's entire Enchantix outfit is purple.
 * On page 42, as the Winx inspect the mercenary's lair, Tecna's hair is at its normal length despite still being in her Enchantix.

Debuts

 * Eraklyon Minister
 * Mercenary Wizard

Characters

 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Musa
 * Tecna
 * Flora
 * Aisha
 * The Specialists
 * Sky
 * Brandon
 * Royalty
 * King Erendor
 * Diaspro
 * Diaspro's Parents
 * Eraklyon Minister
 * Eraklyon Guards
 * Adrian
 * Alfea Students
 * Alice (Season 3)
 * Alice (Season 1)
 * Francis
 * Trista
 * Enemies
 * Mercenary Wizard