I don't own the characters of Albert Uderzo and Réné Goscinny. If I did, Asterix would never have met any aliens. 'shudders'. At least Asterix himself does not have to remember that!

His course of action now clear, Asterix really did not want to waste any more time. He needed to inform Vitalstatistix, and even more important to him, Getafix. They had not really gotten a chance to talk things trough. But it would all have to wait a little longer. Obelix needed him first. It was confronting to watch how both Bonny and Phyllis suffered under their ended friendship. It reminded him that it was not something to be taken for granted.

Obelix did not go far, he was moping somewhere on a bench, angrily lancing pebbles away at the pond in front of him. Only instead of ending up in the water, the bounced on it once and were lanced to the other side of it. Asterix could hear a faint yelp in the distance as one of the pebbles landed on an unexpectant fellow village. He settled himself beside his large friend. "Easy with those, buddy," he said. "Our friends can't really help you being angry you know."

Obelix sniffed indignantly. "Bet they think the same. Bet they don't want us to go either. Bet Vitalstatistix will say we can't leave the village for something like that…" Obelix paused his rant, out of things to bet on. "Panacea would never have said something like that." He finally concluded.

Asterix chuckled. Comparing every woman to Falbala was a sure way to not leave you bachelor status any time soon. But it was a bit unfair as well.

"No she would not have said that," he agreed. "Since she's a complete animal-lover. She almost hugs Dogmatix to death every time she gets her hands on him, and they have not chosen to handle in horses by coincidence either. It is not really a good comparison."

Obelix just huffed a bit in response.

"Look, Bonny just does not like pets like you do. That does not make her a bad person. She just thinks a bit differently about a certain matter. If you would manage to complete your sentences in a conversation to Panacea, you would find out she has other opinions than she has too."

Obelix did not react at all this time. He was obviously not convinced.

"For example, she seems to think Tragicomix is pretty great, while you insist he is an overcooked endive. Granted, you might not be completely objective on that one, but still, you obviously don't agree on that one."

Obelix opened his mouth to object, but no sound came out. Asterix simply raised an eyebrow, and Obelix gave in. "Right, okay, you do have a point." He pondered it for a while.

"But still, if Goliath is important to Phyllis, a good friend would think she was important too." Asterix nodded. "Yeah, and I really think Bonny understands that, she doesn't blame Phyllis for getting angry over it. But it is probably just more complicated than that. Manilla means a lot too Bonny too, and she decided to take people over horses…"

"I do understand, but to me it doesn't really matter that Dogmatix is a dog, he's a friend. Worth protecting just as much as the rest of the village."

"And I think Phyllis is in good need of a friend right now. So we should make it she has at least one again. And since their friendship blew up at least partly over that horse, having it back might open other gates again as well. I'll just tell Vitalstatistix that Mesmeron uses the horse to keep Phyllis in check and that it might come out bad for us, since it means two wizards to cross instead of one…it is not untrue, although I don't believe Phyllis is really a threat to us. Her hatred towards Mesmeron is too big."

"Nasty character, that Mesmeron." Obelix remarked.

"He certainly knows how to attack where it hurts most." Asterix agreed. He remembered Phyllis remarks on Obelix, and suddenly it did not seem such a good idea to have Obelix along with him. It would just expose their friendship. He shook his head. He could talk it trough with Obelix later. First it was time to talk to Vitalstatistix.

Asterix had hoped to talk to Vitalstatistix alone first, but as they arrived at his hut, Getafix, Manilla, and their bard where there already. There was no sign of Bonny, and it was difficult to see if she had talked to Manilla, because her clear blue eyes were completely neutral as she greeted him.

"So? What did you find out?" Vitalstatistix asked.

For the third time Asterix retold his encounter with Phyllis. And he made sure to stress the danger in leaving her in her present situation, cleverly avoiding a confrontation with Manilla about whether or not Phyllis could be an ally to them. Manilla had made effort to point Phyllis could be dangerous, to prevent him from contacting her, and he used exactly that argument to convince his chief. It was not his main motivation, but it won his chief over. However, Manilla could feel he was twisting his goals a little. "And what do you expect will happen afterwards? Do you believe bringing that horse back will restore her trust? Do you think she'll try to fight Mesmeron again?"

Asterix returned the question: "Well you know her better. What do you believe what will happen."

Manilla took her time to answer.

"Supposing for a minute that you actually find that horse, and bring it back, in good health…I'm not sure. The Phyllis as I knew her before Mesmeron would become a fierce ally to you. Not simply because you helped her. People who managed to handle Goliath well were always worth a soft spot for Phyllis. On the other hand, Phyllis has over the last eight years become a loner, distanced and isolated, and the last three years I have no idea where she went and what she did. She could also take off…."

"Well that would still mean one wizard less to deal with," Vitalstatistix said.

"But at what price? Even if Asterix finds Goliath…"

"When," Obelix corrected.

"When he finds her, he will be the cause of Mesmeron losing his influence over Phyllis. As far as I can hear from what she said to you, she told you not to cross him. Has it crossed you mind that she might not want you to go after the horse? That she might stop you?"

"Why would she do that?" Obelix said, surprised.

"Because you are crossing the path of an extremely vengeful person, who would not think twice about killing a horse or your friend."

Obelix paled a little at the harsh answer.

Asterix intervened. "What Phyllis said, was also to give Mesmeron the potion and throw you and Bonny out of the village. Since I can't agree with that, the idea of not crossing Mesmeron will not hold and we have to find a way to lessen his power."

"And so we should stop wasting time," Vitalstatistix said impatiently. "It is not like we have different options to consider. Asterix will get that horse. But…" He paused, looking at Obelix. He was their best safeguard apart from Asterix. Only Obelix would never agree to stay behind. He had never done so before.

"I think it's best if I go alone," Asterix suddenly said.

"No way," Obelix said promptly.

"Let me explain Obelix. The way Mesmeron works, he'll try to set us up against each other, or something like that. It's the kind of thing he does, Phyllis said something about it. And you stand out. If he was watching over the village, he would notice you were gone immediately."

"But how can I possibly…."

"I don't like it either Obelix, but I'd just feel better if you'd stay here, for the village, and so Mesmeron cannot play any tricks on us. An illusion that keeps you from recognizing one of your best friends…if he can create that, imagine what more he could do.

Obelix opened and closed his mouth. He wanted to object, he really did. But he knew himself. He did have a tendency to fall for tricks, even when they were played by silly people like the Romans. And if he did, Asterix could be in danger because of him. Again.

"Fine," he simply muttered. Asterix was quite surprised; he had not expected Obelix to give in that easily.

"How are you going to find that horse?" Getafix asked. He had not said anything before, but now he moved towards the core problem of the discussion.

"Are you not going to object?" Manilla asked. She sounded calm, but it was clear she was not too happy with the plans that were being made.

"Asterix is not one of my students anymore. He hasn't been for quite a while in fact. And he had his fair share of adventures. I trust he will act wisely. Besides, we should stand together in this, and support possible solutions rather than fear them. That is a lesson that we must draw from your story."

Asterix felt quite relieved at the apparent approval of his plans.

"Manilla, where do you think the horse will be?" Getafix added gently.

Manilla took her time to answer. "Mesmeron's illusion is something he put on Phyllis, so Goliath could be anywhere. But if he wants to make sure he notices when Phyllis tries to break her illusion, he would have to be in a reasonable distance." She paused a little. "And that horse… is just not that easy to handle. She could be plain aggressive. Lucius told me the owner was about to put her down when he bought her. There were some people who managed to handle her though, all friends to Phyllis. It would be an idea to put her under someone's care….Like the man she bought her saddles from and who tended Goliath's hooves . He also had his own stables. I have never met him, but Bonny went with Phyllis a few times. It was about four days travelling from the Forest House.

"But he would recognize Goliath then, wouldn't he? Would he not contact Phyllis? Or is he also under an illusion?" Asterix was a little confused over all this. It was very difficult still to understand how it all worked. "You do not necessarily need magic to create an illusion," Manilla said calmly. "First of all, Phyllis made it especially difficult to be contacted. She contacts you, not the other way around. As you already noticed. Second of all, a simple lie could prevent the horse trader from contacting her. He was probably told Phyllis died. I do believe that he would need to be under a spell to keep Goliath under his care. He knew Phyllis before she ever became involved with Mesmeron….She was the sort of person that you instantly cared for. Never walking in line yet always trying to do the right thing…." She shook her head sadly.

"Well," Vitalstatistix said. "The Forest house is not that far from our village, so neither will the horse be, if you theory is correct. And since you told us there is still time, I don't see why we could not send Asterix and Bonny to find that horse. It will be easier if they both go. With the magic potion they should only be gone for a couple of days."

"I cannot change your mind," Manilla said in a resigned tone. "But I need Bonny to be able to protect village. Mesmeron will prepare his next step carefully, but if he should somehow notice that Asterix crosses him that way, he will strike immediately. Crossing Mesmeron will mean repercussions."

"If you really wanted us to do nothing, you should not have come here," Asterix said, "We cannot just leave things as they are right now."

"I understand, I just want you to realize what the consequences could be. I made a mistake in not preparing Phyllis for what she was up against, and I'm not making that mistake again. Yet it seems to matter very little…"

Asterix did not reply. Her words had more of an effect on him than he would like. He knew what the flaw in this plan was: crossing Mesemeron should come after finding a way to defeat him. But things were as they were. Mesmeron had managed to isolate Phyllis from the others, and he wanted to keep it that way. It felt as a key element to his power, something that needed to be changed.

"It does matter," he finally said. "Your story shows this is not an enemy to tackle on your own. You are in trouble because he managed to divide you."

"Just bringing back her horse will not make her trust you or me. She stopped trusting me long before that final blow. It is not that simple."

"It's a start," Asterix said firmly, and he walked out of the hut to go and find Bonny. He wanted to leave tonight, and he needed more information. He found her quite quickly, she was watching some of the village children play, not really focusing on them. It was hard to read her expression. He sat beside her, and before he could ask her anything, she started to speak.

"The Forest House is my home. My only home. I'm an orphan, my parents died when I was like two years old. Manilla took me with her. She is the closest thing I have to a family, she is like a mother to me. It made my position towards the others kind of awkward. If they went home, I stayed, and some of them envied the bond I have with Manilla. Phyllis never did, she simply didn't care. Her family lived so close and visited so often she had no need to seek attention from our teachers. She became like a sister to me. We could bicker endlessly, I never had to fear losing her. She always spoke her mind, and I felt like I could do the same…But then Mesmeron entered our lives and while she went to great lengths to keep him away from her parents and her real sister, she kept involving me in everything. Somehow it felt like defeating Mesmeron was worth losing me."

"Maybe she was just convinced you were strong enough…"

"Maybe, and I would not have left her on her own no matter what…."

"Well there you go,"

"Yes, but still, it hurt me sometimes. She never asked me if I was prepared to go along with her plans. She took for granted all the times I had to lie to Manilla, how I had to betray my foster mothers' trust to keep her secrets…"

Asterix was silent. It sounded like a mistake he had made before with Obelix, when he was busy making plans. And Obelix had voiced his dismay over it plenty of times. Apparently Bonny never did.

"And I know that horse meant the world to her, but is she really cared for me like I did for her, wouldn't she have been able to forgive me?"

Asterix understood, but he did not have any answers. He could not help Bonny with that. The only thing he could try to do was to bring Phyllis back in the picture. He told Bonny about Manilla's assumptions.

"Philip. That's the name of the guy. He's not really a horse trader, he has a riding school. Phyllis liked him a lot. He would certainly take care of Goliath." She gave him directions and went to see Manilla. Asterix for his part went to Getafix for a flask of magic potion, and hopefully some good advice.

However, the only advice Getafix could give him was to be very careful and not too trust on his eyes only. Something that he had already figured out after Phyllis performance. He now only had to say goodbye to Obelix, which he did not look forward to. Obelix had agreed with him, but his face had clearly shown he hated to do so. He had very little time to think over what he was going to say to Obelix. The large Gaul had been waiting at the entrance of Getafix hut, guessing Asterix' line of thoughts. Without a word, he handed Dogmatix to his smaller friend, who took the little dog from him in surprise.

"Dogmatix can help find the horse," Obelix said simply. "If you could find something that belonged to the horse, like a blanket or something, he can pick up the scent and it will be easier to recognize her.

This was the useful advice he needed. Nevertheless, he just had to object: "But Obelix…" "Oh quit it Asterix, he is not too small. He even managed to find us in the pyramids."

"I know he did, that was not what I was going to say." Obelix waited for him to continue. "What I mean is, it would certainly help to have Dogmatix with me, but are you sure you are okay with that? I mean you never want to leave him behind and now you are just…"

"I just want you to return as quickly as possible, and Dogmatix can help with that," Obelix shrugged. "I don't like it really, not Dogmatix going or you going, but if you think it's best I stay in the village…." He seemed to hope Asterix would change his mind about it. The blonde warrior felt a strong urge to defend his decision.

" It think it's best for us and for the village. It gives us the best chance of taking that horse back to the rightful owner unnoticed." I do not fancy facing that wizard right now, and I do not think Phyllis is up for it either. I do think that even if we did nothing, it will be inevitable sooner or later. And if Phyllis should decide to come to the village anyway, you are probably the one she's going to trust the easiest.

"Why's that?" Obelix questioned.

"Because you're honest. And if she's smart, she'll realize that."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

There was an awkward silence. Asterix was truly touched by Obelix actions. Someone who knew the delivery man less well could shrug of his actions as mere helpfulness, but Asterix knew exactly what Dogmatix meant to Obelix. It showed how much he cared.

"Well, I'll best be on my way then," Asterix said, surprised at how unsure those words came out.

"You're not going to wait until morning?"

"No, best not to waste any more time. And the dark may help to cross the forest unnoticed…maybe."

"Okay… well…see you later then."

Asterix was already turning, when he felt Obelix large hands on his shoulders. He turned round to face his friend, who looked worried and was slightly red-eyed. "Please be careful," he almost whispered. Asterix smiled "Of course," he said. "And thanks for letting Dogmatix go with me. "You're a great friend. The very best, in fact." He gave a short, one-armed hug, since he was still carrying Dogmatix.

Obelix smiled at his last words and turned away. As Asterix set off, he headed for his menhirs. This was not a time to sit back and wait. He did not want to think about Asterix and Dogmatix, illusions and wizards. He had very little fears, but the combination of those thoughts could provoke some images that would definitely scare him.

P.S.

I do not know if it is the same in the English version, but Obelix calls Tragicomix an endive in the Legionary in the French version.

P.S.S.

I'm not sure if I'm going to work out Asterix journey as such, since there is still a lot to come after he returns and it seems more interesting to put the focus on that. But maybe it is something that you would expect as a reader? Of course, defeating Mesmeron will be the main goal….but as Asterix already said, this is the start of that.

Feedback welcome as always, about this or previous chapters, questions, expectations….I welcome all of it! I never get tired of thinking about Asterix and co .