Disclaimer : Réné Goscinny, Albert Uderzo…..

A new chapter and the story is really nearing it's end now!

For a few seconds, Phyllis and Bonny forgot about the scene around them, and Phyllis felt the panic flow away. Being without her powers was terrifying. They were part of her and she felt wounded without them. But Bonny made up for what she lacked, just like she had before, when they were still inseparable. Asterix' heartbeat was fast but steady under her palm and she realized he would live. It made her feel incredibly tired. And at peace.

But chaos ensued as Obelix and the others moved in on them. The large warrior closed his arms around his friend. He looked at the tired girls at his best friends' side. Phyllis did not know what to say to him. Goliath's warm breath blew over her. She sighed. Her powers returned to her, which meant that she still had a part to play.

Obelix carried his friend back. Getafix' hut was crowded with hurt villagers. But the druid had seen that none of them were in grave danger, and he came forward to greet Obelix.

"Bring him to his own place Obelix, if anything, he will surely need rest. I'm coming with you."

Bonny and Phyllis stood outside, fully expecting Manilla to go assist the hurt villagers. They were simply too exhausted. But Manilla was still out where Mesmeron lay defeated. Staring at him, and thinking. She knew Getafix to be calm and collected, and he had been the entire battle, until Mesmeron had struck his friend. She knew he needed to make sure Asterix was going to be okay himself. As for herself…she knew Bonny would one day surpass her. There was nothing she could add. Asterix would live. The villagers would make it, maybe cure a little faster under her hands. But there was one thing she wanted to do first.

Phyllis had never been her best pupil. Strong, a magnificent healer at her best, her powers had flared to heights and lows she had never understood. But Manilla had loved her for reasons very different from her ability as a healer. Phyllis had made Bonny laugh. Not the polite smile she reserved for everyone, but the late-night-hysterical laughter that marked a happy teenager. Every since she had decided to take care of Bonny, Manilla had felt the nagging doubt that she could not replace what was lost. Bonny carried scars that were impossible to heal, and Manilla could feel this as she grew from toddler to child. There were questions inside those brown eyes that she could never answer.

And then the girls had met. To many of the other students, Bonny was a question mark. Lovely enough, but she was not really one of them. Bonny knew the teachers and Manilla too well for that, having grown up amongst them.

Phyllis had come to them travelling with a roman army, laughing with the soldiers' rough jokes and learning of their pasts, diverse like a kaleidoscope. When she set eyes on her new home, Bonny was the first thing she noticed. Phyllis liked Bonny, and vice versa, and nothing else between them had ever mattered. With Phyllis, Bonny had become a teenager like any other. Sparkling, loud, a handful for every teacher who teamed them up. Happy. One night, they had decided their failed potion was a very nice color and painted the roof of the Forest House with it. Even though they woke up half the forest in their antics, Manilla had slept through it. Finally sure that the child she loved like a daughter was happy.

Mesmeron had torn that from them. Pulled the sparkle out of their eyes, forcing them lessons they did not need to learn. Long before their friendship wavered, their pleasure in it was gone. Manilla grew old before she first hated anyone. But she had arrived there. She could not repair the past. It was lost forever. But she saw the girls, standing together, waiting together. That was the future. And the past needed to end. Manilla had always fought for every life, with every fiber of her being. It was the highest good, the greatest value. But no life could justify Mesmeron's existence. Phyllis had managed to make a new friend, who occupied her current thoughts too much to care about him. Manilla had never dreamt it possible, but Phyllis had forgotten about Mesmeron. That would change though. She would remember. Manilla knew it did not matter if Mesmeron had his powers or not. Phyllis would not want him to live. Eight years ago, Manilla resented that idea. She had tried to push it down. Maybe she had even hated the idea of taking a life more than she hated Mesmeron himself.

She accepted it now. As Manilla took the sword and drove it across Mesmerons' neck, she could not help but feel relieved. Phyllis might never trust her again, but at least she would know that Manilla had accepted her decision.

"Why isn't he calming down?" Obelix asked, repeating himself for the fifth time. Getafix explained that he gave Asterix something to relieve the pain, but Asterix' face showed no sign of relaxing. "Why doesn't it work?"

Getafix sighed. Asterix was in no immediate danger. Getafix had seen which shape he had been in, and seeing how much Bonny had gotten him recovered, he wondered if he should not be more worried about her than Asterix.

He walked to the door and beckoned the girls in. They both looked awful, exhausted, Phyllis scarred and torn up, both of them white as sheets. He motioned for them to sit down, and even Phyllis did not argue with him before accepting the cup of tea he offered her.

"I gave him pain-relief, but it doesn't really seem to work." Getafix said. "Or rather, it does, but…."

"He has nightmares," Phyllis said. "Pain-relief just doesn't help against that."

Getafix realized all too well she was the only person at hand who could tell him more about what was happening to Asterix right now. But he was not sure how much more she could handle.

"Asterix never has nightmares, he always sleeps well," Obelix reasoned. Phyllis looked at him. She felt so tired, too tired to argue. She could barely think anymore. Obelix was put off by her lack of arguments. "I mean, he sometimes stays up when there are trouble in the village but…. he's just not the type to…."

"Neither am I. Or I wasn't. But that's what I remember. I must have been hurt quite badly, but I just remember the dreams." She tried to focus. "How did you make them go away?" she asked Bonny.

"I-I-didn't." Bonny said. "But they didn't go away when you woke up, so that won't help. Finally your mom managed to calm you down."

"The dreams came back once I remembered about Goliath," Phyllis glanced at Bonny's sleeve. "But they did stop…that was mom?" Bonny just nodded. "I left the Forest House without even realizing she was there," Phyllis said, shaking her head. She stood up.

"I know how my mom stopped those dreams. I'll need your help though, Obelix. But we first have to go and check on the others."

"But…"

"You don't think Asterix would want us to check on them first? We'll just be gone for a minute."

Obelix did not see why they both had to go, why even one of them had to go when there were other healers and Getafix around, and Asterix was still lying unconscious, twitching every now and then. But he went with her.

It had been a real fight. The odds had never been so even, and it showed on his fellow villagers. But they had stood together, and no one was lost. Someone broke a leg, Fulliautomatix had burned his hand. "No bad," he whispered to Obelix. "It will heal completely. How's Asterix?"

Obelix did not know what to answer. "Getafix said he'd recover," he finally said. The doubt in his voice was clear, and Unhygienix and Fulliautomatix gave each other a worried look.

"Is anyone missing?" Phyllis asked. "I don't think so," Obelix said vaguely. Her intent gaze made him look again. He did not miss anyone but the most obvious person. Unhygienix shook his head. "No, all complete….it's been a close call but…Toutatis looked over us."

"Good," Phyllis was turning on her heels as she said so, and Obelix followed her once again.

"Why does it matter so much to you? I mean, not that I think …. you just don't know most of us very well."

Phyllis shook her head "I know no one of you very well. That's why I can't help to stop the nightmares like my mother. At least not without you." Obelix looked at her questioningly.

"She showed me images. It's not really a healing technique. When I was little she read stories to me. Sometimes, if I was upset, she pictured them for me, image by image. We can encourage people to heal faster; we share our mindset with them. Everybody can actually. Every parent who sings a lullaby does it." She took a deep breath.

"When Mesmeron attacked me, he drove out every trace of happiness I had left. Mom showed me memories…the very happy ones that made clear Mesmerons illusions were lies."

They entered the hut again. Asterix lay back on his pillow. His forehead was glistening with sweat.

"But there was a catch. Not all of it were illusions. Goliath was really gone, and that was the image that haunted me most. My mother was so anxious to bring me back, I don't think she even realized what happened to Goliath. She just kept showing her to me. I woke up thinking the world was okay. And it wasn't. I know she meant to save me, but if I think back on that period now…..I remember the curse, but that lie is what still hurts today"

She pulled out a stool, and indicated for Obelix to sit down.

"I don't know Asterix that well. I don't know his past, the happy or the sad parts. But if you share them with me, they can replace whatever Mesmeron imprinted in his mind. If anyone had died though, I think it would have been bad if we ignored that."

Obelix gave it some thought. She was right. If she did not know Asterix well, she certainly understood him. Because not being able to protect his fellow villagers would definitely be Asterix' worst nightmare.

Phyllis pulled out another stool, and put it at the other side of the bed. As she sat down, she reached for Asterix' forehead and frowned. "He's burning up." Obelix eyes shot up. "But that's normal, since his injuries heal so fast. Fever is not an illness," she added. She concentrated on her left hand, and the noise of the waterfall at Getafix'hut. It was faint, but the sound promised clear cold water. And it worked. His temperature went down a little.

She tried to grab Obelix' hand. But being not the largest of persons she couldn't reach him. Eventually she placed herself sitting next to Asterix on the bed, her feet dangling down from the side and her face towards the pale warrior. She motioned for Obelix to put his hand on Asterix' chest, and placed her right hand on top of it. Obelix looked quite unsure.

"Just thinking of your own memories should be enough," Phyllis said.

Obelix tried to focus. Phyllis closed her eyes, but she still saw Asterix' face. She looked at Obelix, and saw him staring at Asterix. She sighed.

"Close your eyes." She said.

"But…."

"I'll start. My memories may not mean much to him, but they'll be better than what is in his head right now."

Obelix closed his eyes. He saw the surface of a wide lake, glistening in the sunlight. Around it, the forest spread. It was quiet, but voices sounded from behind. The vision turned, towards a horse he immediately recognized, and a younger Bonny talking to a much smaller girl. It took him a few moments to realize it was Phyllis herself. Wasn't this her own memory then? She looked even younger than Bonny, thirteen, maybe fourteen. Phyllis' hair was bound back in a rough ponytail. He had not recognized her at first because she was quite tanned. She was skinny, long-limbed even if she was small, and she looked infinitely healthier than he had seen her up to now. Bonny was wearing a dress much like he had seen her wear when she arrived in the village, while Phyllis wore a pair of knee-length pants and a brightly colored tunic. No trace of the black that seemed to follow her around today.

The girls'voices rose up in his mind, Phyllis' voice sounding loudest. "I know she hates water. But she loves racing. I just have to combine the two, she won't mind a bit."

"Phyl, I don't think….." Bonny started.

"Just watch!" Phyllis pulled herself onto Goliath's back, and they sped towards the water. Goliath stopped centimeters before her hooves touched it, sending Phyllis flying of her back, and face-first into the water. Bonny ran to her, just to see Phyllis sit back up, shaking hair and water from her surprised face. There were green leaves on top of her head. Bonny offered her hand, snickering while she did so. For a second, Phyllis looked grumpy, but then she just took the offered hand and stood up. Bonny turned her back to her. "She'll get in eventually, she just gave you head start, " Bonny said, erupting into laughs that quickly turned to shrieks as Phyllis kicked some water over her. Soon they were soaking themselves as they sent water flying in all directions.

Obelix heart slowed as he watched the scene play before his closed eyes. He could almost feel the warmth of the summer air, the water drops hitting his skin. It was not his memory, but he recognized the bickering, the playful banter. The easy friendship. He couldn't help open his eyes for a while. Phyllis face was blank, her eyes closed as well. He wondered how she felt, looking back. He glanced at Asterix. He lay still, panting slightly, but he looked somewhat less pained. Obelix wondered if he could see the memory too. He hoped so.

He closed his eyes again. The scene faded, and next he was racing through the wind, over the sand of the beach, on a rhythmic beat. Even at the speed it crossed by, Obelix recognized the scenery. Phyllis was riding Goliath, and every time her hooves hit the ground, a shiver of joy ran through them. Home, home, home. The word repeated over and over in his mind. He realized that Phyllis did not choose her memories at random, at least not this one. Living through this memory now, Obelix knew he never had reason to doubt her. That she would never have betrayed them. Asterix risked his life for this scene, and beside the joy of being reunited with someone she loved, the knowledge that somebody was willing to give Phyllis this moment had formed a fire inside her, melting her frozen powers. The memory showed just how important saving Goliath had really been. Asterix had saved the village the moment he decided to go and look for her.

Obelix felt Phyllis' hand stir.

"It's your turn now," she whispered.