A/N Thanks for the reviews! Here is the final chapter at last! Also special thanks to Filosofie for moral support and understanding! :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters were created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.

Chapter Eight

Asterix, Obelix, Cleopatra and her escort were boarding a small ship. Obelix joined the rowers to which Asterix was already giving magic potion. Just a moment later they were on their way.

The little Gaul was worrying. He wanted to know how the others were doing; his only wish was to come to the village in time.

"How mean, how low of Caesar!" Cleopatra rebelled. "How dares he! He owes you and your friends so much for your help against that horrible Brutus! We both do, actually…"

Asterix bowed slightly, recalling that adventure. It seemed to him that most of his problems then had been caused not by Brutus but by the other Gauls who had spread some really unpleasant rumours…

Sometime later they could finally see the shore. Suddenly Asterix remembered having seen a sack full of flour which must have been left on board in a hurry. Another idea came to his mind. Having drunk the remains of his potion he put the sack in a little boat which he floated off then, and jumped there himself. This must be fun. If only he had enough strength…

Asterix's little boat outranged the ship at once. It was exactly what he wanted…

* * *

The Indomitable Gauls managed to make a stand against the Romans. It was late night already, and the battle was in full play. The Gauls' mood was quite low-spirited, and the invaders were gaining victory. More and more clouds appeared in the sky. All of a sudden, something unexpected happened…

"By Toutatis, Gauls!" a thundering though very familiar voice sounded. Everyone turned his head to the source of it. On the top of a hill stood Asterix; he was white from head to foot. He was holding his sword above his head. The lightning flashed, making the little Gaul's silhouette look even more spectacular.

"It's a ghost!" the Romans started to shake badly. The Gauls were just staring at Asterix's little but really majestic figure in amazement.

"How can you be so coward?!" Asterix went on with his little performance, sometimes barely managing to shout down the thunder. "The gods are ashamed of you! I am ashamed of you! Won't the Romans have to pay for all they have done?!"

"Yes!" someone shouted. "Let's take a vengeance for Asterix! And for our village!"

And the Gauls started to fight with doubled rage. The Romans were in panic. None of them had ever seen a dead man come from the other world to help his fellow countrymen. Finally, they just ran away.

Still on the top of the hill, Asterix felt his sword become heavier. He knew he shouldn't have overexerted this much after the wound but he just had had to. The fatigue was taking over him at last. He climbed down the hill carefully and lay on the grass, feeling he needed to rest a bit. It began to rain that very moment.

* * *

Caesar was standing inside his tent, looking at the map and listening to the sound of the rain. At last the entire Gaul was conquered. "Veni, vidi, vici," he whispered under his breath.

"What does it all mean???!!!" this exclamation was so unexpected that it even made the dictator jump up. He turned round and saw Cleopatra right in front of him. He didn't know what to tell her and whether he was supposed to tell anything at all.

Suddenly a terrified Crismus Bonus stormed into the tent.

"Ghost!" he screamed. "The killed Gaul's ghost is back!"

Cleopatra got it at once. "So this is Asterix's idea!" she thought.

"Obelix has told me everything," she said to Caesar quietly when Crismus Bonus had run away. "This is your reward to poor Asterix! This is your gratitude for saving our son's life!"

"I'm… er… I am sorry," Caesar murmured. Strangely enough, he always became less self-confident when the Queen was around.

"Tell it to the Gauls! And you will rebuild everything you've destroyed!"

It was impossible to argue with the Queen of Queens so Caesar just had to obey.

* * *

Asterix opened his eyes and tried to figure out where he was. The rain was over and the sun was shining brightly.

"He's up!" Getafix smiled and all Gauls dashed to their hero.

"And where is Obelix?" asked Asterix when everyone was already sure he was alive.

"He's hunting in the forest," Fulliautomatix answered. "He hasn't eaten for some days already – since you…"

"I get it," Asterix interrupted.

"Almost everything is ready for the banquet!" Impedimenta exclaimed. "We'll have it just here, in this valley. It will take a while for the Romans to rebuild our village".

Finally Obelix came carrying as many boars as he could hold id his hands.

"And while the boars are being cooked, I'll sing the song of victory," Cacofonix stated.

"Only if you want to eat my hammer," Fulliautomatix warned him.

* * *

The Romans were working at the construction.

"You know," one soldier said to another, "I've noticed that we work as builders too much. Remember when we destroyed Cleopatra's palace? We had to rebuild it then… And when Brutus burned this village…"

"Yeah," the other agreed. "Join the army, they said! It's a man's life, they said!"

* * *

Caesar and Cleopatra were on their way to Rome. The dictator was already looking forward to a long and exhausting conversation with his furious wife.

* * *

"Asterix," said Obelix, feeling quite uneasy. "I just… I just wanted to tell you… thank you".

"Obelix," Asterix answered softly. "You didn't see that Roman… If I hadn't done what I had, I would never forgive myself. So don't thank for that".

"No, not for that… not just for that," Obelix shook his head. The little Gaul could see tears in his friend's eyes. "Thank you for not leaving me… for staying with us".

Asterix glanced at Obelix, not knowing what to say. He just laid his hand on his friend's shoulder and kept silent.

And the Gauls were enjoying their feast. Even Cacofonix was allowed to participate but only after he had promised not to sing.

Everything was going to be well, as the villagers knew. And all the upcoming adventures were going to end well. Weren't they?...

The end