Hello everyone! This time the chapter comes a little soon than usually. Well, I could do it before, so I did. ;P In this chapter, apart of continue with the events, I introduced a flashback of how I imagined it were Obelix's first days under the effects of the magic potion. I hope you'll like this flashback. Oh, and as always, if you're enjoying this story, please, can you leave a review? Just if you want. I love to hear your thoughts about this. 😊

Well, I'd like to give a special thanks to Drummergirl for helping me editing this story. I'm really, really, really grateful to her, she's awesome!

Okay after say all this, here you have the next chapter of this story, I hope you all will like it!

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Cleopatra had been very busy that day. Her son Caesarion was a very good boy, but the tendency he had acquired since he had been in Armorica to fall asleep at the base of trees made it difficult for the queen of Egypt to control her little boy.

In Alexandria she had some golden trees planted – a forest, actually – but little Caesarion refused to sleep there. Whenever his mother looked for him, she found him asleep at the foot of a palm tree... a real tree. It actually made things easier, because trees in Alexandria were considerably scarce. Caesar's Villa, on the other hand, had trees every few meters, which made finding the child an arduous task.

The Queen of Queens had just found Caesarion asleep again after having spent at least a couple of hours looking for him. No sooner had she picked him up than she heard the sound of horses approaching. Who was coming? No one knew she was there... no one except... Julius Caesar! Yes, surely it was him. Who else could it be? If by any chance it was that fool, Brutus, Cleopatra would make it perfectly clear to the man who the Pharaoh of Egypt was, and why it was a bad idea to make her angry.

On the other hand, it was unlikely to be Brutus, for Caesar had sent the man to northern Germany, and that was many weeks away from Rome. Besides, Caesar had been considerate enough to respect her wishes for privacy.

With the child still asleep, the Egyptian woman approached the Villa's entrance to find out who was approaching. She could already tell how close the visitor was by the dust rising from the road.

When the carriage arrived, the first thing the Queen of Queens felt was surprise. Why was there a masked man here? She then felt fear – what if someone had somehow discovered she was here, and they had come with the intention of doing something to her or her son?

Fear turned to fury at that last thought. If someone wanted to do something to her child, they would have to get past her, first. The Egyptian woman stepped forward with determination to confront the intruder. The cart came to a sudden stop and the man exclaimed loudly:

"We're here!"

We? Was there anyone else with that man? And why did that man's voice sound familiar? To Cleopatra's surprise, a pair of heads peeked over the side of the cart. By Osiris, who were those boys? The two dressed as typical Roman children, no less. The Egyptian woman felt slightly uncomfortable as the blond boy stared at her. What did he expect to discover by looking at her like that? Suddenly the boy's eyes widened like saucers and he said something, but she was too far away and the boy spoke so softly that she couldn't understand what he was saying. Cleopatra stared back at the two boys. The brown haired one was a complete stranger, but there was something about the other boy... something that reminded her of someone... but who?

Well, that didn't matter. Whoever these visitors were, Cleopatra was going to give them a piece of her mind... especially the adult, of course.

The woman frowned as she approached the travelers, and watched as the man got off the cart and slowly removed his helmet, revealing...

Caesar?

No, it couldn't be! How dare this man show up unannounced like this? And dressed in such a tacky way? Was this some kind of joke? A game?

The Egyptian woman frowned again after recovering from her surprise. Moreover, it didn't escape the Queen of Queens that the brown-haired boy showed an expression of equal surprise to her own when the leader of the Roman Empire revealed his face. The fact that one of his companions didn't know with whom he'd been traveling was suspicious, to say the least. Caesar was going to give her a full explanation for his sudden appearance, and with such company!

When Caesar stood before her with a smile – a smug one, in the Egyptian woman's opinion – he bowed almost theatrically and said:

"Greetings, my Queen! It is always a pleasure to see you."

He straightened up again, still with the smile on his face, but Cleopatra was in no mood for that. In a curt voice, she said to the white-haired man:

"Keep your greetings, Caesar."

Caesar's smile abruptly disappeared, much to Cleopatra's delight. She loved to see Caesar humble himself before her.

In addition, a light, almost imperceptible sweat was beginning to form on his forehead... something Cleopatra had come to associate with the man whenever he lost control of the situation. He showed this when he spoke again, for he did so in a less confident, more trembling voice, like a child trying to excuse himself after being caught being mischievous:

"But my Queen –"

Cleopatra knew she had Julius Caesar right where she wanted him. She just had to stand firm and not give in so that he'd crumble before her, as had happened on so many other occasions. So, with a determined voice, she cut him off.

"Oh Caesar, shut up! I only want you to tell me why have you come."

Caesar swallowed and began to speak, stuttering slightly as he did so:

"W-well you see m-my Queen... I've come... I've come to bring c-companionship for you and Caesarion."

Company? What kind of excuse was that? And by company, he must have meant the two children accompanying him, didn't he? But what did Caesar think he was doing? That he could bring whoever he pleased to the place where she was? No, that couldn't be the only reason. Caesar was hiding something, that was certain.

"What? And you expect me to believe that?" the woman asked, raising her voice a little, but taking care not to raise it too much so as not to wake the sleeping baby in her arms.

Caesar quickly put up his hands in surrender as he said, "It's true, my Queen! That's why these two boys are here."

At that brief statement, Cleopatra's face reflected surprise once again. Was Caesar telling the truth? No... it couldn't be; it had to be a trick. So, the Egyptian woman decided to put him to the test.

"And what are these children's names?" she asked with her gaze hardening slightly. Caesar stiffened, though Cleopatra didn't know if it was because he didn't know the answer, or because he was uncomfortable with the look she was giving him.

"Ah. Well..." he pointed to the blond boy, "This boy's name is... Asterus, and the other one..."

Caesar looked hesitant, which was very suspicious. But then the brown boy frowned and hurried to answer:

"My name is Mischiefus."

Cleopatra stifled a groan, for in answering, the brown-haired boy had unconsciously helped Caesar. Though on the other hand, Cleopatra thought perhaps it was so the man wouldn't name him by some invented name. The looks on the boys' faces when the leader of the empire named the first of them didn't escape the Egyptian woman's notice. Though of course, they both looked too frightened to contradict the leader of the empire.

Cleopatra was so absorbed in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice when the laurel-crowned man spoke again.

"Yes... exactly. Mischiefus. My Queen, I have important business to attend to in Rome, but before I go, may I say something to these two boys?"

The woman was so distracted, she answered without thinking.

"Do I have a choice?"

As soon as the words had come out of her mouth, she froze, processing what she had just said. Had she really just said that? By Osiris, had she gone mad?

Caesar raised his hands again as he replied:

"Oh, I would never force you to do anything you didn't want to do, my Queen."

Cleopatra frowned at that answer. To her ears, it sounded like blatant mockery, so she replied in a harsh voice:

"As if I would believe that."

Caesar was still smiling steadily. Oh, it was definitely as if he were mocking her, by Anubis.

"I'll only be a moment," he said in a tone of voice that sounded like he was laughing. Though Cleopatra couldn't be sure he actually was.

She watched as Caesar walked away with the two children until they were out of earshot.

When Caesar was sure Cleopatra could no longer hear him, he faced the two children, and in a harsh voice said:

"All right, listen to me, both of you. You," he looked at Asterix first, "I heard you say you recognized Cleopatra. Although that may be true, I don't want you, under any circumstances, to say so. Do you understand? I forbid you to mention that you know the Queen of Egypt. And as for you," he pointed to Mischiefus, "I don't know how you know Asterix, nor how you knew he was this child, but I recommend you keep your mouth shut. Actually, this goes for both of you. Cleopatra can't know who either of you are, so shut up or you'll end up in the circus arena with the lions. Is that clear?"

The two children's eyes widened like saucers, clearly frightened... though Caesar didn't know they were actually frightened by the maniacal face the man had made. The two children nodded slowly without taking their eyes off him. At that reaction, Caesar smiled complacently and said:

"Good, I'm glad to see we understand each other."

He then turned again to the Egyptian woman, and approaching her, said:

"My dear Cleopatra, I leave you in the company of these two boys. I'm sure Caesarion will enjoy their company very much."

Cleopatra, who was looking at Caesar with fury, frowned even more after those words, and hastened to ask:

"Wait a moment Caesar, how long do you intend to leave them here?"

Julius waved his hand dismissively as he answered the question.

"Oh, don't worry. It won't be for long. I'll be back in a few days; you'll see."

And without wasting any time, the laurel-crowned man rushed into his chariot, and with a crack of the whip, urged his horses to set off. Before the Egyptian woman knew it, there was already a cloud of dust on the spot where Julius had been just a few moments before.

By the time Cleopatra could react, the chariot was already far away, but that didn't stop the Queen of Queens from trying to get his attention by shouting:

"Caesar! I haven't yet finished speaking! Caesar! CAESAR!"

But her efforts were in vain. Julius Caesar was already out of sight. Moreover, her screams had awakened young Caesarion, who instantly burst into frightened tears.

The child's crying redirected Cleopatra's attention from that cheeky Caesar. Trying to calm the baby in her arms, Cleopatra saw the two boys looking at her with a hint of fear in their eyes, as if they expected her to do something to them.

Letting out a sigh, the Egyptian woman wondered why the gods were playing with her in this way. What had she done to deserve this?

Closing her eyes briefly, she tried to decide what to do next. Those two children were obviously innocent. It wouldn't be fair to take the fury she currently felt against the leader of the Roman empire out on them. No, she couldn't lower herself in that way. These two children didn't deserve that.

Opening her eyes again, she looked at them and said simply:

"Come on, let's all go in."

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Obelix was furious. No, more than furious... he felt an uncontrollable rage burning inside him, like a fire consuming him from within. No matter how hard he tried, nothing could extinguish that fire. It was strange... many times, especially when he was arguing with Asterix, Obelix had also felt his insides burning, but it was different on those occasions. It was a fire that, far from being destructive, was warm and welcoming. Why was it like that? Obelix didn't know how to explain it, but if he had to take a guess, perhaps it was because, in those moments, he knew he didn't mean what he said. His arguments with Asterix were more like a game; a way the two Gauls released tension so their emotions never reached the point where there was a risk of an explosion, like a volcanic eruption.

Yes, Obelix remembered when he was a child, he used to keep everything he heard to himself, in order not to fight. Even after falling into the magic potion caldron, he continued to do so – even more than before – because he was aware he was much, much stronger than any of his friends. And he knew he could hurt them because he couldn't control himself, until one day, he couldn't do it anymore.

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Flash back

It was a day like any other, only that day, Obelix was angry. His mother had scolded him for eating three roasted boars by himself, but what could Obelix do? Ever since he fell into Getafix's caldron, his hunger had increased considerably, so much so that his parents were a little afraid. But after consulting with their druid, he assured them this was something normal in someone who was under the effects of the magic potion. And these effects were now permanent in the menhir carver's son. It was normal the boy was much hungrier than before, and almost constantly, it seemed.

But despite what Getafix had said, Vanilla scolded her son, and in addition to his mother's lecture, Obelix had to deal with the other children's teasing again. Normally Obelix paid them no heed. He just smiled and let it go, even though deep down those words hurt him. But normally, they didn't hurt that much since Obelix always had Asterix by his side defending him. The support of his best friend was like a balm that alleviated those situations. But on that particular day, every rude word that had been said to him, every laugh that had come out of the other kids' mouths to make fun of him, it all came to a point where Obelix just couldn't take it anymore – even with Asterix by his side defending him... again. So, after Fulliautomatix made fun of him this time, Obelix let out a scream that made all the children freeze and look at him in fear. But Obelix didn't notice that. He only had his eyes on the blacksmith's son, and he only felt like hitting him... hitting him with all his might. The red-haired boy began to advance towards the blond-haired one with a murderous look in his eyes. He could barely hear the gasps of several children, or the occasional sobbing of a frightened child at what was about to happen.

Unfortunately for everyone, the men were fighting the Romans and the women were going about their daily chores, so there were no adults that could stop what was about to happen.

Some children reacted quickly and tried to stop Obelix's advance, but due to the magic potion, their efforts were useless. Without being aware of it, Obelix was brushing them off as if they were flies. His eyes only focused on Fulliautomatix, who slowly backed up until his back collided with a tree, preventing him from escaping the fury of the red-haired Gaul.

Despite that, one pair of hands always came back, always grasping with all their might at the furious boy. Obelix was about to push those offending hands away again when he heard a voice... a voice he knew very well:

"Obelix, for the love of Tutatis, please stop!"

Asterix's voice caused the boy in blue and white stripes to stop dead in his tracks for the first time since his outburst. Blinking several times, Obelix looked around, becoming aware of what he had done. He saw many of his friends on the ground... some slowly getting up, and others helping those who tried to stop him. Some of the children were crying, but each and every one rubbing some different part of their body, obviously sore from the blow they had received from being unceremoniously thrown in different directions.

Obelix looked at the boy in front of him... his best friend. Asterix still had both arms outstretched in front of him, though they were now shaking. Taking a closer look, Obelix quickly noticed his best friend's body was covered in dust and scratches. Plus, there were areas of his skin that were beginning to turn a blue-violet color, including his right eye.

Realizing what he had done – what he had been about to do – Obelix recoiled in shock and covered his mouth with both hands. He could feel tears forming in his eyes, but he wasn't about to let anyone see him cry.

His eyes fell again on Asterix, who stood there, looking at him with sadness and... fear? Asterix was afraid of him! How couldn't he? He had hurt them all. He didn't deserve to be with them... he didn't deserve to be with anyone! He was too dangerous.

Turning around, Obelix started to run, ignoring the cries of Asterix, who was begging him not to go. The red-haired boy knew his best friend tried to follow him, but another of the permanent effects of having taken the magic potion was that Obelix was now much faster than any other boy. That was why he knew perfectly well Asterix would be unable to follow him. The boy in blue and white ran without stopping until he reached the quarry where his father worked. In that place, he always found peace and quiet. No one bothered him, so that was where he went when he wanted to be alone, except when his father was working.

Now, in the middle of the rocks, with a half-carved menhir that his father had left there, the boy sat down, his back against the hard rock. He curled up, trying to make himself as small as possible, and began to cry. Tears flowed down his face unceasingly. Obelix knew they were tears of shame. What else could they be? The red-haired boy was deeply sorry, but most of all ashamed of what he had been about to do. He had wanted to hurt Fulliautomatix... he wanted to permanently harm him... how could he have wished such a thing on a friend? It was true he often picked on him, but he didn't do it with intentional malice, and Obelix was aware of that... so why? Why did he want to hurt him? It wasn't like him to want to do something like that to anyone. What in the name of all the gods had happened to him?

The red-haired boy didn't know how long he had been there, but between his cries, he was able to make out the sound of soft footsteps approaching him. Obelix didn't need to look up to know it was Asterix. In truth, the taller boy didn't know how they did it, but whenever one of them was depressed, the other was able to sense it, and tried his best to comfort him.

But on this occasion, Obelix doubted Asterix would be able to comfort him. What he had done was too terrible. How could Asterix approach him after what he had done?

Asterix stopped in front of his best friend and said nothing. He simply moved closer and sat down next to him. Once settled, he asked:

"Obelix, are you all right?"

Obelix didn't answer, nor did he raise his head to look at his best friend, which made Asterix half-sit up as he said:

"Come on, Obelix... please talk to me."

The insistence of his friend only made Obelix close himself off even more, saying:

"Go away, Asterix!"

Asterix turned away, slightly surprised by the red-haired boy's response. Why was Obelix pushing him away like that? By Belenos! This wasn't normal at all.

"What?" he asked quizzically.

Seeing that Asterix wouldn't leave, Obelix decided to be honest with the blond boy:

"Go away... I don't deserve to be with anyone."

Now Asterix stood wide-eyed, staring in horror at his best friend. Was it true what he had just heard? Oh, by all the gods, it couldn't be. Obelix couldn't think that of himself, could he?

"Obelix, by Tutatis, don't say that!" were the only words the blond boy could articulate. But unfortunately, his tone wasn't expressive enough to make his best friend react. In fact, Obelix seemed very convinced of what he was saying, as he added:

"Why not, if it's true? You've seen what I've done... what I was about to do to Fulliautomatix."

Asterix was silent. Obelix was right... only Tutatis knew how he had managed to bring Obelix to his senses, for everything he had tried before had been a complete failure. And if he had failed to get Obelix to stop, then... then... Asterix didn't want to think about what could have happened to the blacksmith's son. In truth, the blond-haired boy had never been so scared as he was at that moment. To see his best friend lose his temper and attack the other children, completely forgetting that he was now much stronger than any of them... Asterix knew deep in his heart that Obelix would never have forgiven himself if anything serious had happened to any of his friends because of him.

Thinking of something he could say, Asterix remained silent. Suddenly something came to his mind... something his mother had told him not long ago when he had come home one day with a black eye after getting into a fight with some other boys. Naturally, the fight had started because, as usual, the other boys were picking on his best friend, and in this instance, he'd defended him to the point it came to fisticuffs.

After explaining the situation to his mother, she was silent. When she spoke, she said something to Asterix... something Asterix now thought was the most appropriate thing to say in this moment:

"Obelix, listen... my Mom once told me that feelings are like a pot of water on the fire that is covered. If we don't lift the lid, the water will boil and end up spilling out the sides."

After saying that, the red-haired boy looked up for the first time since Asterix had arrived. This made the blond boy smile slightly. At least his friend hadn't completely shut down. Not only that, but Obelix asked:

"What do you mean by that?"

That, to Asterix, was a good sign. And so, with renewed spirits, the black-and-red-clad boy went on to explain:

"I mean, I know everything the other children tell you bothers you, even if you don't show it. You are like water that gets hot, and if you don't open the lid – if you don't find a way to get out everything you are keeping inside you – there comes a time when the water pours out... that is, you exceed your limit like today and you lose control. Do you understand?"

Obelix frowned. The truth was he was having a hard time understanding what Asterix was explaining, but fortunately, his friend was very good at explaining things. So, with a little effort, the red-haired boy gradually came to understand it. After a few moments he answered sincerely:

"Yes, I think so."

Asterix smiled even wider, pleased that his friend understood, and also pleased that the other boy now seemed encouraged. Sitting down next to him again, the blond boy put a hand on the other's shoulder, and said in a soft voice:

"Obelix... you have to learn to not keep it all inside you, so that what happened today won't happen again."

Obelix looked away, ashamed. He knew Asterix was right, but he didn't know how to go about it.

"And how do I do that?" he asked with a tone of voice that indicated slight desperation.

"I'll help you," replied Asterix with conviction.

Obelix's eyes lit up at those words. Asterix was the best friend a kid could have. Looking at the blond boy, he asked in an excited voice:

"Really?"

Asterix nodded with a huge smile and replied:

"I promise."

End of Flashback

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Obelix hadn't felt such deep anger since that day, and all thanks to the fact that – since that event – Asterix came up with the idea of 'arguing' with Obelix, even if it was over silly things, so that he wouldn't repress his feelings. At first it was like exercise. It took practice. But as time went by, it became a game between the two of them, something that far from separating them, brought them closer and closer. How did it happen? It was a mystery, but it was real.

Thanks to those 'fights' with Asterix, Obelix gained confidence and stopped overlooking the taunts of the other children. He learned to respond to those taunts so they wouldn't be kept inside him. With time, Obelix fully integrated into the group, and no one made fun of him anymore. They were all very good friends, and there came a time when he was perhaps the most respected boy among them all, and no one ever made fun of him as they had done before.

But now, Obelix had had no way of releasing tension, and all the fear, anxiety, worry and other emotions he had been feeling these past few days had resurfaced, and with more force than before since the one responsible for all that pain stood before him. Yes, the Roman who had taken Asterix away now stood before him, shaking like a leaf, with fear visible in his eyes. Obelix advanced towards him. He was vaguely aware Dogmatix was barking beside him and Justforkix and Aba were behind him begging him to stop, saying they needed answers.

But to Obelix's own surprise, it was neither the barking of his beloved pet, nor the pleas of his friends, nor even the frightened cries of the slaves in that Roman's service that stopped him. No, what made Obelix stop in his tracks was he saw something else besides fear in that Roman's eyes. He saw... shame and... regret?

The red-haired Gaul blinked several times, trying to discern whether what he saw in the eyes of the Roman in front of him was real or not. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, that Roman... he really looked pained... grief-stricken... as if he were aware he had committed a heinous crime. Was that possible?

Slowly, the great Gaul lowered his fist... the same fist with which he had been about to strike the man. This provoked surprised reactions from everyone present. Dogmatix stopped barking and looked at his master in surprise. The young couple was also surprised. In fact, they saw it as a lost battle to prevent Obelix from hitting the Roman. But out of everyone, Overanxius was the most surprised. He almost seemed disappointed that he hadn't received any blow... it was almost as if he had wanted to be hit. This Roman was absolutely insane.

"Obelix?"

Obelix said nothing. He remained silent, looking only at the Roman, who also stared back at him. They both stayed like that, looking at each other, until the senator broke the silence with a simple, but blunt question:

"Why?"

Obelix didn't answer the question. He just stood there in silence, looking at the senator as if there was no one else in the world. The way he was looking at him made Oberanxius extremely irritated, which led to him asking in a somewhat more exasperated tone of voice:

"Why don't you hit me?"

Obelix blinked several times, as if processing the question he had just been asked. It really looked like this Roman wanted to take a beating. Now it was certain: this Roman was crazy... completely crazy!

"Why do you want me to beat you up?" he asked in a clearly confused voice.

Overanxius opened his eyes in surprise, he hadn't expected that question at all. Why did he want Obelix to beat him? The Roman senator was silent, thinking of a reason to give the Gaul before him...

"I... I don't know..." he answered in a hesitant voice. And after some thought he added:

"I guess... I guess what I want is punishment for my actions."

Everyone was silent until Aba let out a chuckle and replied angrily:

"A punishment? By Thor! Who's going to believe that?"

Not ten seconds passed before a hesitant voice responded:

"I... believe him." the voice belonged to none other than Obelix.

That answer led to a new level of surprise for everyone present, who at the same time spoke up again asking:

"Really?"

Obelix stared Overanxius in the eyes and firmly replied:

"Yes."

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Okay did someone expect Obelix wouldn't hit Overanxius? Did I managed to surprise you with him not doing it? Welp, whatever it is what you expected, what do you think of this chapter? Did you like? If you're enjoying this story, it would be awesome for me if you leave reviews. This would help me to continue writing 😉

Okay, after say that, I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I also would like to thank you all those who've read this story, those who voted it, those who have it on their reading lists and I'd like to especially thank to Beatlesfangirl15 for all the reviews. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!

See you in the next chapter 😉