Disclaimer: Don't own Slayers… Wish I did.

One time partners…

Reunion

"Sorry young man" The weapon smith handed the broken wristblades back to Eruk "This is beyond my ability to repair". Eruk nodded sadly. His wristblades were his preferred weapon, and now they were more or less useless. Somehow he had expected that none of the smiths he had sought out would not be able to help him out. The blacksmiths of the outer world were skilled craftsmen, but they had no grasp of repairing magical items whatsoever.

"I see. Well, thanks for trying anyway" Eruk exited the shop.

He reached into his cape and pulled out a dagger. "Not the most fearsome of weapons, but you'll have to do for now…" he mumbled and put the dagger back inside a pocket.

"Hey!! Will you watch out where you put that thing!!??" Nimph shouted from somewhere inside his cape. Eruk immediately stopped moving. He had thought he had a pretty good of the fairy's whereabouts, but apparently he was wrong.

"Nimph would you please stop pouting and tell me why you were rummaging through my pockets?" Eruk groaned. He had stopped at a small inn to grab something to eat. Nimph sat a little distance away and hat been strangely silent most of the day.

"How would you feel if someone almost stabbed you in your back?" Nimph shouted back "and in your own living room nonetheless!". He shook his head and put his fork down "look, I would have been more careful if you had just told me that you decided to make a living room in that pocket, ok?". He only got an snort in response.

"How about this then?" he suggested "I'll give you this to forget all about it". Nimph spun around "What!? I can't believe that you think you can bribe me to forget thi…is that a lollipop??". Eruk smiled to himself, his little companion was quite hotheaded at times, but he could always get his way by bribing her with candy. "Ok!" she cheered " I guess I can forgive you then!". She snatched the candy away from him and started tearing away at the wrapping.

Eruk finished his food and leaned back. He was determined to enjoy this meal for as long as he could. Even though he spent most of his time hunting surviving chimeras from Diol's army, he also took jobs as a mercenary once in a while. That business had been rather poor lately and this meal was actually bought for the last of his money.

"I've got to think of something, and that fast" he mumbled to himself. "Is something wrong master?" Nimph peeked out from behind her lollipop.

He nodded "Yeah, that lollypop I gave you, are actually our last food". She titled her head "Why don't you just hire out as a mercenary as you usual do?" she asked. "There isn't any work for my kind around here" he sighed "Besides, who would hire an unarmed mercenary anyway?". He pulled out his dagger "This is the last weapon I have left. Not the most fearsome sight is it?" he sighed again.

"Excuse me young man" en elderly gentleman poked his shoulder. Eruk quickly looked him over. He appeared as a typical village elder. He was wearing a long brown robe that reached all the way down to the floor. The thing that made Eruk a bit suspicious of the man was that he was wearing a hood that hid his all of his face.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help hearing what you were talking about. If you are available for hire, I have a job that needs done" the man said. Eruk nodded and decided to give the man the benefit of a doubt. It wouldn't be the first person with a strange taste in wardrobe that had crossed his way.

"I'm listening" he said calmly. The man cleared his troath "My name is Tahrin, and I'm the elder of this village. Some time ago a fearsome beast started living in the mountains near here". Eruk leaned towards the old man "What kind of beast are we talking about here?" he asked curiously. "Actually we don't know" Tahrin shook his head "I've never seen that kind of creature before, but none of our village guards want to go out after it. Can't really blame those young lads. The beast have already killed some of them".

Eruk smiled to himself, this was just to lucky. The creature was most likely another chimera, and if he played his cards right, he could get paid for slaying this one.

"We would gladly pay 200 gold coins if someone could slay the beast" Tahrin went on. Eruk nodded again "sounds good, I'll take the job". The old man clapped his hands in joy "good! But I'll have to warn you, I hired a sorceress from the barrier lands just this morning. If you don't hurry, I think she'll do the job and get the reward before you can".

"Umm master?" Nimph peeked up from his pocket. "This place is just way too creepy" she complained. The mountain region he had found outside the town was definitely not a place Eruk fund compelling at all. It was all desolate rocks. It had been some time since he had seen trees or birds. In fact it had been a while since he had seen anything living besides himself and the fairy. "I know what you mean Nimph" he admitted "this place kinda freaks me out too".

He climbed atop of a large boulder to get a better view of the surroundings. It was a depressing sight. The wasteland continued on for what seemed like forever. Suddenly something caught his eye. Smoke was rising out in the distance. It was to far away for him to determine the source, but a feeling told him that it was what he was looking for.

"Nimph, hang on tight" he ordered "we are going". Nimph nodded eagerly and Eruk started running. He had discovered long ago that when he concentrated hard, he could move faster than any normal human. "Wheee!!" Nimph squealed in delight, she loved when he was running at his top speed.

As he got closer to the smoke, he started hearing the sounds of battle.

"Seems like the sorceress got here before I did" Eruk concluded. He hid himself behind a large boulder in order to avoid detection while he checked out the situation.

He looked down into a small valley. He had been right about the creature, it was one of the chimeras. It was fighting something down there. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to identify the other creature.

The creatures opponent were way to big to be a sorceress, or a human for that matter. He moved a little bit closer. With a mighty blow, the chimera took out it's opponent.

"Of course" Eruk whispered as the shape of the chimeras enemy crumbled into dust "it was a golem, and a pretty weak one at that". He moved closer, where there were a golem, there usually were a sorcerer or sorceress.

His eyes fell on a crouching shape a little distance away. Even though he way pretty far away, there was no need to look twice, he would be able to recognize that outfit anywhere. "Naga the serpent" he whispered "what are you doing here?"

"Damn!" Naga frowned as yet another of her golems crumbled into dust.

"VU VRIMER!" She called out and placed her hand on the ground. Another golem rose to fight his creators opponent. Naga took a step back, this golem weren't as powerful as she had intended it to be. The fight had lasted several hours already, and Naga had to admit that she was starting to tire out.

"At least there is no one around to witness this" she whispered as she moved further away. Fleeing was beyond her dignity, but a strategically retreat was, given the situation, perfectly acceptable. A single attack from the chimera made the golem grumble. It started to advance on Naga. It was furious at the woman who had been attacking it, and it was determined to end the battle here and now.

"You look like you could need a hand miss?". Naga spun around, startled by the voice coming from behind her.

She found herself staring at a man in a black cloak. He was a bit smaller than herself, and because of his hood, she couldn't get a clear look at his face.

"You just stay out of this!" she hissed "this reward is mine!". Eruk shook his head, this was just so typical of Naga. She refused to give up, even when faced with an opponent she couldn't beat. He had to wonder if she was stupid, or just extremely overconfident. Knowing Naga, he settled on the last option.

He deepened his voice a bit more, he wouldn't want to be recognized just yet. He had enjoyed traveling with Naga in the past, but not so much that he was eager to resume their partnership.

"Who are you?" She asked, seemingly forgetting all about the enraged chimera. Eruk pushed his way past her "There's no need to worry about that at the moment". He reached for his dagger "for the moment, all you need to know it that I'll be taking over this fight".

He advanced on the chimera "let me see what you got" he teased it.

He knew from experience that they were pretty smart. But if he could get it even more enraged than it already was, it would most likely forget thinking. He dashed forward, dodging a blow and slashing it side open as he passed. The creature howled in pain.

"Yes, pain isn't so fun when you are the victim" he smirked as he turned around to face it again.. He was alive at times like this, truly alive. and it disgusted him. He knew that that the pleasure he felt was not his alone, the beast inside him had a large role in it too. "You ready to try your luck again?" he teased it. It howled and charged forward again. Eruk turned his back to it. From the first attack he had sensed that the creature was tired, it gave him some room to show off.

"What do you think you are doing?" Naga shouted. Turning his back to an opponent? Was this idiot for real? "Watch out!" she shouted and closed her eyes. If he insisted on getting killed, fine! But there was no way she was gonna look at it. She couldn't stand the sight of blood.

Eruk stood still and focused on listening. The creature were getting closer and closer. "Now!" he whispered. He jumped as high as he could. In midair he balled together and did a somersault. During his fall he readied his dagger and slashed the creatures back open. "Now to end this!" he shouted, as he spun around to deliver a horizontal slash. He channeled as much power as he could into his dagger. As the dagger connected, the creature erupted in flames. "That's another one taken down!" He put his dagger away. "I wonder how many more before I can return home?" he added with a sigh.

"How did you do that?" Naga jerked him around. The sudden movement made his hood fall of. Acting fast, he turned away from her.

"Wait a second, I know you!" she shouted. He pulled his hood back up "I don't think so Miss" he stuttered.

"Oh master! There you are!" Nimph flew up to him and landed on his shoulder. "you were great!!" she cheered, before she spun around "oh hi miss Naga!".

Eruk rolled his eyes, he was busted and he knew it. Slowly he took his hood off and turned around "Miss Naga, we meet again". The tall woman stared at him for a few seconds before she recognized him completely. "Sidekick!" She shouted and hugged him tightly.

"MPHFF??" Eruk mumbled as he was pressed tightly up against the sorceress' breasts, almost choking him in the process. He pushed himself away, "I'm glad to see you too" he said and turned away. "Master? Why is your face all red?" Nimph asked curiously while poking at his cheek.

"I can't believe you actually tried to avoid me!" Naga complained. She had decided to follow Eruk back to the town and claim her part of the reward. "And I sure don't hope that you forgot that you still owe me some money from that adventure last year…" Naga continued.

"So, what have you been up to all this time sidekick?" Naga asked curiously. They had stopped at the local inn for the night. Just like old times, Naga had insisted that he paid for everything, ignoring totally that he had still not been paid for slaying the chimera creature. "Nothing much" he shrugged "Spent most of my time hunting down those chimeras that escaped". Naga almost choked on her drink "You mean that you go up against those things willingly?" she blurted out. "I guess?" he took another sip of his tea "I am part of the reason everything happened, this is my way of atoning for my past".

"Ah, there you are!" an old man walked up to them "I heard that you had returned young man". He stopped walking and looked Naga over "And you even managed to get the sorceress back in one piece, I see" he chuckled.

Naga gave an insulted snort. Him? Saving her? It was more the other way around in her mind.

"Just the man I wanted to see" Eruk stood up and greeted the village elder "now about my reward?". The old man took a step back and scratched his head nervously "actually, I can't afford to do that…" he laughed nervously "we are a poor village after all". Eruk groaned, of course this had to happen.

"What do you mean?" Naga stood up and shook the elderly man "I demand that we get paid!" She shouted.

"There may be another way" the elder managed to brake free of the woman's chokehold. He reached into his robes and took out a golden ring. "Will this do miss?" he asked carefully. Naga took the ring and examined it closely. It was a simple gold ring, but the black stone imbedded in it fascinated her. "Very well" she put the ring into a pocket in her cape "this will do".

Eruk looked out the window and suppressed a frown, he did all the work, and she got paid for it?. He looked nervously at the waiter that brought the bill. Nagas actions meant that he would have to work off their debt by helping out for most of the night, again.

Night came quietly. Eruk were busy washing dishes and Naga was sleeping soundly. Outside the inn, the village elder stood in the shadow of a large tree. "So the game has begun. The demon dragon king has received his gift. Now to get the others to Lina…" he whispered. His purple eyes were glowing as he vanished into the astral plane.

Authors notes:

Ah yes, the return of Naga the serpent. What can I say? I really think that Naga is a great character, just too bad most people tend to see her as the annoying sidekick.

Heh heh, maybe I should start a minor character promotion foundation?

But back to the story. Naga and Eruk, back together again as a team. And this time they stay together (until I make another of my infamous plot twists)

And talking about the plot… I wonder who Tahrin, the village elder really is? Purple eyes, loves to manipulate, astral travel. Could it have been a certain priest in disguise?

Actually I was a bit worried that I didn't have the time to get this update online before I go on a weeks holiday. But then again, knowing myself, I'm probably still thinking up new things to the plot, even if I'm supposed to be relaxing.

Happy reading everyone