Three days had passed since Audra had arrived at Fairy Tail, her wounds were fully healed and her situation explained to the rest of the guild. Like Wendy had said there was some initial distrust from many of the members but that had quickly faded when she assured them she hated Sabertooth as much as the rest of them and had only stayed because of Sting and her desire to grow stronger.
After that was cleared up, Audra was treated like any other member of the guild. She became close to Mirajane who was like a mother figure for her, and got to know Wendy more. Whereas the before Wendy didn't have any girl's her age to talk with, she now had Audra, therefore the two became as close as sisters and were rarely apart. An unforeseen friendship with Romeo also occurred, the trio of tweens spending most of their time together. While at first it had made Macao a bit nervous, especially when Wakaba referred to Romeo as a ladies' man, Macao did relax and was glad his son had others his age to hang out with.
"Dad, Wendy, Audra and I are going to town for the festival!" Romeo called from the door, the two girls waiting for him outside. Macao nodded and smiled "Have fun, be back by sunset!" Romeo waved and ran out the door, causing Macao to chuckle before turning back to the bar. "Those three are inseparable." Mira laughed, picking up a dirty glass. "I know what you mean. But I'm glad for them, Romeo needed some friends." Mira chuckled and said "And now he has to deal with two girls instead of just one. I hope for his sake he can handle it."
"What do you mean?" Macao questioned. "Well he and Wendy are so cute together, but so are he and Audra. I don't know whose babies would look cuter!" Mira gushed with hearts in her eyes, Macao sweat-dropping in response. The other members of the guild nearby who overheard were laughing and Wakaba slapped Macao's back teasingly "Guess Mira already sees you as a grandpa eh Macao?"
"Oh Wendy look over there!" Audra smiled, running to watch a street performers act. "Wow!" Wendy agreed, watching the performer create intricate shapes out of tree branches using wood magic. "It's not that cool; my purple fire can do that." Romeo scoffed. "Ooh it can?" Audra said excitedly "Show us!" She smiled. Romeo smirked and took a few steps back before using his magic, the purple flames creating the shape of fish in midair.
Audra and Wendy smiled and Romeo made the shape of a cat chasing a mouse, causing the girls to laugh. "Ready to see something really cool?" He smirked, earning eager nods from the girls. Romeo took a deep breath to collect his magic before creating a giant purple dragon in the air. "Wow!" Audra gasped and Wendy looked amazed. "That's amazing!" they agreed, making Romeo blush a little bit. He extinguished his fire and the girls clapped, making him blush harder.
"C'mon let's go get something to eat, that made me hungry." Romeo smiled. As the trio walked towards the food stands they passed by some games. "Hey little lady want to try your hand at winning a stuffed kitten?" A vendor asked Wendy with a smile. "Or better yet young man why don't you try and win prizes for your dates." He winked, causing all three to blush. Audra looked at the prizes "Why don't we all try to win something? So we have a souvenir of a fun day?" She suggested.
"Whatever floats your boat miss." The man smiled and said "Tell you kids what, I'll give you each a free chance because I'm in a good mood." They stepped up to the booth and he said "All you have to do is knock down one of those towers of blocks, it's simple." He handed them each four balls and took a step back. Audra looked at Wendy and winked before whispering "Tornado" and throwing the ball. The magic engulfed ball easily knocked over her tower and Audra jumped in excitement.
The man saw her trick but didn't say a word. Wendy smiled a little and copied Audra's idea, using a bit of sky magic on her ball to knock the tower over. Romeo realized what they were doing, but since he had no wind magic himself he just carefully aimed and threw as hard as he could, the blocks falling with ease. "Nicely done." The man clapped as the kids high fived. "Choose any prize you'd like." He smiled. Audra pointed at the white stuffed dragon she'd spotted, "The white dragon please sir." It reminded her of Sting and his Dragon Weisslogia. "I want the red dragon!" Romeo announced "Natsu-nii will be so jealous I bet it looks just like Igneel!" Wendy was a bit sad there wasn't a silver dragon like Grandine but said "Could I have that white cat?" The man smiled and handed them each their prizes "Have a nice day kids."
They thanked him and headed for the food stands "I think he saw us cheating." Wendy whispered, looking at the cat. "Yeah I think so to, but he obviously didn't care." Audra smiled. "You're so strong Romeo to be able to do that without using magic like we had to." Wendy commented, causing Romeo to blush. They got their food and ate under one of the big trees in the park, talking and laughing until the sun began to set. "We should start going back, my dad said to be back at the guild by sunset." Romeo said. "Okay." Audra yawned a little bit, tired after a long fun day.
They got back to the guild and said hello to everyone before all three sat down at a table and promptly passed out with smiles on their faces. "Told you they were cute couples." Mira giggled from behind the bar. Even the rowdiness of the Fairy Tail guild couldn't wake the exhausted kids, at least until Natsu let out a growl and the guild fell silent. Romeo stirred and yawned "Natsu-nii? What's going on?" "Natsu?" Lucy asked cautiously.
The doors to the guild burst open with a thud and everyone turned to look, gasping at who they saw.
(10 minutes ago outside Fairy Tail)
"How could her scent lead here? Did those Fairies kidnap her?!" Sting growled, his eyes narrowing. Rogue looked suspicious and said "I'm sure they didn't kidnap her, why would they of all guilds do that? That's not like them." "Fro thinks so to!" Frosch agreed. "Why else would she come to Fairy Tail though?" Lector said. "We have to go save her!" He continued. Sting nodded and ran at the doors, Rogue groaning in frustration but running after him as Sting kicked open the doors and growled "Where is she?!"
"What are you doing here!?" Natsu snarled his fists igniting as he glared at Sting. "You Saber's aren't welcome here!" Gajeel growled, forming his sword arm and stepping in front of Levy. The rest of the guild agreed, preparing themselves to fight. Sting growled and said "Give her back." His fists engulfing in white magic. "We don't know who you're talking about." Erza said, drawing her sword. "Yeah so get the hell out of our guild." Gray added, preparing his magic.
Romeo shook Wendy a little to wake her up and said "Sabertooth's Dragon Slayer's are here, everyone's about to fight!" Wendy woke up instantly and her eyes widened seeing Sting and Rogue. She looked at Audra and shook her "Audra wake up, Sting's here, your Onīchan is here!" "Wha-what?" Audra said drowsily, before her eyes fell on Sting.
She gasped in excitement and yelled "Sting-nīchan!" She clambered over the table and ran at her brother, ignoring the Fairy Tail wizards between them. "Au-chan!" He gasped, crouching down to embrace her happily. "I'm so glad you're safe. We thought Minerva had done something horrible to you." He said quietly, ignoring the angry Fairy Tail wizards before them. Wendy realized what was going on and pushed her way through her guildmates to stand in front of Sting and Rogue as if protecting them.
"Wendy what are you doing?! They're our enemy, they're Sabertooth wizards!" Natsu said in disbelief. Wendy frowned and said "No they aren't. They only came to find Audra-chan." "You mean you didn't kidnap her?" Lector said in confusion. "Why would we kidnap her?!" Erza asked in astonishment. "Well why else would she come here?" The Exceed said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Lector-nyan." Audra said, looking at the Exceed. "I came here because it was the only safe place I could find. I didn't have a choice. Minerva-sama did do something, she and Rufus-sama and Orga-sama attacked me when I was leaving Sabertooth. I passed out here and Wendy-sama healed me." Audra explained. Rogue nodded a little and said "I thought it was something along those lines." He turned and bowed to Fairy Tail and then again to Wendy. "Thank you for taking care of her Wendy-sama, we were very worried." Wendy blushed and nodded with a small smile.
"Sting." Rogue said, waiting for Sting to say something, he may not like them but they did save his sister. Sting growled a little but muttered "Thanks kid." Wendy nodding a little in response. He looked down at Audra and said "Now let's get out of here. It reeks of Fairies." Natsu growled but it was ignored. She frowned at him and sighed, sounding upset. "Oh okay. Can I say goodbye to my nakama?" She asked and Sting frowned a little, narrowing his eyes. "You're what?" He questioned. "My nakama, my friends." Audra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sting still looked confused but Rogue said "Of course Audra-chan."
Audra pulled away from the confused Sting and hugged Wendy tightly. "Thank you for being one of my first friends and teaching me about nakama. I'll never forget you Wendy." She said. Wendy hugged her back, feeling tears start to brim in her eyes. "Don't thank me Audra-chan. I'm happy to be your friend. You're always welcome here, I promise." Romeo realized he may not see Audra again for a very long time and quickly came forward to hug Audra and Wendy at the same time. "I'll miss you Audra." He said sadly. "I'll miss you to Romeo-kun." She replied.
While most of the guild was trying to hold back tears at the heartfelt goodbyes, Mirajane thought of an idea. She took advantage of the distraction and walked up next to Rogue. "They'll be sad to see her go. They don't have anyone else their age, having her here was a wonderful thing for them." She said quietly. Rogue held back his surprise at her sudden appearance. "We can't stay. We don't belong in a guild like this." He said emotionlessly. "You may not, but she does. Can't you see that? She's only been here three days and she is already like family to all of us." Mira replied, watching Audra move on to say individual goodbyes to the rest of Fairy Tail.
"And who says you don't belong here? She told Wendy, Master and I how you left Sabertooth because you didn't agree with them. That's how we all feel here. You share our beliefs." She commented. Rogue realized she was right and sighed softly "That may be so, but your guild will never be able to look past my time in Sabertooth or my role as your enemy. Besides there is no reason for me to stay if neither Sting nor Audra is."
"You should join a guild; there is no reason to live life in isolation because you feel you will not be accepted. Look at Gajeel, there was a time when he was responsible for destroying our first guild hall. The one we'd called home for longer than Master has been alive. Yet he is now one of the strongest and most dedicated to our guild. Juvia was in the same guild as Gajeel and kidnapped and tortured Lucy. Kiana was a massive flying snake that tried to kill Natsu and was part of a group who wished to swap light for darkness in order to take over the world. Wendy was part of a guild of ghosts that only remained in this world to watch over her. And my brother Elfman and I thought ourselves responsible for killing our own sister. Yet here we all are. Proud members of Fairy Tail and part of a family. All you've done is follow orders, sure you may not have stood up for what you truly believed in, but all that matters is what you did in the end."
No one realized the guild had fallen silent and everyone was listening to Mira's speech. Not a sound was made for a few minutes aside from the sound of some people crying with pride. "I suppose you are right Mirajane-san. Wallowing in self-pity does not make for an enjoyable life, or a successful one." Rogue said with a tiny smile. Audra looked at him with a smile, realizing what he was implying. Audra looked at Sting and said "Sting-nīchan?" Sting had his hands clenched to fists, realizing that yet again Rogue was right. And then there was Audra. How could Sting even think about tearing apart all these friendships she'd made when she'd had so few friends in her life?
But then there was the issue of being in the same guild as Natsu-san. Based on how he'd acted when they'd arrived, they'd be on the receiving end of his hatred at all times, and even if he never physically did anything, it'd still be emotionally frustrating. Audra seemed to pick up on Sting's apprehension and looked at Natsu. "Natsu-san, you never did tell me why you hated my Onīchan?" She questioned and Natsu looked a bit flustered. "Was it only because he was a member of Sabertooth?" She continued, causing Natsu to rub the back of his head in embarrassment.
"I guess so. When I first met him in Crocus it made me furious to see how cocky and cruel he was acting towards people who didn't deserve it." His hands became fists and he looked livid with anger. "And then with what happened to that Yukino chick, it made me hate Sabertooth and he was the one I felt like I should take it out on. Not to mention that whole fight we had at the games. But come to think of it, besides that first evening and words said in our fight, I should have been angry with Sabertooth as a whole and their master and that Minerva chick." He sighed and looked at Sting "So I guess I should say sorry about that."
All of Fairy Tail was stunned when Natsu apologized to Sting and it was easy to see that the former Sabertooth wizards, excluding Audra, were just as amazed. Sting opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the right words. "I-I uh thank you Natsu-sama." Sting said quietly, as if he didn't believe what he was saying. Audra and Mira just smiled and Audra looked at Master Makarov. "I'd like to request permission for myself, my Onīchan, Rogue-kun, Fro-nyan and Lector-nyan to join your guild Master Makarov." She smiled and bowed a little.
"And what is your reason behind this desire?" Makarov asked, wiping tears from his eyes. Audra smiled and said "I wish to be with both my families, that related by blood and the other of the friends I've made. And in order to better myself as a wizard and as a person so I can protect the people I care about." Half the guild was in tears or close to it as she spoke, including Sting. He was amazed and proud of his sister and how mature she'd become since she'd shown up on Sabertooth's doorstep five years ago. "I give you my permission and my blessing." Makarov sobbed with a smile. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!" He said proudly as the guild erupted into a cheer.
Sure they may not trust Sting and Rogue completely, but then again they hadn't trusted any of the people Mira had mentioned when they first joined. And they had all turned out just fine and many had become valuable members of the guild. Rogue watched with a small smile as Audra was thrown up into the air in joy by the guild that she was now a part of, that they were all now a part of. Sting still was so sure about this, but that was due to the thoughts and misgivings he'd held for so long towards Fairy Tail, thoughts that were now being forced to change. It'd be a long time before he felt as at home in this guild as Audra did. His eyes met Natsu-sans and Gajeel-sans, their expressions telling him the same thing, he may be an official member of Fairy Tail but he was not considered nakama the same way his sister was. None of the former Twin Dragon's of Sabertooth were.
But as long as Audra was happy, that was all that mattered. They no longer had to worry about being the very best to stay in a guild or what may happen if they lost or said something wrong to Minerva or worry about accidentally doing something Jiemma saw as disgraceful to Sabertooth.
Sting allowed himself to smile seeing Audra thrown up in celebration and at how quickly a party began in her honor, well their honor, but mostly hers. That was the moment he finally understood the true meaning of nakama. It didn't just mean friends; it was so much more than that. It was the desire to protect each other at the risk of themselves. It was the greatest strength in the world that so many people in the world desired and it was the strength that defeated the guild that thought themselves unbeatable. It wasn't a spell or type of magic. It was nothing more than the bond shared between friends that made them closer to family.
It may take weeks, months, years even for Sting and Rogue to achieve that strength, but one day they would and by leaving Sabertooth behind wholeheartedly, they were on the path to sharing that power that made Fairy Tail the undisputed strongest guild in the world. The power that made them unbeatable. The power that made dark guilds tremble in fear and rose cheers from people who had only heard tales of this guild. It was the thing that made Fairy Tail, Fairy Tail.