She longed to learn who she was and only he had the answer. Problem? He was in Sabertooth and she was in Fairy Tail, two rival guilds. On the road to get answers, she finds herself falling for his partner. [StingxOC] [RoYu] [NaLu] Other pairings inside.

The Shadow's Light

Sting X Nina (OC)

Parental Bonds

Nina panted as she stood to Sting's left. Here she was, facing off against the former guildmaster of Sabertooth before Sting: Jiemma. Her heart went out to Minerva, though she was still terrified of the Territory mage, for having such a father. "You got Minerva mixed into this, didn't you? What kind of father does that to a daughter?!"

"She was of no use to me. She was merely a vessel to continue my line, the strongest of bloodlines-"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Nina punched him with shadows surrounding her fist, sending him sliding back.

"That won't work, wench." He sent her flying with a blast as Rogue tried to attack from behind, instead being knocked out of the ground by a chop. He did the same to Sting. "You little wimps think you can control Sabertooth?!"

"All they did was return the guild into what it should've been." Nina hissed before getting chopped into the ground again.

"Know you place, wench! It's pathetic to think you are worth anything." Jiemma growled before noticing the change in Sting. "This is how to treat wenches, fool. Keep them under your foot. Break their so-called will. Make them worship your feet. Use them and discard them. Your weakness has brought Sabertooth nothing but ruin!"

"Yeah... We were weak, but not in the way you mean..." Rogue stated.

"Sabertooth was weak because nobody had anybody's back! We wanna be a guild where everyone matters to each other..."

"A strong guild in its true sense! So we started over from scratch! We recruited my sister because she showed us how to change the past." Rogue said, standing up. "My sister may seem weak to someone like you... But she has a strength that you will never know. She has love. Be it sibling love or more, her heart is what Sabertooth now cherishes."

"And that's why you..." Sting began, his anger emanating from his body in unison with Rogue's.

"...Have to go!"

"A truly strong guild!? Allow me to enlighten you boys... There is no such thing! This 'love' is non-existent and only weakens fools to be weaker than before!" Jiemma shouted.

"That's where you're wrong..." Sting said. "There is a guild that's truly that strong! And love is a powerful force. This guild has that in abundance, as well... Nina grew up in that guild, found Rogue and also had me fall in love with her along the way. The kindness and honesty she has is but a drop of that power. We were happy that we found them. And I am happy to have found a reason to keep fighting and to protect her with my life for as long as my heart keeps beating."

Nina felt her heart skip at his words, angry at herself for doubting him. She stood beside them, as a sister to one and as a lover to the other. She was shocked to see that the next attack from Jiemma caused them to bleed from their shoulders. She saw why Sting hated Jiemma and she was glad that he was the guildmaster now. "You call yourself a man? Pathetic." She spat. "A true man accepts his weaknesses and grows with them to make them his strengths. You still are blinded by your so-called 'power' that you can't see true strength even if it stood in front of you."

"Control your wench, Sting!"

"As if. I ain't you. She can speak however she wants to you. You have no idea how to feel what we do." He said.

"A strong man stands alone! Those that rely on others are weak, weak, weak, weak!" He sneered. "The weakest of the weak!"

"Do I look like I care?! Me, Rogue and Nina are living for the sake of our friends! Love brings true meaning to our lives! The love I feel for Nina especially is my true strength that I never knew I needed until I met her. She truly has shown me the way to be strong! Her sisterly bond with Rogue drives him to grow strong, as well. The fact we are now able to protect her is a sign that we are stronger together as a team!" Sting explained.

"Silence!"

Nina snarled. "I'm getting sick of his voice! Let's sew up that warped wound in his soul, shall we?"

"We'll do that with the thread of white and black!" Sting agreed as the three used their White Shadow Dragon's Rough Silk, with Nina adding a Shadow Dragon's Lariat to it, emerging from a strand of shadows.

Nina panted in unison with the other two as she made her way to Sting's side, collapsing to her knees as she caught him into her chest. She smiled tiredly. "We'll leave everything else to Fairy Tail..."

"Nina... About earlier... I let my fear get the best of me and it nearly cost me you. It's pathetic to have Rogue have more sense than me and I'm supposed to be your mate... How path-" He was interrupted by her kissing him gently before she pulled back.

"You aren't pathetic... You came for me in the end and that's what matters to me. I would never think anything less of you, alright? Rogue's my brother, but you are the one I love. Nothing will change that." She smiled as he brushed aside her bangs. After a bit, she helped them both to a sitting position right as she heard a familiar roar and looked at Rogue. "I-Is that..."

Rogue merely nodded, as shocked as she was. "Is Skiadrium out there somewhere?..."

She looked to her mate. "T-That means..."

"Yeah, I hear Weisslogia... But he should be dead!" Sting stated.

"Same with Skiadrium..." Nina said, unable to believe the father that raised her and Rogue was alive.

"They were alive." Igneel, Natsu's father, confirmed. "As were Metalicana, Grandeeney and Weisslogia. "We lived in you dragon slayers. To be more exact, we used a secret technique that allowed us to lie dormant within your bodies."

"But... I could still talk to Skadirum..." Nina replied. "Both Rogue and I could talk to him."

"But, only in your dreams, correct?" Igneel asked, seeing the shock on their face. "It shows the bond between you and Skiadrium. He wanted to ensure your safety, Nina... Or shall I call you Lita?"

"Either's fine. So, when our hearts were pounding, that's when they woke up?" Nina tilted her head, confused. "Wouldn't we remember eating you guys?"

"And why were you in our bodies?!" Natsu asked.

"There were two reasons for that. The first was to prevent our children from completely turning into dragons, as Acnologia did. As for the other..." He was about to continue when Acnoloagia moved and forced him off.

"Igneel!" Natsu said.

"Wait for me to finish him off! And get that book!" He flew off after Acnologia.

Nina felt the fight with Jiemma catch up and collapsed to her butt, exhausted as she looked at Gray and Natsu. "What... book?"

"He's probably talking about this. The tome of END." Gray said, holding the book up.

"Gray." Natsu growled.

"I made a promise to take down END." He said.

"Natsu, Gray, you should stop this." Sting said.

"Not gonna happen, love. This is the only downside of Fairy Tail..." Nina shook her head as the book vanished.

"It's gone!"

"GRAY!"

"I didn't do it!"

"This book belongs to me. I'd have you return it." A voice said.

Nina shook in fear, knowing that voice all too well, gripping the ground to hopefully hide it. "N-No... N-Not him..."

"Who?" Rogue asked.

"Zeref." Natsu answered, glaring at the other man.

"It means a lot to me." Zeref said before leaving after killing Mard Geer.

Nina sighed in relief as she watched Natsu run off. Her heart shattered at the scream of Igneel's name from Natsu, knowing that Igneel was badly injured. "Natsu..." She whispered before they made their way to Wendy and Gajeel, thus meeting up with their dragons. She teared up and ran to hug Skiadrium's left claw. "...P.P..Papa..." She sniffled, happy to be able to hug him again as she felt one of his talons stroke her hair, like it had done when she cried as a child as she listened to Grandeeney's words.

"I remember killing you..." Sting sounded more confused than angry.

"Me too. Me and Nina both saw you die with our eyes..." Rogue added while his sister tried to dry her tears on their father's claw.

"We can change human memories however we see fit..." Weisslogia informed.

"Igneel objected to it... But our intention was to give you three the memory and experience of killing a dragon, since you three are dragon slayers." Skiadrium added as Nina now sat on his paw.

"Though to say were died is actually half-true." Weisslogia stated, shocking them all.

"But... You are alive... How can you be alive if you're dead?" Nina asked softly, looking up at her father with tears forming again in her eyes.

"Long ago, Acnologia used a type of Dragon Slayer Magic that stripped our souls from our bodies. So one reason we were inside you... besides defeating Acnologia and keeping you from becoming dragons yourselves... was to extend our own lives.." Grandeeney said, lowering herself to be level with Wendy.

Skiadirum lifted the paw that held Nina. "Now that we have left your bodies, we cannot return... We have shown you our power today, for the first and last time. I only hope you understand now why we could not reveal ourselves sooner in our true forms..." He saw his daughter tear up again and brought her close so she could hug his face like she did as a child, comforting her.

"Not even Igneel could defeat Acnologia. He used the last of his strength to deal him what damage he could. Humans, please do not let this tarnish the majesty of the Fire Dragon King... Igneel was the bravest of us... and no other dragon loved humans more than he.." Metalicana finished.

"We haven't told you as much as we would like, but it will have to do. The time has come for us to part." Grandeeney stated as Skiadrium put Nina down with a gentleness that conveyed his sorrow. "There are bound to be many more dangers in your future... But I know you'll make it through just fine."

"No! Don't leave me, Grandeeney!" Wendy sobbed.

"B-B-But... There's..." Nina held herself tighter as she looked up at her father. She had so much to tell him, how could he leave before she told him she found her mate? Or how she felt complete now that she had her actual family and her adoptive ones at her side? "Please... Just... a little longer?" She said sadly before she felt Rogue pull her into a hug, making her sob more.

Skiadrium looked to Weisslogia, who smiled in understanding. "Lita... Look at me..." He waited until she looked up, her eyes red from crying. "I am extremely proud of you and will always be proud of you... The fact you have found the one to complete you makes me happy to know you will be taken care of long after I am gone. Having you as a daughter makes me see things in a different way. A father holds his daughter's hand for a short while, but he holds her heart forever." He looked to Sting with a angry look. "No other love in the world is like the love of a father has for his little girl. My daughter found her life partner in you, my son found a brother in you, and I found a second son in you."

Sting nodded. "Yeah. Thanks!" He saw Weisslogia stare at him. "Erm... I mean... I promise to love her more with each passing day, to support her through all of life's challenges, and to be her partner in every sense of the word."

Skiadrium nodded as he looked at the joy on his daughter's face at Sting's words. "See that you do, son."

Weisslogia decided to take a moment to look at Nina with a glint of happiness in his eyes. "You can make everyone smile. It seems that you have a natural talent to make everyone around you happy. You have a good heart full of love. It is impossible to get a more perfect daughter-in-law than you. You are perfect in every sense of the word."

Nina's poor heart couldn't stand such praise and broke down in happy tears, making Sting instinctively hold her to his side and let her cry into his shirt. She was glad that their two parents accepted their decision to be mates, wondering when she even doubted it.

"Humans..." Grandeeney said as the remaining dragons took off. "There was a time when we fought and hated one another, but that is long past. Now... your kind and ours have come together in friendship and love."

"The world is now one step closer to the end of the age of dragons." Weisslogia added.

"From now on, the future will be in human hands!" Skiadrium stated as he motioned for Nina to step forward. "One last gift from me to you, my darling daughter. May this help you in the future." Nina felt her magic power grow even more as she accepted the gift given to her before standing beside Sting and Rogue.

"Four hundred years ago, we dragons made a compact with you humans... The Magna Carta!" They all said in unison. "We dragons will watch over you humans... forever-more!"

"Grandeeney!" Wendy bawled.

"I love you, Wendy..." Grandeeney said, fading away.

"Papa! Thank you!" Nina called, smiling brightly as Rogue put his hand on her shoulder. "I love you, Papa!"

"Thanks, Skiadrium." He added.

"I love you, too, my dear daughter. You and Rogue both..." Skiadrium replied as he faded away as well.

"Yeah. Thank you, Wiesslogia." Sting replied as his father also faded away. "I'll keep my promise to not only you, but to Skiadrium."

I have so much inspiration for what to put between her time in Sabertooth and the fight with Tartaros. Soon, I'll add a few more to this~!
~~Kiwi~~