"I'm sure all of our viewers have been eagerly looking forward to this battle. A fateful showdown between the Guild that was called the strongest seven years ago and the current strongest Guild! Fairy Tail's Natsu and Gajeel versus Sabertooth's Sting and Rogue! All four of them are Dragon Slayers. All four possess anti-dragon magic. The dream Dragon Slayer showdown is finally happening!"

The tension in the air was something else entirely different from the cheering that followed. Of course it was because, after all, this was going to answer the question of who would win: a Fairy or a Tiger. All four Dragon Slayers were on the battlefield, ready to fight to the best of their abilities and knock each other down without mercy. The time limit was thirty minutes, as per usual… and so, let the match begin.

Despite Sting and Rogue making an effort to run forward and get in the first attack, Natsu and Gajeel had already gotten on it and brought in the first attack with simple, yet strong as heck, punches to each Sting and Rogue's faces.

The fight ensued from there, Sting attempting to catch both Natsu and Rogue with his roar, but missing the pair and leaving Rogue to try and slash at Gajeel, who blocked the Shadow Dragon Slayer without much trouble. Gajeel then threw Rogue nearly halfway across the arena, distracting Sting, and Natsu had grabbed Rogue from Gajeel's swing by the face, shoving him into Sting and knocking the Sabertooth Mages back with his flames. So far, so good, and Seph couldn't help but feel immensely proud of her Guildmates. They were strong and winning this, after all!

They seemed done with testing each other, though, and they looked like they were ready to actually get serious, which was a bit of a terrifying thought. Sting rushed forward nearly right away with rapid speed, swinging his fist straight at Natsu without a second to waste. Natsu held back the first one, but the second one that came at him hit him in the face and brought out a wince from Seph that she couldn't keep in. The punches kept going, Natsu helpless to stop them, and while Gajeel was distracted, Rogue kept him alert by moving around as a shadow. Gajeel couldn't grab him as a shadow, so he was at the mercy of Rogue's "Shadow Drive".

Gajeel and Natsu smashed into each other's backs and started squabbling in the middle of the match, which wasn't a good idea at all. Sting and Rogue had obviously used some sort of magic amplification technique, although Seph wasn't sure what kind they had used, and on top of that, their combination skills seemed… seamless. Sting somehow set Natsu in place, paralyzing him with his white magic, and Natsu struggled against it nonetheless while Gajeel finally managed to grab ahold of Rogue by his wrist.

Seph lost her attention for a moment when Levy wrapped her arms around Lily, running a hand over his head with pride in Gajeel and making her laugh a little bit.

Natsu gave a smile after a moment and then suddenly punched Sting, the tables having turned again. He had burned off the stigmata that kept him paralyzed and Gajeel followed his lead by pulling Rogue forward, smashing the boy's face into his elbow before kicking him into the wall at the same time Natsu had punched Sting into the wall. By then, Levy started to squeeze Lily and take his air away. Sting readied something, his magic making the pressure in the air almost incredible and hard to slip by… He was focusing his magic into a single point, making the arena so bright that it was hard to see, before throwing a punch at Natsu. For sure, you would think that, Natsu couldn't have dodged that and for sure, you would be right. He didn't dodge it… He caught Sting's fist to block out the magic.

Rogue made a jump for Gajeel, but the older black-haired Mage merely punched him away and even knocked him out of his Shadow Drive. As if following Sting and Rogue's movements from earlier, they smashed the Sabertooth Dragon Slayers together, back-to-back smashing, and then kicked them away at the same time before delivering multiple punches to their faces. The Twin Dragons of Sabertooth were helpless before Fairy Tail at that moment, down on their hands and knees and struggling to get back up…

They did get back up, though, and they released a power that most Dragon Slayers couldn't activate with their own will: Dragon Force. Sting even walked straight on forward, having Rogue hang back and declaring that, after all those beat-downs; he could take them on all by himself. He wasn't just all bark about it, though. With his Dragon Force, he had gained plenty of speed, going at a rapid pace and catching Natsu off-guard. His strength had doubled, maybe even tripled, and he had thrown back Natsu and Gajeel both within seconds of running up to them.

The Fairy Tail Mages fought back, throwing all the punches and kicks they possibly could, but Sting blocked them all without much trouble and the atmosphere had changed so much that it was totally different from before. Sting merely kicked Gajeel aside before grabbing Natsu's arm and chucking him at Gajeel, the both of them ending up on the ground with a smirking Sting over them. Sting's roar was stronger than before and the magic was nearly overwhelming, shaking the arena and the very souls of those inside of it. That was probably only because it was a battle between Dragon Slayers, but… It was still something very big. It was to the point where the ground of the battlefield had caved in, the Dragon Slayers beneath the arena itself with Lacrima Vision screens having to be set up in order for the spectators to see what was going on and for the judge to be able to, well, judge.

Natsu still kept going even as he and Gajeel were falling, attacking Sting and managing to land a hit before Gajeel followed up right behind him, attacking Sting from behind and making his fall faster and much harsher. Sting seemed nearly unphased, though, and stood up without any trouble, continuing to fight the Fairy Tail Mages. They also continued to fight against him, but barely stood a chance as he kept landing hits and throwing them back harshly. Eventually, it ended up with Natsu and Gajeel on the ground and Sting above them once again.

Except this time, the Fairy Tail Mages didn't seem to be moving and Sting had his fist up in the air as if stating his victory. Seph couldn't help but let a few tears fall at the sight, knowing that they had tried their best and still come up short… Sabertooth was really going to get away with the things they had done… She had to cover her ears because of the people around her starting to yell at Natsu and Gajeel, telling them that they were stronger than this and to get up. Rogue joined Sting underground, both of their Dragon Forces having faded away by then. This didn't seem right… There was no official call…

There was no official call of Natsu and Gajeel being down because they got back up. They hadn't even been twitching before when they were on the ground, but now they were standing with no problem… although they did seem to be cracking their bones as if they were sore old people.

"Incredible, they're alive and kicking!"

Natsu said something that many people didn't seem to understand, but Seph did. He had seen through all of their habits, the both of them seemed to have done so, meaning their attack timing, their posture when they defended, even the rhythm of their breathing… It was a good strategic thing to do. He said as an example that when Sting attacked, his pivot foot was facing 11:00… but Gajeel argued that he was wrong and it was 10:00, starting up another squabble and even leading to physical arguing. But then, Natsu suddenly pushed Gajeel into a mine cart and the lever for the cart's brakes was pulled, removing the brakes and sending Gajeel riding into the mines below. Due to his motion sickness, he couldn't get out or continue yelling for very long… and Natsu looked proud of it. He intended on fighting Sting and Rogue alone!? He really had no choice now! He challenged the both of them on his own, and while shocked, the both of them obliged to his game, tapping into their Dragon Force once again.

Sting took a swing at Natsu, but the Fire Dragon Slayer blocked his hit and knocked him back with barely any trouble. Rogue took the opening to roar at Natsu, but Natsu roared back and overcame Rogue almost like it was simple. The Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth weren't weak, but… Natsu seemed to just respond to stronger opponents by becoming more powerful than he already was. Even if it was two against one, he defended himself and managed to kick their asses every single little opening that he got to be able to do so. Both sides were definitely something…

The quality of Sting and Rogue's magic changed again as they put together a unison raid, a combined magic attack from two sides used to attack an opponent of any number, really. Their will, breathing and magic combined perfectly into one power, but… There were walls that power alone couldn't break through. There were walls that couldn't be broken through power alone, but if there was a power that can break through those walls, it would be… the power of feelings, perhaps.

Natsu had won against Sting and Rogue's United-Magic, after all, so simply with a Dragon Slayer Secret Art. Rogue fell first and then Sting followed him, having dropped to his knees before falling over and leaving Natsu as the last one standing.

And so ended the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games with Fairy Tail leaping into first place and the crowd cheering endlessly, and after one day off, they would all be back the day after with the final battle in place.

After the games, all of the Guild members ended up back in the bar from the previous nights, where Natsu and Gray almost immediately started to fight each other. Lucy had tried to stop them, but with Mira and the Master's inputs, Natsu and Gray kept going at it until Erza's slice of cake ended up destroyed, in which she grabbed both of them by their hair and smashed their heads together.

Gajeel finally made it back after awhile from when Natsu had thrown him down into the mines one a mine cart, most likely having triggered his motion sickness the whole way down. He took Natsu and Wendy somewhere, in which Carla, Happy, Lily, Lucy and Gray followed them, so Seph spent her time with Laxus and the Raijinshuu since Evergreen was back after hanging around the infirmary to watch over Elfman. It was much like the other times they had hung around after the days of the games, but Seph was much happier.

This Guild was a good one and it was making her happy by taking away her fears of having to go back to where she came from. She didn't want to go back, after all… She really wanted to stay out here, where she was free and with this friendly Guild called Fairy Tail.

"Are you okay?"

Seph jumped a little bit from being snapped out of her thoughts, looking up at Laxus and quickly nodding; even giving him a small smile to show that she was indeed okay. That was the first time it was true, that she was actually okay and could respond that she was okay after being asked if she was. It felt nice.

"I'm just thinking." She replied, gaining a stern nod from him as he went back to watching their Guildmates drink and run around like crazy people. Maybe they were crazy, but… Crazy was just as okay as Seph was right now. This wouldn't last forever, of course… so she wanted to enjoy it while she still could.

Seph was right about it not lasting long, as the group that had gone out came back frantically with the shocking news that Lucy had been captured by the Royal Army over some whole Eclipse Project thing that she didn't even agree to, yet they had let the others go. Natsu had to be tied to a post to be kept from running off and destroying said army in order to save Lucy. They had involved Lucy in a plan that all of them almost knew nothing about, after all, and promised to give Lucy back only if they won the Grand Magic Games. They didn't even know if they could trust that, either!

"Master…" Erza addressed urgently, seeing as things were quite complicated. The old man hummed in thought, lifting a hand to hold his chin.

"We can't act recklessly against the kingdom, but on the other hand, they can't afford to treat their citizens too shabbily either." He started off with a slight sigh in his voice. "Maybe we can think of her as a hostage who'll be kept until this Project Eclipse is cancelled." Laxus scoffed a bit.

"That's a pain in the ass." He stated for all of them, Seph feeling herself nod in agreement. She could easily imagine how Lucy felt all cooped up in a cell… Was it dark? Was it cold? Seph might never be able to know and that scared her the most, honestly.

"But that doesn't make sense." Gajeel argued, not confused but just… trying to figure things out. They all were. "Why would they let the rest of us go when we heard the same state secrets?"

"It's got nothin' to do with makin' sense!" Natsu yelled at him, in which Seph flinched and moved to Laxus' other side to be away from the yelling Mage.

"It's also possible we've been released as witnesses to eventually help convict Arcadios." Lily told them, and although it was a simple thought, Seph felt like there was more to it or like it just wasn't that exactly.

"Why?" Happy asked, looking a little sweaty. Perhaps he was far more worried about Lucy than he let off?

"When there's the danger of top secret information spreading…" Carla added, in which Erza crossed her arms over her chest in thought.

"Maybe they decided it can't be hidden any longer." She offered, but Gray stepped in.

"If they'd captured the whole lot of us, we wouldn't be able to leak info, right?" He questioned, but this was just making Seph more confused and more anxious for Lucy, leading her to grab onto Laxus' leg as if it was a lifeline.

"I don't know about that." Mira said, calming Seph down a little bit. At least she knew that someone else had doubts… "Gray, you and the others are participants in the Grand Magic Games, right? If you suddenly didn't appear tomorrow, people would take notice." That made a lot of sense.

"I don't think even the kingdom wants to make an enemy out of a wizard Guild." Juvia stated, in which Seph let out a small hum of agreement. The kingdom might've been strong and full of soldiers, but they only had a very small handful of magic users in their army.

"To us, it's ridiculous that Lucy's been taken captive, but it isn't a breach of the royal army's sense of justice." Erza explained with a sigh.

Just then, Natsu suddenly broke out of the ropes that had been binding him with a loud yell, making Seph flinch and cling to Laxus' leg even more whilst also put a hand over one of her ears.

"Enough jawin'! I'm gonna rescue her!" He declared loudly before Makarov enlarged his hand and smashed it down on top of Natsu to get him to be quiet. Seph appreciated it, even if it hadn't been for her sake.

"Stifle it!" Makarov ordered him, in which he immediately went quiet and stayed lying on the ground. "This ain't a festival where the whole family gets captured. We all feel the same way." They did, didn't they…? "This time, just charging ahead without thinking isn't gonna work. Still, we're not cowards who're gonna take it lying down either."

Seph wasn't that brave, honestly, but she didn't want Lucy stuck in a cell for too long… Jail cells were uncomfortable. She didn't like to fight, but… She could support people and really do so if she had to… so, she was going to help.

"We're Fairy Tail!"