"It's a sight you've all seen time and time again, but in this test of sheer stamina, Sting and Piper Eucliffe are the last two mages standing!"

The fifth annual Grand Magic Games was at its peak as its second day was well under way. Each new day of the games started with an event for one member of each of the guilds to compete in. That day's event was a test of stamina as each competing member was to keep fighting off enemies until there was only one person left standing. All other guilds had been eliminated from the event except for Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. The only two people left standing being myself and my brother Sting.

We each stood in the middle of the arena throwing attack after attack towards the various enemies that the games provided. It was easy to get the other guilds out as there wasn't a rule against knocking them out yourself, but when it came to Sting and I, the concept was a bit more complicated.

"Ready to throw in the towel yet?" I called out to my brother as I slammed my leg into the stomach of one of the enemies. "I could do this all day."

"Like hell!" He snapped, taking hold of one the enemies heads and throwing them in my direction. "You might as well be the one to give up, because I'm not leaving here without the win."

I easily smashed the creature to pieces before it had the chance to slam into me. "Well neither am I!"

"It really wouldn't be a Grand Magic Games without a good ol' argument from the Eucliffe twins." The announcer yelled out, only illiciating loud cheers from the crowd. "We can only guess that either today or tomorrow, the two will go head to head in their yearly rematch so they're going to be looking for any edge they can get over the other person!"

It was this time just three years ago that I had been standing beside Sting, fighting with Sabertooth. That second Grand Magic Games was the first time Sabertooth had competed in the games and they easily took the first place position, earning themselves the title of number one guild in Fiore. However, it wasn't long after that when Sting and I grew apart.

The very next year, I walked into the arena and stood tall next to the Fairy Tail guild who's self esteem had fallen over the years due to being ridiculed by the people of Fiore. With their strongest members lost after their S class trials, they were left with next to nothing to fight for. It was something that I found myself gravitating towards when I was looking for a new place to call home.

From that year forward, I led Fairy Tail into what felt like an unwinnable battle. Time after time, we walked away from the event with under ten points and always in last place standing. The only points that Fairy Tail managed to earn were the points I gained for them, but those points were never enough. Especially when I fell short of winning my matches every single time. It didn't help that I fought the same person each time.

When I walked into the arena before the third games, the crowd was shocked that I was no longer with Sabertooth. Out of sheer curiosity, they put Sting and I against each other on day one. The battle was filled with intense hatred and it reflected in every spell we threw at each other. That battle ended in a tie when the gong rang, signaling our time was over. From that year forward, we were put against each other as the crowds waited to figure out who was superior. And more importantly, where the hatred came from.

The points I gathered each year were from my battle with Sting and whatever single event I managed to participate in. But one person can't lead a team into victory and we were booed every year during every single event and battle. Even when people placed their bets on who would win in my fights against Sting, he always had more money to his name.

I found my movements becoming more frantic by the minute as I knew the clock was winding down for the event. Unsure of how the points would be scored if that happened, I turned to Sting. "Hey dumbass! Think fast!" He barely had the chance to look in my direction and I was already bolting towards him. "Only one of us is going to be left standing and that person is me!"

As I neared him, I raised my leg and allowed orange magical energy to gather around it. "Sun Dragon's Talons!"

My leg went to collide with his side, but before it could hit, Sting raised his hand to stop my attack in its tracks. There was a large explosion of magical energy as he matched my Sun magic with his White magic. The scattered enemies that surrounded us were blasted back and left the two of us standing within the rubble. I lowered my leg just in time to see Sting throw his hand forward "White Dragon's Claw!"

I took hold of his wrist before his attack had a chance to land as I knew all too well that the stigma it left behind would leave me vulnerable for a period of time. I twisted his arm and threw him down against the ground. "I'm not falling for your old dirty tricks, bimbo!"

"Things are heating up!" I could hear the announcer bellow above us. "But is there enough time for these two Dragon Slayers to fight it out?!"

"Shut it, bald man!" Sting and I shouted as I slammed my knee against his back.

Our two personalities were very similar and the crowds enjoyed watching us bicker back and forth. It wasn't always like that. Our similar personalities used to mesh so well together and there was nothing that would have torn us apart. There wasn't anything that I wouldn't give in order to go back to those times. Times when my brother and I were friends.

My breath shot from my lungs as Sting punched his fist against my stomach. In the moment of vulnerability, he grabbed my arms and began to throw me over his shoulders. As he tossed me, I wrapped my legs around his neck to pull him down with me. He fell over top of me and I quickly kicked him off to the side. Our eyes bore into one another as we jumped back to our feet. We both spared a quick glance at the time and saw that we only had a few mere seconds left. The same thought of desperation crossed our minds as we knew neither of us could afford to come in second. Let alone to allow a tie.

Although my brother had to uphold the honor of Sabertooth, my end goal was to give Fairy Tail the recognition they deserved. His intentions were not going to hold me back and I needed to prove that Sabertooth's values were not the way to go. Even if Sting and I had been great friends before this point, I didn't care. I was going to squash his ideals and show everyone that even the society proclaimed weakest guilds could show promise.

We each slammed our feet back and launched ourselves forward. This would have to be our last stand, our last chance during this event to show that either of us were superior. If one of us won a fight now, maybe we wouldn't have to fight this year in an official match. As much as I loved to beat the life out of Sting, the less time I had to spend with him the better.

Just as our fists were about to collide, the gong sounded throughout the arena and signaled for us to stop. If either of us laid a finger on the other at this point, we would be disqualified. We each knew that it was too late to stop our advances and instead of letting our attack hit the other person, we sidestepped and sent our attacks against the ground. Dust flew throughout the entire arena and caused spectators to cry out and shield their eyes. When the dust finally settled, the ground was left with two large craters with Sting and I standing in the middle.

I took in a few deep breaths, attempting to calm my breathing. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Sting doing the same thing. I let out a half hearted chuckle, disappointment filling my mind as I knew this meant we would see each other later that day or the next. Sting's head turned in my direction and it was clear he was thinking the same thing and he wasn't happy about it. However, when he straightened his posture, all that was left on his face was a cocky smirk. "Too bad we ran out of time, I think it's safe to say I would have won easily."

"Eat shit and die." I snapped back without missing a beat. I shook my hand in order to shake off the painful feeling that lingered after the impact before turning and heading towards the gate to leave the arena.

Much to my dismay, I heard Sting's insufferable voice once more. "See you later, baby sister."

I paused in my stride, clenching my fists at my sides to try and resist the urge to beat the smirk off his face. "You think it's an insult, but I know better. Mom just pushed you out first because she couldn't stand carrying you for another second."

"You little-!"

"Hey, Piper, get your ass up here before you start something you'll regret!"

Fairy Tail's fourth master, Macao, called from the guild's spectating area above. A small groan escaped my lips and I flipped a singular finger up at Sting before trudging out of the arena. I could hear a sound of distaste coming from my brother but I did as I was told and kept walking. There would be plenty of time to throw more insults his way once we started our official one on one battle.

I walked into the observation area and pushed past my fellow guild members to stand at the railing. My hands gripped the edge as the announcer called the points for the event. "In a not so shocking turn of events, Sting and Piper Eucliffe were the last two standing in today's event. We attempted to score their points in first and second place, however, they each defeated the same amount of enemies and stayed in the field the same amount of time which means we are forced to score this as a tie!"

The railing crumbled underneath my grip as the score was announced. An angry aura surrounded me and the guild members that were standing beside me slowly moved away to avoid infuriating me even further. "Both Sabertooth and Fairy Tail will be awarded eight points bringing Sabertooth's score to twenty-eight, keeping them in first place and Fairy Tail at nine points, putting them in fifth place!" The announcer continued. "Although they may be in the middle of the ranks, what do you think folks, will they be able to stay in the higher ranks?"

The crowd around us called out a series of insults, making it clear that none of them thought we'd win even one more point. If I could find a way to prove them all wrong, to show them that Fairy Tail was better than this, no… That Sabertooth wasn't the top guild, I'd do it. I would do absolutely anything to show them.

"Piper?" A small feminine voice spoke and a light pink exceed flew over and landed on my shoulder. "How about you calm down, you're going to destroy the entire railing."

I glanced down at the railing, seeing it continuing to crumble beneath my grip, pieces of it falling below into the unhappy crowd. As the exceed speaks to me, I feel my angry aura slowly fading into a determined smile. "You know what? You're right, Fay. I just need to go break Sting's arm and then we'll win for sure! Thanks bestie!" Iexclaimed, clearly making up whatever message I wanted to hear. I turned to head out the door, but my exceed, Fay flew in front of me.

"N-No! That's not what I said and you know it! No breaking anyone's arms!"

My posture slumped at her words. "Come on… Not even just his wrist?"

"No!"

"Damn…"

"Piper, get over here." Macao called over to me. With disappointment in my step, I trudged over to where the guild master stood. "We gotta come up with a new game plan now that you've used up your own event chance."

As I approached, I sat down with Jet, Alzack, Bisca and Max and put my attention on Macao. This was our team for the year. Each day of the games, there was an event in the morning that all guilds participated in. It would be easier to have me participate in most events, however, after you participate in one event, you weren't able to join another. And I had sadly wasted my attempt by impulsively joining the event that Sting joined. An event that Max could have easily scored well in.

I slumped forward, placing my elbows against my knees. "Here's the deal. The matches today will likely connect with the guilds that had the best interactions during yesterday's event. The people who run the games like to extend the drama as long as they can.." I muttered, glancing over at Jet who seemed to be understanding what I was saying. "So that little stunt you pulled yesterday with Kagura?"

Jet had sweat dripping from his forehead. "Oh no.."

A chuckle came from Bisca as she seemed to find the scenario entertaining. "You really just had to shoot your shot with her, didn't you?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time! I thought the Mermaid Heel women wanted the attention!" Jet tried to defend himself to no avail.

Standing in front of us, Macao heaved a tired sigh. The entire guild had felt the effects of the Grand Magic Games, the games that had put them in the weakest position in Fiore. However, looking at Macao, it was clear that the stress was getting to him. When I had joined the guild a couple of years ago, Macao still had some of his young glow. Now, the man looked like a shell of himself. With each new loss came more shame. And as the acting guild master, he was putting a large amount of stress onto himself. He was supposed to be our leader and he kept feeling like he was failing us. "Guys, focus. If Jet is up against Kagura today, there is no way we'll win."

"H-Hey!" Jet jumped in only to be completely ignored as Macao continued.

"By the end of tomorrow, we'll be back in last place. Because lord knows Piper will only manage a tie against Sting."

"Dude! Ouch!" I scoffed, leaning back to cross my arms. This was the least motivating speech in the world.

"And after Piper's match.. We won't even get a single point from there forward."

Max glanced around at the group with a disappointed frown. "Uh, Macao? Was that supposed to be some kind of inspiring speech or something? Cause I think you just made the morale worse."

Looking around at the group, there was a mix of either fear or sadness filling our expressions. I was the only one who showed any hint of anger while the rest already seemed like they had given up. These were the same expressions we carried year after year. We always walked in confident, thinking that this year would be our time to strike back. Only we were pushed further and further down the path of despair.

I knew full well that I didn't feel the same way as the others in the guild as I had not experienced what it was like to have the strongest members of my guild washed away by a deadly attack by Aconolgia. It was something that I could never understand. As that thought crossed my mind, I got to my feet and stood beside Macao, a grin wide on my face. "Come on you guys! You think we've got any shot of winning if you've got those expressions on your faces? We're bound to lose if you look that gloomy."

"Still not helping Piper.." Alzack grumbled.

"Shut up, Al." I quickly snapped before placing my hands on my hips. "This is Fairy Tail. You guys have gone through a hell of a lot worse than some stupid little tournament fights. You've gone to war with other guilds, you've gone to war with yourselves, you've fought wars in other universe's for Christ's sake!" I paused, humming in curiosity. "You guys really need to find a new hobby, fighting in wars seems really stupid."

"Piper…" Macao spoke in a warning tone.

"Anywhos!" I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "What I mean is, you're more than just a group of people that lost twenty-one of their strongest members and friends. You guys fought in those wars too. It wasn't just Natsu, Gray, Erza… whatever that blonde bimbos name was.."

"Piper!"

I reached over and clapped Macao on the back. "Loosen up, I just don't know her name. Lulu.. Lisa… Linda.." I could feel Macao's eyes glaring at me so I was quick to get back on track. "But you guys are strong just like they were! You just gotta get your heads out of your asses and fight for the guild you know and love! So Jet?" I looked over at the bummed man. "If you do fight Kagura today, go and kick her ass and show her what it means to be Fairy Tail's fastest member!"

Finally, a smile rose on his face and he stood up. "Yeah! Who cares if she's an S-class mage that could absolutely destroy me? She can't beat me if she can't hit me."

"I like your style!" I reached out and gave him a high five. "And Alzack, sure you got your ass beat by Eve yesterday," by bringing up the gun magic mage's battle against Blue Pegasus, I saw his gaze go down in shame. "But one of their top mages, most people in these games wouldn't have beaten him. That match was just a bad draw. I can almost guarantee there will be an event before these games are over that you will kick ass in. You'll have your chance to show these people what you're made of, but you can't do that if you keep pouting about your loss."

Alzack kept his gaze down for a moment before jumping up. "I'm going to show everyone here that I'm more than just a sharp shooter!"

"That's what I like to hear!" I looked back towards Max and Bisca. "You two haven't even gotten a chance to show these other guilds what you can do. You don't even have a reason to be disappointed yet! So I expect you to keep those heads held high! Do you understand me?"

The two looked back at each other before sighing and joining us by standing. "Fine, fine, I do need to keep up my kick ass attitude if I'm gonna teach Asuka how to be a strong woman!"

"And I…!" Max started, unsure of what to say as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I have no clue what I'm actually cheering for, but I'm just gonna do my best so Piper doesn't break my arm!"

"That's the spirit!" I cheered, outstretching my hand towards them. "Now what do you guys say, are we gonna show these stupid tourists what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard?!"

One by one each of them put their hand in the circle and cried out in agreement. Our hands collided as a sign of our unity as the first match of the day was called. Jet versus Kagura. I looked around at the group of mages fighting alongside me with pride. This was the day we would take Fairy Tail's honor back. We were going to show the world exactly what we were made of.

If only it were as simple as giving an inspiring speech.

The day ended with a brutal loss for Jet as he had lost his fight in a matter of seconds. Our score put us nearly at the bottom of the leaderboard. The following day, a dance battle was announced for the event and none of our members really knew their left foot from their right foot. We finished last in that event. The battle afterwards was between Max and Yuka from Lamia Scale. Although Max put up a good fight, it ultimately ended in a loss. Our score hadn't moved in over a day.

By the time the fourth day rolled around, morale was at an all time low. No motivational speech would bring feelings of hope. It was clear, we had lost the fight because no matter what was said, we were going to be stuck in last place again.

After the event on the fourth day ended in yet another last place ranking, I found myself staring at the leaderboard. Fairy Tail was ranked last overall, however, if we could manage to score just six points, we'd surpass the guild that ranked just above us. We'd have to win our match today to bring our ranking up even just one spot. We just needed one win. It didn't matter if we didn't come in first. As long as we weren't dead last, we could show everyone that we weren't a complete joke. The only thing that stood in our way was-

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today is the day you've been waiting for! A rivalry that you've seen for the last three years, one that becomes more epic every time they fight! You know them, you love them, we've got Sting versus Piper Eucliffe round one!"

The announcer called out our fight and I found myself looking towards the viewing box that Sabertooth was in. Sting stood there looking back at me, a wide grin on his face. He was itching for a fight just as much as I was.

"I'm going to make you wish you were an only child." I grumbled, knowing full well he could hear me over the cheers of the crowd.

"Don't worry little sis. I've been wishing that since the moment you popped out."