"Now that we're all finally here and accounted for…" Count Waltz propped himself up on his chair, one leg crossed over the other, leaning his head against his fist while staring at the others in the roundtable. "I believe we can finally get this meeting starting. If no one has any objections, I will be the one to open the floor." Waltz looked around, seeing no one wanting to speak first. "Good." Clearing his throat, the king of Joya began. "Legato, if you please."

"Of course, sir." A middle-aged man with already gray hairs walked forward, giving Waltz a bow before presenting a lacrima screen of the Earthland continent.

"Excellent." Waltz nodded before standing up, pointing to the island that was just off the coat of Fiore. "I'm sure we're all aware of this island that has suddenly appeared on the map. I've heard minor details of the incident surrounding this island, and I believe we all need to know if it will pose some threat to Earthland."

Waltz was referring to the grounded Isle of the Dragons. That experience was one Hisui would rather not relive, but she planned to vouch for the island. "I assure you, you don't have to worry about."

"Ah. The Isle of the Dragons." A gruff, deep voice interrupted Hisui midsentence. All eyes turned to the King of Pergrande himself; Ashnard. Ashnard had rough facial features and dark blue hair. He was large in stature, clad in armor that made him almost not fit in the seat he was sitting in. Red eyes of his glanced at Hisui, who began sweating slightly just from exchanging gazes with him. "That island has been inactive for a while now, I believe. But you never know when those dragons will decide to strike….they may seek revenge against the human world…"

"Princess Ena would not allow it!" Hisui interrupted, steeling herself to glare at Ashnard and his accusations. "This I assure everyone. She said herself that the island would remain neutral in all affairs."

"You're far too trusting, Princess…" Ashnard shook his head while letting out a mock chuckle. "You clearly don't understand the severity of the situation you've left them in."

"Wait, you know about this, Ashnard…?" The representative of Minstrel, Ioder, questioned. Ioder was a blonde male with dark blue eyes.

"Of course I do." Ashnard replied. "I sent several of my own men to investigate the ordeal, but as it turns out, a few of them were unable to make it back, unfortunately." Ashnard knew. There was a subtle look on his face that only Hisui recognized. "But since its technically considered neutral territory, there's naught that can be done. However, I know that your body guards…" He pointed to Seven and Bosco's leaders. "Were also a part of that little fiasco a little while ago."

"They can vouch for the island's innocence." Bosco's leader gave a nod before brushing her red hair behind her ear. "Cosmic Star has told me everything."

"As Dealer with I," Seven's representative nodded as well.

"So is the island dangerous or not?" Waltz interrupted the mini squabble while tapping his fingers impatiently on the table. "Because I have no problems sending in a small army to destroy that island."

"Believe me, those dragons are not something you want to start a fight with." Hisui remarked.

"I think we'd best be calm about this…" Toma commented, sensing the rising tension in the room.

"I believe we're all calm, King of Fiore." Stella's representative was a calm woman who didn't seem to take anything lightly. Her response was stern and her somewhat soul piercing gaze went to everyone.

"Right…onto another important issue, one I noticed in this very kingdom, Waltz." Ashnard then turned to Count Waltz.

"Oh?" Waltz tilted his head at Ashnard's statement. "Pray tell, what caught your eye, King Ashnard."

"The taxes here seem much higher than allotted in the treaty, don't you agree?" Ashnard grinned while leaning back in his seat. "Why is that?"

Waltz waved his hand dismissively. "Simple. Medicine. My people need the special medicine brewed from the minerals in the mountain to cure their sickness. So everything else must be taxed to keep the cost of this medicine low. It's the will of the people, after all." A sly grin stretch along the king's face. "Surely the rest of you know what that's like? Having to make tough choices for the betterment of your subjects?"

With Waltz's statement, a quiet murmur filled the meeting hall.

.

"That King Ashnard is kind of an asshole, isn't he…" Natsu stated bluntly while watching Ashnard be the cause of all the tension in the meeting.

"Natsu, that's rude!" Mira placed her hands on her hips while scolding Natsu. "He's not…the nicest person from what I've noticed, yes."

"I don't think you'll need to sugarcoat it…" Polka shook her head slowly. "He really doesn't seem like such a good person…I can get that just by looking at him. Oh, right…! Is there anything you need? I completely forgot to ask…!"

"We're fine for now." Erza nodded slowly while giving Polka a soft smile. "But this King Ashnard…is he trying to start a fight, or something? How would that be resolved in neutral territory?"

"Oh!" Polka clasped her hands together. "The leaders would find and vote for a suitable punishment. It's also how the international laws are passed for peace treaties; majority vote."

"With every country having best interests in mind, I suppose that doesn't sound like too bad an idea…" Lucy was thinking about it heavily, that and something else.

"What's this about cheap medicine?" Wendy blinked while looking up at Polka. "Is there a sickness going around…?"

Polka nodded slowly in response. "Mm…the medicine Count Waltz produces is really cheap and effective…but I'm almost certain there's something about it he's not telling people…I think it's bad for people, but everything else costs too much so they can't afford it usually. I'd help with my own medicine, but even that was taxed and is deemed ineffective, so…"

"Poor thing…" Mira frowned. "Bad medicine…is he allowed to do that…?"

.

Cosmic Star was in their guest area, watching the meeting go down. Gaia shook her head, arms crossed over her bosom. "King Ashnard…I already knew he'd be trying to get under everyone's skin the second it was confirmed he was coming…"

"That Count Waltz isn't exactly a saint either…" Magnus replied with a gruff scoff. "I'm going to do some research into the medicine they were just talking about…something about it seems off to me."

"You do that. I'm gonna go talk a walk." Shadowlore said while beginning to walk out the door, only to be pulled back by Gaia.

"You're staying right here." Gaia shot at Shadowlore, who just gave a defeated sigh.

"Some of this stuff is going over my head, admittedly…" Alex said while shifting around awkwardly.

"Same…" Hiruka remarked while lazily flying around the room.

"Well, you're still a growing girl after all." Daryan commented form the couch, munching on a bone. "It's no surprise things like this would go over your little head, Alex. But if that Ashnard tries to start a fight or something, then just know we're going to have a problem on our hands."

"I know that!" Alex huffed at Daryan treating her like a kid. The red head fixed her hair before responding. "I haven't forgotten about all that snooping we did a while ago! He's plotting something…"

"It's far too soon for anyone to make a move…" Yakuza said. "But I guess we'll just have to wait and see…"

.

"I guess so far things are going okay…" Ace of Dealer said while staring at the screen. "Could be smoother, but…"

"As long as the ruler's aren't at each other's throats." Tia said while sitting cross legged on a chair. "The last thing we need is a fight to break out in neutral territory. Things aren't exactly stable as it is…tipping the balance could throw Earthland into political chaos…"

Heartless nodded in agreement. "I'm surprised there are some topics that have yet to be brought up…I wonder what the idea is behind this is…"

"I guess they have to get their own issues out of the way first…" Diamond Ice shrugged. She was at a loss; politics weren't really her strong suit.

.

Nercon adjusted her shades, grinning ever so slightly as the meeting progressed. "That's our King." She giggled a little bit before turning to her fellow General, Rubicante; a mysterious male wrapped in a red and blue cloak that shrouded his face.

"Always holding the highest position." Rubicante responded quietly. He wasn't too much for words. "Things are going accordingly. It should only be a matter of time now…"

.

"You…there's something that kind of bugs me about this whole arrangement…" Lucy spoke up, catching the attention of the others.

"What's that?" Gray questioned.

"So…I get why we're here, to protect the one's we came with, and I know it's the same for the other countries. But right now, we're not close to them…it would make things really easy for anyone who wants to rub out a certain representative…or maybe even all of them…?"

"There's no way anyone could try that." Polka reassured Lucy whilst shaking her head. "With all the borders in this castle during this time, if anyone tried to do anything they'd no doubt face the most severe of punishments…perhaps even death. I think you're just worrying a little too much, Lucy-san. I don't think anything bad could happen with as much security around here."

"I guess you're right…" Perhaps Lucy was just being a little too paranoid on the subject. But still, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach about something.

"…Did you hear that….?" Wendy turned to look at Cynthia, who gave a slight nod.

"It sounded weirdly familiar…" Cynthia replied before looking at Gajeel and Natsu, who both had the same quizzical expressions on their faces. "You guys too…?"

"Yeah, what's this weird feeling…?" Natsu asked while looking around. The answer to the lingering question was soon found as a deafening roar echoed through the entire capital of Joya. The roar of a dragon.

"A dragon?! Here!?" Gajeel clenched his teeth. "That's not right…!"

"I think there's something else we might have to be worried about too…" Carla's ears perked up as she stared at the ceiling.

"I hear it too…it sounds loud and…obnoxious…" Erza turned her attention to the ceiling, where all was going to be revealed in a matter of seconds.

"GIGANTIC SLAM!" Tuba's voice boomed out before he crashed through the ceiling with his spiked mace; he slammed into the ground which created a large explosion and broke through the floor, causing Fairy Tail's members and Polka to fall through to a lower level while they all let out surprised shouts.

.

"What…what was that…?" Bellum's representative asked while looking around frantically.

"That sounded eerily familiar…" Hisui thought to herself. The roar echoed once again, this time creating a miniature tremor that shook the entirety of the castle. "T-That's a dragon!?"

"How terribly inconvenient…" Waltz grunted before standing up from his seat. "Emergency evacuation. What are you all standing around for? We should get moving you slowpokes!"

"Ah…" Ashnard let out a heavy sigh before lifting himself up from his seat. "If it's not one thing, it's another. We were just getting to the good part of this meeting, too…"

"Now's not the time for this, Ashnard." Hisui grumbled. Though they were moving as quickly as they could, that mattered not to the raging dragon that appeared in the city. The dragon flew overhead and inhaled before unleashing a breath of raw magic that took the form of a thin beam that ran along the castle. Several explosions then occurred in various locations of Joya Castle, causing the building to begin collapsing in many areas; causing a widespread panic within the city.

"Oh…it's about to collapse…" Was Ashnard's last statement before the roof over the meeting hall collapsed with everyone still inside.

.

Next Time: Surprise Attack.