"Hey Jellal! Whatcha got for me?" Natsu asked as he strode into the morgue.

Jellal looked up from the burnt body on the table. "I have facts for you. Where is Lucy?"

Natsu scrunched his face. "You saw how she reacted when it was Melanie. You really think she would be able to handle these guys?" He gestured to the three bodies.

Jellal nodded sagely. "A wise course of action. Where did you send her?"

Natsu grinned. "I sent her up to Cana. I figured you had already sent some DNA to the lab."

Jellal nodded again and then motioned for Natsu to come closer. "I did. Anyway, I have some interesting findings for you."

Natsu walked over to stand next to the medical examiner and looked at the body in front of him.

"Okay. Hit me."

Jellal point to the two bodies on either side of the one they were standing next to. "Those two died by the fire. They most likely lost consciousness from the smoke and were then burned."

Natsu furrowed his brow. "But this one didn't?" he asked, pointing to the body in front of him.

Jellal shook his head. "No. And that is the interesting part. This man was shot in the middle of the forehead. He died before the fire had even been started."

"But why?" Natsu crossed his arms over chest.

"That, detective, is your area of expertise. I am in charge of the how. Now, I had just noticed this strange protuberance in this victim's throat when you made your entry." Jellal point to the dead man's neck and Natsu noticed the bulge.

"Any idea what it is?"

Jellal shrugged. "Not right now. I was about to find out, though."

Natsu gestured for Jellal to carry on. Jellal nodded his thanks and grabbed a scalpel from his tray of tools. While he worked on the bulge, Natsu glanced around at the other bodies.

"Are they all male?"

Jellal shook his head. "No. The one behind us is female. Mid 20s. The one in front of us is male, also mid 20s. And this one with the strange necklace is his throat is male, probably in his 50s."

"Strange necklace?" Natsu turned back to Jellal to see the man holding up a chain with a pendant hanging off.

"Yes. This is what caused the bulge."

Natsu grabbed some gloves from Jellal's tray and put them on. Then he grabbed the necklace to examine it closer. The chain was nothing special, but the pendant was strange. It looked like a number one with two lines underneath it and a weird fish hook to the right. It looked vaguely familiar but Natsu couldn't quite place where he had seen it before.

"Do you have any evidence bags down here, Jellal?"

"Certainly." Jellal walked over to his besk in the corner and grabbed a bag from it. He walked back to Natsu and held it open so the detective could drop the necklace into it.

"Thanks. I better get up to Cana. Maybe she can pull something off of this. Later, Jellal."

"Farewell."


After Natsu left for the morgue, Lucy followed the signs to the forensic lab. When she walked in, she saw all manner of scientific equipment. She tried to find Cana and finally found her slumped over a desk in the corner. Lucy approached cautiously, wondering what had happened. When she made it to the desk, Lucy gently put her hand on Cana's shoulder and gave it a little shake.

"Cana? Are you alright?"

Cana moaned and raised her head. She was wearing sunglasses and her hair was a mess.

"I wanna die. Why are hangovers even a thing?"

Lucy giggled and tilted her head. "Why do you drink so much if you know you have work?"

Cana moaned again. "Stop being all smart. I'm the scientist."

Lucy laughed again. "I know. That's why I'm here. Did Jellal send you any DNA from the three people who died in the fire?"

Cana sighed and stood up from her desk. She motioned for Lucy to follow as she walked over to a large computer monitor.

"Yeah. I've got the results already."

Lucy looked surprised. "Really? I thought it took a day or two."

Cana scoffed. "Maybe in cop shows. The real thing is a lot faster. Plus, it helps that our victims have records."

"All three of them?" Lucy asked, storing the DNA test speeds in her mind for future books.

Cana nodded. "Not very serious criminals. Just theft of religious artifacts and assault."

Lucy raised a brow. "Assault sounds kinda serious to me."

Cana shrugged. "Meh. Do you want me to print their files for you?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Yes please."

While Cana was printing, Lucy's attention was drawn to the door of the lab, which had just opened. Lucy smiled upon seeing who had entered.

"Natsu! I thought you were downstairs with Jellal."

Natsu looked over to her and smiled back. "I was," he said, making his way to her. "I finished. And he found something that I thought Cana should have a look at."

When he stopped in front of her, he help up the bag for her to see.

"Huh. Weird necklace. Cana is printing the files of the victims. Turns out that they all have records." Lucy jerked her thumb over her shoulder in Cana's direction.

"Really? That's strange. One of them with a record, sure, but all three?"

"That's what I thought. Maybe they worked together?" Lucy suggested.

Cana came back from the printer with three files in her hands. She handed them to Lucy.

"There you go. Can I go back to dying now?

Lucy giggled and nodded, watching Cana shuffle back to the desk.

"What's with her?"

Lucy turned back to Natsu. "Hangover."

Natsu nodded. "Typical. Let me see those files."

Lucy handed them over to him and leaned in closer so she could read them as well.

Natsu laid the files on the table in front of him and opened them all. "Mary Hughes, Byro Cracy and...Sugarboy? That's his name?" Natsu asked incredulously.

Lucy shrugged and continued reading. Upon reaching their criminal record, Lucy noticed something strange.

"Natsu, look." She pointed to each of the files.

Natsu's gaze hardened. "Zentopia. They're all members of Zentopia."

Lucy gave Natsu a confused look. "What's Zentopia?"

"They say that they're a religious institute, but they're really a gang. More of a cult, I guess. They like to harass people on the street about how sinful they are for not joining. There was even an incident last year where we caught them about to sacrifice a young girl, Coco. We saved her and arrested the members who were there, but we were never able to tie any of that to the leader."

Lucy put her hand over her mouth after hearing about the girl. Why do people do these things?

"Who's their leader?"

Natsu sighed. "They like to pretend that it's a man they call the Archbishop, but really it's a man named Lapointe who runs everything. Still, when we deal with them, we always meet with the Archbishop."

Lucy nodded and looked back down at the files. "I wondered what drove these people into joining."

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know. But I think we should meet with the Archbishop. He's always seemed like a reasonable man to me, and I know he cares about the members. We'll have to check with Gramps first."

Lucy nodded and then looked at Natsu again. She noticed that he seemed particularly upset with this breakthrough. She put her hand on his arm to get his attention. When he looked at her, she gave him a small smile.

"You alright?"

Natsu chuckled. "I'm fine. Zentopia is just a pain in the ass to deal with, always going on about their gods and how I'm going straight to hell. It can get really annoying."

Lucy giggled. "It'll be okay. I'm going with you this time. Maybe they'll decide to harass me instead. I can take it."

"Let's hope our news will stop any harassment. Come on, we better go talk to Gramps so we can get going."

Lucy nodded and followed him up to the chief's office. Natsu knocked and then let Lucy go in first after hearing a "Come in."

Makarov looked up from the file he was reading and smiled at Lucy.

"Ah, Miss Heartfilia! How wonderful to see you! Is Natsu treating you well?"

Lucy ignored Natsu's noise of protest and grinned back at the chief. "Yes, he's been great. I'm just glad I've been able to help out a little."

Makarov nodded, his smile never dropping. "Good to hear. Now, what can I do for you two?"

Natsu crossed his arms and frowned. "We need your permission to go see the Archbishop of Zentopia."

That caused Makarov's smile to fall. "Why on earth would you need to do that?"

Lucy cut in. "The three people who died in the fire on the docks were members of Zentopia. Natsu and I think that we should deliver the news personally. It would probably be better than the Archbishop having to hear it on the news."

Makarov brought a hand to his chin. "I'm not sure. Zentopia might try to investigate and take revenge."

Natsu shook his head. "Only if Lapointe hears. The Archbishop is reasonable. He'll understand that we're doing our best to catch whoever did this and he'll leave it to us."

"Natsu, the chances that Lapointe won't hear are very low. He is the Archbishop's right hand man. He knows everything."

Natsu frowned. "That may be true, but I don't like the idea of their first news being from an anchor on TV. The Archbishop cares about his members, even if he does encourage petty crime. He should be told in person."

Makarov sighed and lowered his hand. "You are right. Okay, you can go. But please, be careful. And wait until morning."

Natsu and Lucy grinned.

"I'm always careful, Gramps!"

Makarov scoffed. "If only that were true."