Natsu and Lucy arrived back at the hotel, giggling as Natsu opened the door to his hotel room. He'd piggy-backed her the entire way back after finally allowing her off of his shoulder. They got several disapproving looks as they entered the hotel, but neither of them cared. They were having fun.

He brought her over to the bed and tried to unload her, but she held onto his back, so he fell backward onto the bed, playfully crushing her a bit.

"You're heavy!" she laughed.

He got off of her, flipping over to his stomach.

"Okay…so we left the bustling City of Crocus so you could get me alone in a hotel room," Natsu teased, "What are you going to do with me now?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He propped his head up on his elbow, leaning into her.

"I love you, Luce," he whispered against her lips.

"Hmm," she hummed, kissing him deeper.

"How much time do you think we have before the others get back?" he asked, glancing at his watch.

"Enough time to get a really good make-out session in," she replied, pulling him back down.

He sighed happily, giving in to her advances for several minutes.

"Hey Luce? What were you going to tell me the other day? About the keys your mother gave you?"

She stiffened, "You want to discuss that now?"

He shrugged, "I'd rather make out with you…but it's been bothering me. And it's not something I want to discuss in front of the others. Maybe it's because we're in Crocus. You said the keys go to a storage unit here, right?"

She sighed heavily, laying flat on her back, "Yeah. I've never been there though."

"So what were you going to tell me?"

She was quiet for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Natsu propped his head up on his hand, lightly running his other hand down her arm.

"My dad was not a nice man," she said softly, "He was involved in some pretty heavy stuff. My mother knew about a lot of his…transgressions…and they used to fight…a lot. She wanted him to go legit. One of his biggest rivals was a man named Jose Porla. I overheard a fight between my dad and Jose one day. Jose said it was my dad's fault she died."

Natsu watched her face carefully, stroking her arms gently for encouragement.

"I think there was another woman," Lucy said almost so quietly, Natsu could barely hear her, "I think my dad was cheating on my mother and the evidence is locked up in that storage locker. More than that, I think Jose was in love with the same woman. That's what caused the major rift between them. The aftermath has followed us well after Jose was put into jail. My mother knew. She took whatever evidence she could find and hid it from my dad. And entrusted me with the keys."

"Luce…" Natsu bent down, kissing her lips gently, "I can't imagine how hard that must be. No wonder you never wanted to go to the storage locker."

She had a single tear in her eye, "My mother was sick for a long time. The deeper my dad went into his grudge match with Jose Porla, the less he cared about how sick she was. All he cared about was taking Jose down."

He flipped onto his back, pulling her onto his chest to hold her close, "It's not fun to grow up alone. I know that better than anyone. But you're not alone now, Luce. You'll never be alone again."

She kissed his neck, "I know. Thank you for that, Natsu. I finally found someone to love me with no strings attached. I hope you know I love you with no strings attached too."

He shuddered involuntarily, his secret gnawing at him. She had bared most, if not all, of her secrets to him now. All she wanted was complete and total honesty. He needed to come clean with her.

But it would have to be later. Lucy was on to a new subject.

"Natsu?" she asked quietly, "Are you sorry? That you don't know your parents...or if you have any siblings?"

Natsu didn't know what to say to that, "I guess I don't miss having parents or siblings because I've never had them to begin with."

"Do you want children of your own?"

Natsu frowned, "I don't know. I've never thought about it as a possibility before."

"You were so good with the kids at the aquarium," she smiled, blushing, "You'd be an amazing father. I would love to have kids with you...one day."

Natsu had a million questions to ask. He loved the idea of having kids of his own, now that he thought about it. He wanted to be a father! He'd never allowed himself to think about it before, since he never had parents of his own and had never even come close to the possibility before. Where did kids come from anyway?

He promised himself he would find an opportunity to talk to her later…because right now, she was kissing him again. The earlier topic of conversation was over and now was the time for kissing and caressing. It was seriously becoming his favourite pastime.

"Luce," he whispered softly, "I want to have everything with you one day."

She blushed again despite herself, "Then maybe...maybe we should start with learning to touch each other...without blushing?"

He grinned into her lips, "Yeah," he said, kissing her deeply, "Let's start there."

Levy and Gajeel sat at an out-of-the-way corner table in small restaurant. Levy was playing with the straw from her milkshake as Gajeel spread his pictures out to take a closer look at things.

"I'm waiting," Levy reminded him impatiently, "You have some explaining to do."

Gajeel looked up, crunching on his fries, "About what?"

She leaned forward, removing his fries from him so that he'd have to pay attention to the conversation. He placed his hand overtop of hers, edging the fries back to his side of the table.

"Who are you?" Levy asked, her eyes showing the slightest glint of worry. She didn't remove her hand, instead intertwining her fingers with his. She knew now that she was definitely attracted to Gajeel. It was getting harder to push the feelings away, "And don't give me that shit about Gajeel, the orphan from Crocus, who grew up to be a cop. You and I both know some unnatural things happened just now. Please level with me."

"I want something in return if I tell you the truth," Gajeel said, rubbing circles into her palm with his thumb.

"What do you want?" she asked in a voice that dared him to challenge her.

"I want you to tell me your secret too," Gajeel said, staring her in the eyes, "Your question goes both ways: who are you, Shrimp?"

"You first," she whispered. Her head was spinning.

"My name is actually Gajeel Redfox, like I told you. I'm actually a cop. Those parts is true," Gajeel said slowly, reaching for her other hand. She let him have it, "The part you don't know about is that I'm a Mulligan Angel."

"…Of Heaven," Levy finished the thought. He tightened his grip on both of her hands as she threatened to pull her hands away, "What's a Mulligan Angel?"

"It's my job to expose criminals and give them a chance to rectify their behaviour," Gajeel said softly, "Heaven doesn't want anyone to go to Hell. Everyone gets a second chance. It's not letting them off the hook...they have to own up to their mistakes, but they have a chance to right their wrongs or at least show remorse for it. I've been assigned as a police officer for a long time, Lev. Sometimes I even forget my true purpose. Sometimes I don't even have to rectify a person's behaviour…just set them on the right path. Other times, the criminal refuses to changes his/her ways and there's nothing I can do to save them."

She frowned, "That must be hard some days. I can't imagine how it would feel to try so hard, just to have the person refuse your help. Mulligan...what an odd name. Mulligan sounds like…"

"…some kind of golf move. I know," Gajeel finished her sentence, "But essentially, it's the same idea. They made a bad move and it's totally messed things up. They're given a second chance to do better."

They both chuckled a bit. They were playing with each other's fingers still.

"Guardians don't have the same kind of abilities," Levy said softly, "I'm assuming you already know my secret."

Gajeel nodded, "I didn't know that you're Guardian until just now, but I had my suspicions. I saw Natsu that day. That's what gave it away. What Division is he?"

"Cupid," Levy replied.

Gajeel almost choked, "Natsu is in the Cupid Division? Seriously? He's not a very good Angel, falling in love with his assignment!"

Levy's eyes were downcast as she nodded, "We've all tried to say something, but it's getting harder and harder. We all love them together."

"You, Erza and Gray, right?" Gajeel pried.

She nodded, "Ya."

"And Gray…he's Juvia's Gray, isn't he?"

She nodded, "I had a feeling you'd have put that together. Gotta say, Gajeel…you're one smart guy."

He watched her eyes get darker, like she was sad about something.

"How would you rectify Gray and Juvia?" she asked him softly, "They belong together. It was absolutely tragic what happened to them. And what about Lucy and Natsu? There's got to be a way to make it right. Can you 'mulligan' what happened to all of them?"

Gajeel shook his head sadly, "I want a happy ending for all of them too. But those situations are beyond my control."

Levy nodded, changing the subject.

"So those years you were separated from Juvia…"

"I died," Gajeel confirmed, "I was shot when I was 15...at a drug bust. I was put onto the Mulligan team to help rectify my mistakes. It was a condition of my getting into Heaven. I was given a second chance. My time on the Mulligan Team expired, but I stayed on because the work is so rewarding."

Levy felt a tear roll down her cheek, "I'm so sorry, Gajeel."

He shrugged, lifting one of his hands to gently remove the tear from her face, "Don't you cry, Lev. I'm not unhappy. It's been satisfying to do what I can to make things right in the world. I've been able to help a lot of people."

"Juvia...is she -?"

"Naw," Gajeel interrupted, "She's alive. She thinks I was going through training to be a cop while I was gone. She doesn't know I'm dead. I love her too much to tell her. She does, however, know the basic situation with you and Lucy."

Levy nodded. She suspected Juvia knew the basics all along, "So what's Juvia really doing today?"

"Research," Gajeel replied, "She's checking to see if Heartfilia still has ties to Crocus at all. It's been a couple years since his death, but something doesn't sit right with me."

Levy narrowed her eyes, "But Jude's empire ceased and desisted with his death. Everything is sitting in trust still. Lucy can go claim her inheritance at any time. She just...doesn't want to. Going home for the inheritance would be like an announcement to Dan and Samuel of her location. The media would catch on to it. We're making it just fine on our own..she doesn't want her inheritance."

"So Jude's empire is unclaimed right now?" Gajeel clarified.

She nodded. He hummed to himself, making mental notes.

"How are our abilities are different?" Levy asked, changing the subject again.

He took her hand again so he was holding both, "I can't flit in the shadows or use transparency. My abilities are the power of illusion and persuasion…and my whole body is made of iron. Each Mulligan Angel has a special body composition. Mine is iron and the ability to manipulate it. Being a cop, that comes in handy…a lot."

"That's how we got past the desk clerk…you persuaded her."

Gajeel nodded, "And used illusion to make her see the name I told her."

"And that's how you broke the bricks."

He nodded again, "Iron thighs."

She tried to smile, a joke forming on her lips, but his serious look stopped her.

"I want to help you," he said softly.

"That's what Gray and Natsu are here for," Levy said.

Gajeel nodded, "But Gray and Natsu can't protect you the way I can…the way that I want to."

They locked eyes, their hands tightening around each other. Gajeel paused, taking in her dark, brown eyes and azure-blue hair.

"You're really pretty, Shrimp," he said softly, leaning in across the table.

She met him halfway, accepting his gentle kiss.

They parted, keeping their eyes locked on each other, both turning shades of red.

"I want to do that again," Gajeel said honestly, "but I'll get back to kissing your pretty little face after we've looked over the evidence. I'll need to call my cousins in to confiscate the gold bars."

"Are they part of your Heavenly group, or are they actually your cousins?" Levy asked.

"We all belong to a new division of Heaven called Crime Sorciere. The head of our division will be notified as to what's going on too, but will probably send Wendy and Erik to help us since they currently don't have an assignment. Wendy is my little cousin, but I call her my sister since we were raised together. I told you once she lived with Grandmother Grandeeney. It's only partially true. She's Grandeeney's Guardian. Grandeeney died last year, so Wendy has been standing by, waiting for orders. She's retrained as a cop in the last year for Crime Sorciere, even though she has no debt to pay. She lived a clean life. Wendy is a Changeover Angel...she helps people deal with their own deaths...which is why she's such an asset. Erik is my actual cousin too, and so is the head of the Division, Jellal. Erik and I are both Mulligan Angels. Jellal is kind of a jack of all trades, which is why he's the head of the Division. He works mostly Mulligan."

Levy nodded, "So you yell up to the clouds? Press some magic button? How do you communicate with them?"

He snickered, "We're an Earthland-based operation. We use cell phones."

She nodded again.

"But I'm not going to call them from here. Let's go back to the hotel."

He didn't let go of her hand as he left money on the table for their bill, then led her out of the restaurant, fingers still intertwined.

Juvia lowered her sunglasses, writing down the location as 'notta' for Gajeel. She'd spent the morning staking out Jude Heartfilia's old locations in Crocus. There seemed to be minimal activity in any of the locations and she was pretty sure the activity she did witness was unrelated to anything she was looking for.

Gajeel had suspected the library drug ring was related to Heartfilia's old crime ring somehow. She glanced at her watch, then to the warehouse across the street. It was the one Gajeel and Levy were checking out earlier this morning, although she was pretty sure they'd be gone by now. She hated that she was going back to the hotel empty-handed, but supposed it was good in a way. Operations were definitely shut down in Crocus.

Gray had found a way to open the gold bars with minimal noise. The warehouse was starting to shut down. He could hear the noises outside the room, but he was onto something and needed to finish his task.

He had gone back out into the main warehouse and managed to 'borrow' a hammer and a can of Freon. If he made the gold bar cold enough, he could crack it open with the hammer enough to get to the contents inside. It wasn't real gold…and whatever the bars had been made out of was not an impossible to break substance. So far, he'd managed to find some more pictures of Porla. There was a picture of Jude standing over a body as well. These people were hard-core, and the aftermath of their grudge match just got more and more brutal the further Gray dove through the evidence.

The next gold bar he cracked open had something different in it. He took out the paper and unfolded it carefully. His eyes widened. It was a letter from someone named Kari written to Jude, dated for just before the major drug bust that took Porla down.

Dear Jude:

It's all set up. Jose will be at the discussed location when the police arrive. I have enclosed pictures that I took around his compound to further implicate him. I've got everything you asked for: Pictures of the cocaine shipments...with Jose in some of the shots. Unfortunately for you, I also have shots implicating you the same way. Don't double cross me.

I should tell you too that the DNA test came back. The child is not yours. I guess that means he's Jose's. I have dumped him at some orphanage in the slums of some random city. I can't look at him, knowing he's got Jose's blood running through him.

I'll pick up my portion of the bounty at the discussed location. We won't see each other again. I'm sorry, Jude. I really thought we'd have a future together.

Kari

Gray frowned. That was the name that Gajeel had been running at the police station. So who was she? From the note, he could gather that she had something to do with both Jude and Jose Porla and that the 'child' could have been either Jude's or Jose's.

He flashed back in his memory to being told how Natsu died. Mira had told him Natsu had been abandoned in a neighbourhood in the slums when he died. Was it possible?

He went to the next bar, this time finding evidence on Jude.

The bar after had another letter which told him who the child was that 'Kari' had abandoned. It also explained the entire feud between Porla and Heartfilia. His eyes widened in horror. Now he understood the story...and he was pretty sure Gajeel hadn't made this connection yet. The sooner he knew, the better.

He cracked one last bar, opening another letter from Layla. It was a timeline, detailing the events up until she sent the bars to this room. Gray was shaking his head in disbelief.

He'd seen enough. Gray flitted to the shadows, carrying some of the evidence with him. He needed to have a talk with Gajeel. Whether he liked the guy or not, and whether Gajeel had the ability to expose him to Juvia or not, they needed police involvement immediately. Maybe he could somehow get Levy to tell him so his identity would remain protected.

As he exited the warehouse, he looked across the street. Juvia was hustling down the alley in the opposite direction. Something in the shadows moved. Gray's heart threatened to seize.

She was being followed.

Cursing to himself, Gray changed direction. Gajeel would have to wait.

Sting was following the man from the library at a distance. Rogue was jogging ahead to catch up to him. The man was walking toward a red Camry, parked some ways from the library.

"Excuse me, sir!" Rogue called, holding up an arm to get the man's attention.

The bald man looked back, "Me?"

"Yes sir!" Rogue approached him, watching for signs that the man would run. He flipped open his badge, "I'm Constable Rogue Chenery, Magnolia Police Department. I just want to ask you a few questions."

"I've done nothing wrong," the man stated, starting to walk away.

"Really? Because that's not what a certain librarian told me," Rogue stood in front of him.

The man glanced around, realizing that Sting had come up behind him.

"You've been positively identified as a man who threatened an employee at the library the other day," Sting told him, "You'll need to come down to the station with us. It's just questioning at this point. You aren't being arrested if you just come quietly."

The man narrowed his eyes, "Today was the first time I've ever been to the library."

"Really? Because the girl said you've been looking for someone else who works at the library. Let's go talk about it at the station," Rogue said, "Please turn around and put your hands behind your back."

"Yeah," the man said, feigning like he was going to turn around and do as he was told, "I don't think so."

He grabbed Rogue by the hair, bringing his head down on his knee, then kneed him a second time in the stomach. Rogue cried out as Sting jumped on his back, grabbing both his arms. The man turned and slammed Sting into a nearby tree repeatedly until he let go, slumping to the ground. He kicked his steel-toed boot into Sting's head, and then ran. A red Camry appeared, squealing the tires as it sped away. The man was still hanging out the window.

"Are you dead, Rogue?" Sting called out after a minute, attempting to get up from the ground. He was going to have a nasty headache between the smash of his head against the tree and the blow to his head. The boot had actually caught him at the edge of his left eye. Sting was pretty sure he'd have a shiner in the morning.

Rogue stood up, pinching his nose as he leaned forward, "He broke my fuckin' nose!"

Sting looked in the direction that the car had gone.

"Shit…how did he get the upper hand so fast?" Rogue was applying pressure to his nose as best as he could, but it was gushing blood.

"I dunno," Sting said, removing his shirt and handing it to Rogue, "but there's no doubt he had enough strength to do what he did to Laki. We need to watch out for that car and we need to tell our superiors. Did you get a look at the driver?"

Rogue shook his head, still leaning forward into the shirt.

Sting kicked the ground in frustration. They blew it. It was doubtful the man would make the mistake of being seen by them a second time.

Erza watched from the shadows. If she wasn't angry before, she was now. She flitted off to the hotel to await their return, already planning what kinds of hell she was going to rain down on them.

Dan and Samuel were both swearing under their breath as they rigged the car with a heavy rock on the gas pedal of the red car. They were at the top of a cliff. It was a 2000 ft drop, straight into the ocean. The police would have a hard time finding enough parts of the car to identify it. By that time, they intended to be long gone.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Dan shouted, "You completely blew our cover!"

"I didn't see you there, backing me up!" Samuel yelled back, "What was I supposed to do?"

"NOT BEAT UP THE COPS!" Dan bellowed, "You should have gone with them, feigned innocence, then gotten released!"

"The Laki girl told on me!" Samuel hissed, "They had evidence. She was probably at the library and identified me!"

Dan spat on the ground, "Well, now you've gone and screwed it up. We can't even go back to the hotel."

"They didn't see you," Samuel argued, "Our hotel is far enough out of the way, they won't find me there. We'll jack another car, no big deal."

"Fine," Dan started walking down the highway toward Magnolia, Samuel tagging reluctantly behind.

They stuck their thumbs out as cars passed. Eventually an older woman pulled aside in an older gold Buick.

"Are you young men having car trouble?" she asked sweetly.

Dan nodded, using his most innocent look, "Yes m'am. So sorry to bother you."

"Oh it's not a bother. I'm alone and it's nice to have the company sometimes. Please get in. I'll take you as far as Magnolia. I'm not from there. I'll be travelling through, but at least you'll be somewhere that you can make phone calls."

Dan and Samuel exchanged glances. She was alone. She wasn't from Magnolia.

"M'am," Samuel said, stooping to the window. He stuck a gun in her face, "I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car."