Hello all! A bit of a disclaimer before you get into the chapter. I found the parts between Jellal and Erza kind of hard to write, just because I don't know either character very well, or their ship. I don't not ship Jerza, its just not something I actively ship. Now I know there are some very passionate Jerza shippers out there, believe me I am friends with a couple of them XD, but pleaaaaase don't freak out on me if I haven't written them quite the way they probably should be written. It is an AU after all, not everyone is the same as they are in canon :)

I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima and I thank him for their use in my own creative expressions *bows*

Before Erza could open her mouth to speak the mayor held up his hand.

"Wait." He leaned down and opened a desk drawer. "Please turn off your cell phone."

"Excuse me?" Erza was taken back for a second.

"Please turn off your cell phone," he repeated as he pulled a black radio device from his desk. Erza took out her phone and hit the power button, waited until it was off and then returned it to her pocket.

She watched him turn a knob on the top of the radio and then place it on the desk. "I've been having a problem with bugs being planted in my rooms and on my people," he explained. "I have everything swept regularly but they have a way of sneaking in somehow. This device will block any transmitters within this room so we can speak freely, Erza."

"If you believe that you are under illegal surveillance then you should have sent for me earlier, Mayor Fernandes."

"Erza, you can call me by name here," the Mayor's tone was amused again. Erza's ire grew slightly, she was still miffed about being summoned by one of his staff but his offhanded approach to the situation could be infuriating at times.

"I am calling you by your title," she countered, cool and neutral.

"Alright, if that is what you wish. I did not call you here to talk about illegal surveillance, I have something more important to discuss."

"Oh?" Erza was surprised by that, the Mayor took his security and privacy more serious than anything else.

"You picked up a case last night, a shooting in an alleyway behind Fourteenth Street. The victim is a member of Grimore Heart, a lower lever weasel by the name of Zoldeo."

"Yes," Erza replied vaguely. "You know that I cannot discuss the specifics of an open case with anyone outside of the department." She knew that it was an empty statement and he could have any information he wanted in ten minutes, there had to be a reason that he was asking her specifically.

"I am aware," he was not joking around, it was all business now. "I have some information to give you."

"Oh?"

"Things are a lot more complicated than they appear, the repercussions of this situation will go way beyond the murder of a small time gangster." The Mayor looked Erza directly in the eyes before continuing. "I asked you here to warn you, this case is going to be buried."

"Why? How do you know?"

"You need to trust me, I will contact you again when I know for sure but of this I am certain. When you try and go deeper somebody is going to stop you."

Erza thought for a second before asking. "The chief of police?"

The Mayor nodded. "I don't know if it will be his call or one of his backers, but somebody is going to want this case to die. You need to do what you can as quickly as you can."

"If he is as insignificant as his reputation makes him out to be then why would his murder be important enough to cover up?" Erza was finding it hard to believe what he was telling her.

"It isn't the fact that Zoldeo is dead that is worth covering up, or who killed him. It's the reason why he was in that alley in the first place that is important and what you need to find out."

"The body was clean; whoever killed him stripped whatever he was carrying off him so that we couldn't find out why he was in the alley. Does this have something to do with the bigger picture?" Erza knew that everything the mayor did was for the bigger picture, even if it didn't make sense to anyone else.

"It has yet to be determined whether or not those who are responsible for Zoldeo's death are related to the bigger picture, but I have a sense that they are and that it can lead us closer to the truth." The Mayor turned towards the window that faced down town. "And the closer we get to the truth, the sooner we can make things right."

Erza hesitated for a second, but then slowly walked up to the window and stood beside him. "You are making things right," she told him quietly. "Everything that you do for this city and for the people, you are making things right."

"I can never do enough to make up for what I have done," he answered, moving slightly to look down at her. "But I can make sure that those responsible are punished."

"If they find out who you are then you may never get that chance," Erza turned so that she was facing him again. "You have to be careful."

"I'm always careful," he smiled at her again as he spoke. "I knew when I started this that it would be dangerous, but I am not afraid of dying."

"Are we going to have to have a talk again?" Erza threatened, narrowing her steeled eyes a little.

"No," he answered quietly. "I'm not trying to be a martyr; I will not die in vain for my cause. I just want the chance to make up for the evil I was apart of and if I have to risk my life to make that happen I am willing to do it."

Erza smiled at him, softening finally. "I know you are and that is what makes you better than your past, Jellal." She let his name linger in the air for a moment and his smile returned. They gazed at each other for a long minute, saying more in that look then the entire conversation. A loud alarm sounded from somewhere and startled them out of their moment.

"My next appointment is here," Jellal turned back to his desk and turned off the radio. "Detective Scarlett, I will be contacting you about what we discussed when more information is made available. My driver is downstairs and will take you back to the police station."

Erza assumed from his formal tone that the room might no longer be safe. "Understood Mayor Fernandes, I will take my leave. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to contact my office." She walked back across the room to the doors, but turned back before opening them. "I will do my best with what you asked, Sir."

Jellal just nodded and Erza opened the door and slipped out. The two police officers were still standing guard beside the doors and the woman from before was leading a man in an expensive white suit down the hallway. His eyes lit up a little in recognition and his face broke out in a wide smile.

"Detective Scarlett," he almost purred in a surprisingly deep voice for such a small man. "A pleasure to see you, my honey."

"Mr. Vandalay Kotobuki, a surprise as always." Erza had to swallow the urge to tell him off for the horrible term of endearment but it would not look good for her to create a big scene with one of the most well respected businessmen in the city right after coming out of the Mayor's office. "If you will excuse me, I must be getting back to the precinct." She hurried down the hall to the elevators and as she waited the woman came up beside her. They stood in silence as the doors opened.

"After you," the woman told Erza. She nodded thanks and then waited until they were both in the elevator before hitting the button for the main floor.

"I take it that you will be accompanying me back to the station?" Erza took a stab in the dark but she knew the answer already.

"I have been asked to make sure that you arrive back at your precinct without incident, yes," was the simple reply.

Erza nodded again and they made their way back to the SUV still parked out in front. Erza thought about what Jellal had said as they drove back to Magnolia, his message was clear but the meaning behind it was confusing. The case had been puzzling since the start but now she suspected that that had been the killer's intent. She needed to speak to Gray about what to do next, they needed to put pressure on their only lead right away because if what Jellal suspected was true then they were running out of time.

Gajeel and Levy were sitting in his truck parked on her street while waiting for Natsu. Not much had been said on the way over, Levy was still annoyed that they had tried to shut her out and Gajeel was silently fuming that she had come along despite the dangerous situation.

"Dammit Natsu, where are you…" Gajeel muttered as he rapped his fingers against the steering wheel in a gesture of impatience. Finally he watched through his rear-view mirror as Natsu pulled up behind them on his motorcycle.

"It took you long enough, what did you have to do? Stop for directions," the growled as he got out of the truck.

"I had to go home and get my tools man," Natsu answered as he took off his helmet and then pulled a black duffle bag off the back of his bike. "Take me where I need to go."

Gajeel turned as he heard the passenger's side door slam on his truck. "Levy, I'm going to need your keys."

"I want to come," Levy repeated, she had come too far to be shut out now.

"No, you agreed to wait until we knew it was safe," Gajeel countered.

"Umm, guys," Natsu stood on the sidewalk in front of her building looking confused. "Arguing out here is not a good idea, it's exposed."

"Fine," Gajeel sighed. "But you stay back until we know that it's safe."

Levy dug out her keys and opened the front door to her building. "This place really needs an elevator." She heard Natsu mutter as they trudged up the stairs.

Finally they got to her floor. "You stand over there by the wall until its clear," Gajeel ordered. Levy backed up against the wall beside her neighbor across the hall's door, curious about what they were going to do without her keys.

"This is the door?" Natsu stopped in front of 302 and dropped his bag when Gajeel nodded. Levy watched as he opened it and pulled out a small round mirror that was attached to a metal rod.

"What is that?" Levy asked.

"It lets me look under the door," Natsu got down on his knees and held it beside up to the door gap. "Just to make sure there aren't any surprises on the other side."

"Oh my god," Levy exclaimed a couple octaves louder than before. "You do think there is a bomb."

"No we don't think there is a bomb and don't say that so loud, the neighbors will hear you," Gajeel barked. "It's a safety precaution."

They watched as Natsu used his mirror to scan under the door. "It's good," he announced happily. Then he extended the rod and slipped the mirror under the door. "Everything looks good on the inside too, I am pretty sure that it's all clear."

Levy heard Gajeel exhale loudly. "Levy, open the door." She did as she was told and then stood back so that they could enter first. After a quick search they found no one hiding in the apartment or something left behind that could have potentially hurt anyone.

"Do you notice anything?" Gajeel asked Levy after she had a chance to look around the main areas.

"Not yet, but I haven't looked in the bedrooms." She looked in Lucy's room first but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. She searched her bedroom last, a little afraid of what she might find and as soon as she opened the door she knew that things weren't right, even though it all looked normal.

"Gajeel?" She called and waited until he was standing in her doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Did you move anything in here?" She asked.

"No, we waited for you," he answered cautiously. "Is there something missing?"

"No, not missing," she answered quietly, still looking around. "But things are moved. Like, I never leave my drawers open…"

Gajeel looked to where she was pointing and sure enough there was a dresser drawer pulled open about an inch. He cleared his throat before speaking. "What drawer is that?"

"My, umm, ladies drawer," she replied, her face going red. "But there are there others things, my books have all been moved around and my bed's been moved a little."

Hearing that made Gajeel's skin crawl. "So they have been here, but did they take anything?"

"I don't know, but I don't have anything they would want to take."

Before Gajeel could answer Natsu came up behind him. "You guys shouldn't keep your balcony unlocked," the pink haired man advised cheerily. "I know it's on the top floor but it's still not impossible for somebody to try and break in."

"The balcony door was unlocked?" Gajeel repeated.

"Yeah man, I just checked."

"I locked that balcony myself not even three hours ago." If they only suspected it before they knew it for certain now, somebody had been in the apartment and they were planning on coming back. Gajeel pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Laxus' number. Instead of holding it to his ear he hit the speaker phone, he wanted everyone to be involved in this conversation.

"How did it go?" Came Laxus' greeting.

"Good news and bad news," Gajeel replied dryly. "I have you on speaker phone."

"Uh, ok?"

"Good news is that the place was clean for intruders or surprises. Bad news is that they have searched the place, we aren't sure if anything is missing and he left open a window that I locked myself before I brought Levy in. They are planning on coming back, Laxus." Gajeel hoped that the severity of that statement was being properly relayed over the phone.

"I get you, we have to move on to plan B," Laxus didn't sound happy about the situation.

"What is plan B?" Levy piped up from behind Gajeel. She had been so quiet that they had almost forgotten that she was there.

"I'm going to move you to a safe location Levy, don't worry," Laxus reassured her over the phone. "Until we know what they are after, it's some place they will never know to look for you."

"What about Lucy?" Levy asked. "My roommate, she has to come with me."

"Pack a bag," Laxus ordered. "Pack one for her too; take everything you are going to need for the next couple of days. I don't want either of you going back there until its safe. Natsu, find out where she is and then go get her. Both of you meet me at Gramps' place in about an hour." Levy heard the click of call disconnecting and then the line went dead.

"Where does Lucy work?" Gajeel asked Levy.

"Um, she works at a hair salon downtown, The Golden Key, but I really think that I should go with you, she doesn't like strangers." Levy was a little scared of what she had unleashed on her poor best friend.

"I think I know where that place is," Natsu replied and made his way to the door, picking up his discarded duffle bag from the hallway. "Don't worry, I'll go get her, ah… what's her name again?"

"Lucy!" Levy called after him. "Lucy Heartifillia! She's blonde with long hair and a side ponytail…" He disappeared back down the stairs and Levy pulled her head back into the apartment.

She went to her room and pulled a small roller suitcase out of her closet, she started to throw clothes into it randomly; her brain was on auto drive and wasn't processing her predicament fully. Gajeel had disappeared to somewhere and she was grateful, she didn't really want to back her bag in front of a guy she didn't know. She managed to remember to throw in a few books and her toiletries before zipping it up and lugging it out to the hallway. Then she went to Lucy's room, she felt a little bit weird going through her things but she didn't have much of a choice. Levy hoped that she was packing the right clothes; she and Lucy had very different styles and body types.

When she was finished she went to look for Gajeel in the living room and was surprised to find him gazing pictures they had up on the wall. They were mostly shots of Lucy and her over the last ten years of their friendship, but there were also a few of her parents and Lucy's. Gajeel was standing in front of the last portrait Levy had with her parents, taken at her high school graduation a few weeks before they died.

"Umm," she broke the silence, not wanting to startle him. "I'm ready to go."

"Okay," Gajeel turned to look at her. "I'm going to leave the balcony unlocked so that they won't know right away that we've been back here. I don't think they are going to do anything to your apartment or your neighbors so don't worry about that."

"There isn't anything here to steal." Levy looked around the room. "And I guess if they were going to hurt anyone in the building they would have done it the first time."

Gajeel nodded and they walked back to the door, he picked up both bags and went out into the hall. He watched as Levy locked up but just before they could make their way down the hall another apartment door opened.

"Levy!" A tall skinny man with long orange hair in a ponytail, wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts came out into the hallway. "I heard a bunch of voices coming from your apartment and in the hallway earlier, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Jet, don't worry about it," Levy answered, over-cheery.

His eyes narrowed when he looked over Gajeel, especially carrying two overnight bags. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely," Levy assured him, she grabbed the arm of Gajeel's sweater and started leading him down the hallway and passed the suspicious man. "I will see you later Jet! Bye Droy!"

"Bye Levy!" Came another voice from inside the man's apartment and Gajeel raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

"I'll explain later," she whispered as they made their way down the stairs.

You had to know that Jet and Droy would make their way into the story somehow XP Until next time!