It was the dull ache in his back that gradually woke Gajeel up, he was lying flat but the surface was much harder than his bed. He opened one eye and realized that he had fallen asleep on the couch again, he really needed to stop doing that before he ended up walking with a cane. His furniture was old but still functional so he couldn't bring himself to buy anything new when he rarely spent any time at home anyway.

"Mrrrrrow." Lily jumped on his chest and nearly knocked the wind out of him, he was not a small cat.

"I got it, you're hungry. Jeeze, give me a minute would ya," he scowled at the scarred black cat. Lily responded with another loud meow and swiped his paw across Gajeel's nose. It was still a little tender from his fight with Rogue. "Ouch," he muttered. "I'm going." He sat up and brushed the cat off him back onto the floor.

He stiffly made his way to the attached kitchen where a bag of dry cat food was sitting on the counter, he scooped out a cup full into one of the dishes in front of the sink and checked to make sure the other was filled with water. Lily dug into his breakfast hungrily, ignoring his owner now that he was fed.

Gajeel stretched out his achy muscles, feeling the joints in his back and arms pop, if he had cooled down properly after sparring last night he wouldn't feel like an old man this morning. Thinking about that made him wonder how they had made out at the old man's place, if anything exciting had happened after he left for the gym. He patted down his jean pockets looking for his phone with no luck; a small stab of panic entered his gut, what if they had been trying to contact him but he lost his phone? Cursing, he checked his pockets again and then his jacket but there was nothing.

He crouched down to look the last place that it could be, the gym bag that he had dropped just inside the door the night before. Tucked into one of the outside pockets he saw the top of his phone peeking out just barely and he had to hold back a sigh of relief. He pushed one of the buttons to see if he had any missed messages and his frustration returned when he realized the phone's battery had died sometime during the night.

"Dammit…" he mumbled, standing up quickly to search for his charger. Once it was plugged in he waited impatiently for it to charge enough he could at least turn it on, but when it did he had no missed messages or calls. Gajeel felt relieved and at the same time slightly disappointed, he frowned when he thought about how anxious he had been a few seconds ago. He wasn't somebody who worried, that was for wimps and old ladies, Laxus and Cobra would have been able to handle themselves in almost any situation so why was he so concerned? A memory of blue hair and light brown eyes flashed in his mind; her small, slender body when he had pulled her behind the dumpster to save her from a bullet. Now that he knew her he understood why she fought him and ran away instead of cowering in shook his head furiously, what was he thinking? He had only known Levy for one day he was getting those kinds of thoughts about her, it was embarrassing.

He shuffled into the bathroom and managed to take a shower, shave and get dressed to distract himself from thinking about her. His hands itched to check the phone on his dresser but he fought the urge, instead he went into the second bedroom that he had set up as an office. It was almost too small even for a single bed but there was enough room for a desk and an old armchair that was usually Lily's favorite place to nap. The rest of the space was taken up by file boxes or stacks of old folders and police reports; they were all over the desk and sorted into neat piles on the floor, pictures and scribbled post it notes were tacked onto the walls. To anyone else it might have seemed completely disorganized but Gajeel knew exactly where everything was.

He turned to the section of the wall that had been dedicated to the case and scowled, he remembered when Laxus called him into his office ten days before and gave him the file outlining the job. Now here he was, everything had gone to crap and almost two weeks wasted that he would never be able to get back. He started to pull notes and grainy black and white pictures off the wall, crumpling them bitterly and tossing them into an already overflowing wastebasket. He stopped in mid motion at the last one; it was a plain white piece of paper with one word written on it.

Nirvana.

The whole case had been built around Nirvana, Gajeel had been given instructions to find out what it was and why it was valuable to Grimoire Heart. He had been following some of the members that he could find and using all the contacts he had to find out information but now the only lead he had was deader than a doornail, murdered right in front of him. He couldn't help but wonder the reason Zoldeo had been murdered and the truth behind Nirvana were the same thing, his instincts were screaming at him that they were. Gajeel left the paper tacked to the wall, if he was starting over it was as good of a place as any but before he could decide what to do next his phone started to ring back in his bedroom.

Gajeel ran out of the room and answered it without looking to see who it was calling. "What?" He almost shouted into the phone, his voice a little breathless.

"Hello?" The caller replied, seemingly confused. "Gajeel?"

Gajeel let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. "Totomaru, yeah it's me. What's up?"

"Well, remember when you came in a few days ago and asked me if I knew anything about Nirvana?"

"Uh huh…" Gajeel didn't believe in coincidences but he was slowly changing his mind.

"I think I might have something for you, I'm not sure but I think it could be important but it might not be."

"What is it?" He asked, only slightly impatient. Gajeel liked the guy but sometimes it took him awhile to spit things out.

"There was a guy in Grimoire Heart that was offed a few nights ago; he used to hang out in here sometimes and talk to some of the kids." He and Totomaru used to be a part of the same gang when they were teens but just like Gajeel he had managed to turn his life around and now worked with at risk kids at an after school and weekends program.

"Why would you let a known gang member hang around with your kids?!"

"We didn't let him in he would just stand around outside, probably trying to recruit but he wasn't very good at it, they laughed at him more than took him seriously."

"And what does this have to do with Nirvana?" Gajeel hadn't asked about Zoldeo specifically when he had gone to see him and now he regretted not asking about Grimoire Heart as well.

"Last night we were pretty busy, you know? Saturday night, lots of kids around but Zoldeo wasn't there because he's dead right? But there was a new guy standing out there talking to the kids, asking about Zoldeo and if they knew anything about Nirvana."

"What did they say?" Gajeel wasn't even trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice now.

"Nothing, none of the kids knew anything about Nirvana but the guy didn't believe them and almost started a fight. We had to call the cops but he took off before they got here."

"What did he look like?"

"I never saw his face, he stayed in the dark parts of the street and he was wearing sweater with the hood up so it was hard to see."

Gajeel felt his blood go cold at the familiar description. "Did he say anything about a blue-haired girl?" Gajeel didn't know where the question came from; it had just popped out of his mouth.

"A girl? Not that I know off, just Nirvana and Zoldeo. Does that help?"

"Yeah, you did good…" Gajeel felt slightly relieved at his answer, but this coincidence was definitely something he couldn't ignore. "Will you let me know if you see him again?"

"I will, but its Sunday so those nights are usually pretty quiet, but I guess with the long weekend-"

"Just let me know," Gajeel interrupted. "Anything you think that might be important."

"Will do." They hung up and Gajeel looked down at the phone in his hand. He could always call Laxus and let him know or he could go in person. He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand by his bed; it was after ten so Sting and Rogue would have taken over hours ago, Laxus would be at the office. He took the half charged phone and grabbed a clean sweater from the closet, Lily was sprawled out on the cracked kitchen floor taking a nap when he walked through it on his way to the front door. This might finally be the lead he needed.

Gajeel let himself in the back door of the dark office building, they were officially closed Sundays but that just meant that Wendy didn't have to come in. As he guessed there was light coming from under Laxus' office door, the boss was hard at work.

"Laxus?" Gajeel called out so that he didn't get shot at by standing unannounced in front of the door. "You in?"

"Yeah." Came the muffled reply, so Gajeel opened the unlocked door. Laxus was sitting at his desk, he didn't look like he was in a very good mood. "What?" The blond man asked impatiently.

"Bad night?" Gajeel asked, although he knew that if it had been he would already know about it.

"Bad morning," Laxus mumbled in reply. "Between Sting and Natsu I'm surprised I haven't shot anyone yet. What's up?" He repeated.

"One of my old contacts called me this morning, he had a guy that sounds like it could be the shooter asking for information on Zoldeo… and Nirvana."

Laxus's eyes flickered at that word. "So it might be connected to the case after all. Did you get a description of the man?"

"No, he didn't see him up close but he sound the same size as the shooter and he was wearing a sweater with the hood pulled up. It's a bad description but what are the chances if they are connected to Zoldeo's murder that it isn't the same person."

"I don't know," Laxus mused. "But it's still more than what he had. I've called half of my contacts and no one knows anything except what we already know. You keep digging, you might get lucky again."

"Lucky?" Gajeel asked." "What part of this is lucky?"

"So far we've managed to stay ahead of this guy, I call that lucky. He could have killed you both behind the dumpster but he didn't."

"Only because I shot back at him and the noise woke up the neighbourhood."

"That's the other thing, why would he do it in such a public location? Why did he lure you out there to watch him kill Zoldeo?"

"I don't know, maybe he planned to kill us both." As he said it Gajeel got a slight chill. "Maybe I was a target." Many times Gajeel had been in life or death situations and it had never bothered him before, but for some reason the thought of this one did. Could it be because he wasn't the only one whose life had been in danger?

"If they wanted you dead there are easier ways to do it," Laxus remarked flatly. "Besides, why go to the trouble of trying to frame the Dogs then? I don't think they were planning on having two witnesses, but why are they going after her and not you, they already know who you are."

Gajeel hadn't thought of it like that, he assumed that they went after Levy because she was the easier target. "Whatever it is, we have to figure out who they are and what they want. I might be able to find someone who can give me a description of the guy last night, it's not much but it's better than nothing."

Laxus nodded in agreement. "Remember to be back at the house by three; Mira wants to have an early supper."

Gajeel grunted and went out of the building the same way he came in. It wasn't quite noon yet so he had lots of time to get to the community centre and see if any of the kids from the night before were there, it was only a few blocks away from the office in the heart of Magnolia's core. Totomaru's youth program ran in the basement of an old church that was converted into a resource center that was well used by the community. It didn't look that busy for a Sunday morning, and most of the activity seemed to be coming from upstairs, Gajeel asked one of the volunteers where Totomaru's office was and they led him down a hallway. The doorway was open and Gajeel could see him sitting at his cramped and cluttered desk, his bi-coloured hair was pulled up in a tall ponytail and he was wearing a pair of thick reading glasses.

"I didn't know you wore glasses," Gajeel chided as he filled the open doorway.

Totomaru stiffened and turned to face him in surprise. "What?" And then he reached up and felt his face. "Oh, right."

"You're getting old," Gajeel teased.

"We are all getting old," Totomaru answered with a sigh. "What's going on?"

"I was wondering if I could track down one of the kids that saw the guy asking about Zoldeo last night," Gajeel explained to his old friend. "We think it could be the same guy who shot him."

He thought about the request for a second. "Well I can't give you their contact information or addresses without a warrant and you're not a cop," Totomaru explained. "But two of them are downstairs right now and I can't stop you from asking them questions about it."

He stood up and Gajeel followed him to a narrow staircase that led to the basement. It was darker down there since the few windows were small and ground level, it was like walking down into a cave. There was a small group of kids sitting around on some battered couches and chairs watching another pair play pool nearby, they looked up as Totomaru and Gajeel approached and a few of them stiffened.

"The one in the black shirt with the red hat and the one in the green shirt and jeans, those are the two who saw the man," Totomaru murmured as they got closer. "It would be better if you talked to them without me; sometimes they get scared to say things in front of me that might get them kicked out of the program."

Gajeel nodded, he understood but he didn't know how well it would go without their mentor and someone they trusted. "Thanks."

Totomaru wandered over to where another man was sorting through a box of donated clothes, he had VOLUNTEER written across the back of his red t-shirt and was probably one of the other mentors. The kids had been whispering to each other since the adults had come downstairs but once Gajeel got close enough to hear they went silent, instead they watched him with a wide range of emotions on their faces, from fear to apprehension.

"I need to ask you guys some questions." He decided to cut right to the chase. "There was a guy here last night asking about Zoldeo from Grimoire Heart. Did any of you talk to him or see what he looked like?"

"Are you a cop?" The kid in the green shirt had been one of the two playing pool but the game had stopped when Gajeel started talking.

"No, I'm not a cop," Gajeel answered patiently, he got asked that question all the time although he didn't personally think he looked anything like a cop.

"Then we don't have to tell you anything," the kid in green spat back. Gajeel counted to three in his head to keep his patience from wearing down but he was reminded again why he hated kids, especially snotty teenagers. If these where anything like him at that age then he knew that he was going to be in trouble; Gajeel could still remember the ray of sunshine he had been as teen. He wanted to snap right back at him but he knew that wouldn't help and he still needed them to cooperate if he wanted to find out anything.

"You don't have to tell me, but it would make things a lot easier if you did." He tried keeping his tone as even as possible.

"If you're not a cop then why do you care?" The kid asked, more wary than indignant now. "Who are you?" Before Gajeel could answer the kid's eyes widened a little and he glanced at his friend in the red hat who was sitting on one of the couches. "You're Blacksteel Gajeel," the kid mumbled almost like it was to himself. "From Phantom Lord."

"Phantom Lord is over." Gajeel wondered if it was their mentor that had been telling stories about him or if he was still as infamous in the streets as he had once been. "The guy who was here last night is trying to hurt a friend of mine; I'm asking you because I need to know so that I can help them."

The kids exchanged glances but it was the boy with the red hat that spoke. "It was really dark and he was wearing sunglasses and a sweater. All I saw was that he had a big nose."

"Yeah a huge nose, like it took up half of his face," green shirt added.

"You've never seen him before?"

"Nah. Zoldeo used to come around here sometimes and try and talk us up and work for him but he was a joke." Green shirt leaned against the pool table with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" Gajeel asked curiously.

"He's a loser, everybody knows that."

"So what did the guy say about him?" Gajeel didn't want to say he already knew about Nirvana.

"He just asked who Zoldeo talked to." The kid with the red hat was quieter than his friend, not quite as cocky. "But he didn't really hang around with anyone."

"He sounded funny too, really squawky voice." Gajeel was about to ask if there was anything else but he kept going. "There was also the Nirvana thing."

"Nirvana?"

The boy shrugged. "He asked if Zoldeo ever told us about Nirvana but we've never heard of we told him that he got mad and called us liars so we split. This guy was different from Zoldeo, he felt like the real deal."

"After that Mr. T came out and he left." Gajeel believed them and he was glad they didn't know anything that could get them into trouble.

"Is that enough to help your friend?"

It was a girl that asked and the question surprised him. "I hope so," he answered honestly. "Thanks."

He walked away before they could ask him anything else and joined Totomaru where he was standing next to a water cooler and table full of snacks.

"So, did you get anything useful?" The other man asked as he took a bite out of a chocolate chip cookie.

"Maybe, but until I have something to compare it to it doesn't help me." Gajeel picked up an apple.

"Is there something I should be worried about?" Totomaru wiped his hand on his jeans to get the crumbs off.

"They don't know anything that would make them a target." They walked back up the staircase, there was more activity upstairs now and Gajeel could smell something cooking nearby.

"Good," Totomaru sounded relieved. "The last thing I need is a murderer coming after one of my kids, it's hard enough keeping this place open these days."

"You're doing good here," Gajeel reassured him. "I'll let you know if anything happens."

Totomaru nodded and they said their goodbyes. Gajeel ate his apple as he walked back to the truck parked out on the street and tossed the core in a bush before getting in. He checked the clock on the dash; it was just about noon so he still had time to kill before he had to go back to the house. He caught himself thinking about what the others might be doing right at that moment and then he wondered why.

A big nose and a funny voice, it sure hadn't been much but it could have been much worse. With any luck Laxus had found out more and they would start putting the pieces together.