Hello again all! Sorry for the popping in and out but it has been a very busy last year for me, got a promotion with my job, bought a new house, renovations and moving means not a lot of time or energy to work on my writing. I have managed to do some but I'm not always happy with it compared to my earlier stuff, I think I just need to get over the next few chapters and hopefully I can get back on track! Please be patient!

DarthMunshkin395 here is a chapter for you!

As always I do not own Fairy Tail, it belongs to Hiro Mashima and I thank him for it's use in my own creative expressions *bows*

Laxus was folding up lawn chairs so he could put them back in the storage shed when his phone started vibrating in his back pocket, he hoped it was good news because that supper had tried his already thin patience. He checked the caller ID and it was a blocked number which meant it was most likely work related.

"Hello," he answered almost tentatively, looking around to make sure no one else was within listening range.

"Laxus, I have some news."

He was almost relieved to hear Freed's voice even though it had to be urgent if he was calling unexpectedly he was better than a few alternatives."What is it?"

"There has been another incident that concerns you, this time it is about the girl."

"Which one?"

"Both. Someone broke into their apartment; a neighbour heard the noise and caught them in the act."

Laxus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Where they killed?" Another murder was just what he needed to bring even more heat down on them, there would be no holding Erza back then.

"No, just knocked him out and then ran off; he says he doesn't remember anything so it's a dead end but Erza is smart enough to start making connections soon if she hasn't already so you should be prepared."

Laxus didn't want to tell Freed that she had already figured out more than enough, this would give her more of a reason to be looking into things she shouldn't be. "Thanks for the heads up, I appreciate it."

They disconnected without saying anything else, keeping the calls short made it less likely someone would figure out they were in contact at all.

"Rogue," he called out to the man who was standing a couple of feet away talking quietly with Max and Warren. "Find the others and tell them to meet me in the house."

Levy was a little hesitant as she followed the other two girls outside but she was more worried about her fight with Lucy and happy for the distraction of their company. She watched the group of giggling kids chase Plue around on the soft green grass; the little white dog was wagging his tail happily and sniffing the ground for any dropped bits of food. Lisanna walked passed the area where they had had the barbecue and led them into her brother's neighboring yard.

"It's beautiful," Levy breathed as she stared at the round gazebo on a raised deck that took up the middle part of the green back lawn. Inside was a steel framed patio set with four cushioned chairs and matching wooden planters filled with bright coloured flowers bordered around the outside; it looked like it could belong in a gardening magazine.

"Oh, Elfman made it. He's a carpenter." Lisanna took one of the chairs and motioned for Levy to take the one next to her. "Most of the time he does big projects like buildings and houses but in his spare time he likes to make other stuff."

"I thought that everyone in your family worked together."

"Not everyone," Lisanna admitted with a smile. "He does help out sometimes when they need to intimidate someone, but the truth is he is a giant marshmallow that couldn't hurt anyone on purpose. Laxus is way, way scarier."

Levy could believe that as she remembered his intense stare, like he could see right through you and know exactly what you were thinking.

"Tell us more about you," Lisanna insisted leaning closer. "Wendy said that you actually saw Zoldeo get shot." She looked over at the younger girl who blushed slightly. "That must have been so intense."

"Yeah, I guess…" Levy didn't really want to go through the story again and it reminded her about what Lucy had said. If she had listened to her they probably would be in a real safe-house surrounded by cops right now instead of someone's back yard, but would they have been safer? Levy didn't know.

"It's ok if you don't want to talk about it," Wendy piped up like she could read her mind, looking sideways at Lisanna. "We understand that you've been thought a lot."

"It's not that." Levy paused, unsure how to explain it. "It's just that so much has happened and I don't think it's hit me yet."

"It kind of makes you wonder why it doesn't it," Wendy answered sympathetically.

Levy remembered the little bit she had told her over lunch yesterday about her past and Wendy probably did understand the way Levy was feeling more than anyone else could. "I'm lucky that Gajeel was in that alley or else I would probably be dead right now."

"Don't think like that. I know that their methods can be a little strange sometimes but the boys always have a way of making things work out and being at the right place at the right time."

Levy could hear the affection and trust in Wendy's voice; she hadn't been able to explain to Lucy why she had the same feelings when it came to Gajeel, Laxus and the others but she did.

"And they don't give up either," Lisanna added. "Like it or not once you get involved with the Dragons you can't get rid of them, we are all one big family here."

They sat in silence for a minute while Levy thought about what to say. She wanted badly to tell them about the argument with Lucy but she didn't know if it would be betraying her best friend's trust to people she had just met. "I really want to believe that everything is going to work out," Levy answered finally.

"What about your family?" Lisanna asked. "Do they live in Fiore?"

"My parent's died a few years ago, so did Lucy's dad."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Lisanna's smile faded slightly. "You and Lucy seem really close."

"We've been best friends for as long as I can remember and I feel terrible about dragging her into this. If she gets hurt it will be all my fault."

"You have us now." Wendy replied. "You guys won't be going through it alone."

"Lucy doesn't understand though, she takes a while to warm up to new people."

"Is that what your argument was about?" Lisanna asked.

Levy nodded. "She wanted me to go to the police right after it happened and I told her I would… But then I met Gajeel and everyone else so I convinced her to wait and she trusts me. Lucy is stubborn, she won't hold back for much longer; she might even go to the police herself if I don't agree to go with her."

Levy saw a look pass between Wendy and Lisanna like they wanted to say something.

"What?" Levy asked.

"I don't know if it's our place to talk about it Lisanna," Wendy chided gently. "If Laxus didn't tell her then he probably had a reason."

"Tell me what?" Levy repeated, her curiosity growing.

"Laxus used to be a cop," Lisanna explained. "So did Natsu, they quit about five years ago and started up the agency together."

At first she was surprised by the new information but once she thought about it she could picture Laxus with his calm and cool demeanor making a good police officer, Natsu was a different story. "Why did they quit?" She asked.

"It's a long story but something happened with one of Laxus' cases and it went really bad, he thought that he was going to get fired anyway so he quit instead. Natsu surprised everyone when he decided to follow him; there are others we grew up with who work with the police but they don't always get along since Laxus left."

"What about the others?" Levy was suddenly very interested in knowing more about them. "Were they all police too?"

Lisanna giggled. "No way, just Laxus and Natsu. Cobra joined them not long after they started the agency; they knew him from some of their old cases but I'm not sure exactly how they met. Sting and Rogue have only been there about a year, no one is really sure what they were doing before and they don't like talking about their past much."

"What about Gajeel?" He was the one she was the most curious about.

"They've known Gajeel since they were teenagers but they weren't always friends, more like rivals." Lisanna answered. "Gajeel was an orphan like the rest of us, but he wasn't lucky like we were to have somebody like Gramps to take him in. He did some bad things when he was a teenager but he's been really trying the last few years to do better and make amends."

"All of you are orphans?" Levy thought about the sign on Laxus' Grandpa's house, a home for wayward children.

"We all grew up in Gramp's foster home. Well, Wendy didn't but she did come and live with us eventually. My parent's died when I was a baby, Natsu's dad disappeared when he was a little kid; some of our foster siblings don't even know what happened to their families."

"So that's why we will never give up on you," Wendy added. "You're a part of our family now and we protect our family."

Gajeel crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame to Laxus' living room, all the other Dragons except for Wendy were there. Laxus stood in front of the large fire place like a general facing his troops before he led them out into battle.

"I just got some news that you should all know," he began somberly. "And I want everyone to be on the same page." No one spoke so he continued. "Freed contacted me because Levy and Lucy's apartment was broken in to this afternoon, there was a neighbor who witnessed it this time but they didn't catch them."

Even though he knew her apartment had been broken into once already Gajeel felt a stab of dread enter his stomach after getting confirmation of their suspicions and it was giving him an unexpected chill.

"We knew that they would be waiting for them already." Cobra said the words that Gajeel had been thinking. "This doesn't change anything."

"Yes but they will have figured out that the girls are not coming back, especially now with the police around. This means they will start looking for them in other places so we have to be more careful. Gajeel and I will be attending a meeting tonight that will hopefully give us some more leads but all we've been getting so far are dead ends."

"What are these men after?" Rogue spoke up quietly from his seat on one of the couches. "If it was just about silencing a witness then why wouldn't they be coming after Gajeel as well? Especially since he was set up at that meeting place, someone wanted him to see Zoldeo die so why would they care so much about another witness? Especially a helpless girl."

Gajeel had to admit that the kid had a point, he tried to think if he had seen anyone suspicious following him in the last few days but he was confident that if someone had been he would know. So why would they be interested in Levy and not him? He was the more dangerous than she could ever be.

"It's a good question and hopefully we can find out the answer soon. Freed is keeping us in the loop with the police investigation but they seem to be as stumped as we are with Zoldeo's muder. So the plan for the rest of today is to go back to the safe house and lay low until the meeting. If we get the answers we are looking for we will be able to come up with a better plan tomorrow, if not then we are still in the same place we are now. Rogue, Sting, you will go back to the house with Gajeel and Natsu and make sure everything is as it should be, then be back there tomorrow morning. Cobra, you be at the house by seven-thirty tonight to take the night shift with Natsu while Gajeel and I are gone."

Gajeel waited the other guys left the room before speaking. "What can we expect tonight?"

Laxus looked at him and met his gaze. "I don't know, it can go a couple of ways. If the Dogs are involved than we would be walking right into it but something in my gut says that they are being set up. If that is the case then they might help us just to find out who is using their organization as a scapegoat or they might decide not to trust anyone and not tell us a damn thing anyway."

"So you're hoping its option B but it's not likely."

Laxus shrugged his shoulders. "Goldmine isn't an idiot and he knows that we talk straight but I don't want to take to any chances. Leave your gun at Gramp's before you head over."

That last order surprised him, he hated going into anything unarmed. "Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Cana said no weapons so that is what we will do, I'm almost positive they won't shoot us, they have no reason to."

Gajeel wasn't feeling quite as optimistic but he didn't argue further. He knew Laxus well enough that the man would have a back-up plan in case things went sideways.

"You should go round up the girls, make sure they get back alright and don't be late."

Gajeel nodded his understanding and turned to walk out of the room. He passed the busy kitchen where most of the ladies were still cleaning up but Lucy and Levy weren't there. Instead of asking he took a chance and went back outside; the kids were still playing with the yappy white mutt but again no Levy or Lucy.

He caught the faint sound of giggling coming from the other yard so he stalked over in that direction and saw they were sitting under Elfman's gazebo. At least Levy was with Wendy and Lisanna but he could only see the back of her head. One down and one more to go. He walked up quietly and the girls seemed so deep in conversation that they didn't notice him until he was almost close enough to touch the wooden frame."It's time to head back to Gramp's."

Levy startled a little when he spoke and she jumped up out of her chair so fast she almost knocked it over. "I'll go get Lucy," she replied quickly and practically ran back toward the house. Gajeel watched her with a raised eyebrow and wondered why she was in such a hurry all of a sudden.

I'll do my best to get the next part out as soon as possible, cheers!