A/N: Something new! Actually, I wrote this in November 2014 for NaNoWriMo, so it's not really new. anyways, I'll talk more in the next chapter's author note. I hope you guys like my new and long awaited Detective/Crime AU featuring our favorite pair, Gajeel and Levy.

Prologue

Help was a lost cause.

All her life she never had convenient or offered help from anybody. She had to do things her own way, and that was how she learned growing up in the unfortunate part of Magnolia. Levy always took care of herself, always watched her own skin. Running through the empty streets was nothing new, though it brought back haunting sense of nostalgia that Levy didn't want to remember. Her footsteps were loud against the piddle patter of the heavy rain, splashing her sock clad feet into the deep puddles. It masked the roughness of her breathing, desperately running through her limits, pushing her body towards salvation.

If she could find it.

"Where the fuck did that shit go?" Levy heard the echoing voices trailing behind her.

"Shit!" She breathed quickly, thinking about Jet and Droy and how she left them behind while she fled. Her heart ached, recalling Jet's desperate look for her to run and get help. As much as she wanted to go back, Levy knew she couldn't stand a chance.

"Found him!" A voice caught her ear, urging her to go faster. Levy could hear three snickering voices and their quick footsteps closing in on her.

Levy looked frantically around for some place to hide. Some place public with people. Where she could seek refuge. None of the businesses were open this late and most of the big buildings were closed.

She locked her trembling knees and slid through the puddle, grabbing the slick lamp post at the corner, where she turned on the intersection and continued her escape. The court house greeted her, pillars and concrete steps raised the majestic subraised pediment. It stood out like a beacon, though Levy sullied her hope when the voices and footsteps were coming closer.

"There is nowhere to go!" One of the three voices roared in laughter.

Levy skipped each step gracefully as she climbed the pantheon towards the granite Corinthian columns. A silhouette appeared within the dark depths, behind the pillars. The rain eased once she approached the still figure, standing high and dry on her own pedestal. Levy reacted, her mind clear once she sheltered herself, and she moved towards the statue. She climbed the figure, finding some sort of crevasse between the wall and iron woman. She moved quickly, but all hope was eradicated when a wet hand encircled her ankle.

"Got you, you little shit!" A low voice laughed, yanking her ankle and soon grabbed her arm and threw her on the concrete floor.

"Oh shit!" One of the three shouted. "She's a chick!"

"What do we do?" The other asked the first guy. Levy couldn't make out the faces, only that they were wearing their uniforms without their vests.

"What are you guys doing?" The third man approached them, taller than the rest. His voice boomed, startling the other two as they jumped.

"Gajeel," One of the men said. "She's a girl."

"So?" The man named Gajeel spat. "We've hazed women before. They're to be treated like the damn rest."

"She's just a kid." The other man added.

"Then, I'll do it you useless shits." Gajeel hissed, boots stomping on the concrete towards her. Levy crawled away from him, only to be dragged again by the ankle, and threw her against the foot of the pedestal. She winced from the pain shooting through her legs.

"Stop!" Levy reacted by swinging her fist at the man holding her, trying to break free from his iron grip. The only thing she felt was her fist skimming his short damp hair.

"Oh!" Gajeel snickered, grabbing her slick wrists, and pulling painfully until her joints popped. "Yer have some fight in you! If you wanna fight! I'll give you a—"

Before he could finish, Gajeel's eyes adjusted to the darkness, finally seeing their hazing victim. Unlike the two others back at the recruiting barracks, the woman in his grasp was small, almost fragile. The little light that was provided showed the light blue hair, damp and clung to her frightened face. Her hazel eyes popped against her bright hair.

"Get your hands off me!" Levy shouted, tugging at her arm. She didn't seem like a recruit. This woman looked more like she belonged in high school. And what made Gajeel pause from his pursuit was that she wasn't much older than his little sister.

"I said," Levy shouted again. "Let go of me!" In Gajeel's moment of hesitation, Levy pulled her arm free and swung her fist across his jaw.

"Gajeel!" His two friends yelled, ready to step in and grab her.

"Enough," Gajeel growled, rubbing his jaw. "Just leave her here."

"I don't remember that being part of the plan." A new voice appeared from the shadows. Levy turned her head towards the incoming shadows.

"Sergeant Jose." One of the men said, saluting to their superior officer.

"From my stack of recruiting papers, Levy McGarden is a first year recruit. Just like the others." Sergeant Jose said to them.

"She had enough." Gajeel stood straight, unbothered by his commanding officer's presence.

"I'll say when she had enough." Sergeant Jose hissed. "You two! Go get the other two in the alley and bring them here."

"Yes, Sir!" They both shouted and left, leaving Gajeel and Levy with the Sergeant.

"Gajeel," The sharp nose man loomed over Levy. She scooted as close to the pedestal as she could. Jose's eyes hungrily wondered over her body. "Do your worse."

"No…" Levy muttered, voice shaking.

"If you want to earn a place in my department, I suggest you do as I say." He snickered, and turn towards the black haired man. Levy's trembling gaze studied the sturdiness of his back, unmoved like a statue. The cold rain didn't bother him, the crack of the thunder didn't faze him.

"Yes, sir." His voice was calm and stern. Robotic even. Jose nodded his head towards Levy, which she stiffens from the wicked grin across his angular face. Gajeel turned around, lightning seared through the night sky. Levy could finally see his face. His blazing red eyes were cold and sharp like the metal piercings prominent on his chiseled face. It was like as if he was a robot, only to do as he was ordered to do.

"Welcome to my task force," The long nosed man snickered, watching his disciple turn around to face Levy. "Gajeel Redfox."

Everything seemed to be at a standstill. When Levy joined the academy, she would never thought of going through this. Only rumors spread through the barracks as she read quietly to herself. She would never believe she was living this nightmare. Though, she didn't want to enter the academy in the first place.

Survive.

Levy's nerves were shot, and her eyes grew still as Gajeel took a step closer towards her. The whimpers from her cries grew dry in her throat, and her breathing steadied. If one thing Levy knew all her life was to calm herself, and survive.

"Do what you have to do." Levy said to Gajeel. She watched the slight hesitation in his ruby eyes, though his body didn't waiver. And like his body, her eyes didn't leave his.

The next day, Levy was found tied to one of the columns at the courthouse along with her friends Jet and Droy. She was strung up like a punished slave, and her only crime was to become a cop.

Killing Me Softly

A Fairy Tail Fanfiction

Written by: Lexi V. aka Kissed By Iron

Fairy Tail By: Mashima Hiro

Chapter One: Eve of the Beholder

Seven years later. September of 2015.

He hated court days.

The itchy starch pressed shirts against his skin, loosen charcoal gray tie tucked under his collar, and the stifling fitted suit jacket clung uncomfortably on his muscular body. He felt out of place, though he was perfectly camouflaged in the sea of finely dressed. Not all were nicely dressed, as for some who were clad in orange and decorated in shiny metal chains. They even had an escort service of stern men like Gajeel in their uniform blues guiding them into a secret hallway. Only a few times Gajeel ever walked down that special VIP hallway, and he never cared to go back there. His place was at the back of the courtroom.

And to visit her.

It never saw Gajeel before. He had a feeling that she knew he was there, staring at the blinded woman towering before him. The fearful sword raised above her sphere shaped head, curls perfectly sculpted at the very top. Her other hand held a set of perfectly balanced scales, slowly creaking from the iron chains as the natural breeze of the crowd whipping by. Her wrought iron robe that cloaked her was the same as her skin, tough and cold with an emotionless face. Most criminals who are brought to her feet tremble in fear knowing that even blinded she held their fate through their actions. Lawyers, Judges, police officers and innocents would call her an angel of the victims.

To Gajeel, she was prominent in his godforsaken life as a haunting guardian angel looming over his shoulder. Like angels, he saw many variations of Lady Justice; small or big, in paintings or as statues, praised and often times ridiculed. Having the symbolic blindfold cover her eyes, he could see some of the guilty criminals stick their putrid tongues out at her. Sadly enough, some who defend her would do treacherous things behind her robe clad back. Sickening tasks to beat around the system, and it disgusted Gajeel. Though, he wasn't a saint to begin with either.

"Excuse me?" Gajeel pulled his eyes away from the blinded woman and looked down to see a woman with medium length black hair, red thin framed glasses and a slimmed tight black dress with a bright red glass marble necklace around her slender neck. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you remind me of a character from a book." Gajeel looked further down to see her clenching a hardcover book against her chest. He recognized the image of the blond woman at the back cover, only to see her brown eyes peeking over the arm of the stranger.

"That the book?" Gajeel removed his hands from his suit pocket and pointed at it. She looked down and turned the book over to reveal the cover. A Magnolia Metro Police Department badge, dripping in dark red blood in the background, a pair of serious scarlet eyes appearing darker than the blood just under the badge, and bold metallic letters graced over the shield with its chilling title.

"Iron Shield?" She smiled, blushing slightly. Gajeel's eyes flickered back to the cover to see the familiar name written in the same silver lettering. "Yep! The main character likes to stare at the woman holding the scales…he has long black hair just like you…" she took a step closer to get a better look at his face. "…red eyes like yours." Gajeel was taken aback by her forwardness. "Wait!" The stranger flipped pass the copyright page and paused at the partially blank page. "Are you—?"

"No," Gajeel answered immediately, knowing the one page she turned to reveal his identity.

"Gajeel!" He rolled his eyes and sighed frustratingly when the annoying shrill of the voice echoing down one of the hallways. Her heels with her usual walking paced clicked louder and louder as she made her way towards the courthouse lobby. "Sergeant, we gotta head in before all the seats are taken. Evergreen said the family would like us to sit by them." Her large brown eyes looked over to see the stranger standing next to Gajeel, and she glanced up to see him blaring his red eyes back at her.

"You are Gajeel Redfox!" The woman pointed at the dedication page.

"Let's go, detective." Gajeel didn't turn back at the stranger and grabbed his co-worker's arm, dragging her back down the hallway in which she came.

"Who's that?" She asked, looking back and she winced when Gajeel squeezed her bicep. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"A fucking fan." Gajeel hissed. "I swear. I am going to kill bunny girl for writing my name in the dedication page."

"Ha," She laughed. "You like the attention." Cana Alberona was one of the new detectives at Magnolia City Police Department precinct fourteen's homicide division. She transferred from Robbery at the seven about two months ago. "And she's cute, Sarge."

"Not interested."

"Oh c'mon!" She nudged her arm from his grasp. "You need to find a girl that'll drag your ass out of your work."

"Cana," Gajeel sighed. "I said, I'm not interested. Especially a book worm like her."

"You, LT and the Cap, I tell ya." Cana shook her head. She followed in step with Gajeel, marching down the main hall to the main courtroom at the very end of it. "Workaholics."

"Enough."

"I mean, I know the department has the highest closure rating—"

"That's an order, detective." Gajeel side glanced her in his authoritative tone. He met her eyes and she backed off, lifting her hands in surrender.

"Yes, sergeant." He saw Cana roll her eyes, but didn't dare to say anything back. She had a mouth that would have a nun wanting to furiously scrub soap into her flapping lips. Aside from her foul cop mouth and tough guy attitude, Detective Alberona was one of the brightest upcoming detectives in the whole department.

After making their way through the double doors of the courtroom, Cana led them to the right side of the large room on the plaintiff side, where the public prosecutor found them in the crowd. She pushed at the edge of her thin wire frames along the bridge of her nose and her bright red lipstick stuck out from her light brown hair and dark chocolate eyes. Her eyes were stone serious, but the small bright curve of her ruby lips said something entirely. It screamed confidence.

"About time you showed up!" Assistant District Attorney Evergreen scolded with her manicured hands matching her lips rested on her wide hips. "Where is Elfman? He better be in the back."

"Oh he is," Cana grinned. "Juvia is also there."

"Good!" She straighten up and pushed her already secure glasses at the thinnest part of her nose. "I want this trial to go beautifully. We're going to send this guy away for life."

"You better." Gajeel crossed his arms and scanned the room before returning it to Evergreen. "Don't mess up."

"Heh," Evergreen hummed offended by his doubtfulness. "Who do you take me for? As long as you do your job, you only get absolute perfection from me."

"Jeez," Gajeel clicked his tongue. "Just win it for them." His thumb motioned to his left where a grieving family sitting tightly together, anxiously praying and waiting for the final hearing day. A father of three sitting between his daughter and two sons, dressed in the finest they could afford to see the man that killed their mother was brought to justice.

"Leave it to me." She smiled and nodding in her confident way.

The case went as planned.

The last day of the hearing was all about the case leading up to the murder's arrest. Detective Elfman Strauss was the first on scene and lead investigator of the case. Gajeel could hear Cana giggling to herself when Evergreen questioned the detective. From what Gajeel saw, it was a prosecutor interviewing a police officer about a murder trial. Elfman sat straight in his extra large gray suit and green striped tie, cramped in the tiny elevated witness stand. Cana saw the outlandish bickering of a secret couple at each other's faces, arguing over the most ridiculous things. For some reason, their professionalism in the courtroom humored her.

Gajeel ignored her, and ignored most of the trial. It wasn't that he was bored. His ignorance was his own way of showing confidence. Gajeel wouldn't undermine Evergreen's abilities. She did what he could not, bring forth the truth to the Angel of Justice. The angel wasn't the judge that sat in his specified box. Lady Justice appeared in a painting behind the judge. She was out of place in the fake mahogany wood courtroom, where even the walls were plated with it. The painting was softly painted in soft strokes, using pastels and feminine features to give the majestic woman to smite the guilty in her elegant soft white robe and delicate porcelain skin.

"All rise." The jury returned from recess and the judge joined the room shortly after. "Does the Jury have the verdict?" She turned in her swivel chair and faced the jury. A wooden section with two rows of occupied chairs was seated at the far right side of the courtroom, just beside the witness stand. A woman at the very end rose from her seat and unfolded the paper that was tightly clasped in her clammy hands.

"The jury has found Octavius Carl…"

While everyone was looking at the jury speaker, Gajeel's eyes wondered to the defendant, wearing his traffic cone orange jump suit and standing from his rickety wooden seat with hands bound in front of him. For about a month, Gajeel and Elfman were hunting him down. Three women were killed because of him. Three women who worked in the same construction company as accountants were tortured and murdered one by one as he pried information about their employer. The last victim suffered because Gajeel didn't make it in time. If only he caught on the pattern of the financial transactions the women had to access to prior to their kidnapping, there would have been one less victim to lay to rest.

The soon-to-be convicted man stood straight with his lawyer beside him and two cops on his other side. His clean shaven face didn't show emotion. He had an eerie calm in the way he stood. The man remained still, composed, and his butt chin was held high. Proud at what he had done.

"…guilty." The woman in the Juror's box said firmly, causing the crowd to cheer around Gajeel. He felt a nudge from Cana's elbow into his side, but he didn't budge. For some reason, Gajeel didn't see a change in the now convicted felon's demeanor. He remained the same, completely still.

"Octavius Carl." The judged slammed the mallet for the courtroom to quiet down. The entire time, Gajeel was staring at the villain. Where he should be looking at the cops sitting behind him.

"They're not wearing the right uniforms." Gajeel muttered.

"What?" Cana leaned in. He ignored her and his eyes span beyond the defendant. Why hadn't he seen them before? Just behind the defendant were five police officers in their patrol uniforms and vests sitting straight in their chairs. Police officers that are not on duty are supposed to where casuals during trails.

"Cana," Gajeel leaned in. "Are those the uniforms from Vice?" She looked over to the line of cops. The former vice police officer had a confused look on her face. Large brown eyes narrowed at the uniformed clad men.

"No," Cana shook her head. "Aren't those the uniforms from county?" There it was. The all too familiar feeling in his gut that something was completely wrong.

"You are found guilty in murder of the first degree and—"

"County is gray. They're wearing blue…" Gajeel tighten, ready to stand up—

"Now!" The convicted felon roared and the line of officers followed his signal.

Everything around him went by too fast.

Gajeel shouted everyone to get down, pushing Cana to the floor and behind him. A loud pop vibrated in the air and a flash of light sputtered in the direction of the defendant. His ears rung loudly, muffling the sounds of screaming. His vision blurred only to see people struggling on the floor. Apart from being impaired, his body reacted. Gajeel grabbed hold of the wooden railing that separated the audience from the courtroom stage, and pulled himself as his other hand reached for his gun holstered at his hip. A shot was fired and another roar of screams followed. Gajeel pointed his gun towards the back door leading to the holding area. There he saw the five cops leading the convict through that door.

"Cana," He bent down at the young detective still in a shock stupor from the flash grenades. "Stay here." Gajeel stood up, finally regaining his vision.

"Dad…" Gajeel looked over to the family of the victims. The father of three laid limp over his kids, two holes oozing blood appeared on his cheap black suit. "Dad!" The girl shouted as the two boys cried.

"Cana, call an ambulance!" Gajeel yelled. He didn't wait for her to say anything. The next thing he saw was Elfman on the floor holding Evergreen in his bulk arms. She was swearing up a storm, clenching on her right shoulder.

"Elfman," Gajeel leapt over the railing and knocked over the table. "Control the courtroom. Call paramedics!" Juvia scrambled to her feet and met the eyes of Gajeel.

"Call Deputy Chief and the Captain!" Juvia shouted, shaking her head from shock, and blinking her eyes to flutter the white dots from her vision. "Cana! Now!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Juvia," Gajeel didn't need to explain. He started to run with his gun up towards the back room. "Their heading to the back room."

"Juvia knows," Juvia's stance was wobbly, but she stood her ground. She reached for her Glock and pulled it out in front of her. "Juvia will stay at your six and we'll split in front of the Juror's room."

"You take the judge's corridor and I'll take the main hall." Gajeel said. "Let's go."

With Juvia behind him, Gajeel marched down the narrow hallway at the very back of the courtroom. He never thought he would ever return to the VIP hallway. At least not like this. He could hear Juvia shout something incoherent, but couldn't make it out with the slight hearing loss in his left ear, like he was underwater. Whatever it was, Gajeel hoped it wasn't important. They reached the three way intersection, plastic plaque in front of them pointed out which way leads to where. Gajeel turned to the right and pointed his gun down the long corridor, glancing back to see Juvia covering the other.

"Eyes sharp," Juvia said before she marched onward in her respective hallway. "Be careful."

"Likewise," Gajeel moved forward down the hall, hearing the muffled clicks of Juvia's heels fading farther away as he moved down the hall. He cursed to himself about his hearing. Five officers and the murderer frantically moving down the narrow hallway, it was impossible to not make a ruckus in a building full of cops. Then again, they managed to escape the main courtroom with ease.

"Who the fuck are you?" He gritted his teeth and turned the corner. There, he saw the door leading to the public where one of the fake cops slipped through the threshold before the door came to a closing shut. "Hey!" Gajeel shouted and sprinted as fast as he could with his gun still in hand. Gun fire erupted and the inevitable screams from the lobby followed. The gun in his hand returned in front of him as he kicked open the door, quickly scanning his surroundings before moving further out of the corridor. People in the lobby and hallways were on the ground, faces tight against the marble floor and their hands over the heads.

"Where did they go?" Gajeel shouted to one of the civilians on the ground.

"They went that way!" Her voice shook, but she told him what he needed to know, pointing down hallway C

"Thanks," Gajeel made his way down hallway C and just as he turned the corner, a door busted open. Juvia came out of it turning herself towards Gajeel and pointed her gun at him. He didn't faze from the caution and he kept up with his trek with Juvia running beside him.

"Did you see them?" Juvia asked, breathing heavily.

"Saw them leaving the back hall and someone said they were heading this way." Gajeel huffed, speeding up his pace. They turned the corner, his black boots squeaking beneath him and Juvia's thin heels stomp against the marble. It was the final stretch, watching the six individuals busting through the back door. One of the cops stopped at the glass threshold and drew his gun at them.

"Gun!" Gajeel shouted and the man opened fire at them. Juvia took cover behind a wrought iron bust of an old judge, and Gajeel found refuge behind a granite column. "You okay?"

"Fine!" Juvia shouted. "Cover me!"

"Right!" Gajeel peeked out and aimed his gun at the shooter, while Juvia moved two pillars forward, shooting as she went along her path.

"Move!" Juvia shouted, and Gajeel did just that, but instead of moving behind cover, he pressed on forward towards the door. "Gajeel!"

He ignored her and aimed his gun at the shooter, who ran out of bullets. By the time he pulled out a magazine for his pistol, Gajeel shot him through the glass door and got him in the kneecap. The shooter cried out and collapsed, struggling to reload his gun. However, Gajeel kicked the gun from him and moved on to the back of the courthouse. He jumped the metal railing of the weaving loading ramp and into the parking lot. Once he cleared the jump, a black SUV with tinted windows sped past him. Gajeel immediately fired his gun and emptied it into the bulletproof vehicle exiting government grounds.

"Fuck!" Gajeel roared.

"This is Lieutenant Juvia Lockser, badge number 36423," Juvia's desperate voice ordered into her cell phone and she appeared beside him. "I need an APB on a Black Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows and bulletproof siding and no license plates, heading east on Rosemont from the Magnolia Civil Courthouse. All available units on route and a city wide aerial surveillance." Gajeel looked over to the shattered door where officers are detaining the injured culprit. "Copy that, dispatch."

"You okay, Sergeant?" Juvia asked, panting and trying to catch her breath.

"I'll be better once we get him." Gajeel hissed, reloading and holstering his gun.

"We will." Juvia followed Gajeel back up the loading ramp and into the courthouse. "I want you to patch him up, detain him and bring him to my precinct. This case is now reopening."

"Yes, ma'am." The officers nodded and roughly tugged on his restraints.

Both Lieutenant and Sergeant retraced their steps from the loading ramp, back into the authorized personal hallway and into the courtroom, where a standard trial turned into a massacre. Wood panels and pieces were scattered on the cold granite floors. Paramedics spread out in different parts of the room; two jurors were being treated, Evergreen was ranting and cursing to Elfman as one EMTs was trying to help her, but she was insistent for her to help the other injured, and the father of three was being carted away unconscious. The familiar smell of iron invaded his nose and red caught his eye on the defendant side. The lawyer and two officers who sat beside the murderer had their throats slit, spilling their blood on the perfectly polished floor.

"Daddy will be alright." Gajeel rejoined Cana, who was trying to calm the two boys down. The little girl, older than her brothers, didn't shed a tear. Her dark blue eyes were dilated and her cheeks were splashed with smeared blood. She stared at Gajeel with eyes that could cut glass, but it was also a look that would never unseen what she had seen. "We're going to get the bas—I mean, we will catch the bad guy who did this, okay?"

Gajeel knew that look all too well, and pointless promises would never change those eyes.