Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Summary: If she knew that walking home at night would cause her to be held at knifepoint, saved by a red-eyed gang member, and finding refuge in the basement of the rundown bar with the crime organization Fairy Tail, Levy would've called for a cab. Gang!AU Gajeevy with hints of other pairings.

A/N: Sorry to the people who have me on author alert… I literally just said I wouldn't start another story and I did it anyway, lol. But I couldn't get it out of my head! I promise I'll work on revising and reposting For Good (which I might retitle, too) soon.

Gangster Squad

00

Prologue

The library was almost completely silent.

A girl with wavy blue hair stood on a ladder in one of the aisles, retrieving books from a cart and reshelving them in their proper place. With a huff, she slid the last one into place and stretched out her back before descending down the steps. A quick check of the clock above the main desk told her that it was already almost 10pm.

Levy McGarden had worked in the Magnolia Public Library every summer since she started high school. After she graduated, the owners offered her a job there until she was bound for college in the fall. Being one of their oldest and most trustworthy employees, she was often tasked with the closing shift. She never complained—she loved it, actually—because it meant alone time with just her and the books.

She loved to read. Everything from romance to science fiction to fantasies and horror. She especially enjoyed old history books written in ancient Fioran of a time long ago where there were myths of dragons ruling the land. The stories took her on an adventure—wrapped her up in a little world completely different from her own and whisked her away from reality.

The library usually closed around 8pm, but a field trip from the local elementary school early that afternoon had left the entire facility in complete disarray. Books were tossed carelessly all over the carpet and tables… yes, field trip days were always tough ones.

Normally, Jet or Droy, a couple of her childhood friends, would offer to accompany her home from the library since they worked at the ramen shop a few blocks away, but it was a Friday night. Friday nights were always busy nights for them—almost every couple in Magnolia seemed to deem it was date night and rushed out to crowd every restaurant.

She quickly skimmed the nonfiction section and grabbed a book that sounded interesting-a story titled Dear Kaby by Zekua Melon. She went over to the counter and checked it out under her account before shoving it into her backpack with the rest of her stuff.

After making sure everything was neat and locked, she exited out of the back door into the streets.

Her apartment was about a fifteen-minute walk away. She had been living alone for the past couple of years. Her parents were still alive and well, but their job took them to another country and Levy was unwilling to leave Magnolia. The last time she had seen them in person was when she flew to visit them last winter, but her mother never failed to call her every Sunday morning for a chat.

Summers in Magnolia meant warm nights, which she was extremely thankful for as she was only wearing a flowy orange sundress. She probably stuck out like a sore thumb with her bright hair and equally bright dress. Since the library was located in the commercial district of town, the streets were nearly empty now that all the businessmen and women had left to be with their families for the weekend. There seemed to be fewer cars out than usual, too. And that lamppost that had been flickering for the past two weeks appeared to have finally burnt out...

She felt a strange sense of foreboding all of a sudden, but tried to shake it off. Magnolia was not really a dangerous place, but she supposed that in a large and busy city there were bound to be crimes happening. She heard rumors all throughout high school of the gangs that ran the streets, but never learned more than a few names in passing that she could not recall.

Her grip on the straps of her backpack tightened and she pulled it closer to her back like a shield. She had probably just read too many crime stories recently and was being paranoid. Still, she couldn't push away the feeling that something bad was happening as she stopped at the edge of a building.

There was an alleyway to the right just beyond this point. It would take her five steps to pass the opening. If she hurried, she could shortcut through the mall before it closed in four minutes.

Looking cautiously into the alley, she barely took one step out before a loud bang sound caused her to drop to the ground in a crouch, frightened. She heard footsteps and yelling in the distance and panic swept through her as they got closer and closer.

Suddenly, one large, calloused hand grabbed at her wrist while the other covered her mouth and roughly pulled her into the alleyway. She felt the corner of the book dig into her shoulder blades as she was slammed roughly against the brick wall of the building. Her eyes began to water from the impact and her heart was beating uncontrollably as she stared into dark, menacing eyes. The hand fell off her mouth and pinned her other wrist up.

"What did ya see, little girl?" His voice sounded like nails and his breath smelled of smoke and Levy wanted to throw up. She felt something cold and steely against her arm. Her head shook back and forth furiously as the tears she was trying to hold back streamed down her face.

"N-no-nothing!" She cried. His grip was so strong she could feel bruises forming. She tried to lift her legs to kick him but he had pinned her legs with his knees. "I s-swear! I didn't see a-anything! Please l-let me go."

His expression was calculated. "Now little miss, ya can probably guess why I can't believe ya, right? Can't have ya running your mouth off to the cops." The steel knife pressed against her with more pressure and she flinched as her skin broke at the contact. It stung like crazy. She could feel her blood, hot and fluid, running down her arm in rivulets. He leaned closer and she turned her head to the side, closing her eyes.

She was so, so scared. He wasn't going to let her off. The chances of someone walking by and seeing them were very slim, and she had already told her friends not to worry about checking in with her tonight. Her whole body was shivering and her mind was running.

Should she headbutt him? What if she missed and he got even more violent with her? The wound felt fairly deep, what if she lost a lot of blood? Would no one know she disappeared until Sunday when her mom called and was left with no response? Would the library staff notice her absence on Monday and just assume she was sick and forgot to call in? Who would feed Pantherlily if she never made it back to the apartment?

She was rattled out of her thoughts when the heavy weight on her was abruptly pulled off. She felt herself stumble forward slightly as the man's grip had yet to loosen completely.

Looking up, her gaze met striking, garnet eyes and she saw a glint of what looked like metal piercings adorning his face. The moment barely lasted a second, as he turned and swung his fist hard and punched the other man clean in the face.

She watched on as she struggled to control her heavy breathing. The man who saved her had long, wild black hair. He was tall—very tall—with broad shoulders and a demeanor that commanded respect. The two men were fighting it out on the floor, exchanging punches and kicks. There were words exchanged, but she couldn't understand a thing. She slowly started to back away but she could not tear her eyes off of her savior.

Their eyes met again and her breath caught in her throat. He studied the cut on her arm and with his free hand, pulled a black bandana off of his own and threw it at her. She barely managed to catch it and looked at him, confused.

He looked pointedly at her profusely bleeding arm before turning his back to her and facing his opponent once again.

"Run, shrimp. This is about to get messy." His voice was gruff and squeezed at her heart. She nodded fiercely, mouthed a thank you even though he could not see it, and turned quickly on her heel. She sloppily tied the bandana around her wound as tight as she could, and that was when she noticed that they were no longer alone.

Four more men were approaching, with what looked like guns in their hands. Memories began flashing through her head, and she had read enough stories to know what came next. Hands hugging herself tightly with a choked sob, she bowed her head and braced herself for the bullets as she ran undoubtedly into her demise.

She heard two gunshots, so loud she felt their vibrations in her heart, but the impact never came.

Instead, she felt a gloved hand grab her own and pull her forward. Luckily, it was her uninjured arm. She looked up to see a girl around her age with big, brown eyes and blonde hair.

Her voice was gentle, comforting. "Come with me." The blonde whispered, tugging her along.

She scanned the area, skimming over a man with startling pink hair and a wild grin joining the fight several paces from them, and landed on her savior once again. He was on the ground with the other man now. She swore she saw more red, but this time it wasn't his eyes.

The blonde was calm, but persistent. "They'll be fine. Come on." With one last tug, Levy unrooted her feet and followed the other girl. Her eyes screwed shut tightly when another gunshot resonated through the area.

She didn't know how long they ran for. It felt like hours, but surely it was no more than a few minutes. They stopped in front of what looked like a rundown bar, and before she knew it she was being ushered down into the basement.

She never stopped to question the girl's motives. For all she knew, the blonde could've been on the other man's side. Something inside of her trusted her innately, for some reason.

The blonde knocked on the door four times. "Elfman, it's Lucy. I have a guest."

Large, wooden doors opened and she was surprised to find a room full of people talking and laughing over mugs of beer. An enormous, tanned man with silvery hair nodded at the blonde—Lucy—and Lucy softly pulled her in.

A few heads turned their way, but Lucy ignored them and walked straight to another room all the way in the back, stopping only to check on her occasionally.

Moments later, Levy was seated on a plain wooden chair in the kitchen area. It was empty save for the two of them and, at last, she was able to catch her breath and allow her brain to catch up with all of the events that had just transpired.

Lucy was pulling a mug from a shelf and filling it with what Levy assumed was tea. Lucy offered the steaming cup to her, and Levy accepted it out of politeness though she had no appetite for anything. She took a few sips anyway.

Pulling up a chair, Lucy took a seat in front of her with a frown set on her lips as she scanned over her. Her gaze was locked onto Levy's right arm, and that was when she remembered the cut. She had almost forgotten about it during their sprint to safety, but now that they had settled she felt the harsh, stinging pain once again.

"May I?" Lucy asked, motioning to her wound.

Levy nodded in response, not trusting her voice. Her blood had saturated through the black bandana and Levy had to try hard not to look away and grimace as Lucy's peeled the cloth back. Her fingers were concentrated and nimble, as if she had done it many times before.

The frown on Lucy's face had yet to budge as she studied the wound more closely. "Maybe Mira has something in her room…" She muttered, standing up.

Her eyes changed, as if she just remembered something. "Sorry, I'm Lucy." She introduced herself with a hand on her chest.

"L-levy." Her throat was hoarse from the crying and the run. She cleared her throat and took another sip of tea. "My name's Levy."

What had happened to the man who saved her? She wondered. What about that odd pink haired man too, that had joined them later? Were they okay? Where was she? Why did Lucy take her here? Should she have called the cops?

Lucy offered her a small smile, though her eyes were still troubled. "You're very brave, Levy." She paused on her way out. "I'll go find something to dress your wound. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Inside, her heart and mind were still racing, but she urged her body to calm down. There was no point in panicking now. She was in an unfamiliar area, just a door away from a room full of unfamiliar people. Lucy was helping her, she reminded herself. The man with the red eyes had saved her. The pink-haired man had protected them too. She repeated the three sentences like a mantra in her head and Levy managed an affirmative nod at Lucy.

Lucy left the room, closing the door behind her.

Brave, huh?

Levy looked down at the black bandana that somehow looked even darker with the blood. Studying it more closely, she saw a symbol stitched in with silver thread. She hadn't seen it before, most likely due to the darkness and panic in which she had tied it around her arm. It looked strange, almost like a bird or a fairy with its wings pulled back as if in flight.

The symbol looked familiar somehow. She dug deep into her memory for some kind of hint—was it from a book she read? Or even graffiti, perhaps?

Her heart nearly stopped as she remembered. A book she had pulled out from the restricted section almost two summers ago, covered in decades of dust. She nearly had a coughing fit from the staleness of the pages when she opened it. The History of Magnolia, volume 7. Section 6, Crime Organizations, page 502. She thought long and hard, but could not for the life of her remember what she had read. She could only recall the name associated with it.

Fairy Tail.

End Prologue

A/N: Hi Gajeevy fandom! I typed up this story in the spur of the moment. It'll be a fun and casual story for me to write… I usually stick with Lucy-centered stories, but I read a Gajeevy story involving mermaids and sharks recently and couldn't help myself. This story is writing itself… I have no control. Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and share your feedback with me. :)