Lucy Heartfilia found herself waking up to her apartment bed after a series of difficult battles that she and her comrades had to overcome the day before. She was well-rested but it looked like she was still in bad shape. Looking out the window, she saw nothing but a flurry of sharp raindrops striking down from the dark sky.

[It's a pretty rainy day outside...] Lucy thought to herself. [I wonder if my friends are over there in the guild building... After what happened, even Natsu suffered some pretty bad injuries from those fights.]

Lucy decided to muster up her strength to head to Fairy Tail to meet up with her friends. She was bruised in some areas and her muscles were still sore, but she stood up, left her apartment, and walked to the guild building with no hesitation. Her umbrella acted as a barrier from the endless shower of droplets thrusting towards her mercilessly.

Some time passed, and when the time came to open the guild door, she had a really bad feeling. She held her open umbrella closer to her heart, as if it was her only physical defense. Her hands grabbed the door knob, and when she slowly opened the door, she could not believe her eyes.

"Natsu... Gray... Erza... Wendy... Everyone..!" Lucy was in shock. Her umbrella fell to the ground and rolled to Natsu's collapsed body. Every Fairy Tail member she saw struggled to even muster the strength to stand up. Natsu, with his arms stretched out reaching for the scared damsel, said "Lucy... Don't you dare...LOSE to this old geezer!" Lucy nodded and grabbed Natsu's arm and assisted him in getting up. She put his arms over her shoulder so that he can remain standing still. In the center of the chamber was a mysterious wizard with a dark aura.

"Hahahahaha... Such pathetic children. I see all your faces filled with fear, despair, and hopelessness. Did you people really think you all could defeat ME? I'm Ryuk Gevap, the most powerful wizard from the dark guild you fought yesterday. I was still in a mission to rob some goods from other faraway kingdoms, but after hearing the dreaded news about how you beat up my gang yesterday, I came here for revenge." Ryuk Gevap looks to be a hunched, bearded old man. He is wearing a wet, brown, tattered robe, and he gets some standing support from his wooden cane.

With a frightened look on Lucy's face, she tries to reassure the man "No, no..! Hehe..! It's all just a big mistake! We didn't mean to-"

"Didn't MEAN to?! Ever since you defeated my guild's best team and had them arrested, Shadow Hive fell apart! We no longer had the money to pay for our building, and now, the rest of my members are left fending for themselves on the streets! Calling it a big mistake DOESN'T EVEN CUT IT!" Ryuk exclaimed. Pretty soon, the Fairy Tail building started falling apart; the walls are crumbling, the tables and chairs are cracking, and the wooden columns that support the building are breaking down.

"What kind of magic is this?" Erza gasped as she tried to stand up.

"Hah! I didn't expect Erza Scarlet, an S-class wizard from Fairy Tail, to get so easily impressed! This magic is known as Disintegration Magic. This type of magic lets me break apart any physical object into mere dust and pieces. To living creatures, I can wear apart their muscles and bones, expunging forth their energy until they have no more." Ryuk replied as he shifts his gaze towards Lucy. "And you, my child, may be my very next victim. Hehehehe..." As Ryuk pointed his finger towards her, Lucy's knees trembled and she lost control of her arms. Seeing Lucy unable to support her own stance, Natsu let go of her and got ready to cast a fire spell.

"You despicable punk! You don't know just who you're messing with!" Natsu yelled. With all his strength, he managed to unleash a slow-moving fireball that even the old man easily dodged. Natsu's strength wore out and he collapsed to the ground soon after.

"Sigh... You just don't understand do you? You took away my guild, Shadow Hive. They were the only people in my life who ever cared for me; they gave me food, they gave me a home, and most of all, they gave me HOPE! Tell me, how would it feel if I disintegrated your guild into pebbles and rubble?! Would you break down crying? Would you die from the hunger and thirst you'll experience when you've lost everything in your life?! Just because I'm old and dying, that doesn't mean I don't deserve a chance to live a life where I'm not a wandering, homeless man!" Ryuk shouted. The rooftop's tiles came crashing down to the floor, letting the rain enter down like a whispering waterfall.

"You know, you're not the only one who goes through tough times." Lucy said as she stared at Ryuk with the most sincere glare that could melt a criminal's heart. "I'm still trying to pay off my debt to my apartment, my father died before I had a chance to say I love you, and I can most safely say that I'm the weakest wizard in all of Fairy Tail, but you know what? I risk my life every day to protect my friends." Lucy added. Every single person listened and stared at Lucy as if she's a completely different person. "I looked up to Fairy Tail in the past, not just because it's the number one guild, not just because they had powerful wizards, but mainly because I know that Fairy Tail holds the kind of people who would give their life for you!" Lucy exclaimed as her gate keys started glowing brightly. "I gave up my mansion and my life as a princess in order to join Fairy Tail, and I dare you to look me straight in my eyes and tell me I've made a mistake!" Lucy shouted out with all her heart.

Ryuk Gevap was refusing to listen to the celestial wizard any longer. "Shut your mouth, pathetic wench!" His pointed hand reformed into a fist, and Lucy started screaming from the pain. "That's ENOUGH!" Erza yelled as she summoned a floating sword on the old man's neck. Ryuk shattered the sword with a blink of his eye. Natsu checked to see if Lucy was okay, but she started laughing as if she wasn't phased. "See, that's what friends do. They come to your side when you least expect it." Right after she said that, a golden light emanated from her body, and all her Gold Keys got summoned at once.

"I-I-Impossible! I have lived many decades but I have never seen a celestial wizard summon that many keys at once!" Ryuk Gevap exclaimed in shock. "Yeeesh, you really need to stop sayin' that stupid word!" Natsu said as he scratched the back of his head. "That's probably why you never went anywhere! You're too busy thinking to yourself that nothing is possible!" Natsu explained with a smirk. Ryuk grunted as he started to focus on casting more advanced Disintegration Magic to break apart Lucy and Natsu's bones with a powerful spell formation.

"Loke, Taurus, and Capricorn! Go all out for a melee combo! Sagittarius, and Scorpio try to attack from afar and aim for his cane! The rest of you guys can prepare for a finishing strike when I say go!" Lucy shouted as her legs collapsed. "What the heck?! My Disintegration Magic is not working for celestial spirits?!" Ryuk shouted as he got hit by Lucy's bodyguards. Pretty soon, Lucy's spirits got the upper-hand opportunity to deal a finishing blow as Lucy said "I figured as much. I read all about Disintegration Magic and its weaknesses. I was intimidated at first before I knew your magic type, but once you told me, I know that I would be the only one who can stand a chance against you."

Ryuk was injured on the ground and stared directly at Lucy's celestial spirits. "Why don't you just finish me off, huh? I'm an old man who's going to pass away anytime soon anyway. I have nothing more to live for. My death is meaningless." He said with his head bowed down in shame. "Hey, you seriously better shut up with that attitude of yours." Natsu said angrily. Ryuk was stunned and confused. "The reason you probably ended up with a not-so-good life, is because of your not-so-good attitude! Come on! For once in your lifetime why don't you quit bein' such a wuss and actually believe in yourself. I'm sick and tired of your whinin' and givin' up; you set up this life for yourself! If you hate it so much, then change it!" Natsu explained in a furious passion. "Even if I change, it's probably too late. I've reached the final years of my life..!" Ryuk said, but Natsu replied with "There you go again, you old geezer!" Natsu's hands were lighting up in bright flames. "Now, I want you to tell yourself that it's never too late! Don't give me this bull!" Ryuk responded quickly. "It's not too late for me to change into a better person..?" Natsu smiled and his flames faded away.

Suddenly, Ryuk Gevap's skin lost its wrinkles, his brown hair started growing back, and his overall youth returned on every square inch of his body. "Whoa..? What is happening? I could do this with my magic all along?!" Natsu smiled and reminded Ryuk with an "I told you so!" Ryuk couldn't believe it and he was filled with an overwhelming joy that he never felt in his life. "I can regenerate..? I CAN regenerate! I can actually regenerate things AFTER all!" Ryuk started to recover all the injuries done to the Fairy Tail members and Lucy dismissed her celestial spirits at will. "You did it Natsu." Lucy said to him with a smile. "No, you did it Lucy. If it wasn't for you, all of Fairy Tail would be stuck paralyzed in the hospital!" Natsu replied back with a chuckle. Ryuk was still so overjoyed from the realization, and his laughter with his tears of joy had repaired the entire guild building to the way it was before. "This is amazing. I've spent my entire life thinking that my magic was a curse and my own family left me out on the streets because of it. I was enslaved to my own fears, but now, that's going to change! I'll NEVER lose my hope! Natsu, you gave me a new outlook on life, and for that, I am truly grateful!" Ryuk said.

"Aww, it was nothing!" Natsu happily replied with his hand on the back of his head again. "Hey! What about ME!?" Lucy exclaimed. "You definitely kicked my butt out there. I'm glad you stopped me on time!" Ryuk replied with a handsome young smile. Lucy started blushing, and Natsu teased her by saying "Lucy likes a 70 year-old! Lucy likes a 70 year-old!" Lucy denied "I do not! I do not!" Before you know it, Fairy Tail was back to its original atmosphere. Ryuk found a job as a well-renowned repairsman, and Lucy later trained for new methods that let her channel her multiple summoning ability most efficiently.

The End