He only invited you to join the guild because he feels sorry for you. He knows you are a worthless Celestial made and that you'll probably be killed soon anyway, so he thought there was no harm in it.
I shook my head angrily. Umidjon really went this far? I invited Lucy because she was nice! Even back then, when Happy and I saved her from the fake Salamander, I realized that I wanted to be able to protect her! Lucy had to have realized that!
Lucy smiled and showed she was excited. I didn't know her well enough back then to notice that the smile was forced, and that there was sadness in her eyes. I paced around myself from the past and Lucy. This was so stupid! How dare Umidjon make Lucy doubt me! She's an incredible wizard! I didn't pay attention to where I was going and collided with myself from the past. There was a weird second, where it felt like my body was being stretched like Laffy Taffy, and then I was staring at Lucy.
I had somehow stepped into my body. I experimentally lifted my arm, and the past me lifted his too. I shook my head, and so did my body. Yes! Past Happy and Lucy stared at me oddly, and I stopped celebrating.
"Well then let's go!" I said, grabbing Lucy's hand. "You'll have so much fun at Fairy Tail. Everyone is the best! Well, mostly everyone, but you get my point! You're our only Celestial mage, so everyone will be excited to meet you! Fairy Tail is the best guild in the world! Oh man, I'm getting revved up just talking about it!" I babbled. "You'll do great there!"
I'll do great there. He's inviting me… not because he's guilty, but because he's just an honestly good person! Lucy thought. I mentally threw a party. Beat that, Umidjon! This was getting easier and easier!
"Just wait. The grand finale is coming up, and that's one I won't lose," Umidjon chuckled darkly from an ally we passed.
"Hi, I'm Lucy!" Lucy said. This was when she first joined the guild and was getting to know everyone. I could feel her happiness and excitement bubbling up and spilling over. She really loved Fairy Tail, and she only just joined!
"Hi, Lu-Chan! I'm Levy!" Levy said, knocking away Lucy's formal handshake and hugging her.
"You're the first person to do that all day," Lucy laughed, hugging her back. The little blue haired girl pulled away and smiled.
"That's just because I can feel we're going to be best friends!"
Levy only pretends to be your friend. You have no one else, so she feels bad. You are her charity case, nothing more.
How do I work with this one? I don't think there's any way to convince somebody that they're friends actually like them! Lucy sighed.
I know. I'm pitiful, so she's pretending. I have no real friends. I never have.
I stomped around in frustration. Umidjon knew I couldn't fix this one!
"Yo. I'm Gray," Gray said, walking towards Lucy. She waved nervously.
"Hi! I'm Lucy!" she said, trying to sound cheerful.
"GRAY!" the past me yelled from across the room. I stormed up to him. "WHY'D YOU FREEZE MY TEA?"
If I was in this memory, then it would be easy to fix! I walked towards my body, but passed through. I tried again, and again. Why wouldn't it work this time?
"You forget that this is my show you're in," Umidjon laughed. "I control everything in this memory. If I wanted to, I could set the guild on fire right now."
"That doesn't even make sense! The guild never really burned down!" I argued.
"It doesn't have to. I have the power to create new memories however I want to. And there's nothing you can do to change that. Like there's nothing you can do to step into your body again."
"I didn't come near your damn tea," he growled. "I was over here meeting the new girl!" Lucy looked embarrassed. Levy grabbed her hand and smiled encouragingly.
"It's ok. They do this all the time," she said.
"Then why was my tea cold when I went to drink it!?" I asked, butting my head against his.
"Just because something is cold doesn't mean it's my fault!" Gray insisted. "You waited too long to drink it!"
"Oh yeah, Ice Princess?"
"Yeah, Flame Head."
"Frozen Boxer Man!"
"Fire Brain!"
"Droopy Eyes!"
"Squinty Eyes!"
I sighed in defeat. There was no way I could think of to make Lucy believe that Levy truly liked her. It's just something I'll have to deal with when I get back to the real world. I closed my eyes and fast forwarded to the next memory.
The entire fight was your fault. You are the reason the guild was destroyed by Phantom. Levy being hurt was your fault. If you hadn't joined Fairy Tail, everyone would be happy right now.
Ok, this one I can understand. Lucy already thought it was her fault, so it wouldn't have taken much to make her positive. All I felt was gut- twisting guilt and pain.
Levy got hurt because of me. So did Jet and Droy. Mirajane was going to get hurt trying to take my place. And Natsu is alone inside that monster.. I wish I'd never joined Fairy Tail, no matter how much I love it. I've only brought people pain and suffering.
The fault was your father's, not yours. He went too far trying to get you back. There was no reason for him to do that. It's not your fault. Levy isn't angry with you. And Natsu loves you. He would protect you with his life any day, I thought, meaning every word.
"Ha! Right! Natsu doesn't love me. He never will, no matter how I feel about him." Lucy said to herself. She was sitting in the corner of the Fairy Tail safe house while Reedus drew her. I sat down beside her and tried to put my arm around her shoulders, until I remembered that it wouldn't work.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry.
Dammit, Lucy! Why won't you listen to the others! Nobody thinks it's your fault! They only want to protect you, just like I do! Now, the main question. Can I change Lucy's mind on this one? She already felt like this in the real world.
I resigned sadly. After losing twice in a row to Umidjon, I HAD to win the next one.
"Next up is the grand finale. I won't fail," Umidjon said.
"Good luck. I'm getting revved up now. You can't beat me!" I said, bouncing on the balls of my feet. I'll add this situation to my To- Do list in the real world.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on where to go next. I was suddenly hit with a pain so intense, I had to cry out. My fingers clutched at my throat, at my heart. It felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest with a butcher's knife again and again until all that was left was a bloody mess.
I've read so many books about this. I never knew that what they said was actually true.
Tears welled in the corner of my eyes. What was going on? What was this intense pain zipping all through my body?
Lucy froze the second she opened the doors to the guild. I was sitting in the middle of the hall with Lisanna, kissing her. Mirajane and Erza noticed Lucy standing there and started pointing, laughing their asses off. Soon, everybody guffawed at her. I broke away from Lisanna for a second and yelled, "Oi! Why don't you just go home? Nobody here likes you!" My knees – err- Lucy's knees trembled, knocking together. Her bangs hid her eyes from everyone in the room.
"I hate you most of all!" I called, and returned to Lisanna.
NO NO NO. THIS WAS BEYOND LOW. WAS THIS A DREAM THAT UMIDJON CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR LUCY?
I surged forward towards my body and tried to get inside, like I did earlier.
"Let me in!" I screamed, pounding on the arms and legs of the fake Natsu. "LET ME IN. I HAVE TO FIX THIS. I HAVE TO SAVE LUCY!"
"Your attempts are futile. You can't change my dreams!" Umidjon called.
"Just watch me!" I continued to punch my human body. Not once did I make actually contact. My fists passed right through my body. "I love Lucy, I love Lucy," I chanted. "I'm doing this to save Lucy, who I love." My body melted for a second, and then I was the one kissing Lisanna. I stood up suddenly and
shoved away from her. Everyone around me gasped.
"Natsu, what's gotten in to you?" Erza asked. Lisanna looked like she was about to cry.
"I'm sorry, Lisanna, but I love Lucy; not you. And I have to go!" I ran for the door, chasing Lucy through the streets of Magnolia. All the while, I felt Lucy's heart shuddering, splintering into tiny fragments. And this was all because of me. I had no clue Lucy felt this strongly about me.
Just when I found somebody that I really liked, he had to go and do this. He had to break my heart, just like my father did.
I picked up my pace. There was no way I was going to be categorized into a heart breaker along with that beast she calls a father.
"LUCY!" I yelled. She stopped and turned around. We were standing beside her apartment, in front of the river she'd fallen in so long ago. The light from the sunset slanted off the water and turned Lucy's hair into a golden ray.
"What do you want?" she grumbled, wiping her eyes angrily.
"You. You are all I've ever wanted."
"Stop!" Umidjon and Lucy yelled at the same time. "Stop lying to me, you bastard. I know you hate me, just admit it already!"
The way Lucy's voice clashed with Umidjon's was hauntingly eerie. He said he was going to win this round, but I refused to believe it. This was one battle I couldn't afford to lose.
"Luce, I love you from the bottom of my heart." And then I did the only thing I could think of.
I kissed her.