What if Gaston had not saved his sister before he fell from the Beast's castle? Suppose on the way up, his little sister had tried once again to stop him from his evil madness? It didn't end well...Another alternative ending to my fic Brother Dear. If you read that one, this scene might make more sense.
I don't own BATB, just Lissa in this case.
Lissa was above her friend Belle, who was descending down through the castle tower to reach her beloved Beast, as Lissa raced after her brother, desperately hoping for one last chance to prevent him from doing something so wicked. He'd broken her heart ten times over tonight, in several gut-wrenching ways-slandering and incarcerating Belle's father Maurice without justification and getting away with it-. Her big brother, her 'protector' had gone mad! He was literally out for blood, and willing to 'remove' whoever got in his way!
He'd retrieved his gun that he'd lost. Lissa was nearly upon him, and he was plainly within earshot as he ran toward the footbridge to finish the Beast off. No! He had to be stopped.
"Gaston, stop!" Lissa begged. Startled by the suddenness of a shrill, unexpected voice behind him, and angered that someone was interfering once again in preventing him from going after the Beast, Gaston whirled on his heel and before he realized what he was actually doing, he'd squeezed the trigger on his gun!
He watched in horror and bile rose from the pit of his stomach up to his throat as he watched his sister flinch and instantly fall to the ground when the smoke cleared. Gaston froze, mortified. What had he just done? He didn't! He couldn't have! Surely, this was a dream...but there lay Lissa, gagging, with a red, bloody hole in her chest! No! That bullet was meant for the Beast. It should've been him lying on the cold ground wounded right now, not her!
"Noo!" Gaston heard someone from the side holler. It was Lefou. Gaston could not move. His body felt like stone. Lefou was screeching horribly. "No, Lissa! Lissa, speak to me!" Lefou begged, clenching her shoulders. Lissa gazed blankly at him. "Nooo..." Lefou gasped as he rose to his feet. Then he looked at Gaston.
Gaston could not face him. He stared straight ahead, but saw nothing as his head was buzzing. Lefou was not as stupid as Gaston had mistaken him for, for so long. On the contrary, Lefou was now his own man. Gaston could feel his horrified, questioning, shocked stare. Lefou saw the wisps of smoke still floating out of Gaston's pistol into the cold night air. "G-G-Gaston...you...you..." Lefou sputtered, devastated, angry, and deeply stunned.
Lefou was not a vindictive person by any means. Maybe, perhaps he'd listen and believe that Gaston hadn't done this intentionally. If there was anyone who'd listen to reason, it was Lefou. At least, that's what Gaston hoped. "Lefou, my friend..." Gaston tried to plead, "I didn't...I didn't mean..."
"Don't speak to me!" Lefou hollered back with tears, anxiously running his hands through his mob of dark hair. Of all the terrible things he'd seen Gaston do, especially of very recent, this...this was more than Lefou could bear. He'd thought the worst had been when Gaston had just left behind under that enchanted harpsichord. That had stung unlike anything Lefou had ever felt before in his whole life. But this? He'd shot his own flesh and blood. Whether it had been intentional or not did not matter to Lefou now, especially with all the unthinkable things Gaston had flippantly been doing tonight. Lissa, Lefou's dear friend, was dying at his feet, and it was Gaston's fault. To heck, how it had happened! It shouldn't have happened! None of this should have happened.
Lefou stooped next to Lissa, grabbing her hand. "I'll get help." He promised her. "You hang on, Lissa. Just hang on, please! I'm gonna get the doctor. It'll be okay. You just hang on!" He begged, then stumbled as he tried to find his running legs and fled.
Gaston felt like the air was being sucked from his body. "Lissa! Lissa, Lissie..." Gaston panted like a wind-broke horse as he helplessly dropped next to her and gathered in his arms. She was pale as a ghost, her body frail, and she couldn't breathe. He'd hit her dead center in the heart when he'd pulled that d- trigger. "No, Lissa, it's okay. I'm here! I'm here, darling." His words garbled together as he found his voice strangled inside his throat. "Oh dear L-! Oh my g-, what have I done? WHAT have I done?" Gaston cried as he held her close. "No. This wasn't supposed to happen! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Lissa, can you hear me?!"
"G...Ga..." Lissa gagged. Blood was dripping down her mouth.
"Lissa, I...I didn't mean it!" Gaston wailed. "I didn't realize it was you, I...I...I'm so sorry! I..."
"Ga...don't...don't do this! Please...don't do this...evil...thing..." Lissa wheezed. She gagged pitifully.
"Shh. Shh. Never you mind about that." Gaston shushed her, tears filling his eyes.
"Don't...do it!" Lissa cried. "Please...plea...Gas…don't…" she begged, struggling to talk.
"I-I won't. I won't, Lissa. I won't kill the Beast." Gaston shook his head. "I promise." Lissa tried to smile, but she was too weak. Her eyes closed and her head rolled to the side as the rest of her went limp in his arms. "Lissie?" Gaston whimpered. "Lissie! No! Come back! It wasn't supposed to be you! Don't do this to me! Lissa, come back!" Gaston wailed. But it was too late. She was gone. And it was all his fault.
Gaston wanted to blame Lefou. He wanted to blame Belle for driving him to it. He wanted to blame the Beast-whom he wished had been hurting Lissa and he'd accidentally shot her trying to hit the Beast that was hurting her-. He wanted to blame Maurice. Anyone, anyone else but himself! But no one had been nearby when he'd pulled that trigger. It had been only him. He was the one who'd pulled it. And no one had asked him to. No, it had been him! It was the Beast's fault, winning Belle's heart. It was Belle's fault, turning him down all this time. But...Gaston clasped his head, sobbing as he stared down foggily at his dead sister. He was the one responsible for that bloody hole in the middle of her chest. No one in Villeneuve shot that accurately, even in the blink of an eye. No one! Except...him! He'd done it! He'd killed his sister.
"Oh, Lissa, no!" Gaston cried out in anger and guilt. Belle's words that she'd hurled at him only an hour ago were ringing in his ears:
"He's not a monster, Gaston. YOU ARE!" She'd declared.
He hadn't argued with her when she'd said it, but now? Now those words ran deeply through him, like a sharp hacksaw. He WAS a monster. Only a monster would've tried to force the woman he desired to become his trophy. Only a monster would've tried to kill her father instead of try somehow to win his approval. Only a monster...only a monster would've killed his little sister. Belle had also said, "The Beast would never hurt anyone."
Maybe not. But Gaston would. And, he had. Only he could've shot his sister dead center within a split second like that. He was the one responsible for this! Everything inside him screamed the contrary: it was the Beast's fault, it was Belle's fault, it was...but his guts bombarded the ugly truth into his mind, like a blacksmith's hammer on an anvil.
"Lissie..." Gaston sobbed. He bent down over her body and sadly kissed her cold, dead face. She looked, so unhappy. Gaston heard footsteps running in his direction. Icy panic gripped his heart. He knew it was Lefou, returning with help, maybe even with the doctor. They couldn't know! They couldn't know that he'd slain his own flesh and blood. He didn't mean to do it! But they wouldn't believe him, not after his behavior tonight. Lefou might, but he wouldn't stand by him after he'd left his sidekick under the harpsichord to fend for himself! Lefou would hate him now. Belle would hate him. Everyone would hate him for killing his own little sister!
He'd seen how the village could easily get riled, because he'd riled them. If they found out about this, they'd hang him without hearing his side, just like he was willing to confine Maurice without his neighbors knowing the truth. Maurice! He'd hurt Maurice, left him to die, then lied turned the town against him! Lissa had tried to speak up for Maurice and Gaston had busted her testimony with his 'persuasion'. Now everyone would know the truth! And he'd be held responsible for killing Lissa, even though he hadn't meant to! Gaston the Victory was doomed! Captain Gaston the big war hero would now be a despised outcast, and maybe even put to death by the mob before the authorities!
"How could this happen?" Gaston panted with terror. Lissa wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to protect her, and be her big hero in the midst of danger. If he had protected her in the first place, they wouldn't be here right now! He gazed down remorsefully at his little sister. "What do I have left to live for?" He choked. There was one good bullet left in his gun. Hovering protectively over his sister, he raised the gun to his head. "I won't kill the Beast, Lissa. That promise I will keep." He said hoarsely, with the gun pressed to his temple. "Belle...oh my g-, Belle. Forgive me...for everything!" The footsteps were coming closer! "Au Revoir." Gaston wept. Then, he pulled the trigger.
