Disclaimer: See the Prologue


Chapter 14 – For Humanity


Gendo stared at the body of Ritsuko with wide eyes. This was the first time in his life; he had ever killed someone. He did order that agent Kaji terminated, but that was different. This time he pulled the trigger, not one of his 'tools.'

As for Gordon, rage built up inside him. The killing has gone too far.

"IKARI!" Gordon screamed, firing his 9mm. Gendo grabbed Rei's hand and ran with her into the darkness.

Gordon chased after him, gritting his death. He was practically on the edge, with the massive loss of life affecting his mind. He ran as fast as could in to the dark, where he stopped.

"Huh?" Gordon cried.

It was a small lab with a medical table and some machines. He had found where Rei was 'born.' He didn't have time to gaze, as a loud gunshot was heard and a bullet hit him in the chest, sending him falling backwards. His suit managed to deflect the bullet, but it still hurt like hell.

"AH!" Gordon cried.

Gendo emerged from the shadows, this time without Rei. Gordon got up, grabbing his crowbar. Gendo punched him in the face, but Gordon retaliated by swinging his bar and striking him in the gut. Gendo didn't flinch as he struck Gordon's hand, causing him to drop his crowbar.

Gordon then punched Gendo in the face, but in his maddened rage, Gendo kept going, taking his .50 and shooting Gordon in the leg.

"F#$#!" Gordon swore as he fell to the ground, a triumphant Gendo standing above him.

"I don't want to do this, Freeman," Gendo spoke in his usual monotone voice, "But you leave me no choice."

"F$#$ YOU!" Gordon spat angrily at Gendo, "YOU'LL KILL ALL OF US!"

"You just don't understand, Freeman," Gendo said, "With Instrumentality, all of humanity will be united and glorified into one magnificent creature." He indicated Rei, who stepped out of the darkness.

Gordon noticed Rei, looking all innocent and passive. Gendo reloaded his gun.

"Rei Ayanami," Gordon cried, holding his leg.

"Yes, Dr. Freeman-san," Rei replied.

"Why do you pilot the EVA?"

Rei blinked, "To protect humanity."

"Well," Gordon said, "You are about to fail humanity!"

Gendo kicked Gordon in the face, forgetting about his gun as he bent down toward Gordon.

"Do not listen to him, Rei," Gendo said smiling, who begun strangling Gordon, "He'll be gone soon."

Rei watched Gendo choking Gordon as she thought, 'Freeman-san is desperate to stop Instrumentality. Does he believe that there is another way to save humanity, rather then combining it into one form? But I must obey the commander and merge with Lilith.'

Gordon painfully looked into Rei's, who just stared back. She saw the pleading in his eyes. Rei looked down at the floor, before looking up at the Freeman. She nodded, picking up the crowbar.

Gendo looked behind at Rei, "What are you…?"

Rei then smashed the bar against Gendo's face, swatting his glasses off him. He released his grip on Gordon, who breathed deeply and then suddenly kicked Gendo off of him and got up.

"No more!" Gordon cried, before giving Gendo a mighty punch.

Gendo was sent flying into the machinery. He screamed as electrical currents surged from the machines and emitted through his body. Then one flash of green light later, he was gone.

Gordon stared at what just happened. Rei had just saved his life from certain death. He turned to Rei, nodding thankfully.

"Dr. Freeman-san," Rei acknowledged him, smiling softly.

Gordon smiled back, before looking down at Gendo's glasses, lying on the floor. He put a foot out and crushed it.

'I hope you'll forgive me Shinji,' Gordon thought, then sighed, 'Of course you will."

Gordon grinded the glasses underneath his feet in triumph, relieved to have defeated a strong enemy. He wiped the sweat off his brow and rubbed his neck. It stung and had finger marks on it.

'I struck him in the face and that didn't affect him,' Gordon thought, "When Rei did, he went down.'

"Dr. Freeman-san?"

Gordon turned to Rei's way, seeing that the naked girl was standing there disciplinary. Gordon adverted his eyes from her, feeling like a dick for staring at a nude 15-year-old.

"Rei," Gordon begun.

"Yes, Dr. Freeman-san?" Rei acknowledged him.

"Take me to Lilith."

Rei stared at him questioningly, before replying, "Yes, Doctor. Please follow me."

Rei lead Gordon through the bowels of Terminal Dogman, Gordon taking in the surroundings.

'This place definitely could not have been built by people,' he thought, 'Even by these people here.'

Soon they were standing before it.

"Oh…my God," Gordon said softly to himself.

He stared up at the massive creature. It's purple face and multiple eyes garnering most of his attention. He wiped his mouth, his hand sweaty, as was filled with a strong notion of fear.

This Angel reminded him of Nihilanth, the monstrosity behind all the death and destruction back at Black Mesa. The deaths of his friends and colleagues.

That battle with Nihilanth was intense. When he unloaded clip after clip into the floating baby-like creature, when was struck by it's green displacement shots and in order to finally kill it, he had to destroy it's brain. He used the crowbar to do that. Then when the creature was about to explode, the G-Man saved him.

So much of NERV was reminding him of Black Mesa. They had to be linked in more ways than one.

He sorted his thoughts out and returned to reality. He took out his Tau Cannon, which was also known as the Gauss Gun.

"What would happen if I killed Lilith?" Gordon queried aloud.

"Then Third Impact and Instrumentality would no longer become possible," Rei responded.

"How do you kill an Angel?" Gordon asked again, still staring up at Lilith.

"The core of the Angel must be destroy," Rei explained.

"Where's the core then?"

Rei pointed up to it's chest. Gordon nodded and took aim. He charged up the gun…

"I hope this works," Gordon said.

He let go of the trigger. A blue beam of energy fired from the gun and pierced the Angel. It screamed…

Meanwhile, Misato was busy hot-wiring a jeep that luckily wasn't destroyed, while Shinji and Asuka watched.

"You need any help?" Shinji asked.

"Not needed," Misato replied.

Suddenly, they all heard the scream coming from a mile and a half underground.

"What was that?" Asuka cried.

"I don't know," Shinji replied, then thought, 'Could that be…?'

Gordon had blown a hole in Lilith's chest, exposing the core. Gordon charged again.

'This is for humanity,' he thought, a determined look on his face.

He fired again.

The Angel's core exploded in it's chest. It screamed out loud, shaking the facility once again of it's bolts. It then begun to disintegrate slowly from the head, until it became nothing but dust and joining it's fellow Angel's in death.

Gordon had down it. He sat on the ground, puffed out from fighting an alien invasion, a botched military clean up, NERV's bastard Commander and now an Angel. He would probably go down in history as the only man to kill an Angel with only a prototype phaser gun.

He felt proud.

"Is…is it over?" Gordon asked Rei hesitantly, who was still standing and staring at Gordon.

Rei nodded, smiling softly, "Third Impact has been aborted."

Gordon smiled; things were starting to come round. He noticed a lab coat lying on the ground. He picked it up and tossed it to Rei.

She put it on, relieved to be clothed.

"We must leave immediately, Dr. Freeman-san," Rei said.

Gordon nodded and stood up, Gauss Gun in hand.