Disclaimer: See the Prologue


Chapter 19 - The Free Man


Once again, Gordon was in the blissfulness of unconsciousness. He had just jumped into Evangelion Unit-01's core and once again was blasted off the face of the Earth. His destination: Xen.

"Gordon…"

This was all just like the Lambda complex of Black Mesa. It was all up to Gordon to save the Earth from Xen and their leader Nihilanth, now identified as the 19th Angel.

"Gordon…"

Now, he was again on Xen to free the Vortigaunts, known to him as the Alien Slaves.

"GORDON!"

Something was shaking him gently out of unconsciousness. He found himself staring lying on the soft soil of Xen, and looking up at the sky. But what really struck his nerve was…

"Sh…Shinji?"

The boy himself helped Gordon onto his feet. Gordon shook his head of his dizziness and looked straight at Shinji, shocked.

"I think we're at Xen," Shinji said.

Gordon just looked at him, queerly.

"Er…Gordon?"

"What are you doing here?" he cried.

Shinji was startled at Gordon's sudden outburst, mixed with sheer shock.

"I…I don't know," Shinji replied, scratching the back of his head, "I just toppled my sync ratio and the next thing I know I'm here."

Uncertainty faced Gordon. A 15-year-old teenage boy had followed him to Xen. This place was definitely not safe for him.

Gordon smiled slightly, before saying, "We'll going to have to find the Vortigaunts together then."

Shinji nodded, "I can help."

Gordon drew his gun as he and Shinji surveyed the landscape: It was where Gordon had left it. Ragged floating islands, alien flora, but it was devoid of life. Luckily, he and Shinji were standing on a massive plateau so there was no need for island hopping at the moment.

'Hiding from us, I suspect,' Gordon thought, taking note of no hostile creatures to greet them.

Gordon motioned Shinji to follow him and they begun to walk across the plains. Shinji took in his surroundings, marvelling at the fact he was in a different dimension. To him, this was an extraordinary experience.

'This is where mother was sent to after that accident with Unit-01?' Shinji thought, 'But I thought she was absorbed by the EVA.'

Gordon noticed Shinji thinking…

'Man,' he thought, 'I don't want to know what this place will do to him mentally. I mean this was where his mother was blasted to.'

Suddenly, something burrowed out of the ground before Gordon.

"LOOK OUT!" Shinji cried.

An Alien Grunt emerged and punched Gordon, sending him flying, where he landed painfully on the ground, out cold once again.

"GORDON!" Shinji cried.

The Alien Grunt was about to target Shinji when suddenly bolts of green lightning from on top of a hill struck. It cried in pain as more lightning hit it. It then fell forward on it's face. Standing behind it was a Vortigaunt.

It cried out in triumph, before hopping over the body and moving towards Shinji.

Fear gripped the pilot as he stepped back, managing to trip over a rock and land on his back. The Vortigaunt stepped up to him, as if he was curious.

Shinji felt like getting up and running away, but something in the back of his mind told him to stay. The Vortigaunt peered in close, till their faces were almost close.

"Shinnnjiiii," the Vortigaunt said softly.

Shinji looked at him curiosly. It was being friendly towards him.

That point was proven when the Vortigaunt extended out an arm towards him. Shinji followed instinct and took it, shaking gently. A small smile crept on his face.

"Er…hello there," Shinji said.

The Vortigaunt looked up at the hill in the distance and waved to it's friends, who ran towards them. It then turned to Gordon, who was unconscious. Shinji did the same.

"Gordon!" Shinji exclaimed, then turned to the Vortigaunt, "We have to help him."

The Vortigaunt nodded, "The Free Man."

Shinji looked at it weirdly.

'Free Man?' he thought, 'Didn't it mean Freeman?'

In his state of unconsciousness, Gordon floated once again in the world of darkness. Around him he heard faint sounds of growls, hums and cackles. Gordon found himself waking up again.

'Man,' he thought, 'What has happened to me now?'

He found himself lying in a lightened cavern on a mattress that appears to be made of alien foam. He felt his head and found that it was bandaged with a sort of vine.

He noticed Shinji sleeping against the cavern wall, arms around his legs. Shinji stirred, before waking up. He smiled.

"Gordon, you're alive!" Shinji cried, happily.

"Ah, that's smart!" Gordon groaned, rubbing his head, "How long was I out?"

"I don't now," Shinji said, almost embarrassingly, "I kind of fell asleep as well, sitting here in…"

He was interrupted by a voice in mildly lit corner of the room.

"You have been unconscious for 2 hours, 15 minutes and 30 seconds," the figure said.

"Thanks for that," Gordon said, "Who are you?"

The figure revealed itself to be a Vortigaunt, only this one was holding a greenish stick, as if it was a very important figure.

"My individual name is not of importance," the Vortigaunt replied, "And you are the Free Man."

"Huh?" Gordon said, eyebrows crossed.

"We have waited for the one who freed us from the Union to return to Xen," the Vortigaunt said as if he was happy.

He then turned to Shinji.

"And for the arrival of the person that means everything to the most highest figure among us, who also happens to come from Earth," the Vortigaunt said, referring to Shinji as the 'person'.

Shinji turned wide-eyed and smiled.

"You mean…" he begun, ecstatic.

The Vortigaunt nodded, "Yes. If the both of you will kindly follow me, we will discuss our plans for our final escape from this plane of existance."

Gordon and Shinji looked at one another, before nodding. Gordon got up from the 'bed' and they followed the Vortigaunt outside the cavern. Gordon found that they were in an encampment, which alien machines propped everywhere. Vortigaunts, devoid of their shackles, can be seen assembling some device that looks like a portal.

One of the workers noticed Gordon, Shinji and the Chief Vortigaunt.

"THE FREE MAN!" it cried, "THE FREE MAN HAS RISEN UP!"

They all dropped what they were doing and ran before Gordon. They then did what Gordon did not expect…

They bowed their heads in respect. One of them stepped forward.

"On behalf of us all," it said, "Thank you for saving us from the Angel Nihilanth, the puppet of our sworn enemy."

It then offered his hands. Gordon smiled and shook them.

'Things are starting to get interesting,' Gordon thought.