Disclaimer: See the Prologue
Chapter 23 – Gendo's Final Fall
As Gordon, Shinji and Misato made their way up the hill, which on the other side was the way to the encampment, those Vortigaunts provided them with cover, firing off lightning at the Union synths, which would ultimately lead to their demise
The Union ships converged on the Vortigaunts and fired at them, killing the finally freed Xenians.
Shinji held the crystal in his arms as they ran up the hill.
'God,' he thought, 'We've been running so much my heart's about to explode in my chest.'
Gordon noticed Shinji's tiredness.
'Shinji's endured a lot of things in his life,' Gordon thought, 'But running from an alien invasion in a parallel universe shouldn't be one of them.'
Gordon then shook himself out of his thoughts.
'Oh God, I'm delirious,' he thought, 'I haven't thought this much in a long time.'
Suddenly, the crystal slipped out of Shinji's hands.
"Dammit," he cried.
The crystal, miraculously without breaking, rolled down the hill with Shinji in hot pursuit.
"SHINJI!" Yui cried.
"Crap!" Gordon cursed, running after Shinji, followed by Yui.
Not wanting to chase it down all the way to the bottom, Shinji leaped towards it and grabbed it. He smiled, before noticing he was lying before someone's feet.
He looked up.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Father!" he cried.
Gendo looked down coldly at his son, just like the day many years ago before he abandoned him.
"Son," Gendo replied, before kicking Shinji in the chest, sending him on his back.
Gordon saw this as he caught up.
"NO!" he cried, "SHINJI!"
Yui watched in shock as she saw her husband abuse Shinji. Gordon got out his crowbar and prepared to strike Gendo, who produced a crystal shaped like a crude knife. Gendo swung at Gordon, who connected with Gordon's crowbar.
"YOU MOTHERF#$#ING BASTARD!" Gordon cried.
Gendo smiled and slashed Gordon across the neck. He quickly dropped his crowbar to clinch at his throat. Gendo, getting the upper hand, kicked Gordon across the head, sending him falling on the ground and rolling down the hill, until he smacked into a large rock.
Yui was before Gendo, and an unconscious Shinji. He had tried to take away her world.
"Why Gendo?" Yui said softly, tears welling in her eyes as she bent down to Shinji, before looking up at her bastard husband, "Why?"
"What do you think?" Gendo replied coldy, "It's because of him that we are no longer together. This weakling has taken you away from me in terms of love."
"My son deserves love," Yui cried, angrily, "You don't. You exploited him."
"In order to bring you back," Gendo spat, "We've done that and this is how you repay me?"
Gordon slowly opened his eyes and realised that he himself was still alive. He got up and felt his neck; Gendo only skimmed it. He began to run up the hill back to Shinji and Yui.
"You want to know why our love is dead?" Yui said, "I'll tell you why: You joined the Union, you abandoned Shinji, only to recall him when you had a use for him, you exploited everyone in NERV as your tools and probably the most despicable of all."
Gendo braced himself for possibly the most disturbing fact.
"You betrayed me," she said, "With Professor Akagi. With both of them."
Gendo had a face of regret, but only for a second.
"I did what I must," Gendo said, "For NERV, for humanity…for us!"
Yui couldn't believe Gendo's madness.
"It wasn't because of you that we're here," Yui said, "It was because of Shinji…and Gordon Freeman. The man who will save humanity."
Gendo had enough.
"If you won't join me and the Union," Gendo said, gripping his blade, "Then you are my enemy! As well as the Third Child!"
Yui eyes widened in horror. Gendo was going to kill her and her son.
He lunged at her, only to be sent flying when Gordon delivered to punch to his already bruised face. He fell to the ground, his fingers digging into the earth so that he wouldn't start rolling down the hill.
Gordon bent down along with Yui towards Shinji. He checked his pulse.
"He's still alive," Gordon said.
Yui nodded tearfully, before saying, "We have got to get him to a rejuvenating pond."
Gordon looked at Yui with a look of seriousness crossing his face, "You do that. I'll hold off Gendo."
Yui nodded, picking up the boy and cradling him in her arms.
"I'll see you at the encampment," Gordon said, "I'll bring the crystal."
Before Yui had the chance to run, they heard a .50 going off. They saw that Gendo had a gun.
"Nobody move!" he cried.
He pointed the gun at the trio.
"At the beginning," Gendo said, "I accomplished all this just to see you again, and to bring you before the Union and a life of bliss and serenity. Even our own son could join us. But now…"
He smiled.
"I see clearly now, of everything the Union told me. You were against me at the start and working with the slaves all this time."
'Oh God,' Yui and Gordon thought at the same time, 'He has gone insane.'
"Now," he sighed, almost sadly, "I must kill you now."
Gordon shook his head, "No more, Gendo."
Gendo looked him straight into his green eyes, "What?"
"NO MORE!" Gordon repeated, crying out and lunging at Gendo.
Gendo fired, hitting him in the shoulder. Gordon grunted, before diving at him, crowbar in hand. Gendo punched him across the face, pushing him off. Gordon swung again, swatting his gun out of his hand.
Gendo reached for his crystal blade and swung at Gordon, who managed to counter with his crowbar. A sort of crude sword-fight begun, with his man swinging and dodging each other's blows. All this while, Yui watched.
'Please, Gordon,' she thought, pleadingly, 'Do not let him win.'
Gendo's blade went against Gordon's arm, cutting through the suit and striking flesh. Gordon cried out in pain, and retaliated by striking Gendo in the ribs. He lost his breath for a second, before gritting his teeth and lunging at Gordon, the both of them rolling down the hill as were at each other's throats.
Yui, alarmed, gently laid Shinji down and ran down the hill, attempting to catch up to them. Shinji chose this moment to open his eyes.
"Mother? Gordon?" he said softly, then getting up.
They found themselves at the bottom of the hill. Gordon was lying on the ground, Gendo towering above him, once again in triumph.
"Isn't this familiar?" Gendo asked, mockingly.
He put a foot down on Gordon's chest, holding his crowbar. He observed it.
"To think this crude tool is your most prized weapon," Gendo said, almost in lament, "We should have based the design of the Lance of Longinus around it. But…"
He tossed it aside, before placing his foot on Gordon's head.
"But that can never be," Gendo finished, smiling.
He put his foot up, in preparation for stomping on Gordon's skull.
"Good-bye, Gordon Freeman," Gendo said.
Suddenly, he felt something slam into him from behind and strangle him. It was Yui.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU COLD-HEARTED BASTARD!" Yui yelled angrily.
Gendo jammed her in the elbow, forcing her to let go and clutch her stomach. Gendo then slapped her across the face, sending her falling onto ground.
Gendo, the anger building up in him, held his blade and prepared to strike, with the words, "You want to die with him? THEN DIE, ALONG WITH THE THIRD…!
Suddenly, a loud bang was head. Gendo stopped what he was doing.
Another crack was heard and blood sprayed on Yui. He looked up to see that Gendo had two holes in his chest. Gendo was silent as he looked up at whoever was shooting at him.
It was Shinji, aiming his Desert Eagle at him, with a look of anger and hatred that also reflected in his eyes. Gendo looked at him in disbelief.
'Impossible,' he thought, 'He can't amount to anything.'
He was proven wrong when Shinji fired again. He then fell over on his back, choking on his own blood. Gendo had underestimated Shinji for the last time, and now he was paying the price for threatening his mother and his friend.
At that moment, Gendo then finally understood…
'Sorry, Shinji,' he thought, before growing lax.
It had finally happened. Gendo was dead.
Gordon got up and shuffled towards Gendo's corpse. He looked down at the once most powerful and influential man. He shook his head sadly.
'Such a waste of a great mind,' he thought.
He then looked up at Shinji, who begun walking down to him and Yui, gun still in hand. Yui picked herself up. The two of them stared at Shinji, who was looking down at the body of his father. He let the gun slip from his fingers and fall on the ground, as if in slow motion. He then collapsed on his knees, head down in shame. He had killed a human being, with was his father.
"I…killed him," he said, softly, "I killed him."
Gordon bent down to him, hand on his shoulder.
"It was either him or us," Gordon tried to reassure him.
Shinji looked up at Gordon, tears in his eyes. He then moved forward and hugged him, crying into his shoulder. Gordon looked over at Yui, who also had a face of sadness. That was at seeing her son cry. Gordon then closed his eyes and felt Shinji's head against his shoulder as he wept on him.
Shinji wasn't crying for his father, but for himself, for Gordon, and most of all, his mother. The pressure was too much for him, he passed out.
'I'm sorry for you pain Shinji,' Gordon thought, sadly, 'I am very sorry.'
