Chapter Text
Shinji had done it, he had annihilated all life on earth because he believed nobody cared, but he realized that if everyone was happy, then that happiness wasn't true. He had learned that pain was something you needed to push through, not avoid altogether.
"If it's alright with you," he addressed Lilith, who had taken the form of Rei Ayanami. "I want everybody to come back, but only if they choose to."
"That cannot be done," Lilith responded, "My children must remain a part of me"
"You wouldn't allow my request?"
"The sins of man are too great to allow them a second chance."
"How so?"
"The ones known as SEELE were so desperate for the fruit of life that they tried to eliminate their entire race for it."
"But surely the good people outweigh their sins?"
"You would think so, but there are more sins, such as the sins committed by Gendo Ikari, the sins committed by Ritsuko Akagi, the sins committed by Naoko Akagi, the sins committed by Pieter Langley, the sins committed by Yui Ikari, the sins committed by Kozo Fuyutsuki, the sins committed by Misato Katsuragi, the sins committed by Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu, and the sins committed by Ryoji Kaji."
"So the sins of these few people contributed to your decision?"
"No, there are many who have sinned, but I picked some names you might know."
"Then what can I do?"
"While I cannot allow you to undo what you've done here, I can send you to another world to stop their extinction."
"So I just have to kill 17 angels, and then I can live my life, right?"
"12 angels."
"Well, that makes things easier, do I get Unit-01 or backup?"
"You will receive the false angel, repaired to pristine condition. Reinforcements will come when you truly struggle with an angel."
"Do I know my backup?"
"If I told, that would spoil the surprise. Now do you accept my terms?"
Shinji pondered for a bit. 'If I accept, then I get a second chance, but I won't see the friends I know. If I don't, I'll lose myself to instrumentality.'
After a few minutes, Shinji made his decision.
"I accept your offer. I'll take my second chance."
/
Shinji awoke in Unit-01, detecting his mother's presence immediately. He noticed that Unit-01 was sitting on a beach that met a red ocean, a stark contrast to the blue ocean he was used to. He also noticed that he was in his plug suit, and that his synch clips were in his hair. He didn't remember putting on anything, just getting in Unit-01 in his school outfit before Unit-01 blew up the main HQ building and he saw the 9 Mass Production Units carrying Unit-02's dismember-
Shinji cut himself off before he threw up at that last bit of the memory.
Shinji willed Unit-01 to look around, noticing that he was on the shore where he and Asuka fought the 7th angel.
'Mother, I'm sorry for this, but I'm going to need you to work for me one last time,' he thought to his mother, knowing she would listen to him. He then willed the EVA to stand, before turning toward where he remembered Tokyo-3 was, and sprinting towards his home.
'This time, I won't fail everyone.'