Chapter Text
"Dammit!" Jean's voice shouted as he hit the desk after he's finished reading the Captain's letter again "What a complete shit show this has been" he sighed in annoyance through gritted teeth, looking back at Armin who was also looking disappointed as well "First Eren and now the Captain what the hell are we supposed to do now?" Jean huffed leaning on the desk, stressing out.
"Jean you need to calm down" Armin told his friend putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder "There's not much we can do at the moment now without more information on their whereabouts, as difficult as it is to accept we don't know enough about this place to launch a search and rescue and even if we do find one or both of them who knows if they will come back with us willingly" Armin reasoned with him.
"Shit, your right" Jean agreed reluctantly with a nod "We should have seen this coming, Eren's been acting differently ever since his fathers memories and the Captain.. we all knew bringing him along was a huge risk, especially since Hange was bound to be here" Jean tried to rationalise out loud all the thoughts in his head.
"Our biggest concerns right now should be what we are going to report back to the brass, both Humanities strongest and humanities hope have gone rogue, their whereabouts are unknown, now Eren as far as I'm aware has probably decided to go off on his own so information being leaked from him is lower risk, the Captain however is undoubtedly with Hange so there is a small chance he might unintentionally leak information" Armin decided.
"You really think Captain Levi would do that to us, he's always so careful about spreading information" Jean said in surprise
"That was before we came back from Shiganshina, ever since then he hasn't been the same, more angry and aloof, and as much as I would like to believe he wouldn't intentionally share information, he and Hange have always had an unshakeable bond with each other and it has been years since he saw her last, I can't rule out the potential risk of him saying something in a moment of vulnerability to Hange" Armin said with a huge sigh as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"He might not though I mean as different as the Captain has been acting he still cares about us, I doubt he would say anything that would endanger us all right" Jean tried to remain optimistic but this was a huge blow to not just the 104th and the Survey Corps but the whole island of Paradis, they had lost two important members of their military behind enemy lines.
"I can't know for certain Jean, all I do know is that right now we need to go back to Paradis as soon as possible and update them on the situation" Armin decided his shoulders slumped in defeat, he felt responsible for both of these two running off, Eren had been acting strangely but after hearing those politicians in the hearing talking about what the fate of Paradis should be they had lost him, maybe if Armin had followed him out to talk to him instead of staying in that room listening to these naïve men call the people he was representing island devils Eren would still be here. As for Levi, Armin had thought that the expedition would be a good opportunity for Levi to prove to the brass that he was still responsible and that he was still a good asset to have in the Corps, guess he must have underestimated how much of a pull Hange still had on the Captain even after her betrayal. How that plan had backfired in his face and now he would have to go back and explain to them all what had happened on this expedition, which was definitely not going to be a fun meeting for anyone.
"Guess our popularity with the brass will be back at square one again after this huh" Jean joked with a solemn face as he looked at Armin just as tiredly
"Lets just get back with the others for now, we'll figure out what to say to the brass a different time" Armin decided with a sigh
"Right I'll go gather everyone up and get them prepared to go on the ship again" Jean decided standing up "What are you going to do Commander?" he asked making Armin chuckle tiredly.
"Guess I better come up with an Erwin style speech to give to the brass for when we get back to explain this mess of a situation" he answered back leaning further onto his chair.
"Well if you need a hand I'm more than happy to help" Jean said with a small nod before walking out of his office to round up the rest of their friends leaving Armin alone to ponder on what to do.
"What would you do in this situation Erwin?" he wondered out loud as he read Levi's letter again
Commander
I hope this doesn't come across to harshly although I do understand that this will probably shock and disappoint you all and I am truly sorry, however I have decided to stay here in Liberio, I won't try to beat around the bush as I know you probably have already figured out my reasoning for staying. I ran into Hange again after I ran off to get away from the crowds the first day here and have been seeing her since then, my reasoning for staying here isn't completely selfish though, as much as it might appear to be. Hange says I might be able to get some help for my fucked up mess of a head here in Liberio and she is offering to help me with that, I am to see a doctor who specialises in dealing with people who have been through trauma but in order for it to benefit me I need to be here in Liberio where I can visit them in person.
I know this looks like me running away and turning my back on you all but I can't serve anyone at my best anymore the way I have in the past and I won't allow you all to take the heat from the brass if I fuck up again. If there's a chance I might be able to cure myself of this I feel like I have to try before there's nothing left to save, I hope you can forgive me or if not understand what I'm trying to do. I know I will miss you brats but your stronger together and always have been so I'm confident you will be able to look after each other as well as you can.
Farewell for now, maybe our paths will cross again at some point
Sincerely
Captain Levi Ackerman
Armin sighed again putting his head in his hands
"What a mess" he said again sadly