"Absolutely not." This was the first thing Arya could manage to say after listening at length to their plan for recuing Historia. Fear prickled at her scalp as she imagined going back to the island she so desperately tried to escape from.
"Please, Arya." Connie pleaded with her, a look of desperation on his face. "No one knows the inner workings of the Eldian High Council or the Jaegerist military as well as you do. We know how much we are asking, but without your help we won't even know where to start." Arya avoided looking at him while he said this and ran two hands through her hair at an attempted to calm herself.
"We wouldn't be here disturbing your work if we didn't think we had any other choice." Armin said softly, watching her pace back and forth from one end of the room to the other.
"Yes, I know that." She mumbled distractedly. "Look, I am deeply grateful to you for the help you gave me at my placement hearing, which has allowed me to help more people than I would have ever hoped. But this…" She looked at him now, terrified.
"I know you're scared, and that's okay." Pieck said softly, walking up to stand in front of her. "So are we. But we can't sit by and let them do whatever it is they have planned with Historia, or her family. We need you." She placed a gentle hand on Arya's arm in a comforting gesture, but she shrank away from her casual touch.
"When you pulled us from that room in the capitol, you said that the plan you had would perhaps be useful one day." Jean said, a little more harsh than necessary. "Well, it's time to cash that ticket in." Armin glared at him angrily.
Arya sighed. "Even if I agreed to help you, this whole thing with Captain Ackerman is absurd. I can't force a man to undergo reconstructive surgery if his wish is to be left out of this whole mess." She gave a frantic little laugh as she looked between them. "What do you want me to do, knock him out and do it anyway?"
Armin stood to join Connie and Pieck next to her, and they stepped aside. He went to place a reassuring hand on her small shoulder, but she shifted away from the attempted contact. Lowering his hand, he bent down to look at her downcast face.
"No one is asking you to do that, Arya. All we need for you to do is tell him what you can do for him. Levi believes that there's no hope, and we need you to try and convince him otherwise." She hesitantly lifted her head to look back at him now, a worry line carved deep into her forehead.
"This whole thing is madness, I know." He continued. "So many times, the four of us have charged headfirst into danger that we quickly forget that not every one else has had to do the same." He shot a hard look at Jean before turning back to her. "I won't try to convince you to do this; that would be unfair. You have done so much for us already that even being here to ask isn't fair to you. All the same, we are here, and we are asking."
Arya stepped back from him and regarded them all intently. Here was a group of people that had risked their lives time and time again in the name of those the cared for. Heroes of Humanity they were called by the people. They looked death in the face and still fought for the good of the world. Did she have the courage to follow them?
She sighed again and turned her attention back to Armin. "This is a choice that I can't make yet. I don't know if I have the same kind of bravery you do; to face the enemy head on despite the risks. But…" She paused. She was remembering the first time he had caught her gaze, and the feeling that grew inside her heart then. It was the same feeling she had on the plane: that there was something rushing forwards to meet her, some undeniable truth that she was somehow a part of. Arya didn't know if "destiny" was the right word or if such a thing even existed, but if ever there were to be something close to it, this was it.
"But I will do what I can for you until I have made that choice." Her face was both resigned and determined as she said this. "I will tell you as much as I can remember in regard to the High Council and military regimes and, regardless of my reservations, I will go speak with Captain Ackerman and see what I can do."
The four of them seemed to crumple with relief, and Connie pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!" He exclaimed, fixing Arya with a hopeful expression that severely contrasted her anxious one.
Armin noddled gratefully. "Thank you. That's more than we could have hoped." He turned to Jean. "Send out the call; it's time to rally the troops." Arya laughed dryly, mind still churning.
What have I gotten myself into?
The rescue of Queen Historia and her people was set for six weeks from the first official team meeting, three days after Arya agreed to assist them. In attendance for this meeting was President Wohl, Kiyomi Azumabito, and several military generals to aid in the specifics of their mission. It was key that as few people as possible knew of their intentions, and that it was performed in a way that had the least chance of resulting in a declaration of war.
Mikasa had once again assured them that the enemy had no plans to harm any of them yet: how she seemed so certain of this was unknown, but proper preparation was necessary. She held fast to the claim that it was more than likely just a power move to entice the Allied Ambassador group to return to the island. If it was, then it was working.
Those that had agreed to join the mission included Armin and his team, 4 soldiers recruited by Jean and Connie for their skill and rank among their regiments, Oz Bennet ("I'm not letting you guys have all the fun this time around!") and Arya. She had still not made a choice whether she would be joining them, but her knowledge of the Jeagerist strongholds and military movement was invaluable to them.
"Reiner is in Cardend visiting Gobi and Falco; we will be able to talk to him then." Jean had said when the President had asked about Reiner's possible participation. 'Though I think it's best not to get the younger ones involved. Their skills are impressive, but the less lives risked during this, the better." They all agreed to that.
Arya was set to leave Veritas by boat the next morning, accompanied by Connie and Jean. The route by sea was more indirect but saved time. Jean had protested loudly when given this detail; his time would be better spent with the personnel he needed to muster and train. Armin privately agree with this, but it was easy to convince him that there were plenty of unknowns along the way, and Arya's team needed a proper defense. He intentionally left out the fact that Arya could clearly take care of herself to avoid another heated argument, since it was really his worry for her that he insisted on Jean being a part of their trip to Cardend.
Arya was also hesitant to depart with them, and she told Armin so.
"Aren't you able to make the trip with me? Or Pieck?" She had asked shortly before dawn broke over the horizon as they all stood beside the Veritas harbor. Arya and Pieck had become fast friends, and he was sure she was worried that Jean and Connie were unhappy about being the ones to come with her. Armin had flushed when she asked this, keeping his eyes down at the wooden planks of the boardwalk.
"I'm sorry, that's inappropriate for me to ask, I know you have a lot to take care of here." She smiled at him apologetically. "I just feel like… like I know you better, somehow. Hopefully we will be back in a few days." Waving goodbye, the three of them boarded the small charter boat that would take them out of the peninsula and north towards Cardend. Armin didn't understand the anxious feeling that sat heavy on his chest as the boat pulled away from the dock. She was right though; it did feel as if they knew each other, and this notion did nothing to quell the ripple of unease he felt.
The boat ride was uneventful and slightly uncomfortable at first, Jean's frustrated attitude continuing for most of it, though Arya quickly learned that she enjoyed Connie's company very much. He was always the first to laugh or crack a joke, and she found a lot of comfort in a person like that: someone that still found humor and happiness in an otherwise dark world, much like she tried to do.
They arrived in Cardend shortly before midday, still swaying uncomfortably from the lengthy ferry ride. The city's port was much larger than the one in Veritas, and it was full of people coming and going in every direction. It may have been a smaller city than the capital, but as it served as the main trading point for all of Marly's sea imports, it was always teeming with activity. They had to nearly shove their way from the boat and all the way to the nearest street, where they we able to remove themselves from the flow of people.
"Jeez, why is everyone is such a rush?" Jean mumbled, rubbing his trampled foot.
"I don't know, but the sooner we can leave this crazy place, the better." Arya agreed. "Where did Armin say The Captain and his friends were staying?"
Connie pointed down the street they had escaped into. "Their apartments are above some tavern called the Sea Farthing; I'm pretty sure it's somewhere around here."
The three of them made their way down the significantly less crowded street with relief, keeping their eyes peeled for any signage that would point them in the right direction. The road eventually opened into a large square, vendors of all shapes and sizes selling their wears out of stalls lining the perimeter.
"There!" Jean said, gesturing towards the closest building to their right. The sturdy and well-travelled Sea Fathering stood broad and dark compared to the businesses that surrounded it, making it easy to spot. Armin had instructed them not to take the main entrance into the bar, but rather a smaller door on the left side that lead to a narrow staircase and access to the rooms above.
Connie was the first of the trio to step onto the landing that proceeded a short hallway lined with half a dozen doors, but before Arya and Jean could join him, he stopped dead. Staring intently at one of the doors down from them, he stepped aside to let the others move up the stairs.
The door that belonged to Levi's quarters was ajar.