Armin's shoulders shook as a scream echoed from below.
"Not again…" Jean's voice said quietly.
Armin was sitting at the edge of a long table. The granite room they were in was dimly lit by the candle on the table. Across from him sat Jean, Sasha, and Connie.
"I feel like he's screaming even louder than when the Captain was doing it." Sasha mumbled.
Another scream came from below. Armin saw Connie's eyes droop, "I know this is to help get Eren and Historia back," He said, "but it makes me sick."
The illustrious Levi squad returned to silence as the screaming below continued. The Section Commander and the Captain were torturing someone. Torturing. Armin thought back to the woman he shot. Her brain matter splattered on the edge of the cart. He swallowed back the image.
"All of us are criminals now." He said his thoughts out loud, noticing everyone's attention on him. Everyone including Jason, who sat at the other edge of the table, an empty chair between them. Armin didn't like the expression he was making. It was empty, moving only because Armin had spoken.
"We've started killing our enemies, not because they'll eat us if we fail, but because their views differ from our own." Armin leaned down in despair as he continued, "No, maybe it's because they are part of a different group… To take a life over that…"
"Armin." Mikasa said softly behind him.
A beat. Then, "We can't call ourselves good people anymore." Armin concluded.
Chair legs scratched the granite floor, "Who cares?"
Everyone looked to the standing demigod. It was the first thing he said since he returned to them at the warehouse. "It doesn't matter how good you act. Good people still die."
Jason captured Armin's gaze, "The people we are fighting have no morals. I don't know why you care about what they think? Or what group they are a part of. They kill, no questions asked, so why don't we do the same?"
"That's not true." Jean interjected forcefully. The room was quiet again, waiting for him to elaborate. "I… the woman who tried to kill me in Trost. She hesitated. I saw her hesitate. It's the only reason I'm still alive."
"BUT SHE TRIED TO KILL YOU!" Jason slammed his hand on the table, "If she hadn't joined that 'other group', as Armin so eloquently put it, she wouldn't have put a gun to your head." He laughed, "You know what, we should all hold hands and sing kumbaya!" Jason threw the empty chair across the room, breaking it. The three across from him crouched in fear.
Armin rose to his feet, trying to calm him down, "Jason…"
Jason kicked his chair behind him, pointing to his teammate accusingly, "No! You told me that to defeat the titan threat, you had to become monsters!" His arms outstretched he said, "Well, now you're a monster! And all of a sudden you don't like it? You think sympathizing with the enemy will absolve you of your guilt?!" His voice was getting higher and higher as he moved closer and closer.
"That lady that you killed, she won't be your last. The life you've chosen, it will get more and more people killed, until you're left with nothing and no one." He ended the sentence in a low voice. Armin thought he was speaking from experience.
Jason's eyes were narrow, filled with anger and resentment. But, Armin realized, they also had a hint of sadness. Armin couldn't help feeling pity for his friend.
Jason, noticing the change in Armins expression, took a step back. The room was silent. Armin took in the scene. Connie was glaring at Jason. Sasha looked down nervously into her lap. Jean's gaze was on the floor, his teeth clenched. Mikasa, now standing next to Armin, was also glaring at Jason.
Jason stood still, his eyes glued to the floor, his fits shaking at his sides. Then he moved around the table, walking towards the exit. Before Armin could say anything, the demigod slammed the door behind him as another yell from the basement echoed through the room.