The resulting months after the attack were catastrophic, to say in he least. Hundreds of thousands of people died, either by the titans, starvation, freezing to death, or disease. The Pixis household also suffered a heavy loss. The titan that grabbed Desmond's mother had actually bitten into her, and the wound became infected. Her fever killed her in the night, and Desmond had to pick up on what she left behind, looking after his younger brothers, and helping the less fortunate. Though as soon as they were behind Trost's walls, the Engineer's Guild immediately got their hands on Desmond so that he could help invent things for them to help with the massive flow of people fighting the titans.
"So how's your family?" Eren asked, slumping against the wall.
"Not well," Desmond answered, holding the basket in his arms close. He knew his friends were starving, barely surviving with the rations provided, so he did his best to save food up and give them what scraps he could. "Seamus got promoted to captain, and otherwise nothing much else,"
"I heard a rumour your father became an alcoholic," Mikasa mumbled. "That's not a good thing for someone of his command…"
"He's taken the loss of Ma pretty hard."
"Oh no," Armin gasped. "I'm so sorry! When did she-?"
"A couple of months ago. Remember how that titan grabbed her? She got bit, and the wound got infected." Armin subtly nodded, remembering that traumatic moment.
.
"I can't do this," Eren grumbled, sitting on the banister, the bruising from his recent beating starting to swell. "I'm going back to Wall Maria! The titans have to pay for what they've done to us…"
"Hey now, you're not serious." Armin smiled, trying to talk sense into Yaegar. "That's just your stomach talking!"
"No it's not!" Eren shouted, hopping up and pushing him back. Desmond and Mikasa gave each other a look as if to say "Here we go again…"
"Wake up, the guys standing between us and them are just a bunch of talk!" He pulled the bread that Desmond have given him from his pocket and threw it at Desmond. "To hell with all of them, here! I'm going back!"
"What are you trying to do, starve?" Armin gasped.
"I went hungry to give you this, Eren. Show some courtesy!" Desmond tutted. "I know it's shit here, but you gotta eat."
"When are you gonna get sick of their charity, huh? Too much is just handed to us, we need to stand on our own too feet!"
"To do what, get killed by a titan!?" Armin snapped, having had enough of this.
"Guys, let's all just-" Desmond started, before Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
"They need to let this out," She mumbled. "Just let it happen."
"-But it's like you told that man, I've never seen what they can do to us!"
"So that's it!?" Eren shouted back, clenching his fists in fury. "This is just the way life is? Run away and take what we're given?"
"Look at us, what choice do we have here?"
"We can damn well leave! If you want to scrape by on the charity of cowards that's your thing! But I'm not a parasite!" Armin gasped, speechless. Mikasa stepped in and punched Eren square in the cheek. Eren grunted in surprise, before falling with a thud.
"Ouch…" Desmond chuckled. "That's gonna leave a mark. You okay, Armin?" His response was a tiny one, only mumbling Mikasa's name as Desmond knelt beside Eren to help him up.
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" She asked. "All of us are parasites, we couldn't run from certain death without help! Tell me differently, don't take your shortcomings out on him. For God's sake, we can't even find food on our own!
"Mika, I don't think that's fair to say. The titan's are-"
"The titans are on the top of the food chain, period. Pride be damned, we do what we must to live."
"Enough!" Desmond shouted, breaking his calm exterior. "This is madness, us doing this." He snatched the roll from Armin and stuffed it into Eren's mouth. "Eat. Your mother would want you to survive, not starve!" Of course he choked, and resisted, but Desmond kept forcing until he submitted and ate, tears welling in his eyes. "Armin, Mikasa. Grab your belongings. I'm sick of watching you all suffer here."
"What are you going to do?" Armin asked.
"You're moving in with me. Our house has some spare rooms, and I hate watching my friends live like this!"
.
.
Weeks had passed since Desmond's friends moved into the house. Mason and James took to them like family, and Seamus was civil enough, despite not being around because of work. Commander Pixis was never around, going to the capitol and Wall Sina to help bolter their defences in case of another attack. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were sent to farm and plough the wastelands as a last-ditch effort to raise food, but the cold hard ground yielded nothing. And in 846, the following year, all of the refugees who were old enough to serve in the military were tasked with reclaiming Wall Maria.
.
"No, you can't go!" Mason sobbed, holding onto Seamus' side. "Please don't go!"
"I have no choice," Seamus sighed, hugging his brother closely. "They need all of the captains in Trost to help lead the counterattack."
"But you'll be killed!" James protested, pulling him away from the door. "The titans will crush you!"
"You doubt your big brothers skill?" Seamus chuckled, rubbing his hair. "I'm the son of Commander Pixis! We'll beat those titans back!"
"Are you sure you want to go?" Commander Pixis asked, looking gravely at his son. "You don't have to go. I can get you out of this suicide-"
"It's not a suicide mission! As long as there are people to fight for, our deaths aren't in vain! I'm going whether you want me to or not."
"But Shay," Desmon finally croaked, on the verge of tears. "What about our inventions?"
"C'mon, Des! Is my baby brother that reliant on me?" A knock on the door signalled it was tome to go. He shook of his screaming brothers, the commander holding them back as Seamus mounted his horse and rode of…
.
Of the two hundred and fifty thousand sent, nearly twenty percent of the surviving population, not even two hundred made it back. While it did nothing to drive back the titans, their sacrifice did at least lessen the effects of famine within the interior.
.
"I heard that your grandfather got conscripted. I'm so sorry." Desmond mumbled, sitting next to a crying arming, holding his grandfather's hat. "This probably won't make much of a difference, but he was on the list of people who were to be used only in an emergency. I personally made sure he was in the rear guard, and with the senior officers." Armin nodded, thanking his friend for that news, despite the futility of bringing his relative back.
"What about Seamus?" Mikasa asked, looking sadly at him. "You said he volunteered to lead the troops?"
"Yeah, he was in the reserves, leading Armin's pa actually. Shay was one of the lucky ones who made it back…"
"We have to find a way to stop them," Eren said, doing nothing to comfort his friends. "Our lives will never be our own until we do. This world will never feel like home.." He slumped against the wall of the Pixis' house and flopped down next to Desmond. "That's it, next year I'll be applying to join the cadets." This surprised Armin and Desmond, yet Mikasa only sighed, and pushed her scarf higher on her face. "To become strong enough to fight back!"
"I'm with you," Armin mumbled, barely audible.
"No, you don't have to-"
"I do!"
"So do I." Mikasa piped up.
"Damnit, I'm not trying to drag you into this!" Eren rejected their offer. Desmond only watch quietly, analysing the situation. "There's no point in following me to my death!"
"Yeah, and if I can help it, it won't be your death."
"Too right," Desmond said. "I'm joining to. I'm sick of sitting in a room all day, saying that I'm helping humanity by thinking! I wanna kill some titans!" He gave them a comical grin, despite the seriousness of the situation.
"Alright, together then." Mikasa's face was expressionless, yet Armin had a sense of hope about him.
"Next year, we fight to reclaim what's rightfully ours!"
