Bad news travels fast.

Hours after Shiganshina fell, every man, woman, and child in the interior knew the unthinkable had come to pass. Terror spread like wildfire.

"What do you think we're supposed to make of these reports of Shiganshina falling to the Titans?" The stocky man with anxious eyes and receding hairline asked the other lords present.

"Are they verified? That outcropping has been held for a century; it makes no sense!"

"Whether or not they're verified makes no difference. Refugees are already pouring in like plague rats. There were at least 500 accounted for in the boats, more pouring in on wagon and horseback," another man commented bitterly, stepping away from the window. He could see the refugees from where he stood.

"The question is," a blond man with a goatee interjected, "How prepared are we if Shiganshina IS in ruins?"

"Come now, surely Wall Maria is enough to hold the Titans at bay, don't you think?" the man's voice trailed off in an anxious chuckle.

An uneasy silence fell over the room. The only light from the setting sun poured in through the open window, illuminating the men's nervous faces. Ice clinked quietly in the glass cups before them, condensation staining the veneer of the table they all sat at.

"Damn it all," the man grumbled, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "No matter how you slice it, this situation is bad. Maybe we should petition the central government for help and-."

His thoughts were cut short. "Excuse me, my lords!" The lanky Garrison officer who burst through the door was soaked in sweat, words breathless. The red rose on his tan jacket stood out in a foreboding way. "You'll really want to hear this."

The men braced for the worst.

"Wall Maria has been broken through! The Titans-they're in!"

Small gasps of shock filled the room, and dread quickly followed.

In a terrified haste, the central government declared the outlier districts a lost cause. It decreed that all of humanity should retreat behind Wall Rose. Estimates assumed nearly 10,000 lives were lost to the Titan offensive. No attempts were made to search for survivors, and all military personnel were compelled to withdraw.

~o~

The wagon carried on without further delay or interruption. The trip to Trost took a little over an hour. More refugees joined the road as they got closer to Wall Rose. Some on foot, some on horseback. Some even had a few with whole families loaded into a wagon. Everyone on the road was quiet, except for the muffled sounds of crying from several people, the wheels rattling on the cobblestone below, and the horses' hooves on the ground.

Victoria was one of them. Despite her best efforts, she could not stop sniffling.

Her memories of that hour were blurry, her grief and exhaustion warping what she could and could not remember.

One memory she recalled vividly was Reiner, in silence, reaching out to hold her hand for a while. She clung to it like a lifeline. She had heard of trauma bonds from her dad; they were common in the military. This would be one of the first ones she would experience for herself. She watched her tears drip off her cheeks onto his hand, sliding down and creating a pattern in the dust on his skin.

"I'm sorry," Reiner whispered again, so low she almost missed it. She gave his hand a soft squeeze and smiled faintly up at him through her tears. She had nothing to say and merely slumped against his shoulder, resting her eyes momentarily. Reiner tensed for a moment, before relaxing again. His hand gently reached up and brushed her hair from the wound on her face.

"What are you doing, Reiner?" Bertholdt hissed. Reiner did not respond, but Victoria felt him move to look at him. Whatever face he contorted made Bertholdt fall silent, returning to tending the now unconscious from exhaustion Annie.

The softness of his hand brushing back her hair and the warmth of his shoulder very quickly made the equally exhausted Victoria fall asleep against Reiner's shoulder.

~o~

When she awoke, she was alone—being carried into an infirmary by the same woman soldier who had prevented her from getting off the wagon. She was a redhead, Victoria randomly noticed. This officer had basically saved Victoria's life by preventing V from doing something incredibly foolish.

"Wait, where's Reiner?" Victoria mumbled groggily, trying to get her bearings. "Where am I?"

"Hush, little one," murmured the woman gently. "You're safe now; you made it past Wall Rose. We brought you to the hospital. We're going to get that wound cleaned and stitched up."

"Who are you?"

"That's not important right now, what is..." the woman's words faded out as Victoria lost consciousness again. The adrenaline and need to survive had seriously depleted any energy she might have had. Now that she was safe, her body decided there was no need to stay awake.

As everything faded to black again, she felt her body get set down in an incredibly soft cot, and darkness came ever faster.

Victoria would never see that woman again.

Victoria spent the first night in the infirmary, under surveillance to guarantee she didn't have a concussion. The gash on her forehead was quickly sewn up, and she was given pain medication, but sitting in this room, stagnant, was driving her up a wall. Listening to men and women weep and lament in pain all around her was starting to push her into a dark head space.

She was thankful when some inner ring officers came to speak with her. Grateful for a distraction. Even if it was just for a little bit, they asked her all sorts of questions.

"Can you describe the Titans you saw?"

"About what time did the first attack occur? What about the second?"

"Did you see your family at all on your way out?"

"What do you know about your mother?"

That one gave her pause. My mother? Why do you want to know about my mom?

"Born and raised in Shiganshina," Victoria replied cautiously, "Just like dad. Wait, have you seen my dad?" Her tone turned panicky, desperately clutching the blanket around her waist.

"Is that what they told you? What was her behavior like before the attack?"

Victoria's frown deepened, but she could not respond as the officers left her without another word, seemingly unsatisfied with her answer of "Weird." She scowled, leaning back into the pillows. She really hated people like that. People that only asked questions and never gave answers of their own.

"I hope this is only temporary," she heard one of the officers say to the other as they walked away. "If Wall Maria fell, then the Scouts need to get off their asses and clear out the Titans if we have any hope of reclaiming all that land."

Victoria's eyes darkened, nails digging into the bandages on her palms.

The second officer scoffed and nodded in response. "Pft, yeah. How did they not see those massive abnormal Titans on their way back into the city anyway? How useless can you be?"

"SHUT UP!" Victoria could not contain her outburst. "What are YOU lazy officers even doing? You should be out there fighting the Titans, but, no, you're here, interrogating a child! Seems like you are the ones who are useless! Have you ever seen a Titan, or have you been cowering behind the walls your whole life!"

The first officer spun on his heel, "What did you just say, you little shit?"

Silence fell over the infirmary ward. Patients and nurses alike looked up to see what the commotion was.

The second man grabbed the hot head, pulling him back a step. "Hey, hold on, she's just a kid."

"Yeah, a kid who should know better about disrespecting her superiors."

Victoria maintained eye contact, chin jutted out stubbornly, daring this grown man to strike her with looks alone.Please go on, prove it. Prove you are a piece of shit.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the soldiers walked away, grumbling under their breaths and shaking their heads. The tension melted from the room as Victoria slid back onto her pillows again.

Yeah, she really hated those guys.

~o~

Victoria was released into Lieutenant Chisaki's custody the next morning. He refused to meet her gaze as he explained how he felt responsible for her. That, as her father's commanding officer, it was his duty to step up and take care of V, now that her family was missing in action.

She refused to speak to him as he filed paperwork with the nurses. The bandage they had wrapped around her head was uncomfortable, and she was already dealing with a headache. Everyone they encountered gave her the same pitying look, mixed with fear. No matter how hard they tried to hide it, one thing haunted the back of everyone's mind.

Wall Maria had fallen.

The interior walls were already dealing with famine and drought when the wall fell. With the influx of refugees, it was only going to get worse. With everyone hungry, everyone's tempers would be on edge. Victoria had already heard some Garrison officers discussing some brat who had mouthed off at them in the courtyard earlier today because he was hungry.

"Sounds like Eren," she mumbled to herself.

"You won't have to deal with that," Lieutenant Chisaki spoke as they left the infirmary office, walking down the long stone corridor. "I'll see to it that you have everything you could want to eat."

The rest of the journey back to Chisaki's home was a somber one. The man continued to not meet her gaze, even as she asked questions about his house. Questions he mostly replied with, "You'll see." She sighed, shoulders slumping as she kicked a rock down the cobblestone road.

A wash of grief suddenly fell over her. She'd probably never see her real family again. She'll forever be stuck with this pudgy officer as a stepfather. Another man who didn't answer her questions, or even have the respect to meet her gaze.

This officer's guilt hung over his head like a guillotine.

Maybe I can use that.

The home of Lieutenant Chisaki was a single level. Beige stone insulated the outside, with wooden panels on the windows open to let air circulate and a standard terra cotta roof. It was simple, and old. It looked like it was one of the first homes ever built here in the interior.

"Well, here we are."

The room Chisaki presented to Victoria was plain. It was relatively small, with a hardwood floor and faded beige wallpaper. A basic twin bed on a wooden frame was lined with clean linen sheets. Some fresh clothes lay folded on the end, including a simple button-up shirt and pants, from what she could tell. An antique-looking dresser sat in the corner, beside a mirror and bookshelf. There were a few things on the shelf, mostly old history books and a picture of an old woman. Chisaki's mother, maybe? And finally, there was a rocking chair. Old and well-loved, it looked hand-made with a worn green cushion.

"I-I know it's not much," Chisaki stuttered anxiously, "But tomorrow we can go into the interior and I'll buy you some clothes and decorations if you want." His eyes shifted down. "I've never had to take care of a child before so I'm not sure what to do."

"I know what you can do." Victoria's response was confident. Chisaki's eyebrow twitched inquisitively, finally meeting her gaze as a grin grew on her lips.

"You can teach me how to be a soldier."

~o~

A few days later, throngs of starved refugees were put to plow in the wastelands as a last ditch effort to produce food. Victoria demanded that Chisaki take them out there and volunteer as well. But the cold, hard ground yielded nothing.

The following year, 846, the remaining refugees old enough to serve in the military were tasked with reclaiming Wall Maria. She watched Armin sobbing as his own grandfather marched off to fight. Of the 250,000 sent, nearly 20% of the surviving population, not even 200 made it back.

While it did nothing to drive back the Titans, their sacrifice did at least lessen the effects of famine in the interior walls.

And the tragedy had one surprising benefit. It brought those who experienced it closer together. Bonds of friendship became stronger. Victoria felt this as she sat with the other three children. Not the mysterious ones she had met during the disaster. No, despite her best efforts she could not seem to locate them.

She sat with the infamous trio.

Armin Arlert was clutching his grandfather's hat so tightly his knuckles were white. V sat beside him, arm wrapped around him in an attempt to comfort the poor boy. It didn't really work but as Armin's sobs wracked his body she could tell the grief at least came a little easier. There was no shame in it and she was determined to make sure he knew that as she hugged him.

Eren Yeager stood with his back against the stone building. His hands tucked in his pockets, his sharp gaze watched Armin. Determination shone in his green eyes as he suddenly spoke up.

"We have to find a way to stop them. Our lives will never be our own until we do. This world... will never feel like home." He let out a pout as he sat down next to Armin. "That's it. Next year, I'll be applying to join the Cadets."

Armin looked at him, with a knowing look deep in his crystal blue eyes. Mikasa Ackerman let out a resigned sigh. She had been standing off to the side, watching them. Her face was partially buried into her red scarf, her emotions hidden as always.

"I'm going to become strong enough to fight back."

Everyone was silent for a moment, as they contemplated his words and tone. "I'm with you," Armin was the first one to speak up.

"You bet your ass. I'm coming too." Victoria nodded curtly in Eren's direction. Her hand clutched Armin's, and he flashed an anxious smile at her.

"No, wait," Eren stuttered, concern for his friends shaking in his tone. "You don't have to-"

"We do," Armin cut him off. Mikasa nodded in agreement.

"No, I won't have you all following me to my death!" Eren protested.

"Yeah, and if I can help it, it won't be your death." Mikasa's words cut through the quiet night air with a sense of finality. She would not argue with him.

After a moment, Eren stood, his hands balling into fists at his side. His eyes looked south, towards Shiganshina. Victoria knew that look. It was the same look she saw whenever she looked in the mirror.

"Alright." Eren finally said. "Together then."