Violets (Mikannie)

25 - Retaken

Welp, my life sucks rn. Writing these shitty stories is the only thing that brings me joy. Anyway I love you all and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
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In response to the sound, Armin and Hanji ran as fast as they could in that direction. It was by the side of the road, and Annie stood like a deer in the headlights, caught in a pair of literal headlights.

"Get off the road!" Armin shouted. Annie looked at him, face full of horror. He ran out onto the road and pushed her out of the way, both of them landing on the gravel.

He stood up, and gave her a hand, which she took.

"That's them," Annie said. He didn't need clarification, he knew exactly who they were. She grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the woodland area to escape from the car.

They were running blindly, low branches thwacking them in the legs, face etc. They couldn't stop, knowing that if they did then Donovan Tech would get them. They couldn't breathe. They had to keep running.

"We'll get through the woods," Armin said, his throat burning. He couldn't see if Annie had heard him, but he had to assume she did.

They did come out of the woods, into a clearing. Armin smiled tearily in relief, but it faded when he saw a black van hurl past, stopping in front of them. Neither he nor Annie could move as the back door of the van opened and someone jumped out. In a flash, they had an arm around Annie and a gun to her head. She couldn't fight back.

"You're gonna let me go," the person said. 

And Armin did. He didn't try and do anything but watch as the person got back into the van, holding Annie the entire time. The van sped off, and he collapsed on the ground. It didn't really sink in for a minute or two that he'd let not only Annie, his best friend's girlfriend, get taken away, but Annie, bearer of the female titan.

"Oh, oh god. They took her." He dug his fingernails into his palms, trying to calm himself down. He needed to be calm right now.

"Armin!" He heard somebody call. A minute later, one of the people he had seen by Hanji's side came running over. He couldn't remember the man's name. Evan, perhaps?

The man knelt down beside him, checking him over. "Are you alright?" He asked.

He nodded. "Physically. But they, they-"

The man looked in the direction that the car had driven off in, and, not seeing Annie anywhere near, knew exactly what had happened. "Oh, god."

--

A short car trip later, and they were back at the Ackerman house. Armin was let in almost immediately, though the car had to be searched. 

"They got Annie!" He shouted as soon as he ran into Mikasa. A look of fear appeared on her face.

"What?" Mikasa asked, slowly. Armin looked at her, a pleading look in his eyes, and she knew then that he wasn't lying to her. A hollow feeling made its way into her chest.

"But that's... that's not all. We ran into Hanji... she can help us get them back."

"I thought you said we couldn't-"

"Yes, I know what I said. But that was then. Now, she's our best chance - our only chance, really - of saving them."

Mikasa stared at him for a moment, and Armin was afraid - afraid she'd hurt him, or do something equally stupid - but then she engulfed him in a hug.

"We're going to act now," he said. He felt her nod.

After a minute or so of hugging, they decided it was best to go outside and meet with the rest of the gang.

"They'll let you out," Armin told her. "I'll bluff us out of here."

Mikasa smiled at him in thanks.

"Sir," he said, tapping Murphy on the shoulder. He turned around, sleepily, and gave them a lopsided smile.

"Yeah?" Murphy asked.

"I need to go out for some air," Mikasa lied.

That's a good one, Armin mouthed. She ignored him.

"Uh, sure," Murphy said. He let the two of them past.

"How the hell did that work?" Mikasa asked when they were out of earshot. Armin shrugged.

She brushed it aside and walked in silence until they got to the car, which was parked at the end of the street. Armin tapped on the window, and it was rolled down.

"Get in," Hanji said, and they did. Mikasa frowned when she saw Reiner, and he frowned in return.

"Hey," Hanji said, offering the kids a wave. "I'll spare you the details. I'm guessing you already know everything that's going well on."

"Yes. Is it true- that Donovan Tech-"

"Unfortunately, yes," Hanji replied. "This was exactly what I was trying to prevent, but, what can I say? The universe loves me."

This was said almost sarcastically.

"What are we going to do?" Mikasa asked.

Hanji sighed. "I guess we just break in there. They didn't see me when they drove past - I hope - so my key should still work."

"What, now?"

"Well, if we wait until tomorrow, then it could be too late for her."

Mikasa looked down at her knees, and swallowed over the lump in her throat. "Okay."

"Oh. You could text your parents and tell them you're going to bed early," Armin suggested.

"Already doing that," Mikasa said, her phone out.

"Won't they get suspicious if you text them?" Reiner looked over Mikasa's shoulder at her phone screen.

"Big house. We do it all the time."

Me: I'm going to bed early

Mum: oh ok! Goodnight honey xx

"We'll tell them everything once we get back anyway, won't we?" Armin asked as Mikasa put her phone back in her pocket.

Hanji shrugged. "It depends. Probably."

The man who was sitting in the driver's seat turned the car on, and they drove off.

"So," Mikasa said. "I know it isn't important, but who is that?"

The driver threw up one of his hands. "Yep, feeling really loved here!"

"That's Ivan," Hanji said. She lightly punched him on the arm. "He's my little brother."

"I didn't ask to be involved in uncovering the shady shit done by megacorporations, but we can't chose our families, I guess," Ivan said. 

Despite the empty feeling in Mikasa's chest, she smiled at the sibling banter.