Finally got this one up.
I do not own FMA.
The sounds of Lydia's hurried footsteps sounded loud to her, and the sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears at a similar speed.
The day had finally come for their group to make It's way north.
The party had split into two with Mei and Marcoh taking the kids with them, and Scar, Lydia, and Yoki playing decoys. It had been hard, sending her kids off with only the aforementioned Marcoh and Mei with them, but it had to happen. A moment passed, and Lydia pushed those worries to the back of her mind.
Scar's plan was risky enough without all her worries. Scar, Lydia, and Yoki who wore a large coat to disguise himself as Marcoh, were drawing attention to themselves so the other party could go undetected. At the moment, they were surrounded by soldiers on either side. Lydia swallowed and stood stiffly to prevent herself from leaning towards Scar. Scar's hand squeezed her arm comfortingly where he grasped her. To prevent the military from thinking she was cooperating and helping Scar, they'd agreed to make it look like he'd abducted her and she couldn't get free.
She could recognize a few faces among the the soldiers surrounding them as being Kimblee's men. She could see worry faintly on their faces as what seemed to be the leader among the group called out, "There's no escape for you now, Scar!"
The train whistle sounded in the distance and guns were pointed at Scar who glared back at the soldiers.
Smoke from the train billowed over the group as he pulled Lydia into a one-armed grasp and drag both her and Yoki onto the train. Lydia let out a shaky breath as Scar set her onto the train. The military looked shocked and frustrated as they watched the train rush away before they reported their failure to Kimblee who would undoubtedly be displeased. Tension faded and the party made their way into a train and Lydia let out a relived sigh.
"Can I have a hug now mommy? That was scary." "Of course Edgar." Lydia replied kindly, "We should be alright for now."
"Okay mommy."
A couple moments passed before Lydia's head slowly swiveled toward the sound of her younger son's voice as she asked, "Edgar, why are you here with mommy instead of with Mei and Marcoh?"
Edgar's voice came faintly from inside Yoki's coat as he replied, "I didn't wanna be away from you that long, so I gave Mr. Yoki something to bring me with him. All I had to do was stay very still and be very, very quiet."
Scar and Lydia wore similar stunned expressions as Lydia said, "First let Edgar down." The instruction was followed and Edgar scurried over to receive a hug from his mother who continued, "Second, what in the world were you thinking accepting a, a bribe from my son?" Yoki opened his mouth before Lydia raised her hand and insisted, "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know."
Lydia massaged her now throbbing forehead as she said, "In a little while, all of us will discuss this, and there will be punishments."
"All?" Repeated Scar who's eyebrows were raised. Lydia nodded as she asserted, "You'll be backing my position." Scar nodded shortly and Lydia rubbed her forehead as she said, "But in the meantime, I'm taking a timeout."
Lydia managed to get herself behind some crates before she sat herself down and closed her eyes.
Some minutes passed in silence before there was the sound of someone climbing into her hiding spot and and someone sat next to her. Scar's voice was just above a whisper as he stared, "Edgar's been set down for his nap and Yoki's on the other side of the train car." Lydia's eyes remained closed as she said, "We didn't need complications like this. What was Yoki thinking!?" The last part was spoken softly, but was filled with emotion.
A couple moments passed without Scar answering and Lydia looked up to see a conflicted expression on his face. One of his hands formed a tight fist on his knee as he steadfastly stayed quiet. She softly called his name and a few minutes passed before he opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head.
Her frustration faded, and Lydia scooted a bit closer to Scar as she said, "Sorry, I shouldn't have griped like that. You have enough worries without mine added to them."
Scar glanced over as he finally said, "If I had noticed Edgar at the start, we wouldn't have to worry about this."
Lydia smiled wearily as she replied, "Don't beat yourself up like that. I'm his mother, and I still didn't suspect anything was wrong." Scar looked no less displeased with himself as he insisted, "All of you are my responsibility. My lack of awareness when the group split meant more people are at risk of getting hurt." Lydia opened her mouth to object, then stayed silent. There was no reason she could come up with that he would accept.
Seconds lapsed into minutes before Lydia finally said, "We'll figure something out." Scar glanced up and Lydia continued, "That's what we've been doing since we met, right?"
Scar looked at her for a few moments before certainty appeared on his face again. He stood and held out his hand as he said, " It won't be long before we need to change trains. We need to be ready."
Lydia nodded, and let Scar help her over the boxes.
Surprise, Edgar tagged along!
Also, We just so happen to be coming up on one of my favorite chapters in the story.