A/N - In case it isn't obvious through the story's progression, the setting of this story is early on during the events of Fullmetal Alchemist, when Winry is travelling with Ed and Al. I had Brotherhood in mind as I was writing this but I believe this story would fit with the original anime as well. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this story!

Guardian Angel

Chapter 1

"What about this place?" Al asked, coming to stop in front of a shabby-looking inn.

"Well, it'll have to do." Ed frowned with a shrug. "I don't think we'll find anywhere else to sleep in this dump of a town."

"You should be more respectful, brother. These people have obviously seen their share of bad luck." Al said quietly, leading the charge up towards the inn's entrance. The wooden building was clearly in disrepair, that much was readily obvious even in the waning light of late evening. All throughout the walls of the two-story inn were planks loose on their hinges, and there was even a noticeable hole in the roof. But even so, it still seemed to be in operation, as there were bright lights shining out of the windows.

The entire town surrounding this inn was also run-down, for the most part. Many of the houses appeared to be abandoned and the dirt roads were very dimly lit because most of the street lights were out. And the residents were in no better shape, with most of them wearing dirty clothes that hardly covered their bodies. The look of defeat in their eyes was very noticeable.

"Creepy is what this place is." Ed muttered. Across the street, Ed saw a small, black-haired boy, no older than ten years old, who was squatting on the ground of the dirt road and simply looking at Ed. When he saw that Ed was watching him, he quickly looked away and resumed playing in the dirt. And sitting up on a balcony of the inn was an old man with a long, white beard, his chair emitting a high-pitched squeak as he rocked back and forth. "There sure are a lot of strange characters here." Ed added.

"It's only for one night." Al said hastily. "Besides, sleeping under a roof would be much better than sleeping out in the woods, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Ed said with a sigh. With that, Al opened the door to the inn and took a step inside, ducking down to avoid hitting his metal head on the frame. Ed hesitated for a moment longer and then turned to the third member of their group and asked, "This alright with you?"

Winry seemed to be shocked by the question but she quickly nodded and said, "Yeah, it's fine."

Ed nodded, then followed his brother into the inn's tavern, which was only occupied by one customer apart from the bartender. By the time Ed had entered the building, Al was already engaged in conversation with the bartender on the other side of the building. "Do you have any rooms open?" Al asked the man.

Despite the man's barren appearance, he actually was quite sociable and easy to approach. He was tall and had thick, unkempt brown hair and a thicker beard, giving him the appearance of a bear. "Aye, that we do." He said in a husky voice.

"We'll take two rooms then, please." Al replied happily.

Al didn't carry any money with him, so Ed walked over to the bar and paid for the rooms. "You tourists or something?" The man said gruffly as he counted up the money.

"Just passing through." Ed replied simply. And it was true, the three of them were on their way to Central.

"Hmph. That's for the best." The man said slowly. "The gods know I would get out of this town if I could."

"Marketing isn't exactly your strong point, is it?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"Heh, I like you, kid." The man said with a grin. "Not like the people I usually serve here."

"Oi!" Said the only other man in the inn, a young man man not much older than Ed, who was sitting a few chairs down on the bar. "Sitting right over here, Dale."

"Yeah, that goes double for you, Victor." The bartender shot back. "You're lucky I still serve you, with that huge tab you owe me."

"Cheers, mate." The man replied, raising his glass above his head before taking another sip.

"Yeah, yeah." The bartender said, shaking his head slowly.

Ed waited for a moment to make sure their conversation was over before asking, "I don't suppose you have any food, do you?"

"Sure." The bartender replied. "Got some meat stew cooking right now."

"We'll take some of that, too." Ed said, pulling out some more money.

"Right." The bartender said. "It's still cooking. Go ahead and get settled, I'll bring it out when it's ready."

Ed nodded, then turned away from the bar. Apart from the bar, there were three circular tables scattered across the floor, each of which was big enough to seat five. But they were all empty, as the only other customer in this place was sitting up on the bar. Ed walked over and sat down at the closest table, with Al and Winry following him and doing the same.

"Well, he seems nice enough." Al said quietly.

"Save that for when you see the rooms he gave us." Ed said grimly. Considering the state this building was in, he didn't have very high hopes for the beds. He had received two pairs of keys from the bartender, for two rooms that were right next to each other up on the second floor. Still, he wasn't exactly in a position to be picky.

"Do you think it's always like this?" Al asked.

"What, empty?" Ed asked, and when Al nodded, continued, "Probably. Who would want to visit a town like this?"

"It's really sad." Al said. "Did you see those people outside? I don't think I've ever seen anyone so defeated."

"Yeah, I saw that, too." Ed nodded.

"I wonder what caused them to be this way." Al said. "This isn't normal."

"These people have seen pain." Ed said grimly. "And a lot of it."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Winry asked, her voice full of pity.

"We have our own problems." Ed said quietly, giving Al a nice pat on the back. His hollow, metal body reverberated a deep hum through the air. "I'm not sure what we could do, anyway."

Winry was not entirely convinced but she chose not to reply. In the silence that followed, the bartender returned with three bowls of stew and placed them on their table. Despite his inability to eat, Al feigned a heartfelt thanks to the bartender, but he passed his bowl to Ed as soon as the man had turned his back.

The meal didn't look all that appetizing but it actually wasn't bad. The contents of the bowl simply looked like a blob of mud, and the piece of bread that came with it seemed to be going stale. But the stew was rich in flavor and Ed had no problem finishing both his own and his brother's bowl.

Once they had finished eating, the three of them ascended the stairs and made their way to their rooms. Once there, Ed handed Winry one of the keys, and she used it to open the door and reveal the room within.

All things considered, it was not as bad as it could have been, but it was not very pleasant either. The walls showed signs of wear and tear and the floor's planks were squeaky in places. The curtains to the one window in the room were torn and discolored. The sheets on the bed looked equally ragged and Ed could only imagine what the mattress looked like underneath the sheets.

"I think I'm going to need five baths once we get out of here..." Winry moaned.

"Heh." Ed laughed. "Hey, listen, we'll be right next door if you need anything."

"Yeah, sure." Winry said with a nod. "Thanks."

"Well, see you in the morning, then." Ed said.

"Alright, good night, Ed." Winry said with a smile. "You too, Al."

"Good night, Winry." Al said.

Winry shut the door in their faces, leaving Ed and Al to turn to the next door and open their own room. Upon entering it, Ed noticed that Winry had it lucky – their room was even worse than hers. In addition to the damages that hers had, their window was broken and its remnants still laid bare on the floor around the window, meaning walking around barefoot would not be a good idea. Their blankets also had a large, red stain that looked eerily similar to blood.

"Well, isn't this pleasant?" Ed said sarcastically as he closed the door behind them. He went to check out the bed and noticed that it was just the blankets that were stained, not the sheets or the mattress itself. "No way I'm using these blankets. Guess I'm sleeping cold tonight."

"Its not too late to trade rooms with Winry." Al pointed out.

Ed laughed. "No, I can't do that."

Al joined in the laugh and when it died down, said, "Well, you should get some sleep, brother. It has been a long day."

"Yeah, you're right." Ed said with a sigh.

"Is something the matter, brother?" Al asked quietly.

"No, it's nothing." Ed lied. Though he didn't admit it, the eyes of the civilians of this town were getting to him. They were lifeless, like walking corpses. What happened to this place to cause the people to become so void of life?

Ed shook off the thought. As he had said to Winry, there was nothing he could do anyway. "Good night, Al." Ed said quietly as he removed the blankets from the bed and carefully laid down on the mattress.

"Good night, brother." Al replied.

As Ed closed his eyes, he saw those lifeless beings from outside again. Even in his sleep, he couldn't shake them from his mind. He tried to force them from his thoughts but it was useless. It would be another long, sleepless night for him.