Ed stared at the run-down town before him.

It was - literally and figuratively - falling apart. The houses that were still standing were missing windows, doors, and in some cases, walls. They were covered in dirt and soot, their grimy exteriors creating a very unwelcoming mood.

"Well," Ed heard Al murmur from beside him, "We've seen worse."

Ed rolled his eyes, walking up to the nearest house and knocking on the door, planning to ask for directions to the nearest inn, though he wouldn't be surprised if he was told that there was no such thing.

When there was no answer, Ed knocked again, banging his automail against the flimsy wood.

The only answer he got this time was the door falling off of its hinges and clattering to the dirt path in front of him. Though he was surprised at first, he shrugged it off and sighed, turning back to Al. He would be willing to bet all his research funding that most of the doors in this town were that fragile.

Maybe not all his funding. Mustang had already cut the meager amount in half because of a small screw-up he had made on one of his previous missions.

Ah, Mustang. How Ed hated that egotistical bastard of a Colonel. His hands itched with the need to beat the living daylights out of his superior for sending him on this assignment, but it would have to wait until he and Al returned to East City.

Ed steered his train of thought away from the subject of Mustang. He didn't want to make his already horrible day any worse by having to think about his commanding officer's disgusting face.

"Come on Al, let's go." Ed slung his suitcase over his shoulder and started down the worn gravel road. "Let's see if we can find an inn that's not falling apart." If there even is one at all. Ed added to himself. Al followed after him wordlessly, the metal clank clank of his footsteps becoming the only audible sound in the silent town.

"Brother..." Al began nervously after a moment, "Do you think that there's anyone still living here? It looks like a ghost town."

Ed cast a couple glances at the houses surrounding them. He had to agree with Al, it did look abandoned. But that didn't make any sense. He was sent on a mission here to... to...

Actually, he didn't know what he was there for. He had waved Mustang off when he had called him in for his debriefing of the case at hand. Ed mentally face-palmed himself for not thinking of reading the case file on the train ride to their destination.

"No, it can't be." Ed reasoned, "It wouldn't make sense for us to get called all the way out here for a job if it really was abandoned." But Al's quick, nervous glances over his shoulder were not phased by his brother's reassurance in the slightest.

Though Ed was happily (well, not completely happily, since he was quite annoyed at the state of the town he had been sent to) continuing on his way down the long, wide road, Al felt trapped by the looming shadows the buildings around him caused. His movements were jerky and quick, and he practically jumped at any noise that was not the sound of his own footsteps. And though his body could not feel anything, his armor tingled with the sensation of being watched..

"What's got you so freaked out, Al?" Al jolted upright and spared a glance down at Ed, who was looking up at him expectantly. Al quickly looked back to inspect their surroundings once more. Once he found that there was no immediate threat, he turned back to Ed and whispered,

"I think that someone is following us." Ed glanced around for a moment as well, but then faced Al again and shook his head.

"You're imagining things. There's no one here." But Al noticed that Ed looked a little more wary than he had before. Maybe he could feel it too. After all, he had said no one, not nothing. That still left possibility for a something to come out of hiding and-

"Al, look!" Ed was pointing ahead of them, towards a giant manor at the end of the street. "I think that might be an inn!" Al looked over the mansion with great skepticism as Ed jogged ahead eagerly. Al stayed behind, eyeing the dimly lit house and scratching every detail into his memory. If the house somehow changed, he would remember.

But just as Ed trotted past a small alleyway in between two houses, a dark figure jumped out at him, swinging a large club at his head.

"Ed, look out!"

Stars exploded in Ed's vision as something hit him in the back of the head. Hard. He crumpled to the ground in a disoriented heap as he heard Al cry out and race towards him. Ed let his suitcase fall out of his grip as a large, calloused hand jerked him up by his hair and started shaking him around. The guy - as Ed now identified his attacker as a someone and not a something - started to say something in a deep voice, though Ed didn't understand what he was saying through the thick fog that seemed to clog his head and senses. All Ed did understand was that he did not like being thrown around like some sort of ragdoll.

Ed elbowed the man in the ribs with his automail, grinning despite himself as he rolled out of his grip and onto his feet. He felt two leather gauntlets grab him by his shoulders and shove him back, and Ed stumbled as Al pushed in front of him and made to clock his attacker in the face.

He watched in satisfaction as the man fell to the ground, nursing a new bloody nose. Walking up to stand beside Al, he grinned when the man tried to scoot away as Al took a menacing step forward. Sometimes it was useful having a scary-looking younger brother.

"I-I'm sorry!" The man spluttered, holding out his hands to show he surrendered, "I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just waiting for the banshee, that's all! I swear!" At the word "banshee", Ed and Al gave each other a look.

"Banshee?" Ed inquired, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at the man. God, did it feel nice to finally be looking down on someone instead of someone looking down on him.

"Yeah. Don't you know about her?" Ed shook his head. "Seriously!? But everyone-" The man caught himself as he scanned his surroundings and whispered, "Come with me. I can explain everything if you'd just follow me…" He trailed off as he stood up, gesturing them forward.

Ed didn't budge. "And why exactly am I supposed to trust you? In case you forgot, you tried to smash my head in with a club. And now you're telling me there's a… a…"

"Banshee." Al finished for him.

"Right. That." The man glanced at the glowing windows of the mansion behind him, then back at Ed and Al.

He shrugged as he turned back and picked up his club, walking towards the manor. "Fine. You don't have to trust me. But it's not safe out here." His dark eyes gleamed in the moonlight as he paused, "She'll find you. Just come to the base if you change your minds." And with that, he ran off in the direction of the so-called 'base'.

Al started after him, but Ed pulled him back by his arm.

"We can't, Al."

"But-"

"We'll just find a house on the street that's not half-broken and stay there for the night. We'll talk to the people in that mansion thing tomorrow, when we're sure they're not going to murder us in our sleep."

Al cast a longing glance after the man, sighing as he leaned over to grab Ed's suitcase. Ed was already inspecting all the houses along the street, knocking on the flimsy wooden walls and pressing his ear against them to listen for any strange sounds. Al watched his brother continue this pattern for about six different houses before he intervened.

"Are you sure we shouldn't go after him?"

"Al."

"Brother."

"You know we can't."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I said so."

"But that's not a legitimate reason."

"It's still a reason."

"Not a good one." Al mumbled under his breath as Ed went back to inspecting the houses. He stared blankly ahead as Ed kept looking. After a while, he found himself counting along with the houses Ed had checked.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten… And then Al had had enough.

"Brother, if you don't come with me to that mansion right now I will not hesitate to drag you along with me all the way there."

"Hang on a second, Al. I'll find somewhere, I-"

"You've been searching around for what feels like an hour! And if we stay out here, you'll probably die of hypothermia before that guy even has a chance to think about murdering you in your sleep!"

Ed quieted at that, pondering the notion of staying the night at the dimly-lit mansion at the end of the road. Before he could object, Al began speaking again.

"Good, it's settled then. We'll stay there for the night." And with that, Al spun on his heel and plucked Ed's suitcase from the ground, marching towards the manor. That left Ed with nothing to do other than scuttle after his younger brother grumpily, shooting death glares at Al's back all the while.

And Ed had kept himself so occupied with berating Al's back he didn't realize that they had arrived at the manor until he almost ran into said suit of armor.

Al had stopped in front of the porch, examining the entrance. Now that he was seeing it up close, the house didn't look all that menacing. It looked quite the opposite, in fact. The insides of the house were lit up by a warm yellow light, coming from what Al assumed was a fireplace. Though where he was standing did not give the most generous of views, he could see shadows of many people huddling around the source of light. Sounds of chatter and laughter floated through the front door, and Al was convinced that he might have thought wrongly about the town. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

He stepped up to the door, knocking on the thick, dark mahogany. The shadows inside stilled at once, and the laughter ceased. One shadow separated from the rest and cautiously made its way to the door. It creaked open slowly, a face coming into view.

And Al recognized it as the man from before. He lifted up a hand in greeting, the man's shoulders visibly slumping in relief when he recognized them. He threw a thumbs-up over his shoulder, and the rest of the people inside all began chatting amongst themselves again.

"Well this is a…" He faltered as he noticed Ed's skeptical expression as the young alchemist eyed the room. "...pleasant surprise." He finished hesitantly, beckoning them into the house. Al gave him his thanks, dragging Ed inside with him. The two took a moment to take in their surroundings before they were interrupted by the man once more.

"I should probably introduce myself. I'm Colby Perks. And you are…?" Al began to speak, but Ed cut him off, stepping in front of him protectively.

"I'm Edward Elric, and this is my younger brother, Alphonse. I'm a State Alchemist here on official business, so if you have a problem with my rank, say it now. I-" Al gripped his flesh shoulder painfully tight and shoved him back before he could continue.

"Sorry for my brother's attitude." Al apologized as he tried to hold a squirming Ed in place behind him. "But we are here on business, so we would appreciate any information you have on the situation at hand."

"No, that's alright," Colby began, "But before that, I'd like to apologize for what happened earlier. It was a mistake, and I'll make sure it won't happen again." In all honesty, Al thought the apology was quite pitiful, like one a kindergartener would come up with after pushing someone on a playground. But apparently Ed thought it was enough, muttering something that sounded like, "It better not," before finally managing to squeeze his way out of Al's grasp. Al finally gave up on trying to keep Ed's temper in check and sighed, letting his brother stand next to him and smooth out his clothes.

Ed heaved a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He took a moment to take in the rest of the room, then looking to Colby expectantly.

"Well, first of all, what's this load of crap I heard about a banshee?"