That delay was awful and I am so sorry. This chapter is very short but it has a lot of significance; I wanted to post what I have so far just to assure you all that I'm not giving up on this story. Christmas break should give me plenty of time to write a chapter of decent length.
The Scientist waited a few minutes to be sure that the State Alchemist and the strange metal boy had left, then emerged from the room in which he had been lurking. Those miserable fools had taken his most recent experiment, but no matter...they would be back. They always came back.
He reentered the specimen room and was rather amused to find an unconscious body on the floor. The body was of a rather tall man, with a sharp nose and a long black ponytail. Even while unconscious, he had a smug air to him. Some thing caught The Scientist's eye and he moved to inspect the man's hands. Transmutation circles...this could only mean that this man was an alchemist. How exciting! With some tweaking, this would be a perfect addition to his collection.
Kimblee awoke to find himself restrained and gagged. There was a strange man in front of him, whose arms were tattooed with some sort of transmutation circles. They were unlike any he had ever seen.
"You're awake," mused the man. He pulled out a syringe with a long needle and flashed the state alchemist a sickeningly amused smile. Kimblee began to struggle in earnest as the man approached.
"You will be my masterpiece," said The Scientist softly. Kimblee realized where this was going, and the town slept on as the gag muffled his petrified screams.
Meanwhile, Ed was getting a sponge bath. The colonel and Hawkeye worked to rid him of the excessive grime while Al held him and comforted him; Ed had refused to be more than three feet away from his brother. Al stroked his clumped fur, hoping that he didn't give away how nervous and horrified he was. Ed whimpered softly once in a while, but for the most part he allowed them to tug the dirt from his fur and rub the grime out of his feathers. Al registered that, when he was as clean as they could get him, he was a beautiful creature in a way. His fur was golden as his hair had been, and just as shiny and sleek. His wings were soft and had an intricate pattern to them.
However, he still wasn't the true Edward. No matter how impressive the creature he'd become, Al would do anything to restore him to the way he had been before: an ordinary teenage boy.
Edward lifted his head and dragged himself away from Al.
"Stone," he said. "Antidote..."
He had barely any strength, and once he had reached the carpet outside the bathroom, he collapsed onto the unfamiliar softness and fell asleep.