"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

The voice of one Edward Elric had snapped him out of his ruminating. Ling lifted his gaze from the bottled Philosopher's Stone residing in his hand.

"Yeah Ed." He affirmed, "More sure than anything in my life."

"You do realize that there's no guarantee that it'll be him right?"

"I know. But I have to try anyway. He sacrificed himself for us Ed. For me."

"Trust me I know." Edward told him, "I miss him too. I just wanted to make sure you were absolutely sure about this before you went through with it. You know how dangerous this is better than anyone."

"I do. Now let's get on with it. You know what to do."

"Right."

Ed took Ling's right hand in his own and turned it palm-up before he drew a small utility knife from his pocket and drug it across Ling's palm, causing the prince to hiss in pain. Nodding in satisfaction, Ling took the vial, pulled the cork out with his teeth, and then poured it's contents into his palm where the semi-liquid sought out his wound and slithered its way into his veins.

As the first spasms hit him his legs gave out and Ed caught him, gently lowering him to the floor. Ling had already gone through the process once, and yet the pain was still just as excruciating as it was the first time around. It took every ounce of his willpower to stay conscious.

After what seemed like an eternity Ling found himself standing in the midst of a familiar scene. A massive sea of anguished souls surrounded him, writhing around like the choppy waves drawn up by a storm.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here." A familiar voice resonated all around him, "A human willingly injecting himself with a Philosopher's Stone. I'd call that quite greedy wouldn't you?"

"Greed." Ling breathed out, his voice barely a whisper.

"Hey there kid." The homunculus greeted, "Ya miss me?"

"Of course I missed you! Why'd you have to go and sacrifice yourself like that you bastard?!"

"Sorry kid." He apologized, "It was the only way to beat Father and keep you safe. For what it's worth, thanks for bringing me back."

"You're welcome… aibou."