Hey lookee, I'm not dead! So have a fic.

It's a beautiful place, really. The world isn't bothered with details, textures and colors. It makes things much too confusing. There is only light.

He's not alone of course. They surround him, engulf him. Comfort him. He practically falls into their outstretched arms, weak and beaten.

I'm tired.

Don't worry, they assure him. We will fight for you.

He senses the things going on, what's happening outside his body, but this world is warm and quiet and peaceful. There is no pain, no worry, no fear, no death.

He pulls away from them.

What are you going to do? Will you kill him?

They do not hesitate.

It is the only way.

No, he pushes and shoves until he stands alone, one voice against thousands. There is always another way.

Would you rather spare his life, or the lives of innocent generations?

All life is sacred.

And of the people you love? Because of his fathers, you are the last of your nation. While he lives, everyone you love will die.

It is true. But they are the past. He is the present. And in order to shape the future, he has to leave this world.

He turns to the seemingly endless group of faces.

Everyone will die.

He has lived all of their lives before. He has witnessed every generation.

One way or another, it'll happen someday.

They stare back at him, voices silent.

So while you live, don't be weighed down by death. Death is a part of life. You have to detach yourself from it, from the fear of it. Live with the people you love until…

He sees memories in flashes. A pretty, blue-eyed girl looking down at him. A tall boy accepting him into his family. A small girl teaching him to hold his ground. A boy with a scar bowing to him, asking for forgiveness.

Gyatso. The monks. His old friends. His people.

…until you have to let them go.

The world begins to fade. The details begin to show through: a fiery sunset and a frightened, empty man trapped at his feet, expecting his end.

Loving is letting go.

The faces glare at him, shout at him, tell him that there is only one choice to make. He answers as they disappear from sight, one by one.

"No. I'm not going to end it like this."