Disclaimer: The Thunderbirds do not belong to me. They belong to their respective owners. This is written purely for entertainment, and no monetary gain is made from this, more's the pity, because I could use the cash in the pre-Christmas present buying time.

AN: Ah, yes, the joy of being stuck in an airport on standby because of a cancelled flight that's meant to take me (and a few other irate passengers) back home. But never mind, I have my laptop (with an Internet connection - a week away from the net for a much needed break can be such a long time), a morbid and twisted imagination and a vague plotline. Time should fly by now :)

From the Cradle to the Grave

This is a story of friends, meeting and meeting again, until they meet for the final time.

Here is a small, irrefutable fact.

You are going to die.

I am, in fact, being quite cheerful about this. It pleases me that you're assured to die; after all, if you didn't, my job security would go down the drain.

People fear me.

They shouldn't.

I'm just the inevitable, the being you can never outrun, no matter how hard you try. I will catch you in the end, and then you become mine. It may sound ruthless, but it isn't. It's my job. That's all there is to it.

I'm not saying I don't have competition; like any other industry, of course I have competition. Doctors, nurses, search and rescue services, they all do a valiant job, battling against me. I call them Angels de la Muerte, angels of death. Not in the traditional sense, but I call them that because they are the guardians of life. Bit of a paradox, isn't it?

Five Angels de la Meurte, I've met more than once. In fact, I've met them so often, I like to think we can be friends when we meet for the last time.

Trust me; I can most definitely be cheerful with this job. I can be amiable, agreeable, affable. That's just the beginning of the alphabet. I can be a breath of fresh air when I want to be.

I'm nothing if not fair.

Just don't ask me to be nice.

I don't do nice.

First the humans.

Then the colours.

That's how I see things.

At least, that's how I try.