Chapter 15: Interlocking Fates

NK had seen countless times of her muscled counterpart shaken and bewildered in the past. In fact, MT was once known as the 'fountain' back in the day due to his predisposition to cry when afraid or confronted with challenging adversity, although only a few know now of such a moniker.

And yet, what NK saw in his eyes right now was not fear…

It was terror… Plain. Awful. Terror.

"Are you really certain?!" NK asked forcefully as if asking again would yield a more digestible answer. "This is not something to joke about!"

MT turned his gaze at her, his brows furrowed, and his expression twisted into a frustrated snarl. "I am not joking damn it! I'm telling the truth! Dendritic has turned traitor and is attacking the Thymus!"

He waved his handheld radio in front of him as if for emphasis.

"If the Thymus falls," he continued, his voice now low almost like a growl.

"Then you can kiss the immune system goodbye," NK added, shaking her head with disbelief. Her nucleus still tried to deny what her mitochondrion already knew. Her annoying jacked-up friend was not lying, and there was no point in denying the truth.

The Thymus was an essential component of the world. It was in this lymphatic gland that the immune system's HQ was located, as well as the academy that train thymocytes in becoming matured KT cells. If Commander Helper T cell fell, then the war against the traitors would truly be lost.

The thought made her insides turned ice-cold.

As if looking for some guidance, NK made a quick glance to her side and saw her master wearing once again her usual mask of a cheerful smile as if unperturbed by the severity of the news. Lady Macrophage's face looked like a carved statue, never betraying any hint of emotion despite her inherent beauty.

"I see," the elder phagocyte slowly nodded her head.

Then Lady Macrophage's lips arched to form a concerning frown, finally breaking her cheery facade.

"That is very troubling," Lady Macrophage quipped as she bowed her head low. She placed a hand under her chin as if in deep thought of the ramifications of MT's report.

An uneasy silence descended upon the wrecked street. Both NK and MT stood quietly, not daring to disturb their mentor's contemplation.

Then a smile slowly crept back on the elder battle maid's lips. She looked up, her face lit up with her usual cheer. "It is regrettable that Dendritic-kun would choose the same fate as that of my apprentice."

She paused, and immediately the hairs on NK's back started to tingle. It only was a fleeting moment, but NK could see a flicker of fury burning in her master's eyes. For a second, NK felt her cold murderous intent emanating from her, and a second later, it was gone.

"Such a pity that he too must be eliminated with extreme prejudice." Lady Macrophage concluded.

For the briefest of moments, NK saw just how her master used subtle changes in her expressions as a way to give more emphasis to her words or actions. It was not that the elder battle maid was incapable of having a wide range of expressions, rather, she chooses to guard her emotions tightly until the last moment where she finally shows it with great effect.

Her insides started to churn as a realization suddenly dawned on her. She shuddered at the thought of how furious her master must have been when she chastised her for her self-loathing.

"Has Helper T-kun called for a general retreat to the Thymus?"

"No milady," MT shook his head. "However, Helper T is asking any unit that could quickly move back to reinforce the Thymus."

Lady Macrophage turned her gaze toward her entourage of battle maids, then at MT's platoon, before turning back to stare at the Memory T-cell. "We are far from the Thymus. Even if we take the spinal highway, our large gathering of cells would be hard-pressed in moving with all due haste."

MT opened his mouth to respond, froze, then closed it back again as he realized the elder battle maid had more to add.

"As much as I want to personally deal with Dendritic-kun's fate," Lady Macrophage continued. "Alas, I must decline considering my initial mission to retake the liver takes precedence over anything-"

"You don't need to go back milady," NK interrupted without any hesitation. "I'll go back to the Thymus and murder that Dendritic bastard."

And then, as if already anticipating her muscled partner's response, she turned her gaze over to him to give him a defiant look. "And I'll do it alone."

"Are you insane?!" MT roared, just as she expected. His hands curled into tight fists as if trying to curtail his anger. "Are you really that eager to die?!"

"Why not?" NK countered. "I hunt alone, I don't have a team, and I don't-"

"Apologies NK-chan," Lady Macrophage interjected. "But I'm afraid I cannot accede to you confronting Dendritic-dono alone."

NK turned to look back at her master, her face squirmed with surprise and confusion. "But milady, I…"

"Do not mistake my refusal to acquiesced to your decision as the same as doubting your abilities to work alone." the elder battle maid stated sternly. Her face still wore the facade of a cheerful macrophage gossiping during tea time, but the tone of her voice now carried the gravitas of her position. "I have full confidence of your abilities to perform your destiny. However…"

Lady Macrophage allowed her words to hang for several seconds as if to emphasize the gravity of their meaning. She then closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply.

NK's first instinct was to mount a rebuttal, to remind her master that even she had no authority to tell her on what to do, but instead she conjured up all her self-restraint to hold her tongue.

"However, it is not only your fate that is destined to be in the Thymus in the next hour." The elder battle maid said at last.

"Wait, your reason for not allowing me to go alone is because of someone else's fate?!" NK growled, unable to contain her disbelief. "Milady, I don't have time for your beliefs in 'fate'. The Thymus is under attack! I need to be there now!"

NK never took her master's deep belief in fate seriously. She always thought of it as nothing but a fancy topic to be discussed during tea breaks. Her master once lectured her that fate didn't mean that their lives were already determined, or it was necessarily given by some higher providence. Rather, fate was a journey of an individual searching for her purpose in life as well as her acceptance to do everything in her power to achieve such a purpose.

NK had reservations of such a concept, even noting to her master that as cells, they already had pre-determined roles to act on. A red blood cell cannot become a neutrophil, and no mortal cell could ever rise up in rank to become a benevolent neuron. The elder battle maid then told her that such an understanding of fate was rather overly simplistic, and then she proceeded to expound further on the subject to which, to this day, NK never quite understood nor ultimately cared.

"If you are telling me to bring a detachment to the Thymus," NK continued. "Then you will be risking your fight with Lady Em. I might not have spent much time with your first apprentice, but even I know that you need all the cells you can get to def-"

NK cut herself off from finishing her sentence as she realized her mistake. Immediately her expression became contrite. "I'm sorry milady for getting ahead of myself. I didn't mean to question your handling over Lady Em."

"But you are absolutely correct, NK-chan," Lady Macrophage waved off her concern with her hand. "I need all the help I can to defeat my former apprentice, and it is as you say, it would be unwise to even divide a small cadre of this gathered force to aid you in your endeavor."

"Then you understand why I need to go alone, milady?" NK queried, sensing that she might have swayed her master to her point of view. She managed to give a quick glance toward her muscled counterpart and saw his face grimaced with grudging understanding. She had no doubt that she would also have the same conversation with him if he continued to press his objections.

"But I never said I was allowing a detachment to aid you." Lady Macrophage chuckled.

NK furrowed her brows in confusion. "Then what did you mean it was not only my fate that was destined to be in the Thymus?"

"It is as I said, someone, needs to be in the Thymus other than you." The elder battle maid's smile brightened.

"Then who needs to be-" then NK saw her master turned her head to her side, and she immediately understood what she meant.

NK's jaw fell as her eyes went wide with disbelief. "Milady, you cannot be serious?!"

Lady Macrophage said nothing, only letting her smile do the talking.

"Wait… You're talking about me?" MT pointed a finger to his face.

"I am MT-kun," his former mentor nodded in the affirmative. "Who else is more perfect to be with my NK-chan than a trusted friend?"

MT's face turned immediately red with embarrassment. As if on cue, NK's cheek also blushed furiously.

"I… I am leading a team milady," MT-kun reasoned out now that he too realized the inevitable conclusion of his constant nagging with his NK partner. "I'm their leader, I'm duty-bound to be with them."

"Who says we need you to babysit us lieutenant?" a rough voice called from behind.

MT turned and saw his platoon had gathered behind him. They looked haggard and beaten, but their expressions showed a healthy dose of humor. Some were smiling while others chuckled, giving their captain mischievous looks that indicated to him they were up to no good.

He narrowed his eyes and gave them all a dismissive look.

An older Killer T cell, a veteran judging by the many battle scars running all over his face, stepped forward from the gathered rank to address him.

"We can take care of ourselves LT," the old veteran assured him, his voice rustic and rough, a far cry from the posh accents of the cultured macrophages. "You do not need to worry a damn thing about us."

"But that's not the point Sargeant!" he countered though sounding unsure. "I can't just leave you guys here… I was just suggesting to NK here to bring along some reinforcement with her. I didn't say it would have to be me!"

The veteran sergeant moved closer until he could put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, sonny," the older KT sighed, perfectly comfortable in addressing his commander officer rather informally. "You're a good leader y'hear? No one doubts that. And you're good, damned good of a lymphocyte y'hear? The best among all of us and that's precisely why it must be you who should accompany your um… Friend."

That got more snickering from his subordinates. MT shot them a deathly glare, but that only goad his team to continue.

"Like I said, don't worry lad, we can take care of ourselves," the older KT cell laughed as he slammed his hands on his back. "And besides… We have the lovely macrophages here to accompany us."

The veteran then gave a respectful nod toward Lady Macrophage who giggled and nodded back.

"I am honored to fight alongside you, MT-kun," his former mentor added. "But alas, on my side in battle is not where you need to be. Helper-kun needs our help… Specifically your help and NK-chan's."

"I…" MT tried to mount another counter, but then his shoulders sagged as he gave out a sigh. "Fine. I'll go."

"Ok, look here dumbass," NK started. Her lips curled into a snarl, but her cheeks still blushed furiously. She pointed an accusing finger at him, trying to indicate to everyone who it was that triggered her displeasure. "I never said I needed your help! You'll only slow me down!"

"Oh, put a sock on it NK," MT rolled his eyes, already resigning to his fate. "It's not only you who wants to see that bastard Dendritic dead."

"That's right lass," the veteran sergeant interjected. "Dendritic was already a monster even before he became a monster. A lot of us here have suffered enough from his antics."

This got universal acceptance from MT's platoon with some KT cells shuddering at the thought of the humiliation they got from the infamous antigen-presenting cell.

NK for her part remained unperturbed.

"You will address me properly sergeant," she warned the old veteran coldly.

The veteran sergeant immediately straightened up as he saluted. "Aye, ma'am."

"Look, NK," MT said, exasperated. "Let's just get this over with… We've already wasted enough time here."

"And whose fault is that?" NK flared up before turning and then walking away from him.

"Wait, where are you going?" he raised his hand toward her as if trying to stop her.

"To the medulla oblongata." She said dryly. "Where the hell do you think I'm going?!"

MT hesitated for a while. He took a couple of steps before stopping. He could see NK increasing her pace, and it won't be long until she'd break into a run.

"What are you waiting for, lad? Go with her!"

MT turned to look at his platoon. His ragtag group of misfits all goaded him to go assuring him they'd be fine without him. In truth, he had full confidence over his platoon. He knew they would give Lady Em and her damned traitor armies a hellish end.

"Just… Just be careful all of-"

"Oh shut up and just go!" his platoon chorused.

He smiled, giving them all a nod of thanks.

"Do keep my apprentice safe, MT-kun." Lady Macrophage requested as she bowed down her head.

"I will, milady," MT promised before running toward his Natural Killer cell partner.

Ahead of him, NK quickened her pace to a run. Her face still fumed red with embarrassment and anger at the entire ordeal. She wanted to go alone so as not to impede the mission of her master, and she refused to form a team to help her out since she knows it would only slow her down. But what of anyone who also wanted to go to the Thymus at their own accord and with the blessing of her master? She didn't have any right to stop them just as they don't have a right to stop her.

"Moron…" she murmured under her breath. "Don't just go around blurting out to everyone that we're friends."


A/N:

According to Wikipedia, the Thymus can be surgically removed with little or to no effect if said patient is already an adult. NK might have exaggerated when she said the immune system would be truly lost if the Thymus was destroyed. However, don't tell that to Helper T cell and the rest of his command in the Thymus HQ. I suspect they won't be that thrilled to hear such news. XD


Revision History:

- Originally published on April 24, 2019