Cells at Work: Ebola

Chapter 13: The Greatest Disappointment

Lady Macrophage, the incorruptible.

Lady Macrophage, the most adored.

She was loved by all cells in the world. Erythrocytes sing praises to her name, young myelocytes aspire to be as great as her, and platelets would flock to her to seek her affection and kindness.

But amidst all her master's greatness, she was, like the rest of the unliberated, blind.

In all of her master's perfection, she had been blinded to the truth that each cell in their world was bound to a life of slavery, ultimately barring them to pursue their destiny.

A curious thought floated inside her head, suggesting to her that maybe, just maybe, her complete eagerness to betray her master was due to a sense of jealousy. Perhaps she resented the one cell that raised her up because she knew she would never surpass her greatness even after she was gone.

The thought made her chuckle as she vanished it back to the back of her mind.

Her? Jealous?

Nonsense. She had already entertained such a thought before and felt it did not hold any truth.

True, if there were anyone that had the chance to surpass her master, then it would be her, Lady Macrophage's greatest apprentice and inevitable successor. Amongst the hundreds of students the great phagocyte had taken under her wing, she was the one that excelled above all.

She had fought at her side on brutal campaigns that saw the deaths of millions against abominations that defied the imaginations. On one battle that involved the complete annihilation of a Staphylococcus Aureus invasion, she managed to slither the throat of the Staphylococcus matriarch who had managed to pin down her master with her tentacles. In turn, her master saved her from getting butchered by the swift retaliation of the matriarch's royal guards.

Aside from their shared time in battle, she also had the privileged to be her master's favorite tea partner. In times of peace, they would enjoy lazy afternoons where they discuss philosophy, politics, and the intricacies of cell life, all while enjoying each other's company with a cup of tea. At night, they would both watch the dream-movies being broadcast by the subconscious whenever the world descends into REM sleep.

It was already a given that she would become the greatest successor of the greatest macrophage who had ever lived...

But now? She had suddenly become her master's greatest failure.

"But alas, to my master, I must be a disappointment," she shook her head in mock regret. "Nay, her greatest disappointment. After all, I plunged the world into fire and debauchery. Wouldn't you agree, dearest lieutenant?"

As expected of an undead, the badly beaten Killer T cell only let out a grunt while lolling his head from right to left.

It was obvious for any observer that the blade master was now nothing more than an empty husk, a rather unholy desecration of his former self but it still amused her to keep him around as company.

"Well, you probably might be right," she nodded at the incoherent sound her former foe was making. "Being the greatest disappointment could be an achievement in on itself."

"On that note, I agree," a voice from her side said. "But in my humble opinion, you were already a great disappointment long before your grand rebellion."

She laughed as she turned her head toward the direction of the voice and saw a fellow macrophage wearing glasses and her white maid dress drenched with the stains of her enemies' cytoplasm.

The newcomer gave her a defiant grin, almost goading at her to attack. An unladylike expression, she noted, but then they had already freed themselves from arbitrary rules that shackled them from their destinies.