Chapter Text
Sidestory: Eckhardt & Mabel
"Can you talk to me please?" Mabel asked, channeling as much cuteness as she could to melt away the icy demeanor. Eckhardt hardly even noticed, as the krieger continued to monotonously stare ahead at the darkening sky. A storm was brewing, how fun. The arachne girl sighed and pouted at the korpman, giving his gasmask an experimental tap. She squeaked in surprise as the korpman grunted at her, shaking his face and almost growling.
"This damn mutant!" the Korpman snarled mentally as he tried to keep it's filthy hands away from him. Unfortunately the gorgon began to creak and he ceased his movements immediately lest he committed an ignoble suicide. However the rain made the surface slippery and he groaned as he felt the ruined vehicle begin to press down on him even more.
She gave him an apologetic look, mouthing "Sorry" as quickly as she could while tearing up. She felt dreadfully alone, and with all the corpses strewn around her, well she was getting antsy. The Korpman ignored her cries and wondered how he was going to get out. He was hopelessly stuck and even now he could feel the weight of the gorgon pressing against his legs, poised to crush them into fine powder and damn him to an agonizing death.
He survived far longer then what any normal Korpman should have. A miserable lifetime spent in the bloody trenches of Vraks Prime that stole his youth, his body, his very soul itself one battle after another. Why couldn't he have just died on the battlefield? Why were his comrades given absolution while he was still damned to live an existence of suffering?
Better a martyr for the Emperor then an ignoble death from being crushed far from the field of battle. He groaned as he struggled to think of an escape, his mind swimming. When was the last time he had water actually? His vision was blurring and he gasped as if in shock. The pressure from the weight of the vehicle made it hard to breathe and he coughed in pain. His wheezes caused his lungs to burn and his thirst only worsened. Upon hearing the sounds he was making, Mabel gazed at him with worry.
He was cold and aloof, but he did save her...and mother and father always said to be kind to others.
"A-Are you okay mister?" Mabel said hesitantly, getting closer to him. He gasped and tried to shoo her away with his remaining hand. This did nothing but to worry the little girl even more and with how weak he was getting he was unable to shove her away completely lest he risked getting sunk deeper into the mood.
"What a shameful display..." the Korpman thought as he was unable to get rid of the pest in front of him. He couldn't help but cough weakly, and his throat burned. He tried to control his breathing and keep his weakness down and out of sight like he was trained to do. Endure. Persevere! To live is to fight. To die is to atone. But to suffer is to suffer in silence!
"Are you...thirsty...maybe?" Mabel asked curiously, causing the Korpman to pause. He should have just continued to ignore her, to heed the words of a mutant was to damn your own humanity and open an invitation for treachery. But his exhausting campaign on Vraks Prime and then being dumped here with little to no recuperation has dulled his judgement.
So instead he nodded at her carefully, anticipating the infernal mutant to start cackling at his misfortune. Maybe taunting him too and taking advantage of his weakness. Mutants are always the same, infernal creatures that seek only to usurp humanity's rightful inheritance. If this little pest just acted like how mutants should the Korpman would feel...well. He'd honestly feel more comfortable. Mutants are hostile, impure, naught but evil incarnate and full of envy and misery.
None of this strange and forced interactions the arachne heaped on him. Awkward kindness and warmth desperately craving something he's practically got beaten out of. Empathy. He eyed the mutant critically, anticipating it's fake mask of kindness to morph into the cruel visage that all mutants have, no matter how pathetic or nice they tried to look. Instead however the arachne girl became thoughtful, before hurriedly walking away.
"Huh?" thought the Korpman, before disregarding that thought. Whatever schemes that filthy mutant was planning, he'd be ready fo-
"H-Here you go!" Mabel said, walking up to him quickly and showing him a well worn but serviceable...something...
"I-It's my father's old water flask. T-There's not much in t-there left though..." she squeaked in embarrassment and hurriedly added, "-but hopefully it's enough hehe..."
A water flask? The Korpman had no idea what that was but it seemed to function similar to a canteen, if more rudimentary in make. With his one free hand he cautiously lifted his gasmask to drink from the offered flask. Mabel leaned in, eager to see what the face of her only other companion was, but he gave her a dull stare, and taking the hint, she walked away to examine something else.
He expected it to be poisonous maybe. A concoction that'll turn his insides to mush and give him an agonizing death. After all one should never trust a filthy mutant, but to his surprise it was by all intents and purposes, just simple water. He sloshed it around in his mouth before gulping. Immediately he felt better and his body stopped agonizing for water. He coughed as he drank too much and soon the flask was empty before he felt satisfied. Still his head felt dizzy and...and...
That's weird.
He swore he heard the music of ecclesiarch organs before his vision suddenly shut off and he blacked out.
Are you lost?
Or confused?
That must be it, isn't it?
It's a strange world you have been dragged into.
Wake up child of Krieg.
You are not dead.
Not yet.
Get up.
The Korpman woke up suddenly, gasping for air hungrily. He felt like complete and utter shit, but at the very least he wasn't going to die from thirst of all things. He opened his eyes groggily and found only blessed peace. He felt, cold. Dreadfully cold. He felt sweat coat his brow from behind his gasmask and his vision fogged up a little as a result. Had the mutant finally left him alone? He almost sighed in content, but instead he merely chose to rest his eyes a little more. Not much to do really. Perhaps he should just accept the inevitable...
No!
He was a guardsman of the Death Korps of Krieg! To die in battle in his majesty's name is his one and only purpose. Anything less would be sacrilege! He opened his eyes with determination and this time he prepared himself to get free no matter what. If he died, then he died defiant and trying. However to his surprise, now that he is more aware he noticed some new developments.
For one thing, the rain was coming down at a steady downpour. Another was that he was gradually being sucked into a pit of mud. To add onto his problems the growing pit was also steadily flooding, as he was neck deep in water. The gorgon itself was finding less traction on the surface and as such was slipping gradually deeper into the growing giant puddle. And with him along as well.
Which was quite unfortunate as only his lower half was stuck so he was essentially going to be crushed in half if he didn't escape! If he somehow survived that he'd surely drown next. Was this really going to be the end of him? Oh and of course the little nuisance...
"O-Oh! You're awake! That's g-good. I'm glad, listen I have an idea!" Mabel said excitedly. The Korpman almost groaned as he realized she was still around, but then he noticed the numerous strands of fine spider silk sticking to the gorgon's ruined side. The strands were numerous and formed a sort of serviceable rope, which the young arachne tied to a nearby tree.
She was testing it's strength when she noticed her stoic companion stirring awake. With excitement coursing through her body, Mabel practically jumped with joy once she figured out how to help out her silent guardian. After all, was that not why he was here?
"Mother always did say some things happen for a reason..." Mabel thought sadly before she quite literally wrapped up her work and hopped down from her perch. "This should help out a lot! It took a long time and um, ahaha I'm not as good as my mom but I think it should hold!"
"..." His silent stare made her nervous and Mabel continued to ramble, her anxiety causing her to mumble and squirm. "I-It's perfectly safe! B-Besides I'm sure you want to get out of there too!"
He did but not because the filthy mutant wanted to. He just needed to continue serving the Emperor. Though he was surprised at the sincerity in her voice. Like the arachne genuinely wanted to help him out. Why? Why would a mutant ever want to help out a human? They are an envious, cruel, and abhorrent lot, beings that should delight in the misery and torture of humanity.
"Come on! The rain is getting worse and I-I-I'm scared th-that you're going to die!" the arachne girl told him. The Korpman was puzzled, but that was before he realized that it was harder to breathe then usual. Ahhh right. The crushing weight. The rising water level. The rain...
Even now it blanketed the world around them, shrouding them in darkness and deafening them. The ruined vehicle that was once his steel protection will soon become his steel coffin if he doesn't get loose. Even now he could see the vehicle just barely being kept from slipping deeper into the mud by the numerous ropes of silk tied to the surrounding trees. But why? Why would a mutant want to save him?
These thoughts stuck in his head and he couldn't help but feel like this was some sort of convoluted plot against him. However the arachne girl eagerly began pushing against the gorgon.
"Come on! There's no time to lose!"
Her mamono strength meant that she was able to make some decent headway, but she was still a child. The Korpman followed suit, assisting her and together the two of them pushed the gorgon upwards enough that the Korpman was able to slip his other hand out. Now with both hands he was able to continue slipping free with all his strength. With the two of them being assisted by the silk keeping the vehicle more or less suspended in place, they were making good progress.
Then one wrong push had managed to tilt the gorgon enough that it groaned loudly. With a wet squelch it slipped and then all of a sudden it began sinking! The arachne silk held strong, but the gorgon was a heavy infantry transport and with how muddy the earth around them was, the gorgon sank quickly. The strands began being flayed as it struggled to keep the gorgon from sinking any deeper, the weight testing it's limits. Even worse was some of the branches they were tied to began to shatter.
They broke apart and steadily the gorgon lost much needed support and began sinking deeper. Both Mabel and Eckhardt heard the strands being snapped and the Korpman hurried with his escape, trying his damn best to get loose. His legs were practically glued into the earth and he felt dissatisfied with the progress he was making. The mud around him made getting traction a struggle and he kept slipping every time he pushed.
Already he could see the remaining arachne silk in the process of tearing. Perhaps if it was made from a full grown arachne with experience to boot it wouldn't be in such poor condition, but the strands were unraveling at a quick pace. He managed to get one foot loose when the gorgon partially collapsed atop the lower half of his left leg. The sounds of arachne silk snapping barely covered up the disgusting sound of his leg being crushed.
"ARGH!" screamed the Korpman as he felt agony course through his body. If he was more lucid and not wracked with pain he would have noticed the terrified Mabel desperately holding up the gorgon by her lonesome now that her precious silk failed them. The little mamono bit her lip in pain as her hand got caught in a jagged piece of the ruined husk and her legs bent painfully as she tried to hold up the weight of a heavy infantry vehicle by herself! A sudden panicked fueled strength somehow kept her from being crushed under it's weight.
Thankfully she didn't have to for long as the Korpman, with renewed strength of his own, practically dragged his entire body through the ground in order to dislodge his leg. With one agonized howl he managed to slip loose, nearly losing his boot in the process. He clutched at his probably broken leg in agony. Mabel likewise let go and nearly got crushed herself, managing to merely give herself an awkward back issue as she bent uncomfortably down to let the gorgon drop on its own. The vehicle began sinking into the mud almost immediately, as if the earth itself was trying to swallow up all traces of it's existence.
The Korpman was in agony. Remembering his Death Korps training he breathed deeply and got a hold of himself.
Disregard pain. There is only the Korp. Disregard all weakness. Weakness is not to be tolerated. He forced his eyes open and was surprised to see the arachne girl clutching her bleeding hand.
"Mffphhh!" her muffled cries were audible despite the worsening storm and the Korpman tried to figure out what happened. Then he saw the bloody streak on the gorgon's hull, as if someone cut themselves holding it up despite it's immense weight.
"Had that mutant...? But why would..." the Korpman tried to reason. Did she cut herself desperately trying to hold up the gorgon? Was that why his leg was merely crushed rather then flattened?
"..."
The sounds of sniffling, of pained grimaces. The arachne tried to put up a brave face. The Korpman could respect that.
"...thank you..." the Korpman said quietly. He felt like biting his own tongue off, but the mutant had truly helped him. It might as well have been a whisper but the mamono heard.
"...?!" Mabel blinked in surprise as her silent companion finally spoke. His hoarse throat reminded her of gravel. She gave him a small nod, leaning against the sinking gorgon as she held her hand. With a grimace the Korpman crawled over to her and leaned against what was going to be his coffin.
"...W-What's your name...?" Mabel asked curiously as she saw the change in demeanor. However, while he was not hostile to her anymore, he was certainly not warm. He stayed silent, instead taking her hand into his to check. He stared at the ugly, open wound. An angry gash that tore itself across her palm painfully.
Now that he was free he could check his equipment. His webbing contained only rough bandages but it would have to do. Mabel looked at him in surprise as he wrapped her hand in thick, heavy duty bandages. He was meticulous, it was the least he could do for an ally. If this mutant truly wanted to harm him, all she had to do was let him die underneath that miserable vehicle. Instead she even bled for him.
Mabel hissed in pain but soon her injured hand was bandaged and she gingerly touched the affected area.
"...thank you."
The Korpman nodded. He was free now. His duty had not ended. Not yet. But what to do?
Wounded, alone save for what is by all intents and purposes a civilian, and with no idea where he was.
"I must link up with regimental authority immediately." the Korpman thought as he went to work crafting a crude splint for his leg. He was pretty sure he knew how, after all he worked with the quartermaster enough times. Come to think of it, he's probably dead now. The lucky bastard. As he used a serviceable branch and rolls of bandages to splint his leg, Mabel gazed at him intently and said,
"Sooo...can you at least tell me your name? I saved your life now didn't I?"
"...hmm..." he gave her a small hum in response. He resumed bandaging.
"...come on..." it was almost adorable, how she went from scared to pained whimpering to whining petulantly like a child. Well. She was a child actually.
"Hmm." the Korpman nodded. He wrapped his leg tightly. He's half certain he's going to die.
"...please...?" the Arachne girl gave him a strange stare. Why was she opening her eyes that wide? Was this some sort of hypnotic trick?
"..." he tilted his head in confusion.
"Fine. I'll just call you guardian from now on!" she folded her arms, standing up shakily on her sore legs. She handed him his beloved entrenching tool.
"...hmm..." A guardian? What an interesting term. He stood up tall, a bit broken and certainly not the picture perfect korpman. But he was unbowed. And defiant. Using the entrenching tool as a cane he walked forward, intent on completing his new objective.
He must find regimental assets and link up with high command. He moved forward-
"Wait maybe you shou-"
-and immediately slipped and face planted onto the muddy ground.
"Gah! Are you okay?"
"..."
Perhaps they should rest first. Find shelter too preferably.