A Grey Knight in Tartarus, part 2 (Hunger and Doubt)

>"That was hilar-"
"Shut it"
>"Oh come on, their faces whe-"
"WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT THIS ANYMORE, ERIS."
>She chokes back a few more giggles before floating lazily over to you.
>"Jeeze man, okay, okay, I won't bring it up again. It WAS funny though."
>You see no levity in the situation. Run-ins with heretics were NOT your cup of tea.
>She seems to guess at your thoughts even without seeing your face.
>"Okay, okay, for serious, I'll drop it. Let's concentrate on getting out of here."
"Very well then. You know this place better than I. Where are we, and which way is the exit?"
>"Where we are is the Wastes, Justy. The most stable and secure place in Tartarus. And telling you the exit won't do us any good. However tough you are, trying to tackle Cerberus head on is a bad idea."
>You turn your head to glance at Eris.
".......Justy?"
>"I thought it fit."
>You grunt.


>She seems to take this as a signal of approval, doing a short victory loop in the air at your shoulder.
"I have two questions."
>She slows to a stop, resting her head on her mismatched paws.
>"Ask away."
"First, what did you mean by, most stable? And if you are so sure that we cannot simply kill this "Cerberus." how are we to escape."
>"Well by, most stable, I mean the landscape doesn't constantly morph and shift in an attempt to drive us insane and/or kill us. And the more terrifying monsters tend not to come here."
>You scoff at her idea of 'terrifying'.
>"As for the plan, it's...well it's complicated. Tartarus is a prison, yeah, but like any prison, it's got it's alpha dogs, the guys on top. The heavy hitters."
>You nod politely as you trod along the featureless sandy waste. Information was useful.
>"Tirek, the Smooze, the Dog Father, the Spider Legion, those kinds of heavy-hitters."
"None of those names mean anything to me."
>"They will soon, Justy, trust me. Now here's the thing about the heavy hitters. The biggest of them have agents, proxies they can send into Equestria through weak portals. Not strong enough to free them, but sometimes strong enough to send reps. The Dog Father, I hear, managed to get a few of his dogs out, but they got tossed right back in once they got uppity. We need to hijack a portal, and keep a low profile once we're out."
"Low profiles are not my strong suit."
>She glances at you.
>"Yeah, I kind of figured that, what with the shouting and the shooting and the stabbing."


"Camoflauge and sublety are for those afraid of the Emperor's Light."
>She rolls her eyes, and you rap her sharply on the head with your knuckles.
>"Ow, what was that for!"
"Do not make light of the Emperor's glory."
>You might be allied with a xenos, but you'd be damned if you'd let her MOCK the God-Emperor in your presence.
>She holds a paw up, still rubbing her head.
>"Okay, jeeze big guy, no need to get offended. That's my reaction to most religions, these days. I'll lay off it with you."
"The effort would be appreciated."
>She mutters something about 'crazy killer robot humans,' before floating back up next to you.
>The both of you walk for a while, watching the landscape pass by in a boring expanse of white sand and black rocks.
"Eris?"
>"Yeah, Justicar?"
"What do you even eat here?"
>You hear a comically loud growl from Eris' stomach area, and she looks pained.
>"Whatever I can steal from one of the heavy hitter's caravans, mostly. Can't get any sustenance from my magic, after all. Why?"
"Because I can go approximately eight more days without food and water. After that, I will begin to suffer from starvation."


>She grimaces.
>"Well then you chose a bad time to show up. The last caravan I tricked was three days ago. The next one will be two heavily guarded to-"
>You shake your nemesis blade pointedly, before staring at her blankly.
>She catches it immediately, her ears flattening and a frankly devious look appearing in her eyes.
>"Oooooooh, this'll be good."
>Frankly, you couldn't help but agree. You felt strange not killing something.
>When you weren't killing, and not meditating, you were thinking.
>And then you would remember what the Sorcerer said. And then you'd start doubting.
"Lead me to a caravan, Eris. Lead me to a battle, and when we're done, we'll eat like Space Wolves."
>She doesn't get the reference, but that devious grin is still on her face, and she's rubbing her paw and talon together.
>"Okay, so here's what we're going to do...."


>The caravan had been marching hard for the last day and a half.
>A great stretcher, formed of lashed together bone and sinew, held a veritable mountain of foodstuffs.
>Meat from the poor imprisoned beasts and denizens of Tartarus. Most of the meat had been run down and butchered.
>Twisted fruits and vegetables, plucked from the mutated plants that lined the River Styx. A few swollen plants act as jugs for drinkable water.
>All food gathered for the hunger of Tirek, the Dark Centaur.
>His armored minions drag the stretcher behind them, snorting in boredom and scratching their backsides with their weapons.
>Suddenly, one at the head of the caravan starts, shouting and bleating in the gutteral centaur tongue.
>He points at a struggling form on the horizon, a young draconequus trying to free herself from a stone trapping her leg.
>The centaurs chuckled to themselves. They had not feasted on draconequus meat in centuries.
>They abandon the food stretcher as one, all five of the centaurs charging towards the adolescent draconequus.
>She recoils, like a deer trapped in headlights, until they are almost within striking distance.
>"Now! Do it now, Justy!"
>There is a rustling in the sand beneath the centaur's hooves.


>You burst out of the sand beneath the mutant's hooves, roaring the Emperor's malediction as you drive your blade into the chest of the closest monster.
>They bleat in terror, and you feel sick as you behold their twisted forms.
>Yes, Eris was right to choose these creatures as your foes.
"THE EMPEROR GUIDES MY BLADE!"
>You shove the dying mutant off of your blade with your foot, rising above the others as they skid to a stop and ready their own weapons.
>You do not give them time.
>You leap among them, your blade dancing.
"COME, SHOW ME WHAT PASSES FOR FURY AMONG YOUR MISBEGOTTEN KIND!"
>The closest bleats and lashes at you with his axe.
>You catch the primitive blade upon your own weapon, before lashing out with a riposte that lops off his front horse-leg at the knee.
>You catch his throat as he stumbles, clenching your hand and snapping his neck.
>One of them turns to run, and you cut the coward down with a burst of storm bolter fire.
>You turn the blazing eyes of your helmet on the last two, and they back away, skittish.
>Three of their comrades lie dead in the time it took for them to realize what just happened.
>You toss your blade from one hand to the other, advancing on them.
"Cowards die in shame. Come, mutants. Face me as warriors, if scum like you is even capable of that."
>They glance at each other, and then heft their weapons, each lifting a halberd and charging at you.


>Pathetic.
>It was like taking apart children.
>The first one lunges in with his halberd, and you twist to the side, lashing with your blade as you move.
>The force weapon lashes at his arm muscle, and he spasms, dropping the weapon.
>You move to him, shoving your sword up to the hilt in his chest.
>You leave the weapon in his body as he collapses, turning to the last centaur, who is already charging.
>His halberd slams into your chestplate.
>The blow, surprisingly enough, has enough force to stagger you, but not enough to pierce Aegis plate.
>The look of shock stays planted on the centaur's face as your fist lashes out and slams into his jaw.
>You remember being upstaged and surprised by an unarmed opponent.
>You remember all too well.
>Anger overtakes you as you recall your defeat at the Sorcerer's hands.
>Literally, at his Emperor-damned HANDS.
>You will take out your anger on the mutant.
>You kick out, breaking one of his legs, forcing him to the sand.
>Then you go and retrieve your sword.


>You pull your blade out of the dead centaur and move over to the last one remaining.
>He struggles to crawl away on crippled legs as Eris watches, shock written on her alien face.
>You casually lean down and slide the tempered steel of your force blade into the mutant's skull, stopping his pitiful escape attempt.
>Eris looks up at you, her jaw dropped somewhere in the sand.
"Eris. Let's go get the food."
>Her jaw snaps up.
>"Brutal."
>You ignore her, walking towards the abandoned caravan food.
>She floats up next to you, still staring.
>"I mean seriously, that was insanely brutal. I thought you'd take one of em out, maybe scare the rest away....not...not that. I mean,, we coulda stolen some food and let them take the rest, and Tirek'd be none the wiser. Now....."
>You lift up a green fruit to her, and she stops talking.
"We worry about the consequences later. Now it's time to eat."
>She smiles, grabbing the green fruit in her eagle claw.
>"I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship, Justy."
"One where I cleanse the impure and you profit off my labours?"
>"Yep!"
>You grunt.


>The two of you sit next to the mountain of food, and Eris even starts an impromptu fire with a snap of her fingers and some magic.
>There's no sun to go down in Tartarus, but the sky over the Wastes simply darkens as the two of you sit and eat.
>She stared at you when you took your helmet off for the first time, but other than that, you just eat and think.
>Which bores the immortal shit out of Eris.
>"Hey. Hey. Heeeeey. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey."
>You refuse to be baited by such simple tactics, instead chewing on a strip of what SEEMS like venison.
>Until she starts poking you with a burning stick.
>"HEY. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY."
"WHAT, ERIS? WHAT?"
>She giggles as you glare at her.
>"Easy, big guy. Just wanna talk, is all. I don't think it's healthy for you to space out like that. It's time for some therapy, Eris style."


>You raise one eyebrow at her, still chewing on the unidentifiable meat.
>She falls backwards, reclining on a pink cloud and conjuring a pair of glasses.
>"I'm just saying it's not healthy to bottle up everything that's bothering you. Let's just talk for a bit while we eat, okay?"
"Very well."
>There is an uncomfortable silence, and Eris eyes you irritably.
>"So....."
"So?"
>"What are you going to do when you get out?"
"Kill Celestia, kill the Sorcerer, kill Luna, find a way to contact the Imperium, and burn the pony's world to ashes."
>Eris recoils a bit on her cloud.
>"Whoa, man, whoa! Not that I'm against hurting those Princess horses, but the rest of that....that's a bit harsh!"
>You shrug.
"Harshness has nothing to do with it. This world is dominated by xenos."
>"Well according to you, I'M a xenos. Would it really be so bad to encounter a world full of me's?"
>You give her a deadpan stare, and she laughs.
>"Okay, bad comparison, maybe. But you havn't tried to kill me lately. Do we all deserve to die like that?"
>You don't answer, turning your stare back at the fire.
>You couldn't answer, and that was the problem.
>Your training, your instincts, all pointed to yes.
>But your experiences.....the equine xenos had no weaponry, nothing even approaching a threat to Mankind. Only Celestia and her infernal sister were true threats.
>And Eris....was Eris.
>Again, you find yourself facing doubts.
>You consume your jerky, and stare at the fire in silence, Eris frowning at your side as the night deepens.