Torn Apart

Won't Let You Choke

Too swift. It must have been waiting in the shadows. You have been too long unchallenged and your sense of impending danger is not as strong as this guardian's. You only register a large form moving at you before rolling aside, casting the glamour in sudden desperation.

Your limbs come looser, almost ape-like and heavily clawed as you come up on all fours-threes. You only have three, remember that or you'll be the one reeling. The glamour builds the appearance of a body around you. The form that terrorized your friend, yes. That will do nicely. You appear to warp, becoming a colossal skeleton with ragged wings outstretched to either side, and a batlike skull with one glowing eye to roll between the sockets-No, you cannot even conjure its memory now that the Hoshi no Tama is gone. Flames, instead. Green fire blazing from every vertebrate and joint.

The glamour will take some abuse, but not much before it crumbles.

It is only seconds, but the Pet is already upon you again, and the only reason you are not dead is that the glamour projects a much larger form, and that is what the Pet attacks.

A dog, but more than that. Three heads, each set on its own short, serpentine neck. One strikes at the skull, locking with it jaw to jaw.

Hang on, they're all different.

No time! One strikes at your neck, and one coils back to stare.

They're all different head shapes. Even fur lengths. Dogs are bred for traits-these are three different breeds, this thing probably has the top quality of each breed.

Unless you know dog breeds from ancient times, Puppet, your observations are useless!

I can tell you the middle one is a thinker, it's probably already figuring out why we don't react in pain. The one attacking our face has jaws for crushing, the strongest. The one at our neck... not sure yet.

The glamour has only so much resistance to true, physical assault! As it crumbles, you slide under the beast, springing off the ground on lengthened legs and hooking a handful of claws into its hide. It whirls fast-speed, that is the last one, it has speed. A Thinker, the Strong, and the Swift.-and the Swift head strikes. You have only the time to raise a clawed foot-now much more ape-like-and cut across its nose, deflecting the bite.

You swing up to the hindmost quarters, just beyond reach of the three heads that have turned to attack. Their teeth snap inches away, but it is only chasing its tail. It cannot reach you. The Thinker faces forward and the body begins to move erratically, bucking and shaking. It tilts over, and you spring free before its roll crushes you.

The glamour is re-established in seconds. No matter that the Pet knows the truth of the facade, once it is up it cannot tell where exactly the real threat lies, and that is the point. You issue the challenge again, taunting it.

Two heads lunge forward, but the Thinker draws back, staring at you. The body does not move, it only crouches, circling in wariness.

It knows that you are, in truth, small and low to the ground, it will be looking to protect the leg tendons that keep it standing. Where would it not consider being attacked?

There is a shout. The Thinker and Swift heads turn aside, abruptly, and the Strong one propels the body toward you, taking advantage of the Thinker's distraction. Strong is not likely to be the one considering how you will attack, only thinking of its own attack. You pitch the glamour up-the skeleton rearing high-as you run under, again. The dog rears, the Thinker snapping back to attention too late. You fasten teeth on one of its hind hocks, ripping flesh free. It buckles for a moment, but then it is on you.