False Gods

Book IV Finale

Chapter XXXVII

"Mythra?! Sheba?!" I called out, looking around the room. I was in a lot of pain, felt like I had been hit by a truck.

Mythra responded first, walking in the door immediately. "Oh you're awake! You alright?"

"Kinda feel like I got beat half to death with a bunch of logs and thrown down a river and then buried alive in a pit full of scorpions. So yeah," I chuckled out. "'Alright' is subjective."

Mythra giggled a bit. "But you're still making sarcastic jokes so it can't all be too bad."

"Well we won and Sheba's back, so the pain's a little sweeter," I laughed.

"Oh great... you're a masochist too," she groaned sarcastically.

"Wait... who else was a masochist?" I questioned.

"Well it wasn't Rex or Addam, so I guess that narrows it down...."

"Hey," a voice said, distracting us both. It was Malos. "You two gonna keep flirting or are you going to help us get out of this vessel?"

"What do you mean?" Mythra asked.

"Some little artificial blade just surrounded our entire vessel with bombs strong enough to wipe out this entire city that'll go off if we try to leave," he shook his head and chuckled a bit. "So that's a development."

I started to get up, but Mythra gently pushed me back down.

"No, stay down, you need your rest, we'll take this," Mythra insisted.

As much as I hated it, she was right, I wasn't in any condition to fight. Ether damage may not leave physical wounds, but it wasn't a joke. Ether damage takes its toll.

...................................

"Poppi! Slow doooown!!" Rafi yelled as Poppi grabbed him by the hand and shot out of the building using rocket boosters installed into her feet.

Poppi didn't respond, instead she was more focused on fighting Lila. Five hundred years ago, Poppi fought Lila one-on-one under Tora's instruction. The only reason she believed she'd won was because her master had told her not to fail, and so she didn't. However fusing her own technology with Lila's is what gave Poppi her QT form. This form made her look like a teen, and no longer a child, she had used it when Rafi and her walked around Fonsa Myma. The form she was using now, however, designated Poppi QT π, was much different than any form she had.

Every part of her was designed by Tora's grandfather, Professor Soosoo. Tora may have built her up from scratch, and even made a few modifications, but her ether furnace, AI, blueprint, and most of who she was was personally designed by Soosoo. Lila has been designed by Soosoo and Tatazo, Tora's father. Poppi had always had the capacity to have three forms, but they weren't ever finished. Poppi QT was completed by Tora, Tatazo, and Lila, however Poppi QT π was designed by the same three and helped by her previous friends. Rex, Nia, Dromarch, Zeke, Mòrag, and a few others.

Poppi QT π was Tora's way of acknowledging that Poppi had grown up, she wasn't the same child he'd first turned on. As such, she was given a stunning female body, with beautiful features that turned heads no matter where she went, even by Rex. She hadn't intended it to be like that, but it sort of... happened. Each form was also much more powerful than its previous, Poppi QT π alone could rival even Mythra herself.

Each form also had its own weapon, Poppi alpha carried a shield with engines and a large drill built in it. It did serious damage and could block very powerful attacks. Poppi QT carried a pair of large, heavy gloves that could work defensively like a shield and deal out some major damage. They also fit snugly onto nopon earflap arms. Poppi QT π was different, though. Instead of being built as a tank like her previous forms, this form came with a powerful sword and was completely offensive, doing some of the most insane damage anyone had ever seen.