Short Stories of BIG ARMS, Volume 4: Lola Pop

(Cubed Cinder)


"Okay, Lola. Concentrate… you got this." Lola Pop said in her head as she stood on her rubber ball and juggled one bowling pin after another, all while striving to keep a smiling face. The crowd that was gathered around her had varied emotions throughout the show. Some gasped thinking Lola Pop was going to lose her balance. Others softly cheered as they watched in awe over the performance.
Finally, to finish off her act, Lola Pop threw the pins high in the air. At the same time, she jumped off the rubber ball and balanced on it with her hands this time. As for the bowling pins? Now she was juggling them with her feet, which really got the crowd roaring. About a minute later, with sweat starting to pour down her forehead, Lola Pop put her shoes back on the ball and caught all four pins before finally hopping off and bowing. The crowd applauded and Lola Pop soaked in the audible seal of approval.
"Thank you! Thank you all!!" Lola Pop said as she bowed repeatedly.
"Please blow up like a balloon!" one male child shouted from the group.
"Haha… you like that, I take it?" Lola Pop asked.
"Yeah yeah yeah!" the boy as well as a similar aged girl (his sister) shouted.
"Okay, here I go!" Lola Pop said as she sucked in as much air as she could. As she did so, her body inflated until she was basically a ball herself, leaving only her gloved hands, shoes, and head to stick out. The kids, as well as the grownups, all cheered as Lola Pop let out a smile. Of course, she knew this was a natural ability for her, using it as a defensive strategy for ARMS Grand Prix matches.

The crowd in the village that was Via Dolce soon departed and resumed with their daily lives. Lola Pop picked up her ball and bowling pins and carried them under her arms as she walked away from where she performed.
"Sigh… it sure is nice to attract a crowd like that, but I feel like I can entertain so much more." Lola Pop said. She looked up at the sky and daydreamed… pretending she was inside an actual circus tent and performing in front of hundreds of cheering patrons. She especially heard the imaginary crowd cheered as she jumped from a tightrope right into a cannon, which proceeded to shoot her towards a target, but before she could break through the target, she inflated herself and bounced off it instead, eventually landing smack into a pool of water.
"I really want to hit the big time!" Lola Pop said as she playfully struck her big red nose and her orange and red lollipop-style hair.

Lola Pop got up and later approached the traveling wagon she considered her home. If she wasn't pulling the wagon (with the help of an electric motor), it would sit parked, waiting for her to return and eat, sleep, or practice her routines. As she approached the wagon, however, she noticed something that looked a little out of place.
"Huh? What's that green bottle thingy?" Lola Pop asked. She approached the entrance to her wagon and saw a shot-sized solid green bottle. She stared longingly at the label, which read 'Helix Juice - 100% guaranteed to make you feel big and strong with everlasting energy' with a picture of the ARMS fighter, Helix, on the side.
"Oh… I remember Helix. I made him go splat last week! Teeheehee!" Lola Pop said. She continued to look over the bottle, and then she heard her tummy rumble.
"Well, I am both hungry and thirsty from that little show I put on. One little cup of Helix Juice wouldn't hurt!" Lola Pop said as she popped open the bottle and threw every last drop down her mouth.
"Bleh… this is probably what Helix himself tastes like! Oh well." Lola Pop said as she casually tossed the empty bottle into her wagon.

She started to jump inside her wagon, but had to stop when she felt her body tingle.
"Ooooooh… what's this tingling? It's like I'm inflating, and yet it's not. What the!?" Lola Pop said. She watched as her arms and hands suddenly grew bigger, and later her feet which included her red clown shoes. Even her head was getting bigger.
"Whoooooa… what is this? Reverse inflation?" Lola Pop said, but finally the rest of her body caught up, and any nearby citizens stopped in their tracks when they saw the clown girl growing bigger and bigger.
"Why am I growing!?" Lola Pop shouted, getting worried over how big she would grow to. She finally did stop growing, however, once she was 30 times her normal height (sound familiar?), putting her at just over 170 feet tall. Naturally, she towered high over Via Dolce, with people galore staring up at the giantess.
"Er… hi, everyone! It's really high up here. Get it? Hahahaha!!" Lola Pop shouted. But there was little reaction from the tiny people.
"Awww… come on! I thought it was funny!" Lola Pop said as she took a small step forward. It looked small from her perspective, but it still put her shoes about a foot and a half away from them, causing them to scream and run for the theoretical hills. Lola Pop lightly gasped seeing how close her shoe came to these people as well as seeing them so panicked.
"No, wait! I won't hurt you!" Lola Pop said. But the people didn't listen and she just sighed.
"Sigh… I suppose it's only natural they'd run. I mean… people ran from Finkerton the Juggling Bat." Lola Pop said as she folded her arms in disgust. She then looked out in the distance at the heart of the city, the same city that's already dealt with three other giantesses the past few days (Min Min, Ribbon Girl, and Twintelle). At the same time, she heard her stomach rumble loudly.
"Ooooooh… I knew I shouldn't have skipped lunch. Still, the sweet shop is in the city, sooooo…" Lola Pop said as she took a mighty step away from the village and carefully made her way towards the city.

It was more of the same for the giant Lola Pop. People galore ran and screamed as she slowly walked around the city. Lola Pop took her sweet time, not wanting to cause any more trouble than she was already causing. And speaking of sweet, she eventually came across the Sweet Shop. She could tell by the giant lollipop on the roof of the building. Lola Pop licked her lips and smiled.
"Yes sir, nothing makes you feel sweet like the Sweet Shop! Come by today for half price all chocolate bars and lollipop… *ahem* I forgot… this is not a commercial I'm shooting for them." Lola Pop said. She got down on her knees and put both her gloved hands on either side of the roof. With a mighty grunt, she ripped the roof right off the building, revealing everyone and everything inside. Everyone obviously froze when they looked up and saw the giant Lola Pop overhead.
"Hi! Ummm… can I have everything in the store? I need it for my now giant appetite!" Lola Pop said with a smile on her face. The people inside finally screamed their heads off and ran for the entrance, getting close to her yellow pants along the way.
"I meant the food, not you! Oh well…" Lola Pop said as she watched the people run off in the distance. She then licked her lips again and scooped up every last candy stand inside, not hesitating in the slightest to drop every last food item down into her tummy. Despite her size, she felt many different sweets ranging from chocolate bars to bubble gum to taffy sticks to cotton candy. Lola Pop munched down on the stands and gulped everything down after a few chews. Well, almost everything. She felt the need to blow some bubble gum, watching as it quickly popped all over her nose before she munched it down.
"Hahaha! I just set the record for world's biggest bubble gum bubble! Come on, everyone, at least cheer that!" Lola Pop said, watching as a few people stopped and applauded, which made the giantess smile.
"Thank you!" Lola Pop said. Then she laid down on the street flat on her back, looking up at the nearly clear blue sky while rubbing her stomach with one hand.
"Ahhhh… I guess being this big is not so bad." Lola Pop said as she fought to keep her eyes open but couldn't help but doze off for a bit.

While this was going on, Spring Man leapt from building to building (with the help of his springy ARMS of course), watching as Lola Pop laid down on the street feet away from the Sweet Shop. He had a stunned look on his face, and for good reason.
"What in the name of ARMS is going on here!? First it was Min Min, then Ribbon Girl, then Twintelle, and now Lola Pop! Will it ever end with these giant women from the ARMS Grand Prix? Then again, I guess we should be thankful Master Mummy hasn't been made giant…" Spring Man said as she watched Lola Pop lightly shift her body around, and he watched as numerous people ran to get out of the way.
"Still, she could hurt someone if she's not careful! I have to warn her…" Spring Man said as he hopped down to the ground, landing in front of one of Lola Pop's red shoes.
"*whistles* Now that's one big clown shoe." Spring Man said as he jumped over the shoes and landed on her yellow pants. He had to make another big jump to avoid getting crushed as Lola Pop crossed her legs and put one on top of the other.
"That was close." Spring Man said as he ran up Lola Pop's pants, eventually making it to her overalls.

Eventually, Spring Man got up to Lola Pop's gigantic right ear.
"Lola Pop! Lola Pop! Lola Pop! That sounds like a song for some reason…" Spring Man said. He watched as Lola Pop suddenly moved her head upwards.
"Mmmmm… I'm up, I'm up, Daddy…" Lola Pop said. Instinctively, Spring Man latched onto Lola Pop's huge purple ball-shaped earring and held on for the ride.
"Yikes!" Spring Man said. Lola Pop swung her head around, wondering where that male voice came from.
"Huh? I thought I heard something." Lola Pop said.
"Lola Pop! On your earring!!! Mmmmph!" Spring Man shouted.
"Huh?" Lola Pop said as she reached up towards her right earring and eventually feeling Spring Man and hearing his muffled voice from within her gloved hand. Lola Pop brought the hand to her face and opened it up, revealing Spring Man.
"Oh! Howdy doody, Spring Man!" Lola Pop said.
"Er… hi! Be careful next time! You almost smushed me good!" Spring Man shouted.
"Heh heh, I thought you liked having that happen to you!" Lola Pop said.
"Are you talking about that time you whacked me in the head with a lollipop punch?" Spring Man said.
"Teehee… real sweet of me, wasn't it!?" Lola Pop said.
"Sigh… can I assume you grew from drinking that Helix Juice?" Spring Man said.
"Er… yes! How did you know about that?" Lola Pop asked.
"It's happened to three other ladies, all from the ARMS Grand Prix, no less. Min Min, Ribbon Girl, and Twintelle." Spring Man said.
"Oh wow! I didn't know… I've been out of town practicing my next show. Actually, I do want to get some practice in for one act in particular." Lola Pop said.
"Huh? What's that?" Spring Man said.

He suddenly watched as Lola Pop lowered him back down to the ground, inches away from her clown shoes.
"The act where I crush you like a loose piece of candy, what else? Teeheehee!" Lola Pop said as she raised one of her shoes up.
"Waaaaaaah! Not again!" Spring Man yelled as he turned around and just avoided being crushed by the shoe. Like with the other giantesses, Spring Man ran and ran while the giant Lola Pop slowly chased him down the street.
"Oy… why me!? Why does it always have to be me!?" Spring Man said as he occasionally looked back to see how far back the giantess was. He eventually turned towards another street which was full of cars. Most of them were parked, although the few that still had drivers and/or passangers all eventually abandoned their vehicles when they saw the giant Lola Pop approaching. As for Lola Pop herself, she came to an abrupt stop when she saw the group of cars.
"Hmmm… I know some of these cars are around whenever Twintelle is in town." Lola Pop said. Suddenly, an imaginary light bulb went off over her head.
"Hey! I'm the perfect size to juggle these!" Lola Pop said. While Spring Man stopped running and took shelter in a nearby alley to see Lola Pop distracted by the cars, the giantess scooped up six cars, holding three in each hand. And then…
"Up and up the wheels go…" Lola Pop said as she sang a few words and then hummed while tossing the cars up in the air from gloved hand to gloved hand.
"This is too easy without my rubber ball to balance on…" Lola Pop said as she looked up and watched the cars fly around.

After a couple minutes, Lola Pop stopped juggling and caught the cars in her hand. As she set them back down on the ground, a few brave people came out to applaud the giantess. It brought a smile to Lola Pop's face. Already there were far more people congratulating her, especially children, than when she did a show on the street.
"Haha! Thank you, my biggest audience yet! The only thing missing is a circus tent!" Lola Pop said as she bowed repeatedly. During one bow, she noticed a couple youngsters patting the ends of her shoes. She kneeled down to get a closer look at these children.
"Ooooooh… you two should be more careful. These are big shoes to fill! Hahaha!" Lola Pop said as she laughed at her own joke. The kids, meanwhile, weren't laughing and instead made a request to the giantess.
"Lola Pop! We're your biggest fans!" the boy said.
"Yeah! Can we have your autograph!?" the girl said.
"Hohohoho! I'm kinda too big to be signing autographs. Do they make pens for people my size?" Lola Pop said as she pretended to sign the tall building she was standing right next to.
"It's okay. We understand. Can you at least blow up like a balloon?" the girl said.
"Yeah! You'd look even bigger and even more awesome like that!" the boy said.
"Haha, I see! Your wish is my command!" Lola Pop said.
The giantess took a couple steps backwards and took a deep breath. That's when she slowly inflated until she was basically a ball once again, leaving only her gloved hands, shoes, and head to stick out.
"What do you think? Makes me look even bigger, right?" Lola Pop said.
"Yeah! Yay!" the children cheered.

However, things would take a turn for the worst. Lola Pop was clearly seen exhaling, and yet the air was still trapped in her body, leaving her in an inflated state.
"Huh? What? I should be deflating by now…" Lola Pop said. And then, a surprise development happened. Lola Pop was inflating even further. Her hands, arms, shoes, and head were slowly sinking into her growing body.
"What!? Wait… stop! I can't over inflate! Hmmmmmmph!!!" Lola Pop said as she shook around trying in vain to stop the inflation. As the children and other citizens ran away to keep from getting crushed by the growing girl, nearby buildings were getting toppled over as Lola Pop's growing rubbery body took over more real estate.
"Help! Somebody he…mmmmmmmph!" Lola Pop as her head became almost fully obscured. Lola Pop was basically nothing more than an inflating balloon that looked like it wouldn't stop growing. She didn't help her cause when she tried to move around, only to roll forward several feet.
Spring Man came out from his hiding place and saw what was happening, and he knew this was bad news. In fact, the ground was slowly shaking as the energy from the giantess's spurt of overinflation was threatening to burst out.
"Oh boy… if she pops… not just her but the city… *gulp*" Spring Man said as he thought of the worst possible scenario. He then clutched his hands into fists.
"I have to be brave! I have to save her… and I think I know how!" Spring Man said as he went sprinting down the street.

By the time he returned, the growing round ball that was the overinflated Lola Pop was close to 500 feet tall, her body taking over much space where buildings once stood. The pressure was literally mounting. Spring Man could almost directly feel Lola Pop was going to pop any minute. He then looked down at the Parasol ARMS that he had now equipped.
"Thanks, Twintelle, for letting me borrow these. I hope this works!" Spring Man said as he went charging for the yellow and orange walls that made up part of Lola Pop's outfit. Making sure the Parasols wouldn't open up like normal, Spring Man shot them forward, but they merely bounced right off. He shot again… again they bounced off.
"Arrrrrgh!" Spring Man growled in frustration. He suddenly found it very difficult to maintain his balance as the pressure from Lola Pop's growing body continued to mount.
"I have to do this… Push, Spring Man, PUSH!!!" Spring Man shouted as he took a sip of Rush Juice and shot again. This time the Parasols were digging in.
"Yeeeeeeeah!!" Spring Man shouted as he continued to thrust the Parasol ARMS forward.

Finally, a tear opened up in the 'wall' that slowly grew bigger until finally it was a hole that was a foot or two in diameter. Spring Man got knocked back as the air suddenly came shooting like a rocket out of this hole, and speaking of rockets, Lola Pop was suddenly flying around in the air like an out of control balloon. She spiraled around for close to a minute until she was all the way back not just to her normal stature, but also her normal size.

The only problem was Lola Pop was over 200 feet in the air. When she looked down and saw nothing but damaged city and pavement, she screamed.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!" Lola Pop screamed as she braced for an unhappy ending… but luckily, Spring Man was there to catch her, knocking them both down to the ground.
"I… I'm alive? And I'm not a giant inflatable parade balloon anymore! Yay!" Lola Pop said as she got back on her feet and did a happy victory dance.
"Ugh… you're welcome, Lola Pop." Spring Man said as he slowly got back up.
"Oh… um… thank you, Spring Man." Lola Pop said as she blushed lightly and walked towards Spring Man, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.
"Wowee! Now why can't I get Ribbon Girl to do that to me?" Spring Man said with a smile.
"Whew… it's good to be back to normal, anyway. Being big was kinda fun… at least until I overinflated! I wonder what caused that… I've normally got that mastered!" Lola Pop said.
"Maybe the Helix Juice you drank had something to do with it." Spring Man said.
"Yeah, I guess. Sigh… and this was my best outfit too!" Lola Pop said as she looked at the hole in her pants left behind by Spring Man.
"Yeah… um… sorry about that. I know a great clothing store that can get that fixed!" Spring Man said.
"Oh? Really? You mean there's a part of the city I DIDN'T crush?" Lola Pop said, prompting a laugh from both ARMS Grand Prix combatants.

Meanwhile, at [NAME REDACTED], Dr. Coyle once again slammed her hands near the keyboard.
"Darn it! I was so close! That darn Spring Man had to interfere again!" Dr. Coyle said as she sighed and then looked over at some other monitors.
"Oh well, at least the Expansion Plus formula I added to the juice worked, albeit in an unorthodox manner. I'll tweak the formula ever so slightly for when it's time… clearly if you want something as simple as crushing the city done, you should do it yourself!" Dr. Coyle said as she swung her chair around in frustration.

But before she could get up, she turned around and typed in a few commands.
"Still, I should use my growing formula 4.0.0 on one more test subject… ah, yes, little miss Mechanica. I'm curious to see how she'll react when she's big and bad. HAHAHAHA!!!" Dr. Coyle said as she laughed manically. Then she cleared her throat and immediately got to work on the next revision of her giantess-creating Helix Juice.


END