Short Stories of BIG ARMS, Volume 5: Mechanica

(Cubed Cinder)


Dr. Coyle, once again in one of her disguises, took a few looks around the place known as The Scrapyard. Built entirely from old junk and scrap materials that were lying around, the stage is primarily made out of raw metal and wood. Heavy machinery, that were also found lying around, were used in the construction of the stadium. Along the sides of the stage, those heavy machinery can be seen grasping onto rusted steel beams, which fans can stand on. Fans are also seen in various bleacher-like sections. A gate, adorned with Mechanica's logo at the top, can be seen on one side of the stage. A small green chalkboard, which has a drawing of Ribbon Girl, can be found to the right of the gate. The side opposing the gate is raised up, with Mechanica's workshop under the raised section. Parts of the floor are temporary and were constructed out of uneven wooden planks. The ramp leading up to the raised side is made out of metal plates and junk cars. Ribbon Girl stickers are attached onto multiple sign boards surrounding the fighting ring. In the center are two steel pipes that appears to be slapped together. As a result, steam often bursts out of the openings of the pipes.
"Ugh… what an absolute dump. I can't believe the ARMS League gave the seal of approval to hold ARMS Grand Prix matches here!" Dr. Coyle said. But she didn't strain her brain too much on the décor. She was here for one important reason, and that reason was several feet away as sparks shot up from behind a robotic suit.
"Good. She's not looking." Dr. Coyle said as she carefully made her way towards a nearby table. Among the things there was a lunch box, and with swiftness, Dr. Coyle removed the drink bottle that was already inside and she swapped it with her familiar bottle of Helix Juice. When Dr. Coyle heard the machinery stop, she quickly jetted out of the way. Once she was outside the entrance to the Scrapyard, she focused her sights on Mechanica as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"Hmmhmmhmm… silly child. You'll be the next to cause widespread panic throughout the city with your immense size! Meanwhile, I gotta get back home and watch the action so I can perfect my final formula." Dr. Coyle said as she moved away from the area.

As for Mechanica herself, she did look around her mechanical suit after hearing a little bit of noise beyond it.
"Huh? What was that?" Mechanica asked, but she shrugged her shoulders when she saw nothing around.
"Oh well… maybe I'm hearing things from working so hard. But it'll all be worth it! Once I've installed these new upgrades into my suit, I'll have a better chance of winning the ARMS Grand Prix!" Mechanica said. After taking a welding torch to one part of her suit, she turned it off and looked up at the sky, covered somewhat by the aforementioned steel pipes.
"Maybe I'll finally get Ribbon Girl's autograph! Ooooooh… my teenage life would be complete if that happened!" Mechanica said.

Finally, Mechanica decided it was time to take a break, especially after hammering off another excess piece of metal from her suit.
"Whew… time for a lunch break! I know Daddy would want me to take one too. Sigh… hopefully he's doing alright at the Mega Mechanics Conference!" Mechanica said excitedly. The young girl then walked towards the table that was full of stuff, mostly tools. But instead of those, she reached for her lunch box where she picked up a sandwich and scarfed it down in just a few bites. She reached down for what she thought was her water bottle to wash it down, but stopped when she noticed the green exterior.
"Huh? What happened to my water? Wait… Helix Juice?" Mechanica said as she looked over the bottle's 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.
"How did this get in here?" Mechanica said. She put the bottle down and ran inside the interior of the Scrapyard, which served as her home. She opened the refrigerator and scanned it from top to bottom. There were no other bottles of 'Helix Juice' to be found, but more importantly…
"Oopsies… we forgot to reload on water bottles." Mechanica said. She closed the fridge and put her hands on her hips.
"That's what happens with myself AND Daddy. We think more about nuts & bolts than nutrition!" Mechanica said.

She walked back outside and took one more look at the Helix Juice.
"Well, I suppose this will have to do. I hope it's not made of Helix himself… ew! It's probably just a branding thing. I mean… Ribbon Girl's got all sorts of merchandise! And there's health and safety stuff to make sure there's nothing out there to kill you and… I'm talking too much to myself again. D'oh!" Mechanica said. She shook her head to snap herself back to reality, and then she opened up the bottle and gulped every last drop of the Helix Juice down her throat.
"Mmmmm… that was moderately refreshing. Still, I shouldn't make a habit of downing these sugary sodas. They'd make me hyper!" Mechanica said as she tossed the empty bottle into a nearby junk pile. Mechanica then turned around and got back to work on her mechanical suit.

Mechanica was kneeling down working on the midsection of the suit and didn't notice any effects from the juice at first. It wasn't until she stood back to her full height that she took notice of a big change.
"That's… not right. My suit is 7 feet 6." Mechanica said. Then she looked down and saw the floor fading away. She then snapped her head upwards and saw the pipes up above closing in. That's when it finally dawned on her.
"What the… I'm growing!?" Mechanica shouted. She quickly stepped away from her suit to keep her growing toes from reaching it, only to crush flat the table where most of her tools were.
"Eeeek! Okay, Mechanica, deep breaths… take it easy… OW!" Mechanica said as she felt her head slam against the pipes that she was already tall enough to reach. She finally had to sorta crawl underneath the pipes and step high above the outer walls of the Scrapyard. Despite clipping an old car with one of her heels, Mechanica was able to make it outside, but she could only watch as her home and everything else around it shrunk smaller and smaller in Mechanica's eyes.
"Why is this happening!?" Mechanica shouted, shivering in her outfit as she wondered how big she'd grow.

Finally, Mechanica's growth stopped. Like the other ladies of the ARMS Grand Prix, Mechanica was now just over 30 times her normal size… in this case 158 feet tall. Still, The Scrapyard looked quite puny from her perspective, but then the giantess remembered something.
"Wait… now I remember! That Helix Juice is rumored to be the cause of those other girls growing, including Ribbon Girl! Ugh… I would've LOVED to get her autograph when she was big!" Mechanica said. She then brushed her toes along the outer edges of her home.
"Sigh… I don't think I'll be getting anyone's autograph at this size. Still, there's gotta be a way to quickly reverse this thing. Maybe if I find Daddy…" Mechanica said as she walked away from her home and approached the tall buildings in the distance.

By this point, the people of the city were on edge. After four separate incidents involving giant women, all from the ARMS Grand Prix no less, they wondered when the 'attacks' would stop.
"Man, I really hope that's the end of the giantess attacks." one man said.
"Should we really call them attacks, though? I mean… not all of them were bad, like Ribbon Girl." one woman said.
"Yeah, but what about Min Min? Don't you remember the way she steamrolled those buildings!?" another man said.
"Or Twintelle! She treated my apartment like it was a popsicle!" another man said.
"Not to mention Lola Pop blowing up big enough to hold 10 blimps!" another man said.
"I say we stop the next giantess, whoever it is!" another woman said.
"We can't let these girls think they can stomp and push us around just because they're in the ARMS Grand Prix!" another man said.
"He's right! I used to wish I could have long extendable ARMS, but not anymore!" another woman said.

Just then, the ground began to steadily shake and booming sounds echoed in the sky that got louder and louder.
"Oh no… I guess we don't have to wait that long." one man said.
"Eeeeeek! Look, here she comes!" one woman screamed as she pointed upwards. Everyone looked as the giant Mechanica stepped into view, blocking the sunlight from these people.
"Um… hi, everyone!" Mechanica said as she lifted up her red shades.
"Run away! Again!" one woman screamed as the people scrambled away.
"Get your pitchforks and other weapons! Don't let her scare you!!!" another man yelled as he followed the crowd.
"Pitchforks? No wait! I'm just looking for my father! Honest!" Mechanica said as she gently bent down like she wanted to pick someone up from the crowd. In doing so, however, her rear end bumped against a nearby building and she left a dent in it. She stood up quickly and gasped.
"Oops! Sorry! Gotta be more careful…" Mechanica said. Trying not to think anymore about the dent she made, Mechanica carefully made her way down the street, slowing down to allow the couple dozen of people to flee for their safety.

As Mechanica walked around, she admired the scenery around her, especially with buildings the same size as her.
"I gotta admit… it feels so different seeing buildings that once towered high above me." Mechanica said. She couldn't help but peek inside one of the windows where she saw a couple sitting on the bed watching TV. She assumed they were watching breaking news of her 'rampaging' around. The couple then looked out the window where they saw one of Mechanica's massive eyes and the woman shrieked.
"Whoops! Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry!" Mechanica said as she backed away, only to crash against another building with her backside. She turned around and gasped, seeing many of the bricks on the brick-layered building crash to the ground and leave a few openings full of scared and screaming people.
"Sorrrrrrrrrry!! Ugh… what a time to be stumbling around…" Mechanica said.

Once again the giantess walked around trying to be as careful as possible. Alas, there would come another time when being careful meant more destruction than she was comfortable with. As she continued to study building after building, she failed to notice a power line in her path and she tripped over it, breaking the line and sending a shower of sparks around. At the same time, Mechanica danced around trying to keep her balance, but it doing so she bounced from one building to another like a pinball.
"Whaaaaaaaa!!!" Mechanica finally screamed as she fell backwards onto a building and crushed it beneath her backside. She coughed from the smoke that billowed out of the debris pile and then gasped thinking she had crushed numerous innocent lives. And so she looked… and didn't see a speck of blood.
"Whew… at least I didn't crush anyone." Mechanica said.

And speaking of people, she suddenly heard a chorus of boos. When she turned around and looked between her legs, that's where a small crowd of people were gathered holding signs and pitchforks and other things.
"Get out of town, you giantess!" one man shouted.
"Yeah! We're tired of you giantesses trying to destroy our city!" one woman shouted.
"But but but but but I wasn't trying to destroy anything! I just tripped and fell, honest!" Mechanica said.
"What a bunch of bull! We're not afraid of you anymore!" one woman shouted.
"Yeah! The ARMS Grand Prix won't use this cheap tactic to get us to buy tickets! Tell them to stop enlarging their combatants!" one man said.
"Except Ribbon Girl…" one man quietly whispered amongst the shouting voices. As some of the people began to throw food and garbage at the giantess, with one tomato splattering all over one of her knees for example, tears started to slowly come down her eyes.
"Okay, okay! I'll leave. That way I don't hurt any more of you… *sniff sniff*" Mechanica said as she got on her feet and marched away from the cheering crowd. More and more people over the next few streets watched the giantess cry her way out of the city.

Meanwhile, Spring Man was springing into action once more after word got out on the radio that another giantess was 'terrorizing' the city.
"I can't believe it! That's five ladies now! When will it ever… OOOOOF!" Spring Man said, only to feel himself crashing against someone.
"Hey! Watch where you're…" Spring Man started to say, only to see who it was he had crashed into.
"Ribbon Girl?" Spring Man said.
"Oh, Spring Man! I'm sorry, I was in a hurry." Ribbon Girl said.
"Yeah… that makes two of us." Spring Man said.
"Don't tell me… you're chasing after the giantess too?" Ribbon Girl said.
"Y…yes! How did you know?" Spring Man said.
"I heard the news report on the radio. When they described the giantess as having brown hair, red shades, and a mostly yellow jumpsuit, I had a feeling it was…" Ribbon Girl said. She was then interrupted by the ground shaking and loud booming sounds that were all getting stronger fast.
"Watch out!" Spring Man said as he stretched his ARMS out and nudged Ribbon Girl into a nearby alley, joining up with her eventually. The two then watched as the giant Mechanica came rushing by.
"Waaaaaaaah! I don't like being this big! I just wan't to be normal again!" Mechanica said.

Spring Man and Ribbon Girl came out of the alley and watched the giantess rush out of the city.
"It IS Mechanica!" Ribbon Girl said.
"Wow… she seemed really upset. I wonder what happened." Spring Man said.
"Probably the same way I grew that one day, with that goofy tasting Helix Juice." Ribbon Girl said.
"Well, yeah, I can see that! I meant why she's running out of the city crying." Spring Man said.
"Well, who cares how it happened!? We should go make sure she's alright!" Ribbon Girl said as she went running after the giant Mechanica.
"Wait, Ribbon Girl! Sigh… just as long as she doesn't chase me like every other giantess has." Spring Man said as he followed suit.

The two finally caught up to Mechanica at The Scrapyard, where the giantess sat against one of the junk piles with her red shades off as she continuously wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Mechanica!" Ribbon Girl shouted. Mechanica briefly looked by her shoes and shifted backwards a couple feet.
"Stay… stay away from me!" Mechanica said.
"Mechanica, wait! It's me… Ribbon Girl!" Ribbon Girl shouted.
"Wha? Ribbon Girl?" Mechanica said as she rubbed her eyes to clear them of the excess tears. Her eyes indeed weren't playing tricks on her. Standing not too far away from her shoes were the normal-sized Ribbon Girl as well as Spring Man.
"I… I can't believe it. Despite being big enough to crush and destroy anything in my path… Ribbon Girl still takes the time to see me." Mechanica said.
"Heh heh… why not? You were always a big fan, but now you're my absolute biggest fan! I kinda wish I had a medal to give you…" Ribbon Girl said.
"Heh, it's okay, Ribbon Girl. But…" Mechanica said as she moved her body around so that she was laying flat on her stomach, and more importantly so that her face was only a foot or two away from her idol (and Spring Man).

"You really shouldn't be near me, Ribbon Girl. Those people in the city… they're right. I'm a big, klutzy monster. I can't even do what I love most, and that's build stuff like my robot suit! *sniff*" Mechanica said.
"Awww… come on, Mechanica. Being a giantess can't be all bad. I mean, yours truly went through the same thing a few days ago. I thought it was kinda cool!" Ribbon Girl said.
"Did you accidentally destroy a few things? Did people march up to your feet and demand you leave at once?" Mechanica asked.
"Well… no, but still!" Ribbon Girl said.
"Those people are just on edge because you're the fifth giantess who's hit some part of the city this week! There has to be a reason this has been happening." Spring Man said.
"I agree. I can't help but wonder where that mysterious Helix Juice came from." Ribbon Girl said.
"Well, I could check my computer and trace the shipping history of the bottle I drank from. But…" Mechanica said.
"But what?" Ribbon Girl asked.
"I'm much too big to do that too. Sigh… dreaming I could be this big is one thing, but having it actually happen. It's made me realize what I miss by not being able to do certain things." Mechanica said.
"Come on, Mechanica! Cheer up! Maybe your growth spell will wear out also!" Spring Man said.
"I really hope so. Ummmm… Ribbon Girl? Can I pick you up and hug you?" Mechanica asked.
"Sure! Just be gentle…" Ribbon Girl said.
"Yay!" Mechanica suddenly bursted with joy. Despite this, she did indeed very gently pick up Ribbon Girl and hold her in her hands, quickly cuddling her against her face.
"Haha! This is what I call a Mechani-Hug!" Ribbon Girl said.

Suddenly, Spring Man heard a series of beeps go off on a nearby radio, presumably the one Mechanica left on.
"Hold on! I'm just getting this breaking news report! There's now a giant robot marching around the city! Word is the police force sent out their 'super duper giant deluxe sized' version of Byte the robotic cop to try and capture the giant woman that soon left the city. However, now the robot is running around destroying one building after another! All citizens are therefore advised to return to their homes and…" the news reporter commented.
"Hey! Did you hear that!? A giant robot is running around the city!" Spring Man said.
"Oh dear! It's probably a glitch in its programming. I've got to go and stop it!" Mechanica said.
"Huh? Are you sure, Mechanica? But what about being afraid of destroying anything?" Spring Man asked.
"And what about those people that chased you out of the city?" Ribbon Girl asked.
"I can’t think about them now. I'm the only one big enough to face this robot, whether the police force wants to admit it or not!" Mechanica said. She then stood up to her full height and put Ribbon Girl on her right shoulder.
"Hey, wait! What about me?" Spring Man said. Mechanica kneeled down and started to pick him up, but Ribbon Girl had a funnier, albeit sinister, idea.
"Wait, Mechanica! Why not let him lead the way? He can stay on the ground and make sure everyone gets out of the way for you." Ribbon Girl asked.
"Oh? That sounds like a good idea. You're so smart, Ribbon Girl!" Mechanica said.
"Hahaha! I've got brains too even though some paparazzi don't think so!" Ribbon Girl said.
"Oh no… I know what you're trying to do!" Spring Man said.
"Teehee… you better get running, Spring Man!" Ribbon Girl said as Mechanica playfully held a leg high up in the air.
"Sigh… again." Spring Man said as he started running towards the city with the giant Mechanica hot on his trail.

Meanwhile, this time the people of the city were not standing up against something much bigger than them, because the giant Byte robot meant business.
"Destroy… target… same… size… or… bigger… than… source." the robot said over and over as it smashed numerous buildings whether there were people inside or not. The robot didn't seem to care about the people around it, which made them all the more scared and more frenzied to take shelter. It also was deliberately not attacking any buildings smaller than it.
"Hold it right there!" Mechanica shouted at the robot that was the same size as her. By this point, Spring Man (who was breathing heavily after running for what seemed like forever) and Ribbon Girl were atop a nearby smaller building cheering their giant friend and fellow ARMS Grand Prix competitor on. Mechanica winked down to the two and was especially happy to see the streets cleared of any innocent civilians, and so she could focus on the giant Byte clone.
The giantess and the robot tussled with each other, but the Byte clone put on solid defense, blocking any kind of physical attack the giantess threw at it. Mechanica had to bounce backwards after a punch in her gut.
"Oooooof… this would be so much easier if I had my ARMS fighting robot!" Mechanica said as she collapsed on one knee to catch her breath. She gulped nervously watching as Byte approached her, but then…

"Destroy… target… same… size… or… bigger… than… source." the robot said as it suddenly turned around and got back to smashing buildings taller than it.
"Huh? Wait a sec…" Mechanica said.
"What is it, Mechanica?" Ribbon Girl asked. The giantess turned her attention to Ribbon Girl and Spring Man, leaving the two to look up at her head.
"As long as I appear shorter than that robot, it won't attack me…" Mechanica said. She then kept on kneeling partially while slowly moving forward, kinda like a secret agent would. Finally, she made it to behind the robot's back and quickly opened its back panel, pressing a big red button labeled POWER.
"Dessssssstttttttttrrrrrrooooooo…" the robot said as it gradually stopped moving and finally froze in place.

As Mechanica took a deep breath, suddenly a big crowd of people came out to congratulate her.
"Oh, now you praise me! Well, I DID save the city from this rampaging robot." Mechanica said with a smile on her face. She looked down by her shoes as she saw Spring Man and Ribbon Girl run up to them.
"Way to go, Mechanica!" Ribbon Girl shouted.
"Yeah! Nice to have a giant girl saving the city instead of destroying it!" Spring Man said, only to get a bump in the arm by Ribbon Girl.
"Heh, thanks. I think." Mechanica said. Suddenly, everyone watched as a group of police cars pulled up towards the giantess. The officers jumped out and aimed their guns up at Mechanica.
"Freeze! You're under arrest for destruction of both city and police property!" one officer shouted.
"Eeeeek! Officer, please! I didn't destroy your robot! I merely shut it off! Its programming is clearly flawed for it to be attacking innocent buildings!" Mechanica said.
"Oh, Mechanica! You're shrinking!" Ribbon Girl suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" Mechanica said, watching as everything around her was suddenly getting bigger.

Sure enough, Mechanica had finally returned to her normal size. The officers closed in on the girl, who gulped nervously thinking she was going to be led away in handcuffs. However, Ribbon Girl stepped in between Mechanica and the officers.
"Officers, have a heart, please! I know Mechanica. She's not the kind of girl who will intentionally walk around the city and destroy it. And speaking of the city, she DID save it from being destroyed by that crazy robot!" Ribbon Girl said. The officers looked confused at first, but finally they nodded their heads as the oldest officer, presumably the chief, faced Ribbon Girl and then Mechanica.
"You're right, Ribbon Girl. Once again you show wisdom beyond your years. You are all free to go." the officer said.
"Thanks! But what about that robot?" Mechanica said.
"Never mind it. We'll take it back to base and reprogram it from the ground up. Clearly it was not ready for combat… I'm not going to lie. Command wanted it deployed ASAP due to all the giantess sightings we've had lately." the officer said.
"I've got a bad feeling we're not done yet." Spring Man said.
"I really hope you're wrong, but maybe I can set up some type of scanner to look for any more traces of that Helix Juice." Mechanica said.
"That's a good idea, Mechanica!" Ribbon Girl said. The trio started to make the somewhat long trip back to The Scrapyard. However, they eventually wouldn't get that chance.

Happening around the same time at [NAME REDACTED], Dr. Coyle watched with extreme excitement as the final tube of 'Helix Juice' was being prepared. Halfway through Mechanica's time of being gigantic, she actually stopped watching, satisfied with the changes she had made to the formula. Finally, the tube was done and she picked it out of her machine. This 'Helix Juice' looked different, sporting a brighter shade of green and bubbling more viscously than before. It made ordinary soft drinks look tame as far as their carbonation went.
"Ahhhh… at last. After five different tests, I've finally perfected my formula, and now I shall use it to become supreme ruler of not just the city, but the entire world!" Dr. Coyle said.

With all her strength, Dr. Coyle ripped the tube in half, allowing the shiny green liquid to splash all over her body and outfit. Mere seconds later, Dr. Coyle's body vibrated and started to enlarge. And she was growing FAST. Already she was crowding her own lab and knocking over things and destroying lab equipment with her growing body.
"Hahaha… Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Dr. Coyle let out her most evil laugh yet as she burst out of the lab and felt layers and layers of earth fall around her. Yes, she was revealing the location of [NAME REDACTED], but she didn't care in the slightest anymore. Soon, nobody would live to tell the last tall tale the city was about to experience…


END