The Erased Chronicles

Demon Machina Rumble

  "LET'S GO AHEAD!"

With the announcer's signal to start the match, the two fighters took a stance. Qirka extended her hands, steadying her gaze. She didn't need to breathe — Qirka was an entirely artificial construct, created by her Master without a human base — but it was a behaviour she emulated. A purple aura began to erupt from her body, ruffling her clothes in a powerful upwards gust.

"Oooh." Carmina's entire face lit up. "You're super bright. So you're really strong, right?" The blue Majin girl's mouth upturned, her eyes twinkling. "But my Mama and Papa are super strong too, and they taught me how to fight!" She lacked anything resembling a proper stance, and yet showed some measure of control. She was dancing, her steps light, bouncing off the MatterWave flooring.

"You're...super energetic," muttered Qirka. It was actually off-putting. Trunks had always been busy, Videl was mellow, and Bulma was simply tired. Qirka wasn't used to people with this kind of energetic attitude, and it made her uncomfortable. Her scanners were detecting ridiculous levels of enthusiasm from the Majin girl. But they also detected something else; immense powers. This girl is most likely in the Adult Division simply because she's too strong to compete with children. Qirka assumed her Master had some hand in it; why scare everyone away from a new reinstated tournament?

"This is taking too long!" complained Carmina. "If you won't come to me, then I'm gonna come get you!" With surprising speed, Carmina didn't dash forward, but thrust her arm back. Due to her Majin nature, her arm stretched, extending outwards for some ways. The arm then retracted, swinging around in a powerful arc. The speed from the retraction, combined with Carmina's natural strength, gave this punch an immense amount of velocity and power behind it.

Almost on instinct — if an automaton could even be said to possess such a thing — Qirka dodged. She leapt from the air, spinning, skidding along the MatterWave arena as she landed. Carmina's fist slammed into the ground, rupturing solid light tile with ease. The automaton's narrow eyes widened in shock; that move appeared to be a straight punch, but that stretching augmented it to frightening levels.

This display wasn't missed on the announcer. "Fighting fans, would you look at that! Right out of the gate, we have Carmina opening up with a powerful stretching punch! To anyone who knows their parents, this shouldn't be a surprise; many have seen Mr. Bū fight knows that his body is ridiculously malleable! Looks like Carmina inherited that from her parents!"

"There's a memory," said Gohan. His eyes were on one of the floating screens, which showed the match to the best of its ability. The rest could be filled in by his ability to sense ki, though this Qirka lacked any that he could sense. Trying to watch them fight with his senses was akin to watching Carmina punch air. "She fights like her father."

"I'm more surprised Majin Bū could have a kid," added Erasa, looking at Carmina with an expression of curiosity.

"Are none of us going to ask where his mate came from?" asked Trunks.

"Not all of us need to conceive children as...dramatically...as your species," was Piccolo's dry remark. Gohan grinned, knowing precisely what Piccolo was alluding to. Namekians lacked the concept of gender, and produced children by laying eggs. From his former teacher's perspective, the human and Saiyan method must have been very cumbersome indeed.

The match continued, despite the banter from the peanut gallery. Qirka was already on the defensive, avoiding Carmina's stretchy attacks. The young Majin was releasing multiple stretching blows, her arms repeatedly snapping forward and back. The speed at which she struck gave the illusion of multiple arms for many onlookers, but this wasn't the case. To the best of her ability, Qirka deftly avoided each and every blow. They grazed by, and she felt the powerful wind pressure from the strikes; if these struck home, it was quite possible that she could be knocked unconscious.

Ruefully, Qirka remembered the backup brain she'd requested her Master install in cases such as that — she was meant to be a fighting Automaton — that could take over in case her main brain went offline. The shy Automaton decided she would be more firm in requesting a back-up post Tenkaichi Budōkai. Under constant fire from Carmina, Qirka found it hard to gain an advantage; the rapidfire bullet punches were immensely strong. One wrong move, one blow to the head, and it was done.

"Gotcha!"

Carmina's voice caught Qirka's auditory receptors, and the woman saw the young girl materialise in front of her. Her arm was stretched back, and it snapped forward quickly. The end result was a short-distance, one-fisted powerful blow that created a powerful explosion among the tiles. Qirka's eyes widened, and the woman was sent careening across the raised MatterWave platform.

The audience gasped, clearly impressed, and the announcer was loving it.

"The first blow has been struck, ladies and gentlemen! The young Carmina's fist strikes home!"

In the stands, the Dragon Team members who couldn't compete were instead watching. Chi-Chi, Gyūmaō, and Muten Rōshi were watching with rapt attention. The old master's eyes glinted. "That was...a powerful blow. But something was odd about the woman's movements."

Tenshinhan, from down below, had noticed it as well. His three-eyes kept attention to the monitor, and he saw something that a lot of others might have missed.

Qirka lay flat on the MatterWave arena, underneath solid light tiles. The pain receptors installed in her body were on fire, sending signals with all the finesse of a rushing crowd trying to escape in a panic. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I suppose it was a good thing that I back-stepped right before she hit me. Qirka though. I avoided most of that.

Forcing herself to her feet, Qirka stumbled slightly. Her centre of balance felt compromised, but it stabilised. She placed the palm of her hand to the rim of her glasses, pushing them back up the bridge of her nose. "I've...never quite fought someone like you. I can't match your fighting style with my data on Trunks and Videl. It's like you're made of...some sort of rubber."

Carmina grinned, gripping her shoulder. "Yeah! Mama, Papa, and I are all super stretchy!"

"So you're an expert at distance fighting," surmised Qirka. Her eyes flashed, and within her mental faculties, an adjustment was occurring. "Switching to close combat mode." The Automaton flashed forward, vanishing from the rubble and striking Carmina with immense strength. The young Majin's eyes opened wide as Qirka's fist distended her stomach, her mouth expelled saliva. A synthetic-skin fist followed up with another strike to the jaw, and Carmina felt her neck stretch.

Yet now, Qirka was in for the surprise. Carmina's head came whipping forwards, slamming her in the face directly. Her glasses — mercifully made of a reinforced impact-resistant polymer — did not crack under the pressure, but it was enough to throw her off. She then witnessed something she hadn't expected. With the flex of her body, the indentations left by Qirka's fists were completely healed.

"You...can regenerate," Qirka muttered, showing annoyance for the first time. "My databanks have a record of Piccolo with that skill, but yours is special; like magic, isn't it?"

"Kinda," replied Carmina, sticking her tongue out. "But...I managed to shake you off!" She stretched her arm out behind her, coiling it around like a massive spring. Running towards Qirka, the fist retracted, and the automaton could only watch as Carmina crossed the distance. Her fist swung forward, slamming into Qirka's stomach; the coil unwound, spinning Qirka like a top and sending her streaking across the arena. The force of that corkscrew blow was packed with enough strength, that Qirka found herself without foot; she'd gone flying off the arena.

"N-No!" The Automaton exclaimed, but before she could do anything, felt a powerful blow collide with her body. Carmina had followed her off the ring, and slammed her fist into Qirka's side. When she had just been flying to the side, her entire body convulsed under the force, and she was now rocketing downwards at immense speeds.


"Ladies and gentlemen, this match has gotten intense!" crowed the announcer. "With her unique stretchy body, Carmina has Qirka almost entirely on the offensive, and now, both of them are out of the ring! The moment either one of them touches solid ground, I'll begin a ten-count!"

The wind-pressure was intense, but Qirka wasn't ready to give up just yet. Her Master was counting on the data from this fight, and that meant lasting as long as she could, or winning. Her icy-blue eyes could see her foe preparing her next move. Carmina held both feet together, grinning. "TAKE THIS! A DOUBLE!" She then thrust downward, stretching her legs out immensely to reach Qirka, her feet leading the charge like a demented spear.

Instinct, if a robot could have such a thing, took over. Or perhaps it was simply programming? Qirka extended her right hand, and released a powerful purple kikōha. The blast forced her away, disrupting her flight path, and rocketing her towards the side of the arena. She jammed a hand into it, using her fingers to keep a solid grip and avoid falling. With a rush of wind and strength, Carmina's legs shot past her, slamming into the ground.

"CARMINA'S LEGS HAVE STRUCK SOLID GROUND!" The announcer shouted. "IF SHE DOESN'T MAKE IT BACK INTO THE AIR OR INTO THE ARENA WITHIN TEN SECONDS, THIS MATCH GOES TO QIRKA! ONE....! TWO....!"

"S-Shoot, I'm stuck!" Carmina looked nervous for the first time, trying to pull her legs free. She'd cemented them with such force, however, that she couldn't budge at all. The count was ringing clear in her ears. If she didn't escape, she'd lose. She wanted to win.

"FIVE....! SIX....!"

Qirka detached herself from the ring, flying upwards, past Carmina. The little Majin was completely stuck to the ground. By the time she managed to pull herself free, ten-seconds would have passed, and Qirka would be declared the winner. She didn't see the point in ragdolling someone when a victory was assured. She turned her back to the struggling girl.

"SEVEN...! EIGHT...!"

In those last valuable seconds, Carmina made a decision. With a great feat of strength, she ripped her legs off, the stretched limbs retracting to the ground. In an instant, Carmina regenerated, forming new legs with clothes to cover them. Turning, Carmina kicked her leg, stretching it in a wide circle and swinging it like a massive line. The blow struck true, slamming Qirka into the tiles, catching her entirely by surprise.

"WHAT'S THIS?! CARMINA CUT HER LEGS OFF, BUT COMPLETELY REGREW A NEW SET! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CARMINA IS BACK IN THE MATCH!"

Down in the waiting room, the collective mass of competitors who had fought with Majin Bū — now called Mr. Bū — remembered his ability to regenerate clearly. But Majin Bū hadn't been this intelligent. His daughter showed an almost frightening amount of cognisance that her father had lacked nearly entirely.

"She's completely weaponised her body," said Erasa. She was intrigued, this was a fighting style she had never seen before. Majin Bū had only approached the threshold of this kind of battle, while his daughter was taking it to the extreme. "She knows just how to manipulate her body; when to dodge, when to strike, and when she can lose some of it to gain it back."

"Honestly, if Majin Bū had thought a little more like this, we may have been screwed," agreed Gohan.

"I didn't think the youngster who showed the most promise would be Majin Bū's offspring," muttered Piccolo. He knew Majin Bū had reformed — in no small part due to Mr. Satan's kindness and Gohan's decision to spare him — but it was disconcerting to see how strong his child was. Not only strong in body, but strong in mind. "That robotic woman might not win this battle."

On the raised stage of battle, the skirmish continued, much to the awe of the spectators. Qirka deftly avoided a powerful, whip-like strike that utilised Carmina's whole leg. Backflipping over the outstretched limb, Qirka ducked beneath multiple strikes from stretching arm, the blows glancing by, but not enough to secure a victory. At the final instance of a limb launching forward, Qirka leapt upward, and landed on Carmina's arm.

"IN A STUNNING DISPLAY, QIRKA IS USING CARMINA'S OWN ARM AS A ZIPLINE!"

The Automaton was indeed using Carmina's arm as a makeshift wire, running across it at great speeds. Despite wearing heels, her movement on such a rubbery surface was flawless.

"W-Wait, what are you—?" The younger Majin was so surprised that it caught her off guard; she'd never see anyone do something like this, and she never though to retract her arm. She felt two hands grip her head; Qirka had slipped past her entirely, leaping from her shoulders, and holding tight to Carmina's skull. Spinning in mid-air, Qirka forced Carmina underneath her, and slamming the girl into the MatterWave tiles.

"Let's end it...with this!" Qirka shouted, spreading her arms wide. Within the centre of her arms, a purple sphere formed. Spreading out from this sphere was a spiraling light, purple, but translucent compared to the solid inner sphere. She launched the sphere downward, and the force pushed her upward in response. The sphere of ki collided with Carmina, grinding into the MatterWave tiles, and her pliable Majin body.

"IT'S A MASSIVE DISPLAY OF KI, EVERYONE!" the announcer shouted. "SHE DOESN'T HAVE A NAME FOR IT, BUT QIRKA LET LOOSE A KI BALL THAT IS ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING HER OPPOSITION! IF YOU ASK ME, IT LOOKS LIKE IT HURT!"

Grinding away, the sphere finally detonated, creating a gargantuan explosion. The light was blinding, filling the vision of anyone who looked at it directly with white. The conflagration receded, revealing an utterly vast crater, more than twice the size of the blast which caused it. Within this crater, there wasn't anything left of Carmina, save for a single arm.

Quirka landed neatly onto the MatterWave tiles, her icy-eyes looking into the gargantuan hollow. For the first time since the match, she felt worry. There was only an arm left of the Majin girl, and no trace of vital signs that her scanners could detect. The obvious conclusion to come to was that the Automaton had killed Carmina in that blow. She'd been banking on the girl's regeneration and durability, and had hoped that her Milling Bomb would have worked on tandem with the girl's regeneration.

...I outsped her regeneration, didn't I? Qirka concluded, regret on her face.

"IN AN UTTERLY TWISTED TURN OF EVENTS, IT APPEARS QIRKA HAS KILLED CARMINA!" The announcer looked over the centre of the ring from the air, taking the destructive sight with his own eyes. "BY DISQUALIFICATION, THAT MEANS THIS MATCH HAS NO VIC-!

The man's sentence, however, was cut off completely. The arm, which had remained motionless, moved. It lunged from the ground, grabbing Qirka by the throat. The hand rushed high into the air, only being stopped by the barrier, leaving Qirka raised above the arena, and stunned.

"How...are you still alive?" Qirka asked. A hand around her throat meant nothing, she lacked a need for breath.

The arm twitched, and from it, an entire body squelched out. Carmina reformed, clothes and all, and placed another hand around Qirka's neck for good measure. Despite the clearly threatening action, the young Djinn's face was comedically furious. Her face worked, her cheeks puffing out. "Papa, Mama, and I take much more work to kill!" She spun in the air, launching Qirka's body off the arena for the second time.

"I'VE SEEN SOME IMPRESSIVE THINGS IN MY DAY, FOLKS, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN SOMEONE COME BACK FROM THE DEAD THE WAY CARMINA JUST DID!" The announcer was in shock. "FROM A BLAST THAT WOULD HAVE KILLED MOST PEOPLE, CARMINA REGENERATED FROM ONLY AN ARM LIKE A FREAK STARFISH!"

"I could have told them that," said Erasa dryly. "It seems that her regenerative abilities are just as good as Bū's."

"...That honestly seems like a cause for alarm," said Trunks.

"It's been ten years," Goten said. "I'm sure we can trust Bū at this point. Though it is frightening to see just how talented his daughter is. Yet at the same time, doesn't it make you want to fight her yourself?"

"I've had enough of fighting Bū to last me a lifetime," replied Trunks.

High above the arena, Carmina continued to hold Qirka aloft. The automaton was surprised to see just how much physical strength the young Majin could put out. Her eyes flashed, and she spread her arms wide; in an explosion of light, her body was enveloped in a sphere of ki. Purple in colour, the sphere rotated, shredding Carmina's arms off of Qirka.

The young Majin leapt away, regenerating her arms easily. Her inverted-eyes widened with surprise, taking in the sphere surrounding Qirka even as it flickered into non-existence. A barrier!

"I didn't think you'd push me to resorting to a barrier," said Qirka as the protection faded away. "I wish my Master had installed data on how your kind fight within my databanks...you've been full of nothing but surprises."

"You too," replied Carmina. "I thought I was gonna win easily fer sure! But I'm still gonna beat you down!"

Qirka shook her head, her reddish brown tresses shaking with the motion. Placing a finger gingerly to her glasses, her voice became stern. "I've already analysed you. I apologise, but I'm going to win this one."

Carmina's cheeks puffed out in indignation. That's just the kinda thing people say to make 'em seem tough! I can still beat her! I know I can! Rushing forward, Carmina's leg stretched outward, extending far out of the arena, stopping just before the barrier. Retracting with the force of a sonic boom, the leg shot towards Qirka. The Automaton woman stood her ground, and as the limb rocketed forward, Qirka merely shifted her body. Carmina's leg shot directly past Qirka, who grabbed it with a pale, thin hand. She reeled Carmina in, and began to swing her around like a lasso.

The meek Qirka let out a powerful yell, throwing Carmina powerfully towards the tile. She crashed into the MatterWave tiles with an immense force, rocking the artificial construct. "I wasn't lying..." said Qirka. "I'm sorry, but my Master installed me with state of the art scanners, and I've analysed just how your body moves. When your limbs expand and contract, the entire process occurs within a full second. This variable never changes — throughout all of your attacks, it remains constant."

Black eyes widened, with white irises quivering. Even Carmina had never measured her own speed before, but this woman was talking about her limits like it measuring that kind of time was nothing. One second...that sounds super fast! But she's saying she's faster! I'll show her that isn't all I can do! Carmina crouched, before somersaulting into the sky. She flipped through the air, spinning her body at an incredibly fast rate, winding her form into a blue coloured ball. Her rubber-like body rebounded, unwrapping her form. As she uncoiled herself, her arms and legs unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks at immense speeds, spreading out in every direction as they expanded and then contracted back and forth.

"One second," muttered Qirka with a sympathetic smile. Despite the impressive display of Carmina's omnidirectional strikes, Qirka weaved in and out of the blows, akin to a leaf in the wind. Fists and feet grazed by her body as she casually avoided each and every blow. "Most masters that fight on the level of my Master's friends can strike and react at speeds far quicker than your own attacking speed. I was made to be an Automaton that can contest with them. Once I've analysed you, a second is nothing."

"THIS IS AMAZING, EVERYONE!" The announcer howled. "When, not only moments ago, she'd been on the defensive, Qirka is now avoiding Carmina's blows as if they're nothing!"

Qirka leapt through the storm of blows, deftly weaving in and out of the fireworks of exploding limbs. She closed in on Carmina, and firmly slugged the young Majin in the face. All at once, Carmina's body stopped flailing, as if deflating a large balloon. Qirka caught Carmina's arm under the crease of her leg, and spinning wildly, threw the girl off of the ring. Qirka dashed downward, propelled like a jet rocket. Her arm was coated in a purple ki, and she slammed this fist into Carmina's torso. The blow struck home with enough force to crack the MatterWave arena near the both of them, a shockwave ripping through the air.

"I'm not competing for something extravagant," commented Qirka, spinning over into an ax-kick imbued with ki. Another shockwave followed, and Carmina was registering visible pain at this point. "I'm still young, and I don't know much about the world. But right now, I'll fight for my Master! I'll show her some great battles in this tournament, and it will push her research even further!" She rode her final kick all the way down to the ground, she and Carmina colliding with a powerful crash.

"BOTH CARMINA AND QIRKA HAVE LANDED OUT OF THE RING! I WILL START THE TEN COUNT!"

"ONE...!"

Qirka heard the ten-count begin, but knew that if she let up, Carmina would simply regenerate. Standing tall, the robotic female extended both arms towards Carmina, releasing a powerful kiai. She continued to barrage Carmina with these invisible ki bundles, hammering her deeper into the ground, creating a Djinn-sized crater.

"FIVE...!"

With a shout, quite unbecoming of her personality, Qirka released another powerful kiai, slamming the Djinn girl with the force of a two-ton truck. Ceasing fire at the announcement of "SEVEN...!" Qirka took the skies without paying Carmina any mind. She flew at full speed, before she landed directly onto the tiles.

"....TEN! QIRKA HAS RETURNED TO THE RING! WITH CARMINA OUT OF THE RING FOR A FULL TEN COUNT, THE WINNER OF THE FIRST MATCH IS QIRKA!"

The crowd roared, having been suitably impressed by the display that the two women had given. People were whooping, and Qirka had only just realised where she was standing — in a stadium surrounded by onlookers, with her Master nowhere near her. The meekness completely set back in before she knew it, and the Automaton fled from the stage.

"WITH THAT BATTLE, ROUND ONE HAS CONCLUDED!" said the announcer. He snapped his fingers, and the MatterWave arena repaired itself from all of the damage from the previous battle. "LET'S MOVE ON TO ROUND 2! PICCOLO VERSUS SON GOHAN!" With a dramatic twirl of the microphone, the announcer gestured to the waiting room. Figuratively and literally, all eyes fell on Gohan and Piccolo

Master and student shared a smile, and proceeded through the waiting room. Lifted by the MatterWave elevators toward the arena, it was time for the second battle between Piccolo and Son Gohan to take place.