The clock struck noon.

Callista Wethers stepped into a musty and cramped breakroom, walking carefully between piles of boxes of all sizes, shapes, and materials. She navigated between this miniature city, past the creaky, metal chairs surrounding the flimsy card table, stopping at the mini fridge in the corner.

From the fridge, she pulled out her lunch: a glass case containing a vegetable and farro bowl. The casually exotic meal reminded her of her travels, long gone. She stood up, observing her surroundings. A needless precaution. Muscle memory, now useless, as Callista was the only person in the entire gallery today, let alone the little break room.

With a look, she opened a secret compartment of a wooden box next to the fridge. A secret compartment opened, revealing a small, glass vial with a bright amber liquid inside. She pulled the vial out, carrying it with her food to the dingy card table. 

Like she'd done so many times before, she uncorked the vial and carefully hovered it over the unlidded farro bowl. With the utmost care, she watched as a tiny droplet of a drop leaked from the lips of the vial, dangling delicately like a dewdrop on a nourished garden leaf. All it takes is the smallest drop, any more would be a waste in more ways than one.

As the perfect drop came loose, a loud, shrieking ring pierced the breakroom. Callista jumped, and the drop jumped with her, turning into three large drops and plummeting into the farro. Callista looked down at the little bulbs of amber now nestling into her lunch. She sighed, and picked up the phone.

"Ancient Antiquities of Alm Street" she parroted the company line.

"Yes, with whom am I speaking?" chirped a clipped, Midatlantic accent from the other line.

"I'm an associate archivist ma'am. I'm qualified to answer any questions you might ask."

"Is that Callista Wethers, the associate archivist?" the voice responded.

Callista paused. It wasn't common for someone to request her by name. She'd made an effort to keep it that way, too. But she sensed no malice in the voice on the other line.

"This is she." she finally replied.

"And will you be there for some time?"

"I'll be here until we close, ma'am."

"Splendid. I'll be in shortly."

"I just sat down to my break, I'm afraid."

"Then I'll be in even shortlier." the voice informed, with surpressed delight. The line went dead. Callista hung her own receiver up and looked back at her lunch. The amber drops had begun to absorb into the farro. Too late to do anything about it. 

Callista picked up her bowl, looking down at a bad decision. Something felt different today. Something felt different about her today. She took a fork and mashed the meal together, and took a bite.

------

Callista strode out into the gallery. It was a wide store front, covered in shining antiquities, crystalline sculptures, and rows and rows of books older than Callista's 30 years by a long stretch. She caught her steps, already striding wider and more confident than she would like. Three drops was simply too much. It would need an asterisk in the log.

She stopped at a large map, sewn into an aged cloth. Her eyes wandered along the sweeping rivers, and the dimples of high mountain peaks. Her heart ached, remembering the wind against her face and the smell of distant flora. She breathed deeply, her chest rising and not entirely falling. She looked down at her loose, white blouse. It wasn't as loose as she remembered.

She was brought back by another loud ring. The bell above the door jingled loudly as a massive woman stepped through the entry. Callista stared up at her serene beauty, dressed in tight adventure wear over a thick layer of muscle.

"Oh, don't mind Kelly. She loves to make an impression". That same chirping voice resounded from behind the large woman, as a much smaller woman walked in from behind her, dressed in loose summer clothes. She could only be described as jaunty, with her small, boney frame  bouncing toward Callista with a hand outstretched. "And with her, it's so easy it's practically cheating.

"You must forgive Kelly. She lost some of her manners playing canasta with silverbacks for the past 6 months. You must be Ms. Callista Wethers. We spoke on the phone? It is Miss, isn't it?"

Callista braced against this whirlwind of a woman. She shook her hand. "Which question would you like me to answer first?"

"Why don't we just assume those are all yes answers and move on to the question I'm here to ask you." the woman replied.

"And what would that be, Miss...?"

"Redmond. Elaine Redmond. I'm here for your much desired experise, Ms. Wethers."

"Well you've come to the right place. We have much in the way of curios and fine pieces from all corners of the globe." Callista spoke as she walked toward a section of the gallery with many fine works of art and sculpture. Precious metals oxidized and caked in time's muck, but still shimmering in the light of the gallery.

As she walked, she felt the sleeves of her blouse ride up her wrists, ever so slightly. She felt a tightness growing along her shoulders.

Elaine followed, beaming with excitement. "You'll forgive me for interrupting, but I'm afraid everything in this collection looks a bit old for my taste. And cheap."

Callista frowned, putting back a glittering gold chalice studded with emeralds. "What is it exactly you're looking for, Ms. Redmond?"

"Come now. Don't assume my big mouth implies a diminished brain. I think you can gather the clues yourself, what with my hulking bodyguard and desire to meet with you specifically."

Callista sighed. Her breast creaked as she did. She looked down to see the faint stretch of her buttons against her shirt fabric. It was just a bit too small for her now larger breasts. She held back the urge to feel their new weight in the presence of strangers.

"I don't have any for you. And if I did, I wouldn't sell it." she said icily.

"Trust me, dear. That's not the least bit what I came for. Tell me, I'm just dying to know. How tall were you before your little expedition?"

Callista blushed. She looked away, and heard her blouse creak even more. She looked down at her sleeves, as they made a snail chase up her wrists. Her pencil skirt made a similar pace up her legs.

"Oh come now, don't be shy. We're all friends here. Kelly, tell Ms. Wethers how tall you were last October." Elaine turned to her huge bodyguard, whose head was currently stuck in a first edition of Thoreau. 

"Five foot seven" Kelly replied in a sweet, thoughtful voice.

"Five foot seven. And how tall were you at breakfast this morning, Kelly?" Elaine clucked.

Kelly looked up from her Thoreau. "Six foot nine". 

"Isn't that just marvelous? Can you even imagine. Well I suppose you can." She wandered over to the books, running a bony finger along the spines. "You know, I never saw the value of these old books. Paper can't appreciate that, no matter how long it takes."

"I think it has more to do with the content in-" Callista began but was cut off by Elaine's finger, now raised in front of her.

"Please don't feel the need to lecture me. And I don't know who you think you're fooling. You're becoming more ample by the second."

Callista looked down. Her sleeves were now riding up her forearms, now swollen with a new layer of soft muscle. She saw hints of flesh behind the strained buttons of her blouse, as her cleavage deepend, and began to spill further out from the top. The buttons held on for dear life. She wondered if Elaine was truly that small, or if she was already being warped by her new perspective.

"Like I told you," Callista replied, "I don't have what you're looking for. Why don't you ask your friend there for some."

"As you can tell from her appearance, which is also ample, dear Kelly drained herself of her supply as soon as she found it. She found a carafe full of nectar with a group of adventurers on a pirate ship in the middle of the Atlantic. Isn't that just fantastic?"

"If you're not after the nectar, then what do you want?" Callista prodded, becoming more tense under the strain of her stressed outfit.

"As you can see, I'm just shy of five feet, and at 24, I imagine there's not much chance of that changing. And with the price of nectar, I would have to drain my substantial inheritance to make a meaningful difference. So I have no choice to seek out the source. Aphrodite's Vein. You've seen it, haven't you Callista?"

Callista faltered. She moved toward a large, antique wood table and sat down. Elaine sat in the chair across from her. Callista contained herself, but in a seated position, her cleavage spilled out even further, and the screams of the overtaxed buttons could almost be heard by both women. The blouse strained to the max, with arcs furling out between each button, revealing a curving ladder of soft, pillowy flesh at each step.

She tried to ignore it, push away those thoughts of the journey some three years ago. "I prefer the name, 'Athena's Vein'. Goddess of wisdom, and-"

"Well it's not wisdom that seems to be swelling out of your blouse there, Mr. Wethers, so I think Aphrodite is quite the appropriate name. A font of nectar that enhances the size, stature, and... assets of women and women alone. What was it like?" Elaine pleaded.

"It's an oasis at the center of a jungle hell at the heart of a raging wall of rapids. I'm lucky to be alive." Callista spoke, haunted.

"We both are! Because now you can share with me the location of the vein." Elaine lifted her pocket book onto the table. She took out a checkbook and scribbled on it, tearing the check away and tossing it at Callista.

Callista looked down at her name on the line, with the margin blank. "I have a ship, and a crew. All I need is a heading. Name your price, and I'll be on my way." Elaine said as Callista gazed down at the blank check.

She looked up at the worn cloth map again. She fell back into the dream. Something in her was different. She had spent too long, not just in the gallery or the city, but in the comfort of the known. She felt a longing to return to a land of danger, and a life of defying death.

"I won't give you a heading, but I will give you something." Callista said, returning the check. "It would be murder to send you off to the vein without a guide. So I'm coming with you. It's either me or nothing." Callista folder her arms, expecting a fight. She felt her arms squeeze into her newly expanded bust, and before she could stop it, the top two buttons burst off into separate directions. Her breasts rippled out, free from their fabric prison and settling into a deep, inviting cleavage.

Elaine laughed. She grabbed the check and scribbled into the margin. "Then consider this... an advance." She threw the check back at the embarrassed Callista, whose eyes bulged at the number in the margin. Elaine grabbed her checkbook again, madly scribbling a new check. "And this... is a bonus." She ripped the check and handed it to Callista, with a business card on top. "My tailor. Get that blouse let out. And I assume you'll be needing a new travel wardrobe. You're quite different from the woman who left three years ago, I imagine." 

"Five foot two." Callista announced, half listening.

"What's that?" Elaine asked.

"How tall I was before my expedition. And now..." Callista rose to her full height. Elaine did the same, but less so. "I'm five foot six."

"I'd say that estimate is a tad obsolete. Wouldn't you, Kelly?" 

Kelly shut her book and looked down at them. "Quite."

"We depart from Pier 32 at dawn. Shall we see you then?" Elaine reached her hand out to Callista one last time. Callista took it.

"Count on it." Callista replied. Elaine smiled and bounced out of the door. Kelly followed behind her. 

Callista collapsed back into her chair, in the harsh quiet of the empty gallery. The looseness of her fall split her skirt along the side, as her legs slid out in deep fatigue. She looked down at her now expanded legs and arms. Though they hadn't lengthened much, they'd widened considerably. She'd make a note in her log, increased dosage had a higher affect on proportion over height. Her careful portioning had given her 4 inches in 3 years. Now she'd sped things a long exponentially.

She flexed her arm, watching her new layer of muscle push through the sleeve. It tore just enough to prove her point. She felt her widened back against the chair. The strength of it. She felt stronger than she ever had been. She would need to be. Returning to Aphrodite's Vein would take a strength beyond anything in a vial could give her.

She thought back to the treacherous journey into the heart of adventure. All the near death escapes, the people she left behind. The person she missed the most. To return would take a strength not of the body, but of the soul.

Fog rolled over the docks as sunlight crept its orange rays along the wet sea rocks.

Callista walked along the wooden slats to the end of Pier 32, wearing a brand new blouse and pants, with a pair of thigh high leather boots ready to stomp through any terrain. The boots clacked along the solid wood, stopping at a large steamship docked at the end. She nudged her way through a crowd of workmen loading boxes onto the deck. 

"Callista!" a familiar voice shouted from the ship. She looked up to see the same bony hand of Elaine Redmond waving furiously at her, beckoning her on. Callista stepped up the narrow walkway onto the deck, and into the tiny arms of the chattering Elaine. "Welcome aboard the S.S. Ambrosius" she added.

Caught in the hug, her bags cluttered to the ground. She eyed them carefully, trying not to let on how valuable some of her cargo may be. "So this is the crew, then?" She asked, cutting Elaine off in her ramble.

"Yes, yes. Come meet the crew. You know Kelly, of course." Elaine dragged Callista along the portside and passing the giant Kelly with a nod. Kelly followed along with them, staring down at the two smaller women with unease.

Elaine curved up into a raised deck at the center of the steamer, opening a door to reveal the captain's cabin. Machinery and steering mechanisms lined the wide window facing out toward the open ocean. At the heart of the ship, stood a tall man, skin weathered by travels and hair bleached by the sun. His eyes creased into deep wrinkles as he looked at the three very different women at his door. He threw them a crooked smile.

"I see we've got our straggler on board." He roared from across the room. Elaine bounced toward him, still dragging Callista behind her. 

"Callista Wethers, may I introduce you to Captain Waylon Ulster, formerly of Her Majesty's Navy." Elaine announced, trying to sound as official as her tiny voice would allow.

"Not my Majesty. Not anymore." Ulster grumbled. He tipped his hat all the same.

"Well, see to getting over that. You're in the service of women now, Captain, so you're absolutely lousy with new majesties to pick from. Ms. Wethers will be our navigator. Any questions you have about the voyage should be directed her way." Elaine continued her puffed out bravado.

"Alright, how's about which way am I taking out of the dock, for starters?" Ulster jabbed, clinging to his controls like a petulent child.

"Set a bearing for due East. I'll tell you when to tilt." Callista replied, standing tall. This wasn't the first Captain she'd had to show her mettle to, and she wasn't afraid to get dirty. Ulster nodded at her, and started his disembark procedure. Callista thought she noticed his eyes linger on her chest.

She was still getting used to her new body. It had been only a few waking hours, and even fewer asleep as she made the mad-dash preparations for her last minute journey. She was starting to feel comfortable in this new skin. After what she saw three years ago, she'd always been cautious with the nectar. Her growth was measured and calculated to be subtle. Now, overnight, she'd put on quite a bit more weight and some height to boot. She finally felt a taste of what it was like to go through the full transformation.

Elaine tugged her out, waving an overly long goodbye to the captain as she set out to show Callista every inch of the boat. On the way out, she muttered, "I know what you're thinking. He's 6'2"".

-----

Kelly knew exactly what it was like to go through the full transformation. She'd found that shining glass of nectar buried deep in a box of contraband only one year ago, but it still felt like yesterday. They had split it 6 ways, she and her crew of adventurers, thrill-seekers, and vagabonds. Thinking it was some high society spirit, they gave a hearty toast to their good fortune and downed their thin flutes of nectar.

Of course, nectar from Aphrodite's Vein was so-named because of its curious predilection for women. The five men saw the bottom of their glasses, thinking it was a rather sweet but not at all special drink to enjoy. It was the lone lady of the team, who when the others moved on to other drinks and other tales around the fire of the ship's furnace, that felt a strange and exciting feeling.

All the other men were well over 6 feet tall. Large, burly men who had seen everything, and adapted themselves to it. At 5'7", Kelly made herself into something even more powerful to compensate for the disparity between her teammates. Her bravery and ferocity made her beloved amongst the men, and they would sooner die than see her removed from their company.

Stevens had his back to Kelly as she approached, walking off-kilter. Her strange bootsteps made him turn as she fell into his arms. Stevens was shocked. "Kelly, you been holding out on us on some hidden booze?" he asked, trying to rouse her with a joke.

She rose to her feet, steadying. "No, it's just... can't seem to step the place I want to."

"Sea legs going bad on you. Take a seat". He brought a chair to her, and the other surrounded, now intrigued.

"No, it's fine. I'd rather stand. Everything feels a little tight. I need to stretch out." She stretched her arms and legs in front of her. In the flickering furnace light, Stevens thought he saw something strange. Like the stretch didn't stop stretching. He walked up to Kelly and put his hands on her shoulder. Her face was flush.

"How tall are you, Stevens?" she slurred.

"6'4", ever since I was 17." he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Well I'm the second tallest guy here, after McTeague. He's 6'6"."

"That's so tall!" she slurred again. The nectar, and the light, and the sea had shook every part of her into discomfort. Stevens moved her closer to the furnace, pushing her past the crew. She seemed heavier. Too heavy. He would have guessed she'd gone dead weight if she hadn't been walking right along with him.

It was in the full light he noticed. Stevens made a habit not to ogle Kelly. She was a teammate, and a valuable one, not to mention a dear friend. But years on the same ship makes people know their crewmate's bodies. And something wasn't right.

Kelly's green tank top was stuck to her body. Usually large, baggy and loose, the tank top now conformed to the contours of her torso very flatteringly. Her cleavage pressed out tightly from the top. Kelly never had cleavage, Stevens knew that for sure.

Kelly slowly came to, staring at Stevens' increasingly worried expression. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know" he whispered back. She looked down at her now tight top, just in time to see the tucked in portion slide out of her pants, exposing a bare midriff. She lifted her shirt in disbelief to see a set of rippling abdominals. Kelly had always kept fit, like the rest of her crew, but didn't have nearly a steady enough diet to have anything more than her taut, stringy muscles. 

At once, she rose. Like a breath of air blown into her being, she stretched up three inches. With it, her arms ballooned, becoming curvy slabs of muscle. Her stomach tightened further into shapely, cut diamonds. Even moreso, her hips swelled. Then her breasts.

The men stood back, watching the sight. They had heard stories of nectar, and were individually all making the same assumptions in their heads. Kelly wobbled again, falling to her knees. Stevens rushed to help her back up, heavier than ever. She helped herself even more as she rose and rose. 

She stared all 6'4" of Stevens straight in the eye. Her eyes bulged open at the sight.

"I think I'm getting bigger, Stevens." she whispered, carefully, as if not to spook her own body.

"I think so too.". he replied. She swelled again. Her breasts shot out further from her body, as her tank top became more of an umbrella, revealing her whole stomach. Her busts swelled straight into Stevens' chest. He stepped back, surprised, but she pulled him back in with surprising strength. "Hold me." she said. And he did. Her warm, soft breasts pressed firmly into him, becoming even larger as the others watched.

She closed her eyes and held Stevens close. She'd never felt like this in front of her team, but she didn't want to feel alone at this moment of great change. She felt his arms slide down her back, and welcomed it, not realizing it was really her body sliding upward. She let go of her tight embrace and looked for Stevens' eyes, only to find them inches below her own. He stared directly at her open mouth, as his fell open with it.

Kelly pulled him close and kissed him. Her body swelled further, as she clung tighter to Stevens, who didn't pull away. She kissed him as her body grew and rose. It was a kiss that travelled with her new perspective, and it made her see the world anew.

She pulled away finally, as her body came to rest. She looked down to see two massive breasts beneath her chin. Even further, she tugged at her shirt, now barely hanging on, and her once baggy camo pants now riding up to her kneecaps. 

Her eyes fell back to Stevens. His head was now level with her bust. He looked up at her, as a man looks up to a god. She pulled him in for one last hug, feeling the strength of her new body as she squeezed him, then pulled apart.

She turned back to her other crewmen, all stunned. She looked over to McTeague, the 6'6" titan of the team. His eyes met the tip of her nose. It made her smile. She walked past them, settling on a new strut, and settled in for the night. She would not realize for some time that this was the beginning of the end for her time with the crew. She knew only that this was the beginning of something big.

-----

Back on board the Ambrosius, Kelly lingered in the doorway, looking longingly at Captain Ulster. He manned the controls, unaware as she sauntered further into the cabin, watching her head on the doorway. A year of living large had taught her to step lightly even at her size, and Ulster was unaware of her presence until she was right in front of him.

"I have some questions for you, Captain, when you have a moment." she said quietly.

"Captain's never got a moment." he growled back.

"Well as chief of security on this vessel-"

"Chief of security..." he snorted. "Bit of a joke, isn't it? One person against what's most definitely hordes of baddies on the way to this holy grail for ladies?"

"Well all the more reason to go over things." she bristled. Kelly had grown accustomed to immediate respect since her growth, if not outright awe. The captain intrigued her.

He sighed, turning his attention to her. His eyes fell on her breasts immediately. Kelly felt his eyes on her, and it felt strangely welcome. He corrected himself quickly, staring up into her deep, green eyes. That connection made the spark flicker brighter. Kelly leaned closer. The captain backed up, unsure.

"What are the natural protections of this vessel?" she almost purred.

"The what?" he asked.

"The things on the boat I can turn into weapons." she replied. The captain blustered, snapping out of it for an instant. "You won't be turning the Ambrosius into a cannonball, you young..." 

Kelly rose suddenly to her full height. "I'll do what I think is best for the safety of my employer and her crew." She jabbed her thumb at her chest, authoritively. But the thumb lingered. It found the hem of her tank top, and slowly pulled it down, revealing more of her cleavage to the captain's direct eye line. He sputtered. "That includes you." she added.

"I see. Well, give me time to... assess things."

"How long do you need, captain?" She stepped closer, invading his personal space. He moved backward again, but realized he'd hit a wall. Her long leg had wedged between his two legs, nestling against his thigh. He looked down to see, only to realize too late that her breasts were making a beeline for his face. She loomed over him, her arms stretched out on either side of the wall, trapping him.

"What exactly is it we're talking about, here?" he asked sheepishly. Her face lowered as their eyes met. Her emerald eyes shined out at him, as a smile spread across her red, soft lips. "We're talking about taking care of each other, for the wellbeing of the voyage."

"Oh, well I'm all ears, then." he wheezed.

"I certainly hope not." she moaned, pulling his face to her's. She kissed him deeply. He was overcome by her beauty, her presence. His arms, once behind him, now searched every contour of her perfect body. Their tongues danced together as their lips rippled back and forth against each other.

He let loose from her kiss, and his lips found her heaving breasts. Creamy skin rose and fell, as he caressed and kissed each one delicately. She slid the straps off her tank top from her sleek shoulders, releasing her massive breasts to be further adored by Ulster.

Kelly's shirt slid to the floor. The captain unbuttoned his own. "Wait!" She cried.

"What is it?" he asked, perplexed.

"Do these windows have curtains?" 

He nodded, smiling, and flipped a switch to make the windows opaque. Kelly slid along the floor and slammed the door with her long leg. The captain clutched it back, massaging the powerful thigh with his hand. She moaned back at him. Their pants slid down as he mounted her. She grabbed him tight as he thrust against her again and again. Their moans rose in unison as her breasts jiggled up and down with the motion.

She grabbed the small of his back and flipped him to the floor. His eyes widened as she took her turn on top. Her massive ass bounced against him as her shapely arms rose above her head. His hands found her breasts, massaging them deep into her powerful body.

Her eyelids fluttered. Her chin rose as her hair cascaded down her her long, powerful back. "Kiss me." she exhaled, and her mouth found his as her breasts pushed deep into his chest. His hands clung to her back, feeling the softness of her whole body against him as they kissed with deep passion.

She pulled away again, her mouth opening as her eyes rolled even more violently. Her screams turned silent as her whole body quivered. Ulster felt his do the same. Her pumps became powerful as his whole body shook with ecstasy. With one long, audible moan, Kelly came with every inch of her body. The captain felt his soul leave his body.

Kelly steadied herself. She rolled back down on top of Captain Ulster, blanketing him in her sweat-soaked body. Her hands found his chin.She smiled down at him, as her hair covered them both in a curtain of privacy. She gave him a peck on the lips, still smiling.

"Well, did you figure out what you needed to?" he asked, breathless.

"Yes. I just wanted to make sure I knew who was in charge." She smiled again, rolling off him and pulling her shirt back over her massive frame. Captain Ulster began to button his own shirt, realizing with a pang of concern that he now also knew the answer to that question.

-----

Outside the cabin, Elaine led Callista to the starboard side of the boat. "Let's move on to the last member of the crew, shall we?" Elaine asked, aflutter.

"Wait, last?" Callista stopped. "What about all these men?" She pointed to the loads of sweaty stevedores loading boxes onto the ship.

"Oh, they're just dockworkers. We're keeping things light. Don't want too many people to learn our little secret." Elaine winked. "Just like how I know you're now a full 5'8" as of this morning."

"How did you... the tailor."

"Damn. I was hoping you'd think I just had a gift for geometry. Yes, there was an ulterior motive to filling your little boxes full of new clothes. I wanted to see how big you were."

"Kind of odd, all this talk of exact height." came from behind them.

They spun to see a man, dressed plainly and looking like he's got something to say only he would find funny.

"Callista, the last addition to our little crew that could, Dr. Paul Geiss." Elaine presented Paul before Callista like a prize. He stuck his hand out for her.

"A doctor?" Callista asked.

"And first mate. Sort of a Paul of All Trades, if you will." he replied. "And you must be Callista Wethers. Not a doctor, I believe, but a woman of study all the same."

They shook, with Callista bristling at his specificity.

"Study to be sure, but also a lot of practice and experience." she replied. Paul laughed.

"No ill will intended." he said. But a hush fell over the meeting.

"Look at you two, already getting a rhythm going. I knew it was right to get us all together like this." Elaine sang. "Don't let us get in your way, Dr. Geiss. I have to tidy up my quarters. Callista, you're down below deck with the other ladies. The men sleep with the stars. I'll show you the way."

She led Callista away. Paul watched them leave, nodding with a smile. Callista furrowed her brow back at him. She didn't like how familiar he was already becoming.

Below deck, Elaine pointed Callista to her room, before retiring to her own. Callista crouched into the harsh, metal cabin. A bed lay in one corner, with a steel desk and wardrobe on the other side. A small sink was next to the desk, with a mirror to allow for simple washing and hygiene.

Callista laid her bags out on her bed, opening each to reveal all her new clothing. She lined them all up in the wardrobe, hitting the bottom of the bag. There, she found five vials, similar to her stash back in the break room. All full.

She held them up in the light, considering them. A knock at the door made her fluster. She stuffed the vials in the back of her wardrobe and flung open the door.

Paul stood in the doorway, looking distraught.

"What is it?" Callista demanded.

"About earlier. I feel like I misspoke." he said.

"Do you?"

"Yes. Do you think Jack of Paul Trades would have been funnier?"

She slammed the door.

Callista stepped out onto the deck, rubbing her eyes against the beating morning sun. She walked to the bow, where Paul was serving a steaming hot stew out of a large pot. Elaine chattered away at him, as Kelly lounged against the side of the ship, stretching out and soaking up the sun.

Callista turned, spotting Ulster in his nest, at the wheel. She gave him a cheery wave, which he returned happily. Kelly spotted the wave, locking her eyes on Ulster with a devlisih grin. Ulster smiled back, waving sheepishly. Things had settled into a steady rhythm after a month at sea. Small squabbles had been squashed, and a level of respect had grown amongst the tiny crew of five. Callista spread out next to Kelly, allowing a moment of sunny relaxation after a week's worth of heavy rain.

She felt the slightest of tightness in her blouse as she stretched herself against the ship. Back on her strict regimen, she had grown barely a quarter of an inch since they set sail. She let her eyes wander to Kelly, dressed in khakhi shorts, with a much larger blouse tucked into them. The top three buttons were loose, letting the sun beam down on her massive cleavage. Still perceptive Kelly felt Callista's eyes on her. She puffed her chest out, letting her bust squeeze even tighter against the lower buttons. 

Callista looked down at her own body. Her research demanded staying the steady course, but after a month getting to know, and eventually cherish her time with Kelly, she began to feel a pang of envy toward the uninhibited and bold bodyguard.

"Soup's on." Paul cried as he ladled a portion into a bowl for Elaine. "Get it while it's not spilled all over the goddamn deck."

Elaine chuckled. "Dr. Geiss, you really are the last shred of civilization out here on the briney waves. No offense to present company." she added quickly, darting her eyes at the other two women. Kelly laughed, and spit off the side of the deck, almost as an admission.

Callista stood and walked over to the pot of soup. Paul ladled a portion into a bowl for her and passed it along. She took it, saying "Thank you, Paul. Looks as edible as ever."

"That's the sort of compliment you don't follow up on." he replied. Callista smiled and headed back toward the cabin area. Elaine waved to her as she left, stepping carefully back down into the steel abyss of bed and board.

Once inside her room, Callista made sure her door was shut and locked before opening her wardrobe. She pulled an amber vial out from the bottom of her bag and brought it to her desk. It had taken some time to regain her sea legs, but Callista had tought herself to drop the smallest bit back into her food just as she did at the gallery. No slip ups yet. Her log was a perfect parabola of steady growth.

She dropped her drop into the hot soup, and watched as it melted into the grey-ish ooze. A knock at the door made her scurry back to the wardrobe, stuffing the vial safely back in its place with the others. She opened the door to find Paul, leaning against the doorframe with a scheme in his eye.

"I was wondering..." he began.

"That seems to be all you do." she spat back at him.

"Well I forgot my pulp novels back at shore, so you'll forgive me."

"What were you wondering, Paul." Callista sighed. Not really a question so much as a way to get him away as fast as possible.

"Well, all month we've been on the water, you've taken every meal privately. Just take your fair share and zip down here. Plate always comes back empty so I assume you're satisfied with the cooking."

"Satisfied is a satisfactory word for it." she retorted.

"Well it gets a man wondering is all... and I think I figured it out."

"Have you now?" Callista said, planning ahead how to shoot down his valid guess.

"You must be a very sloppy eater." he admitted.

Callista's mouth fell open. "I have more manners than you've even heard of."

"I'm sure you do." he said, playing nice.

Callista fumed. She stomped to her desk and picked up the soup. She brought it back to Paul and lifted a spoonful up, theatrically, before putting it in her mouth. Perfect form. Paul clapped. "My mistake, and my apologies. Maybe it's just you've got a little secret sauce you don't plan to share with the crew."

His eyes darted down at the bowl. Callista followed them. The drop was still barely visible, now a little spoon-shaped hole at its center. She blushed. Paul leaned in close, whispering. "I have a little bottle of chili sauce from some place that's not even on the map anymore. Only a little bit left, so I don't like to share. I completely understand." 

Callista huffed. She hated when he was charmingly compassionate. "So you'll keep this between us." she stated.

"Only if you promise to share some of it with me some day. I'll give you some of the chili sauce with you as a fair trade."

"I don't think you'd much care for this sauce. But maybe if you play your cards right, one day I'll give you a taste of something like it." she said. She stopped. Where did that come from? Callista had always kept Paul at a healthy arm's length. He was the pest of the bunch, torturing her with inane stories and crass jokes. But suddenly something stirred in her. Maybe it was having someone to someday share in her secret. Secrets can be a lonely thing. And at sea, the loneliness can only compound.

Paul smiled at her. "Maybe some day, then. We've got quite the trek ahead of us, so there's plenty of time. I overheard you talking to the captain yesterday. We're to make berth for resupply in just one more week. I'm not exactly a cartographer, but I don't think there's anything land-shaped for at least another two months."

"There's something." she replied. "Even most cartographers don't know it, and we like to keep it that way. An uncharted haven for those who seek the uncharted. The last friendly place off the map."

"Sounds like a good place to go wild. Not that it's not a party every day on the Ambrosius."

A loud clang shook the boat, as if in reply. Elaine's muffled voice was heard above them, "Well, maybe tell me that before I start touching things!"

"She means well." Callista said, and she meant it. One month with Elaine Redmond had proved her character. Though she was vain, petty, and deeply insecure, she had a big heart that made everyone become her friend. 

"A size-obsessed heiress on a wild goose chase for pituitary gold. What's not to like?" Another clang. Elaine shouted, "That's obviously the start button!"

"You can't really think it's a goose chase. You've seen Kelly. That sort of thing doesn't happen in the natural world." Callista shot back.

"Everything happens in the natural world. We just like to separate ourselves from it to pretend we're above it. But you're right. A woman with proportions of that, at that size is just not medically sound. I'm sure there is an Aphrodite's Vein-"

"Athena's Vein." Callista countered.

"- and I'm sure there's a fountain of nectar dripping out of it. But to find it, with this kind of team... I have doubts."

"I've seen it." Callista said.

"I assumed as much. A woman like Redmond won't pay top dollar to bring along a straggler just for secondhand information."

"You don't think I can find it again."

"What was it like when you found it the first time?" he asked.

Callista's eyes fogged. She felt the memories rushing back at her like the rapids outside the cave. "Hell." she spat. Paul watched her slip away into the past, as she sat down on her bed, overwhelmed. He sat next to her, handing her the bowl of soup. Before he could give her the spoon, she'd slurped it down. She shivered after that. Best not to take nectar so quickly. Let it absorb in the food so the change can come gradually.

"There were twelve of us. Explorers and scientists, mostly. We were tracking the growth patterns of the local flora. A plant grew there that took on the characteristics of so many different species. It felt like staring at an entire family tree in one organism. Its roots went deep, almost like it was one big tree spreading out its many tendrils across the whole island."

"So it's an island." Paul started.

"Don't interrupt. We lost six of us to the animals. That was the easy part. It was when we found the vein that things went wrong. Two men, four women, including myself, all took some of that nectar. The men were furious when they realized it had no effect on them. They wanted to burn the whole island back down into the sea. Something happened to them. Something on that island drove them mad. If it wasn't for Rebecca, none of us would have made it off that rock at all."

"But you did."

"A few. Not enough. Not her."

"So why come back? Why step back into the flames of Hell?"

She sighed. She wondered that, herself. When she said it, she knew that it was the truth: "Because I missed the heat."

Paul took her hand. Callista didn't pull away. She looked up at him. His eyes were kind and full of a quiet understanding. He let those eyes speak his own pain, to not compete with her own, but to let her know she wasn't alone. She wasn't alone.

"So how much of the stuff did you drink? You're a healthy girl, don't get me wrong. But you're not Kelly."

"I took a sip. Just enough to give me enough energy to get back to the ship. The devils were at my heels, and I was desperate."

"Not some big prize, for walking through the gauntlet." he said. Callista felt that same disdain. He was back to playing fun, but his eyes didn't change.

"I'm not one to act on impulse. I do what's necessary."

"Like getting on a ship back to the worst place you've ever been to." he smiled. Callista started, but smiled back. "I suppose you're right." She looked at him. Their faces moved slowly together, just centimeters apart. Her body rumbled, and with a burst, made the difference itself. They kissed, deeply but briefly, before pulling away in shock.

"What was that?" Paul implored.

"Never been kissed before?" Callista laughed.

"Not like that. You've got the nectar." he responded.

Callista dodged back, once again ready to deny. Her body gave in. She sighed, and placed a hand on his chest. She stood and walked over to her wardrobe, pulling the vials out to show him in their case.

"Quite the haul. You just keep them for sentimental value?"

"I am testing them. I take a small dose a day, as I've done since I returned."

"So you did used to be short. Well shorter." He stood up, looming over her. She was still only a little over 5'8", and Paul's lanky 6'3" was something with which to loom.

"5'8" is tall for a woman." she snapped back.

"Kelly is tall for a woman." 

Callista huffed.

"Why not cut loose once in awhile? Take a swig, gain a little perspective. Have some fun." he continued.

"I'd be throwing away three years of careful study."

"And what else is there to learn? Slightly taller every day. I think we can start submitting to publications."

"Long term side effects are something I should think a doctor would consider." 

"If he did, he wouldn't be on a ship on the way to an evil island that makes ladies grow."

"Fair point." she relented. He leaned up close to her. She kissed him again, quickly but with a little peck right after.

"Think about it, maybe. Not much else to do out here." he said, walking toward the door.

"Maybe so. I'll consider it, if you can make it interesting."

"That's my job. Jack of Paul Trades." he winked. He turned and walked out.

Callista moved back to the wardrobe, resetting her vials. "Hey." came a voice from the door. She turned to see Paul returned. "You taste sweet." he cooed.

She smiled, and he disappeared again. She looked down at the vial in her hand. The bag plunked back in its place, but Callista stuck one vial into a pouch in her pants.

-----

That night, the sea grew lazy. The ship chugged along against the still waves. Ulster whistled a tune in the quiet night air, as Callista looked out at the inky darkness of the open ocean. She felt the salty night air on her face, smelling the splashing waves as they lapped against the boat.

She looked up at Ulster. He whistled louder, lifting a half drunk bottle of something dark. His eyes were glassy, but his hand was steady. He deserved an easy night. They all did. Few were to come in the weeks ahead. Laughter rippled from the cabin area, loud and free. She watched as the steel groaned from inside until Kelly emerged, her hair a bit tussled and her shirt even further unbuttoned. An undershirt now poked out in a small triangle, keeping her girls in place. She ducked under the little entryway with a twinkle in her eye.

"You're requested." she announced, turning aside to make room for Callista to pass. Callista stepped through, as the laughter grew louder. She followed it to the end of the steel hall: Elaine's cabin. The door creaked open, revealing a massive quarters, as large as the captain's. A stately bed was pushed aside to make room for a fold-out table and chairs. Elaine and Paul sat on either side, holding a hand of cards each.

"There now," Elaine announced. "We can play a full game. Sit, Callie, sit." Callista sat down on one of the folding chairs, with Kelly sitting on the opposite side. 

"We've been at this simply all night, and we've come to a very powerful conclusion." Elaine continued. "Three man card games are positively shit." She laughed, raising a large bottle of brandy. She poured some into a glass tumbler next to her, spilling a bit onto the leather-lined tabletop. "We need a new hand."

"I guess you've got one." Callista said, scooting up to the table and drawing from the deck. 

"Standard rules and all that. Five card draw. Let's not worry about the details." Elaine slurred. "It's less about the little things and more about the big."

"Like?" Callista asked.

"What will you wager?" Elaine replied.

She took a sip of her brandy. "See, everyone on this boat is already being paid handsomely by yours truly. We came to the agreement that to wager with funds would be rather immoral, and worse, DULL." she spat.

"We're wagering dares." Paul summed up. He folded, quietly.

"Like so, watch this." Elaine slapped her cards on the table. Kelly did the same. Elaine had won with a triple, and laughed giddily. "See it's even more immoral because these two are absolutely lousy at keeping their money. Now let's see. We already got that button down on the last hand, Kelly. Good show with the undershirt, very ladylike. Saved your honor in a flash. So how about something bigger."

Kelly leaned back, showing just how big she could be. "A kiss." Elaine decided. 

"A bit presumptuous." Paul said. Callista nodded in agreement.

"Oh, she's allowed to say no. But she won't. Everyone's been kissing on this boat as it is. Don't think I haven't noticed. This one especially, is far from subtle." Elaine said.

Kelly leaned forward onto the table. Her breasts slid across the leather skin, knocking away the cards and glasses as she pounced on the still talking Elaine. Her hand found the back of her neck, and her lips soon closed around Elaine's. Elaine, for once, stopped talking. Her eyes closed, fluttering in surprised ecstasy. Her hands fell limp against her sides. Kelly freed her, staring at her with longing before sliding back to her side of the table.

Elaine fanned herself, still in shock. "A good part of me didn't think you'd do that."

"Goes to show what you know." Kelly replied, folding her arms across her chest.

"I think I'll just stick to a drink for my wager." Paul announced, pouring himself more brandy. He passed a glass to Callista, with a wink.

-----

Several hands later, Callista was drunk. She'd stuck to Paul's method letting the drinks be her antes, but her rusty card skills had betrayed her. Her auburn hair was coming loose from the tie she'd placed there that morning, as long curtains came down around her shoulders. She looked up at Paul, with the faintest shine to her eyes. She was still in full power, but her inhibitions were starting to feel like a distant memory.

Next to them, Elaine sat sloshed, wearing Kelly's oversized undershirt. Her small nipples barely poked through the baggy fabric at the too-wide neck. Across from her, Kelly sat wearing Elaine's blouse, unbuttoned over her engorged hourglass frame. The thin fabric barely covered her own nipples, and it fit like a very small vest. The sleeves had been ripped clean some time prior.

"Now I'm starting to think I'm winning this game." Elaine said. "But there's a little something in me that's telling me... some of you aren't playing to your full potential." She slammed her tiny hand on the table. The tumbler didn't even budge. "It's time to up the ante." she announced. "Kelly, you're out. You've done about all you can, and more."

Kelly shrugged. She stood, flexing, as the shirt tore away to nothing. She picked up her own blouse and draped it over her shoulder before stepping out.

Elaine's attention turned to Paul and Callista. "Are you two having fun? I won't abide a table that's not having fun."

"We're..." Calllista giggled. "We're having a good time."

"We're all having a good time." Paul slurred in agreement.

"Alright, then. Lightning round. No draws." They raised their cards. "But first, wagers. I'll decide for Paul. You have to sleep in my bed with me tonight. Do you accept the terms?"

Paul looked at Callista, gauging her response. Callista raised an eyebrow at him, defiantly intrigued. "It's a big bed, Paul." Elaine added.

"Why not." he decided.

"Now you decide for Callie, here."

Paul looked back at Callista. "You have to... stay up to watch the sunrise." he said. Elaine blew a raspberry at him, getting rowdier. "Boring wager, Paul." she cried.

"It's pretty boring, Paul." Callista added.

"Ok, fine. Fine!" Paul shouted over the boos. "You... you have to take a drink."

Another raspberry. "She's been doing that all night!"

"Not that drink." Paul said. Callista bristled. Her hand fell absent-mindedly to her pocket. The vial was still there. Paul knew. 

"I..." Callista sputtered.

Elaine noticed, turning curiously to her. "Perhaps not so boring after all." 

Callista looked into Elaine's saucer eyes. She smiled weakly, and pulled the vial from her pocket. The bright amber liquid sloshed around heavily inside. The vial was only about a quarter full. A month of drops had whittled it down to no more than a shot. Elaine gasped quietly. "Nectar" she breathed.

"I choose your wager, then?" Callista asked to the entranced Elaine.

"Yes, of course." Elaine spouted, collecting herself.

"You must give us a truth about yourself. Tell us a secret that you've kept." Elaine's eyes widened, but she smiled.

"You are good at cards." she replied. "Let's see them, then."

Elaine slapped down her two pair, proudly, only to see Callista gently place down a triple four. Callista sighed a breath of relief. Her supply would be maintained properly. She slid the vial off the table, just in time to see Paul, mouth agape, drop a full house for all to see.

Callista sucked in her breath. The vial stayed in her hand. Elaine turned to her. "Looks like we've both lost the night. Shall we cheers?" She raised her brandy glass to her.

"I'm not sure I want to go through with this wager."

"But you already agreed." Elaine shouted, trying poorly to hide her excitement.

"You don't have to do it." Paul added. "It's just a game."

She looked at him. Their eyes lingered on one another. She uncorked the vial and poured the contents into her brandy, swilling it around until it mixed into bright orange swirls. She raised her glass. "To the vein." she toasted.

Paul raised his glass, and all three clinked. "To the vein!" Elaine shouted, and drank deep. Callista took one last look at the concoction she'd mixed, and drank it in three big glugs.

"Won't this be fun to watch!" Elaine chirped.

-----

In the captain's quarters, Ulster took his own big glug of whiskey from his nearly depleted bottle. He swished it around, judging how much he had left.

"Iceberg ahead." came a voice from the door. He turned to see Kelly standing in the entry. She was still topless, with her blouse draped over her shoulder. 

"This is the pacific." Ulster gulped. "Not cold enough. Kelly sauntered in, stepping barefoot along the steel grates of the floor. She tossed the blouse at him. He caught it, looking at her, enticed.

"In case you catch a chill." she purred.

"Have a good game with your friends down there?" Ulster asked.

"It's not my kind of game, but I make due." Kelly stepped right in front of Ulster, staring down at his glassy eyes. She kissed him then, pulling his chin up to her mouth and taking pulling him into an arched smooch. She pulled away quickly. "You taste like stale whiskey."

"We'll make port soon, and I'll restock." he admitted.

"In the meantime..." Kelly pulled his head into her enormous breasts. He was lost in a sea of soft, creamy flesh. His lips found every corner, every curve. She mashed her breasts into his face with her hands as he licked along the contours of her plunging neckline. She moaned with pleasure as his tongue found her nipple. It hardened slowly, rising from her pink areola and sticking out firm to meet his curious tongue.

She wavered, collapsing to the ground as he followed her down. Her back rose and arced as his hands and mouth traveled from her breasts down to her tight stomach. He kissed her along every inch of muscular skin. She kneaded her breasts, moaning louder and louder as Ulster descended closer to the right spot. She felt her shorts slide down, and her panties with it.

Ulster looked up from his work to admire her beautiful pussy. A small tuft of hair had started to grow since the voyage, but he could still clearly see the oval slit, and he knew what path to follow. His tongue chased down, sliding along the edges of her labia. Kelly gasped, feeling his tongue inside her. She gritted her teeth as he continued to explore along the edges of her sex. 

A soft high pitch gasp escaped her lips. He had found her clitoris, and had begun to caress it with his tongue. She grabbed his head with her powerful hands, pulling him deeper into her as she whimpered with pleasure. The whimpers turned to gasps turned to moans turned to yells. She was in complete bliss as he wrote poetry along her with his tongue.

"Yes!" she screamed as her yells grew louder finally crescendoing as her whole body tightened. Every muscle on her grew taut and flexed. Her abs above Ulsters head showed every perfectly sculpted chamber. Her soft biceps had gone rigid to reveal firm lumps of hard muscle beneath. Her legs tightened, revealing the lines along them. Her breasts heaved as she threw her head back for one long, final shriek of ecstasy. Then silence.

Ulster looked up at her, panting and covered in sweat. She looked down at him in return with the smile of a satisfied customer. "Get my pants." she sighed breathlessly.

-----

"You haven't done your part yet." Paul prodded Elaine.

"What's that?" she replied.

"The truth." Callista said. "The secret you promised."

Elaine pursed her lips, leaning back in her chair. "What is it you'd like to know?"

"How much are you actually worth?" Paul shouted.

Callista pushed him, and he fell a bit further than she intended. She looked down at her sleeve, already beginning to ride up on her. "Why do this? Why the obsession with getting bigger? Why risk your life and the lives of others to be a little taller?"

Elaine was surprised. She was expecting something more salacious. Something to be held against her. But this was a real question. One that required thought.

"My whole life..." she began, "I've been the center of attention. But not for anything I've done or accomplished. Just who I am. Even worse, for what I need."

Callista leaned in. Her blouse creaked. It was coming on much faster than that slip up in the shop. 

"I was an ill child, if that's any surprise. Always fussed over and fiddled with. When I came of age, the attention didn't change, it just ended. Or festered. I left home without permission to spend my money in ways that made me feel more than who I was. I never spoke to any of my relatives the minute I turned 18. Then, the day I learned about Aphrodite's Vein-"

"Athena's Vein." Callista corrected. She shot her hand up to make her point, and ripped her sleeve along the side in the process. Elaine's eyes flashed.

"That's exactly it. It's not entirely that I want to be bigger. It's the same reason I haven't gone after your little private collection, Callie."

Callista started to argue, but her sleeve tore even more.

"Oh, don't try to deny it. You've slowly become more be-bosomed since the moment I clapped eyes on you. I'd love to know how that feels. I do want to be bigger. I do, of course, but more accurately, I want... more. I don't just want to be a woman with nectar. I want to be the woman who discovered the amber. I want to tame the wilds of this bizarre new forbidden fruit and claim it all for my own. I want the world to know my name, and I want that name to be synonymous with strength. With stature."

Callista's top button popped as her cleavage leapt out of the top of her blouse. She stood, suddenly surprised at her new body. She'd been entranced by Elaine that so much had gone unnoticed. Elaine and Paul stood with her. Paul looked her up and down. "My god, this is something."

Callista was positively stuffed into her blouse and pants. Her flesh crept out from all exits, as she crept further upwards. She backed away from them. "Excuse me, I didn't expect so much-"

"Wait!" Elaine stopped her, pulling her back. "Have you ever just embraced it?" 

Callista stopped. She felt her body surging and her clothes tightening around her. She took a breath, and stood to her slowly increasing full height. The others watched her, intrigued. She held out her arms, and tensed every part of herself with a powerful flex.

At once, her blouse tore open. The buttons scattered to the floor. Her sleeves burst out like a peeled banana, revealing tightened forearms and round, hard biceps. Her pants fell to tatters, only maintaining around her still tight stomach.

Paul approached her carefully, as she breathed heavily, her growth slowing. She looked up at him, now from slightly closer than this morning. Her breasts nudged against his arm, and he pulled away, shyly. "Sorry," she whispered, "new set." She grabbed his arm with her hand and placed it around her waist. Her enlarged bust pressed against his flat, tight chest. She gazed into his eyes, her head level with his chin.

"How much do you think you think I just grew, doctor?" she asked.

"Oh, let me do this!" Elaine shouted. She ran to a massive steamer trunk on the other side of the room, killing the mood for Paul and Callista, and returned holding an eight foot ruler.

"Of course she has that." Paul said.

"Now hold still." Elaine said, awkwardly moving the ruler alongside Callista. "And stand up straight." Callista straightened her posture, and the back of her shirt tore, leaving her shirt completely in tatters. 

"There goes the ensemble." Paul said.

"I bought several sizes for the journey." Callista replied.

"There's a smart girl. I knew I was right to bring you!" Elaine said, still adjusting the ruler. "And at... five foot eleven inches, you're quite the asset, my dear!"

"Five, eleven?" Callista asked, flabbergasted.

"Three inches in a matter of minutes." Paul said in wonder.

"Three upward, but look at outward. Let's hope we can let out the chest on those bigger blouses, dear. I'm not sure we accounted for the Nina and the Pinta here." Elaine nudged the ruler against Callista's breasts. Callista shivered.

"Sorry," Elaine backed off, "still a bit drunk." Callista smiled. She leaned down to look at the woman a foot shorter than her in the eye. Her breasts hung like pendulums off her, catching Elaine's eye, before she corrected herself. "You throw quite the card game." Callista beamed. She leaned in, and kissed Elaine, pressing her lips firmly against her, and sliding her tongue along her's. Elaine's eyes fluttered again. "And I think you'll find someone to kiss without one some day, no matter how much more you are"

Callista rose to her new 5'11" and strode out of the cabin. Paul watched her, before collecting himself and followed.

Elaine snapped out of her trance and raced to the doorway. "Wait! Callsta! The night doesn't have to be over! Paul! You can still sleep in my bed!"

But they were gone. Callista sat on her bed, looking at the empty vial in her hand. She squeezed it, watching her bicep rise out of the new layer of flesh on her arm. Her body felt at peace. It was like a starving woman realizing what it was like to have a full stomach after years of fasting. She breathed deep, letting her body swell with her breath. Her hands found her breasts, as she flicked her slowly rising nipples with her fingers. She raised them up and down, feeling their new weight.

"Am I interrrupting?" She turned to see Paul. He looked at her, nude and sitting. She stood up and walked over to him. Her hair now tumbled loose around her face, as her bright eyes peeked through the auburn tufts. Her ripe mouth opened and she said, "No."

She kissed him, pulling him into the cabin with her new strength. He fell in like a ragdoll, moving with her powerful embrace. She pushed him onto her small bed and mounted him. Her panties, somehow still intact, rubbed against his slacks. She stopped, rising on her powerful legs, and with one hand, pulled his pants down around his ankles. His member laid there, erect and waiting.

She fell back down on him. Her underwear began to wet as she grinded against him. Paul felt the heat of her sex grow as she grinded harder and harder against him. His hands wrapped around her back, holding tight to her. She pressed down on him, her hands slowly gliding down to his penis. She stroked it with both before finding her underwear. She slid them off, and threw them, soaked, across the room.

Her perfect, tight vagina rode against Paul's groin. She rose again, effortless, sliding her sex down over his penis. She rose up and down, as Paul lost all sense of time and place. She pumped again and again, her soft moans becoming the quietest breaths.

Paul rose up, and found her lips. She took the kiss, surprised, and adjusted to continue fucking him relentlessly. They stood on their knees on the bed, kissing and pumping. Callista pulled him closer into an embrace, clawing his back with her hands as she slowed her pumps seductively. He broke from the kiss, feeling pure ecstasy.

He looked at her again. Her shining eyes. Her perfect mouth curved into a devilish smile. The cascade of hair falling down her in all directions. The massive, pillowy breasts pressed against him. He came, loudly, and with the noise Callista's eyes rolled back. She pulled him as tight as possible, squeezing her flesh against his as she let out a gutteral moan from the depths of her soul.

They collapsed on either side of the bed, huffing and puffing. Paul looked at her. "That was adequate." Callista said, breathless.

"I won't follow up on that." Paul sighed. "I'd ask to stay and cuddle, but I'm not sure we both will fit on this anymore." Callista chuckled quietly.

"See you at breakfast?" he asked, rising.

"Save me a seat." Callista replied, smiling.

Callista dropped a satchel onto her bed, filling it with essentials. Small first aid needs, a bottle of water, snacks, money of several origins and denominations, and one vial of nectar. She slung it over her shoulders and stepped out of her cabin.

On deck, Elaine was buzzing between Kelly and Paul, giving orders excitedly as the ship sidled up to a wooden dock. Callista walked past Kelly, who gave her a businesslike nod. Callista down at Kelly's bare midriff, exposed by just a tight tube top around her ample chest. "Hot today." Kelly explained, her abdominals rippling as she loaded a heavy sack on her back.

"Yes." Callista replied. She looked down at her blouse, tucked into her tight khakhi pants. Paul watched her, still being commanded by Elaine, smiling a brief hello. Callista smiled back. It had been just over a week since they'd begun what had now become an almost nightly ritual of meeting in her room for their sweatsoaked sessions. She had come to know Paul in ways she'd never thought she'd allow herself to know a person again. Her skin felt warm, not just from the sun. "I think we're just about ready to head out." Elaine barked, cutting through Callista's brain haze.

Callista looked out at the island paradise before them. Small clay huts scattered around a tall mountain village. People of all types bustled around the paved sandstone streets. The place was absolutely electric with activity, bringing Callista to an equilibrium of danger and excitement, a feeling she had almost forgotten. "When's the last time you visited Santa Brigita?" Paul asked, sidling up next to her.

"Not for quite some time. Looks like things haven't changed much." she replied.

"Can't say the same for you, I'd wager." Paul smiled. Callista smiled back at him, and puffed out her chest. She untucked her shirt and unbuttoned the bottoms, twisting it into a knot just under her bust. It jiggled with the shift, tightening. Callista unbuttoned the top as well, to give some air to her newly revealed deep cleavage. Paul was entranced by this change. Callista took his hand, snapping him out of it. "Shall we?" she asked.

-----

The four of them stepped along the stone streets, pushing through crowds of brigands, pirates, and vagabonds into a marketplace lined with outdoor tents and mats covered in trinkets and treasures. Paul and Kelly looked at the shining objects being tossed back and forth like bargain cookware. Elaine kept her eyes on Callista, who was too busy looking for something else to admire the wares.

"You say this person was with you on your last voyage?" Elaine enquired.

"Yes, one of the few of us I know where to find. She posted up here not long after we made it off the island. Last I heard she'd become something of a power player."

"Sounds like my kind of woman." Elaine chirped. She'd dressed herself in a light, flowing summer dress with a wide-brim hat to match. It made her stand out like a sore thumb. Or, rather a sore pinky given that almost everyone else in the street was over a head taller than her. She felt cramped as the crowd congested. "Kelly, be my eyes. Don't let the stampede take me." she said. 

Kelly trotted up, pushing through the crowd with ease. She, unlike Elaine, could see over almost everyone's heads. "What am I looking for?" she asked.

"She has a sigil." Callista replied, following behind in the gap Kelly was making.

"A what?" Paul asked.

"Like a little icon."

"A logo!" Elaine helped.

"Yes, a logo. It's two snakes eating each other's tails." Callista said.

"And we're trying to meet with this person?" Paul said, worried.

"You'll love her." Callista said, putting her arm around his.

A flash from her satchel caught her eye. She turned to see a woman running the opposite way holding her money, and her vial. "Stop!" she shouted, turning after her.

The woman broke into a sprint, with Callista right behind. She huffed after, but soon realized she could go much faster. Confined to the boat this time, she hadn't been able to test her new stamina the three inches of height and strength had given her. She picked up the pace, her breasts jiggling in her buttoned top.

The woman was too quick. Callista slowed, as she watched the woman grow smaller in the distance. Then, a freight train ran past her. She looked to see Kelly barrel after the woman with impossible speed. She snatched her with one long, muscular arm and raised her in the air. The woman kicked and scratched but it was no use. Callista trotted over, still heaving. She put her hands on her knees, catching her breath, and for the first time noticed the hint of a six pack forming from the exertion. She'd never had that before. She ran her finger down the hinted lines of her tight stomach.

"Return everything to the woman." Kelly said calmly. The thief scowled. She was small. Only a few inches taller than Elaine, who had just made her way to them with Paul in tow. "Yes, return them at once." Elaine added, trying to seem in charge of the proceedings.

"You can keep the money. Just give me the vial." Callista said.

"Like hell she can." Kelly replied, and shook the little thief until she dropped everything. Kelly grabbed the vial as it fell through the air and tossed it to Callista, who put it safely back in her bag. "What should we do with her?" Kelly said.

"Oh, throw her in the sea. She's of no consequence." Elaine said.

"Wait!" Callista stopped Kelly, who was already making moves to the dock. She walked up to the hanging thief, and pulled up her sleeve, revealing a tattoo on her shoulder. Two snakes, encircled, eating each other's tail.

"You work for Mari?" Callista asked.

"I don't work for anyone." the thief replied.

"You know where she is, at least."

The thief looked away, unconvinced. Callista picked the bills of money up from the ground, handing them to her. "Just point us in a direction, and we can make it worth your while."

The thief snatched the money from her, counting it. "More." she said. Callista and Paul gathered up the rest from the ground. Kelly placed her down to meet their full hands.

"More." the thief repeated. The three checked their pockets, pulling out coins and buttons.

"Oh, for heaven's sake." Elaine shouted. She walked up to the thief, pulling a large ruby out from her pocket book. "Just don't spend it all in one place." she said.

The thief looked at the ruby, then back to Elaine. She nodded.

-----

After many looping turns, and what felt like going backwards, the four found themselves following the thief to a large structure on the edge of a dark, tropical forest. The sun was beginning to set, and they had all become weary from the back and forth.

"If this isn't the place, I'm still going in." huffed Paul. Callista patted his sweaty back, not nearly as tired out. Only a thin layer of sweat had formed on her brow and exposed cleavage, the only sign she or Kelly had felt anything from the trek. The thief pointed to a brick on the side of a heavy door. She knocked on it, pulling it out of its place to show them a carved snake pattern, just like her own, embedded in the brick. She tapped on it, making a hollow sound that reverberated for some time.

A door slat swung open. Eyes looked down at them. "Come back when the sun sets." the eyes said.

"Lady wants to see Mari." the thief replied.

"Tell her to get in line."

"They've got money."

The eyes darted at the four behind the thief. Her eyes lingered on Kelly, staring up at her massive form. Elaine waved, politely.

The slat closed, and after some locking sounds, the door opened, revealing a woman in a small, fringed top, just covering her bosoms, and a side-tied white skirt with a long slit down the leg, in the doorway. She ushered them into a red-lit club, like the sort of thing a tiki bar tries to mimic. Women in similar dress to the doorwoman sauntered around tables full of high-rollers and debonair strangers, carrying trays of cocktails and aperitifs.

"Quite the name she's made." Callista muttered.

The four walked in with the thief, following the doorwoman past all the tables to a room near the back. Doors opened and shut several times before they found themselves far from the booming music of the club room. The doorwoman opened a bamboo drape to reveal a throne room of sorts. A server woman danced on a wood dance floor in front of a large chair on a pedestal. Next to the chair was a small woman, scribbling on a pad and keeping busy.

In the chair sat a much larger woman, watching the dancing girl, bored. When the others entered, her eyes narrowed. Then she saw Callista. She stood, way up, and walked down from her pedestal. The dancing girl stopped to watch her strut across the room in her baggy travel pants and tight, white T-shirt.

As she got closer, Elaine took a very close look at her. Her keen eye pegged her at six foot two inches tall, but more impressively, her body rippled with muscle. Her arms were perfectly sculpted like rocks, bulging out of her tiny shirtsleeves. Her pectoral muscles peeked out behind a massive wall of breasts, shoving them tightly against her shirt. Even with the shirt on, she could see outlines of cut sides and abs, with an ass that shook like a hurricane with each step, just below a straight waterfall of dark black hair. Elaine fanned herself, trying and failing to not look impressed.

The woman stomped over, stopping right in front of Callista and glaring down at her. Callista didn't budge. "Callista Wethers." she growled.

"Mari Yanagita" Callista replied. Mari wrapped her powerful arms around her chest, sticking it out even further. Callista did the same, and one of her buttons scraped against Mari's tit.

Mari's eyes shot open. Her mouth fidgeted, and she laughed. Callista laughed back at her. They held each other as old friends in a tight embrace. Paul and the others watched, confused.

"You said to me you'd never leave the states again after the last time. Looked me dead in the eyes." Mari laughed.

"Well, things change." Callista said.

"That's saying something. Where did these come from?" Mari lifted one of Callista's breasts and let it jiggle back down. Callista laughed.

"I told you I meant to experiment. What do you have to say for yourself? You look like you could rip a tree in half."

"Well, I thought I'd test out the strength the nectar gave me, and it turned out I had a knack for improvement." Mari said, flexing her rock-hard bicep into a boulder. "Sit, sit. Bring your friends."

She gestured for all of them to sit with her at the table with the little scribbler. The scribbler looked up, watching them all. "How long have you been on Brigita?" Mari asked.

"Since this morning." Callista answered.

"And you already found me? I pay good money for things like that to not happen."

"We pay more." Elaine jumped in. Mari looked over at the little thief, her pockets bulging with cash. "Elaine Redmond, wealthy woman of the world." she added, extending a hand.

Mari shrugged, "Can't blame little Yulia. She's been a good soldier for me all these years. I'm honestly shocked she hasn't jumped ship yet."

"Money's better with you, Mari." Yulia the thief replied. 

"Yeah, money and perks." Mari leaned down on the table, showing her cleavage to the woman Yulia.

"Must you, with company?" the scribbler woman asked from behind her pad.

"This is how she introduces herself. Fran, the organization's brains everyone." They all waved to Fran. "And behind you there, to your dismay, is the body: Ms. Penny Ante". Mari gestured to the dancing woman. "So, I imagine you're here for more than a catch up."

"Afraid so. Though it looks like you've done well for yourself." Callista said.

"I don't have a wealthy woman of the world like you, though!" Mari teased.

"Dr. Paul Geiss, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Redmond, and I are on a quest."

"Don't tell me." Mari said.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Because you know what I'll say. I thought you knew better. Of any of us, Callie, you should know better."

"You're the only one who has a working key." Callista pleaded.

"We can offer you anything you like." Elaine added.

"I have what I like." Mari said, leaning back in her chair. "After everything that went down on that spit of rock, you want to go back. You, who looked me dead in the eye and said 'never again'. Are these little experiments fiddling with your reason? Just can't stand to not have more?"

Callista looked away. She didn't need Mari to know about the little secret in her bag. 

"We are the perfect crew for this mission, in both power and purpose." Elaine interjected.

"And what makes you so special?" Mari asked.

"Well, look at me. If anyone deserves a chance at nectar, it's little Elaine Redmond."

"I've seen smaller." Mari said, unimpressed.

"I'm sure you have. I'm sure you've seen a lot of things. But I've wanted this more than anything. It's led me to be able to tell your little dancer friend over there is five foot four inches tall without even looking to double check."

Mari looked back at Penny, somewhat impressed.

"Even seated, I can tell you Miss Yulia is five foot one, and your Miss Fran is five foot 3 and three quarters of an inch. It's an obsession, really. And I won't quit until I've had my hands on Aphrodite's Vein."

A hush fell further over the room. Mari shivered at the sound of the name.

"Athena's Vein..." Callista added, weakly.

"Seems like every week now I hear about people going down that same path, and never being heard from again. Any of the nectar that's been smuggled out, mostly from us, either gets drank or gets too pricey as soon as its found. I don't want anything more to do with that vein or that place or this conversation. Can we drink, now?" Mari nods to Penny, who starts mixing cocktails at the bar.

Callista sat there, feeling trapped and lost at the same time. If the key didn't leave with them, they'd have to start making their way back. There was no way she was setting foot on that island again without the assurance she could enter into the shrine. And that would mean no nectar for Elaine, or anyone. Then she realized. The nectar.

"Been keeping tabs on the nectar trade, Mari?" Callista prodded. Penny sat a tropical drink in front of her, making her way around the table. Mari grabbed her's and sipped.

"Things come by me, sure." she answered.

"You're a prety big girl already." Callista said.

"Six foot two." Elaine helped.

"Big indeed." Mari agreed.

"But not as big as you'd like. Not as big as Kelly, for instance." Callista said, pointing to Kelly, who was busy sipping her drink daintily from a straw. "Why else with the fanatical exercise? You're unhappy with what the nectar gave you."

"I'm grateful." Mari argued.

"But you could have more." Callista urged, eyes darting at her. Mari looked at her. Months together, fighting life and death and everything in between had taught them a lot about each other. In just a few minutes seeing her again, she could read her mind fully.

"How much do you have?" Mari asked, hiding the need in her voice.

"Enough to trade for the key." 

"Prove it."

"You first."

Mari stood, affronted. She stomped back to her pedestal chair, and pulled a knob behind it, rummaging around its insides before revealing a small stone, shaped strangely. Though it seemed small and inconsequential, in Mari's hands its significance was plain as day. She held the key out in front of the table. The rest stood with her. "Show me the nectar."

Callista threw her satchel on the table, pulling the vial from its source. Yulia looked at her, realizing all too late how far too quickly she'd given it up. "Is this enough for you, Mari?" Callista asked.

"No." she said. They all held their breath. She dropped the key on the table, confusing everyone. Elaine snatched it, before she thought Mari would take it again. She knew the powerful woman could take anything from her, but she was desperate.

Mari took the vial carefully from Callista, feeling her hand against her own as she did. "I didn't want it just for me." Mari whispered. "Penny, shots."

Penny nodded, walking over to the bar for tiny shot glasses. As she rummaged through the little bar, she watched her boss walk around the table, taking the hands of Yulia and Fran with her. She had workec for Mari Yanagita for almost two years now. Mari had lavished so much on her, made her the special dancer in the club. Penny only had to dance for Mari, and only when she wished. She had grown to love the large woman for her heart long before she got to know her body. 

Many nights Penny spent in the arms of Mari. She had the ability to make you feel powerful, even next to her rippling form. She gathered seven shot glasses, placed them on a tray, and sauntered back to them.

Mari stood in front of Callista, trying her best not to show just how overjoyed she was not just to see her old friend, but to get what she'd longed for most. She looked down into Callista's eyes, remembering those nights on the boat, when they were just two small women on the rough seas of destiny. Mari had only been five foot one back then. Just an inch shorter than Callista. It had been strange to look so far down at her when she had gone through her change. A full foot gained while Callista chose to play it safe. She remembered their final embrace, as they sailed to opposite shores. Her breasts had squeezed against Callista's face, and she blushed, unaccustomed to this new feeling of stature. Seeing Callista now, at a full five foot eleven made her feel like things had begun to shift back to normal. Or at least shift to something pleasantly different. That was the power of the nectar. The ecstasy of change.

Penny carried the shot glasses over to the group. Mari took the tray from her, examining the glasses. She picked up three of them in her hands, and threw them to the ground, watching them shatter.

"What are you up to, Mari?" Fran asked beneath her pile of frazzled blond hair. She had been wearing the same seven pant suits every day since she'd come to this island only seven months ago. She'd proved her worth to Mari just as her business was taking off, and was able to use her expertise to give Mari a position on this island unmatched by anyone. Of course, being the boss's main squeeze also helped give her a nice position of her own.

"What I've always talked about. What we've always wanted." Mari took the full vial, and poured the contents to the top of three of the double shot glasses. She poured just a small remainder into the fourth. She placed the tray on the table for them all to marvel. "I want to look you in the eyes, baby. I want you all to see the world the way I see it." She pulled Yulia in close with Fran. 

"Are you serious, Mari?" Yulia asked. She was concerned. For some time, she'd been waiting for the true cruelty to come out of her boss. She'd spent most of her adult life fighting the evil of her employers. To be given such kindness, and now this on top of it, felt like a trap.

"I've never been more serious. I want this for us. For all four of us." She pulled Penny into her embrace. Penny's eyes widened with astonishment. "Me as well?" she asked. Her breasts shook with excitement in her tight frilly top.

"I want this for you. But I want you to want it, too." Mari raised the smallest glass for herself in a toast. "The lion's share for my lions."

Penny walked up to the shot glasses. She stared down at their crystal amber glow. The light danced in her eyes as her wavy, black hair fell over her reddening cheeks. Yulia's hand fell down into view, taking a shot glass from the tray. "I'm ready." she roared.

Penny smiled at them both. She took a glass for herself and raised to the cheers.

"This is preposterous." Fran said. "I don't see what any of this has to do with our business here, or any of our future plans."

Mari lowered her glass. She leaned down, staring at Fran directly in her eyes. "I always thought our future was more than just business, Franny." She kissed her then. A long, passionate kiss that made Fran's glasses fog. She pushed Mari off her, pulling her glasses off with her. She looked up at Mari, upset but with a wildness beyond anger. Her lips curled.

She trotted over to the table and took the glass, raising it with the others. "The future, then." she cheers'ed. They all agreed. The shots went down.

Elaine watched all this with glee and growing arousal. She'd never seen women act so brazenly, for love or anything else. Her brief dismay at watching even more nectar disappear before her eyes was soon forgotten, as she couldn't wait to watch the show that was about to unfold.

"Tastes... rather sweet." Fran said, rubbing her forehead.

"It always does." Mari said, smiling. She put her hands along her body, feeling along it, waiting to feel the first signs of growth.

"Oh!" Penny jumped. They all turned to watch. "Something feels funny in my stomach." They all looked down at her bare stomach. She breathed heavy, like convulsions. Mari watched, excited, as lines began to form with each convulsion. Her stomach tightened. Muscles formed into taut chambers. Penny squeeled, pushing her bust out of the way to watch herself. Then her bust pushed back. "Oh my!" Penny shouted.

She rushed up to Mari, grabbing her by the waist. "Is it supposed to feel this... strange? Why are you leaning down at me?"

"I'm not." Mari replied.

Penny's eyes bulged. She looked down at herself. Her cleavage lengthened, and her arms began to swell. Her shoulders grew broader. She looked up again to see Mari's chin. A new sight for her eyeline. "How tall am i?" she shouted.

"By the time I say it, it won't be right." Elaine said.

Penny pulled away from Mari, watching the others. "Why aren't you growing? Is something wrong with me?" she pleaded. Her top looked like a rubber band around a balloon. It finally snapped, as her massive breasts unleashed themselves onto the aroused crowd.

"Everyone takes it differently." Callista said.

"Mari, look at me!" Penny said! Her hair now hung wild around her bare torso. She shook her breasts, sliding into a dance. Her body swayed and gyrated with an unheard rhythm as it shot up and out. "Dance with me."

Mari jumped in, taking her waist and gyrating with her. Penny pulled her into a kiss. Fran huffed behind them as they spun around the room. Penny rose and rose, her body contorting into beautiful poses as it stretched to new heights. Mari dipped her, and when she came back up, Penny stared right into Mari's eyes. They both stared, astonished. Penny kissed her again. The first time she'd ever kissed anyone her own height. It was a quick, furious kiss, powered by the dance. Both hands clapped against Mari's thin face, and then one big pull away.

She spun around, twirling against Mari's embrace. Her hips gyrated back and forth, grinding into Mari's throbbing sex. Mari looked down at Penny's behind, clothed tightly behind that tied-up skirt. Her ass swayed back and forth against her, making her whole body vibrate and shiver as she dug deeper into her pelvis. As is shook, it widened. Flesh rippled with each jiggle, becoming more plump, more firm, more powerful. Mari looked up as Penny's exposed back shot higher. The thin line along the center deepened, as taut strength built within her muscles. Her shoulders raised further as her back grew. Penny felt her breasts with her hands, kneading them up and down as they swelled between her fingers. Her arousal grew as she grinded further and further against Mari. She spun back to face her, looking down at her eyes with a gasp. Mari smiled, her mouth dropping.

She twirled out of Mari's grasp and stopped on a pose, showing herself to the world in her final glory. Her little tied skirt had become more of a loin cloth, covering just her sex from the four intruders. She looked down at herself, her bust ballooned to massive size, and her arms as thick as trees. Her hips splayed out in ways that made her all-too-appealing. It was a shame Mari would only see her dance. But maybe now she'd let herself be seen by the crowd. Once or twice. Why waste this?

"If you were wondering, it's six foot five." Elaine announced. Penny giggled. She ran back to the now smaller Mari, and looked down at her. She rubbed her thumb against Mari's chin, lovingly. "Thank you for this bonus, my little benefactor." she cooed.

"Mari, something I think is happening." They all spun to see Yulia. Her hand was on the table bracing herself. Her clothes looked stuff and ready to burst. Fran was holding her, which was becoming quite the task. She'd begun growing during the dance, and didn't want to say anything. Her job was to be discrete, and it was a hard trait to shake. She moaned at first in pain, but it turned strangely erotic near the final gasp.

Her back arced up. Fran stepped away, blown back. Mari rushed over, with the huge Penny behind her. They each held onto her from either side. She was already much taller than before. The jacket she wore buttoned to the top was about to explode. "Give her some air." Fran yelled.

With another moan, Yulia creaked upwards, back still arced. Mari's finger found her top button, and unlatched it. Like magic, the rest of the buttons flew off, revealing her fleshy top beneath. A new set of breasts on her formerly flat frame were covered by each flap of her jacket, making it jut out to its limit. "Get this off me." she wheezed.

Mari and Penny pulled on the jacket, tugging it loose from her thick frame.

"You'll hurt her!" Fran yelled.

"I'm not sure we can." Mari laughed. Yulia shot a look at her, that was not ready to laugh about it.

With one final tug, the jacket came free. Yulia breathed, released. She looked at herself for the first time. Her body had grown outward in impossible ways. Her legs were thick with muscle, ripping her baggy shorts at the ends, and latching them to the powerful flesh of her thighs. Her waist was small, but covered in the thickest six pack Mari had ever seen. Her breasts were enormous, sprouting out from her well sculpted pectorals, jiggling as she bounced. Yulia flexed an arm, showing a bicep to rival even Mari.

Yulia stood, stretching her back, as her deltoids rippled with the movement. She looked at herself, then to Mari. A mischievous look came across her face. She walked over to the heavy wooden table and put her hands beneath it. She puffed out her exposed chest, and ripped it up. It flew into the air, and onto its side. Yulia jumped back, startled.

"I didn't think it would go that far. I just wanted to raise it a little." she said, sheepishly.

"Well put it back." Mari said, trying not to laugh.

"I don't think that will be a problem." Yulia lifted the side with one hand, gripping it firmly, and lifting the whole table, long-ways, over her head. she placed it down right and gently, with a flourish. Penny and Mari clapped.

"How tall, little rich lady?" Yulia asked.

"Six foot three." Elaine breathed, trying to hide her obvious arousal.

"Well that doesn't make sense. She's eye level with me." Mari said. Then she realized. She looked over at the spectators, who all nodded smiling.

Mari looked down at herself. Her shirt had become untucked from her baggy pants. Her nipples poked out from the very stressed shirt. She looked over at her arms. Still not bigger than the newly enhanced Yulia, but with a level she'd been unable to reach even just this morning. "Six three is pretty good for that little thimblefull." 

"And a half." Elaine added. Mari nodded, impressed.

"Well that's all well and good." They all spun around to see Fran, still barely on the cusp of 5'4", staring up at all of them. "I don't think I'll much like coming into work with six pairs of mammaries in my face instead of the two."

"Well give it a minute." Mari pleaded.

"It's obviously not working on me." Fran said, guilting.

The three giants walked over to Fran, picking her up into a big breasted embrace. She shooed them off. They put her down, touching her shoulder. It didn't help things. "Once again I'm left to do the heavier lifting while you all breeze by. I'm sorry, but it's just a bit... oh."

Fran stopped. They all looked at her. Mari, Penny, and Yulia felt their hands rise on her shoulder. Fran stayed completely straight in posture, but the stature moved up. Her pantsuit ripped at all the stitchings. Her underblouse stressed to the breaking point. But she stopped. She looked around, then up. They were all still staring down at her. She looked over at Elaine, desperate.

"Five foot six." Elaine said, feeling strangely guilty.

Fran sighed. She patted Mari's hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. It was a lovely gift. People like just aren't meant to be people like you."

"I'll never let you go." Mari said.

"Hold me?" Fran replied. The other two giants stepped away, letting Mari take Fran in her chiseled arms. Fran felt her warm, soft breasts against her face. They held each other for what felt like hours, as Fran dreamed of the future they'd have together. 5'6" was by no means short for a woman. Not that many women made it to Santa Brigita. No matter the size of their other lovers, she would learn to...

She moaned loudly. Louder than she'd ever moaned. Mari pulled away, looking at her. Fran breathed as if she'd run 20 miles in an instant. "No, hold me!" she cried, pulling Mari back into her with surprising strength. Mari's eyes widened, falling back into her small lover's arms. She looked over at Callista, who could only shrug.

Fran kept breathing heavy, stopped only by guttural moans. Each moan escaping her mouth with her jaw jittering through a feeling of intense pleasure. She moaned again, and rose in Mari's arms. Her grip tightened around her giant lover.

Another moan. She shot up further. The back of her pantsuit split open down the middle, revealing her thick back. 

Another moan. More rising. Her hands slid out of their sleeves, meeting each other around Mari's back. A first for her.

Another moan. Her legs shot up, turning her pants into shorts, then splitting them entirely. This growth came as fast as each of her moans. Sweat trickled down her forehead. She looked up at Mari, whose eyes were just an inch away. Seeing them so close made her sex wet with anticipation.

Another moan, and she pulled away from Mari. Not by choice, but because her breasts had shot out so far that she physically pushed away from her lover's own massive chest.

Another moan. She looked down at Mari's excited, bewildered face. She touched her chin, and brought it up, carefully, to kiss her on the lips. A quiet kiss. Sweet, and simple.

Another moan pulled her away from Mari's lips. Her neck arced as she moaned longer and longer, never ceasing into pure climax as her body split every inch of her clothes into ribbons.

Finally, with a tiny squeek, she quieted. She looked down again at Mari. Her face was so far now. She couldn't believe it. She pulled away to look at her body, to see if somehow she'd jumped onto the pedestal without realizing. Wondering how she could ever bee so tall. She raised a naked leg, examining it like a science project. When she wanted it to move, it moved. That was her leg. This must be her body. Mari pulled herself closer to Fran again, beaming up at her, with her chin resting against her enormous bust.

Fran noticed her breasts then. She kissed Mari on the forehead, and gently tugged away, freeing herself to look at her body in full for the first time. She was huge. Her chest arced out with twin globes of tits bouncing with the slightest movement. Her hips had widened to match, with her legs shooting out of them for what seemed like miles.

Penny and Yulia approached her, cautious but thrilled. Fran could see the tops of both of their heads. She felt sick, in some way. Hadn't the little woman said Penny was now 6'5"? And she could see over her. She turned to the diminutive heiress, too afraid to ask.

Elaine knew what that look meant. She smiled a devil's smile. "Six foot eleven."

Fran crumpled. Her legs gave out. Her three giant lovers took her from all angles, their new queen. A goddess to loom over them all. Her wild blond hair came down in cascades over her brilliant green eyes. "I can begin to see this as a fair trade." she said quietly.

Callista smiled. She turned to Paul, waiting for a joke, but he sat against the wall, sweating profusely as he fanned himself. She grinned further. "Pleasure doing business with you-"

"The pleasure is mine!" Fran interrupted. Mari stroked her cheek.

"But we really should be going." Callista continued. "We're setting sail again as soon as we return." She pulled Paul to his feet. "It's a steam ship. Don't set sail." He babbled.

"In no world will you be leaving so soon." Mari thundered. They all stopped.

"The vein calls." Callista said, trying to keep it light. "Captain says we need to beat the storms."

"You cannot leave tonight." Mari said. "The dock won't allow it."

"And don't you run the dock?" Kelly said. She had held back for awhile. The reminder of her own change had made her fall into something of a fugue, now lifted by the need for action.

"We'll give you anything to let us leave." Callista said.

"Already gave her nectar." Elaine mumbled. Callista nudged her.

"You cannot leave tonight, because in the morning I will be joining you." Mari said.

Callista's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious."

"You can't be serious. Your crew isn't half what we had three years ago."

"Kelly counts as three." Elaine interjected. Kelly nodded.

"Then I count for something. You know you need me, Callie. You're crazy to not take the help that's offered for this." Mari pleaded.

Callista thought. She remembered again, the sweet nights she spent on that ship so long ago with little Mari. She felt again that pang, now realizing it was jealousy, toward these women who were blessed with an opportunity to know Mari as she was now. Know her in the way only lovers can. And it was clear to her now that Mari was still her lover, no matter the distance of time or the sea.

"When the sun rises, we leave with or without you." Callista said.

"Do you think that's wise?" Elaine asked.

"Nothing about this trip is wise. We should take help where it's offered." Callista snapped.

"You're not really leaving us?" Penny asked, sidling up to Mari, and taking her arm.

"You cannot." Yulia added, taking her other arm.

"The sea calls, ladies. You understand." Mari said. And they did. Everyone on Santa Brigita understood that their time there was always temporary. Sea dogs for life, they'd one day leave their remote paradise to follow the siren call back to adventure. If they had wanted it differently, they'd have returned to civilization.

"You are this place. You are our boss." came a voice from above. Long arms wrapped around her neck. Mari looked up to stare directly into the eyes of the beautiful Fran. Her hair draped over her in little, frizzy tufts. 

"I gave you everything you'll need to go on without me. Fran, you've sat in my shadow for too long. Don't let anyone make you feel small again. Yulia, it's time you stopped moving and stayed put. Watch the door. Stop anyone who you don't like."

"I don't like anybody." she replied.

"Perfect. Penny, my love. People will come from all corners to see a woman of your stature. You were perfect to begin with, now you're a star." Penny kissed her then, overcome.

Fran jerked Mari away, turning them all loose as she spun Mari to look at her directly. Her grimace turned into a serene smile. "You never made me feel like I was in your shadow."

"Pay that gratitude along to me, then." Mari said. Fran leaned her naked body down and kissed her, deeply. She pressed every inch of her into her soft mountain of flesh.

"To leave us so abruptly." Fran said, pulling away.

"We should be heading back, ourselves." Callista shouted, motioning for the door and an exit out of this exceedingly steamy goodbye.

"Nonsense. You'll stay with us." Mari said. "There are executive suites all along the corridor back here." She turned back to Fran. "Why do you think I'm not leaving til the morning? I'm about to show you the night of your life."

Fran beamed, her whole body quivering. "We really should go check on the ship, though." Callista tried.

"Nonsense!" Elaine shouted, pushing past them toward the giants. "We'd never dream of turning down an invitation like this." She looked over at each of the women, individually, her eyes practically dancing.

Callista sighed. She was quite certain she wouldn't be able to defeat the hospitality of four amazons, and one very determined little heiress.

Callista moaned, sliding down onto Paul's naked chest. She pressed against him, descending into a post-coital fugue. He stroked her hair, letting his fingers brush against her bare back. She looked up at him, letting her hands slide along him. He smiled back at her, his eyelids growing heavy with sleep. "You certainly have some interesting friends." he mumbled.

"You have no idea." she purred back. Her finger made little circles around his chest. Paul's eyes shut, as his smile grew. Callista rose, gently and quietly, letting him sleep. She stepped around the large apartment room, gathering her scattered clothes from the floor. She pulled her pants up, noticing they were already beginning to squeeze against her thighs. That was two vials already spent of the five she brought with her. She would have to ration her drops even further, or get comfortable with the idea of pausing the experiment  should she run out before....

Before the island. Who knows how much she would come away with once she laid her eyes on the vein again. Would she even come away with her life? It had been years. The island must be even more deadly than she remembered. She would have to treat it that way, if she wanted any hope of surviving. Callista sighed heavily, buttoning her blouse across her chest. She heard something in the hall, and crept out, peering from the crack in the door.

There she saw Penny Ante, scurrying down the candle-lit clay hallway of their chambers. Her body shook as she stepped as lightly as someone her size could. Callista looked out of the door further, watching her. Suddenly, Penny stopped. She turned and locked eyes with Callista. Her finger curled forward, beckoning her quietly out of her room.

Callista obliged, slinking out of the doorway, with a quick glance at the sleeping Paul. She closed the door gently, following the swaying hips of the giant Penny. She caught up with her, looking up at the serene smile of the dancer. Her head only reached her shoulder, something Callista was becoming unused to at her current height. It made her feel back to normal again, to have a person towering over her. She wondered where they were headed, but said nothing. There wasn't much she wouldn't follow this titaness toward.

Finally, after many turns, they came to a large wooden door. Penny turned to Callista, and pulled the door open. "You found her!" a voice shouted from within.

Mari sitting up in a massive bed, with Yulia behind her, rubbing her shoulders. In front of them, Fran was laying out, the bedsheet covering her massive frame like a toga. They all smiled up at Callista as she entered.

"You were looking for me?" Callista asked.

"Just wanted a little meeting of the minds. It's not often we have two veterans of the vein in one place. I wanted the ladies to get to know you better." Mari stood, approaching Callista. She pulled her into a hug. Callista embraced her back. "Can you even remember a time when I was shorter than you?" Mari whispered. 

"If I think hard about it." 

"We really knew each other back then."

"We had to. Two small women on a ship sailing for hell's gate."

"We weren't the only women." Mari corrected.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about, really?" Callista said, coldly.

"Of course not. I just can't get over how big you are now. Cautious Callista would hardly take a sip from the vein itself. Now she's in the six foot club."

"Not quite."

"Not yet, more likely. Someone like you doesn't keep just one bottle of the good stuff with them."

Callista smiled. She thought of the three vials safely back on the boat. "I don't have any more for you or your girls here."

The women behind her whined, jokingly. Fran rose, letting the toga drape down around her long legs. She strutted over to Callista and Mari, with a glint in her eyes.

"The bed gets lonely without you in it." she said, pulling Mari up for a kiss. 

"You'll have to get used to that." Mari said, kissing her back. They kissed even more, their tongues finding each other between their pillowy lips.

"Meeting of the minds, eh?" Callista said. Mari pulled away from her kiss, smiling dazed. "I wanted the ladies to know you better. Know you like I do. Or at least I did."

Mari's hand reached out, finding Callista's breast. She massaged it against her shirt. Callista pulled away at first, but then thought. She stayed where she was, letting Mari's hands dig deeper into her breasts. "I did miss you, Mari. I couldn't have done this thing without you."

"Damn straight." she purred back.

-----

In the apartments, Elaine paced back and forth in her room. She heard distant laughter, and moaning, and knew sleep would be impossible. She crept out of her doorway and looked around the empty hallway. She would follow the noise. She would follow the fun.

At the end of the hall, Kelly was in a similar predicament. She'd grown used to the sea, and the stillness of land kept her up. She decided to stretch her legs, finding her way back to the bar, where she'd loaded herself up with as much booze as her body could stomach. She walked lazily down the hallway, her buzz already wearing off to a slight tipsiness. She turned a corner, and bumped straight into Penny.

Penny stepped back, as her breasts jiggled from the collision. "Excuse me." she breathed.

"Entirely my fault." Kelly slurred.

Penny smiled up at her, looking deep into her eyes.

"Something I can help you with?" Kelly said.

"It's just, I'm still getting used to this new... perspective. You make me feel a little like my old self again." Penny said.

"You get used to it." Kelly smiled. Penny leaned back, resting against the wall, as she placed her arms behind her back, letting her bare breasts jut out in front of her.

"You have had the nectar, of course." 

"What gave me away?" Kelly laughed. She let her hand rest against the wall next to Penny, staring down at her.

From the corner, Elaine peeped, watching the growing flirtation bloom.

"How long was the adjustment for you? To feel comfortable in your new body?" Penny asked. She bit her lip, letting her eyes fall deeper into Kelly's.

"You feel comfortable as soon as you stop letting other people tell you what comfortable is."

"The change was so sudden."

"Your's looked a little more fun than mine." 

"It is my job to make everything more fun."

"And do you feel comfortable?" Kelly asked, leaning her body into Penny's. Her face was just inches away from hers now. Their eyes were still locked onto each other.

"I have decided to be comfortable." she replied. She pulled herself into Kelly. Her arms grasped her shoulders, as she brought their lips together. They kissed there, in the hallway, their breasts pressed against one another, sliding up and down as their bodies grinded into each other.

Penny ran her hands through Kelly's hair. She pulled her head back, and looked at her. Kelly looked back, confused by the pause. "Will you come with me?" Penny asked.

Elaine watched as Penny took Kelly's hand leading her away. Her flushed face fell, as she bit her lip in anticipation. She tip toed behind, following them to where ever they were meant to go.

-----

The door opened and Callista spun away from Mari's embrace. She saw Penny in the doorway, leading Kelly in by the hand. She must have snuck away when things had turned heavy. Callista hadn't noticed. She looked at Kelly, who took in the scene.

Her blouse had lost a few buttons. Her chest spilled out, as Mari caressed it. Yulia was massaging Callista's shoulders, while Fran swayed against the back of Mari. It was quite the sight for Kelly to walk in on.

"Meeting of the minds." Callista explained. Kelly nodded, obliging the explanation.

"Care to join?" Mari asked.

"I'm not quite sure." Kelly said. She'd never been with this large of a group before. Not all at once. She preferred to be on top, and it seemed like this was lacking in a power hierarchy. Fran sensed her hesitance. She stepped away from Mari, strutting over to Kelly and looking down at her. Kelly wasn't used to looking up to a woman. She held her ground.

"Tell us what you want." Fran said. She nestled herself against Kelly, letting her curves slide against Kelly's as the toga slid between them. Her breasts squeezed out of it. Kelly looked down at her ample chest. Her hand found them in the fabric. Fran moaned immediately, startling Kelly briefly. She looked up at Fran, and Fran nodded back. Kelly caressed her breasts more, and Fran moaned quietly, letting her pleasure rise without fighting it.

Fran kissed her, and Kelly kissed back. She felt another arm on her arm, and turned to see Penny next to her, pawing at her for attention. Kelly turned her head, kissing Penny as she fondled Fran. They moved toward the bed, as Fran peeled Kelly's shirt from her, revealing her own pillowy breasts beneath it.

Callista and Mari watched as Yulia joined the pile. They became a foursome of kissing as pants were shed. Hands found themselves everywhere. Caressing and massaging each other, as they came to know these new bodies in the most intimate ways. Kelly pulled off Fran's toga, revealing her giant form. She buried her face into her breasts as the other two women kissed every inch of her.

Mari's mouth fell open, as she and Callista watched, forgotten and still holding each other. Callista took her chin, and pulled her into their own kiss.

----

Suddenly, they were back on the boat. But it wasn't the Ambrosius. It was their boat. Three years ago. They were 5'2" and 5'1" again, laying together in a bed they both comfortably fit in. They stared into each others' eyes, still sweating from their love.

"What do you think it will be like? The change?" Mari asked her.

"I don't want to think about that." Callista replied. "I don't even think I'll go through with it."

"Seven months on a ship, and you don't want anything to show for yourself." 

"There's more to the vein than its effects on the body." Callista shot back.

"I'm going to drink it."

"Of course you are. You've never cared about the science element of this scientific expedition."

"I was hired as a crewman. It's not easy being a crewman when you can't pull your weight. Nobody takes you seriously."

"Some do." Callista smiled. She gave her a peck on the lips. "Rebecca does too."

"Rebecca likes everyone. That's what will get her in trouble."

"No one will get in trouble with you around." They kissed again.

-----

They were in that same room three months later. Callista counted her jars of amber liquid, taing inventory. Mari paced behind her. She was 5'6" now, with a new pair of breasts and thick thighs to match. "Why do you still count it?" she asked.

"I want to be as accurate as possible." Callista replied, without looking.

"You count it every day. It's not going to change."

"Measure and measure again, precision is key for my procedures."

"And when does that start?"

Callista stopped. She thought back to just a few days ago. The people they'd lost. The people who'd changed. "When I'm ready."

"Well it did wonders for me." Mari said, flexing. "I finished my work the fastest I ever have today. Captain was very impressed." She walked up to Callista, rubbing her shoulders. "Said I could have the rest of the day to myself." Callista looked up at her, placing her hand on top of Mari's, and patting it.

"Patience is the key."

"Maybe for you." Mari snatched the jar of nectar and held it up. Callista stood, reaching for it. Mari held it over her head, playing keep away.

"If only you were a bit taller." she joked.

"Amusing." Callista stifled a laugh as she nudged against Mari's chest. Mari wanted her to stop working, and her plan was working. She already felt herself flushing. She wanted Mari, but she needed to work.

"There's nothing to worry about. See, watch." Mari took the jar and drank a large swig from the top. Callista stopped, gasping.

"Mari, that was so much." 

"I suggest you get your pad and paper ready." she smiled, wiping her lips, and licking her fingers.

"You could seriously alter yourself. You remember Reb-" she stopped herself. She wasn't ready to talk about that yet.

"How do you know what's too far if you won't even give it a try?" Mari set the jar back down. "I'm sure it will be fine. I drank a lot more at the vein and I only got five inches for my trouble. I say Aphrodite owes me a little more. Oh."

Mari stopped. Her smile faded. Callista walked up to her, taking her arm. "It's beginning much quicker this time." she said, concerned.

Callista felt the skin beneath her hand ripple, she looked at Mari, whose eyes couldn't hide a hint of worry. "No going back."

Her body creaked. She hunched, as her loose sailor's shirt began to ride against her body. Her legs thickened, and lengthened, sliding down out of her shorts. Callista held her arm through it as her face rose higher and higher away from her. Mari's shirt tightened, forming closely against her swelling curves. Her breasts ballooned, as her nipples pressed against the fabric. Callista couldn't help but watch as her lover's chest swelled to new sizes.

Her arms swelled with them, forming muscles like Callista had never seen. Mari didn't moan, she didn't grimace. She watched it all, serenely, as her body pulsed upward with new strength and stature. She flexed her arm, watching the bicep rise out of the soft flesh, and tear the seams of her formerly baggy shirt. The end of her shirt was now stretched up to show her new stomach, rippling with muscle under her swaying breasts.

"How much of this would you say you just drank?" Callista said, looking into Mari's distant eyes. "Enough for now." Mari replied.

She flexed every part of her new body, as it swelled to a halt at her new 6'2". She looked down at Callista, whose eyes were now level with her new, pert, chest. The nipples still stood at attention, staring back at her. 

"I need to take some notes." Callista said, spinning and rushing back to her desk.

"Oh no you don't." Mari said, pulling her back into her tits. Callista couldn't help getting lost in her pillows, as she kissed them, moving upward to kiss Mari on her newly raised lips.

-----

Back in the bedroom, Mari and Callista kissed again, finding themselves just as they were some three years before. Their only difference now was a mere 4.5 inches. They could explore each other on more equal footing, as they had long ago.

Their fingers explored one another, peeling their clothes off as their skin connected in sweaty ecstasy. They pressed into one another, grinding their sex together as they trailed their hands down every corner. They collapsed onto the floor, as the bed was still rife with activity. 

Callista's fingers found Mari's vagina, and worked their way along the soft flesh, penetrating into her soft spot. Mari gasped as the hands worked their magic. She breathed heavy, unable to kiss her as her body spasmed with pleasure as Callista relentlessly fingered her pussy. Mari's body shook as her hands splayed out. She dug her nails into the floor as she felt every shockwave of lust ripple out of her. Her hands found Callista again, as she made her own way into Callista's sex.

Two hands did their separate work, as the women moaned together, fingering each other with extreme delight. They let their bodies come together, as their fingers moved faster, flicking at the bean with gentle care. They let their heads rest on the others shoulders as they moved to orgasm. The other women on the bed, had slowly begun to watch as their intensity took over the whole room. Their moans became shouts as they worked closer and closer to one final, loud orgasm that shook the room.

A moan came from the doorway. They all snapped out of it, turning to see Elaine in the doorway, red as a beet. She stepped in, trying to act confident. "I see this is where the festivities are being held."

The others stared back at her. She felt singled out.

"Just the way I came, then?" she turned, seeing herself out. Callista took her shoulder, and kissed her. She led her back into the room. The six women crowded around her as they began to caress and fondle one another anew. Callista kissed Elaine again, and joined the others. Elaine tried to wrestle into the group, but she slowly became pushed aside, not able to reach any of the soft lips or pillowy breasts that were being passed around like treats.

She stepped aside, defeated, and watched. Kelly saw her, and pulled her in for another kiss. Elaine smiled, and shooed her away. "Go have fun." she said. She meant it. This wasn't for her. Not yet. For now, she just watched, and touched herself as the giants discovered each other in new and different ways. One day, she would be the one to take pity on them. One day she would be the center of attention.

Captain Ulster watched the sun rise over Isla Brigita. The golden rays danced over the tropical eden as life began to bubble awake from the huts and tents of its residents. Ulster had spent the night staring up at the stars over the inky black ocean. A small woman with a curious snake tattoo had informed him just before the moon appeared that his passengers had found lodging for the night, and would join him again in the morning. He didn't mind the peace and quiet. A night without the powerful embrace of Kelly was a welcome change of pace to the old sea dog. Though he couldn't help but smile when he saw her head stride above the crowd toward him, following the sunrise.

She strode up to him, with Elaine, Callista, and Paul in tow, and gave him a very professional nod, which he returned. Elaine shook his hand furiously, obviously still excited by whatever the island offered her the night before. Callista stopped in front of him as the others got settled. "Ready to set out?" the captain asked.

"We have another member of the crew to wait on." Callista replied.

"Made a friend, did you?"

"Re-acquainted myself with one, more accurately."

"Knowing the company you lot keep, I imagine it's the titan with the trunk." Captain Ulster pointed, and Callista spun around to see Mari stomping toward them, a large steamer trunk slung over her shoulder that she kept steady with one burly arm. She smiled up at Callista as she made her way onto the boat.

"Quite the little schooner you've found yourself." she sighed.

"Captain Ulster, Miss Mari Yanagita". Callista introduced them as Mari slammed her trunk down to shake his hand, crushing it in her firm grip. The captain cringed a smile back at her. "Rooms are this way?" Mari asked.

The captain watched Callista lead the large woman down into the cabins, just as Kelly crouched out past them. She walked up to Ulster, looking all business right until she was just inches from his face. She pressed his face into her body and glared down at him devilishly. "I hope you didn't miss my company too much, Captain."

"I managed."

"Well, we have much to catch up on in terms of security."

"Give me a moment to weigh anchor before you smother me."

Kelly pressed him further into her breasts, feeling his joints pop against her embrace. "Don't tell me I smother."

"It's appreciated." he squeeked.

-----

Callista found herself in her cabin once agan, reorganizing everything as she fiddled with all her belongings. She shut her door, and plunged her hand into her hiding spot, looking at the remaining three vials of nectar. She'd brought enough for her steady studies to last the journey and back, but now two had been drank down like water. Her experiment was collapsing, but so too was her faith in it. These past few months with Elaine Redmond had changed her perspective in more ways than one. And now, with Mari back, she was unsure just how much more things would change.

As if on cue, there came a knock at the door. Callista stashed her vials, but not before placing another in her pocket. It had become so commonplace to her that she barely noticed she was doing it. Having nectar on her person at all times was only amplifying her urges.

She swung the door open to see Mari, leaning in with a smile. "So this is where they keep you." she purred. "Smaller than I imagined."

"And getting even smaller." Callista said as Mari pushed her way in. 

"Reminds me of old times." Mari said, staring straight into Callista's eyes.

"Not entirely. We have a new crew. New rules. You'll have to get used to sharing on this vessel." she pointed behind Mari toward Paul, who was staring intently from the doorway. "Captain wants us on deck. Something's afoot." he said.

They walked into the sunlight to see Kelly standing on the port, arms folded in disgust. Beyond her, on the water, another vessel was snaking toward them. Callista rushed up to the captain's quarters, where Elaine stood with Ulster watching intently.

"Been following us for at least an hour." Ulster said. "Might as well say hello."

"Yes, let's offer them some hospitality." Elaine added.

As the ship approached, Callista took in the sheer size of it. It was no junking hauler like the craft that carried them. It was a full yacht, with a staff of white-clad men buzzing around it. When the ships came abreast, a bridge was clapped onto the sides and ten seamen stomped across.

The little (in number) crew of the Ambrosius stood on deck, watching them form into a line with their arms behind their backs. Elaine's heart sank. "I know that uniform." she whispered.

"As you should." came a voice from the yacht. A stunning woman appeared on the plank, strutting daintily across with the helping hands of her staff. She was gorgeous, dressed entirely in silk, with long tresses of vibrant auburn hair to match. She smiled a ruby red grin at Elaine, walking straight up to her and extending a long, willowy arm. 

"The places we seem to find each other, Elaine." the woman laughed.

"Yes, one must begin to think you're following me, Danielle." Elaine shook her hand, coldly. She fit a rictus smile to her face. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce you to Miss Danielle Summerton. Heiress to the Summerton Packaging Fortune." 

"And the Horace Adhesives Fortune, as soon as Horace Junior and I set a date." Danielle added.

"Ah, so it's official then." Elaine cringed. Danielle flashed a massive diamond ring in her face, giving her a similarly radiant smile. "He gave me this little dinghy as an engagement present. Told me to take it anywhere my heart desired."

"Away from him, apparently." Elaine muttered.

"And then I heard about your little excursion, and it sounded like just the finest time. The finest time, Elaine." 

Elaine swallowed her surprise. "The nectar Danielle? But five foot eight is already so tall for a woman."

"And yet I'm somehow the smallest woman on this boat. Excluding yourself, of course."

"Naturally. But won't Horace be a little dismayed to have a blushing bride fit to burst?"

"Oh, Horace likes his horses and his trains and his cigars. Everything else he's content with. I, on the other hand, would like to try my hand at being a goddess. Wouldn't that just be grand?"

"I imagine so. However did you find the way?" Elaine prodded.

"A strange little man I met in Calcutta had a map. Said he'd been there some three years before with a crew. Quite the funny little person. He kept trying to warn me, practically begged me not to go. We had such a gas together."

Callista and Mari looked at each other. They could count on one hand how many men escaped with them from the jaws of hell. Desperate and haunted, it was likely every one of them had fallen on hard times. The sort easily exploited by women like Danielle.

A hush fell over the boat. Danielle Summerton was not the outrage she hoped to be to this crowd. She smiled even brighter.

"Well, don't let me slow you down. Looks like you'll need all the help you can get to make it to that island. This little boat of mine cuts through the water like a hot knife through butter. I'll be sure to stick around and say hello once you've found us at the vein." she tata'ed dancing along the gangplank.

When the yacht zipped away from the Ambrosius, the crew all looked down at the beet red Elaine Redmond. "We can't let her get there before us." she said through gritted teeth.

"Elaine, she doesn't even have a key." Callista tried to help.

"We can't let her beat us." was all Elaine replied.

-----

The Ambrosius chugged through the water like an asthmatic on a marathon, slicing through each wave with a heavy bump. Ulster stood at the wheel, bracing for every collision. His face was wet with sweat and sea, but his eye was keen. Miss Redmond had promised all of them a very healthy pay increase, with an advance if they beat the thin woman to the island. He meant to make good on his promise.

On deck, the others held onto the sides of the boat as the waves grew choppier. Kelly held Elaine in her firm grip, making sure the little gal didn't bounce right into the drink. Mari helped too, giving Kelly more ballast. It became a daisy chain of support as the Ambrosius careened toward victory.

Until it all stopped. The ship began to slow. Smoke belched from all the pipes. The captain became frenzied as he smacked every button and lever he could. "We don't have enough power, Miss!" he shouted from the wheel.

"Well how can we get more?" Elaine shouted back.

"We'd have to feed her manually!" 

-----

Kelly led the crew down to where the captain had pointed her, beneath the cabins into the furnace. It was a room as wide as the boat at its very base, where fire erupted from a massive, grated furnace. Kelly opened the furnace, watching the flames lick outward at them. In the far corner, a large pile of coal was stacked. A crackle made them all jump. On the wall, a speaker was mounted with a wire leading to the floors above. Ulster yelled through the speaker in a pneumatic warble. "Start shoveling!"

Kelly removed her blouse, revealing an undershirt beneath, and picked up a shovel next to the pile. She thrust pile after pile of coal into the simmering furnace, feeling the ship speed little by little with each thrust. 

"That's not fast enough." Elaine said. Kelly glared at her, making her shrink. Mari pushed past them, grabbing her own shovel. "Well, let's get a move on then." she roared.

Callista rolled up her sleeves, and dragged Paul with her as all four of them shoveled. The ship began to lurch faster and faster. Sweat dribbled down Callista's forehead as she shoveled again and again. She watched the other women, working like mad. Their thick arms coated with sweat as it made their tight tops cling to them. She shook her head, trying to snap back into work. 

"I can see the other boat!" the captain wheezed through the speaker. "It's increasing speed!"

They all shoveled faster, feeling the heat dance against their skin. Callista felt her muscles work harder and faster. She had yet to put her new strength to the test in a way such as this. Mari felt similar, feeling the new inch and more give her just a little more edge.

Elaine huffed. She grabbed a shovel and joined the fray, as best as her little arms could. Kelly smiled at her. She'd never seen her employer even try to get her hands dirty.

"We're losing them!" Ulster screeched.

"This is all we've got, captain!" Paul shouted back.

"Is it?" Mari asked, staring at Callista. Callista's tired eyes shot open. "No, we couldn't."

Elaine caught on. "You have more with you?"

"When does she not?" Kelly said.

"We could split it, just as I did before." Mari explained. "Give us all a little boost."

"We've been too risky with it already. We don't know what this sort of increased exposure could-"

"I'll give you anything you ask for, Callie. Just let me see that island. Let me be the one to tap the vein. And you'll have all you could ever want." Elaine pleaded.

Callista felt her hand glide toward her pocket. She pulled out a full vial of the nectar. Paul watched, curious. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Callista. Even if they take some, you can abstain." Callista smiled at him. She thumbed the cap off and took a swig, just enough for her share. Elaine cheered and Mari smiled. She grabbed the vial from Callista, clapping her on the back. "Let's do it then."

Mari downed her own portion, and tossed the half-vial to Kelly. Kelly paused for a moment. She hadn't sampled nectar since her own powerful growth. She had become accustomed to her new size over the years, and the idea of it changing again made her anxious. She closed her eyes, and drank her portion.

Elaine smiled, awaiting all the fun that was soon to commence. Then the vial passed to her. She gasped. In all this time, she hadn't thought they'd meant her as well. "I'm not so sure. I wanted to wait for the vein. Do you really need me?"

"Do you really want to get there first?" Kelly asked.

Elaine nodded. She plugged her nose and drank the rest of the vial. "Oh, it's actually quite sweet." Callista smiled at her.

"Let's work through it." Mari said, picking up her shovel. They barreled the coal in, feeling a renewed vigor that made them superhuman. Even Elaine was getting more than a few rocks in with each swing. 

Paul huffed and puffed, exhausted. He put his shovel down, watching as the women worked on. Their bodies shifted, and sweat poured off them. Paul watched as Kelly's back rippled with new muscle, as her undershirt began to ride tighter and tighter against her expanding hourglass. More of her lower back revealed itself with each shovel. He turned to Mari. Her shirt had ripped off completely as her muscles rippled wider and wider. Her breasts swayed back and forth above her tight stomach. She smiled, roaring with each shovel thrust. She was in ecstasy. Her sweat-soaked face beamed as it rose higher toward the ceiling.

Callista nudged him, giving him a look that urged him not to stare. He nodded, and did a double take. Her sleeves were on her forearms and her breasts squeezed tightly against her own top. Her stomach peeked out as she swung the shovel into the furnace again and again. Her breasts bounced, bracing against their confines as a sheen of sweat made the shirt completely translucent. Her nipples poked out against the sheer top. He wondered just how tall she was now, almost wanting to ask her to stop so she could stand up straight. But there was no stopping.

Elaine, on the other hand, needed a break. She slammed the shovel down, wheezing. Everything felt tight around her. Her dress pinched her at every corner, as she looked down to see her ankles completely bare. She touched herself, feeling her swelling body rise against her own embrace. Her dreams were coming true. She wouldn't be the small little thing anymore. Who knows how tall she was now, but this was only the beginning.

With a crash. Everything came to a halt. They all stopped, looking up confused. "We blew the whole engine." came a defeated crackle from the speaker. "Come on up, ladies."

Paul followed the sweat-soaked women out of the furnace, trying not to take it personally that the captain hadn't distinguished him from a lady.

-----

They climbed into the captain's quarters, out of breath and sticky with sweat. Ulster's eyes bulged as he watched the expanded women saunter into his view. "Really got to work down there, I see." Kelly smiled at him, eyes above everyone's head.

"What's the situation?" Elaine asked, shoving her way to the front. She liked this extra weight she felt in her. It added to her already swaggering confidence.

"Well, we killed the poor girl. She wasn't meant to work this hard." Ulster said, patting his wheel.

"So we're stuck here?" Callista asked, looking out into the open ocean. Nothing in sight.

"For the time being. We'll need to let her rest at least for the night. I'll make some repairs, if Paul can assist me." Paul nodded at Ulster's call. "We can be shipshape in the morning. Good work ladies, but it seems there'll be no raise for any of us."

"Oh, I'm not sure about that." Elaine smiled. "I think we all earned a little raise, didn't we Callista?" Callista rolled her eyes. "Job well done everyone. Consider yourselves rich. Let's just get to that vein before Summerton takes it all for herself. Let's get some sleep."

They all walked out, leaving Paul and Ulster to their work. "What the blazes went on down there?" Ulster whispered to Paul. 

"You'd have to see it, yourself." Paul replied.

-----

Callista put the empty vial back in its case. Two left. This morning there were three. Who's to say how much there would be tomorrow. Elaine yelled from outside, and Callista opened the door to find her lining the other women up for inspection.

"Now my powers of observation are a bit, askew at the moment, given my recent change of view. So give me a moment and I'll tell you. She looked at Mari, whose head touched the ceiling of the cabin hall. "You're a good metric. This room is six and a half feet tall. So that makes you the same."

"Six foot six." Mari whistled admiringly.

"Could you lie down on your back, dear? It's hard for me to tell with you crouching like that?" Elaine asked the overstuffed Kelly politely. Kelly calmly laid on her back, watching as Elaine approached her and scanned with her eyes. 

"My dear Miss Kelly, you are seven feet if you're an inch."

Kelly's eyes widened. Seven feet. That was a powerful number. And the change was so different from last time. She'd distracted herself so much, it just felt like long, slow pleasure. She rose again. "Thank you, excuse me. I need to make my rounds."

She crouched her way out of the cabin onto the deck. Elaine watched her then spun around to Callista. "You, my sweet Callie. You..." She sauntered up to her, wrapping her arms around Callista's wide hips. She nodded at her, and Callista leaned close to her. Elaine craned her neck up, and whispered "Six foot one."

Callista stepped back. She was over six feet tall now. Something she hadn't planned for many years, if at all. She looked down at Elaine Redmond, staring at her from beneath Callista's massive, sweat-soaked breasts. "Which makes me... five foot two."

Elaine practically danced. "That's a perfectly respectable height for a woman. Possibly even average. Can you believe it? I've never been average before!" Callista smiled at Elaine, happy for her bizarre little ambitions. Elaine danced her way into her room, slamming the door. Callista and Mari heard a muffled scream of delight soon after.

"Quite the day." Mari said. "You know where the shower is on this boat?"

"Down the hall, just before Elaine's room." Callista answered.

"Would you mind showing me?" Mari asked. Callista looked up at her newly massive lover. She had no choice.

-----

Ulster wrenched at his machines, ripping paneling off with frustration. He knew the boat like the back of his sweetheart's hand. It killed him to tinker too much with it. "Captain." came a voice from above.

Ulster and Paul looked up to see Kelly leaning into the doorway. He thought he'd imagined it before, but she was definitely bigger. She had to lean her whole head into the doorway now.

"I'd like a word with you privately about the ship's integrity after today's... escapade. Mr. Geiss?"

Paul got the message. He walked out, stepping past Kelly's looming body. "I'll get a closer look at that furnace."

When Paul had disappeared below deck, Kelly stepped into the captain's quarters. "How's she look, captain?" Kelly purred.

"She'll manage in due time. Seems to have taken on a bit more weight from somewhere." Ulster replied, watching Kelly's flesh spill out of her top from all openings.

"Is it too much to handle?" Kelly asked, stepping closer to the captain. Her new seven foot frame made him eye-level with the top of her chest. She used that to her advantage. The captain stared down at her erect nipples poking through the top.

"She'll do just fine." Ulster replied. Kelly placed her long leg between the captain's legs, letting it rest against his lap. Her hands found his shoulders as she pushed him against the wall of his quarters. She looked down at him, reveling in her new stature. She could get used to this. "I'd like to give her a few tests." Kelly moaned.

She kissed him, sliding her tongue right into his mouth as her lips pressed against him. Her hands slid down his tight chest as she writhed around him like a snake. Every inch of her, all seven feet, squeezed against him, as her breasts fell out of her top. Ulster pulled the whole thing off, letting it slide to the floor as he watched her massive breasts, now free, bounce up and down.

His pants came off. Her's followed. Her sex was wet with pleasure as she grinded against his erect cock. She bounced on it, letting her weight smack against his member with all the force of her pleasure. She moaned, letting him twist before she let him enter her. She wanted to tease him. Let him wait.

Her arms wrapped around him as she let her nipples squeeze against his face. He buried himself in her chest, licking every inch of her breasts as he massaged them with his hands. She gasped, feeling the ecstasy of each of his movements on her.

Her hands found his penis. She slid her fingers along it as he gasped. She guided his erection into her sweet, wet vagina. Her eyes shot open as she felt him enter. She pounded against him over and over as she felt his inches slide inside her. She pushed her tight stomach against his, as her breasts swayed and jiggled. She pulsed, and craned her back, letting as much of him in as she could. She moaned louder and louder. Her teeth clacked together as her eyes cleched shut. Ulster moaned, feeling the warmth of this massive woman completely consume him. 

She grew quiet, soft squeeks were all she could do as they thrust into each other, their hands shooting around like wild. She squeeked a long, pained noise, then it hit her. Her orgasm shook the room as she moaned one loud, ecstatic howl of pure delight. 

They collapsed onto the floor. She stroked his hair, as Ulster nestled against her soft breasts. Kelly smiled, half-aware. She hadn't changed as she'd feared. She had changed to her delight.

-----

The shower was small. A metal faucet, with steel walls and a grated floor to catch the water and grime. Mari stepped in. It was tall enough for her to stand comfortably, but not by much. "A bit snug." she said.

Callista watched her disrobe, revealing her perfectly sculpted body. "I don't think this ship expected a crew like us." she said.

"I don't know if more than one person could fit in here, even regular sized." she said with a smile and a flex.

"It's possible." Callista trailed off, unconcerned.

"No, I mean it. Step in here." 

Callista got it. She shook her head. Mari urged, leaning against the back wall of the shower to make room. Callista sighed and stepped forward. "Ah, wait. You have to take your clothes off first. We don't want any extra factors."

"You're serious."

"You're the scientist. Do you want to disrupt my experiment?" Mari chided. Callista smiled. She peeled her top off, revealing her swollen breasts. She shimmied her pants down, showing off her new hips and perfect privates. Mari smiled, approving.

Callista wedged herself into the shower. There was enough room for her, but there was no space between the two women. Their breasts nudged against each other. They laughed, trying to stop, but the more they moved, the more they touched each other. Mari shut the door behind Callista. "You needed one anyway." she cooed. Callista smiled up at her. She cranked the knob, letting a cascade of water fall gently on the both of them.

Mari stared down at her, as water covered her. "So how does it feel to be in the six foot club?"

"Cramped." Callista said, still adjusting herself. She couldn't find a comfortable spot.

"Here." Mari wrapped her arm around Callista, moving her against her body. Their arms wrapped around one another, completely embraced. They pressed their wet flesh together, smiling serenely. No more fighting it.

"Better." Callista said. Mari leaned down and kissed her. They kissed, embracing tightly for what felt like hours. The water drizzled over them, washing their kisses down into the grate. Their arms slid up and down each others' slick bodies. Eventually their hips swayed, they felt their mounds glide against one another, becoming inflamed with passion.

Hands found breasts, pinching and carressing. Mari traveled south, letting her fingers dance along Callista's sex. Callista swallowed a gasp, feeling Mari enter her with her fingers, finding her g-spot immediately. She flicked at it, making Callista's knees wobble. She gritted her teeth, laughing as she held onto Mari's powerful shoulders to stay up. The flicking continued, as Callista felt weaker and weaker in the knees. Her laughs became gasps as she felt close to coming.

Her hand found Mari's g-spot, and Mari buckled. It was her only defense against an early orgasm. They fingered each other, sliding down in the shower as they dueled in heated embrace. Their moans and gasps fell into sync as the rhythm rose higher and more intense.

Outside, Paul walked past on the way to the furnace. They were so together, he could only hear one set of moans. Someone must be having some alone time, he thought.

But he was wrong. The two had found their power, rising again in an embrace that squeezed their soft flesh together. But the fingers kept at their work. Their ecstasy rose and rose until it was one, together loud orgasm that shot out of their clenched throats like water from the faucet.

They held each other then, tighter than ever, as they came down from their pleasure high. They panted, breathless, looking into each others gauzy eyes, smiling.

"I think I make a good addition to this crew." Mari panted.

Callista nodded, hugging her even tighter, feeling her full body against her own.

Elaine Redmond sat at her vanity, staring into the wide mirror that reflected her small but luxurious cabin. The affectations and sundries she brought with her did not register at all in her gaze, as she stared intensely at her own body. The subtle changes three inches had made to her frame were absorbed, drank in through her eyes. What she'd always wanted: to be bigger. Her dream come true, but it was just the start.

The air had grown sweeter as the Ambrosius made its slogging journey toward the island. The smell of sugary delight wafted through the breeze. It was unmistakeable. The island was close. Paul and Callista stood on deck, smelling the wind and taking in the beauty of the open ocean. Paul smiled. "You really can follow your nose to this thing."

Callista didn't smile back. "It's not as sweet as it smells, trust me."

"It's a perfume." Mari announced, joining them. "Like dumping musk on a rotting thing, to hide its odor. Its malice."

"You two sure are fun this morning." Paul said.

"I imagine we'll stay that way." Mari replied, coldly. "Too much history we have with this place."

Mari closed her eyes. Scent has a powerful connection with memory. And she couldn't help but fall deeper into her own subconscious, to the time before.

-----

Three years prior, a much nicer ship full of much nicer crewmen nudged its nose onto the shore of that unnamed island. Mari watched from the prow, standing next to Callista. Both stood up front, too short too see over the large, burly crew as they made berth. "This is it, then." Mari said. Callista clutched her hand, tightly. Excitement was all they felt. The sense of fear would come later. And it would fester to an unending dread.

"Can you imagine what wonders that place has in store for us?"

"I think it's about time to stop imagining." came a voice from behind. A woman pushed through the crew to join them. She was confident and strapping. A natural leader.

"Rebecca." Callista said, welcoming her to their circle of joy.

Rebecca had become the de facto den mother of the small female population aboard the vessel. Though she was no taller than Mari's 5'1", her natural charisma and bull-headedness had made her a shield against anyone who sought to question their fitness onboard. "Let's go find some plants." she said, pulling them both into a tight embrace.

Mari smiled. Anyone could feel safe in Rebecca's arms. She had a way of making a person think she could crush the world in her hands if need be. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, and stepped forward. "Shall we disembark?"

They all stepped onto the island. The four women and eight men in single file. Mari admired the island, its looping branches and roots digging into the ground even at the shore. She was to realize all too soon, that the man to her left and to her right would be dead in an hour. And they wouldn't be alone. Only six would ever see that vein. And only four would escape to tell the tale.

----

Mari's boot crunched into the sand of the island once more. A different, larger boot than the one she wore on her first visit. She puffed out her chest, letting the fear beat against her breast. She was stronger now, in more ways than obvious. She would not allow this island to beat her twice. But even then, she knew the trials would test her limit.

Paul stepped down after her, offering Callista a hand from the plank. She took it, politely, and followed his arm into a close embrace. She and Paul had only flourished in the two weeks since her most recent growth. Even the addition of Mari hadn't tempered the burning passion she felt for him. She hadn't felt like this about anyone. It was more than lust, or pleasure. She looked at Paul and saw a future.

Paul looked at Callista and saw the top of her head. He'd noticed she'd grown again since the adventure in the furnace, but the sway of the sea and their naturally horizontal disposition had made it difficult for him to tell. She was only two inches shorter than him now, and it was starting to sink in. The fact was even more clear when he turned to see Mari. She had been his height the last time they were on dry land. Now he was staring at her nose.

The stomps of Kelly from the boat, carrying Elaine in her arms like a newlywed, broke Paul's stupor. Kelly placed Elaine on the sand, and Elaine produced a small flag from Kelly's large backpack. It bore a bizarre symbol, too elaborate to be anything official. "Does anyone take umbrage to the name 'Redmond Island'?"

She planted her flag into the sand, as they all rolled their eyes. "She might." Paul said, pointing far off into the distance. Elaine spun around to see the Summerton Yacht anchored on the far side of the island. She fumed. "Think she brought a flag, though?" Paul added.

Elaine stomped forward. "We must be on our way then." she said.

Callista stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Take it slow. This place is treacherous."

"So am I." Elaine said, tugging at Callista's grip. It was no use. The woman was stronger than her. She stared up at her, into her deep, beautiful eyes. She hated feeling helpless, especially so close to her destiny. Callista sighed, reading her face. "Lead by example." she replied.

Elaine nodded. She couldn't afford to lose her crew's support. She knew she was the least likely to do this alone. "It's a bunch of roots. How bad can it be?"

They all stared up into the mass of bramble and trees that created a deep, dark tunnel of mystery. The island stood like a hole into the center of the earth itself. The rocks and trunks rose so high, they traveled into the clouds. Which wasn't so hard a feat, given the hazy, unnatural atmosphere of the island.

Ulster looked out at the foggy wilds of the island from his perch on the ship. "I'll just stay here then? Keep an eye on the ship?" Kelly looked up at him, one eyebrow cocked. "No need, captain. We'll need all the hands we can get on the journey."

Ulster stepped down onto the shore to get a closer look. "You ladies can't take care of what's in there, yourself?" He felt a presence behind him. He looked up to see Kelly standing right behind him, staring down like a wolf.

"Afraid, Captain Ulster?" Her hands rested on his shoulders. He sighed. Perhaps it was safer to stay close to his bedroom behemoth. "Not a chance."

Packs were strapped, courses were set, and they all stepped out from Elaine's flag, descending into the cavernous roots of what was certain to never become Redmond Island. 

-----

Rebecca cut her way through the thicket, creating a path for her crew one machete swing at a time. The roots only grew denser as they moved further in. Callista stopped, scribbling notes into her journal as she went. She ran a finger along a root that Rebecca had just chopped free. She rubbed her fingers together, feeling something moist and wet between them. "Some sort of sap travels deep throughout the trees."

Mari ran her own finger along it. "Like a syrup?" She licked her finger.

"Mari, don't! We don't know anything about this substance."

"Well, that's why we're here, right?" She licked her finger more, mockingly.

"We're here to collect samples, and leave alive." Rebecca stated, cutting in. Mari gulped, ashamed. Her head shook. Her spine tingled. "Wow."

"What is it?" Callista asked, intrigued.

"It's like I just woke up from the most relaxing sleep, and I could run a marathon and a half."

"Mild energy booster, and mood elevator." Callista scribbled.

"You've got that right." Mari jittered, pressing on with renewed vigor. The crew watched her, licking their own fingers in excitement. It became a psychosomatic gesture for the men, but they all pressed on with restored strength deeper into the dark.

-----

"Remember this?" Mari asked, running her finger along a root as she did so long ago. Callista smiled. She did the same, with a game expression. 

"A watered down sample of nectar, from the source." Callista explained to the crew.

"Gives you a little more pep." Mari added. They all took their own licks.

"It doesn't work on the men, though." came a voice. They all spun around to see Danielle Summerton, standing amongst her now shabby crew, looking disappointed. "We've been at this for hours, and I'm starting to think we're going in circles."

"You are." Callista said, proudly. "It's a maze, the whole island. Designed to keep people out. Nature and civilization combined into a defense mechanism that grows stronger every day."

"Very cute. Well I've been sucking on these branches for about as long as I can stand. How far to the vein from here, miss?" Danielle asked Callista, like she was some shop girl.

"A way's." Callista spat.

"It's a good thing I've brought a guide, Danielle. Invaluable on this sort of thing." Elaine said, trotting forward. Danielle looked her up and down. 

"Especially for someone who finds it necessary to wear heels in a jungle." Danielle looked down at Elaine. No heels. She looked back up at her to find a smile waiting. "Well, someone's been opening their presents before Christmas. Got a little sample for me?"

"You'll have to work for it, for once in your life." Elaine shot back.

"I guess I could just follow your guide, wait until we get to the vein, and have my boys take an exclusive claim." Danielle said.

Kelly stepped forward, arms across her chest. "You're welcome to try."

Danielle looked up at her, eyes widening. She looked back at her crew for support, but every man was too winded to look more than unhelpful. She whistled, two fingers between her teeth. The men stood alert. "Present arms!" she shrieked.

The men balefully pulled pistols from their belts, raising them to the sky. They each fired a round into the air. The island pulsed at the noise. Wild noises groaned in the distance. Mari and Callista turned grey.

"I wouldn't do that more than you need. " Mari said, ashen. 

"Where is our reply?" Elaine asked to Kelly. Kelly grunted at her, "It was requested by the experts to leave all explosives and firearms on the shore. For the safety of the crew."

"Seems to be the opposite now." Elaine shouted. The groaning in the trees grew louder. Figures shifted from the darkness. Callista watched, terrified.

"We need to move. And we need to stay on my path." she whispered to Elaine.

"You'll go when I say you'll go." Danielle interrupted. 

"For all our sakes, we need to press on." Callista warned. Danielle made a motion, and her men pointed the pistols at them. "You can join us, so long as we press on." 

"Well I think I just need you, don't I?" She directed the guns to point at everyone but Callista.

"I'll give you a vial." Callista said. She dug into her pocket, pulling a vial of nectar from it. "A token of goodwill. Of much more to come. Let us pass unharmed, all of us, and we'll all make it to the vein together."

Danielle stared at it, unsure. She trotted up to Callista, and snatched it from her outstretched hand. She lifted it, like a cheers, in front of the fuming Elaine. "To the vein, then." She downed it in one big gulp. Her ruby lips sucked on the vial, getting every last drop from its confines. Callista had been taking drops from it for days. It wasn't exactly full. But she knew this would be quite the change for Danielle Summerton either way. 

"Oh." she cried, grabbing her chest. "It's quite sweet. And fast acting!" The men watched as their employer started to shift in front of them. Her tight safari gear grew tighter, as her sleeves rode up her wrists. Danielle shivered, feeling every inch add to her frame. She giggled, moaning with pleasure, making a meal out of the experience knowing Elaine could only watch in disgust.

Danielle's breasts surged in her buttoned blouse, stretching each clasp to its limit. She stared down at herself, making giddy noises. Callista looked back at Mari, who rolled her eyes in response. It all seemed so undignified when Danielle did it. It lacked an earnest pleasure, and reeked of condescension. 

Danielle's top two buttons popped, falling onto the mottled floor. She laughed, watching her bust creep out of its confines. "Are you seeing this, Redmond?" she cackled. "It's all real. I can hardly believe my luck."

"It's indescribable." Elaine muttered.

Danielle's pant legs creeped out of her boots, revealing her soft ankles, and then some. The ends split in all directions as her flesh surged out of her clothes. She breathed deep, letting the rest of her buttons pop and her breasts break free. Captain Ulster fanned himself with his hat, as the Summerton crew stared at each other in disbelief. 

Paul nudged himself next to the rest of the men. "First time?" he asked with a grin.

At last Danielle's growth came to a halt. Her blouse fell to the floor, as she pulled her ruined boots from her feet. The men gulped at their topless, tightly clad employer as she rose again to her new height. She snapped at one, who marched forward. "If you don't mind, sailor?" she asked.

The sailor understood, removing his uniform shirt and handing it to her, saving just his undershirt for himself. She buttoned the the uniform coat around her top, barely buttoning it around her enhanced bosom. She took his boots as well, leaving him barefoot against the unforgiving forest floor. She shook herself, feeling the new weight, the new power.

"It really is something." she cooed. "If only I could tell how much I've improved. I wish there was someone I knew, someone here with a strange knack for knowing exactly-"

"Six foot two." Elaine spat. "Let's get on with this."

"Six foot two!" Daneille repeated. She strutted around Elaine's frozen crew, admiring her new perspective. "Not quite the size of your companions here, but something to be proud of for sure. Oh what will Horace Junior do with me? A bride the same height as him. Heels will be out of the question to be sure." she stopped at Callista, staring slightly down at her with a smile.

"But that's only the beginning, I'd wager. We're so close to the vein after all." she sauntered over to Elaine, drinking in her new advantage over her social rival. "A full foot taller than you, sweet Elaine. A new experience for me, but probably not uncommon for you. You do socialize with the most interesting of people."

"Present company excluded, of course. Shall we press on, or would you like to stick my nose in it, as well?" Elaine said.

"No, I think not. I'll carry on but I don't like my crew feeling too crowded, you understand. Do one of them." she ordered.

A gun fired. Shouting. Paul fell, clutching his knee. Blood trickled from a wound at its center. Callista's eyes shot open, she raced over to him, holding him against her. His face tightened into a pained grimace. Kelly stepped toward the Summerton crew. She'd had enough. The guns pointed toward her and she stopped, furious.

"I want what's best for you, Elaine. But I also want it first. This should slow you down enough to my liking. See you when I see you." Danielle strode away, her crew just behind her. Kelly tightened her fist, but thought better.

She turned to see everyone crowded around Paul. He was powering through it, but walking would be difficult going forward. "If only we had a doctor with us." he joked weakly. Mari wedged in, lifting his leg. Paul screamed in pain. The groaning of the forest responded. Mari inspected his leg. "Clean through. No bullet." she grunted.

"Thank god." Callista breathed. 

Ulster grabbed loose bramble, assembling it into a splint. Mari ripped her shirt, tying pieces into a makeshift cast on Paul's leg. She used larger pieces to cover the wound on both sides. Kelly and Mari lifted him. "Can you stand on your own?" Kelly asked.

"I'll manage." Paul gasped, before collapsing. 

"We'll take turns supporting him." Kelly said. "Each of us." She turned to see Elaine already walking toward the direction Danielle had fled. She stopped, feeling everyone's eyes on her. 

"We can press on, then?" she asked. Callista felt rage boil in her. The faces of the crew darkened against her.

"We can press on." Paul replied, cutting the tension. He limped, under the arm of Kelly, toward Elaine.

"She's a bitch. She shot me. Let's go take that nectar from her." he smiled. Elaine smiled back. The courtesy of others had become a currency more potent than any she'd ever trafficked in. It would take Elaine Redmond far too long to realize just how much she relied on people who cared about her. 

"We'll never make it in time." Elaine replied, sheepishly.

"There's a lot more on this island that can slow her down." Mari said. "Trust me."

Callista laughed, suddenly. They all paused, unused to their serious guide showing any kind of mirth. She laughed harder, letting the sounds echo against the moaning trees.

"Well, what is it?" Elaine shouted.

Callista wiped her teary eyes, catching her breath. "She still doesn't know she needs a key." 

Callista's bones shivered as she cut through the thick jungle deeper into the heart of the island. She shook her head, trying to clear her eyes of any visions of the past that lingered in her vision. They had more pressing matters to worry about. Some distance ahead, out of sight, was a ruthless, powerful woman hunting for a substance that would make her even more powerful. Callista imagined her ruthlessness would increase as well.

"We must pick up the pace." Elaine chirped next to her. Callista looked down at the stern-faced heiress huffing along beside her. She recognized the same look she saw in Danielle's eyes. Even after all those months on the ship, where Callista saw the inside of Elaine Redmond, the inner goodness lurking behind all the walls she'd spent building around herself, Callista couldn't help but wonder if she was trading one monster for another.

A howl in the distance cut short any more thinking. There were actual monsters to contend with on this island. They all stopped in their tracks, staring out at the source of the inhuman yelp. Paul winced as Ulster stopped short, lugging his wounded doctor over his shoulder. "Sorry, mate."

"Comes with the territory." Paul said, through gritted teeth.

"What was that?" Kelly spat, tensing up.

"Wildcats." Mari whispered. "We must have passed into their territory."

"Already?" Callista whispered back.

"We're making excellent time." Mari replied, rolling her eyes toward Elaine, who was at the moment trying to hide just how nervous she was.

"What do we do?" the heiress asked.

"Walk quietly." Mari answered. "And hope we make it to the falls before they get hungry."

They crept onward. Mari and Callista led them further through the thicket, showing care not to slash too loudly at the bramble before them. It would take precision to remain clandestine through the wildcat territory. Absolute quiet had become a necessity. Any conversation would have to boil down to the absolute essential.

"They're big, then?" Elaine asked.

Callista flinched at the sound of her voice. She nodded carefully in reply.

"I imagine they must be big. Given the nature of the island." They all tip toed ahead, not hazarding a retort. "Is everything on this island very big. do you suppose?"

"Elaine. They are big." Callista shot back, spinning around to glare at her. "They are the size of sumatran tigers and they will eat you whole just to tide themselves over for dinner. And they have excellent hearing. I will take your silence as the only reply."

Elaine nodded. She'd never seen Callista this nervous. It chilled her. Even Mari's back seemed to tense at the tiniest sound. This wasn't the sort of danger you could take yourself out of. It was a new experience for the heiress, and the cold splash of reality was beginning to strike her.

Everything on this island was big, Callista thought. Not monstrous, but enough to give any living person more than a hard time. Any person but one. Callista wondered if she was still alive. She had to be. What she'd done to herself was all in the purpose of staying alive, and keeping the rest of them alive. To ensure they would never return. And yet here she was. Callista wondered if Rebecca would be furious to see her again. A woman her size was not someone you would wish to arouse fury. But even with all that, Callista couldn't help but feel hopeful to see her again.

Paul wheezed, trying his past to keep quiet as his wound grew hotter and hotter in his gut. He could see the women growing further away from them as the captain lugged him along in the rear. He needed help. He wasn't willing to admit it, and he certainly wasn't going to ask them to stop in cat country, but he knew without proper stitching and cleaning he would go into shock within the hour. "Ulster," he whispered.

The captain grunted quietly next to him. 

"I want you to put me down gently, and keep walking." he whispered back.

Ulster shook his head, brusquely. Beads of sweat whipped off him as he did.

"We can't keep going like this. You know it. I'll patch up and catch up."

Ulster slowed. He considered it. Above anything else, the captain was a practical man. He'd been through more than one scrape and lived to tell the tales others weren't lucky enough to tell themselves. He wondered what he'd say about Paul as his hand slipped a little from his wounded doctor. Paul nodded in forgiving understanding.

He felt himself slip toward the ground, and his vision became blurry. Then he felt himself rise. Had a second wind come at last? Would he make it past the wildcat territory on his own power?

"I'll take the next shift, captain." Came a voice in his ear. He looked up to see Kelly grabbing him from under his shoulders. Ulster stepped away, taking a breath as the titaness pulled Paul from his grasp. She swept his legs up and carried him in her arms. Paul winced as his gut settled into this new position. Kelly carried him along with ease, her fierce eyes never looking away from the path ahead.

"A bit undignified." Paul breathed.

"Shhh." Kelly whispered. She stepped hard on a twig as they passed over. The crunch echoed as the party stopped. They had only a split second to wonder before a cacophony of roars and screeches tore through the air. Elaine screamed, as Mari grabbed hold of her. Callista and Ulster spun about, waiting for the first sign of attack.

It never came. The screams grew more intense, but their sources never arrived. Gunfire began to respond, and they realized it was not their team that had disturbed the cats. Elaine felt a growing sense of justification as she thought of what could possibly be happening to Danielle and her crew up ahead.

"We have to help them." Callista spat, racing forward.

"Hell's horses, we do." Elaine snapped. "After what they did to Dr. Geiss?"

"She's right." Mari chimed in.

"Thank you." Elaine replied.

"No, Callista's right. They'll die if we don't scatter them." Mari dropped Elaine from her embrace and raced after her friend.

"Well isn't that so bold and brave. And what about the woman whose employ you are under? At least Miss Kelly understands the balance of-"

Kelly whizzed past her, Paul still tight in her grasp. Elaine's mouth went slack as she watched Ulster chase behind, with nothing but a tip of his cap.

"The amount this woman will owe me..." Elaine huffed as she stormed after the group.

----

Elaine passed through the thick leaves and branches, trying her best to keep Ulster in her sight as the longer-limbed group put greater distance between her and themselves. She felt her breath catch, wondering how much longer she could do this, and then she stopped.

She gazed out into the hellish scene before her. Bodies scattered everywhere, torn to shreds. Their once pristine white uniforms were now soaked in red and in pieces. Blood had spattered against the fat leaves in a clearing filled with death. Callista wandered around, checking for any signs of life as Mari scanned the area. The cats were long gone. Some of the men were missing, by Elaine's count. She wondered if they'd wandered off, or were taken back for another meal.

"They got their fill, I'd say." Mari sighed.

"Which means we're safe for now?" Elaine asked, swallowing her terror.

"Not quite." came a quivering voice from the brush. 

They all spun around. From the shadows came Danielle, her hair wild and her eyes even wilder. Her ill-fitting top was torn even more and a splash of blood streaked across her face. She pointed her gun at them in her trembling hand.

"Came upon some rough customers. We held our own for a time, but..." Danielle laughed joylessly. "It's so hard to find good help."

"You have to know where to look." Elaine replied, her eyes shooting toward her own team. 

"Ha! They'll let you down. This place is death. Not some lark." Danielle spat. "You led me to death, Elaine. You're going to get me out. But not before I get what I came for."

Kelly sighed.

"You!" Danielle shouted, turning the gun on Callista. "You're going to take me to the vein. I'll let your companions live, in return. And once I am a god, I will let you live for bringing me to it. That sounds like a fair trade, yes?"

"Bad trade." Mari replied. Kelly nodded.

"No deal." Callista agreed.

"There are 6 bullets in this gun. I have many more where they came from, but do know I'm an excellent shot. How much are you willing to risk?"

"I won't let you do this." Callista sighed.

"You people seem to be laboring under some disposition of choice. There is no choice. There is my gun. And there is the vein."

Kelly gently sat Paul down on the ground. He grimaced as his body shifted again. He'd gone pale white and his vision was pin-holed. He could only barely understand the danger they'd all fallen into. "Help stitch him up, Mari. We don't have any more time to waste."

Mari nodded, rushing over to him and pulling supplies from his pack. She'd learned just enough to patch herself up, but it would take some effort to take care of another. Especially one in such dire need.

Kelly walked up to Callista, staring into her eyes with a deep understanding. Callista felt tears on her cheeks. "I won't do it." she sputtered. "I made a promise. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry." Kelly replied. "Take good care of her. She means well." 

Callista's head cocked. She watched, confused, as Kelly walked toward Danielle. 

"What is this, you think I'm bluffing?" Danielle cried. "Don't think you can intimidate me, you behemoth. I mean business."

Kelly did not stop. She moved closer and closer to the startled Danielle. "Back, I said!"

And she fired. Kelly buckled as the bullet hit her in the shoulder. But she pressed on toward Danielle. 

Danielle's eyes grew more manic. She fired again, and again, emptying the gun into the 7 foot bodyguard now only a foot away from her and closing the gap fast. Kelly wheezed, bleeding from the 6 perfect shots in her body as she put her hands on Danielle's shoulders. She looked down at the crazed socialite with the wisdom of the dead.

"We're not gods." she sighed. "We're just people."

Danielle choked out a sob as she felt Kelly's hands close around her face. In an instant, Kelly snapped her neck and watched her body fall to the floor. Elaine cried out, startled and horrified. 

Kelly collapsed next to her victim, feeling all her strength leave her. Mari worked furiously to stitch up Paul as she watched the others crowd around Kelly.

Ulster took her in his arms, staring down at her with an affection that surprised even himself. "Why'd you go and do that?"

"She needed to be stopped. Some people can't learn. What that stuff did to me, it would have done us all wrong if it got to her." Kelly wheezed.

Callista sat down next to her as Elaine sobbed beside them. She took Kelly's hand and gripped it tight. "I could have found a way."

"There are worse reasons to die than saving a life." Kelly told her.

"She means well." Kelly continued, shooting one last glance at her employer before she stared intently at Callista. "You'll make sure she gets what she needs?"

Callista nodded as she felt Kelly's grip grow loose. Ulster bent down and kissed her as they let her slip into her great reward.

They all stood. over her, watching as death stole the vibrance from her once powerful, animated form. Ulster sniffled as Mari approached them. Callista stared at her, concerned. "He's done losing blood." she said, her hands caked in red.

"If he comes to, he should make it long enough until we can get back to the ship." she added.

Callista strode over to him, leaving the dead for the dying as she looked into his unconscious face. "We'll take him with us?"

"Of course." Mari replied, slinging him over her shoulders.

"We should say something." Ulster stated.

Mari and Callista turned back to see the captain trying his best to bury Kelly alone. Callista joined him, patiently giving their true friend a decent place to rest. "I don't think anything we say can follow her last words." she said, patting the old captain on the back as he let out a few more sobs.

He nodded, and stood. He took one last swig from his flask and dumped the rest onto Kelly's grave. He placed the flask on top of their makeshift headstone and sighed. "When do we press on, young Miss Redmond?"

They turned, and only then realized Elaine was long gone. Their eyes darted back and forth. 

"Think she went back to the ship?" Mari asked.

"Absolutely not." Callista replied, storming off deeper into the jungle.

----

It didn't take long to find Elaine, struggling through the deep maze of weeds on her own. Callista caught her in her grasp and spun her around. Elaine yelped in shock. "What's the point of frightening me?" she shouted.

"We were burying Kelly. You didn't wish to pay your respects?" Callista asked.

"I've paid that woman much more than respect for quite some time." Elaine shot back. "There's no use lingering. There is danger here, yes? And if Dr. Geiss over there was conscious, I think he'd appreciate us not dallying."

Callista turned around to see Mari carrying Paul behind her. Ulster joined as well, hiding his rage quite poorly.

"She gave you everything." he spat.

"And I still have nothing to show for it." Elaine replied. Ulster raised his hands, ready to strike when Elaine began to cry. It made him stop, startled. He watched as she broke down, cradling her knees to her chest. As the sobs grew more desperate, it was hard for anyone to imagine she was putting on an act for sympathy. "I can't do this." she sobbed.

"The only way I know how to keep going is to keep going." Elaine continued. "If I wallow even for a moment, I'll stop forever. This journey has had so many wonders. My life is changed forever and enriched by all of you. But the danger was so impossible to understand until it takes hold of you. Kelly meant the world to me. She would..." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"She would want us to press on." Callista finished for her, with a defeated sigh.

Elaine was right, no matter how wrong it felt. And Callista couldn't help but feel the electric mix of fear and excitement when she realized she could smell the water in the air. The falls were close. Beyond them, the vein.

Through the last bit of brush, she saw it. Callista stared up at the magnificent waterfall before her. The haze of the falls caressed her skin, much appreciated after the long humid sweat of the jungle. But here they were, after all their struggle, and all their death. She turned to Mari, who smiled at her before they were both pushed aside by a much larger man. Queeg put his hands on his hips, looking at the fountain with not much more than annoyance. "Another blasted obstacle. Are you sure we're headed in the right direction?"

"That's the only thing I'm sure of." Rebecca replied, cutting through the wall of men to stand next to her stubborn captain. "And I have yet to be wrong."

"I'm down to 2 other crewmen, a stowaway woman-"

"Who just pulled you out of a lion's mouth." Mari spat back. Queeg scowled at her, but continued.

"And two busybody eggheads who'd rather collect flowers than carry a gun."

"It wasn't a gun that got us to the falls." Rebecca said, not even raising her voice. "Now would you mind standing aside while Ms. Wethers and I... collect more flowers?"

Queeg huffed, glaring down at Rebecca's arched eyebrows. Any bargaining chips he had were spent long ago. He stomped back to Mertin and Calloway, muttering obscenities while Mari and Callista huddled together in front of the falls. "Now we anticipated this when we scouted the island out from the water. Our predictions have come true for the most part, and if we're right then this is the last leg before we get to the source."

"Going off Dr. Hall's notes, she predicted whatever caused the flora and fauna of the island to mutate so aggressively must have come from a single location, based the nonlinear adaptations." Callista added. She was petrified from their experience with the cats, and the only way to calm herself was to dig deep into the facts.

"Correct." Rebecca said with sympathy. She didn't need to rehash what they knew, but there was no use snapping. "What we didn't predict, was the morale of the crew collapsing so quickly. Now, Queeg has lost thirty men in the last hour. He knows he can't order us around as much as he'd hoped."

"Even after I saved his life." Mari spat.

"Correct." Rebecca sighed again. "But even if we're evenly matched in number, we're not so evenly matched in strength. Each of those men is a foot taller than tallest of us."

She shot a look at Callista, who blushed. At 5'2", it wasn't much to be the tallest of the bunch. She didn't think she'd be much help if it came to blows.

"But they still want what we're after. And we have to rely on their greed outweighing their malice."

"Got any ideas on how to get in yet, Doc?" Queeg sneered, the other two laughing behind him.

"Having said that, their patience is wearing thin. We need answers and we need them now." Rebecca finished. 

"Dr. Hall's notes end here, at the fountain. She and her crew gave up after hours of trying to wedge between the pressure of the water. They just didn't have the resources." Callista replied.

All three stared up at the high falls. There was no climbing. And there was no going around. The only way was through.

"That was over fifty years ago. Surely we can come up with something." Rebecca said.

Mari kicked a stone, taking out her frustration on a piece of the island that couldn't fight back. She sauntered to the edge of the falls, resting against where the jet stream ended. She looked over at the three men, who couldn't help but look conspiratorial in their little huddle. She'd spent more time with them than Rebecca or Callista. She knew how ruthless they were, especially Queeg. He'd promoted himself to captain in record time once Fulton was eaten. She could see him practically glowing with unearned confidence. Why did it have to be those three to survive? She knew her two new friends had a slim chance of making it back to the mainland alive with Queeg in charge. He'd happily let them stay on this godforsaken island for what would surely be the short remainder of their lives. The only way to stay alive was to give him what he wanted: the vein. The magic vein they'd all been promised. One that could give them eternal youth, impossible strength, who knows what else? It was all a fantasy to Mari, until she saw the creatures of this island. The massive birds, the razor-toothed cats. The fact that only half of the animals they saw were strange didn't register with her, but it would very soon.

She watched Rebecca and Callista fiddle with instruments and take more samples, as her eyes shifted to the men. Her gaze locked with Queeg as he let slip a fiendish smile. Their time was running out. She knew he would cut them loose within minutes. Her eyes clenched, her fists tightened. She kicked the cliff wall with her heel, and felt something give.

A deep crack rode up the cliff. The entire crew stopped and listened to the low thrum of activity as Mari backed away from her repose. From where she stood, a rock remained still as the rest of the cliff vibrated. It was circular, and smooth, compared to the rest of the edifice. Mari stared deeply at its strange makeup.

"It's almost like..." Mari whispered.

"A wheel." Callista finished.

"No," Rebecca added. "It's a crank."

They all watched as the cliff returned to its steady rhythm. Slowly, little divots in the crank became visible, as Queeg approached looming over them. "Boys, come take a look."

The three of them pushed the women out of the way, as they fondled stupidly at the rocky crank. "Try turning it." Callista said, before kicking herself.

Queeg turned at looked at her, flustered. "Hear that, boys? She thinks we should TURN it."

The other two made loud, mocking noises of understanding. There was no love to be lost between the remaining factions of the crew. Queeg turned back to the crank, and ordered the two to pull with him. It was heavy, and rough against their hands but Rebecca watched with astonishment as the strange inlaid wheel began to turn. "Harder, boys! Look!" Queeg shouted.

Their heads all shot toward the sky as a chunk of rock began to jut from the center of the high falls. With it, an opening began to form beneath, revealing a wet, dank cave. The men's muscles bulged, giving their all to spin the wheel just a little bit further to let the rock canopy settle. They wheezed as the crank found a spot to lock in place. They stopped to marvel at the door that had opened for them. "Not too shabby, boys." Queeg huffed as the three women hid their disdain for the glad-handing. Not a word of approval was said to them.

"Figure it's safe?" Calloway asked.

"We should send someone in to-" Queeg was cut off from his dastardly plan by that familiar thrum. The rock canopy began to recede. They watched as the crank began to spin back to its natural spot. 

"Should we go in?" Callista asked, startled.

"Not much time to decide!" Mari replied, racing into the cave before she'd even finished speaking.

Rebecca chased after her, "Come on, Callie!" she shouted. Callista took a deep breath. She looked back at the men, who seemed too startled to make a decision, and ran after her only friends left on the island.

"Now or never, boys!" Queeg shouted, pushing Calloway and Mertin in front of him as they all lumbered through the rapidly closing gate.

With a boom, the falls came crashing back down behind them. Callista stared at the thick, impenetrable curtain of water before her. "So we're trapped."

"Not necessarily." Rebecca shouted from the side of the cave. Callista turned to see a similar crank on the rock wall, with Rebecca leaning against it with a smile.

"We made it." Rebecca wheezed. "Further than the Hall party, we're pioneers. The discovery is our's."

"Discovery of what?" Mertin asked, looking out past the cave into a clearing on the other side. Rebecca walked out into the clearing, and took in her surroundings. It was a large, hidden valley, surrounded by a wall of rock.  The cliffs were too high, and too treacherous to climb without serious equipment. This terrain had obviously been untouched for centuries, if not millennia. Almost the size of a small town, the area was surrounded by beautiful flowers and winding vines, like an edenic oasis. Callista marveled at the different plant life creeping around the rocks and stones. She touched one, and felt its delicate fibers between her fingers. Everything in the valley had thrived without human intervention for so long, it was pure, fragile, wondrous beauty. 

"Watch your step." she whispered. "Everything here is a precious capsule of information."

The three women crept out further, exploring the valley. Queeg and his men stomped behind them, glaring at what they saw to be a whole lot of nothing.

"Maybe I'm just some big ape, but I suppose I expected some sort of... I dunno fountain of youth? Big ass tree with golden apples?" he snorted. Calloway and Mertin laughed.

"Well, perhaps you'll settle for this. Take a look here!" Rebecca called. She was on the far cliff of the valley, her face pressed against the wall. They all joined her, Callista scribbling furiously in her notes as she went. They watched Rebecca press her hand against the rock. "Feel that? It's petrified wood. I don't think this is a valley at all. I think we're inside a very old tree."

"My god, Rebecca." Callista gasped, scribbling faster. "If the trunk is this size, the roots could be deep within the earth. Deeper than any plant life ever recorded."

"I'll do you one better. I'd wager this whole island is one big tree. We've been traveling through it's root structure the whole time. This is truly marvelous." Rebecca laughed.

"Very funny, ladies. Now where's the good stuff? The stuff me and my boys risked their lives for? We were promised some magic." Queeg snorted.

"Is this not magic to you, you baboon?" Rebecca shouted, suddenly furious. Her joy had lost against the frayed nerves of the journey. Queeg stood there, a human reminder of just how difficult this had all been. A fantastic discovery wasted on an oaf in search of a toy. She spun around, taking her hand off the wooden wall. "This is a discovery that could change the world of science. In my book, there's nothing more magical than that." She shot an accusatory finger at him, and that's when she saw it. When they all saw it.

Her hand was drenched in a bright, amber liquid. "Some sort of sap." Rebecca said, absent-mindedly. She couldn't take her eyes off the stuff caked across her index finger. Callista was next to her in a heartbeat, staring into it with her pen in hand. Rebecca's eyes shot to her, before returning to her finger tip. She moved her finger to her nose. "It smellls... sweet." she gasped. She moved her finger to Callista to smell, who nodded in shocked approval.

Callista looked up at Rebecca's hand again, and caught a look in her companion's eye that terrified her. "Rebecca, no. It could be poison for all we know."

"Then there's no choice but to know." Rebecca whispered. She put her lips around her finger and sucked the sap from it in one go. Her lips curled into a smile as she felt the sweet nectar drip down her throat.

"Oh, Rebecca." Callista gasped. "How could... how do you feel?" Her concern shifted to curiosity in record time.

"Good." Rebecca replied. "Strangely rested. I-"

She stopped, suddenly. Her eyes tightened, she grasped her stomach, and winced.

"Oh, god. I knew it." Callista wailed. She watched as Rebecca doubled over for what felt like an eternity. Then, suddenly, she stood up straight.

"Callie..." she whimpered. Callista watched as Rebecca's eyes moved from just below her gaze to several inches above it. Her body pressed against her sweat-soaked safari blouse as her wrists snaked out past the sleeves. Her chest pressed against the buttons of her shirt, as Callista could see the faintest hint of her nipples beneath the wet fabric. "My word."

Callista looked straight ahead at the tip of Rebecca's nose. Now standing at 5'4", Rebecca breathed heavy with the weight of the impossible before her. She stared down at her once taller friend with eyes full of amazement. "I'd say we found the cause of mutation."

"Hear, hear!" Queeg cheered, as he pushed Rebecca away from the wooded wall. He pulled his machete from his pack and hacked away at the petrified surface.

"Stop that!" Rebecca cried, trying to force the machete from Queeg's grasp. Calloway and Mertin pulled her away as they all got to work digging at the vein. Sap began to flow freely from their chops, and once Queeg deemed it enough, they pressed their fat, sweaty hands against the flowing amber to catch what they could. They wolfed it down like savages, tasting the sweet nectar as they took more and more handfuls. Mari crept up next to them, sneaking a small handful for herself. She smelled its sweetness for only an instant before covering her finger with a morsel and licking it clean.

"Wait, wait!" Queeg stopped them. They all stood, watching intently. "Nothing's happening."

The men looked down at themselves, waiting for some miraculous change. But it never came. Queeg's face twisted in rage. He stormed up to Rebecca, and grabbed her by the collar. "What did you do?"

"I only had a small sample." Rebecca said, with mock stupidity.

"Well how come it doesn't work anymore?" he snapped.

"I think it does." Mari announced. They all spun around and watched as the small asian woman's figure became fuller. Her head rose slowly as her baggy shirt became more snug against her. Rebecca and Callista carefully walked up to her, watching as her head rose slowly above her own. Callista took even more notes, raising Mari's arms like a specimen under a microscope. Mari giggled.

"This is fascinating." Rebecca remarked. Callista began pulling several vials out of her traveling case, catching the sap with them as it fell. She filled them, one by one, careful not to get any on her.

"What did you do that we didn't!?" Queeg snarled, suddenly in front of them. Calloway and Mertin crept up behind him. They were surrounded. 

"Nothing, I just tried a little." Mari snapped. She refused to be intimidated by them, even now. Especially now. She could feel the presence of the sap behind her. She knew the key to them escaping was all around them.

"You better start talking straight or we'll get real crooked." Queeg said, raising his machete. 

"Maybe it's a chromosomal response." Callista shouted. They all turned to her, face buried in her journal. The seriousness of the moment was lost on her research mind kicking into full gear. "We noticed certain fauna were much smaller than others in their group. I had marked them down as children, but what if they were..." she stopped. She knew what she would say next would lead to an outburst.

Queeg did, too. He was just waiting for permission. "Say it."

"Males?" Callista finished.

Queeg spat. "Alright, load up as much as you can into your packs. We're out of here."

"What are you doing?" Callista said, shaken from her intellectual stupor by Calloway and Mertin shoving her aside. "There's so much more to discover."

"Not for us. There's no more benefit for us being here. We'll take the stuff, and sell it to whoever can find a use for it." Queeg said, filling his flask with the amber.

"You can't do that. We haven't even begun to study its longterm effects. We have no idea what we could be unleashing onto the world." Callista stammered.

"We'll only know when we know." Queeg grinned. 

"I... I can't allow it." Callista said. She found her courage in the devastation that could await them. 

"Oh, we figured. Ok, boy's let's wrap up here." Queeg said, raising his machete toward the two smaller women.

"Do your worst." Mari snarled.

"That's all I know how to do." Queeg laughed. He raised the machete over his head as Calloway and Mertin grabbed the fleeing Callista. They stood wedged in, staring up at the blade glinting in the hot, tropical sun. Callista felt her heart beat behind her eyes. She felt bile in her throat. This was it. But she'd die with her integrity. And her discovery. Like a scientist.

A hand caught Queeg's wrist as it made it's way down. Queeg spun around, realizing only now that Rebecca had become too quiet. Now he understood why as he stared straight forward into her furious face.

"I detest cliches, but you've caught me at an opportune moment. I feel I should say 'pick on somebody your own size' before that becomes untrue. Oh! Too late." 

Queeg watched as Rebecca grew larger in front of him. Calloway and Mertin dropped their machetes in sheer terror as they suddenly found themselves staring up at a 6'8" woman rippling with muscle through her ruined clothes. 

"My god." Mertin gasped.

"I'm no god." Rebecca stated. "But I can still stop you." 

She pushed Queeg aside, taking the machete from him. She stared down at it, her eyes wild with curiosity. She took the blade between her hands, and slowly moved them together. They all watched as the machete snapped in half under her powerful grip. "Write that down, Callie".

Callista nodded, shocked, as she scribbled faster and faster in her journal. She stared up at her gigantic companion, her eyes now level with her exposed nipples. 

Then Queeg tackled her. Callista watched as Rebecca's massive body hit the floor with a low rumble. Queeg spat at his two comrades, "come on! She can't take all of us!"

Mertin and Calloway raced into the pile, as Rebecca furiously kicked and punched at the three of them. She was losing ground, fast, and Mari could see it.

"We have to help her." she nudged Callista, shooting her eyes toward the flowing vein behind them.

"I... I'm not sure I can-" Callista shook.

"We don't have time!" Mari said, slamming her palm against the wall.

"No!" Queeg roared through the melee. "We can't let them get more!" He kicked Rebecca hard in the back of her head, watching her go limp as the three of them rose from the scuffle, and grabbed the other two women before they could reach the sap.

"This is getting real complicated, Queeg!" Mertin shouted.

"When do we cut bait?" Calloway added.

"Leave now, and leave with your lives." Rebecca said. They all turned to see her stand to her full, intimidating height. "That's my final offer." Her body showed no sign of struggle. Her breath was controlled, and steady. Calloway and Mertin wheezed in complete fatigue. They dropped Mari and Callista, raising their hands in defeat.

"I'm not satisfied." Queeg spat. 

"You will take us back to the mainland. You will leave everything where it is. You will tell no one of what we found here." Rebecca stated.

"I said I'm not satisfied!" Queeg replied. "I demand something for my trouble! I don't care if you're a little bigger 'an me, I've fought bigger and won."

Rebecca laughed. She ripped the remains of her shirt from her shoulders and sauntered up to the blustering Queeg as he continued talking.

"Now you either let me walk away with some of this sweet stuff, or I'll see you all buried at sea." Queeg glared up at Rebecca, who was now looming over him with eyes like a panther. Her lips spread into a wide, hungry smile. Callista watched, startled by this sudden change in personality. She'd never seen Rebecca so bold, so in control. 

Rebecca moved her face closer to Queeg as she wrapped her hands around his wrists. He was stuck, pinned against the wall by her powerful grasp. He thought she would kiss him then, but her neck craned up suddenly, as her lips pressed against the flowing sap. Queeg watched as her neck distended, filling with nectar as she guzzled it down for almost a full minute. Then her eyes were on him again. He stared intently into her gaze as he watched it move upward, further and further away.

He felt his feet leave the ground as her grip became tighter around his wrist. Callista watched horrified as Rebecca's pants tore off her, as her head rose higher and higher toward the clouds. The top of Callista's head moved from the crook of Rebecca's arm to her hips, to her knees in an instant. The four of them now stared up at the mountainous woman holding a dangling Queeg in her hand.

"Goodbye, Captain." she breathed, and threw him like a baseball away from the valley. He disappeared from their sight in a second, as Rebecca's massive hand covered her eyes and she squinted. "I think he made it to the sea." she said. "Hard to tell from this point of view."

Rebecca looked down at the four remaining souls who stared up at her naked, titanic body amongst the delicate foliage of the hidden valley. She smiled down at them, and lowered herself to a crouch. She hugged her massive knees as she stared at all of them. "This certainly feels new."

Even crouched, she was still a few inches taller then even the lumbering Mertin, who stared at her like a babe in the woods.

"So, back to my deal. You will take them back to the mainland. You will leave everything where it is. And you will tell no one what you found here. Are we agreed?" Her gigantic hand shot out at them. The two of them flinched before they realized it was a handshake. The two men looked at one another, before deciding it was safe. They both took her hand at the same time, trying their best to shake her heavy fingers. She giggled at that.

"Them?" Callista asked as the men walked away, collecting their things, and dropping their jugs of sap.

"Hmm?" Rebecca purred.

"You told them to take them to the mainland. So that means..."

"That means she's not coming." Mari spat. 

Rebecca felt their concern and their anger all at once. They felt betrayed.

"You two must understand. I can't go back like this. I gave up my life the minute I first grew."

"Easy choice for you." Mari snapped. And Rebecca understood. The woman who had saved them time and again had given her life for them in a way they could never repay. And now she was trapped here. They were going through a complex sequence of emotions. And they needed someone to guide them through it. She sighed.

"I'll walk you out." She stood up to her full 15 foot height, and began to walk toward the cave. The two small women had no choice but to follow her big footsteps.

"This place is incredibly dangerous. We expected that before we came." Rebecca explained. "But I didnt' expect the greatest danger to be here. We cannot let more people stumble onto this place and use it irresponsibly. Even our party, a team of mostly scientists and explorers, devolved into caveman politics before we even made it to this... vein. What this island needs is a protector. And I think I am the most qualified for the job."

As they made it to the cave, Callista watched as Rebecca crouched down to wedge herself into the entrance. It was like watching a goddess in real life. Her body was superhuman in a way science was not ready to fathom. Even with the weight of her heart, she knew Rebecca was right. She only hoped she had the strength to handle it.

"We've done so much together. Saved each other countless times. I know it feels like you're letting me go, but I need to be here. And you don't." With that, Rebecca turned the crank on the side of the wall as if it was the knob of a sink. The doorway appeared in an instant. Mertin and Calloway smiled nervously as they watched the effortless strength of this new Rebecca. They shot toward the exit. "Hold on!" she roared, stopping them in their tracks.

"If I see you two again, or anyone else who even reminds me of you, if I find out that these women did not make it back home safely, I WILL leave this island. And I can see a pretty long way away. Get me?"

They both nodded. "Lady, we didn't even like that guy." Mertin stated. For some reason, Rebecca believed him. She laughed, louder and louder as she fell on her ass, grasping her knees. She got comfortable, seated, as she watched the two men scuttle out of the cave. The door began to close as she caught it with her hand, keeping it open with a small fraction of effort as her laugh came to a halt. She turned to Mari and Callista, staring right back at her. She looked down only a few inches at them with a warm smile. "The men we left on the ship should still be loyal to us. If you can get through the jungle with those ingrates, you should be safe."

Rebecca turned to them. "It's been quite the adventure."

"One for a lifetime." Mari said, wrapping Rebecca in as much of a hug as she could. Rebecca hugged her back, feeling her small weight against her massive chest. "Don't get into too much trouble out there."

"Not on your life." Mari said, giving Rebecca's cheek a mocking punch as she raced out of the cave.

Rebecca sighed. She didn't even have to look at Callista next to her to know what she was thinking. 

"Yes, I'm going to let you take the nectar with you." she sighed again.

"Rebecca, I swear I wasn't hiding it from you."

"Of course you were." Rebecca smiled. "You're a scientist onto the discovery of a lifetime. And I can think of no one more trustworthy to study whatever it is that happened to me. To all of us."'

Callista choked out a sob. This woman had become family, better than a sister to her. And once again she was handing her a miracle.

"I know you'll be careful. But promise me you won't be unchangeable." 

"What do you mean?" Callista asked.

"I hope this discovery lets you find some things out about yourself. And you'll stop acting like you're not part of this world. I love you, Callie."

"I love you, Rebecca." she sobbed.

Rebecca let go of the crank. The door began to close. "You have to go." she whispered. Callista hopped in place, hoping desperately to find some reason to stay. She thought of the vials in her case. If she became like Rebecca, she could stay too. With her. But the thought her change terrified her all the more. She ran away, out of the gate and into the open air. She spun around, watching the water collapse back into place as the smiling, waving Rebecca disappeared behind it's curtain.

---------------

Callista stood in front of that waterfall thinking of the face that was waiting for her behind it. It had been years, but it still felt like yesterday. All this time, all this way, all this pain, just to see her again. To let Rebecca know that she had let the world change her. She had grown into a full person. A person she could be proud of. A person she could look down on, even a little less.

Mari patted her on the shoulder. Elaine had collected herself and stood with them. She offered Paul a sip from her canteen, who took it gratefully. It was the closest he would get to an apology from the little heiress. "How do you feel?" Callista asked.

"Whatever Mari did seems to have helped. I'll manage until we get back to the boat. Barring any unforeseen trauma." He saw her eyes fall at that. "How do you feel?"

"Frightened." Callista breathed. "But in a familiar way. So we'll call it comfort."

She watched as Mari broke away from the group to rest against the wall next to the waterfall. She gave Callista a wink and kicked with her heel. The cliff rumbled just as it did long ago, and the crank revealed itself.

"Would you look at that." Ulster gulped.

"We'll need everyone on this." Mari said, already gripping the crank. "Turn it with me, counter clockwise."

Ulster and Paul looked at one another. They nodded and stepped forward, placing their hands on the crank. Paul winced, feeling his side come loose. 

Callista watched, already at his side. She took him gently by the shoulder and moved him aside. "I can do it." Paul wheezed.

"You don't have to." Callista replied. And then they were turning. Elaine watched as the rocky canopy emerged slowly from the top of the cliff. "Egads." she whispered.

Mari gritted her teeth as she tugged harder and harder. It was even more difficult than she had imagined. She thought of Queeg and his men, and just how strong they were. They could have certainly killed them with ease had Rebecca not saved them.

"I'm losin' it!" Ulster shouted, feeling his grip loosen. 

"No!" Elaine gasped as she watched the canopy retreat back into its hole.

"We're just lacking the manpower. I apologize." Ulster said, tearing up. The journey had taken more out of him than he'd wagered.

"We can't give up here. We won't." Elaine stomped.

"What do you suggest?" Ulster asked.

Without a word, Callista pulled her last vial from her pocket, and downed it in an instant. Mari gasped as she watched her friend let go of all her trepidation and finally give in. 

Callista's eyes shot open wide. She grimaced as her body went into a clench. She'd never felt this much growth so quickly. The powerful mix of discomfort and pure ecstasy radiated within her as she felt her shirt snap down the middle. Paul watched as her breasts bounced out of their confines, with her blouse now hugging her frame like a second skin. She wondered what it must have felt like for Rebecca in that last time, if it was heaven and hell all at once. She could ask her herself, very soon.

Callista turned to Mari, staring down at her from a few inches above. "Six foot eight." Elaine whispered to no one.

"Shall we give it one more try?" Callista asked. Mari nodded, grabbing the wheel, with Ulster joining the both of them.

The crank turned and turned as the canopy came to its locking stop. "Everyone in, quickly!" Callista commanded.

They all hustled in together, watching the falls return to their place inside the cave. Callista helped Paul get his bearings as he clutched his side. He stared up at her, his eyes now level with his mouth.

"I'm not sure when I'll get used to that." he joked.

"Believe me, there's a lot more you're going to have to get used to in here." Callista said, giving him a small peck on the lips. She took him by the shoulder as they stepped back into the hidden valley.

Callista felt the warm, sweet breeze as they entered the round grotto of the past. Through the little entrance, her eyes focused on the bright light of the enclosure. She watched as Elaine raced into the field, marveling at every inch of grass and twig. 

"It's positively exceptional!" Elaine roared. "Exactly what I'd dreamed."

Callista sighed, looking around for any sign of her friend. She didn't expect her to be this hard to spot. A hand touched her shoulder, and she spun around, only to be met by Mari's smile. "Good to be back?"

"I'm not sure it's fully sunk in yet." 

"Mind if I take a sink?" Paul asked, still slung on her shoulder. Callista nodded, thoughtfully and gently set him down on the soft grass below them. Paul took a deep breath. He knew he was out of the woods, but the pain lingered like a gnat in his sight. "Such pretty flowers." he spat.

Callista looked at the thicket of budding flowers under Paul. Beauty was something they didn't have time to relish in their first visit to the island. Now she could sit next to her friends, and smell the roses. Paul winced, with a strange look in his eye. "What in the..."

He rolled over, showing a stain the flowers left on his grimy pants. It had rubbed into his wound, leaving a shock of yellow around the red. "Are you alright?" Callista gasped.

"I'm fine." Paul blinked. "In fact, I think it's helping." He stood up then. Callista stood with him, staring down at his confused expression. "It's like I never got shot at all."

"Madness!" Callista shouted. "All this time we've spent worrying about this nectar, and there are scads of helpful curatives all around us."

"Almost like a metaphor." Mari concluded sagely.

"Rebecca must have figured that out by now. I wonder where she's got off to?" Callista pondered.

"Not like she'd be hard to spot." Mari contributed. They looked around, trying their best to spot a giant woman in the open field. They were drawn suddenly to Captain Ulster's whistle.

"We got something here!" He shouted from a pile of rock on the near edge of the enclosure. They all walked to him, Callista's heart sinking with every step. She knew before she even made it to the site that she was approaching Rebecca's tomb. Under a heavy pile of boulders, an impossibly large hand jutted out. Pale and thin, it had been lifeless for some time. Callista felt hot tears on her cheeks. Mari took her in her arms, letting her sob into her wide shoulder. Paul patted her on the back, as Ulster took his hat off out of respect.

"My word, she must have been over 20 feet tall, by the size of that hand." Elaine gasped.

Callista ignored the lack of sadness in Elaine's voice as she replied. "She was a giant before she ever came here."

"She saved our lives." Mari added.

"And no one was here to bury her." Callista sobbed.

"They are now." Mari separated herself from Callista, and gave her a determined look. Callista had no choice but to return it. They walked over to the rockpile, and set to work arranging it as respectfully as possible. The gentlemen tried to help, but found the women more than capable of doing their work alone. Through her grief, Callista couldn't help but marvel at her newfound strength. She moved boulders that were certainly at least 200 pounds with relative ease. Staring down at the grave of her savior, she knew the dangers this place held in store.

Their work done, Callista turned around. Paul and Ulster nodded to her with great empathy. Elaine was nowhere in sight. Callista sighed, as she marched past them, looking for her diminutive benefactor. It didn't take long to spot her on the other edge of the rounded wall. The edge that still carried the cuts from Queeg's machete. The edge where the sap flowed most freely.

Callista approached her, looking down at the woman's dazed eyes. Elaine was staring into the wall as one gazes at stars. "I wanted to give you your time. Thought it indecent to start now." she mumbled.

"Thank you." Callista snapped. She would never become used to the strange manners of Elaine Redmond. She had lived a completely different life from her own, given everything and still desperate for the only thing she could never be given. And here it was, an inch from her face. Callista felt strangely proud of her employer for the restraint she showed in this time. "Go ahead."

Elaine's face spun on Callista in half a heartbeat. "You wouldn't think it untoward?"

"It's what you came here for." Callista sighed.

Elaine stepped forward. She wasn't entirely sure how to start. She took a finger and moved it toward the dripping sap, then pulled it away, thinking better She'd had a sip. Why not go for a guzzle. She cupped both hands and placed them against the wall, watching the sap slowly collect in her little paws. When it looked like it was about to overflow, she brought her hands to her lips and drank. By then, the others had joined her. Ulster stepped close, inspecting the sap very closely as Mari and Paul watched Elaine take her first real sip of the nectar.

Elaine licked her hands clean, taking every sticky, amber drop she could from her palms and fingers. She took a deep breath, and turned to her compatriots. "Well, on behalf of the Redmond Family, and its subsidiaries, I'd like to thank all of you for your unparalleled efforts in-"

She stopped. Everyone could hear the noise her stomach made then. She grabbed her chest, feeling every inch of her body come alight as if fireflies began to dance under her skin. "I've never felt such... euphoria." Her gaze began to falter. She felt her knees buckle, but refused to go down. She was raised better than to faint at a moment like this. As she stood up straight, her perspective seemed to keep going up. From her perspective, it felt as if every time she straightened up, her legs had more room to straighten. That's when she realized it.

The others watched as Little Elaine rose higher and higher, her head wobbling slowly upward as her body began to burst out of her tiny safari clothes. She stumbled toward them. Mari caught her, staring into her blissful eyes as they came closer and closer to her own. "I wish this would go on forever."

"Believe me, you don't." Mari laughed as Elaine's head rose just enough to her own.

"By George, I think it stopped." Elaine panted. Her clothes were in ruined shreds all around her. Bits remained to cover her unmentionables, Ulster noticed, tucking his flask back into his pocket. "I'd say this nectar works just as advertised. Well deserved trip, everyone. You have my thanks. Stand up straight dear, I need a metric."

Mari rolled her eyes, straightening her back in response to the return of Elaine's clipped manner of speaking. "I'd say you still have 2 inches on me. And your last measurement of six-foot-six would put me squarely at six-foot-four." 

Then it hit Elaine. She clutched her exposed chest, fanning herself as Callista laughed. "I'm nearly enormous."

"Congratulations." Callista laughed.

"Here, here." Paul chimed. 

"Daddy's only 6'2". My, what will he say? He won't find the words, I'm positive." Elaine stretched out, feeling the new strength in her body. "What say we toast to our success?"

Elaine dipped a finger back into the sap, and raised it high. "Sorry boys, it's a gal thing."

"I'm not sure I want to go much bigger than this." Mari admitted.

"Come now, there's always room for improvement." Elaine chided.

Callista thought of her old friend as she stepped forward, dipping a finger into the nectar. Mari gasped, astonished. "To absent friends." Callista said, raising her own finger.

Mari stomped forward. She thought of the women waiting for her back home. She resented being the largest among them again. She thought it would seem like taking back the gift she gave them, in a way. Nonetheless, her finger found its way into the sap before she added it to the circle.

"Bottoms up." Elaine laughed. The others stuck their fingers in their mouths and sucked on the sweet nectar at the tip. At the last second, Elaine's finger swooped around her and found the sap again, taking another helping along her hand as she drank deep in toast. Mari laughed, trying to hide her nervousness as she felt her head raise higher.

Her clothes began to meet their limit as her flesh pressed against them. She looked down at her breasts, pushing further out as her lengthening legs disappeared behind them. She turned to Callista, who was growing nowhere near as quickly as herself. But then it stopped. She had only a bit to wonder before a voice behind her called, "6'11". Just shy of seven feet." 

Mari sighed. She was happy to stay below that line. This would stay her height, as far as she was concerned. She looked over to Callista, whose growth was strangely more muted. "6'10". Strange. Your body seems to react differently."

"I must have built up a tolerance." Callista wagered. She finally stared back at the voice, and found her staring directly at Elaine's sharp chin. 

"Which means I'm sitting pretty at just about 7'4". Another full foot. It's almost like I know what I'm doing." She stretched out, now fully nude, and gazed down at everyone. A brand new feeling for Elaine Redmond, and one she sorely wanted to experience. Now she had it all. Tallest woman on record, even amongst the nectar users. And with that behemoth out of the way, she was almost definitely the tallest woman alive.

"So what now?" Mari asked, feeling strangely self conscious. Before there was a drive to their mission, an ambition. Now all their goals had been met. There was nothing more to do. "We start packing this stuff up? Good job everyone, we're rich?"

"You'll almost certainly be paid handsomely." Elaine cooed, rubbing a finger under Mari's chin. Mari felt a mix of revulsion and arousal, with neither winning out at the moment.

"We should stay a bit." Callista piped up. "The flora here obviously has miraculous properties outside of... selfish personal betterment. We should study it for awhile, in the comfort of this hidden valley. There's enough for us to live on for quite some time."

She looked around at the group as she spoke. Almost none of them showed her level of enthusiasm at this prospect.

"I'm eager to get back to Santa Brigita. I have a life there." Mari apologized.

"I'm ready to get back to society as well, albeit a much larger pool of a higher class of people. If you'll pardon me, Miss Yanagita." Elaine added.

"Ship can't sit for too long, else we'll be stuck here." Ulster grunted.

Callista watched as her dreams of biological exploration began to winnow in front of her. Paul caressed her back, wrapping her in the best hug he could at her new size. Elaine watched, trying to hide her jealousy with her new altitude. "The sun is already going down. We'd be fools to march through that hell at night. Let's at least camp here. Callie, take all the time you want to make your notes and take samples. In the morning, we'll figure out what to do."

"A capital idea, and one ripe for the taking." Elaine shouted. "As leader, I approve. Everyone make camp. Let's spend the night in Eden."

-------

Callista plucked another flower delicately from its root, pressing it gently into her book as she scribbled notes around it. The sun had set long ago, but she was determined to fill as much information into her journal as she could. She'd pulled out a brand new book just to document the discoveries within the valley, and even then she was worried it wasn't enough space.

Paul came up to her, standing over her crouched form. He remembered then, almost unintentionally, their first meeting. She had been so brusque, so formal. Getting to know her on this trip had been a highlight in his life he never expected. She felt his presence and stood up. He stared up into her eyes some 7 inches away. Their heights had nearly reversed. He wouldn't stare down at her much going forward. Even then, he knew he wanted to build a life with her. When all was over, and they'd made it back to the mainland, he'd give up his sailing days and settle down, if she'd have him.

"I've been doing some thinking." Paul tried.

"I've been thinking a lot more than some." Callista replied, taking another note in her book. She stared down at him, noticing the silence. 

"What do you think you'll do once we get back?"

"Publish, I suppose. No point in leaving this place a secret anymore, given its benefits to humanity."

"And that's all you have planned?" Paul asked.

"Was there something else?" Callista muttered to her book.

"I have a lot in store, if you'll have me."

Callista put her book down, finally. She stared down into Paul's desperate eyes. She'd never seen that look on him before, like a puppy looking for a home. She felt protective of him then, as if he was her's. And he was. She knew it as soon as she kissed him. Their kiss continued as she stroked his hair, bringing him closer to her enhanced form. He pressed himself into her soft breasts as she bent to kiss him deeper.

They collapsed into the flowers as a bloom of yellow dust puffed out with their impact. Paul didn't have much to remove as he fondled her nakedness She ran her long fingers along his leg, finding his cock and stroking it. Paul let out a gasp as he continued to kiss her. She grinded her hips into him, feeling his member harden against her. He kissed her neck, rubbing her ears with his fingers as he heard her moan above him. She gasped as his hands traveled down to her sex. He felt her wetness as he gently massaged her clitoris. Her moans grew to gasps as she quietly begged him to enter her.

As they moved together, Callista stared up at the stars in the open sky. Her vision began to blur, making them a cascade of white against the dark as she felt ecstasy grow inside her. It built in her throat until she finally let out a quiet but powerful moan. Paul came with her, feeling his sweat drip onto her perfect body as they collapsed together in bliss.

Mari listened at her own camp, some distance away. She smiled. It had been fun to reconnect with her old mate, but she knew their romance had been fleeting. She had her crew at home, waiting for her return. She thought of Fran, still probably getting used to her new body. She wondered if Mari's new size would help her feel right at home. She also wondered what it would be like to fuck a woman over seven feet tall at her new height.

As if reading her mind, Elaine appeared through a thicket. Mari stood up, strangely self-conscious. She watched as the once frail woman sauntered up to her, with new curves bouncing all the way. As she grew closer, something felt off. As she stared up at Elaine, Mari now realized her eyes were at the same level as her shoulders. "Been having a midnight snack?"

"I couldn't resist." Elaine giggled. "But then I got lonely. Here."

Elaine lifted her hand, showing it covered in the nectar. "I'm full from dinner, personally."

"Come now. There's always room for more. See, I got it in my head that being the only 8 foot tall woman would be quite the feat. I worked very hard to take just enough to meet that. And then, well... I decided why not 8 foot one?"

Elaine stretched out again, bringing her new breasts into Mari's face. Her hand raised up, offering the nectar once more. "Just a taste?" Elaine offered.

Mari's instincts told her this was a bad idea, but the smoldering expression of a woman much taller than her made her weak. Mari wrapped her mouth around Elaine's finger, sucking it delicately, staring into her eyes. Her eyes grew closer as she did. Elaine moaned with pleasure, feeling Mari's tongue around her delicate hand. Even at 8'1" she still found herself feeling delicate.

"Hmm. 7'2". Not bad." Elaine smirked.

"Not bad?" Mari scowled.

"Not enough." Elaine corrected. "Come."

She took Mari's hand and led her toward the center of the valley. "Attention!" she shouted into the night.

Paul and Callista were roused from their stupor by this announcement. They stood, wearily, and walked over to the assemblage of Mari, Elaine, and the bleary-eyed Ulster.

"I've made a fascinating decision just now." Elaine announced.

"Elaine, you're massive." Callista said, gazing stupefied at the 8 foot woman in front of her.

"Well, if you'll let me get to my point." Elaine scolded. "I've decided, what with all our increased circumstances, it's high time we had an orgy."

Silence was their answer. The birds chirped in the night sky. Crickets murmured, completely unaware of their irony.

"Elaine, I'm not so sure..." Callista started.

"Enough of this shyness. If you're worried you won't keep up, I've got some incentive." she raised her still nectar-covered hand.

"No." Callista said, quietly.

"Paul, we'll be delicate with you. I know you're still on the mend. And you're quite small now. Ulster, you can join if you like. Just look at you both. You barely come up to this gal's perky areolae."

"I said no." Callista stated firmly. Elaine spun around to her. 

"Callie, this is what you signed up for, isn't it? Adventure? Exploration?" She marched up to her, slowly. She tried her most seductive walk as she made the distance between them.  "Why not give in?"

Callista felt a powerful hand on her shoulder right before she saw Elaine's other hand shoot toward her mouth. She tasted the sweet nectar on her fingers touching her tongue. She thrust herself away. "How dare you!"

With a rumble, the furious Callista rose to an even seven feet. Still not enough to be imposing to the hurt and confused Elaine. "You can't force people to do things you want."

"Of course I can. I have money. " Elaine laughed. 

"You pathetic child." Callista spat. "You got exactly what you want, and all it's done is turn you into the world's biggest baby."

Elaine's face grew red. "I see I've chosen the wrong crew after all. Perhaps I'll have to come back here with a better class of people who'll make good use of this garden of earthly delights."

Then it hit Callista like an avalanche. She'd brought the world into extreme danger. She thought of the dead Danielle Summerton. She'd killed to get her hands on the nectar. If this place became a playground for the rich and powerful, there would be only an increase in suffering and subjugation the world over. She stared down at her little book full of so much good. It was useless now. She handed it to Paul, and stepped forward.

"You will never return here. No one will." Callista stated. Mari saw the courage in her then, and stood beside her. For Rebecca. For the world.

Elaine laughed again. "This is all very cute, but this was never to be a negotiation. I am your employer. Even if I was still that little wisp of a thing, what I say is law."

Callista and Mari didn't budge.

"Oh? Going to stop me. Two timid women with no resources or funds. Say you can overpower me, which..." Callista licked her whole hand now, wiping it clean of nectar. She rose again to 8'6". "Good luck, I'll only come back better and more powerful. You can't kill me. Your lives will be over. I have lawyers as vast as an armada and an insurance policy that could buy the Louvre wholesale."

Mari charged her then. She hadn't the tools to combat with words, but she knew how to fight with her fists. She collided into Elaine, and reeled as it felt like she'd run into a steel door. Paul and Callista joined her, trying to pin Elaine to the ground, but she swung them all off. Elaine laughed, out of breath. This was going to take more work than she anticipated, but she knew she'd come out on top. She always did.

Mari and Paul continued to fight her, knowing only that their best plan was to subdue their giant villain else she did more harm. Callista rose some feet away. She'd been bucked off like an untrained cowboy. She stood, weakly, steadying herself against the wall. Her hand touched something sticky. She looked. The nectar oozed next to her, as if answering the question she was too afraid to ask. She thought of Paul, the life they could have had. She thought of all the good she could have done with her valley journal. Then she thought of Elaine's hand in her mouth.

Mari panted, staring up at her opponent. Paul was barely standing, completely winded and already beginning to bruise. "So I have to go alone? Ulster, you'll be paid double if you get me out of here now. Start the ship."

Ulster stood where he was. He wasn't an evil man, but he valued his own life more than he was willing to admit. He felt the need to see a clear victor in this scuffle before he took a side. His breath stole away as he watched a new challenger approach from behind.

"Do you hear me, Ulster?" Elaine choked. She felt the presence of Callista before she saw her. She laughed and spun around, staring just slightly up at her. "Finally found the nerve, eh? All too late, I'm afraid. 8'11" isn't all that much in the grand scheme. I'll get ahead in no time-"

Elaine was stopped by a powerful kiss. Callista swept her off her feet, pressing her lips against her with the most passion she could muster. Paul watched, unable to feel jealousy as he saw two completely naked women with breasts higher than his head locked in an embrace.

To Elaine, it felt like it went on forever. She felt loved, and respected, and cared for. She'd never felt someone pour so much into a kiss. An apology, a demand, a last ditch effort. Then they finally parted. Elaine was still reeling from it as she tried to gather her breath.

"Don't... don't try flattery on me. We're well past that." she puffed.

"I know." Callista replied. Elaine's vision corrected itself as she stared at the crowd behind her. Their jaws were nearly on the floor. She turned to look directly at Callista's chest, before staring up.

"How much exactly did you drink?" she stammered, gathering that the woman had just crossed 11 feet and showed no sign of stopping.

"Enough. A concept you seem unable to grasp." Callista boomed back.

They all watched as she continued to rise, higher that the trees, almost as high as the walls themselves. Callista took a deep breath, watching the world shrink around her. It was an invigorating feeling, but she could already feel herself growing lonely. She tried to focus her giant eyes on Paul, as his look became more horrified. She felt her weight. it was like the earth became a small room, rather than a grand mansion. She knew then the sadness Rebecca must have felt in that moment. The fact that she only showed grace and strength made her want to do the same. As she felt herself coming to a halt somewhere slightly above 30 feet, she dropped to one knee.

She stared down at the frightened Elaine like a disobedient child. Leave now. Never return. Or I will crush you where you stand, and make sure your remains are never found, let alone laid to rest.

Elaine collapsed onto her own knees then. She began to sob. Deep, heavy breaths shot out of her throat. Paul watched, amazed, as this giant, beautiful, unclad woman had a fit like a toddler in front of him. "I have to have this. I have nothing else."

"You have so much." Callista boomed.

"When you're raised as I am, your only hope is to become a god." Elaine countered.

Callista smiled, knowingly. "We're not gods."

She scooped all of them into her hands. Mari felt herself clinging to her gargantuan friend as the wind blew through her hair. She watched Callista carry them over the wall with ease, sliding down the wide embankment back to the other side of the waterfall. She was a new species of person. Not human anymore, something else. Something greater, but with so much responsibilty.

"Where are you taking me?" Elaine sobbed.

"Back to the ship. You're all going home." Callista replied.

Paul felt a stab at the word you're. He knew immediately their life together was over, but to hear that separating word aloud was enough to break him.

They made it through the trees with ease, looking down at the curious animals who scattered at Callista's steps. Mari saw the cats again, rushing away. They were far from ferocious at this height. She looked out again, and saw the ships on the shore. The Ambrosius looked worse for wear, in the days since their expedition. Ulster noticed it, too. "Animals got to her," he spat.

"Miss Summerton has no more use for her vessel." Callista offered. Ulster's face perked up at that. A better ship for all his trouble. Seemed like a fair trade. He almost took a celebratory drink from his flask, but thought better.

At last, Callista's massive footprints made indents in the sand as she dropped her cargo delicately in front of their new ship. "I can't let you stay here much longer. I have a lot of work I want to do."

"So this is it?" Mari asked, practically shouting up at her enhanced friend.

"I'd offer to hug you, but..." Callista laughed. Her voice rumbled as she did. Mari couldn't help but laugh at that. Both times she'd made it to this island, she'd come back the better for it, but losing a friend the same way made her feel a special kind of melancholy.

"You get no points for originality." Mari said, punching Callista in the shin. It was like punching a very thick tree.

Ulster was already revving up the engine of Danielle's ship. Mari jumped on board. She wasn't one for long goodbyes. Paul, on the other hand, would have talked to her for hours if he could. He watched as Callie dropped to her knees again, staring at the pouting Elaine. 

"I am truly sorry, Miss Redmond." Callie stated.

"Of course you realize I won't be paying you now." Elaine spat back. She glared at Callista's massive face. It terrified her. She thought for a moment, she would bring her fist down and pound her into the earth.

"I understand." Callista smiled. "I hope only, with the time you have now, that you'll realize that what you're after can't be bought or taken."

Elaine hid her face. She felt the words of a rumbling giant reverberate into her soul. She stood, staring down at her lithe, eight and a half foot body. She would be the talk of high society, and all at once that meant nothing to her. As she boarded the ship, she thought of all the little detours she could take in this bright new vessel. Perhaps she'd put some more miles on her spirit before she returned. What use was her new beauty if she was only a bore who talked about herself.

"Good bye, Miss Wethers." she said in the doorway of the ship's cabin. She turned and ducked under the frame inside. Callista watched for a moment, before Elaine returned, ducking her head under the doorway again. "Thank you."

And then she was gone. Only Callista and Paul sat on the beach. Paul had sat some time ago, staring at the rising sun. He wondered how hard it would be to stay here. He had quite the tour guide. Plus, if he asked nice, she might double as a bodyguard.

As if reading his mind, Callista scooped him up into the palm of her hand. "I don't much feel like kissing you now." she said.

"I'm a bit frightened of that, myself." Paul replied.

"For lack of anything better to say, I would have enjoyed whatever you had in store for us." Callista said.

Paul smiled. He raised one of her fingers up, and hugged it as if it was her whole body. He gave a peck on her finger tip and she giggled.

"Make a giant giggle. I'll add that to my resume."

She placed him gently down on the ship as smoke sputtered from the steam pipe. The boat sprang to life, trying its best to maneuver out of the sandbed. Callista gave them a little push, spinning them in the right direction. Ulster gave her a salute as the ship chugged away into the vast blue sea.

Paul and Mari watched the island disappear slowly from their gaze. The huge silhouette of its new guardian took the longest time to disappear from their vision. Paul tried his best to keep that image in his head it grew smaller and smaller.

"This place will always need a protector, I guess." Mari said. "We won't be the last ones to try this."

"Well, it's in good hands." Paul replied. "Gentle hands are always the best."

Mari nodded, pulling Paul into her massive embrace. From the cabin window above them, Elaine watched silently. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sat cross legged on the fine carpeting. She wasn't the woman she was when she had set out. There was no way of going back to that life. Clinging to the same insecurities had led her to ruin and near death. It was time to be someone else. She took a deep breath, and chose to start over.

Ulster steered the ship into the rising sun, setting a course for Santa Brigita. He pulled out his flask, and unscrewed the top, staring down at the bright amber liquid inside. He patted his pocket, assuredly, steering all steam ahead.