The Last Library Ch. 05

The first time they approached one, the gawking man walked up to the edge and put his arm through. Other than a slight tingle that could almost be attributed to excitement, he felt no difference. At his teacher's urging, he took a few steps across the boundary and looked back at her. It was like looking at her through a shimmer of smoke. He could see the Shelves and her, but they were misty.

"How does it feel?" she asked. He was a little surprised to hear her so clearly. From what his eyes were telling him, her voice should have been warbly and distorted, but his ears were certain that she was just a few steps away.

"Ahh...weird?" he replied uncertainly. Rotating in a small circle, he took in his new surroundings. What seemed to be pale orange glass stretched out in every direction. However, rather than being a smooth sheet as he might see in a window pane, it rolled away in hills and valleys. The small furry animals that they had corralled back were already running up one of the knolls, the big pads on their four feet gripping the glossy surface with ease.

"So, is that where the Library ends?" He waved a hand at the boundary line. "Is that where our powers stop?"

Mera stepped into the world with him and, taking hold of his shoulders, turned his body to face away from the boundary. Pointing off into the distance, she brought his attention to another hazy curtain.

"That's where the Library ends. What you walked through is where their world ends. The amount of overlap is different every time we connect. Sometimes its miles and miles, other times, it's just a few feet. You never know until you cross over and see the other side." She looked around and took the few steps necessary to be fully within the Library again. He joined her a few minutes later once he had satisfied his curiosity. Once he had rejoined her, she walked back to the boundary line and ran a hand across it.

"I have to admit that it's been a long time since I voluntarily crossed over to another world through one of these." When he looked the question at her, she shrugged. "I started getting nervous after the third time I almost got trapped on the other side. Once the Library loses connection, anything on this side stays here and anything on that side stays there. I really never had any way back, so I only cross when I have to and I definitely try to make it back as quick as possible. If I have to return to that world for any reason, I just go by the Ether Paths. That way I know I have a way back."

Nodding his understanding, the big man approached the barrier and was going to test it again but stopped when the shimmering started to fade. They both backed off a bit and, over the next few minutes, watched as the scenery beyond disappeared.

"Well, that was different," he chuckled. Where the overlap had been now stood the usual bookshelves. "Why don't the books or the shelves cross over? Or plants and ground from the other side?"

Mera shrugged again. "No idea. I think it's because the overlap is simply a place where they are occupying the same space but are just a little out of phase with each other so they don't actually interact."

"Out of what?" the soldier asked.

"Oh, just wait until we get to that part of your training!" his teacher laughed.

***

Mera stepped into Ashur's bedroom to ask a question and let out a little shriek of terror. The Guardian looked up from his sitting position on the bed and the book that he had been reading, then down to the hand he had held up next to his face. The middle three fingers were oversized and swollen, reaching almost a foot in length each. The other two stuck out at right angles and had somehow moved to the back.

"Shit! Um...Sorry!" His face took on a look of concentration and the fingers began to return to normality. The dumbfounded woman stared in horrified fascination as the mutation reversed itself. Ashur's focused expression eased and he swiveled it back and forth to show his partner that everything had been set to rights.

"What? How? Ashur! What the hell?" Mera strode forward to grasp his hand and feel the skin and bones underneath. Satisfied that all was good, she stepped back and crossed her arms under her breasts, clearly looking for an explanation to why she had been concurrently startled and worried.

"Ahh...well..." he started lamely. "I was thinking about how you said that the Guardian manipulates the body while the Caretaker works with the mind and...well..." He shrugged helplessly.

"You've had me studying the Lexicon for the last three months and I decided to see what I could do. I thought I would have to change the Writing on my skin somehow, but it turns out that all I really have to do is concentrate on the part I want to change and... it happens." Picking up the book he had been reading, he handed it to her. She turned the anatomy text over in her hands and opened it to several areas that he had bookmarked.

"I figured if I was going to be making alterations or fixing wounds, I'd better know exactly what I was working with. Didn't Colphon do anything like this?"

Mera shook her head emphatically.

"I don't think he even thought to do anything like that." She waved at the hand he had been experimenting with. "There was never a need and we never got into a fight that required major surgery."

Cocking her head to one side, she looked quizzically at him and asked, "What else have you altered?"

He blushed a little and looked up at her sheepishly. Her hands flew to cover her mouth but not in time to block the loud guffaw that flew past her lips. "YOU DIDN'T!"

"No," he replied, "but I seriously thought about it. I mean...wouldn't you?" He looked meaningfully at her chest which she quickly covered with both hands.

"No!" she denied vehemently. Then she dropped her hands to hold up each breast and studied them. "Well, maybe. Okay, yes. The thought would have crossed my mind too...eventually."

Ashur chuckled a little at the hint of soft purple that flickered across her skin. Knowing the laid-back attitude his partner had towards sex, he would have been very surprised if the thought hadn't occurred to her in time.

Although they had shared one another's bed from time to time in the months since he had become "faculty", they spent most nights apart. Their friendship hadn't moved beyond that point and neither felt the need for anything more.

What the big man had learned, however, was that Mera's centuries of experience before her unwilling secession from the world had given her a broad range of knowledge in the bedroom and had erased most of her inhibitions. With very few exceptions, he found that she would enjoy just about anything he was up for...which actually shocked the soldier just a bit. He had thought his time enjoying the brothels had broadened his outlook but had been quickly disabused of that notion. The millennia-old Tibori had stories and ideas that he could only wonder at and she was doing her level best to show him when they did have the occasional romp.

Now, the adventurous woman seemed a little shy and glanced from his hand to his crotch and finally back to her own chest.

"Do you think you could make changes like that on someone else?" She seemed hesitant and excited at the same time.

"Mera," he chuckled, "I think you look fine as you are." He reached out, grasped her by the hips, and pulled her closer so that his face was level with the objects of her attention. "I don't really see the need."

"Oh, there's no need," she replied," but I've always wondered what I'd look like with other...sizes." She motioned vaguely to herself. "I don't want overly large or a flat chest, but the curiosity is there. Don't you wonder what it would be like to have a few more inches swinging down there?" She bent down and gently patted his pants where she thought his manhood lay. "I mean, it's not like you wouldn't be able to put things back."

Ashur leaned back and supported his weight on the bed. "I think I can, but I'm really just starting out. My hand and my foot are all I've experimented with so far. I don't even know how much I can change yet."

Mera leaned forward toward him to make another plea but found herself jumping back when his nose elongated by several inches in the direction of her face then returned to its normal size. The big man grinned unrepentantly at her shocked expression and laughed when she reached out to smack his shoulder.

"Sorry," he said, "I couldn't resist. Do you really want to try this?"

Her answer was to pull off her top and straddle his legs. As usual, his brain came to a complete stop at the sight of her breasts, but other parts of him got started. Mentally shaking his head to clear it, he brought his hands up to hold her chest and lightly brushed her nipples with his thumbs. Her light gasp brought a smile to his lips and he tried to think about how to manifest his ability in her.

Ashur knew that this was something he would need to accomplish at some point due to the danger that their duties entailed, but he was nervous about going too far or doing it wrong in a way that would hurt her. Using the lessons drummed into him over the last few months, he centered himself and focused on the link between them. It was easier than usual with her soft breasts in his hands and he felt within himself for the power that had been growing steadily stronger.

"Bigger or smaller?" he asked while closing his eyes in concentration.

"Try for bigger, but not so much that can't stand up. I had a friend that used to be almost twice my size and I always wondered what that would have been like." She settled her weight onto his legs and leaned back to give him more room to work.

Taking a long breath in, he let it out slowly along with his power. He could feel it flowing down his arms and hands and his skin tingled where it met hers. Her sharp indrawn breath let him know that she could feel it too, but he focused on his task. It wasn't long before the power flowing through to her grew steadily stronger. It became easier as well and it wasn't until he felt something tap the top of his head that he stopped. Opening his eyes, he realized that the hands that he had raised to cup her chest were now resting on her straddling thighs. Her upraised arm was still fisted from knocking him on the skull.

"Oops," he said meekly. "I was afraid of that." He looked down at her now voluminous bust. Each breast was easily three times the size of his head. Her expression wavered between shock and amusement.

"Yeah, me too," she muttered. "Hang on, I want to try something." The slender woman leaned back in order to stand and almost tipped over backward when her increased mass shifted. Ashur grabbed her again but was pulled off balance himself. Rather than try to heave her back up, he shifted their weight so that she ended up supine on the bed instead of the floor. Each of her massive mammary glands slid to the side and partially trapped her upper arms beneath them. They both paused for a long second before losing control and laughing themselves silly.

"Do you think you could fix this?" the top-heavy Caretaker asked while trying to wipe her eyes and hold her aching sides at the same time. He was glad that she was finding this as funny as he was. "I mean, I know men like bigger, but this is a little ridiculous."

With a grin, Ashur sat astride her midriff and leaned down to spread his hands to each side. Grasping her again, he kept his eyes open this time as he concentrated. Gradually, Mera's chest reduced to a little more than her original size.

"How's that?" he asked, rising to a kneeling position. She sat up and twisted her torso from side to side, then leaned forward and back.

"I rather like it," she admitted. She grabbed his arms and replaced his hands. "Remember this size. I still want to try the other direction."

For the third time, Ashur manipulated her flesh until his hands were just barely cupped. He very nearly broke down laughing again at her incredulous look.

"By the First Ones!" she cried out, staring at her new almost boyish look. "That's more weird than too much!" She gave him an impish look and rubbed her chin. "Now, how about a beard?"

"Maybe some other time," he chortled and reached out again. Once her bust was back to her preferred dimensions, he decided to curtail any more alterations for the night. His companion pouted a little, but he remained adamant. Until he had more practice and understanding of anatomy, he was done experimenting.

"What did you originally come in to ask me?" He resumed his seat on the edge of the bed. Mera stood and redressed.

"I was going to ask if you've been able to get any messages from the Library yet." She looked at him with her head cocked to one side. "I just got told that we have a few overlaps forming, but we'll need to do a routine check on the Well tomorrow first. Did you get any of that?"

The big man shook his head and raised his shoulders in denial. "Sorry, I've got nothing." He held up the anatomy book and waggled it a bit. "I have been pretty deep into this though. I may have just missed it."

"Hmm..." she groused quietly. "I'm pretty certain that you would have noticed. It's usually like someone else having thoughts in your mind with you. When we go out tomorrow, I'd like to make a few more stops before we head out into the Shelves again."

Mera waved at his book and continued. "We'll pick up a few more of those for you too. The Administration building had a medical center. There might be something still there that you can use to learn as well."

With that, she left him to his studies.

The next day, they walked into the Power Well of the Library. The giant rotating orb moved in its usual random seeming pattern and Mera continued to explain how to interpret its motions and color configurations. They had spent almost three days in instruction at the beginning and he had retained little of it since he had still been learning the general concepts of the magic that ran the Library. Because of that, she took the opportunity to reiterate her lessons every time they visited. His comprehension grew as his education increased, but they both knew that it would be some time before he would understand it fully.

As they perambulated the concentric walkways, Ashur noticed that Mera was studying him as much as the Well itself. When he asked her about it, she drew him over to one of the consoles that non-magical administration staff had used to interact with the nucleus of power. There were many buttons, switches, and dials and it reminded him of the viewer. To the side, however, was an upraised flat section labeled with what Ashur could now interpret to read "Direct Connection". Mera took his right hand and placed it on the pad.

"Ok. I want to try something," she said. "I'd like you to try to make a change in the console like you did to my body yesterday." When he opened his mouth to protest, she waved a quieting hand and continued. "I know this isn't a body, but I'm hoping that whatever you did or however it felt when you were doing that will help you make more of a connection to the Library. It's definitely not what we had to do back then, but I'm starting to get a little concerned. If this doesn't work, we'll have to try something more drastic."

For a moment, Ashur wanted to continue his protest but he didn't have any better ideas. Turning inward, he drew from the core within himself and directed it to flow out along his arm to his hand. There was no tingling where his skin contacted the metal plate this time, however he got the impression that his power was going somewhere. After a moment or two of this, he stopped and relayed the sensation to his partner. Mera let out a grunt of displeasure and strode away from the console. Not knowing what else to do since she wasn't heading in the direction of the exit, he decided to simply wait where he was.

Over the course of the next five or so minutes, the Caretaker made several circuits around the Well muttering to herself. Eventually, as he began to get bored, Ashur turned back to the console and replaced his hand on the plate. He pushed his magic into the plate again, but this time he kept it flowing farther into the console, streaming it into the giant globe of the Well.

Instantly, his mind exploded. His eyes squeezed shut against the overwhelming images that cascaded through his head. Pictures of locations from all over the Library flashed in front of him. He saw the house and the Auditorium, the armory and the training room Mera had shown him; all of them strobing in front of his mental self almost faster than he could register. He felt as though part of him was jumping from place to place without rhyme or reason. Then he was flying through areas of the Shelves, soaring around twelve feet above the floor. He caught a brief glimpse of an overlap area before zipping past it. It soon became too much and his mind shied away from the rapidly shifting visions.

Desperately, he tried to jerk his hand from the console but was held tight by the connection between himself and the vast power of the Well. He started to panic but caught hold of himself and tried drawing his power back. It returned freely and he was able to pull away from the pad. Panting heavily, he dropped to the floor and grabbed his head with both hands. Shouting his name, Mera came rushing over from where she had been pacing.

"What happened? Are you alright? What's going on?" Her questions all jumbled together in her concern and he had to hold up a hand to stop her long enough to recover his own mental stability. Finally, he looked up at her and described his experience. She replaced his hands with hers and, for the first time, he actually felt her mental caress as she reached out with her own power and used it to soothe his nerves.

"Thank you," he mumbled. "That was intense."

Mera sat down beside him and he leaned against her. She patted his thigh and stared thoughtfully upwards. While he regained his balance, she let out an occasional "Hmm" or "I wonder". When he made to stand, she joined him and looked into his face.

"I'm alright," he reassured her. "It was just a lot all at once."

"So I see," she replied. Looking around as if to make certain that all was as it should be, she grasped his arm and started to direct him to the Well's exit. "Well, now I have a better idea of how to proceed. Are you up to try something else? It shouldn't be anywhere near as extreme."

Ashur rotated and twisted his head in an effort to stretch suddenly aching neck muscles and said, "If you're sure...let's try it."

Not long after, they were standing once more in front of the male Librarian statue. Mera turned to the Guardian and placed a hand on his upper arm.

"Ok, so I was wrong on that first morning. How you create a link is different from what I do. I just have to imagine the connection and it happens. For you, though...I think you have to "feel" it. I watched your mind while you were changing my size, but I thought it was just what happened when you were working with a body."

She looked up at the statue and pulled him over to it.

"Now, I think that's how you make connections, which makes sense. My area is the mind so creating a mental picture works for me, but if your specialty is the body, a physical sensation would be the natural correlation." Pressing his hand to the gargantuan Staff, she urged, "Do whatever you did down in the Well."

Ashur inhaled deeply and repeated his earlier actions. Just as before his mind was inundated with visions of the Library's interior, however this time the procession was muted and slower. Unfortunately, it was still too much for him to take in and he pulled away from the stone with a shake of his head.

"That's till too intense," he told his partner. "It's like I'm watching the viewer at five times the normal speed. I can't wrap my head around it."