Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs or Stargate SG-1

We left straight from the mall, hopping a bus to The Gardens, which is clear across town.

"I don't really need to go in," Tobias said as we pooled our limited cash to buy tickets. Before the army moved us out here my dad was stationed in St. Louis. The St. Louis zoo is free. The Gardens is not.

"I'm happy with just my hawk morph. I don't want to be anything else."

"I think that's a mistake," Rachel said. "Our one real weapon is the power to morph. We should acquire as many useful morphs as we can."

"What kind of animal morphs are going to be able to deal with Visser Three when he turns into that big monster that ate the Andalite?" Jake asked.

"Antarean Bogg," I said slowly. I'm not even sure why I remembered it. I certainly didn't want to.

Marco winked. "Fleas? No one can kill fleas. We'll itch him to death."

Jake smiled, "So now you're suddenly Mr. Hopeful?"

"No, I'm just scared I'm getting weird," he said. "I haven't done this morphing stuff. You guys all have. I'm not even a full-fledged Animorph yet. I'm still normal."

"I still feel normal," Cassie said.

"Cassie you can turn into a horse," Marco said. "Very few normal kids can do that it's different for Jake, turning into a lizard. He's always been a reptile."

Jake took a good-natured swing at his friend. Me I was nervous. I was thinking ahead. I knew logically that to acquire lion and tiger and bear DNA, we'd have to touch one. And there's nothing really that can prepare you for getting up close and personal with a deadly animal.

"Okay, now everybody stay together, and try not to be to suspicious looking," she said as we approached an inconspicuous doorway. "I'm taking you inside."

"Inside where?" Marco asked.

I rolled my eyes as Cassie explained where we were going.

"Well the way it works is, there are walkways behind all of these exhibits." She pointed at the doorway. "Anyway we can go in through there."

It was strange walking into the hallway. It smelled must like the boy's locker room.

"Okay, look, if any staff people stop us, the story is we're here to see my mom," Cassie said. "Of course, it's so late in the afternoon she won't be here…. Well I can't be saving the world from alien invaders if I'm grounded. Hopefully, there won't be any staff people here at all."

We walked past exhibit doorways for a while until we got to one. Cassie paused.

"How do you guys feel about gorillas?" Cassie asked. At first I thought she was kidding. "This is Big Jim's cage. He just came over from another zoo, so he's in his own private environment for now. He's very gentle."

"Oh," Jake asked incredulously. "You mean does one of us want to acquire his DNA?"

"That is why we're here Jake," Rachel said. She batted her eyes at Marco. "How about you, Marco? Haven't you always wanted to be a big, hairy guy?"

Marco didn't look like he was crazy about the guy, and frankly neither was I, I was still hoping it would be Marco and not me. Fortunately Jake knew how to handle Marco.

"Maybe Marco should try something easier for his first morph," Jake said. "You know, like a cuddly little koala or something."

"Koala!" Marco said giving Jake a dirty look.

"Open that door Cassie." He hesitated. "You said gentle, right?"

"Gorillas are extremely gentle," Cassie said. Then in a quieter voice, she added, "Unless you get them mad."

Cassie opened her backpack and handed Marco the apple, and gave him some last minute instructions. Big Jim the gorilla came right up to the security gate.

"Hand him the apple," Cassie directed. "He wants the apple."

"I loved your work in King Kong Verses Godzilla," Marco said, and before I knew it he was actually acquiring Big Jim's DNA.

"This is so cool," Tobias said. "You realize that gorilla could pull Marco apart like he was a paper doll. Look at those arms."

Marco opened one eye. "Tobias? Being terrified gets inn the way of concentrating. So how about if you shut up about his arms."

I snickered, and suddenly heard a whirring sound. It was one of those electric golf carts.

"Just act natural," Cassie said. "As long as it isn't a security guy we're probably okay."

The cart came up to us. The driver was a man wearing a stained, tan lab coat over his jeans. In the back of the cart were two large white plastic buckets full of something brown and horrid smelling. "Hey you're Cassie, right? The doc's kid? How's it going?"

"Fine," Cassie said. She waved casually, and the man drove right on past.

"That was easy," Rachel said. "He didn't even seem to care that we're back here."

"We'll, where to next?" I asked. We were at a four-way corner. There were blank white-painted hallways in all directions and an electric golf cart was parked there, too.

"What are we near?" Jake asked Cassie.

She thought for a moment. "Okay that walkway leads to the outer exhibits. That one leads to the offices and storage facilities. These two go around the main building exhibits. We're close to…let me see…um, bats and snakes that way. The jaguar and dolphin tank that way."

Rachel started down the hallway to our right.

"Dolphins. I love dolphins."

"Wait," Cassie said, trotting after her. "What are we going to do with Dolphin morphs?"

"I say we should go to the big exhibits," Marco said. "We need firepower."

"Let's stick together," Jake said as he grabbed Marco before he got too far.

That's when the voice yelled, "Hey! Hey, you! What are you kids doing back here?"

"Security," Cassie yelped. "Oh, man they'll take us all into the office. They'll call my mom. I do not want to explain this to her."

"Split up," Jake said. "Just like at the construction site: One guy can't get us all!"

"That guy looks like my grandfather," Rachel said. "Not like that Hork-Bajir who was after us."

"You kids hold on!"

"Oh, man. Oh, man," Cassie said. With that, Tobias and the girls took off down one hallway, and Jake and Marco down another.

I paused, but only for a moment, and then bolted back down the hallway that we came from. Behind me I heard the golf cart start up and begin whirring. I groaned, realizing that in a golf cart he'd easily catch up with us.

The corridors were a maze, but I figured that I could use that to my advantage. I faked left and went right. Before long I realized that the guard wasn't following me.

Now I was alone again. No big deal, I've been alone before. I didn't like it, but I could deal with it.

I glanced at a nearby door. I wished Cassie were here to tell me what was behind each door. I opened one cautiously.

At first all I saw were treetops. The door opened out onto a little ledge, concealed by leaves. It was high above the habitat of the animal, whatever the animal was. I peered down. Something moved at my level, and I jumped back in alarm.

A giraffe was almost eye-level with me. It turned its velvety brown eyes at me and blinked long eyelashes.

"Hey there," I said softly. I shook the tree branch a little. I knew that giraffes fed on treetops. I didn't think that they attacked humans—I hoped, anyway."

The giraffe stopped moving. So this was it, this was the trance. It was so strange that I could put such large, strong creature to sleep. I closed my eyes and concentrated, absorbing the giraffe's DNA.

"Thanks," I said when I was done, and patted the giraffe gently.

I slipped back into the corridor. That encounter went so well that it gave me tons of confidence. I continued down a sloping ramp. When I came to the next door I opened it and slipped inside.

I was in a savannah. Dry trees, sand. Hot, but a dry heat. I didn't see the animal at first: I heard it.

"ERRRR-UP! EURRR-UP! RRR-UP!"

The cry raised the hair on the back of my neck. It was too close to human. The animal was wavering on long front legs. The fur was sandy-colored and coarse.

"He should be down by now," a voice said. I quickly hid behind some food bins as the door opened.

Two white jacket workers came in. "Takes a few minutes," the other said. "We better wait until he's completely out."

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't go near a hyena otherwise," the first one said. He peered into the enclosure. "He's down."

"Okay, lets go. The vet's waiting. Oh darn. I left the stretcher by the elevator."

"Well I'm not staying here alone."

The two workers exited. I took it as a sign. I crept towards the sleeping hyena. Just as I approached it opened one eye. The look is deadly, like a shark's. As if my only worth was for food.

It was too late to run back now. I gathered my courage and brushed my hand alone the creature's side. "Nighty night," I whispered.

The acquisition trance combined with the tranquilizers has made the hyena pass out. I concentrated. As soon as I was done, I ran away. Fast.

I felt a little smug at the same time though. I tried to imagine my newly acquired hyena morph fighting a Hork-Bajir.

When I closed the door behind me, I noticed the white-jacketed workers were headed towards me with a stretcher.

"Hey," one of them called.

"Stop," The other one said. They tossed aside the stretcher. They started to run towards me. I could've waited and thought up a story. But it just seemed easier to run.

To Quillian—I don't know how long it will be, but I was wondering if my universe could run parallel to yours? My meaning being, I wanted to know if the Kelbrid in my universe could be the same as the Kelbrid in your universe? I checked out the last few books from the library and thus I have finally now read the entire series. Your Kelbrid were cooler than anything I could think up and thus I want to steal from you. I don't know when or even if my characters will ever even encounter a Kelbrid but I wanted to know if it was okay should the situation arise. Please let me know via your next review.

To Seeker—It certainly does.

To John—Hyena, it was pretty obvious that that was the battle morph I was going to give Derek. This is based on Alternamorphs 1. Everybody should have seen that coming.