B24C28/29 - Anteater

"Let's get big before we run into any more of them," Rachel said. "I don't like this forest. Lions and tigers and fleas. Oh my."

I dropped to my knees again and focused on the animal beneath us. The others did the same.

"Hey, what are we acquiring?" Jake asked.

"The one animal in the world that is specially designed to see, attack, and destroy creatures like the Helmacrons," I said grimly.

"And that animal is . . ."

"Anteater," I said.

(...)

"Let's give it a try," Jake said. "Let's get big!"

I have morphed many times and many animals. But I don't ever remember such a satisfying feeling. I wanted to be big again. I wanted to get back to a world where fleas and mites were . . . well, fleas and mites.

I was growing swiftly, my human features already melted and distorted, as the Visser burst into view through the fur.

He gaped up at us as we grew.

<Of course!> he said.

But I couldn't worry about him right then because I was growing at a shocking, wonderful rate. Up, up through the fur! Up till my head was clear of the anteater's back. Up and up till Tobias flying past seemed small.

Up and up till a much larger Ax in harrier morph seemed no bigger than a 747.

Up till I could see the others, all rising from the fur like hot air balloons ascending from a jungle.

The anteater gave a sudden shake, having felt us, and we tumbled to the ground. But it was wonderful. When we hit the dirt it was just dirt.

We were getting big again!

As you'd expect, the anteater I was becoming had good eyes, at least for small details. I could see Ax resting. I could see Tobias on his shoulder. And I could see the Helmacron ship with the blue box still attached, lying in the dirt with Ax's harrier talon wrapped protectively around it.

An anteater is a funny-looking animal. From the end of its bushy, feather-duster tail to the tip of its absurdly long, pointed head, it was maybe four or four and a half feet long. It stood as tall as a grown man's knees. Not a huge animal. But wonderfully big to all of us.

I looked out through keen, anteater eyes and saw a field of vision half-filled by the furred tube that was its mouth. It seemed to stretch out forever.

But even though the giant anteater is comical, it is not helpless. I was resting most of my weight on my hind legs. I balanced on my front knuckles, the better to keep my wickedly curved scythe claws safe and sharp.

I felt the anteater instincts bubbling up beneath my own human consciousness. I braced myself for some extreme fight-or-flight reaction. But the anteater was a calm, lethargic sort of creature. Later I found out they have one of the lowest body temperatures of any land mammal. They're known to sleep as much as fifteen hours a day.

But this was not a stupid animal. I had excellent hearing and an excellent sense of smell.

And I could quite clearly see the rushing groups of Helmacrons and human-Controllers on the ground.

I was in such control of my more obvious instincts that I didn't really even think about what happened next.

Flit!

My tongue shot out an amazing two feet! It slapped a gaggle of Helmacrons, bathed them in sticky spit, snagged them with the tiny barbs of the anteater tongue, and snapped them back into my mouth before I knew what I'd done.

<Go, Cassie!> Marco said.

I felt something in my mouth, something kind of like teeth, only not, begin to chew . . .

<No!> I yelled, freezing my jaw muscles.