Daniel woke without opening his eyes. His whole body ached, but it was his shoulder that demanded his attention with its heated throbbing. Experimenting he move it, and although it hurt it did not feel broken like he'd feared.

Slowly opening his eyes Daniel yelped at the sight of Qetesh's face directly in front of him. He backed away to avoid getting bit again before realizing that she wasn't going to be biting anyone. Her once bright eyes were glazed over with the dull haze of death. The congealed blood at her temple spoke of a violent blow to the head.

"Thanks, Sam..." Daniel whispered.

Gritting his sharp teeth together Daniel pushed himself up on his forelimbs. He looked around the silent forest. About ten feet away Sam lay on her back in the leaf litter motionless. Alarmed Daniel shakily got up on all fours to get to her.

His body was not cooperating. He felt as though his hind legs were becoming stiff and heavy as he stumbled over to his fallen friend. It didn't even occur to him that he was losing his vulpine form until he went to place his paw on Sam and found his true hand on her shoulder.

"Sam?" Daniel gently shook her "Sam..."

"She will be fine." A soft voice suddenly assured. "She sleeps so that we might speak alone."

Daniel turned to see the Guardian standing a few feet away. He took a protective posture over Sam and without even thinking about it he bared his now human teeth at the witch.

"I see you haven't lost your animal instincts yet." The Guardian chuckled.

"Stay away from her!"

"I do not intend to harm your friend, nor did I intend for you to come to harm." The Guardian replied calmly. "Sadly, I am not allowed to heal your wounds. However, Qetesh has a ship in the woods near by. She has a sarcophagus on board that could mend your shoulder."

"No thank you," Daniel said quickly "I've had quite enough of those things."

"It is your decision."

"Who are you?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

"I am Maris...the Guardian."

"I guess what I meant to ask is: 'what are you?'"

"You should know." Maris replied. "You were once like me."

"...you're Acended."

"I am." Maris said simply.

"What do you want from me?" Daniel snarled.

"I want to thank you for killing Qetesh and her wolves." Maris said honestly.

"What?"

"They have been causing havoc in my forest for many generations."

"You must have been the one that turned them," Daniel spat "that trapped them here."

"I had no choice."

"Is that why you turned me into your dog?" Daniel snarled angrily. "So that I could do your dirty work for you? You stained my hands with blood to keep yours clean!"

"No." Maris said calmly. "I turned you because I must protect the Tree. I may use my powers in any way I see fit as long as I don't kill the attacker. You were harming the Tree and had to be stopped. I revert invaders to their sprit forms."

"You could have just told me to leave." Daniel said bitterly.

"I tried." Maris retorted. "You knew you were never to return here once you returned to mortal form."

"I had my memories stolen, how could I have known not to come here?" Daniel growled.

"I placed it in your mind twice that you were not welcome here. And yet you ignored your feelings and injured the Tree."

Daniel ran his hands through his sweaty hair in frustration. Maris had warned him, but he still wished she'd just told him to stay away. The cryptic way with which the Acendeds conducted themselves drove him insane at times.

"What's so special about this tree?" Daniel asked to change the subject.

"I can not tell you."

Daniel hated their secrecy as well. He had once walked freely among them, but the second he tried to stop Anubis from destroying the only home he'd ever loved they'd branded him an outcast. They had tried to steal his memories, but they came back from time to time. He suddenly had a flash of when he'd seen the Tree before.

"It's a living form of Naquadah, isn't it?" Daniel pressed. "That's why the bark is that colour, and the strange metallic smell."

Maris said nothing. If Daniel had been paying attention he would have seen the slight stiffening of her muscles that was telling him that he was jumping on thin ice.

"There's more than one of these Trees...on different worlds, uninhabited ones with Gates." Daniel started to mutter to himself as the memories came back. "They're what give the Acendeds somesort of power. That's why you guard them, you're connected to them someho..."

Daniel stopped when he saw the ugly expression that had slipped across Maris's beautiful face. He suddenly realized that nothing could be more dangerous to the Tree than a mortal knowing the truth about them.

"That's...uh...that's one of those things that I'm better off not remembering, isn't it?" Daniel asked nervously.

"Indeed." Maris growled angrily. She raised her hands to clap them together as she had done before, back when this had all started.

"Wait! Please, before you change me back into a walking fur coat, just promise me one thing."

"What?" Maris snapped.

"Don't turn my friends...give me a chance to chase them away from here." Daniel pleaded. "I'll spend the rest of my life guarding the Tree myself, if you'll just let them go home."

Maris paused as if considering the request. Without answering she raised her arms once again. Daniel braced himself as she brought her hands together. The blinding flash knocked him back into darkness. Maris's angry scowl slowly turned to a sad smile. She stood over Daniel with a mournful expression.

"You are a good man, Daniel Jackson." Maris sighed. "I hope I do not come to regret what I've done with you."