Stargate: Metamorphosis

Oh yes, I offically have TOO much time on my hands. Actually that's not true. I had plenty of useful (or at the very least 'healthy') things to be doing. But I got this image in my head and felt a need to get it out. While I was drawing it (of course) I thought of a proper story to go along with it. .....I need to work harder at balancing my medications!



Metamorphosis


Daniel Jackson stepped out of the Stargate and tried to shake off the bone chilling cold. He had always felt that gate travel was like being sucked into a blender that was making frozen margaritas. At least P3-711 was a warm planet. He looked around and found the rest of the SG-1 team had already started exploring the desert like surface of planet.

“Daniel,” Jack called out “come look at this thing.”

“What is it?”

“If I knew what it was I wouldn’t be asking you to come look at it.”

Daniel chuckled and made his way over to the sand dune that Jack was standing on. Half buried into the sand was an object that was totally out of place with it’s surroundings. It was like a glass mushroom with a raised clear dome.

“Any ideas?” Jack asked.

“None whatsoever.” Daniel replied as he knelt down to dust off some of the sand.

“If you don’t know what it is, I’d suggest that you don’t touch it.”

Daniel ignored Jack’s warning and continued to unbury the strange device. Not having found anything else of interest Sam and Teal’c soon joined them.

“Teal’c, have you ever seen anything like this?” Daniel asked.

“I have not.”

“It doesn’t really look Goa’uld.” Sam noted.

“No...it doesn’t.” Daniel replied absent mindedly as he spread his palm over the raised center of the glass mushroom.

“Daniel, I’ve got a bad feeling about that thing. Stop mucking with it.” Jack said. “That’s an orde...”

A sharp cracking sound cut Jack off as the once clear mushroom started to glow. Before they could react to the change a pulse of light exploded out of the device, knocking the team to the sandy ground.

Daniel snapped his eyes open and looked up at the darkening sky. Unsure of how long he’d been out he sat up slowly. He instinctively started searching for his glasses. After finding them he placed them back on their perch with some difficulty.

With his vision suddenly cleared the dark shape in front of him took an unexpected form. A giant Bald Eagle stood in the sand before him. Daniel shook his head to try and clear it, but the apparition didn’t disappear.

“I’m going to kill you.” The large bird growled.

“W...what?” Daniel stuttered.

“You just have to touch everything, don’t you?”

“Jack?”

“You know I’m all for being patriotic...but this is taking things too far.” Jack replied. “And just to be clear, the first person to call me O’Neagle, gets their eyes clawed out.”

“What is going on?!” A female voice brayed.

Daniel turned around and found a pony with blonde hair wearing a SG-1 jacket sitting in the sand with a confused look on her equine face.

“Sam?” Daniel asked incredulously.

Daniel looked down at his own hands and jerked back when he found them covered in a soft layer of red fur. Although still somewhat human in nature they had taken on a more paw like shape. Looking over his shoulder he found a bushy red tail with a white tip. It thrashed restlessly behind him as if it had a mind of its own.

“Daniel Jackson, I believe we now know what the device does.” A large bear with Teal’c voice said sardonically. “The only question now is ‘why’.”

“No, the question now is how do we change ourselves back!” Jack snapped with a click of his sharp beak.

“Uh...uh...” Daniel stuttered.

“Come on, Danny, foxes are supposed to be clever.”

“Just let me think.”

“Well think fast,” Jack huffed “the sand is starting to chaff my tail feathers.”

Daniel walked awkwardly over to the glowing device and knelt down in front of it. His tail swished a pattern in the sand as he concentrated on the glowing mushroom. It didn’t have any markings on it that could be considered a language, which meant there weren’t going to be any directions. He scratched behind one of his large ears in thought.

“Don’t just stare at it, Daniel, change us back!” Carter whinnied.

“I’m trying! Hold your horses, Sam.” Daniel growled in frustration.

“Oh, ha-ha, Dr. Jackalson.” Carter snapped.

“Major Carter, I believe that Daniel is in fact a fox, not a jackal.”

“She knows that Teal’c.” Jack smiled as well as his beak would allow. “It was sarcasm.”

“I still do not fully understand your planet’s ‘sarcasm’.”

“Just grin and bear it.”

“Enough you two.” Sam interjected. “Daniel, you can fix this...right?”

“I...I don’t know.” Daniel admitted as he continued to play with the device. “Goa’uld technology was not built to be used by paws.”

“Daniel Jackson,” Teal’c said calmly “I do not believe that this is of Goa’uld construction.”

“Why do you say that?”

“They would not create something so...foolish.”

“Foolish?” Sam demanded. “Guys, we are in serious trouble here. We can’t go back to base looking like this.”

“Major Carter is correct.” Teal’c agreed. “We will be shot on sight.”

“They can’t shoot me,” Jack protested “I’m an endangered species!”

“Guys please!” Daniel barked.

Daniel turned his attention back to the device and gingerly pushed one of the raised buttons. The top of the mushroom turned from bright orange to a deep purple. Licking his muzzle nervously he placed his paw on the purple half orb and pressed down.

Once again a blinding light exploded out of the strange device. Daniel was thrown back hard into the hat desert sand. He tried to keep conscious, but the creeping darkness quickly won.

A pounding headache kept Daniel from fully surfacing to the real world. He tried to move but just ended up moaning pitifully from the throbbing pain. He tried to concentrate on just opening his eyes, but couldn’t quite find the strength.

“Daniel?” Jack’s voice cut through the mist. “You alright, buddy?”

“Jack?”

“Morning, Sunshine.” Jack chuckled.

Daniel managed to open his eyes slowly. He looked around at the blurry medical equipment that surrounded him. He reached out to the table trying once again to find his glasses. Jack picked them up and handed them to his friend. Daniel put them on and looked around once again. Jack, human as ever, watched him slightly apprehensively. Daniel raised one of his hands to look at it and was relieved to find it no furrier than it should be.

“What happened?” Daniel asked.

“We got knocked silly by that mushroom looking thing.” Jack explained. “The rest of us woke pretty quickly, but you were touching the device and must of gotten a harder blow. You’ve been out for almost three days.”

“I...I had the strangest dream.”

“Was Toto there?” Jack asked.

Daniel smiled and sat up in the hospital bed. Jack shifted his weight and scratched the back of his head. When he brought his hand forward again he was holding a small white feather. Daniel stared at the feather in disbelief.

“So,” Jack said with a wry smile “tell me about this ‘dream’ of yours.”


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