Disclaimer – I don't own anything that you recognise.

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Teal'c faced Duo in the Dancing Square. The Jaffa had no intention of causing any permanent harm to the teenager. He decided to take it easy, not using his full speed, strength or skill in the first few attempts. His aim was to harm Duo's pride more than the boy's body.

Teal'c was only using one hand to control the staff, keeping his left arm firmly placed behind his back.

Duo, in return, flowed like water under the blows, occasionally using a folded fan to block a staff strike.

Duo narrowed his eyes slightly in anger. He closed on Teal'c, moving inside his guard. The fans snapped open and one was jabbed into Teal'c's upper leg, while the other caught the Jaffa under the jaw.

Duo snapped the fans closed and retreated.

"You're dead." He declared, "Living Battle-fans have blades on the spokes. I just got your femoral and carotid arteries… I'm not Heero… And I'm not a Master in battle-fans. But give me some credit. Take me seriously."

Teal'c shifted his weight and started to spar more earnestly. Duo had just proven himself worth sparing with.

Now that Teal'c had committed himself properly to the fight. The first few movements were cautious… Testing.

Much to SG1's surprise, it was Teal'c who made the first true attack.

It was an over-arm strike, aimed at Duo's right shoulder. Duo ducked slightly and blocked the blow with a folded fan.

Teal'c reversed the movement, causing the same end of the staff to circle him, building momentum, as it moved towards Duo's left leg.

Again Duo blocked the blow. Jumping backwards a little to bleed off some of the momentum.

Teal'c's third strike came after a short period of the two circling each other with quick feints of their weapons.

Teal'c slid the staff forward in a thrust, aimed at Duo's torso.

There was a loud snap, which echoed around the market.

Then a quieter bang.

Duo had blocked the thrust with an open fan. The braided boy then almost rolled up the side of the staff, to strike at Teal'c neck with a closed fan. Teal'c leant back to avoid the blow. Turning and kicking as he did so, he struck out towards Duo's back. Duo, however had bent and almost thrown himself to the ground. He rolled over, so that he lay on his back, and spun, using his legs to foul with Teal'c's.

Teal'c lost his grip on the staff. He rolled onto his back, and sprung quickly to his feet.

Duo had somehow managed to rotate onto his feet, without losing any momentum as he did so. His arms were out on each side of him, both fans open, providing a cutting edge as he spun. He was crouched down low, so Teal'c was in danger of Duo taking out his legs.

Teal'c backed away. He glanced down at the staff, which lay predominately in the area Duo had most recently claimed.

Duo was clearly spotting as he spun, using Teal'c as a point of reference.

"T's still pulling his blows." Jack noted.

"But he's using his full skill set." Sam retorted.

"And he says he's not an expert with those fans?" Daniel stared at the fight.

"He's not." Bren declared from next to the group, "There are major flaws in his technique. And he is using moves from other styles… But that's Duo's way. He's an 'anything-goes' guy. Makes him very dangerous. Everything is a weapon to him."

"Where does the tradition of Dancing Daggers come from?" Daniel asked.

"Mainly the desert cultures," Bren replied, "It started off as dancing with daggers on the belt, so show that a man was a warrior and that a woman could protect herself. Then they used the weapon as a prop. Finally it became a spar. Used to determine which tribe, clan or family out of two, who were intermarrying, would be the superior. While the winner would be the higher ranked of the two, it was seen as bad luck for a death to occur at a wedding.

"Over time blunted daggers began to be more commonly used. And the champion fighter for each tribe, clan and family became known as a Dagger Dancer. Their job was not only to duel for their people, but to maintain the blunted daggers and train the next dancers.

"As cultures intermingled new weapons were added to the Dancer's repertoire. And the Dancing Dagger's Box was created.

"We're now considered to be a strange mix between a martial artist and a performer. With a Dancing Dagger Master in all major cities and colonies. Along with several minor cities, towns and even some villages where the tradition began."

"You told that rather freely." Jack frowned.

"A Dancing Dagger Master has several duties," Bren shrugged, "To maintain their Dancing Chest. To supervise or arrange supervision for all sessions. To provide training. To keep the tradition alive. And to inform all people about the culture at every available opportunity."

Teal'c feinted left before diving to the right, rolling to claim back his staff. Duo swiped at him, but Teal'c managed to pull back just in time, almost over balancing.

Duo tried to push his advantage with a kick. But Teal'c managed to block the kick using his staff, albeit a bit awkwardly from his twisted position.

"Do all Masters carry the same number of weapons that you do?" Daniel asked, staring at the veritable visible armoury strapped to Bren.

"Roughly yes." Bren replied, "As I said, a Dancing Dagger was the champion of their people. They wore their weapons to indicate their rank. Masters these days wear either the weapons or a symbol of the weapons that they have Mastered. Though we prefer the weapons. I hate it when we have our yearly meeting. The shuttles won't let me on with my weapons. I feel positively naked without all of them."

"What about the trainees?" Daniel pressed, "Do they carry all their Mastered weapons?"

"No," Bren shook her head, "They are only allowed to carry a wave-knife and symbols of their weapons. Usually small jewellery charms are used. Different metals or colours used to symbolise skill with each individual weapon… The same for Dancers. Only Masters may carry the actual weapons."

It was clear that Duo had a disadvantage. He had the shorter range of weapon. However in his favour he was very fast and manoeuvrable.

Having pulled back a bit, Duo charged towards his opponent. He slid gracefully from side to side, avoiding Teal'c's staff as the Jaffa lashed out with swipes and thrusts.

Once within range, Duo attempted to drive a fan into Teal'c's gut. But the staff blocked the potentially devastating blow.

Before Teal'c could counter-attack, Duo swept upwards with the other fan, aimed at Teal'c's wrist… Or more specifically the arteries in it.

While he did that, he also dropped to the ground and attempted to sweep the Jaffa off his feet.

Teal'c merely twisted the staff, and managed to ward off both attacks with the same movement.

Then he launched a spinning kick at Duo's head.

Duo ducked, before leaping backwards, and returning to the defensive.

"What's Duo's rank?" Jack asked.

"Technically, an Apprentice. The Ranks go: Trainee, Apprentice, Dancer, Master. The top rank is the Master Dancer. But these days it's rare for a Dancer to take an Apprentice, so it's purely a title. Your fighter's pretty good. Though I feel his style favours a weighted staff. He's not used to something so light."

"That's true enough." Sam agreed, "You're observant."

"I'm a Master." Bren smiled, "I know how to notice flaws in a fighting style and how to assess an opponent. Victory can depend on the smallest thing."

"Very true." Jack nodded.

"How do you believe the spar will end?" Daniel queried.

"I am not sure. Your fighter is quickly adapting to the unweighted staff… Clearly he has been well trained. However Duo is also adapting to the unusual style your fighter uses. Duo has an advantage in that he knows himself, while your fighter is having to adapt to both the staff and Duo's style. But he adapts quickly… Once he has gotten used to either one, Duo will only be the victor if your fighter is taken by surprise. While Duo outpaces your fighter, he is outclassed by your fighter's strength. Duo's style is geared towards his speed and agility. Your fighter favours strength and precision. Duo will take any hit he can land. Even if it wasn't the one he was trying for."

Jack saw the blow Teal'c was aiming, before Duo did. He was more accustomed to Teal'c style, after all.

But Duo still noticed it and while he tried to dodge, the blow was too sudden for Duo to fully dodge or ward it off.

The tip of the staff caught him on his hip. The force knocked Duo to the ground. He rolled to avoid the follow-up blow.

The next blow Duo caught staff between the two fans, Duo in a kneeling position.

"I yield." Duo announced clearly, "For now."

Duo released the staff. He pulled back into a relaxed stance.

"Do you respect the Battle-Fans now?" Duo asked.

"Indeed." Teal'c nodded, "A formidable weapons for a close combatant."

"And you can sneak them into formal events." Duo grinned.

"A well fought match." Bren declared she stepped onto the stage. "Both of you have not disgraced your people. Warrior…"

"Teal'c." Duo supplied.

"Teal'c," Bren continued, "While you are not a Dagger Dancer, you conducted yourself well. I would be honoured to aid you in becoming a dancer, should you so wish. You need not decide now. Merely return at a later date. Apprentice Duo, while the Battle-Fans are not your strongest weapon, you have clearly increased your skill in them. I thus rank you as an Apprentice in Battle-Fans."

"What?" Duo exclaimed in shock and surprise, "But I'm not…"

"I would ask you to adjust your weapon charm appropriately, but you do not hold it. Thus I shall inform Dancer Quatre."

"I don't have any…" Duo started to argue, then stopped, "Quatre. I should've known."

"You may leave the Dancing Square." Bren dismissed them.

The pair returned the weapons to the box, before approaching the others.

"I misjudged you Duo." Teal'c declared, "You are a worthy opponent."

"Thanks, big guy." Duo grinned, "I can see why Hee wants another round with you. Oh… And thanks for pulling that last blow you got in. I think you would have broken my bones."

"That's why we usually use more protection with fighting with Teal'c." Jack grinned, "So what now?"

"Well, Bren's arranging a few more Dances." Duo shrugged, glancing at the stage, "Seems Teal'c's and mine was a great opening act. She's pulling out some of the lesser known weaponry."

A quick glance at the stage confirmed it. One of the Dancers held what looked like a pair of yo-yos, while the other held a pair of wooden sticks.

"Tong Fa." Daniels eyebrows rose, "A little unusual for a desert culture."

"I'm more curious about the yo-yos." Sam countered, "Who knows, maybe the Colonel's toys could be useful for once."

Time flew by as SG1 watched fight after fight. Duo, on the other hand, visited a few stalls, before joining the crowd.

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"Shoot!" Duo looked at his watch.

"We miss our shuttle?" Sam panicked, her attention snapping to Duo away from the current dance between a pair of sai and a pair of nunchucks.

"Not yet," Duo replied, "But we will if we don't hurry. Or… we could chill… Have a meal out… And I get us an alternative route home."

"Can you guarantee we'll get back today?" Jack pressed.

"One hundred percent." Duo fired back, "Won't be the prettiest of rides. But we'll get back."

"We'll wait." Jack declared.

"Let's go get some food then." Duo grinned.

The group turned to leave.

"Duo," Bren caught the boy sleeve, "A warning for you to pass on to Dancer Quatre."

"Yes?" Duo frowned.

"Master Bassam will be retiring soon. Dancer Quatre is currently the favourite to replace him."

"I'll tell him." Duo nodded, "My thanks, Master Brenda."

"May your blades be always sharp. And your skill be always sure." Bren bowed slightly.

"And may you be always able to uphold the honour that you have been charged with bearing." Duo bowed back far more deeply. Almost formerly, Daniel noted. The words themselves had clearly been formal. But both the tone and the bow had had that tiny bit of pure, unadulterated Duo that you couldn't ever describe as respectful.

"Get out of here, you brat!" Bren laughed.

"See ya." Duo almost danced away.

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked.

"To see a friend." Duo replied, "He'll feed us."

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Sam stared at the queue outside the clearly expensive and popular restaurant.

"Duo," She murmured, "We'll never get seats in there… We aren't even dressed right."

"Sam… Sam… Sam…" Duo smirked, "Get out of the crab bucket… Those are the unwritten rules… And if they're unwritten, you don't need to obey them."

Duo strode confidently forward to the front of the queue.

"Hey," He chirped to the doorman, "Is the boss in?"

"Not to the likes of you." The man sneered.

"You're new," Duo grinned, "You'll learn."

With that Duo ducked past the doorman and dashed to the Maitre'd.

"Hey ya!" Duo declared.

"Duo!" The man was surprised, "He has been expecting you."

A large man appeared almost directly behind Duo, cutting him off from SG1 who had slipped past the spluttering doorman to catch the braided boy.

"Jakeem!" Duo laughed, as he was swung around in a hug, "How'd you know I was coming?"

"Heard you were in town." Jakeem replied, "Where else would you come for supper?"

"Spacers' bar?" Duo retorted.

"You need proper food." Jakeem countered, "No, you come to me! I'll feed you properly."

"Of course you will," Duo grinned, "Meet my friends. Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c."

"Miguel, prepare the best table for our honoured guests," Jakeem ordered, "I will bring you the choicest dishes. Sheep's head. Goat's bladder. Cow's brain..."

Jack was trying hard to hide the disgust on his face. Sam was mentally sighing at the thought of yet another meal that she would only pretend to eat. Daniel was getting curious. And Teal'c was simply stoic and silent.

Duo interrupted the description of dishes with simply a raised hand.

"Jakeem, what have I told you before?" Duo asked.

"You don't eat anything that can beat you in a staring competition."

"So?"

"So I will bring you the good stuff." Jakeem grinned broadly, "Not the grot we give to the ignorant tourists. Stuff like mother used to make."

"Thanks," Duo chirped, "Serve it hot and lots of it."

"Of course." Jakeem nodded.

"By the way," Duo muttered, "Is the doorman new?"

"Yes." Jakeem frowned slightly, "He did not give you any trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Duo shrugged, "But I don't think he's studied the photographs yet. You might want to check up on that. He's a good guy though."

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True to Jakeem's word they were shown to the best table and food was soon served. It looked delicious and smelt heavenly… It also contained none of the items that Jakeem had boasted of earlier.

"Are the other colonies like this?" Daniel asked as they started to eat.

"No," Duo shook his head, "L1 and L4 are the richest colonies. L4 being just slightly ahead. But L4 is old money. And the Desert culture. They're all Desert traditional. They like to remember their heritage. But they don't hang onto it if it's inefficient. That's the way they've always been.

"L1 is new money. All technology and electronics. They'll go after the newest most exciting item. Rather than something proven and tested. L1 is all clean lines, metal and glass. Everything shiny and polished. Metal and glass and proud of it. They're mainly scientists and engineers. But very few biologists… About one in a hundred… Probably less.

"L5 is the most traditional of the colonies. Wood and paper buildings. They won't change unless forced to. I don't really know much about their culture. Only from what I know of Fei. They're very reserved. They don't' like outsiders interfering with them. Everything is very ritualised. I can't get near their culture.

"L3 is more normadic than anything else… Or at least as nomadic as you can be on a colony. They founded the circus you saw. And they were the main source of mercenaries, before the Wars. L3 is the birth home of a lot of Sweepers and Spacers. Don't know what it is about the colony, but it just breeds wanderers. The culture there is very relaxed. They're very big on family. Both blood and spiritual family. They love there food. I like L3. There's an on-going joke there that if you share three meals in a week at a family home… You're family… For life… I've never managed more than two.

"L2 is just a mismatch. It was where everyone went and took their own cultures. We lost the history behind the culture and adapted the traditions until they fitted what we needed. I won't say we kept the best bits. We just ditched what we didn't understand."

Duo shrugged and started to eat… Much to Jack and Sam's confusion, Daniel's curiosity and Teal'c's plain puzzlement, Duo used chopsticks instead of the knife and fork they all had.

"Why do you use those?" Daniel asked.

"Got in the habit." Duo was dismissive, "They're easier to clean than a knife and fork… Plus you can easily carry a pair at all times… They're really light. And they're not seen as weapons. So people don't confiscate them… 'Fei gave them to me last Remembrance Day."

"You said that L5 is very reserved?" Sam pressed.

"Very." Duo stressed, "I once tried to help one of them… Nearly got my head bitten off."

"What did you do?" Jack breathed.

"Before the Gundam War," Duo explained, "OZ, or as they were known at the time, the Specials and the Alliance tried to destroy the oldest colony in the L5 cluster. They didn't manage it… But some of the colonists left almost immediately afterwards. One got a ride on a Sweeper ship I was on at the time… I overheard him moaning that his kanhou was broken beyond repair… A musical instrument. I felt bad. So I made him a new one, using metal and wire… Took me a while, too.

"He threw it at my head. Said that a kanhou was made of wood and string and deserved to be respected. Not adulterated as I had done… Then he went into a long rant about my dubious heritage… I don't think he knew I understood every word."

"And you just took it?" Jack couldn't quite believe it.

"He'd lost his family." Duo shrugged, "He was just venting. 'Fei's people… They're really calm and serene… Until they're not. They don't have a mid-range of emotions. They're either emotionless or really, really extremely emotional. They kinda scare me sometimes."

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Please provide feedback, I love knowing what you think.

Thanks to my reviewers. As none of you seemed to mind the fact that my muse has run off at a tangent (and some of you even encouraged it!) I have let the muse run free…

Thus we have a chapter with a lot of back history. Don't worry, I think plot restarts next chapter.

I also would like to dedicate this chapter to BlackRose-FlowerofDeath who was my 100th reviewer. I missed when it happened, due to sheer stupidity. And once I realized thought that the best chapter would be the one with the Dancing in it.

Kidishcaresh – Thank you.

Sora Hoshi – Umm… They've been to L2 earlier. Sorry. But I hope you enjoyed the spar… The research was exhausting. The amount of Youtube I had to hunt through and watch…

DarkKnightOfShadows – Just send me a link when the picture is done. And just so you know… I wrote the scene not long after your request. So I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Huitt1989 – Here you go, and I hope the spar was satisfactory… I need to watch more martial arts.

Kirallie – Glad you liked it.

BlackRose-FlowerofDeath – It's Irish. Possibly Celtic. But it's definitely Irish.

SisterFreaks – I like writing cliffies… I also hate reading them. So I apologize.

Toraus – Thank you.

StandingOnTheRooftops – I like old weaponry. Unfortunately budget and space mean I can't own any. So I let my characters have them instead. And I live vicariously through them.

Camilla-chan – Must you encourage the muse to deviate from the plot?

Prissymae – Duo has a sense of humour. Something I think the other Pilots sometimes lack… Well, they have them, but most the time they fail to engage them.

HevenSentHellBroken – Well, Teal'c wasn't owned. But he has now a new respect for our Duo… And yes, you do detect a Firefly reference.

Skyflyte12 – Glad you liked.

TrenchcoatMan – Enough action? There's more coming. I just need to round up the muses.

Peppymint – Yep. T didn't quite expect that!

Syngi – You flatter me. Thank you.

Seithr-Kairy – You're my kind of friend! Pointy weapons! But also please refrain from encouraging the muse to deviate from the plot.

Nebelkind – Here you go.

S. – Thank you for the grammar correction. I usually ignore my grammar checker on the computer… But not the spellchecker (I still spell soldier wrong).

Rose Colored Chimera – Oh you had to give the muse ideas didn't you? The Sweepers would love Daniel.

T.m.p.a – I'll get around to Quatre's space heart, but he doesn't like talking about it… Or at least my Quatre muse doesn't.

So-kun – There are subcultures everywhere you look… I may have been watching too much Bones recently.

Annoying Little Twit – Ah… Duo in motion is a wonderful sight. My muses managed to paint a wonderful picture in my mind… Unfortunately translating it to words caused it to lose something.

Catra T. L. Heaveno – Really not sure how long this is going to be. I mean I know where I'm going. But not how long it'll take. Or what route I'll take… Kinda like my driving actually.

ElrohiryElladan – Actually it's more to do with the fact that I associated pink with Barbie. And I refuse to compare women to that toy. I personally find it degrades women. Men on the other hand, I am perfectly willing to associate with blue. Mainly because my little sister has always been associated with blue in my mind. Blue bedroom, blue clothes… The works. It is a product of my upbringing, but not in the way you think.

Twillightfairy – E-cake gratefully received.

Laesk – You're welcome. Enjoy.

Once again, thank you all for reviewing.