It was supposed to be a quick search-and-destroy mission, a hit-and-run. Just find it, destroy it, and be gone without anyone noticing he was there in the first place. However, like all good plans, it went down in flames the moment it came into contact with the enemy.

Mal-

Maul tried, he really did. It was all so new , and he just didn't know what to do . He wasn't exactly inexperienced on going on missions by himself - how could he? His mentor accompanied him on his first few, but Pa-... Sidious, Sidious had too much hinging on him being where he had to be. Maul understood, but he longed for his mentor's soothing presence. More there was more at stake than just his comfort. This could be the greatest victory for the Sith Order in decades. At least, it would be if he succeeded.

He tried to find and destroy that Force artifact without killing anyone, he really did. It was like a virus, slowly infecting Force sensitives in the sector Naboo was in. It was unnerving, seeing people's eyes flashing yellow at random. Pal - no, Darth Sidious - can't think in real names, it would pluck it from his head - loved his planet, had wanted to save it. Unfortunately, Force-sensitives were bountiful on Naboo. Sometimes, it seemed like practically everyone in the government of Naboo was a Sensitive. They had taken the artifact and were hiding it somewhere within the city.

If he was closer to it Maul could potentially sense it himself, but those kriffing Sensitives were passing it around like some game. Putting the people into camps and inspecting them one-by-one was the only way to find it. The Force imprint of the artifact had disappeared yesterday, but Maul was close . He could feel it.

People were going to be hurt. It was unavoidable when you were a group of five, fighting against practically the entire galaxy. Still, Maul tried . The people were fed. They were treated with kindness, but still they fought, screaming about some injustice that Maul just couldn't see . It was the Force manipulating their senses, making them perceive things that weren't real. Maul could see it too, if he just… let go…

No!

Maul shook his head, shivers racking his body. The Force artifact must be starting to infect him too, if he was getting these kind of thoughts. The situation had just gotten more dire.

Out of habit, he peered out of a window as he passed by, seeing the citizens of Naboo slowly crowding around. Maul grimaced. He didn't need to reach through the threatening Force to know they were about to rally and riot.. Again. Maul seriously wondered if they thought they were being discreet, because they weren't. It wasn't very hard to figure out. He had seen this pattern almost every other day. He didn't know if the artifact was starting to affect them too, didn't want to know, but-

What was that? There was something behind the door, something that the Force was desperately trying to hide. Maul let the doors open, seeing a crowd of people behind it. Oh, great .

...Jedi.

Maul let the rest of the group file away. He wasn't going to hurt them, but he knew he couldn't run from the Jedi. Once they wind of a Sith, they would never let him go. Or her. Maul wasn't sexist.

Maul pushed his hood back to get a better glimpse at his opponents. A padawan that was older than him -hah, that age and still a padawan?! The Jedi were slipping- and an old geezer. Maul bit back a chortle as the two simultaneously slipped off their outer robes like strippers, instead igniting his double-bladed lightsaber.

The battle was… disappointing, to say the least. Maul barely had to divide his attention between fighting them and repelling the Force. Bolstered by the presence of the two Jedi, it clung to him like slime, trying to slow down his movements. Maul's anger at the Jedi's corruption, his love for the galaxy, it all formed a shield around him, letting the Force slide off.

They exchanged a flurry of blows, Maul slowly leading in the direction the Force seemed to be radiating from. It wasn't hard - just follow the flow of power from somewhere behind him to where the Jedi were.

Maul did a simple backflip off the walkway and onto a ramp, touching the Force briefly and letting go before it could sink its hooks into him. He couldn't help but roll his eyes as the Jedi copied him - were they trying to get killed? Who did a backflip to where their enemy was waiting with a weapon that could lop off a limb without any resistance? He could have cut them both in half with one strike! He hastily stepped back so they wouldn't jump into his waiting blades, held horizontally right where they were about to land.

He locked his lightsabers with both their sabers in a move that shouldn't be possible in an actual fight . Whatever. Fighting. Kicking at the padawan, Maul immediately panicked when the human let his foot meet his face and roll off the platform. Surely the Jedi weren't this incompetent?!

Apparently, the 'master' didn't care, or maybe he trusted that his padawan could survive an unsurvivable drop, because he didn't falter, taking advantage of Maul's distraction to punch him off the platform too.

...At least Maul now knew why the master didn't look after the padawan. The fall only took seconds. The padawan must've told the master he was okay through the training bond. Maul lay there for another second, letting his emotions flow through him and counteract the Force's corruption.

Exasperatedly moving his blade out of the way as the Jedi tried to jump on him - I could've accidentally taken your foot off, you idiot - Maul did another face-kick, this time on purpose. They fought their way down the ramp and - was that the padawan still hanging from the edge of the platform?! He had use of the Force, use it to pull himself up, for kriff's sake!

The padawan was coming, but Maul was almost there. He stopped, relieved that he wouldn't have to stop more idiocy, when the gate closed between him and the Jedi Master. The idiot just sat down and meditated. Great. He was corrupting himself on the force. Just what they needed.

After poking at the gate with his lightsaber, Maul paced back and forth, reviewing the entire chamber. The artifact was here, he could feel it. But where?

The gate opened and the fight was on. The padawan was stuck on the other side of the last gate as it closed. Tough luck.

Ignoring how the padawan was standing at the gate, panting with his mouth wide open, Maul stared into the eyes of the Jedi for a long moment, trying to project his urgency and understanding, his good faith. For a moment, he thought it worked. The Jedi paused, a little frown on his face. Maul stepped backwards, and the Jedi didn't follow.

Maul took another step back, still staring into those liquid blue eyes.

Nothing. Except…

The Jedi was looking back with... understanding? But… Sidious said it couldn't be done...

As he put his foot backwards again, something changed. The Force roared alive. Maul turned to flee, but it turned out he didn't need to.

The Jedi speared himself on his own lightsaber .

Maul gawked as the Jedi slumped to his knees, wondering why the Force killed one of its own slave. He belatedly remembered the Padawan when he lunged at Maul, screaming something that sounded a lot like, "You killed my Master!" Maul had to resist that urge to point out that he had been trying to run away, had been across the room from the Jedi. The Jedi wouldn't hear him anyway. The Force would prevent it, making him sound evil, like 'You shall bow to the dark side' or something.

Honestly, it was just like the kriffin' Force to do something like this - to kill a Jedi and blame one of the Sith Order. Malzin couldn't do a thing about the disease, only slow the spread of the virus, and it rankled.

The padawan was channeling his anger now, slowly taking control back from the Force. Trying to taunt him and encourage that emotion, Malzin was rewarded with a broken saber. Kriff it. It wasn't going to work on two decades of brainwashing.

Spinning as he retreated from the Jedi, Malzin warded off a few blows. Batting the Force away out of mere habit, not any true sense of danger, he kicked the padawan's face again - seriously, why were they falling for such a basic move? Just stay down.

The human just wouldn't let him flee, though Malzin was clearly trying to walk away. He just kept coming. Malzin pushed the Jedi into the hole, right over where the light was. As expected, the padawan grabbed hold of it. I don't want to hurt you.

Making sure the padawan was okay, Malzin sank into the Force, not allowing it to hold him, just scanning it for the artifact. He couldn't pinpoint it, and he was running out of time. The Jedi padawan was only about a year older than Malzin, but he was frankly as terrible as all the other Jedi at fighting. Still, Malzin clearly couldn't fight off the Force's manipulations and the padawan at the same time. Malzin needed to shake him off, lay low, and return once they had relaxed their security again. It would be a huge delay, but Malz-

Maul froze. How long had he been using his real name?!

Even as he realized it, he knew it was too late. The Force was already pressing down on him, digging hooks into his walls.

He almost didn't feel it when the padawan slashed him through the stomach. It was a painful strike, meant to draw out the death excruciatingly. Still, it didn't matter. It was nothing, compared to the pain the Force was impressing upon him.

And it had all been for nothing.

He had failed. He hadn't destroyed the artifact and he wasn't getting out of here alive. Not anymore. He had to kill himself to save the Order. A couple more seconds and his walls would crumble. The Force would have the identities of the rest of the Order and the Galaxy would be doomed.

Maul - no, Malzin. It was too late anyways, and he was going to die as himself - raised his lightsaber to cut off his own head. The light caught on something, and Malzin reflexively glanced over as he pushed the Padawan gently away. He turned to see...

Of course.

The Sensitives were brilliant, hiding it here. It was melted down, molded into the very walls of the chamber . But… Malzin was falling. He couldn't destroy the artifact.

Unless…

Turning through his freefall, Malzin stabbed into the biolights of the tunnel he was falling in, throwing the padawan out of the chamber to safety as he did so. The gates should keep the padawan safe enough, at least. His lightsaber cut through the plexiglass with little resistance, the heat igniting the fluids inside as he fell past. Malzin tilted his face up as he fell, eyes on the artifact melded into the walls.

The explosion was brilliant. It overtook the artifact and Malzin knew the moment it was destroyed. He had succeeded.

Malzin had a split moment to hear the Force scream as its hooks on Naboo were abruptly severed. The presence ripping his mind apart was snuffed out, but Malzin had only milliseconds to act.

With the cloud around Naboo gone, Malzin reached out to space, towards Coruscant, towards his mentor. With the distance between them, Malzin wasn't sure his mentor received his message, but he could hope. He hoped his mentor wouldn't take his death as his fault. His mentor blamed himself for too many things. He succeeded in freeing Naboo! Malzin had a moment of glee and pure peace.

Falling was like flying. Why had he ever feared it?

The explosion caught up to him, then-

Nothing.


Welcome aboard this crazy-train. Settle down for a long wait. This was just an idea that popped into my head while I was writing my other story, which I call OISAMOW. I update that one on a schedule. This one has no schedule.

Gotta admit - this is pretty good for someone who hasn't watched the movies, just some YouTube clips, right?