Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Evangelion. Just this story

Author's note: I was gonna write over the weekend, but I decided to take a break instead. So, here I am a week later, back again. Remember what I said last time: most of this chapter is summary. There are bigger details here and there when needed, but it's a summary of Maul's first week at school for the most part. On with the show!

Oh, and one reviewer mentioned that the Japanese typically don't have middle names. Maul isn't really Japanese, and I'd think that Gendo would try to pass him off as a foreign student (a strange version of the truth).

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Maul's next few days at school did several things. It provided Maul with more knowledge of Earth, helped him learn more about his future Apprentice, and also helped solidify his status as a natural in the game of basketball.

Unfortunately, he had been plagued by his bizarre dream each night. The old Jedi's (for that is certainly what he was) face became clearer and clearer each night, and it seemed more familiar as well. Maul still didn't know who it was, but he was feeling more and more as if the man was not simply a figment of his imagination.

As time went on, Maul also got better at controlling his anger. He knew that doing so would make Gendo more likely to trust him and call off Section 2. He was sick of them trailing him wherever he went. He also knew that if he behaved, he'd be more likely to be allowed to leave the NERV facility to find his own place to live. His initial request had been denied, of course. And there was still the matter of the preparations. Maul had been writing down a list of things he'd need, when a big problem became apparent to him.

The dilemma reared its ugly head on Wednesday, when the students got back a graded pop-quiz from the day before. Maul had answered every question correctly, as the quiz had been based off of the teacher's Second Impact lecture. When he got the quiz, he found he was unable to read the red symbol the teacher had wrote at the top. He went to Shinji for an explanation.

"Shinji," he said.

"Yeah Maul?" Shinji asked.

"What is the meaning of this symbol?" he pointed to the red mark. Shinji looked at the mark, and then at him.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Shinji. Maul blinked. "That symbol means that you failed the quiz."

"What!?" exclaimed Maul. "I answered every question correctly! You can see for yourself!" Shinji began reading what Maul had written. He looked at the paper for a moment, looked up at Maul, back at the paper, and then at Maul again. "Well?"

"I can't make heads or tails of this," said Shinji.

"Huh?" asked Maul. For an answer, Shinji handed Maul his paper back, as well as showing his own paper to him.

"Look at your paper, and then at mine," said Shinji. "Tell me if you see a difference." Maul looked at the two papers. While his own paper was perfectly legible, Shinji's looked like a lot of gibberish. "I guess they didn't teach you how to write in Japanese, did they?"

"No way," said Asuka, having come over to see what Maul's problem had been. "They didn't teach him how to write Japanese, and they sent him to school?" She began to laugh, but Maul's expression stopped her.

It was an angry expression, full of frustration at not being given what he needed to fit in at the school. And it almost looked as if Asuka's laughter had somehow hurt his feelings, which frustrated him more as he didn't know how those feelings got there in the first place.

"Don't sweat it Maul," said Shinji. "I could teach you how to write Japanese. It shouldn't be too hard." Shinji was surprised at how sure he sounded. He sounded a lot more confident than he really was.

"Really?" asked Maul.

"Sure," said Shinji, "No problem. We can start at lunch if you like."

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And so, Shinji began teaching Maul how to write Japanese. Fortunately enough, the symbols that Maul was using (universal script that was used as a means of interplanetary communication back when he was on Coruscant) matched up with Japanese symbols quite well. As in, anything that Shinji wrote in Japanese characters, Maul could write in the same number of symbols. Maul was a quick learner, and quickly picked up Japanese. He was good at writing it the very next day.

While this did help him, it raised another question, one more to add to his list. How was it that he could understand everyone and vice versa? He'd never heard of 'Japanese' before, but apparently he had been speaking it the entire time. This question, as did the others, troubled him. When would he get an explanation?

However, Maul decided to work on something he could do something about. Using his newfound knowledge of Japanese script, he created a list of things he'd need before he was ready to take his apprentice. Knowing that Gendo was capable of getting all of these things, Maul wasted no time in giving it to him.

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Gendo read the list carefully. He looked up at Maul. "And why exactly do you need these things?" he asked.

"That is my business," answered Maul. Gendo raised an eyebrow in reaction to his insolence. "But if you must know, it is for... a project that I need to start."

"A school project?" asked Maul.

"Not exactly," said Maul. "More of a personal project, which, before you ask, does not involve any negative consequences on your part." Maul, of course, knew that this may not prove to be the case, but it didn't matter.

"Hmm," said Gendo. "Do you think you could give me a few more details? I'm not just going to give you something if I don't know what it's going to be used for."

"It's for a furnace," said Maul. "I need it for weapon maintenance." He wasn't exactly lying. The furnace had something to do with his lightsaber, after all.

"Ah yes," said Gendo, "That 'saber' thing of yours. Maintenance, huh?"

"Yes," replied Maul. After a few moments, Gendo conceded.

"Fine," he said. "I will get you the parts you've requested. But try and cross me, and you know what will happen." Gendo turned around and walked away. Maul fought the urge to snap his neck. He hated Gendo. Suddenly though, Maul noticed something. Gendo's right hand was emitting a strange energy. Just like the Worm, and the small bit that he sensed in Rei. How had he not noticed it before?

Maul shrugged it off. Soon, he'd have the parts necessary to create his furnace, as well as a few other parts. Not everything on the list had been for the furnace, after all. And he had one last thing to take care of.

He made his way to Dr. Akagi's office. He had to ask her something.

She was a bit surprised when he showed up. "Dr. Akagi," he said.

"Yes?" she asked. "What do you need?"

"I'd like you to analyze something," he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a red crystal.

"That crystal?"

"Yes. I'd like to know where I might find crystals similar to this one." Ritsuko was a bit puzzled, but she took the crystal from Maul anyway.

"Um, okay," she said, turning it around slowly while she looked at it. "Can I ask why?"

"I just need to find a few more of these," he said. "It's important."

"Really?" asked Ritsuko, suspicious.

"Yes," said Maul. "You see, I am trying to make my room seem a bit more like home, and where I come from there are crystals like this in abundance."

"Hm, interesting," said Ritsuko. "I'll see what I can do. Come back tomorrow."

"Thank you," said Maul, turning and leaving the room. He smirked on his way back to his room. It was easy to deceive someone when they knew nothing about him. Sure, he'd had to sacrifice a blade of his lightsaber, but he needed to find some crystals. And once he had the furnace, he'd be able to do something with them. Or rather, his apprentice would.

As long as Gendo didn't connect any dots, he was fine. He knew that he couldn't let Gendo know what powered his weapon, or what the source of the blade was, so he'd simply used half-truths and lies. He'd have everything he'd need, and Gendo would be none the wiser.

Yes, things were moving smoothly.

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Things continued to move well throughout that week for Maul. By Friday, he had acquired all of the parts he'd requested from Gendo, and Dr. Akagi had found some crystals similar to the one Maul had given her. Of course, Maul's had been much different than the ones she found due to the crystal's origin, but what she had found fit the bill. They were just like what Maul's had been originally, before it had undergone Sith Alchemy. These crystals were clear, but wouldn't be that way forever. No, the diamonds that she'd given him would eventually get their own color and become the most important component of the weapon of Jedi and Sith alike.

One of these would become his Apprentice's lightsaber crystal.

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Shinji and Rei, meanwhile, continued to do what they were doing. They'd gotten good at not being seen and not giving away the game. Shinji had almost blown it Monday, but not anymore. He was worried that Asuka might get suspicious about him always going to school to turn in 'make-up work', but being an Eva pilot actually gave him an alibi.

Due to the several incidents when he had ended up missing school due to a battle with an Angel, he actually did have make-up work. Of course, it had been done a long time ago, but Asuka (or anyone else for that matter) didn't need to know that.

Shinji kept working with Maul so that he would fit in, knowing that the more he did, the sooner Gendo wouldn't have goons following him all the time.

And Maul continued playing basketball. It was a nonviolent outlet for his aggression and anger (which he was still quite saturated with), and it was an activity he enjoyed participating in. He started challenging people to two-on-one matches, eventually working his way up to three. He remained undefeated.

Also, the tension that had sprung up the first day between he and Toji had eased. They had gained a mutual respect for one another: Toji respecting Maul's basketball abilities, and Maul respecting the fighting spirit he sensed within Toji. He couldn't help but respect a guy who could have only one leg and not feel sorry for himself all the time. In fact, he never once felt sorry for himself, not that Maul could see. He seemed to look at the whole thing like a minor inconvenience and nothing more. Maul respected that.

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Maul lay in bed Friday night, running through everything in his head. He had the materials he needed, and tomorrow he would get to work. Now he only needed to have a few more things happen before his plans could really get underway. He needed Gendo to call off his lackeys first off, as Section 2 Agents tailing him everywhere was trying on his patience, and he needed his own place. That was quite important, as he did not want his activities to be so closely monitored by Gendo. Gendo needn't learn anything that Maul was up to, nor anything about the technology that Maul had knowledge of. He wasn't about to let Gendo get his hands on anything that could be used against him. The fact that he'd kept Gendo away from his lightsaber this long was already astounding. Maul knew that he couldn't let Gendo get it though. He had to retain that advantage.

However, Maul was still plagued by his growing list of unanswered questions. He'd have to find answers to them somehow. But the biggest question on his mind was the one concerning his recurring dream.

Who was the old Jedi? What connection did he have to him? Was he real, or just a figment of Maul's imagination? Maul tried to ignore it. He was sure he'd learn all the answers eventually.

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And there you have it! I told ya it was mostly summary. Anywho, I'll be taking a bit more time off (most likely). There's a completely original story I've got running around in my head, and it won't leave me alone. So, I'm gonna be working on that on and off for a while.

I'll still be working on this though, as this is the prevalent story(as far as fanfics go) on my mind. So yeah.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Apprentice!