The time was now.
Obi-Wan had no difficulty entering the palace or even finding his way to the throne room, the battle raged on outside, but in here, all was silent, not a single guard was too be seen. Not a single trap or security system was in place, he didn't know what was fuelling him forward, whether it be hatred, malice, or simple desire to simply end this all, because he knew exactly who was patiently waiting for him in that throne room, his presence grew stronger with every step the Jedi-Master took, he didn't fear for his own life, if he lost to Maul than that was simply it. He would pass on and maybe, just maybe (if she wasn't too disappointed in him) he'd see his love once again.
A door was lying open ahead, passing through the elaborate thing he found himself in the throne room, he looked up and saw the night-brother waiting for him. His double-bladed lightsabre returned to him and already drawn, it hummed dangerously as Maul sat there on the throne, his yellow eyes surveying the Jedi carefully, as Obi-Wan automatically drew his own lightsabre, the blue of it clashing with Maul's red.
"So... here at last" Maul snarled, getting to his feet and pacing slowly "I can't say I haven't been looking forward to this".
"You know it's over Maul!" Obi-Wan exclaimed to him "Even if I lose today, Mandalore will fall. This little empire will fall...the army of the republic won't allow you to escape, there's a fleet just above the planet and..."
"That's trivial to me" Maul snapped "I know I'll die today".
"You are awfully calm about it" Obi-Wan felt himself joking lightly.
"As are you" Maul muttered "Considering how today is also your last day, I'll die taking you down with me".
"Don't be too sure about that" Obi-Wan snarled, feeling more negative emotions bubble within him.
"Hatred for you kept me alive all these years" Maul informed him "So I'll die when my will to live is gone and what keeps me going, is thinking about killing you".
"That's a pathetic way to live" Obi-Wan snapped back "No love, no compassion? Nothing but hate, you could have done anything, been anyone, but you chose to follow the path of the Sith, even after you were defeated and look where it's landed you".
"Here" Maul said with a sad smile "Exactly where I need to be, to kill you".
"You are a pitiful thing" Obi-Wan said.
"PITIFUL!?" Maul exploded "At the end of this, you'll be the pitiful one, screaming for mercy...!"
Without another word he seemingly flew across the room, Dual lightsabre's spinning rapidly as he went, Obi-Wan played it defensively, and as Maul reached him he blocked a blow that was directed at his chest.
"You're going to have to do better than that" Obi-Wan said.
"That was just the start" Maul snapped, applying more force with a strength that surprised Obi-Wan, he could feel his shoulder start to ache, the wound reopening slowly. His one arm wouldn't be one-hundred per cent during this battle and that could prove fatal, because Maul was on the offensive, with a passion and drive that Obi-Wan was finding harder and harder to repel.
He ducked to the left and slashed to the side, but Maul blocked his attack with ease.
Wordlessly, Maul began to attack once again as Obi-Wan retreated backwards blocking every blow, but his arm began to ache worse that ever, as Maul slashed at him wildly, sweat began to break out all over his body, as every attack seemed to spur Maul on further, Obi-Wan had to try and hold him off and look for an opening. It was in his Jedi-Training, it was in his nature...
Then he had a lightsabre sticking out of his stomach.
Maul slashed it and it left the Jedi with a crippling injury, not lethal but far too painful to move normally, he saw that Maul hadn't used the double bladed lightsabre, but he swiftly used the black lightsabre, the one that had previously belonged to Pre Vizsla, the one that had been used to kill Satine, Obi-Wan fell to his knees, moaning in agony as Maul's next blow was so powerful it sent Obi-Wan's lightsabre out of his hand and skidding across the once spotless floor of the throne room.
"Pitiful" Maul muttered, his eyes alight with glee as he held the black lightsabre in one hand and the double-bladed one in another "I was expecting more of a fight, but this... this will do...".
He was serious, he was waiting for any last words from Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan had none to offer him.
He was preparing the black sabre for that lethal strike Obi-Wan knew was going to go right through his chest and for a moment, he almost felt at peace. Everyone would be happy if this was the final result, Maul would fulfil his crazy last desire, the republic would still take the planet and Maul would be slain and he wouldn't have to live with everything he'd done and everyone he'd slain, he could be free and then...
and then who was going to look after the clones?
Who was going to train Anakin?
He'd never see Commander Cody again, Boil, the 212th, Shaak Ti… the other Jedi Masters, Ahsoka and most importantly Anakin...
Dying was selfish, it wasn't the Jedi way.
The realisation hit him, he couldn't die but he wasn't abiding to any sort of code of combat, not here and not now. He thought of Satine's death, watching her beloved city fall to rubble, remembering Maul's laugh as he killed the love of the Jedi's life, watching as the republic callously sent children out to die for them. Seeing the horror the clones had been through, Korkie's last words, the republic wasn't going to save Mandalore, but he... he could.
With that in mind he forced jumped backwards and commanded his lightsabre return to him, he felt it soar back into his hand, as he charged at Maul. His defensive style all but forgotten, adrenaline coursing through his body he blocked out the pain from his shoulder and stomach and hit Maul with as much force as he could muster. Maul struck back, both of them full of rage for the other, as lightsabre's clashed fiercely against one another.
"Finally..." Maul panted between blows "...let the rage... consume you...make this worth winning...fight with the way of the Sith…"
Quickly using a force push, Maul stumbled backwards, giving Obi-Wan a window of opportunity to slash at his shoulder, he felt it cut through Maul's red skin, as the Sith growled in pain and began a more fierce attack, Obi-Wan wasn't blocking anymore though. He wordlessly cut away, his mind blank as his lightsabre blocked any fatal blows but kept him at an even footing with Maul.
"Enough of this!" Maul snapped suddenly, he rolled to the side and closed his eyes, as every window in the throne room exploded, with an ear splitting crash, before Obi-Wan's ears could stop ringing, he realised every shard of glass was aimed in his direction, he managed to quickly stop the majority of shards from piercing his skin. But some moved too fast and Obi-Wan felt stings and slashes across this whole body, roaring in rage, he felt the force take a hold of him and directed the remaining shards at Maul who suffered similar injures to Obi-Wan, but rather than use the force to stop the pain, he let out a screech and charged forward with his lightsabre's in hand.
Obi-Wan responded just in time, bring his own lightsabre up to his chest as Maul struck down at him, he twisted his sabre and focused his strength on the black lightsabre, without thinking he used the force and the shock of it, sent it sprawling away from Maul.
Maul growled, but held onto his double sabre and twisted it, attempting to directly stab a now delirious Obi-Wan, as he could feel blood going into his eyes. He wiped it off and managed to force jump behind Maul, dodging the lethal blow from Maul and attempting to stab him from behind like he'd done last time. But Maul was prepared for this and quickly swiped downwards, his red blades inches from Obi-Wan's hands, the manoeuvre sent Obi-Wan's sabre flying from his grip, he forced it back once again, but by this time, Maul was once again on the offensive, leaving Obi-Wan on the defence, his strength fading rapidly.
"MY MASTER'S LAST ORDERS WE'RE TOO KILL YOU!" Maul roared, savagely ripping into Obi-Wan "I WILL SEE THAT IT'S DONE!"
"YOU'RE NOTHING MAUL!" Obi-Wan roared back "HATRED AND ALL THIS ANGER WHERE HAS IT LEFT YOU!? WHAT HAS IT DONE FOR YOU!?"
"EVERYTHING!" Maul spat, attempting to stab Obi-Wan once again, but narrowly missing "I COULD HAVE HAD EVERYTHING! IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU!"
"YOU KILLED MY MASTER! YOU KILLED THE WOMAN I LOVED!" Obi-Wan bellowed back "YOU'VE TAKEN AS MUCH FROM ME, AS I HAVE FROM YOU! THIS ENDS NOW!"
"YES, USE YOUR HATRED AND ANGER TO DO IT, IT'S THE ONLY WAY!" Maul spat, charging at Obi-Wan as the Jedi felt his temper flare, without thinking, he ducked once again and force pushed Maul. Focusing on his legs, Maul stumbled for a second, but that's all it took for Obi-Wan to get the upper hand, he sliced his lightsabre, past Maul's double blade, the weapon soared overhead, as Obi-Wan knocked Maul to the ground, defenceless as the mad, delirious Jedi crashed his weapon down to end this all...
No.
There was hesitation when he saw the fear in his nemesis eyes, Obi-Wan imagined how he must have looked. Insane, filled with rage and hatred, coated in blood. A savage from the battlefield, someone Satine would truly be ashamed of.
"No, I won't become like you" Obi-Wan said simply, he felt exhausted as he stepped away from Maul and caught a breath, his whole body screeching in agony.
"You've won Kenobi, end it!" Maul snapped.
"No"
"DO IT!" Maul begged, angry tears now coming from his eyes "I'M ASKING YOU FOR MERCY! END IT!"
Obi-Wan looked down at him, such a pathetic creature.
"You're the pitiful one, as I should have known" Obi-Wan said coldly "You're beaten Maul, you'll be arrested and imprisoned for life for your crimes, this ends now".
"No... not again, NO!" Maul roared, he sprang to his feet, his lightsabre back in his hand activating both blades ready to strike, Obi-Wan blocked his first attack, as he thought clearly, not allowing rage to blind his vision. He switched to a defensive position, reflecting his old master's stance, the Ataru stance. Maul's eyes brightened for a second, he knew this, he knew how to counter this.
He brought the hilt of his weapon up to strike Kenobi's face, the same move he used to kill Qui-Gon-Jinn.
But Obi-Wan knew this, hatred and a desperate desire to win had blinded Maul.
Wordlessly Obi-Wan performed an overhead strike, that cleaved through Maul's weapon and sliced through his chest, Maul's eyes went wide as his lightsabre fell uselessly by his side, Obi-Wan watched him fall to the ground, feeling a strange feeling of empathy for Maul. After all this time, all this animosity, he felt himself holding onto Maul as the night-brother wheezed for breath, his eyes wide, tears pouring down them.
"After all this time…" he muttered quietly "You still show compassion...why?"
"Because... because... I can't watch you die alone... you've suffered Maul" Obi-Wan said "That's the true way of the Jedi, not to show hate, or rage, but compassion".
"I would have killed you... if you hadn't used hate and rage..." Maul said.
"Sometimes, emotions can lead to dark-side" Obi-Wan said, echoing his old master "But sometimes, we can't supress them, we shouldn't, that's what I've learnt".
"I... I was never shown such... compassion" Maul muttered quietly "I was left by everyone...my master he betrayed me, killed my brother, left me with nothing... I wish I could go back to Mother... I wish..." he shuddered there "I wished for more".
"You could have gotten more" Obi-Wan said.
"I... I don't want them to win, they've killed me and they'll kill you too eventually" Maul muttered quietly.
"Want who to win, who killed you?"
"The republic, those you think you serve..." Maul spat there "All the hate and conflict between us, why is it only now I realise, I'm just a fool. We're both such fools, puppets for something far bigger. Our lives mean nothing... and now there's nothing I can do to stop it".
"The republic it's... it's truly fallen hasn't it?"
Maul nodded slowly.
"All this time… this war... nothing matters, I don't know how, but my master, my former master Lord Sidious, he'll win by the end of it all, that's all I know, unless, unless he can be stopped, I think I'm content with my death, knowing that something will come of this... Obi-Wan..."
"Yes?"
Maul took a last shuddering breath.
"Avenge us"
With that Maul went still, dead in Obi-Wan's arms, everything seemed silent around him, the battle was over. Maul was dead, the republic had taken control of the planet, many emotions went through Obi-Wan's head in that moment, but for now he knew, one, solid, fact.
It was over, for now.
A/N: Okay I know that was basically Maul's death from rebels just repeated years earlier with a few alterations, but it was one of the few parts of rebels that was truly brilliant (alongside Ahsoka vs Vader). As you can probably tell I'm not a big fan of Rebels in general and I don't consider the new trilogy canon at all (A lot of the blame goes to the Last Jedi for that, The Rise of Skywalker at least tried to fix things, but I still wasn't a massive fan). I could write a book on my opinions but feel free to leave your opinions etc in reviews.
As for the reviews Taitanorules555, answering them all, in this story Palpatine's way of getting Anakin to the dark-side is different, his attempting to wipe out all of Anakin's loved one's, from Padme, his kids, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan etc... so Anakin has no one to turn too to vent his frustrations out on other than Palpatine himself, who will slowly manipulate him to the dark-side.
You could argue it undercuts Anakin's character that he turned to the dark-side to try and save the ones he loves, but seeing how Palpatine masterminded the clone wars and the amount of times, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan or Padme could have been killed, this fic is sort of an alternative AU where Palpatine realises isolating Anakin and making him feel worthless as his loved one's die, is the best way to make him feel helpless and depressed and the only way to truly save those he loves (or become more powerful) is to learn his ways from the dark-side and when the others are gone he'll have no one left to protect other than Palpatine.
But yeah as we'll see in this fic, not even Palpatine is on top of everything and plans will change and be altered, as for the use of the bullet and the other mistakes they were slip up's by me, which I'll try and correct in future chapters especially the Mon Martha one, that was stupid of me. I can confirm the temple guard is not the Grand inquisitor and I haven't read Darth Maul son of Dathomir, but I glad you like the idea of a force sensitive clone! Will be seeing more of Rex as the fic continues.
Anyway hope you liked this chapter! Feel free to leave a review!