Darth Vectivus was a real Sith, there is a quote taken directly from his Holocron, and the Holocron was lost but I'm going to use it because why not give it to the Jed.
There is canon evidence that the Jedi Temple has been breached without detection before. I have a fondness for eldritch horrors and wanton destruction and both do happen here. The Force probably doesn't work like that... And this will likely not happen again. But. Well. In this case it was needed. Too much knowledge and not taking care of loose ends is probably not going to fly.
Maul is absolutely loose.
The Minor Character Death is...well. Minor.
Warnings: Torture, submission, references to abuse...actual abuse.
Qui-Gon had returned to the Temple shortly after Master Plo Koon, both of them carrying very different things.
Qui-Gon had a pot of herbs in his arms, flowering and fragrant.
Plo Koon had a small girl in his own arms, and Qui-Gon paused before they left the hanger. Plo smiled at him, hefting the child up a little higher, leading to a giggle, even as she took to staring at Qui-Gon with wide and curious eyes. It was always such a wonderful thing to bring a new life into the Temple, a beautiful glimpse of trust from the parents that let her go, and an honor on the part of the Jedi to raise their children, and ultimately to send them to the stars to protect others. They would always do their best to educate the young ones in their heritage, to remind them of where they came from. This young one would eventually go back to Shili, to participate in the hunting of an Akul. Though they were ultimately apart from the others, were Jedi – they were nonetheless still among them, a part of them, and would remain always a part of the greater Galaxy.
Apart and yet together, a greater part of the galaxy, a greater part of the Living Force.
"Well, hello there," Qui-Gon said softly, shaking himself of his musings and smiling at the little Togruta that hid in Plo's robes, peeking shyly out at him. Qui-Gon projected gentle warmth to her through the Force, showing her a bit of what made him. She peeked out a little further, before offering him a tiny wave.
"This is Qui-Gon Jinn," Plo introduced softly, "Qui-Gon Jinn, this is…"
"Ahsoka Tano!" she called out, "What's on your face?"
"Ahsoka," Plo gently reproached, and she ducked, but Qui-Gon just laughed, waving a hand.
Qui-Gon beamed at her. "Hmm," he said, "you're going to have to be a bit more specific." Qui-Gon reached up and pointed to his nose, "Do you mean this?"
"No!" she called out, giggling.
"This?" he asked, pointing to his eyes.
"No~oo!" she laughed and reached out then, Plo carefully adjusting his hold so she wouldn't fall and putting her hand on his beard, "this, this! What…oh…" Qui-Gon watched as her eyes went very wide, running her hand over it gently. Qui-Gon tolerated the gentle petting for a moment, amusement filling him as she finally pulled her hand back, looking at it with wide eyes before looking back at him. "Soft!"
"It's my beard," Qui-Gon explained, "it's like my hair," he held it up so she could see and she gave a soft sound of surprise, reaching out as well, touching it. "Different species have different characteristics," he enunciated slowly.
"Chara-terists…" she whispered, frowning.
"Very close!" he praised. "It means we have different qualities or traits that are common among the same species. I am a human, and you are a Togruta, which do not have hair. Humans have hair, though we can cut it or shave it and therefore be as hairless as you, if only temporarily."
"Cut?" she asked looking extremely concerned.
"It does not hurt them," Plo said softly. "They do not have the ability to feel with their hair. It is not like you with your lekku," Plo explained. "The only thing they can feel is on their scalp," Qui-Gon indicated where this was, "because that is where the nerves are."
"Nerves feel things," she said with a nod.
"Very good," Qui-Gon smiled, "I will leave you both to get settled. It was very good to meet you little Ahsoka."
"Good meet you!" she cried back with a wave, and Qui-Gon left the hanger, hearing Plo quietly answering more questions.
Qui-Gon had a new Apprentice to find and see how he was doing. He honestly couldn't wait.
Anakin was buzzing, Obi-Wan watching with a smile on his face as the younger boy nearly flitted from one end of the room to the other. They had finished their lessons for the day, and even started working on basic lightsaber forms, working very diligently to bring Anakin up to where he was supposed to.
Obi-Wan had started with Shii-Cho, as was necessary, and as Anakin worked through the form with Obi-Wan's correction and slight movement, he explained how Qui-Gon had made Obi-Wan practice Shii-Cho exclusively, almost until he was eighteen.
"But it's the basic form, isn't it?" Anakin had asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "Were you that bad?"
Obi-Wan laughed, though a part of him… "No," he shook his head, "Though there was a part of me that wondered for the longest time…" Obi-Wan took a breath, "this is the last thing I need to teach you, Anakin."
Anakin had looked to him, his expression solemn, deactivating the saber at a gesture.
"Qui-Gon often has reasons, but he may not often say them. What I need you to promise me is that you will ask. If you begin to harbor…harbor resentment, and I am not saying you shall, but if you do, please promise me you will ask him why he is making you do this." Obi-Wan took a breath. "My Master put me on Shii-Cho because he found that many Padawans and Jedi Knights both forget that the most basic technique is the most important. He wanted me to know the basics so well that they would become instinct, to make me untouchable. Ultimately…he wanted to give me the training I needed to move in any direction that I wanted later on."
"That's smart," Anakin had breathed, staring at him with wide eyes, "that makes a lot of sense."
"It does," Obi-Wan had agreed, "but my Master did not tell me until I was eighteen," Obi-Wan had re-emphasized, his voice heavy. "And until that point I did not know why. I had thought that it was because he did not wish to train me."
"Oh no!"
"Yes," Obi-Wan had replied with a nod, "there…there were a lot of difficulties in our original Padawanship. But we grew past them, and…the point is, Anakin, that he often does have reason…it is…merely reason that he may not always think of telling." Obi-Wan took Anakin's hand then, looking him in the eye, "which is why you must promise me, Anakin, promise me that you will always ask. It is like you said to Maul, sometimes we do not even understand that there is reason to question, so don't ever forget to ask."
"I promise, Obi-Wan," Anakin had nodded, and Obi-Wan had breathed easier than he had in a very long time.
Now, waiting for Qui-Gon to return… Obi-Wan was quite certain that things would turn out for the best, that this was the way things were meant to be.
Though…he would miss training Anakin. A part of him wondered whether or not he would still be allowed to train the boy periodically. A Master was prohibited from taking two Apprentices, but he did not recall anything about two Masters? Though, in this case it would be Teachers when it came to Anakin, and he would do well to remember that. Harmful habits, he supposed.
All thought was broken as the door slid open, and Qui-Gon entered. A part of Obi-Wan wanted to laugh at the sight of him carrying in some other odd souvenir from his travels, but Obi-Wan knew that these were the herbs that Anakin had been waiting for. The ones to make the Liquor of the Sands properly. Anakin helped Qui-Gon put it down, and then the man bent down to give Anakin a kiss to the forehead and wrap his arms around him tightly.
"A gift from your mother," Qui-Gon whispered into sandy hair, and Obi-Wan pretended not to notice that Anakin was crying. "She is very proud of you," he whispered. "And so am I. Thank you for choosing me as your Teacher."
"Thank you," Anakin whispered back, "thank you…"
Obi-Wan pretended not to notice his own tears.
Mace Windu came out of the Holocron room with a headache starting to pulse behind his eyes, sitting down next to Yoda and Depa. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back against the cool of the archive wall.
For a while there was silence, just letting Mace rest, to bask in the feeling of his once-Apprentice, and his once-Master in the Force. They were a necessary balm. Finally, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "No," he said softly. "Not that one either."
Yoda gave a soft hum, his head shaking. "Difficult to find, this is," he said. "Not certain I am if it exists."
"It may not," Depa agreed softly.
"I do recall a mention," Mace challenged softly, shaking his head. "I merely wish the Sith were not so stubborn."
"It's honestly a shame we could not have Maul himself look for the answer," Depa said. "But I would not trust him without the collar."
"It would be foolish," Mace agreed softly. "He can't be trusted without it, not yet."
"Been to see him yet, have you?"
"Not yet," Depa said, bowing her head.
"The last time I went he had escaped," Mace sighed, "have to work up to trying my luck again."
"Have you been back after the first time?"
"Go today, I will," Yoda answered. "Reading he is, a book I am most fond of."
"I wonder how he feels about the fact that people keep going up to him to ask him about books," Mace hummed, and there was a quiet chuckle.
"Go I will this time," Yoda said, taking a breath, putting a hand on Mace's shoulder. "Ki-Adi you should find, replace you he shall."
"Thank you, Master," Mace agreed with a nod, and stood, heading towards the exit and to find Ki-Adi. Being amongst Sith Holocrons for too long was detrimental, and Mace had been with them for the longest. He needed the break. Mace was certain, however, that there had been a mention of a Sith who, while not actively friends with Jedi, had nonetheless not acted against them, who had been content to study and had died prosperous, and, more importantly, loved.
It may be a meaningless search that was ultimately fruitless, but it was nonetheless the best way to prove to the young Sith that they had taken in that he did not necessarily have to choose to be their enemies. That he could live in such a way that they did not have to be enemies, and they would be willing to let him study.
The only thing that mattered…was the fact that there was no harm done.
Mace had a recollection of an old Holocron in his earlier studies as a Master speaking of such a thing, but he had not paid it much heed. Now…well. They had to cling to hope somewhere. And more importantly, so did Maul.
They needed to work on reassuring him that there was a choice at the end, that there was true freedom. The Sith Code spoke of breaking chains, of being free as the ultimate end. If they could not promote freedom in truth, then Maul would likely never be able to bring himself to trust in what they told him, and rightfully so. And ultimately, a Holocron belonging to a Sith that spoke of such things would likely be more believable than giving their own words. Though even without it, Mace and the rest of the Council did stand on the fact that they would absolutely let him make his ultimate choice, even if he did choose to stand in the Dark.
The Nightbrothers and Sisters had not been an idle mention. But, there was still a fear that coming from the Council it would not be believed, hence the hunt for that Holocron. In the end, though, Mace believed that it did exist…
It was just a matter of finding it.
Plo had settled Ahsoka with her agemates, promising to return when he could and making sure that she was settled… Ahsoka had been so delighted at the sight of kids her age, very different children from herself, that it had not taken long until she had worn herself out, being set down for a nap by the crèche masters. They expected her to be asleep for a good long while, enough for Plo to make a stop to the prisons.
Plo did not wish to neglect their other charge, and he had decided as he was returning to the Temple that this was clearly what Maul was.
Maul was frankly dependent on them in a way that he was likely terrified by, not just for his basic needs – which he was – but also on their companionship and ultimately their kindness. Plo had left, and while it was the right thing to do at the time, he had not said a word to Maul to explain why he had left, he had just gone. It had been up to Maul to ask where he had gone, whether or not he would be coming back, and that… There was a bravery to that question, and also a certain upset that burned within him.
Plo should have told him he would be coming back, explained why he was leaving, and what Maul's actions had done to him, and the fact that he had not was a regret that he would put to rights. He would also be sure not to do such a thing again.
Maul needed better from him.
The signs of abuse were piling higher and higher, and frankly Plo did not wish to add to more of them by not being steady in what he was teaching. They all needed to do that.
Plo entered the prison, walking to meet the Guards, who brought him to Maul's new cell, and Plo was instantly struck by both how much smaller it was, as well as the lack of…everything. He wondered if they had discussed rewards for good behavior. Plo would ask.
Maul was in the middle of another workout session, he noted, taking in the fact that he was currently in the middle of a set of one-handed pushups, but what was different was the fact that he had a flimsi open in front of him, and seemed to be in deep concentration reading it. Plo settled himself before the double transparisteel, watching as he froze in plank position, his brows creasing at whatever he was reading, finding a smile rising up within him.
This was very different to the last time Plo had caught him reading.
Plo watched as Maul lowered a hand to turn the page, and before Maul could do so he gave a brief clear of his throat. The flimsi was suddenly sent flying towards him, Maul sliding into a defensive posture. Plo watched as the flimsi crashed against the transparisteel and fell to the ground below, giving a brief appreciative nod at the defensive tactic.
Maul took him in for a moment, his golden eyes sharp and focused, and then slowly some unknown expression slid across his face, and he opened his mouth, before closing it again, his gaze shuttering. Maul hesitated, before slowly standing upright, walking towards him. He finally settled in a kneeling position, and his expression…
Plo did not like how shut off he was, the way Maul's gaze didn't ever meet his.
Plo took a breath, "I wished to apologize."
Maul's gaze snapped to his then, and he watched as that expression finally shifted to something Plo recognized: shocked confusion.
"I left you without telling you why I was going, or that I would be back," Plo said. "You were forced to ask on your own when it should have been made clear to you why I was leaving."
"I killed…"
"You did," Plo agreed before he could finish, giving a firm nod. "And I did need to take some time. I felt…I should have stayed with you, Maul," Plo said, looking at him directly. "I should have helped you through the revelation you had been making, made sure that it was not something that could hurt you, or something you could use to hurt others."
Maul stared at him.
Plo sighed, folding his hands before him carefully. "I understand that you still think of our talks as lies. As attempts to break you." Maul's chin tilted up slightly, his gaze dark, and… Plo closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry," Plo said once again, his voice heavy. "I have failed to provide the basic things necessary to begin a true discussion."
Maul was still silent, though when Plo opened his eyes again he found that the Zabrak was staring at him with that…
"I do not…" Maul hesitated, "I do not understand."
Plo found himself straightening, watching him. "What do you not understand?"
Maul stared at him for the longest time, seeming to work himself up to say something, and then finally shaking his head.
"Please, Maul," Plo said softly, "will you try? I would like to help."
Maul held himself stiffly, before quietly, "Why would you apologize?" Maul asked finally, "it is…I acted…" Maul hesitated, finally burying his face in his hands for a moment, "I do not understand."
"I made a frankly, very poor decision," Plo stated, "when I decided to leave you without helping you…"
"I was going to escape before you left me," Maul barked, his voice sharp. "I'd been planning on doing so from the very beginning. My every move had been calculated with the desire to escape," Maul's eyes were dark with intensity, his mouth pulled into a tight line. "Every stretch, every kata was working through the lingering effects of electricity. I have long practice with doing such a thing and I know what it feels like both when I am dealing with prolonged effects, and what it feels like to work it from me. I was going to escape whether you had stayed with me or not. This…self-flagellation should be beneath you and it is insulting to me. Do not presume that you have any influence upon my decisions, Jedi."
Plo found his head tilting back slightly, a bit surprised by the sudden snarl, the way that Maul was looking at him, and found himself tilting his head. "I am not entirely certain you speak the truth," Plo said very softly, staring at him, watching as Maul's expression twisted, and Maul finally looked away. Plo took a breath, and even softer, deciding to not pursue his line of questioning, "what do you mean you have experience with the effects of electricity?"
Maul looked at him with such an expression of deep disdain it was almost scalding. "How are you meant to train a Sith, Jedi?" Maul asked darkly.
Plo's chin tilted upright slowly. "Applying Sith Lightning to your own Apprentice should be beneath even a Sith. There are too many ways for it to go wrong, too much damage that it can…"
"And yet here I am," Maul returned with a spread of his hands.
Plo hesitated, his eyes closing. "I am sorry."
"Stop being sorry," Maul snarled. "Stop apologizing. Stop…"
"Is it the apologies that you do not understand?" Plo asked, a rising suspicion running through him. "Do you see yourself as above them?" Plo frowned, taking him in with quiet consideration, and slowly he felt his heart twist, "or do you see yourself as below them, unworthy of…"
Maul stood up and promptly left to the refresher and Plo had a feeling that if he could slam the door behind him, Maul would have.
Plo sat there for a moment, before he gave a soft sigh. To see yourself as unworthy of an apology… The easy defense of someone who had literally tortured him…
Plo was not unaware of the power of electricity through the Force, his own Electric Judgement was, from what he understood, barely a fraction of a Sith's own power, and yet it nonetheless was something he would only risk on a sentient when there was no other option. For Maul to have been subjected to it enough that he recognized not only when he was dealing with the effects of it, but how to work his way through it…
It was a picture Plo had not wanted painted.
Maul was a Sith since birth, unaware of his own body in a way that should have never been allowed, highly physically competent… Almost equally emotionally and socially stunted.
There was so much to do in order to work through all of this pain, and Plo could only pray that they started to do it right. Maul needed to talk to the Mind Healers. It was getting to the point where there was no other option.
The trick was convincing Maul of that. Plo, however, would not do such a thing now.
It was clear that Maul needed a break, that Plo had been pushing too much, and Plo would be sure to give him one. It was frankly the least he could do.
Plo gave a heavy sigh, standing up and straightening his robes, before looking at the book that had been thrown against the transparisteel.
He hadn't even gotten a chance to ask him what he thought…
Plo shook his head and retreated. He would try again later after they had a chance to calm down. This was hard work, but in the end, so long as they could help Maul work his way through those issues that were plaguing him, so long as they could help him grow… Even if eventually he decided that he would remain Sith, even if he decided that he would leave and never come back, so long as he was able to heal…
It would be worth it.
Plo just had to have faith.
Maul sat on the floor near the sink, his head in his hands and his knees curled up to his chest.
Maul was a failure. He had all but admitted weakness, he had… Maul had walked away. He had walked away instead of forcing the other to believe that he was utterly unaffected. Instead he had only further confirmed the Jedi's mistaken… Maul snarled, the warning from the collar halting his attempts to reach to the Force, to feed his tumult of emotions into it, to force them to heel.
Maul had never missed meditation more, had never desperately wished…
He was so utterly tangled up inside… Maul found his teeth once again sinking into his fingers, desperately trying to make his mind fall silent. Please, please…
Maul did not want to think anymore.
Maul did not want to remember the concern, the gentle way that Plo had looked at him, the… Maul bit harder, feeling the skin split, tasting the blood that rose up and…
Maul spat, balling his hands into fists, removing his hands from his mouth and cursing his weakness. Maul was so tired. He did not understand. He did not…
Maul did not understand, and he was tired of not understanding.
Maul was tired…
In the end he just sat there, his head buried in his robes that had replaced the ones he had outgrown, the soft plip of blood the only sound that accompanied him. Finally, minutes or hours later, Maul had no idea which, he forced himself to his feet, walking towards the door to the refresher. He pushed the button to open the door, using perhaps more force than necessary, feeling the pull on his skin, taking in the blood staining the door and went to take a step out.
Maul looked down to see Jedi Master Yoda sitting before the transparisteel dividers, his legs crossed, and his eyes closed in meditation. Those large eyes finally opened, looking up at him, his mouth creasing in a slow smile.
Maul closed the door.
He then promptly banged his head against it, cursing himself for yet more signs of weakness, more… Maul was on his knees, closing his eyes, fighting desperately for control for…
Maul found a hand slowly moving towards a temple horn, shakily hooking his fingers around it, and pulled…
Maul felt himself sink, a rush of warmth, of… Maul still did not know how to explain it, did not know how to describe what it was like, the only thing he knew is that he felt the beating of his hearts slowly calm, the rapid-fire pounding of anxiety, fear, and anger fading. Maul had remembered Eeth calling it a self-sooth, but he had never… For a moment Maul felt absolutely nothing, and when he let go that feeling remained.
Maul took a breath, shuddering, reaching up to touch his horn yet again, before closing his eyes. It felt like more weakness, but he did not let himself fall into that cycle again. He could not.
Maul slowly forced himself up, frowning, fighting for that composure that he knew he had, and finally opened the door.
Yoda's eyes opened again, and this time Maul exited the refresher.
"Pleased to see you, I am," Yoda hummed, smiling up at him.
Maul blinked.
"Searching we are," Yoda said in the matter of fact manner of a report, "for a Sith Holocron that was found. A Holocron we believe you should see."
Maul stared at him for a long moment, "Must all you Jedi be so confusing?" Maul found himself asking. Yoda gave a soft laugh, smiling up at him, his eyes glowing with amusement.
"Apologize, I…"
"Please, don't," Maul said softly, dropping down in front of him, and there was something so tired in his voice even he could hear it.
"To the Mind Healers would you speak?" Yoda asked softly.
"Why?" Maul asked, his voice sharp. "They are yet more Jedi, are they not? More people trying to force their…" Yoda's expression had saddened considerably, his ears lowering, and Maul found himself trailing off, completely unsure why.
"Help you, they would," he said softly. "Force you, they will not. Made the attempt they have numerous times to talk to you. Forced you, yet have they?" Maul looked to the side. "Speak to what you do not trust, you will not." Yoda shook his head. "Sorry I am for how difficult this is. Easier I wish it was."
Maul shook his head and without thinking found himself reaching for the flimsi in front of him. It was only as red dripped from his fingers, plipping on both the ground and the book that he realized he had made yet another miscalculation.
Maul watched with a feeling of creeping dread as Yoda's eyes widened slowly, taking in the blood on his hands, before those large eyes focused on him, and their gaze was…
"An outlet, I believe you need, Darth Maul," Yoda said softly. "Trapped you have been for too long," he shook his head. "Behaved well you have, perhaps…continue behaving well, finish that book, and take you we shall to the Archives of the Jedi. Guards you shall have, Mace Windu and myself, but allowed out of this prison you shall be."
Maul found his hands shaking, staring at Yoda with a sort of…
"Too long without reward you have been," Yoda shook his head. "A request you may make, small, no weapons, no droids, but…"
Maul licked his lips, "Not even…" he hesitated, "a staff, just…wood, a…"
Yoda's expression turned thoughtful. "Keep it in mind we shall," Yoda promised. "Too soon it is to provide you with a weapon, but later? Perhaps, behave you do, make no attempts to escape, allow yourself to learn…and it will be provided. The training dojo perhaps we will take you to as further reward for behaving."
Maul found himself nodding without really even thinking about it, though now that he had he was honor-bound to follow it.
"Something else now, would you like?" Yoda asked.
Maul hesitated, thinking, he…Maul did not know what…
"A…" Maul swallowed, "is it…" he closed his eyes, "may I have the…the plant back please?"
When Maul opened his eyes, Yoda was beaming at him.
"The plant brought shall be," Yoda agreed, and pointed to the book. "Leave you to rest I shall, interested I am, in your thoughts on that book."
Maul looked to the book that he had not thought that he would like…and quietly, "adequate."
Yoda laughed, and gave a little nod, "more specific I request you be later. The plant either way shall be brought."
Maul followed the back of the aged Jedi Master as he left with his gaze, and found himself once again confused…
Mace Windu had found it.
It had taken a nearly two weeks, combing the archives for it, but once he had found it, it made sense why it had taken so long.
It did not feel like a Sith Holocron. Now that he held it in his hands, he recalled why it had been such a shock to find that the man it had belonged to was very Sith in almost every way but one. In the line of Bane, the man had not been killed by his own Apprentice. He had killed his Master, as was normal, though he had done so with a mindset that it was business.
His own Master had not been teaching him to his full extent, so he had killed her in order to continue his studies and become a true Sith Lord. Ultimately, though, he had returned to the Asteroid where he had first discovered the power of the Dark Side, submerging himself into it and eventually finding an Apprentice that he taught everything to. His death was gentle, surrounded by friends, by family, and though the Apprentice he had trained had not killed him, eventually the Apprentice had continued on in the Sith tradition, and was ultimately of the line that led to Maul himself.
The story of Darth Vectivus was a very interesting blip.
It was also something he would be taking to Maul personally.
It had been long enough. Mace Windu was ready to try his luck again.
Mace exited the Holocron room holding his prize, smiling to Saesee and Eeth both, who sank, relieved against the wall, before both standing up to look at it. He handed it to Saesee, who held it for a moment, feeling it, before passing it over to Eeth.
"It really is little wonder we could not find it," Eeth said shaking his head. "It feels nothing like it should."
"I feel a bit as though we walked past it quite often," Mace agreed with a nod. "It seems to avoid attention. If it was not for the fact that I had been feeling for anything that was abnormal I do not think I would have found it."
"I'm glad you did," Saesee said with a shake of his large head, "the search was growing tiresome. I am pleased, however, that it does exist."
"It will be good to give him proof from a party he is likely to listen to," Eeth said. "Are you going to allow him to open it?"
Mace was quiet for a moment, thinking.
"It must feel like a missing limb," Saesee frowned. "I have long wished that it was not necessary, but I still fear that it would be inviting trouble. Maul still does not trust us."
"Do we show that we trust him?" Eeth asked.
"You have," Mace returned and Eeth blinked. "Did you not enter his cell? Were you not able to file his horns?"
Eeth paused for a moment before giving a sharp nod. "I would be prepared to go with you if you believe it would encourage him to not attack. Perhaps we should bring Plo as well?"
Mace thought for a moment, thinking of Yoda's talk of possible self-harm, of the way Plo had slowly begun to talk to Maul once again. He had another charge in the crèche, making sure that little Ahsoka was integrated, and growing healthy, but Plo had worked hard on managing the two. He had spoken of Maul being a charge of all of them, and Mace agreed with the statement.
"Master Yoda and Plo as well I believe," he said with a shake of his head. "I do not wish to overwhelm him with new people, and I believe the four of us together would be enough of a deterrent with the Temple Guardians that he would be reasonably compliant. I further believe that the opportunity to have the collar off for even a short while would be a powerful incentive for good behavior."
"Agreed," Eeth said.
Saesee gave a bow of his head. "I wish you all luck. Depa and I will be visiting him tomorrow. The ones among us on the Council that have not seen him yet have decided on a rotation. We have been complacent for too long. He should know all of us."
"I am pleased," Eeth said. "The more time we spend with him, the more he gets to know us, the more I believe he will grow to trust us."
"The more we can trust him," Saesee nodded, sighing. "Good luck gentlemen…"
Mace commed Yoda as Eeth commed Plo, and there was an agreement to meet at the prison, a feeling of general relief rising in them. This was what was needed. This was a good step in the right direction and there was hope that there would be more steps forward.
Mace walked with Eeth and waited by the prison entrance for the two Masters, talking quietly and enjoying the sunshine, such as it was. The gardens around the prison were perhaps one of the better features. It was a good way to combat the oppressive darkness within, and there was a lot of darkness, remnants of Sith both old…and new. Mace closed his eyes, allowing himself to bask within the feeling of the Living Force, and then he felt Yoda and Plo approaching.
Plo smiled when Mace opened his eyes to greet him, accepting the Holocron when Eeth handed it to him and laughed aloud. "No wonder we had such difficulty," he smiled, passing it to Yoda. "It is rather focused on hiding."
Yoda gave a soft hum, feeling it. "Much to learn from this Darth Vectivus we have," he said finally. "On approach and philosophy."
"Do you believe we should start asking Maul of his own philosophy?"
"Once speaking to us he is," Yoda agreed. "Too suspicious, too sure of treachery he is," Yoda shook his head sadly.
"I'm hopeful that this might provide us the proof we need that we do not mean him harm, that we do truly have his best interest at heart."
"Hope we can," Yoda agreed with a nod.
They entered into the prison together without another word spoken. Unified and ready for what might turn out to be either very good or very bad.
They approached the prison to find…
"Oh my…"
The Guards were standing by Maul's cell, and Maul himself was…
Mace watched with his eyebrows slowly rising to new heights as Maul literally bounced from one wall to the other, finding corners and crevices, boots and hands both making contact when needed.
"He hasn't touched the ground in ten minutes," one of the Guards said, looking to them.
"I think this is a sign we absolutely must get him out of this cell," Plo said with a thoughtful hum, "he's literally bouncing off the walls."
"That's actually rather impressive without Force involvement," Eeth said.
"I think we should offer more than the archives," Mace said, "put him in training rooms. Even while remaining in the collar there's no doubt that he would benefit from the exercise, and I believe he might actually enjoy it…"
Maul jerked at the sound of his voice, bracing himself in the corner and turning properly to face them. Golden eyes flashed from one to the other, before he focused back on Mace with a frown. "You bastardized Juyo," he snarled.
Mace's brows shot up higher, even as Plo gave a garbled sound that reminded Mace of a stifled laugh, Yoda and Eeth both giving quiet hums that sounded a bit like the same.
Maul dropped to the ground then and there was a quiet grumble from the Guards, even as they left. Mace had a feeling they had a bet going and a few of them had lost. It wasn't really his business. The usual two remained unmoving to either side, bracing.
Maul frowned as he approached, taking them all in, one to the other and finally, "is this another execution?"
"No," Mace said, "there will be no more threats of execution." Maul's frown deepened, looking to Mace specifically. "If your loss at my hands is something you cannot get over…"
"You won fairly," Maul interrupted, stiffly, looking a bit like the words were spat from his mouth, "I mind what you did with the form. It is not…" Maul frowned, "you made it empty. There is no burn within you, it is only cold." Maul's frown deepened. "How clinically you must pass judgement upon the ones you deem fit to die…"
"Would you prefer I kill them in a fit of passion?" Mace asked him.
Maul's brows rose slightly, before he huffed a sound, mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Jedi fallacy."
"Darth Maul," Plo said then, drawing their attention to him, "though I am interested in speaking to you about the differences in Forms and how precisely we are mistaken, we have another reason to visit you."
"We have a gift," Mace said, and held out the Sith Holocron, watching as Maul's golden eyes fell upon it, lighting up with curiosity and interest, before just as suddenly dimming.
"It is useless to me without my connection to the Force," Maul returned.
"Right, you are," Yoda said, "come we have so access you may have."
Maul took this in for a moment, and Mace watched the thoughts jumble together in golden eyes, before he looked up at them, and there was… Hope pierced out at them, fragile and broken and… "You…you are going to remove the collar?"
"For as long as it takes for you to listen to the Holocron," Mace said. "For as long as it takes for you to understand that we truly mean no falsehood, that we are honest when we say that you will have a choice."
Maul stared at them, taking them in, and there was a moment when he seemed to tremble, realizing that there was no way he could overpower all of them, and simultaneously recognizing that he would be surrounded by Jedi. But…but…
"Please," Maul said, and his fingers moved towards the collar he couldn't touch, the small forcefield that bubbled around Maul's skin and prevented his fingers from touching it, "please take it off… I will…I will listen, I won't…I'll behave, just please…"
Mace had not been expecting that reaction, though he felt that he rather understood.
"Back up, please," Eeth said, his voice gentle, and Maul immediately did so, backing from the transparisteel, his fingers fisting. Mace rather thought it was to hide his trembling. The Guards opened the first door, letting them enter, and the door hissed close behind them. A moment later the door before them opened, and they finally walked in. Maul stared at them for a moment, his expression so…
Maul lowered himself to his knees, bowing his head in a gesture that was as equally automatic as it was submissive…
Eeth did not hesitate, walking forward, and crouching down before him. Maul kept his head bowed. "I need you to tilt your chin up," Eeth said gently after a moment of looking at the collar, "it's beneath."
Maul hesitated, and there was a moment when those hands once again fisted, but he finally tilted his chin up, baring his throat, and Eeth reached out with gentle fingers, carefully reaching out with both Force and bio-signature to press against the deactivation. The collar fell away with a hissing click, Eeth pulling it away in his hands, Maul's eyes closed, and then there was Dark.
Mace had never been so close to close to a Dark Side user when their ability unfolded, and it was an experience he would probably never forget.
The Dark seemed to seep from the kneeling figure before them like oil spilling across the ground, slowly pooling out, only to ignite, catching fire and burning, rising up in a violent storm that for just a moment caused Eeth to tense, but it was pulled back, pulled in… And then it just burned.
Maul took a breath, another, the burning feeling rising and falling with his breath, before he opened his eyes.
The eyes that Mace had always seen as golden burned with Sith yellow, red burning around the iris, as though his eyes themselves had caught fire. He blinked, and the burning continued when he opened them.
True to his word, Maul made no motion to attack, merely breathed, and his head finally fell forward. That submissive posture was back, and softly, "Thank you."
Eeth backed away, taking the collar with him, and after a moment they looked at each other, before they sat around him, though none of them positioned themselves at his back. Those Sith eyes glanced around him, taking in their positions, and Mace tossed him the Holocron.
Maul caught it with the Force, and Mace had a feeling that it was just because he could. It wasn't something he blamed him for.
Maul brought it to his hand, taking it gently and staring at it for a moment, feeling it out, before his eyes closed, and he reached.
Mace settled himself, content to watch and to listen. It was a lesson he needed to remind himself of as well.
It was a hope.
Maul could not have explained the sheer ecstasy of the return to the Dark Side if he tried. It felt as though an arm had regrown, as though some part of him that had been cut and cauterized had suddenly burst through the skin, regrowing and reforming into the shape that he knew, that he needed. Maul had breathed with it, reaching out to the men around him, feeling their auras next to his, the tranquil pools so strange to his own crackling fire, but Maul could feel the power.
Maul knew that those still pools were deep.
Maul knew then in a way that he had suspected, that if he were to attempt to come up against them that he would be overwhelmed and destroyed. Maul was not yet so willing to seek his own death, not when their compassion – their weakness, was still so obvious. Maul had released the building Dark, letting it fade to how it always sat within him, and then felt the object thrown to him.
Catching it with the Force in the way that he had always done, had been meant to, was like a sip of cold water after being in the desert, the most refreshing and beautiful thing he had ever experienced. Maul felt the Sith Holocron, feeling the Dark within and gave a soft hum, recognizing that for as Dark as it admittedly was, there was a part of it that seemed to try and hide itself from him. Maul squeezed his hand around it, forcing it to recognize him as Master, and then forced his Power into it.
Maul watched as it opened, feeling the Dark that seeped out to join his, and then finally a hologram of a man appeared. Human…and of considerable girth that suggested both strength and sloth, an interesting combination that seemed to be in line with the oddly dark and yet…not. Contradictions. Contradictions and yet… There was power there. It was strange, too because Maul was of the same line. They were both of Bane.
"My name is Darth Vectivus," the man said, his voice soft, smooth and Maul's eyes narrowed. "My Master was Darth Invictus, and we were both of Bane." He gave a soft hum, amused, "before I killed her," he laughed loudly, before continuing quietly, "as was my lot, though admittedly it was a sore job. Her refusal to teach me fully necessitated her death. My own Apprentice has not wanted for knowledge or power, and will far exceed me, I believe, in the end. I will bring pride to my Line."
Maul found his hold on the Holocron tightening just so, his body tensing as he watched the man laugh, amusement and sharpness in his voice.
"There is knowledge within this Holocron, those who come of Bane, though you may find it less interesting than most," he grinned, "there is power to be found, but similarly there is also caution. My interests remain purely in business and knowledge. I became Sith to study the Sith and I have learned much… I will teach you of my Phantoms, but I will also tell you of the ethics that have made me…" he hummed, "prosper… In a time when our Line remains in shadows and Dark, it is amusing to walk among Jedi that have no knowledge of what I am. I have no fear of them, and they have no fear of me. The trick is to find what tempts you and…ignore it. The Dark will try and lure you to it, to make you grab for more than you can hold – but like all things you must never borrow money from someone powerful enough to make you pay, as it were, and the Dark will make you pay…"
Maul listened quietly as Darth Vectivus spoke, as he talked of deals and money, and weaved his understanding of the Sith through it. Ultimately, he listened to a man with power and wealth speak of being content with his power and wealth and the way he sought to share it, while also maintaining it. His Apprentice was spoken of with fondness, and he spoke of the knowledge that he was bequeathing the Muun, the power that he would gain. It became very clear listening to him that he sought to stand his Apprentice at his side as an Equal. It was also clear that he was considered beloved by many that were underneath him.
The way he spoke of making his workers believe fully that he trusted them, while at the same time Watching Them was yet another layer of contradiction and yet…sense. If they believed you trusted them, they were more likely to live up to that trust, and those who didn't live up to it would be caught. Darth Vectivus laughed more than once at someone who snitched on another worker for the simple fact that they had loved him enough to make sure that their fellow worker's deeds wouldn't hurt Vectivus himself.
Maul listened to the talks of Dark, to the way he spoke of balance, of finding how much you could Take before you were forced to Owe…and wondered.
The first lesson finally faded, and Darth Vectivus signed off with a quiet reminder to learn his limits, that there was such a thing as losing himself to the need to be needlessly cruel, that ultimately providing true benevolence to the ones around you and beneath you would ultimately end with you reaping more than you sowed. That he could just as easily sow discord and death, and ultimately reap much the same. It was safer, therefore, and wiser, to study power and gain much – but always provide for the ones around you, enough to keep them sated…
It gave you the potential to gain even more. Ultimately, though, the Sith spoke of breaking chains, for as much as some had sought slavery, in the end it had sent them tumbling from their perch. Break their chains – and they will love and worship you forever.
The Holocron closed, and Maul sat…and he thought. He was broken from his thoughts rather violently by a soft hum, and Maul found himself reacting before he had full ability to connect what he was doing, and who he was doing it to. His Push was easily dissipated in a way that made every instinct Maul had turn to flee, and he found himself moving backwards before he had truly thought to do so, falling prostrate at another soft nose, his forehead pressed to the ground, his hands much the same.
The dread that filled him pooled with confusion and terror, but it was not enough to fully draw power from, not enough to combat the sheer power that had brushed up against his. Now more than ever, Maul was sure that he had made a mistake.
Yoda had listened to Darth Vectivus speak with a critical ear, noting the moments the man had spoken of gain, of the harsh way he punished those who stood against him, of the ruthlessness he still possessed… But he also listened to the quiet words speaking of temperance, of power gained at the gain of another, and found himself believing truly that Mace had been right in suggesting that this was something Maul needed to hear.
When the first lesson had finished, he had watched Maul close the Holocron, the way those Sith eyes had darted, clearly lost in thought. Yoda had not realized just how lost in thought he had been until Maul wound up lashing out at the soft hum of thought Yoda had made. Yoda had been quick to dissolve the Push, letting it flow harmlessly around him, and that had been what further awakened Maul to the reality of not just what he had done, but who he had done it to.
But even so, Yoda would not have wished to see the way Maul's expression shifted from start, to terror, and then to pool into dread, the way the young one had fallen back, had recoiled, shifting to fall completely prostrate when he seemed to realize there was nowhere to run…
"Apologies, I knew not what I was doing, please, I had not meant to attack I…please, Master, please…"
That steady stream of words would have been enough to break him, even without the way Maul called him 'Master,' and he could see in the way that Plo seemed to crumble, the way Mace's head tilted ever so slightly up, the way Eeth's hands balled into fists…
"Peace, Darth Maul," Yoda rumbled out softly, carefully breathing it out, "peace," he hummed, "offense I do not take. Startled you I did, a mistake it was on your part, and mine. Your reflexes, to fight they go. Done is no harm," he kept his voice as gentle as possible, trying to reach out to that Force Signature, trying to gently sooth the madly flickering flames, the sparks of terror and… It drew in to Maul when he brushed it, as quickly as though he had snuffed it out. "A threat you are not, a threat I am not. Punishment you shall not receive. Peace, Darth Maul, peace," he repeated.
Maul remained prostrate for a moment, and Yoda wondered how much of that might have been from humiliation, and how much of it had been realization at what Maul had called him. Though, this also boded very ill.
Maul had recognized him not as a stronger threat to his own Master…he had recognized him as an equal.
It took a longer minute for Maul to finally move to sit upright, to resume his kneeling posture with his hands before him, with his head still bowed. Those eyes remained looking to the ground, however, never once rising up to meet them. It felt like a large step back, though it did not remain that way for long.
"What do you think, Darth Maul?" Plo asked him gently, guiding the conversation away from what just happened. Working to carefully steer it away from any possible humiliation, bringing his thoughts from what had just happened to what they had seen. "This Darth Vectivus, have you heard of him?"
Maul's eyes remained on the ground, but the look on his face turned once again more towards thoughtful, "No," he finally answered.
"What did he feel like to you?"
There was a pause as Maul thought this question through, and finally, quietly, "Juxtaposition. A…Contradiction."
"I can see that," Eeth said softly. "He felt powerful."
"…Yes," Maul finally agreed after a long pause, "he did…"
"The way he speaks of his Apprentice," Mace said thoughtfully. "It is clear that he holds great regard for him."
Maul was quiet for a moment, before giving a sharp nod, though those burning eyes had found Mace's again, something sharp in their depths. They walked on dangerous ground; Yoda was afraid. Could see it in the way the lines of Maul's body tensed. They needed to be careful.
"I do not know what you expect to gain from me," Maul said, his voice so soft and yet so sharp. "I do not know why you act as though I am not loyal. Do you expect for me to kill my own Master?"
Yoda found his head tilting back, a feeling of mounting dread within him. He savored the feeling for a moment, tracing it back to the fear that this was ultimately a losing battle, and breathed it out. Maul was loyal, Yoda believed, primarily because he knew no other way to be. Maul had been raised Sith, raised by this Master who broke and yet lifted him. Who expected Maul to grovel, but taught him to wield strength enough to be a threat.
Who turned Maul into a contradiction manifest in a way that Darth Vectivus was not. Darth Vectivus ultimately drew his lines in the sand and knew who and what he was, and what he wanted. Maul did not know who he was, he did not even know how his body worked, and the foundation that he ultimately built himself on – his Master – was likely to be unstable. This was not Darth Vectivus who spoke of his Apprentice with love and what sounded like true devotion, this was something else. This was something that ended with groveling and pain. The Sith taught pain, and Maul worked through and with pain, but there was something in those moments of weakness that looked a lot like breaking pieces.
Maul was walking upon the edge of a vibroblade. Eventually he would fall.
Yoda dearly hoped that they could catch him before he hit the bottom, before he shattered… Though if he did, if Maul did fall… They would help him piece himself back together. They would help him rebuild.
Yoda breathed the fear and dread out and did not once think of it again.
Their path was set.
Eeth felt the heaviness of the collar in his hands, knowing that they were rapidly approaching the moment when it needed to be replaced, even while feeling the heavier realization of Maul's statement. The quiet question of what they hoped to gain. Here then was where they needed to speak carefully, but speak true.
"We do not wish for you to kill your Master," Plo said finally, "we want nothing from you other than that you are free."
"Then free me, Jedi," Maul said easily.
"But would you truly be free?" Eeth asked him. "Would you not simply walk into another prison?"
Maul stared at him with an expression of deepest disdain.
"I submit," Plo said softly, "that you do not recognize you are imprisoned because you know no other way to be."
"Your freedom, your ability to choose with understanding we wish," Yoda said.
"This Darth Vectivus was a Sith that did not utilize the Dark Side to do evil…"
"And if I make my choice to follow the Dark, if I make my decision to leave and do harm?"
"Then it would be a choice you make, and we would meet you in combat," Eeth said. "There are no choices without consequence and our conscience would be clear because you were given the choice."
"Mourned you would be," Yoda added softly.
"But innocents would be spared."
Maul took this in for a moment.
"But we do not think that this necessarily needs to be so," Mace added quietly before he could think too much, before Maul could turn all his thoughts inward and stew upon them. Too much had gone wrong due to this. "We believe, Maul, that if given the full understanding that you have been denied, if given the power of choice and knowledge…you would not make that choice. We believe you can do better."
Maul stared at him for a long moment, his gaze finally falling.
Eeth felt the heaviness of the collar, his eyes closing, "What are you thinking?" he asked softly.
Maul was so quiet they almost didn't think he would speak again, and then softly, "I am thinking that you are mistaken." Maul looked up then, and those Sith eyes burned. "I cannot do better."
"Maul," Plo said softly, "all you have to do is just let us teach you…"
"You speak as though I do not already have a Master," Maul said softly, and for once, Eeth could see something else in those eyes, could feel something else burning in that aura that flickered and shifted. "You speak as though I have a choice."
That something was fear.
"Maul…" Mace said finally, softly. "Your Master…"
"Do not speak of what you do not know," Maul whispered, and his voice was so… "You do not know my Master. You do not know what he would do…"
Maul fell silent then, looking a bit like he had said too much, his hands balling into trembling fists, his eyes darting as though…
"You are safe here," Plo said leaning closer. "Your Master has not dared to come against us, has not entered the Temple to contest us… There is no threat to you, Maul. Not with us."
Maul stared at him then, his gaze sharp, "I wish that were so," he breathed, so light, so light.
Eeth felt a creeping dread starting to gnaw at him, but he slowly breathed it out. They were getting somewhere. This was genuine progress, this… This felt like hope.
Maul seemed to huddle further in on himself, his body shrinking, and they looked at each other.
"Maul," Mace said softly, "is there anything we can do to convince you that you are safe?"
Maul looked to Mace then, and a smile slowly stretched up his mouth, baring teeth, those eyes blazing. "No."
There was a slow nod and Eeth let out a sigh. "We will attempt regardless. Would it help if we doubled the Guard?"
"Triple it, if you wish," Maul shrugged. "They will all die."
"Will you?"
"I am loyal," Maul returned, and his voice was dark and heavy and… There was fear there.
There was fear.
Eeth found his fingers digging into the collar, for once wishing truly that they could remove it, that it could stay off, but that promise of loyalty was still there. Maul would still hurt and kill the ones around him if he could, and with the Force there was little doubt that he could. Maul would kill the Guards.
His Master was unlikely to be able to, and they needed to work on the threat before them.
"We will triple it," Mace agreed softly with a nod, "but we must leave you."
Maul hesitated, taking this statement in, and then his eyes were suddenly drawing towards Eeth, to the collar, and Eeth watched as those pupils constricted, fear and…
"I'm sorry," Eeth said, and he knew that his voice was filled with it, "if there was a way for us to trust you, I would not put it back on…"
"Please," Maul whispered, "please, I…do not, do not, I do not wish…please do not cut it off, do not, please please please…"
"I wish that we could," Plo said and his voice shook, "oh Maul I wish that we could…"
"I need, I need…please, just…please, please let me meditate, please, just…please let me center, let me gain…please please please," and Maul had gone back to begging, back to that fear, and he was prostrate, desperate, his aura crackling and…
"Yes," Eeth immediately said, "yes, you may mediate, we will remain with you, please… Please allow yourself to center. We…have been lax in that. You will be allowed to center," he said, and reached out, very carefully looping his fingers on one of his horns, carefully pulling down. Maul let out a breath, trembling, and Eeth let go. "We shall start allowing you to meditate more frequently. More of the Council will be sent on rotation. It has been a mistake…"
"It has been," Mace agreed.
"Grave harm we have done to you."
"Forgive us, please," Plo said.
Maul shook, but did not look back up, and it took a moment where they found themselves centering in solidarity, allowing themselves to slip into meditation before they felt the… It was interesting, Eeth thought, feeling what he thought had to be a form of Sith meditation.
It was like throwing fuel on a fire, that blaze burning, rising, shifting with every thought, everything fed into it. When it was done, that fire burned steady, those flickers of smoke and fear slowly evening…
The difference was stark, and Eeth felt more despair at realizing how off-centered Maul had truly been. When Maul looked up, he looked much better, and there was no flicker of unease.
The certainty was back.
Eeth was both pleased, and saddened to see it.
Maul submitted to the collar without complaint, watching them go with eyes that had turned back to gold…
Eeth took a deep breath upon exiting the building, and felt the others lean up to them.
The lingering claws of dread were gone. The Living Force surrounded them.
Maul was safe.
Tabak found himself standing among the other guards, his head tilted back slightly as he listened to Maul going through yet another set of pushups.
Maul had been consistently moving after his meeting with the Jedi, an almost nervous energy buzzing through him that he couldn't shake. Tabak thought he could understand. Being reunited with the Force only to have it be taken away… Tabak looked back in the cell to take in the much younger Zabrak remaining in a plank position, sweat trickling from his forehead, beading on the ground below.
Tabak had lost the bet due to outside interference, and swore on the Force itself that if Maul had been allowed to remain literally climbing the walls he could have remained in the air for another ten minutes. The way he remained in that plank for what had to be five minutes was part of the reason for this.
There were several good things that had come from the meeting today, and that was the fact that Maul's more self-destructive habits seemed to have stopped. Tabak was certain that the other was biting his fingers, or something to that end, but he had never caught him at it, and it was not something he could approach the other about.
Temple Guards were meant to remain impartial, but this…this was difficult.
This was literally watching a young member of his own species – cousin species, perhaps, but ultimately still his own – that had no idea what it was to even be a Zabrak. This was watching a teenager that should know better. A teenager that had been so abused and so twisted that he feared and loved his Master for he had no other way.
Tabak found himself quietly rooting for him in the quieter moments, even after what he had done to his friends… There was truth to the matter that Maul did not know any better, and Tabak was not going to force the other to debase himself for an apology. Tabak could only hope that he would grow. Tabak had been the one to get Maul's plant back, having been one of the ones listening to the conversation, the quiet request, and the talk of Darth Vectivus.
It had been a very illuminating conversation, a very interesting lesson, but ultimately the best thing had been bringing Maul's plant back. He had entered the room holding it within his hands, waiting until Maul had taken it from him. Tabak had been able to give him a slight bow before retreating, watching as Maul simply held the plant for the longest time, looking both confused and uncertain, and the slightest bit…grateful?
Tabak had known then that he wanted nothing more than for Maul to grow, that this position being able to watch the Zabrak learn and change was worth it, and be grateful that he had agreed to be among the ones that were willing to die.
His commlink crackled to life then, and Tabak listened to Jedia's voice in his ear as she asked softly, "Do you think he can do it for another ten?"
"Twenty," Tabak answered, amused, knowing that she wasn't anywhere near him and yet had properly guessed Maul was still in the middle of pushups.
"Bet."
There was a pause as Tabak reported that Maul had fallen into another set, and they idly kept track of the time. Maul generally did not attempt to make conversation, content to act as though they did not exist in a way that suggested he was used to surveillance. Tabak was not certain how he felt about the thought, but he was not going to dig into it too deeply.
"Do you…" Jedia's voice hesitated, and Tabak tilted his head in question. "Do you think that Maul is right," she asked softly.
"About?"
"Do you think that he is in danger? Do you think that we are?"
Tabak frowned slightly beneath his mask, "would it matter?"
There was a pause.
"No," Jedia said, and there was a certainty and firmness in her voice. "We would protect him in the same way we do all the others. He is our charge. Maul has lived in the shadow of whoever his Master is for years. Long enough that he is odd to you," she pointed out. "There is every likelihood that his fear for his Master is overblown. We just have to prove it to him."
Tabak found himself nodding slowly, taking that in, and taking a further deep breath before giving his own nod. "I think he can be better," Tabak said softly.
"I do, too," Jedia responded softly. "I think that…" she trailed off.
Tabak waited.
"Tabak," Jedia's voice came softly. "Something is wrong…" she said, and Tabak found his hands gripping the pike, shifting his stance. Tabak came to notice that Maul had stopped in his pushups, frozen in place in the middle of the room, but unlike the plank before, this seemed…
"Something's coming," Tabak said, turning the commlink off and speaking to his other cohorts, knowing that Maul could hear him, too.
Maul had looked up, and there was such… Tabak sent his hand out, pushing the button that would sound an alarm…
Nothing happened.
Maul had shifted his posture, kneeling, his eyes staring straight ahead at them…
Past them.
Past them, he was…
Tabak turned, staring into the halls of the prison, and came to realize he could not see as far as he should be able to. It took him a moment to realize the reason for that was because the hall before him was dark.
"Jedia," Tabak said, his voice a low hiss, "Jedia, come in, please, Jedia…"
No response.
"Run," Maul's voice came then and Tabak found himself looking back at him, staring into golden eyes that somehow seemed to bore into his. "If you value your life, you will run…"
Tabak took a breath, closing his eyes, before softly, "No, little Cousin," he said, watching as those golden eyes widened, and then narrowed. "Our place is protecting you."
The Guards around him shifted into battle stances, their pikes aiming towards the threat, and Tabak joined them.
The lights went off.
Tabak was cold.
He shifted his hold on the saberstaff, staring into the darkness, breaking it with the piercing gold of his saberstaff, taking slow step after step forward with the others.
The dark welcomed them into its embrace, Tabak's breath rising as mist. Tabak felt nothing.
There was nothing within the darkness, just them, and Maul…
Tabak felt the hair on the back of his neck start to stand on end. They padded forward together into the hall, looking in every direction, trying to pierce the dark that no matter how hard they willed to get back, consumed.
They were walking into a mouth…
A brilliant line of red was suddenly burning before him, burning, burning…
They had found the teeth.
The shadows laughed.
They could not even scream.
Maul watched from his position kneeling on the ground as electricity exploded in a giant wave, consuming everything in its path, even as that saber made quick work of the ones that had managed to escape. There was no mercy, and Maul had not expected any.
Maul felt his hearts hammering against his ribs, felt the despair, the fear the agony burn, burn, burn…
Maul had known.
Maul had known his Master would come.
Maul lowered himself prostrate, his eyes closed, waiting. His Master would come, and he would see, he would know… Maul could not hide.
Maul heard the first transparisteel wall shatter, and felt the second explode out over him, Maul not flinching at the feeling of shards digging into his skin, at the cuts that it opened. He remained prostrate, silent, waiting.
"Ah," his Master said softly, walking towards him, "my Apprentice…" he gave a soft tut, "I heard of your attempts at escape. It was…well done. A pity you were not enough for Mace Windu, but I suppose…this is to be expected."
Maul leaned into the touch as his Master's hand lowered to his head gently, almost petting. "He was too strong, my Master," Maul agreed softly. "Forgive me my weakness."
"Hmm…"
Maul felt the nails dig into his skin, sharp, sharp, before they released softly.
"It is truly my fault, Apprentice," his Master said softly. "I was the one who trained you." Maul's hearts thudded in his chest. "Tell me," he asked softly. "How have you liked being stuck amongst the Jedi?" he asked.
Maul felt the hand slowly trail down to under his chin, lifting his face up to make eye-contact with his Master. "Pathetic," he said, "their weakness is staggering."
Maul watched those eyes as they bore into his, and he knew…that he had not passed the test.
Those eyes closed gently, and softly, "Oh, Maul…" his Master whispered.
"Master," Maul said softly, "please, I…"
"You know, do you not?" his Master asked softly, "that there is no use in begging? Or have your Jedi friends broken you so…"
"We are not friends," Maul denied immediately, "we are not…if you but asked I would kill them, I…"
"Maul," his Master asked, "why do you see fit…to lie to me?"
Maul did not see the lightning coming. Maul only felt it hit.
It burned, blistering, tearing its way up his flesh, and when Maul tried to scream, he found that he could not, his throat stopped as his Master kept him from screaming. He writhed, twisting, clawing at his arms, his chest, his head, anything anything to get it to stop, to get it to stop, he…
It stopped.
Maul gasped, heaving, shaking.
"Maul," his Master said softly, coming forward, "why must you wound me in this way?"
"I am…sorry, Master," Maul whispered, his teeth chattering, tasting the tang of blood. "I did not…I did not mean…"
"You never do," his Master said, sighing, and the lightning was back.
It burned, longer than he had ever felt it, tearing through him in such a way that he had never known, and he knew then that his Master was going to kill him, he was going to die, he was…
It stopped.
It stopped.
And Maul's first thought was that they had come to rescue him…
And then he despaired, because his Master's face hovered above his own, and he laughed, quietly, so quietly, "Are you so sure that they can save you from me?" Darth Sidious asked him. "Are you sure you can save them?"
Maul shook his head, spitting blood, trying to speak…
"No," Darth Sidious whispered, looking into his eyes. "You cannot, and I will be…certain of it. You are not going to know me," Darth Sidious whispered. "You will not know my face, you will not know my name, and you will not know of the Plan." Darth Sidious smiled, his teeth bared, "and when the time comes…you will watch as the Jedi you have come to care for…all burn. And then…then I will come for you."
And the fingers this time were not just on his face they were in his Mind, and as they tore deep within him, as Maul once again let out soundless screams…
He knew that no one was coming to save him.
Maul was alone.
Maul had failed as an Apprentice.
Darth Sidious left as soundlessly as he had come, knowing that there was just enough time to get back to the tunnels before the Prison returned to the grid. It had been an easy enough matter to loop the footage, to make it seem as though nothing was wrong, to blanket the prison with silence and stop them from discovering the death that lay within… This would of course change once the power was restored, once he let go, but Sidious was not worried.
He had done what he came for, though the results were…disappointing. Sidious had hoped that Maul could merely be retrieved, but… There were numerous other ways that Maul could still be…useful. His budding attachment to the young Skywalker boy was most interesting, and ultimately…
Sidious knew that Maul was still loyal.
Sidious knew that it would take more than the Jedi could give before Maul would shift, because ultimately… Maul was attached to him, and the Jedi could not give him that.
"Darth Vectivus," he found himself mumbling under his breath as he slid down into the tunnels, following them back to the Senate building. He shook his head in amusement.
Ultimately, what Sidious now had was a sleeper agent amongst the Jedi themselves. They believed that they could win Maul over, that they may…rehabilitate him, but ultimately Maul was his, and would remain his. But the Jedi needed to believe that they had the opportunity, and what better way than to make it seem as though he had been thrown away by his Master's own hand?
They would take the opportunity this presented to comfort Maul, of course, and in their weakness, they would open themselves up further for the knife in their heart.
Maul would be able to plant seeds of Darkness within the Skywalker boy, and ultimately Sidious would be able to help them bloom, and in the end…when Sidious stood before Maul and told him it had all been a test, when he opened his arms to him… Maul would come, and Sidious would gain both Apprentices, and their attachment would see to the fact that they did not turn on each other, while Maul's attachment to him would see that there was no further threat, of course, aided by the Skywalker boy's own attachment.
The Rule of Two had long been leading to him as the end. Maul, who he had reared since infancy, and this Chosen One would ultimately be the two he needed standing beside him at the end, and it would truly be beside him…
For the moment, however… Sidious had a Proton Torpedo to see to…
Separating a Republic was more tedious than it had need to be…
It was frankly a shame that it wasn't as easy as building an army. Sidious returned to his office, making sure it seemed as though he had come from his apartments, the surveillance showing precisely that, a rewire in the system that meant Sidious could come and go as he pleased. Sidious sank into his chair, hiding his lightsaber once more within it, and finally signaled for the distraction he had prepared, knowing that it would alert the Jedi, that it would trick them into thinking that the Sith had come from outside of the Planet, and ultimately found his Apprentice wanting.
They would not be able to track it to him.
Sidious let go of his hold on the prison and listened to the sound of an explosion split the night.
The Jedi would know that the one in their hold was not the Master, they would know that the Master was powerful…and ultimately, they would be fooled into looking elsewhere, while Palpatine sat at their heart…
Yet another knife in the dark.