This story begins on a dark and starry night.
On a dune of sand stood a man in black and red robes by a dark horse, a hood concealing the man's face. And on this man's shoulder stood a blue hawk. This man waited with a dark purpose.
This man in black and red was soon met by another figure. One with a face of black and red with horns.
"You are late." said the first man, who went by Darth Sidious.
"A thousand apologies, O patient one," said the other figure, whose name was Maul.
"You have it then?"
"I had to kill a few folks," sneered Maul, reaching into his pocket. "But I have it."
He pulled out what looked like half a beetle made of bronze. But before Sidious could take it, Maul pulled it away.
"Ah-ah-aah. The treasure."
And Sidious' hawk swooped and took the trinket from Maul's hand, leaving a scratch on the Dathomirian's hand before placing it into Sidious' hand.
"Trust me, my pungent friend." said Sidious. "You'll get what's coming to you."
Sidious took out what must've been the other half of the artifact and pieced them together.
As soon as the beetle was whole, it glowed a sparkling golden glow and started to fly away, leaving a trail of golden sparkles behind it!
"Quickly! Follow the trail." exclaimed Sidious, getting his horse to run and his bird to fly after the magic bug.
The desert dwellers came across a dune of sane, where the beetle split in two halves and out from that dune of sand formed a cave in the shape of a dragon's head.
"At last," smiled Sidious. "After all my years of searching, the Cave of Wonders."
"By the Force." gasped Maul.
Sidious then held Maul in a Force choke.
"Now, remember. Bring me the lamp." he instructed. "The rest of the treasure is yours, but the lamp is mine."
As soon as Maul was far enough, Sidious' hawk spoke to him.
"Geez, where did you dig this fool up?" whispered the hawk, whose name was Mas Amedda.
"Many Sith apprentices are naive, sometimes more so than the incompetent Jedi." Sidious whispered. "Now, shh."
Maul approached the entrance to the cave. But before he could even dare to step in, the cave seemed to exhale on him.
"Who dares disturb my slumber?" said the dragon head in a powerful female voice.
"It is I, Maul, a humble apprentice to the Sith." said Maul, kneeling before the cave.
"Know this." the cave continued. "Only one may enter here, one whose worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough."
Maul looked at Sidious in confusion.
"What are you waiting for? Go on!"
Maul looked at the cave again, this time more nervously.
He slowly approached the cave and entered its mouth, taking one step. Nothing happened. Maul sighed with relief.
Suddenly, the dragon roared and began to breath fire, snapping its enormous mouth shut before Maul could get even a horn back outside.
"NO!" Sidious cried in dismay as his slave failed to get in.
"Seek thee out the diamond in the rough." echoed the cave's voice as it turned back into a sand dune.
Amedda popped out from the sand and shook the grains out from his feathers.
"I can't believe it. I just don't believe it." Amedda said angrily. "We're never gonna get a hold of that stupid lamp!"
Amedda picked up the pieces of the bronze beetle as some of his feathers fell.
"Just forget it. Look at this. I'm so ticked off that I'm molting!"
"Patience, Amedda." said Sidious as his bird brought the pieces back into his gloved hand. "Patience. Maul was obviously less than worthy."
"Oh, there is a surprise." said Amedda sarcastically. "I think I will have a heart attack and die from not surprise. We have a predicament here. A big, big predica-"
Sidious then held Amedda's beak shut.
"Yes." said Sidious. "Only one may enter. I must find this one, this... Diamond in the rough."