Chapter 25

Coruscant

Padmé stood up slowly, wiping the blood that seeped from the corner of her mouth. Maul still sat at the computer console with his back to her. She knew that he was not sane, and knew that she needed to choose her words carefully. Padmé was an intelligent woman, and a gifted diplomat; but this was a challenge she'd never faced before.

"So, what is it you're hoping to achieve with all this?" Padmé asked him. "Killing the Chancellor, baiting the Jedi…what's your end goal?"

Maul didn't have one, in fact; but he didn't say so. He was simply acting on emotion, on anger and hatred, the feelings that had fuelled him for most of his life.

"I will have my revenge," he said simply. "The Jedi will pay, Senator. I promise you."

"What is your issue with the Jedi?" she asked him. "Why are you so bent on killing them?"

Maul looked at her sharply. "My issue with the Jedi?" he snapped. "You can't be serious."

"I am," she said. "I don't understand why you hate them so much."

Maul frowned. "I thought you were smarter than that, Senator Amidala," he remarked. "The Jedi are the pestilence of the galaxy, and have brought me nothing but pain."

"The Jedi are all but extinct," she countered. "Palpatine's plan was masterful," she added with a scowl.

Maul considered her words, the mention of Palpatine giving him pause. "Lord Sidious was a great Sith," he commented. "It was my honour to serve him as his apprentice."

"You were his apprentice?" she asked innocently.

"I was, until Obi-Wan Kenobi tried to kill me and destroyed everything," he snarled.

"How did you survive?" she asked. "I mean…"

Maul glared at her. "I'm not about to retell my tragic past to you, Senator," he snapped. "Suffice it to say that my life has not been an easy one."

"No, I've surmised that much," she said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I believe that you were his apprentice. How could you be? Count Dooku is well known to have been his apprentice, and…."

"I was his apprentice long before Dooku!" Maul shouted. "I was taken by the Sith as a child, raised by them! I served Lord Sidious many years!"

"So…why was Dooku…"

"Shut up!" Maul shouted. "You know nothing!"

"I have met Dooku," she said, knowing that she was pushing him hard, but knowing at this point she had little to lose. "Palpatine abandoned you, didn't he? He replaced you, didn't he?"

Maul frowned as he recalled the last time he had seen his master; on the day his brother had died. He nodded, his eyes staring beyond her as he remembered the day Savage had died...

You are no longer my apprentice …you have been replaced!

Padmé watched him closely. Although not Force sensitive, she was an excellent study of human nature. She had struck a nerve, and decided to push him.

"He replaced you? After you'd been injured?" she asked. "Was he unaware that you'd survived?"

Maul shifted his eyes to her, too caught up in his memories to see what she was trying to do. "He must have known, he must have sensed me in the Force," he mumbled, more to himself than to her. "And yet…he replaced me. He killed my brother…"

"I'm sorry," Padmé said, "but I don't understand. The Jedi killed him, someone who betrayed you, someone who used you. How can you want revenge on them if they killed this man who treated you so terribly?"

Maul frowned, not wanting to answer her, not wanting to consider her point of view. Palpatine had treated him terribly …stealing him from his mother as little more than an infant, training him to be his apprentice and then abandoning him when Maul needed him most. And then, after beating all the odds and surviving, being cast aside, replaced, like refuse, unwanted and despised…

"Just shut your mouth," Maul said at last. "I don't need your pity or your observations, Senator Amidala," he continued. "You must think me an idiot not to know what you're doing."

"I don't know what you mean," Padmé said.

"I said shut your mouth," Maul retorted, holding the tip of his blade to her throat. "Can you manage that, milady?"

Padmé nodded, saying a silent prayer that Anakin and Obi-Wan arrived soon.

Above Coruscant

"We can't just rush in, Anakin," Obi-Wan said as Hondo prepared to land the ship. "Maul is clever. More than that, he's mad, unpredictable. We must proceed very carefully."

"I know that," Anakin snapped. "I'm not stupid."

Obi-Wan frowned. "I understand that you're concerned about Padmé, we all are," he said. "But just this once, please listen to me."

Anakin said nothing, but stood up and waited impatiently for the ship to land.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan exchanged a look of concern, each of them knowing from personal experience how impulsive Anakin could be, particularly when he was acting on emotion rather than reason. All they could do was hope he was able to manage those emotions when it mattered most.

Hondo turned to them. "We're on the ground," he said. "Good luck to you. Are you sure you don't want back up?"

Obi-Wan nodded as he stood up with Ahsoka. "Yes, thank you Hondo," he said. "For everything."
The three Jedi left the ship and stealthily made their way out of the ship and into the vast hangar of the senate building.

"Where are the guards?" Ahsoka asked, looking around. "They should be here to check us out."
"The fact that Maul made it to the Chancellor's office makes me think the guards were eliminated," Obi-Wan said. "No doubt he has left quite a gruesome path in his wake."

Anakin frowned, not wanting to consider the magnitude of Maul's malevolence. He only prayed they were not to late to save Padmé. "Let's go," he said.

In the Chancellor's office

Padmé sat watching Maul as he paced in the room. Every once in a while, he would stop and listen, as though expecting her rescuers to burst through the door at any moment. Padmé knew that she was dealing with a madman; Maul's erratic behaviour and twisted sense of justice made it clear that he was not playing with a full deck. Part of her pitied him, for she knew how miserable his life had been. And yet, there was a terrifying darkness to him that cause her fear to far outweigh her pity. She knew that he could snap at any moment, and that was a chilling thought. Hurry Anakin, she thought fervently, please hurry.

Maul turned his head suddenly, as though sensing the presence of someone. He looked at Padmé and was about to move towards her when the door burst open.

"There's no way out, Maul," Anakin said. "There are three of us, you don't stand a chance. Let her go."
Maul smirked. "Three Jedi don't frighten me, Skywalker," he said. "Oh, perhaps two and a half," he added, looking at Ahsoka with contempt.

Ahsoka frowned. "I'm more than enough Jedi to deal with the likes of you, Maul," she replied.

Maul laughed. "I see," he said. "The girl child has more balls than the whole Jedi Order combined. Oh, well except for you, Skywalker," he continued, looking back at Anakin. "I happen to know you've been bedding the beautiful Senator here for some time."

Anakin frowned. "Shut your filthy mouth," he growled.

This only made Maul laugh more. "Oh okay, deny it," he said. "I know you feel some perverted sense of chivalry where the Senator is concerned."

"Maul, this doesn't involve Senator Amidala," Obi-Wan said. "Let her leave."

"No, I don't think I will," Maul said. "I wouldn't want to deprive her of the pleasure of watching me cut down what's left of the Jedi to pieces."

"You can try, Sith filth," Anakin said, and lunged towards Maul. Maul repelled his blade as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka joined the fight.

"Padmé get out of here!" Anakin shouted about the clash of lightsabers. "Run!"

Padmé hesitated, but only for a moment. It wasn't fear that moved her, but the knowledge that her presence would distract Anakin. And that she couldn't do. She edged her way around the room, watching the ferocious battle as she made her way towards the exit. Reaching the door, she took one last look at the combatants, and then exited the room, running down the corridor.

Along the way, she saw the bodies of senatorial guards that had been cut down by Maul. Were there any left alive?

"Help!" she cried. "Someone please help me! Is anyone here? I need help!"

"Padmé? What are you doing here at this hour?" Mon Mothma said as she poked her head out of her office.

"Mothma! Thank God!" Padmé cried as she rushed to her friend. She took her by the hands. "Maul is here," she said, "he's killed Bail!"

Mothma's eyes widened. "What! How? How did he get in?"

"Look around," Padmé said, "he killed anyone who stood in his way!"

Mothma frowned as she surveyed the hallway where two dead guards lie. "He came when he knew almost no one would be here," she remarked as she wiped a tear away. "Poor Bail! But how did you escape, Padmé? From what I know about Maul he's a vicious monster."

"He is," Padmé agreed. "But three Jedi arrived and are engaged in a fight with him right now."

Mothma nodded, trying to kick her mind into gear. "Let's see if we can get them some back up," she said.

Chancellor's Office

Maul was holding his own against the three Jedi, for he had the advantage of not caring if he lived or died at this point. This enabled him to throw everything he had into the fight, and was giving the Jedi quite a battle.

"There's no way this ends well for you, Maul," Obi-Wan said as the three Jedi circled him, lightsabers held high. "Surrender."

"I will never surrender to the likes of you, Kenobi," Maul snarled. "I'll die first!"

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan. "You heard him," he said. "Let's give him what he wants."

At that moment the door opened and two ununiformed senatorial guards appeared. "Drop your weapons!" one shouted.

Obi-Wan glanced at them momentarily, startled by their unexpected arrival. This gave Maul an opening, and he landed a blow on Obi-Wan's left shoulder. Obi-Wan shouted in pain and back pedalled.

"That's one," Maul said.

"I said stop!" the guard shouted again, which resulted in Maul force pushing the pair of them out of the doorway.

Anakin took advantage of Maul's inattention to take action. Maneuvering behind him quickly, he thrust his blade into the back of Maul, running him through.

Maul looked down at the blue blade jutting from his chest, and then, as Anakin withdrew it, collapsed to the floor. Anakin watched him, to ensure that he was dead. Being run through with a lightsaber meant death – but Maul had cheated death before. But when he saw Maul's yellow eyes roll back in his head, he knew that it was over.

"Get him out of here," Anakin said to the guards, who had regained their footing. "And call an ambulance!"