Chapter 9.
Anakin and Obi wan arrived at the temple in the midst of the dust storm. They took shelter inside the temple, a welcome sanctuary but the force was stabbing with intent. The halls were luminous and glowing… someone's here, Anakin thought. Anakin nodded to Obi wan who noticeably began to walk quieter with his lightsaber in hand. The flicker of a fire could be seen reflecting off a wall ahead as the pair walked deeper into the middle of the temple. They could hear the frustrated grunts of a humanoid as they approached the fire in the centre of the temple. A silhouette of a hunched over figure was there, throwing objects aimlessly in anger.
It hissed, snapping its head backward in their direction. Anakin frowned at its movements, tentatively grabbing for his lightsaber but somehow, its force presence was familiar to him. The figure lunged at a nearby creepy crawler and crunched it between its teeth in two horrifying crunches. Obi wan shuddered at the sound…what a horrible way to die, he thought, clipping his lightsaber back to his belt. The figure was missing an arm and almost resembled a human form.
The sound of Obi wans lightsaber clipping back to his belt was unnerving loud, as its head reared back, sniffing the air deeply.
"Ke- no, no, No, NO!" it muttered out, "nooooooo!" its voice cracked into a rage as Anakin began to recognise the figure.
"Maul…?" Anakin uttered just as he dove his lightsaber at Obi wan.
"Kenobi!" Maul hissed, striking Obi wan's position again and again.
"Don't hurt him!" Anakin yelled as Obi wan defended himself.
"Any bright ideas?" Obi wan yelled profusely, blocking Maul's uncharacteristic onslaught.
"Rahvin! Maul! It's me Anakin!" he yelled at him, making Maul faulter in his strike, enough for Obi wan to gather his footing once again, circling behind Maul and closer to Anakin.
"You…" Maul taunted, accusingly pointing his crimson lightsaber at Anakin, "you left Lady Tano! How could you! This is all your fault".
Maul ignited one side of his twin lightsaber engaging in a heated battle between the former master and apprentice. He used a twisted version of force wielding, the force pushing Anakin aside with a kick of his leg and swiping aimlessly at Obi wan's torso. Anakin got to his feet and used the force to lock onto Maul's force signature, prying at his fortitude. Something had corrupted him, something dark and sinister. It radiated the essence of the dark side. Red blistering eyes. …The Son of Mortis got to him, Anakin realised summoning a great amount of the force and using it to put Maul into a temporary comatose state.
Anakin laid Maul down and allowed himself to catch his breath before examining him. He was thin and frail-looking, his ribs protruding through his Dathomir skin. His left arm was missing from the upper arm and downwards and the once well-kept horns had grown into a monstrous crown. His mechanical legs looked surprisingly maintained and the aura of the force emanated from them, perhaps they had been kissed by the grey Jedi.
"I forgot you could do that," Obi wan huffed, "you've grown exponentially more talented, Anakin. The Jedi could only hope to study the gifts you have been given".
"It's also a curse, Obi wan," Anakin bit back, "just look at what happened to Maul".
"What do you suppose happened to him?" Obi wan asked.
"My guess is that The Son managed to use the force to manipulate him somehow and with Maul's past with the dark side of the force it corrupted him, but I sense something more," Anakin paused, watching Maul stir with a muffled scream that couldn't quite escape his lips. "Something didn't go as planned," Anakin continued, "otherwise we might have crossed paths with The Son instead of Maul".
Obi wan and Anakin sat around the fire that Maul had built in the middle of the abandoned temple as the dust storm continued to worsen. A chirping Morai came from the direction they had come and nestled next to Anakin. He petted Morai, once or twice before she fell asleep. They had agreed that they would leave the temple as soon as the storm had passed and just maybe Maul would stay in a comatose state until they reach the starship.
Obi wan looked at Anakin, wary of his force presence. It felt different, unfamiliar, and certainly did not radiate the same presence Anakin had during the Clone Wars. He had changed.
"I can feel you staring, Obi wan. I'm not the same person I used to be," Anakin said bluntly, refusing to make eye contact with him.
Obi wan apologised and continued to ask how Maul had changed and become a grey jedi and took a new name Rahvin Takan. Anakin pondered whether this name was still relevant as it was clear that Maul had delved closer back into the depths of the dark side but that became irrelevant as the storm began to dissipate into the distance.
They returned to the ship by the early hours of what would have been the galaxy universal equivalent of the morning, however, on Mortis the weather and rotation seemed to revolve around Anakin's mood. It was cold and dewy and the sun had barely risen as they pulled into the makeshift camp. The troopers on guard relaxed when they realised that it was they who had returned. Maul began to stir at the sudden change in light as they moved him inside the ship.
The clones began to whisper amongst themselves about Anakin's loyalty as he accompanied Maul, where Obi wan stayed outside the ship. They briefed him that the ship had begun working in the middle of the night and that the rest of the platoon was finishing packing up camp.
Morai flew flippantly above Obi wan, coaxing him to follow her until finally she swooped down and plucked some of the hair off Obi wan's head.
"what the-?" Obi wan spat out jumping up in shock.
She flew up high before diving back down and towards the horizon in the opposite direction to the void of ash.
"I'll be back soon, Fox and if I'm not back by sundown or whatever the equivalent here is, you should leave. No doubt that The Son will have sensed our presence here".
And with that, Obi wan hopped onto his speeder bike and sped up after Morai. As she flew, flowers and greenery began to spout around Obi wan, detailing their path. It wasn't long in the sunshine that a grand temple began to come into view with its many grandeur steps. Obi wans feet clapped against each step as he ascended, a sense of urgency filling his bones as a rolling row of thunder exploded in the distance.
When he finally reached the top, he frowned realising that the temple wasn't a temple at all and Morai was frantically pecking at the circular stone blocking the entrance. It was a shrine, a tomb for only Obi wan could guess, The Daughter of Mortis. Obi wan used to force to roll the circular door to the side, as he cautiously walked inside, unsure of why Morai had brought him here. Morai was using her head to push the casket open to little avail without Obi wans help. Inside she laid perfectly still and had not perished at all since the day Obi wan had last seen her. Peaceful and yet unsettling at the same time. The dagger that had killed her rested in her hands and Obi wan it suddenly weighed upon him the importance of his role in the galaxy; to eradicate the tyranny The Son of Mortis is bringing with every moment he roams the galaxy unchallenged.
