To Side with an Enemy

If not for the fear and desperation clearly surrounding him, Ahsoka wouldn't have stopped to ponder his offer. He was a monster and he deserved no forgiveness. He showed no compromise when he killed those innocent civilians, or when he killed Satine in front of Kenobi, which were only two things out of a lifetime of evil doings Ahsoka heard he'd done. It didn't make the least bit of sense to her why she was contemplating siding with him.

Maul, the Relentless. The terror whose very presence could paralyze a helpless victim. The way his eyes cast down on her sent a shiver down her spine. The Dark Side boiling through him felt like a magnet, giving a slight tug on her level-headed mind. Given enough time around this personification of hatred, Ahsoka believed she would slip into this downward spiral of insanity.

And yet there was something off about this highly-skilled fighter. Not even the glass shards that had taken flight after an intense explosion could keep her from being deep in her consideration; she could sense the sincerity in his voice when he held out his gloved hand, tainted with the many deaths he'd caused.

There was a threat much worse than him lurking in the dark. Apparently, he'd been counting down the minutes in which that threat would reveal himself. Darth Sidious. The name of a figure that held enough power to overthrow the entire Republic. The mastermind behind everything that went wrong through the veins of the galaxy. The one responsible for more than she could think of.

Her body was frozen as her eyes shifted from multiple places in the room. Maul - having been beside the Sith Lord once - could have held valuable information. If Ahsoka had rejected him, she might have sabotaged the opportunity to intercept Sidious's plans.

Not to mention Anakin may have been involved with it all. Maul wouldn't have mentioned him if he wasn't essential. Though after putting as much effort to finding out about Ahsoka as he did, he may have been using Anakin's name to sway her decision. But that was not a risk Ahsoka was willing to take. Anakin may have been in danger. If she had ignored the warning she was given and allowed Anakin to suffer for it, Ahsoka would never have forgiven herself.

Her mind was made up, despite her rationale chastising her for it. "I… I will help you."

That man's reaction at her acceptance was uncanny; there were no words for her to describe it.

When she took his hand in hers, his grip felt cold enough to almost make her believe he was dead. She saw his awful yellow eyes widen slightly when their palms connected, hers slightly damp with sweat from the nerves he'd given her. There was a strange internal exchange between them, yet another phenomenon that Ahsoka couldn't explain. It was as if she'd given away a portion of herself. The thought made her feel uneasy.

She let go before he did and turned away from him; she couldn't stand the way his eyes peered into hers as if he'd been staring straight into her soul. Ahsoka could already witness her mind being contaminated by the darkness radiating off of him. That was the punishment for ignoring all logic, she told herself.

"But… I want to know something." She told him, her eyes staring into the floor. "What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?"

She heard him sigh heavily as if in disappointment at telling her what she didn't want to hear. "He… has been long groomed to become my master's new apprentice."

Ahsoka swiftly turned. For a brief second, she questioned reality. "Liar."

His expression didn't make her feel confident that he wasn't telling the truth. "I'm afraid not. I was so sure of my vision, that I brought this war upon this planet to lure him here. I wanted to deprive Sidious of his prized pupil."

"I know Anakin," she told him. "He wouldn't turn to the Dark Side." She reminisced about everything he would have done that would show he was drawing closer to the Dark Side. He had made mistakes, but he would never hurt innocent people, unlike the renegade standing behind her. "He is loyal to the Jedi and to the Republic."

Her knees had gone weak when the image of her master – and most trusted friend – with the same terrible Sith glow that Maul had. Murdering younglings. Screaming at Kenobi in such a way that Ahsoka had never heard before. Such anger. Such fury. Such apathy in his actions, with the idea that what he was doing was for the best.

And shock had manifested itself within her upon her realization that these were not her imagination. There was a firm pressure on her shoulder and she gasped when she came to and noticed Maul's hand on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she began to distance herself from him.

"My lady," His deep voice began, his eyes closed as he turned his head upwards. "To make you truly understand... it requires me to share my own visions with you. Your attachment to Skywalker clouds your better judgement." He expanded his hand once more. "Allow me to show you."

The sudden urge to ignite her weapons and hurl herself forward at the unsuspecting enemy was stronger. He told her he wanted to rid his old master of his apprentice and Ahsoka thought of no option to do so other than killing Anakin. The only family she had. Ahsoka felt even more disgusted by the man than before.

But try as she might, she could not shut out the glimpse of the supposed fate of Anakin she'd just seen. The voices. The murder. The black cape. She had to know, even if that meant incautiously opening her mind to see. Lips tightened, she stomped towards him and allowed him to grasp her hand once more.

It was Anakin committing those unspeakable acts. Fire was in his eyes. Kenobi dismembered him. Everything was happening too fast for her to process. Maniacal laughter that she'd only heard when battling against evil. Lightning. Sidious's face. She caught the image of that face fast before it withered with the rest of the vision. Palpatine.

He was a mentor to Anakin and coaxed him more than any other of Anakin's mentors. A friend and the only father figure Anakin ever had. And suddenly, it made more sense that Sidious would soon choose Anakin to do his bidding.

She pulled her hand away sharply. "I don't believe this…" She'd left the Jedi Order for some time and though plenty of events could have happened that led to this becoming a reality, she found it hard to believe Anakin could have been guided to the Dark Side in her absence. Anakin was well-intentioned, regardless of his flaws. He was imperfect, like the rest of the Jedi Council. Like Ahsoka, herself, was.

"The Force is never mistaken." Maul responded. "Everything you've seen has yet to happen."

That meant they had a chance to stop it. Even though the idea of being allied with Maul made her feel that she was just as guilty for everything he'd done. The sight of Anakin's eyes changing from their gentle, natural color to the grotesque yellow shade stayed in her mind. What was even more jarring was seeing how Kenobi had cut off his limbs, leaving him surrounded by fire and lava.

Ahsoka tried not to let it get to her in her time she'd spent away from the Council, but a part of her felt as though she had failed him by walking away. They were intended to be the unstoppable team against the evil forces within the galaxy. She had her part to play in bringing balance to the Force. To end the war and the countless tragedies that came with it. All possibilities for that had disappeared when she did.

She owed it to him to keep the galaxy from falling into the wrong hands. To keep him and his power from falling into the wrong hands. Anakin needed her now more than ever.

Ahsoka nodded. "Okay. For Anakin's sake, I'll try to forget all the reasons I shouldn't be doing this." His eyes shifted into his typical irate-looking expression. As the two were leaving the throne room, Ahsoka stopped in her tracks. "Just one thing: tell your Death Watch troops to stand down."

His brow creased and disproval of this request was clear in his face. She stood firmly in her position and crossed her arms, giving him her own expression that said she wouldn't be of assistance if he didn't do as she said. Maul reluctantly agreed. Before they continued, she pointed her unlit saber to his chest and told him:

"Don't make me regret this."

The former Sith Lord was bound to disappoint her and his lack of response to her statement had increased her cynicism. He had to have information about his master, as he knew Sidious better than Ahsoka did, or any of the Jedi Council. And if he didn't, then the Council would deal with him, most likely in the way they were planning to if Ahsoka had taken him into custody. It didn't matter that her head was consistently reminding her that it was all a mistake. That Maul would exploit her. She was actively ignoring all doubt, because every thought was met with the image of Anakin's hand performing those evil acts.

And those eyes. Those haunting, yellow eyes.