(this is mostly just an idea/prompt or test to see if I can figure out how to upload something, maybe I'll come back later and do something real with it, but until then anyone who wants to write a fic based off this is free too)

(originally posted on tumblr post/190644464664/supreme-leader-maul)

Imagine if you would an alternate version of The Force Awakens, its pretty much the same as the one we got, but there is one crucial difference

Instead of Snoke being some new character, he's an old character we've met before, we've heard of Snoke before the movie came out, we know that Andy Serkis is playing this character named Snoke, and that he's apparently the Supreme Leader of the First Order, but other than that he's a new player

Then as you see the movie, you've heard about this Snoke in the first bit, you're eagerly awaiting to see him, and then you have the scene where Kylo and Hux talk with Snoke via hologram, but he's hooded and partially obscured by shadows, you can't quite make out his features, and then you have the point where Snoke stands up and raises his voice to Hux, and you see it:

Poking under the hood are little horns, albeit longer than before, black skin with faded red markings, the burning yellow eyes of the Sith, and his feet, rather than being humanoid, are large clawed talons (yet somehow organic, a mystery for another day)

Its Darth Maul, no longer a Sith and under a new name, but its him, Maul, somehow he's take control of the faction born from the ashes of his former Master's fallen empire and converted the Grandson of Vader to the Dark Side

Now how would all this happen? Well first it would require a slight rewrite of Star Wars Rebels, not to hard given that Maul didn't appear in the show until early 2016, and wasn't shown to have died until early 2017

Basically Maul's duel with Obi-Wan will go differently, rather than killing him, Obi-Wan easily beats Maul, destroying his lightsaber, but like a true Jedi, he does not kill a defeated/unarmed opponent,

In despair that he will never have his revenge, Maul wanders off into the deserts of Tatooine, and there he remains for some time, and eventually he has a realization:

He cannot beat Obi-Wan in a fight, but he can destroy what he has worked for, the Jedi Order reborn, to that end, Luke is Maul's target

That is not to say that Maul would be going after Luke directly, no he will wait, see if this boy who would be a Jedi can succeed, for all that he hates Obi-Wan and wants to destroy what the Jedi master worked for, Maul hates the Emperor and his Empire nearly as much, and if this boy can bring them down, Maul will not interfere, he will wait, and all the while delve into the Dark Side, rediscover lost knowledge (perhaps some that will allow him to recreate organic legs), refine his own philosophy, perhaps even incorporate Jedi elements to guard against the weakness/shortcomings of the Sith, and create his own distinct sect of the Dark Side (the beginnings of the Knights of Ren)

And finally, after Endor, Maul decides it's time, he seeks out and confronts Luke, not to kill him, but to get a measure of the situation, to figure out how he can destroy Luke in the long run, and once Maul is satisfied he ends the fight, leaving Luke with the promise that he will fail and the Jedi will never rise again, Maul will see to that

And then we have Ben Solo (who also shares the alternate name of Maul's hated enemy for bonus points), Grandson of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, apprentice and nephew to Luke, shining star of the fledgling next generation of Jedi-everything Obi-Wan worked towards

Exactly what Maul needs for revenge, through Solo, he will destroy this new Jedi Order in its infancy, break Luke, and make everything that was worked for by Obi-Wan all for naught

And it works, the Jedi are destroyed once more, their story fading further into legend, Luke is broken, bitter and in despair, the First Order is rising, ready to reconquer the Galaxy, where Sidious failed Maul will succeed, Starkiller base is nearly ready, and Ben Solo has been rechristened as Kylo Ren, fully embracing the Dark Side, a worthy apprentice and heir, unlike the Sith he has left behind Maul gladly accepts that his death and replacement will soon come at his apprentice's hand, his Dark Side order is not one of constant rivalry and mistrust between Masters and Apprentices, if the Master dies by the Apprentice's hands then he has succeeded as a teacher

And then, there's an awakening, and a girl with great raw power in the force emerges