Agen worked on setting up the holoprojector in the middle of the Council Room.
They'd talked back and forth about who needed to see the fights from the Cog. Agen had talked to Dex about them and been given the directive to NOT show Anakin, and probably not to show his teen friends. D'una and Wan were both on planet again and had been absolutely devastated to learn what had happened to Maul. But things had gone well, and they were happy that he was okay.
Maul still looked so lost whenever anyone expressed that, but Agen was not going to think about that.
Agen was going to think about setting the holoprojector up, and the possibility of a lot of blood. He'd offered to bring popcorn and was told it was likely in poor taste.
Their loss.
As it was, it was during the day when they had managed to get a free moment, which meant that Maul was bunking down. It was fascinating to see how well Maul seemed to take to his new nightly schedule. Maul had been aware that Dex had gotten them the clips, but he'd merely eyed them, snorted, and wished them good luck.
Tiq had raised his brows at that and had requested to watch, which meant the Rodian was with the usual crowd of Council Members.
Qui-Gon Jinn had also managed to attend, as had Obi-Wan Kenobi, the two of them in attendance due to the high likelihood of triggers and the closeness Anakin had to Maul. They were both working on helping to better understand and to be able to help Maul should he need it.
Agen also thought that Obi-Wan in particular was coming in order to see a bit more about what brought Maul to the point he could strangle someone with his own intestines.
They were standing to the side of the hall, and as Agen finally managed to start it up, he walked over to join them, watching as the first thing that projected was a pair of mugshots.
And that was when Agen made the realization that Maul was young.
Maul had picked his age as eighteen. He may be older, he may perhaps be younger, but the Cog had happened a year ago.
An average rate of growth for a teenage Zabrak was ten centimeters in a year.
Agen was staring at a fucking child.
Maul was staring at the holocam that took his picture, his specifications flashing next to it, but Agen was stuck on 1.52 meters.
1.52 meters.
He was…a child.
A child in an orange jumpsuit, the cuffs on his wrists so…
Agen looked to Eeth, who was looking a particular shade of green, remembering the conversation he had had with his fellow Zabrak about how easily Maul had handled the cuffs what seemed like so long ago. The way Maul acted as though he had experience, but…
But Agen had somehow not expected this.
Who the fuck would have?
Inmate 11240…Jagannath.
Jagannath.
Mercenary, with a charge of Murder.
Then Agen's attention was drawn to the being on the right, and he realized with a jolt of dread and horror that he was looking…at…
Dex had called it a fight ring.
Maul had noted that Dex had bet on him and made a lot of money.
What the fuck.
The being on the right did not make any sense, was something that Agen had never seen, large and scarred in a similar way to his own ritual marks, one hand removed to be replaced with a metallic claw…
Two meters tall.
Two meters and nearly three times Maul's own weight.
Oh fuck.
Oh fuck.
And there Maul stood…staring up at this being with nothing more and nothing less…than abject disdain.
Agen had never seen anything so incongruous.
The being's fist rocketed out so fast Agen nearly missed it, but he didn't miss the way it struck…
"OH SHIT!" Depa's voice split through just as it connected with Maul so hard that the boy stumbled back, nearly turning in a full circle, standing there with his shoulder to the being, and then with an almost…
An almost casual indifference.
Maul made eye contact with the being…and spat.
Blood and a single tooth…fell to the ground.
Maul wiped his face and looked up at the being…and the snarl bared all of his remaining teeth and he charged. The thing shrieked in a garbled language Agen did not know, rage and fury and delight burning in its horrible eyes as it attempted to claw and beat Maul down… But Maul was too quick, and slipped between its pinwheeling arms with a deadly accuracy that let him get close enough to lash out with his own claws…
Jamming his hands into the thing's throat, black blood immediately pouring as Maul crawled up the thing's body, snarling all the while, digging his hands in deep, strangling, maiming…
The strike was completely unexpected, someone shouted, as something Agen had taken for a stick shot straight up and bit its fangs into Maul's face.
Maul fell backwards, lurching away, the snake working on trying to wrap around him, and Agen's hearts were in his throat, and he could not breathe, and it wrapped tighter and tighter, letting go of Maul's face to curl around him tighter… And then Maul caught its head and RIPPED.
The body of the snake fell slack around him, and Maul stumbled back, red blood trailing down his face like tears, his mouth in a vicious snarl, his head questing back and forth blindly…blindly, Maul couldn't see, he couldn't… And still the snake head in his hand drooled blood and venom…
The being launched forward, clearly going for a victory, and that was the moment when Agen realized Maul had braced. Maul's foot impacted with its stomach cleanly, his other foot planted, his entire body-weight put behind it as he drove it directly into that one point, causing it to open its mouth, and then Maul was shoving the snake head in, climbing on its knee to do so, slamming its mouth shut, climbing atop his shoulders to wrap his arms around its head, tight, tight, refusing to let go, his face fixed in a snarl…
It thrashed, attempted to hit him, to scratch, to fight, but the snake was drooling venom, and Maul's grip tightened, twisted, and with a vicious crack and a tear, his head was ripped clean off, and Maul fell backwards on the ground with a crash.
For a moment all was still, and then Maul kicked the head away…and as the floor began to shift to a bowl, crawled his way to the nearby rail, holding it tight as the being slid down…
And Maul turned his head up to face the holocam.
Victorious.
"Holy fucking shit…"
"Agree, I do," Yoda managed softly.
And then there was another fight, before they could even think of catching their breath… Agen was on his feet, the roar in the room rising, his pulse pounding in his ears.
Nearly three meters high, chained in place around its legs, arms, and throat, and one of its horns a terrible broken off dagger… Rows and rows of snarling teeth were bared as it peeled its lips back, rage in its tiny eyes as they focused on the figure that stood so small before its massive, scarred bulk.
A Wampa.
"Oh fuck," Tiq breathed. "Oh, fucking shit, oh bitch…"
Maul stared at it for a moment, and then his gaze turned to the actual cell itself, taking in the surroundings, before focusing back on it. And that was when the manacles dropped to the ground, and the Wampa lunged.
Maul leapt, but he was not able to entirely clear it, those claws raking through his back as it swept towards him, and there was blood and blood and he was sliding across it, into the wall…the walls had moved!
The walls had moved, and Maul slammed into them, still trying to jump, skidding on his own blood, and being slammed back against the wall, the Wampa's teeth nearly biting into his face as he jerked his head back and away… And then Maul was sliding through the pool of his own blood, using it to get away, to make distance, and Agen's hearts were pounding, shock and horror and…
What monster put a kid through this. What monster put a child through…
And then Maul had managed to launch himself into the air, getting enough purchase to come down against the thing's skull with his elbow, enough force utilized to kill a grown man… It was something Agen remembered from Obi-Wan's description of his fight against Krell…
And it did not work this time, either, the claws raking through Maul's face, sending him stumbling back…
But the expression on Maul's face was nothing but pure, unadulterated fury…and Agen watched…as Maul took steps to lock his spine…
The Wampa lurched forward, shrieking all the while, and Maul ducked his head, locked his spine, and LAUNCHED, slamming into its lower jaw, pulverizing it against the Zabrak's skull and horns, piercing it…and finally crushing its entire skull inwards…
Maul fell back, landing on his own blood and keeping his footing this time, though he was clearly lagging, staring up…
The thing…
Kept…
Moving…
Maul stared up at it in disbelief, something like horror…
There was the realization…there it was, the moment when Maul stared up at a being three times his own size…and realized that he might die.
And that was the time when Maul's lips pulled back, baring his teeth in a snarl of rage, and then his clawed hands were punching through the soft underbelly, beneath its ribs, and Maul was driving his hands up and close, and close, climbing up, crawling up its bulk, and…
Maul ripped his hands back, falling backwards, covered in gore, the Wampa's body slumped slowly, its heart fisted within Maul's hands…
And that was when the Wampa finally collapsed to the ground, just missing the boy who lay on the ground.
For a moment Maul lay there, licking the blood from his face and spitting to the side, looking at the heart in his hands for a moment, some hazy thought in his eyes…
Maul slumped to the ground, and the heart spilled beside him.
And the picture ended.
Agen stood there, his legs feeling weak…
"Motherfucker," Tiq mumbled quietly.
Agen wanted to laugh…
And then there was picture and sound, and Maul was…in a cell…and that was when he realized that his ankles had been ziptied to the bed… And that was when the water rushed in.
"Motherfucking BITCH!"
It was a deluge, an utter wall of water, Maul shoving himself just forward enough to clear his face from the water, his expression focused as he breathed, saturating himself with oxygen, and he… Maul tilted his chin up as the water finally got to his chest, taking one last deep breath…
And then it was closing over his head.
For a moment all was still, Maul holding his breath…
The flash of a body tearing through the water, an Aqualish, and Agen's heart was in his throat, and the being's elbow slammed into Maul's diaphragm, and all of that carefully gained air left in a stream of bubbles.
Agen's hearts lurched in his chest, he could not get enough air…
Maul pulled himself towards the bench, driving himself underneath it, doing something…
There were bubbles, there was air, Maul had found air, he had found…
The bubbles vanished as Maul breathed deep, and there was a pause, the Aqualish coming back…and Maul lurched up from beneath the bench as he got close enough, grabbing his tusk and RIPPING, breaking one off in his hold, taking that and driving his fist into the Aqualish's gut, and driving its head into the floor of the cell, digging the being's tusk deep into his head, a stream of blood rising up, and then the Aqualish managed to escape.
Maul narrowed his eyes after him, before pulling himself back under the bench, going for more air… Something happened, something was wrong, something…
The Aqualish hit him once more, but Maul had something in his hand, something he'd grabbed from under the bench, something…
He grabbed the tufts of fur on the Aqualish's head with one hand and slammed it into the cut on the Aqualish's head with the other, and the bubbling froth was immediate, as was Agen's realization.
Girder mold.
Toxic if mixed with blood, possessing enough…enough caustic power to cut through durasteel…Maul's hand pulled back, shaking it out in the water, the Aqualish screaming, writhing, unable to move as Maul dragged him to his restraints…
Maul had rubbed the mold against his restraints, and the blood from the Aqualish's head was enough to free him as he grabbed hold of the Aqualish once again and pressed his head and the blood down towards the restraints…and then he was pulling the screaming and writhing being further down, pressed towards the floor of the cell, and the hole was getting larger and larger where he had slammed another handful…
And then they were gone, falling through it, the water going with them.
Maul had escaped and taken the Aqualish with him.
The recording buzzed, and then ended.
That was the last of the fights.
For a moment all was still…
"We had that in our prisons," Ki-Adi Mundi's voice was almost baffled, something so shocked within it, that Agen could not help but snort with laughter, a burning realization, even as…
Even as…
"He was so young," Plo said, his voice so quiet, and yet echoing through the stillness.
"They must have been trying to kill him," Even noted, "what other purpose could they have sending him against something like that?"
"He won," Eeth breathed, "somehow he won."
"He really is too angry to die," Obi-Wan said softly, and there was a general laugh. "I…" he paused, "I don't know that I believed him at the time, but…"
"Terrible it is," Yoda said, his voice quiet.
And all of the amusement was gone, traded for the quiet realization of a boy being forced to fight for his life in situations that by all rights… By all rights Maul should have died. Agen was glad that he had not, was glad that he was as trained as he was, but…
But it was…it was not right.
The silence was ringing.
"What do you do to a child," Qui-Gon asked softly, his voice carrying, "to get him to be able to do that?"
"I have another question," Saesee Tiin said softly, leaning forward, lacing his fingers underneath his heavy chin, "if you have a child like that, if you have made such a weapon…what lengths do you have to go to in order to keep it your weapon? And why would you be so willing to give it up…?"
There was a pause.
"Is there a possibility…that a failsafe exists within him still?" Adi asked, spreading a hand. "Do you think it is possible that something has been done to keep him within his Master's power?"
"Even dead," Eeth noted quietly, "there is great damage he can do."
Tiq took a step forward then, their attention drawn to the Mind Healer. "There is one thing that I have not done with Maul that may provide us with an answer," he said softly. "There is a technique that would require fully entering his mind, creating a mindscape that would allow me to examine him fully for anything of the sort. It is…open in a way that I have not done, and have not wanted to do, not yet. But if…if the suggestion is likely, and I believe it may be… I may approach Maul with the idea soon. I do not believe we are going to stumble across some trigger that will send him to do his Master's bidding. Krell would have tripped it, or we would have by now, so it is perhaps possible that there was some other cue, some other thing that will never be triggered because the voice that spoke it is lost."
"Good this is," Yoda said, his voice tired. "Much has been taken from him, too much… His free will, precious it is, guard it jealously we should."
And that 'we', in Agen's opinion, was one of the most important parts. Maul needed to know that he was not alone in all of this. From the fights to his gaining of an identity, to deciding if he was going to continue being a Sith… Maul needed to know that they respected him.
But the need to see him, to visit…that was also high.
Agen found himself standing, and their attention turned to him. "I am going to see Maul," he said.
There was a pause, and then with a slight hum, Yoda stood up. "See to him I will as well."
And that was what started a wave of people agreeing, and before Agen had even truly thought about it, before any of them had considered the full ramifications…
They were standing before Maul's door.
Mace was the one who knocked and for a moment all were still, listening… Agen had a moment to realize what they looked like, what they were doing, sensing the moment the realization swept amongst them…
"Breathed this out…I think we should have," Yoda mumbled quietly, and then the door opened.
For a moment Agen's breath caught in his throat.
Agen was probably the one that had been the closest to Maul outside of Tiq. Tiq knew Maul's hearts. Agen had spent weeks helping Maul heal, necessity forming proximity… Agen stared at the young man that he had helped, the one whose old scars Agen could not help but examine, the knowledge of the scars that he had just seen being made in the Cog… The lines through his face caused by the Wampa…
The image of that young man in the prisons superimposed over the one that was staring out at them so hesitantly, his expression a mix of wariness and…sleep. Maul was bleary eyed and not wearing a shirt, those scars that Agen had considered thrown into sharp relief, his pants wrinkled, and his mouth in a fine line as he peered out at them with eyes that were clearly becoming more used to the dim light of the night.
For a moment he stood there, staring out at them, and no one said a word, too lost, Agen thought, in the relief that he was alright.
Maul was alive.
Maul sighed heavily, "You have watched the videos of the Cog, yes?" he asked softly.
"Watched we have," Yaddle agreed softly.
"…Are you here to bring me back to the prisons?" Maul asked softly.
"No!" Ki-Adi's voice was horrified, a horror that echoed through Agen's own chest.
"Oh," Maul said, blinking.
"Why would we take you back to the prisons?" Saesee asked.
"You…thought I was too dangerous?" Maul tried, frowning.
"Trust me," Eeth said softly, "we figured that out when this happened." He pointed at the scar across Maul's middle, the scar that Maul looked at for a moment and then looked back up at them.
"Oh."
"I suppose…" Eeth said softly. "We wanted to see that you were still okay… And I wanted…I wanted to say that I am glad you are still here."
"And in truth, Maul," Tiq said, "we find that we are proud of you. You fought well to survive."
Agen had not thought of that feeling until Tiq said it. Had not thought of the fact that there was amazement wrapped around the horror, pride niggling in his chest. There was a truth in the fact that Maul had done well, had done amazingly. Quick and clever, he had fought so well, so hard for someone so young.
And Maul stared out at them, and his expression was visibly stricken. "My Mas…" he paused, "my Master…was always disappointed in me," he breathed. "I was never…good enough for him."
"Your Master was an idiot," Even said in his rough voice, raising his brows at him. "You killed a Wampa with your bare hands at 1.52 meters without using the bloody Force. What else did he want from you?"
Maul blinked, shrugged, and the smile on his face was warm. He was clearly starting to wake up. "Thank you."
"Of course," came the response.
"We're sorry for waking you," Mace said.
"I suppose in the end…" Plo said softly, "we wanted to see that you were okay."
Maul took that in for a moment, and then smiled, and it was wide, and it was bright, and it was proud.
"I am," he said, and blinked. "I really…I think I am."
And with that, they allowed him to go back to bed, and disbanded.
The Council had other things to see to.
Obi-Wan Kenobi needed a drink.
It wasn't the most common thought recently, but it had been creeping up more and more lately. Obi-Wan would have blamed Maul for this want of a drink if he wasn't sure that Maul had been blamed for everything his entire life, and that somehow didn't seem fair. Particularly when it hadn't been his fault to begin with, truly. Maul's Master had apparently decided to steal a baby from the Nightsisters, do terrible things to him…train him up to something almost terrifying…
And just dump him.
Obi-Wan needed a drink.
Obi-Wan had listened to Maul talk about the Sith, about the idea of pain being power, and the power of the Dark Side in general, but Obi-Wan still could not understand how Maul could operate like that after everything.
He wondered what Maul had said to himself in order to push himself through.
He wondered what compelled him to go to such lengths… Maul had said he was too angry to die…
"Well, what do we have here?" Quinlan's voice rang out and sent Obi-Wan's thoughts to a stuttering halt. Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, prayed to the Force for patience, and then turned to Quinlan, but before he could say a thing Quinlan blinked, sinking down next to him. "What happened?"
"Why are you so certain something happened?" Obi-Wan asked.
"…You need a drink," he said, "come on, let's go."
Obi-Wan blinked, "Quin…what?"
"You need a drink," Quinlan said once more, dragging him up, and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go. Do you want to drink here, or out? Probably out… Dex's will make sure we don't go too far and send us home, I think. Plus, we get a discount."
"I…well, I suppose," Obi-Wan blinked.
"Now I know you definitely need a drink; you're not protesting me taking you."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.
"Now," Quinlan grinned, "tell me about it."
"And where…" a sudden voice called out, and they turned to face Luminara Unduli, the woman approaching them with her arms crossed, staring back and forth between them. "Are you going?"
"To Dex's," Quinlan said. "Where we're going to get a drink, and Obi-Wan is going to tell us what's wrong."
"Something is wrong?" Luminara asked, the Mirialan's brows creasing in brief worry. "What is it?"
Obi-Wan paused as they both looked at him. "I need a drink," he said. They laughed, and together they went to Dex's.
Luminara sat next to Quinlan, staring into space, her heart in her throat and her mind in a tumult.
Quinlan had turned to drinking much like Obi-Wan. She had gotten one that she was nursing, but her mind was buzzing.
She had met Maul in person once, sat with him while they were having lunch and found him to be quiet, but with an intensity to him that had been abnormal for one so young… After having viewed the holo that Dex had, sending them to a small private booth to watch it, after watching Maul fight in the Cog, she found herself thinking that it was a wonder he had any levity left. And now here they sat at the bar, having wandered their way over.
"What do you do to a child?" Obi-Wan asked, spreading his arms wide.
"How did he rip the heart out of a Wampa?" Quinlan asked, "I knew he was a predator; I knew he had claws, but…but…" he slammed his drink back. "He strangled Krell with his own intestines!"
"He's insane!" Obi-Wan agreed. "It's…it's so strange, I…I fought him, you know? I thought…I thought he was good, but I had no… Do you think the lightsaber is a deliberate handicap?"
"He uses…" Quinlan gestured for another drink, leaning towards them, "he uses…a saberstaff. Those aren't…they aren't easy weapons; they're almost designed to physically handicap the wielder. What…what if it is a handicap? What if he had thrown away…the lightsaber, and…and just kicked your ass? Literally!"
"Gods, he might have been able to do it," Obi-Wan said, gnawing at his nail.
"I do not know if he would have been able to fight the two of you," Luminara disagreed, still not partway through her drink and therefore much more sober, "he managed Krell, but not without a great deal of injury. If he had thrown away the saber and fought you both it might have killed him. I do agree, though, the saberstaff is something of a handicap. But it is also a traditional Zabrak weapon."
"It's traditional?" Quinlan blinked.
"Of course," Luminara said, "why else do you think Eeth would also have one he practices with?"
"I hadn't thought about it," Quinlan said, blinking. "That makes sense, then, I suppose, given the fact that Maul wouldn't have had a lot of connection to his heritage beyond the Sith." He paused, and then leaned towards them. "Maul's Sith."
"Yes, he is," Luminara agreed. "You knew that Quinlan."
"No, yes, I did. But…he's a Sith. That…that means he's got to know…all sorts of stuff about them. And about…about their power, and about their Holocrons…"
"What are you talking about, Quin?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I have…I have something. I've never been able to figure out what it does," Quinlan said, leaning farther forward, "but…but it's Sith. It's Dark, too, some sort of Holocron, but it doesn't do what it's supposed to. And here's the worst thing…I can't get a read on it."
Luminara blinked, looking at Quinlan. "What do you mean?"
"I've been trying to see where it comes from," Quinlan answered, "but it's resistant. Worse than that it doesn't…respond. I think it fights me. Sometimes I think it laughs at me."
"I'd say you're imagining things, but it is Sith," Obi-Wan noted.
"Exactly," Quinlan said. "I haven't turned it into the Sith Archives because it's…strange. But Maul might…he might be able to figure it out. Do you think he'd like that?"
"I do," Luminara said. "He's looking for elements of his heritage. It's understandable, really. Holocrons have so much knowledge in them," she turned to him fully. "I think he would be very happy if you gave it to him."
"I do, too," Obi-Wan agreed.
"I still can't believe he ripped the heart out of a Wampa," Quinlan mumbled.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan exclaimed, clapping his hand on the table. "Granted…the…the Aqualish?"
"Crazy!"
"That kid really is too angry to die," Quinlan said nodding, clapping a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder.
"They think there might be a failsafe in his mind," Obi-Wan said roughly.
"…"
"No," Luminara breathed, "they wouldn't do that to him, would…" but she trailed off before she could finish, thinking of a body that had been left behind, broken, of a boy that flinched from kindness… "Oh Gods," she breathed.
"Indeed," Obi-Wan said, draining his glass. "Healer Tiq is going to see if he can find anything. We'll just have to hope," he sighed.
"And if there is something, Tiq will fix it," Quinlan said, nodding hugely.
"I think you're right," Luminara agreed. "As it is, Gentlemen, it's getting late. If you want to give Maul the Holocron, Quinlan, you might think of getting it now. He'll probably appreciate it, and he'll definitely be up. I must meditate. I will give this to the Force so I may properly handle my reactions to him."
"Alright," Quinlan agreed, slapping at his cheeks, and straightening up, Obi-Wan standing up alongside them. Luminara looped her arms through both of theirs and walked them out, after leaving a good tip for Dex and a call of goodbye, which he yelled out as well.
As they called a cab, Luminara hoped that things would continue to look up for them…
And slowly breathed it out, feeling the soft exhalation to either side of her.
It was a shock, but what had happened yet that was not?
Quinlan tossed the Holocron in the air and caught it again. His thoughts were a jumble, making another attempt to read it before giving it up. Quinlan really did hope that Maul would like the Holocron.
Obi-Wan had prefaced the fight with the fact that Maul had apparently been certain that he would be sent back to the prisons for it. Called himself too dangerous. Quinlan didn't think he was, killing someone with his own intestines or not, but he certainly could understand where Maul got the idea that that might have been their conclusion.
At least if he thought like someone who had been repeatedly broken down by his Master to the point that… Why wouldn't he expect a punishment? Why wouldn't Maul expect for everything about him to be met with hostility and wariness?
Outside, of course, for the fact that Maul had saved their younglings. There was absolutely no way that any of them could consider Maul an enemy. Even the wariest of them had made an abrupt about-face after that, though Quinlan himself had decided Maul was on their side long before.
Maul had worked so hard to help them…
Quinlan figured it was about time someone gave him something he'd like.
It was dark out and Quinlan was on the lookout for a Nightbrother. And then he saw him. Surprisingly, it wasn't the red that caught his attention…it was the glowing golden eyes peering at him from the dark.
Quinlan nearly lost his soul.
"Maul!" he called out as soon as he registered who he was seeing, shaking off the unneeded fear and smiling reflexively. "Just the Sith I was looking for." His smile widened, watching as Maul paused before walking towards him. "I have something for you." Maul tilted his head in question and Quinlan tossed the Holocron. That gaze latched onto it immediately, gold eyes flashing yellow, and his hand darted out, catching hold of the Holocron. Maul stared at it, his eyes wide, trailing his fingers over the edges, and Quinlan found himself smiling.
Quinlan had known that Maul would recognize it.
"This is a Holocron I've had in my possession for a while," Quinlan said. "You can tell it's Sith, clearly, but the reason I haven't turned it in is because I can't pick anything up on it." Quinlan shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest as Maul took it in both hands, clearly feeling it out with his own Power, that flickering ember that was Maul burning brighter and brighter. "I'm skilled in telemetry…" Maul flicked his eyes up to him, recognition flaring. "Yeah," he laughed, "it's a bit opposite to yours, I understand you have visions of the future…" he hummed. "Regardless, it's been in my room collecting dust for ages. Never seemed actively hostile but could never get anything out of it regardless. Thought maybe you could?"
Maul nodded slowly, thoughtfully, as he eyed it, "I will do my…"
And that was when something happened…that had never happened before.
The Holocron snapped open, almost…biting into Maul's hand, snapping in place with a metallic clink…and the sound of something…being injected.
Maul's eyes widened.
"Ah," a voice said, that should not have been saying anything, that should not have… and there was something taking shape, someone… Hooded and cloaked and…and…
Oh fuck. OH FUCK.
"I was wondering when you would take the Holocron. You will be able to possess all the information inside, providing you can answer my questions…and if you cannot, I am certain you realize you shall die. I am sorry, Lord Maul," the voice said, and Quinlan balked, staring at Maul as he stared at the hologram figure before them. "But you were not meant to be an Apprentice…and so must earn your place."
Quinlan didn't stop to hear another word.
Quinlan threw Maul over his shoulder and ran.
Quinlan was aware of Maul speaking, of that voice also speaking, but he did not care, the actual words lost in the ringing of his own ears, running as fast as he could down the halls, the knowledge that he needed to get Maul to Vokara…
That fucking Holocron had poisoned him!
Quinlan busted through the door to the Healing Halls, yelling aloud, the knowledge that Maul had just recovered from having his actual literal guts spilled across everything, he…
"Well done," the voice said, Quinlan freezing for a moment, Vokara rushing out, "congratulations, Lord Maul. You shall be my Apprentice."
WHAT THE FUCK.
"Hey, hey!" Quinlan managed, putting Maul down on the bed, watching as Maul was scanned automatically, turning to look at the hologram, anger burning within him. "You just poisoned him! You can't…you can't claim him as an Apprentice? Who the fuck even are you?"
There was another hissing sound, something else was injected, and then the Holocron let go of Maul's hand, falling into his lap. Maul rubbed his wrist briefly, and lay back when Vokara insisted, blinking in wide-eyed surprise, even as he seemed content, for the moment, to listen.
And then the hologram did something that Quinlan had not expected.
It turned to face him.
And the realization that this was not…this was not…
"Interesting," the hooded figure hummed, "very interesting." He turned to Maul then. "You keep surprising company, Apprentice. I am sure you will have reasons for why you fraternize with Jedi?"
Maul turned his attention to the hologram, his eyes trailing over it quietly. "Healer Che," he said softly, "you may want to call the Council… And I would recommend Healer Tiq."
Healer Che pulled her comm out and pressed the proper channels to call an emergency meeting at the Halls. It was a rare necessity, but a necessity, nonetheless. Tiq, she would have to call herself.
"Can you see anything now, Vos?" Maul asked and tossed the Holocron.
Quinlan caught it, his fingers running over it, hope burning within… "No," he said finally.
Maul hummed softly, and then turned his attention back to the hooded figure.
There was a silence, heavy, and Quinlan found himself staring at the figure in their midst with… Dread.
It was dread.
Whoever this was had already poisoned Maul, and from what Quinlan could tell from all that had been said, all that he had seen… It had been targeted. He'd wanted to do this to Maul, he'd wanted to get his attention. He'd wanted him as an Apprentice…which meant that it was likely…that this was someone who had known him. Maul's Direct Master was dead, and Quinlan did not think that this was them… But…
But someone in direct lineage. Someone who may have even trained Maul's Master.
Grand-Master.
Quinlan breathed it out.
And then the first of the Council Members made it, Mace Windu, who froze where he stood, staring at him. The others clustered soon, Healer Tiq coming in to stand next to Maul…
Maul turned to look at the Healer once, his gaze weighted…and the realization that something passed between them was a quick one.
Maul turned back, and finally, softly, "I owe you no explanation. I have no allegiance to give to a Dead Sith." His head tilted slowly, his eyes focused, "why should I give you my allegiance when you were already ruled obsolete."
"So…" the figure hummed, "I am dead then. How utterly disappointing. I would assume your Master is the one that did it?"
"I would assume," Maul raised a singular shoulder in a shrug. "Who are you?"
"My name…is Darth Plagueis."
What was with these Sith and their names? Plagueis?
"I am your Grand-Master. Your Master was my Apprentice…and I have apparently…chosen poorly."
Maul frowned slowly. "How so?"
Plagueis looked at him, his hooded figure still featureless, but there was something thoughtful, something…
"Why are you even talking to this guy?" Quinlan asked. "It's like you said, he's a Dead Sith, which means he's useless to you."
Maul held up a hand and Quinlan fell silent. It was, after all, Maul's decision.
"I was aware of you," Plagueis said. "I was aware…of the way your Master viewed you. The way he spoke of having you as an Assassin to my face, and yet to you… To you, he viewed you as an Apprentice, as much, I believe, as he could view anyone." He paused, "I had also decided…that there was no need for a Rule of Two. The Line of Bane is long, but it is also too broken. Our squabbles have destroyed more information than we retained…and I saw no reason for it to continue. I was willing to bring you in as an Apprentice…and to make up for what your Master had done."
"And what had he done?"
"Created an untempered blade," Plagueis answered.
Maul said nothing for a moment, looking at him.
Maul could choose to have this man as his Master.
Maul could choose to follow the line of the Sith further…
"Why did you do nothing?" Maul asked. "If you were aware of me…why did you let it continue?"
Quinlan could have cheered.
Plagueis paused for a moment and Quinlan thought he had stumped him. Why had he? If he was aware of what was happening to Maul, why hadn't he done anything?
"Alas," he said softly, "I wanted too much. It is a problem with Sith, I think you'll find. I was not at the point where I wanted to give up your Master. Apparently, we both paid for it and there is nothing I can say to apologize for the past…but I am offering you a different future. I know that your Master kept you from Alchemy, from certain Sith disciplines that he thought would be too…dangerous in your hands. You are a Nightbrother…there is much that you may find you have an affinity for that you were never allowed to exercise."
Quinlan had not been expecting that.
Maul apparently had not been expecting that either, falling momentarily silent, and then Healer Tiq stepped forward.
Quinlan had not spent a lot of time speaking to the Healer before everything had happened. He'd been aware of his existence, but it had been a periphery thing. Now, he kept imagining inviting the Rodian to a drink but never had. Now…he thought he just might.
"For someone talking about a future, you were rather content to poison him," Healer Tiq said easily.
Maul blinked, and that was the moment when Quinlan realized that Maul hadn't thought that was weird.
Force help this kid.
"You are right," Plagueis said simply. "I was comfortable poisoning him. If he was not able to answer the questions correctly then training him was a Danger. There is no need for more Sith in the line of Bane, and there is no point spending my time and my tutelage on someone who would once again propagate something that would destroy so many. As it is…he answered well."
"I do not mind that he poisoned me, Healer Tiq," Maul said softly. "It is the most normal things have been since Teacher Windu attempted to kill me."
"You know…" Quinlan said, unable to help himself, "that's not helping your case much, kid."
Maul raised his brows at him idly. "I was not aware I had a case." He paused. "What case?"
Plagueis tilted his head slowly, that featureless hood staring at them all. "You are contemplating allowing him train." He paused, and then looked at Maul. "Well," he said softly, "if this is not further proof that I chose poorly…"
"Have you had any contact with him?" Healer Tiq asked softly. "Is there something in his memory that I can find?"
"You are a Mind Healer," Plagueis said, looking to him, his voice bright with sudden understanding. "I see your interest."
"Yes," Healer Tiq said softly, "and for as much as we may be interested in allowing him to be trained further in the way he wants… I am not willing to allow him to train with someone that will further break him, and so I have my own question. What do you get out of this, Darth Plagueis? You are dead. Your Apprentice is also dead, and all that is left is someone you claim was meant to be an Assassin. What are you after in this?"
"Knowledge," Darth Plagueis said, his voice low, and the greed in the word… "I cannot interact with the world around me, and similarly I cannot…" Plagueis paused. "You may look through the Holocron for further traps, I have no qualms with this. But you will find that I cannot influence anything or anyone beyond it. I am…trapped at the mercy of the one that uses the Holocron. Similarly, my own knowledge is limited. I cannot offer you who I was outside of Plagueis, for instance." So, saying, he took off his hood, and there was simply nothing there. "All I am is wrapped within the Sith, and it is the Sith that I care for and wish to teach. If my Apprentice is dead…if he betrayed me and similarly his own Apprentice, if he lost… Then that leaves one."
Healer Tiq was quiet for a moment, "You have interacted with Maul before this?"
"I have," Darth Plagueis said, putting the hood back up. "I cannot unlock the memory for you, it is beyond my scope. But…if you wish to search yourself. Perhaps think about what I am offering," he said. "I recognize…that this is perhaps more than you ever expected. But I would see the Sith continue. I merely wish to aid in this and undo…the damage that was done." He paused. "Though I seem…to have been too late for some of this." He looked to Maul for a moment, thoughtful. "I never thought that the Jedi would stand alongside a Sith. I never thought that they would even consider learning more of the Art. You have changed much." He paused. "If that is all of your questions I will leave you to consider. You do not have to worry about poisoning again. The trap was sprung, and you are alive. Well done."
With that, Darth Plagueis faded away, leaving a young Sith that had been given an offer that Quinlan didn't think he'd be able to refuse.
Maul paused for a moment, looking to the Holocron, and then looking to them. "How do I find the memories?" he asked.
Healer Tiq paused for a moment and then took a step towards him. "I suppose it is time I speak to you about that technique," he said finally. "It has been a long time coming. I was not sure if you would consider it, but now, I suppose…" He paused, "but that is for later. For now, Healer Che is going to see to you, and we are going to do what was suggested."
"Which is?" Maul asked softly, lying back in bed.
"Think," Healer Tiq smiled.
"And check to see if Quinlan Vos had a heart attack," Quinlan said, holding a finger up in the air.
"And that, too," Healer Tiq grinned.
Maul could not sleep.
He lay there in a hospital bed (again) and found his mind an absolute tumult of possibilities. For the first time in his life what caught him up was possibility. Healer Che had flushed his system, the antidote that had been injected had stopped the damage, but according to her it was always best to remove all traces.
It had been a very unpleasant series of circumstances, but it had been done, and he did feel better. She'd informed him that he needed to stay away from the spice for a bit longer, but he was on the mend.
Maul did not know what to do.
She'd moved him to a private room and the holocron was right there, well within reach…well within use.
If Maul wanted he could talk to Plagueis, he could… There were so many things he could ask. So much he wanted to ask. But there was also the knowledge deep within him, that this was the Master of his own. Thoughts of Darth Vectivus drifted through his mind, a Sith that had brought his own Apprentice to power… Why could Plagueis have not done the same? Was it possible that Plagueis had wanted something different? Had thought something different?
Plagueis had spoken on Greed as something all Sith had a problem with…was Maul's own too much? If Maul did learn from him, what was he opening himself up for?
…Why was it that Maul was always proving himself to someone else? Why was it that they were able to do so much to him and Maul was never able to…
And that was the moment when Maul realized he was angry.
So many secrets… So many things that had been kept from him. Plagueis was his Grand-Master, a Grand-Master that had tried to kill him. Maul had proven his worth but why was he always proving his worth? Was Maul not enough? What more did he have to do? What more was he supposed to give?
Maul had killed for the Sith, given his body and soul and…
The knock on his door drove the thoughts from his head. He turned and waved it open, which was when Maul caught sight of Healer Tiq.
Tiq blinked at him, taking in his expression, taking in…everything. Maul did not know when he had become so easy to read. He didn't know why he wasn't more upset about it. But…it was Tiq.
In the end, Maul was looking at Healer Tiq.
The very being that he had been contemplating allowing into his head.
"Need a sounding board?" Tiq asked and Maul was momentarily surprised.
"You don't have something in particular to tell me? No…advice for what to do?" Maul asked, his voice more waspish than he meant, and was momentarily disappointed in himself. Tiq was his Mind Healer…and he'd never offered advice or even spoken to him about some of this without Maul needing it. There was no reason to snap at the Rodian at all.
To make Maul feel worse, Tiq merely hummed, coming over and sitting on the chair by his bed. "Not unless you want it," he said. "I have thoughts and I have questions, but in the end, it is not my future being decided. I will be your Mind Healer regardless of the decision to pursue being a Sith Apprentice to a dead Master."
And that rage was back, Maul looking away, desperately wanting to pace, to get mad, to…
"You do not know if you want to be an Apprentice," Tiq said softly.
"When did I become so easy to read, Healer?" Maul asked. "When did it become so painfully obvious that I don't even need to verbalize? When…" Maul fell silent, rubbing his face, tugging at a horn.
"I don't know that it is easy," Tiq said. "And I do not know that many would be able to. You certainly don't emote much."
"Outside of anger," Maul grumbled.
Tiq laughed. "I've certainly seen that. You're very good at that. But you're good at other things, too."
"If I am so good at other things then why am I always forced to prove myself?" Maul snapped. "Why are they allowed to poison me, to break my body, to…" Maul snarled. "I am tired of it, Tiq. I am tired of having to prove myself to these people that…" Maul trailed off. "The worst of it is I want it. I want what he has, I want to learn more about the Sith, I want to learn more about what I am supposed to be, to learn more about what is owed me. He has found the one thing I want more than anything and dangled it before me and I find myself…" Maul rubbed his face, once again pulling at that horn, trying to combat the negativity, the rage…
"It's something you've wanted for a long time," Tiq said. "There is nothing wrong with wanting."
Maul grimaced. "I hate…I am so tired of being in this bed, so tired of having nothing, and wanting… I am so tired of wanting! I have done so much, and it is still not enough! He apparently knew me, he knew me, he knew what was happening to me and he did nothing because…because…" Maul snarled. "I hate it," Maul hissed. "I was going to enjoy my night out of the Healing Halls. I was going to train, to do something, we had finally finished all of my rehabilitation and I was going to actually work on regaining my flexibility and now I'm right back where I started, and I am so TIRED of being here! My Master threw me out after… I have forced my way through so much and I have done so much, I have been nearly killed by a fucking Wampa and then went out and walked through a prison without flinching! Yet I'm letting myself be cooped up in this room and acting as though I need to recover, and letting myself be coddled, and… I am Maul! I am…I am…" Maul fell silent, biting the words down, fighting down the idea of…
"Worth looking after," Tiq said softly, and Maul blinked. "Worth healing. Worth being told to rest for a bit because you have nothing else to prove. You have nothing to prove here. You are able to take a moment to rest. You do not have to worry about someone trying to kill you. You do not have to worry about holding onto your rage and your hate because to let go is to die. You are right, you are one of the most violently capable beings I know. But that is not all you are, and you should not begrudge yourself healing. You also should not begrudge yourself wanting."
"So, I should beg him to take me?" Maul snarled, "I should…"
"I think you are thinking about this wrong, Maul," Tiq said softly, "do you mind if I reframe it for you?"
Maul wanted to snarl, wanted to spit, wanted to fight the world…stand before the Galaxy and proclaim he was Maul. He was Maul and it could no longer do this to him, he was worth something, he was…he was…he was…
"What?" Maul asked, "what am I not considering?"
"He should be begging you," Tiq said simply.
Maul blinked.
"Maul," Tiq said softly, "Darth Plagueis is an Echo. He is a Holocron. There is nothing left of the man as he used to be. Everything that he could be is limited to a Hologram that you choose to open. You are the one that chooses whether or not to take his offer. He wants to make you his Apprentice, have him prove he's worthy. Clearly, he fucked up with his own Apprentice, so why the hell should you give him the time of day? Make him prove himself to you. He wants to poison you and act as though you somehow need to be taught something from the being that fucked up so spectacularly? Ha!" Tiq waved a hand, "the way I see it, Maul, you are in the position of power here. He has no ownership over you. And while it is true that he may be able to give you some explanation or living perspective, you have access to everything within our Archives. You have access to everything He Never Did."
Maul blinked.
He blinked again.
"…Do you have the emotion wheel, Tiq?" Maul asked softly.
"Certainly," Tiq answered, and pulled it out of one of the pouches on his belt, holding it out. Maul took it from him, reading it quietly.
"I believe I feel…silly."
Tiq laughed. "Do not," he said, and the hand that reached out was one Maul leaned into, feeling the reptile-cool of it on his shoulder. "You are alright. It's a perfectly valid thing to get angry about. Gracious, I broke you out of here! I know how much you struggled with it, I'd be furious, too! And then to have this…Bitch. This Bitch come out of nowhere and inform you that not only were you not meant to be an Apprentice you were expendable? Ha! And then to be tested? You said that it was the most normal thing that had happened to you since Mace attempted to kill you, but Maul…is that really the normal you want to pursue?"
"No," Maul sighed, and slumped further forwards. Tiq correctly read him once again, and Maul found himself being held, and so gratified for it. "No, it is not."
"Then do not begrudge yourself your anger, or your feelings of betrayal. They are alright, they are valid, and he can kiss your ass for all you care, got it?"
Maul laughed.
"You are alright, Maul," Tiq said, "do you want to take a deep breath with me, or do you want to let it burn for a while?"
Maul took in the momentary realization that he had a choice. Tiq had always…he always had a choice.
Maul took a breath, feeling Tiq breathe in with him, holding it deep in his chest, and slowly breathed it all out.
And that was when he realized he was exhausted.
"How are you feeling, Maul?" Tiq asked softly.
"Like I…Like I want to rest."
"Then please," Tiq said, and let go of him. "Sleep and know that we can deal with this tomorrow. If you would like…we will even talk about finding the memories that he left within you. Perhaps that will help you make your choice."
"You are right," Maul said softly, and slowly worked himself under the covers, lying down in a bed he did not want to stay in…but for tonight… Tonight it would be alright. "Thank you."
"My pleasure," Tiq said. "Goodnight."
Maul fell asleep…and he did not dream.
It was good.