RoMythe: Thanks, it's tricky describing that kind of thing when you have no fighting experience! So I'm glad that worked. As for the name, I was thinking Ryn could be the name his friends call him, while Jard is his more formal name. Thanks for sticking with it, I hope you enjoy what's coming up next!
The blow did not find its mark. A green blade that Maul vaguely remembered encountering before intercepted the Sith and he looked up into the face of Kenobi, straining to keep the blade away from Anakin with the blades of Qui-Gon and Ventress.
Obi-Wan had seen Maul towering above Anakin from the shuttle entrance behind Ventress and the scene in the Naboo reactor room seemed to be playing out in front of him. Ventress had descended from the shuttle entrance and he leapt over her to exit the craft as he raced to save the boy from Maul's blow. The clash of the blades had shuddered through his already drained body, but there was no way Maul would take this life, even if it meant the end of his own. Ventress screamed behind him and he spun around, the green blade held against Maul's, the red one he had failed to relinquish to Ventress raised just above his waist in defense against the unarmed Sith. Maul picked Ventress up in a force choke before she reached her taken blade and he held her there for a moment, examining her.
"Failure," he said with barely a whisper and she looked on in horror as he tightened the grip. Kenobi turned back to Maul and brought the red blade round to take off his head, but Maul pulled Ventress into Kenobi, knocking him off his feet, the blades deactivating as they slipped from his hands. Maul brought the hilt of the green one to his grasp and Kenobi scrambled to grab the hilt of the red one and flipped it on as he rolled her unconscious body off him. He got up, ready to defend himself.
Preferring the balance of the green blade to his shattered double blade, Maul casually tossed the broken one away and lit Qui-Gon's saber, to Kenobi's horror.
"Give that to me," he demanded and launched himself at Maul, the fury and fear crashing over him, Maul's destruction his only goal.
Maul could sense his prize was tiring and his desperation was making him sloppy. A frustrating series of blows from Kenobi missed their target and he openly cried out those frustrations in increasingly aggressive grunts. Maul knew he merely had to bide his time. How ironic, Maul's patience would be the Jedi's undoing.
Just as in the reactor room, the Jedi's failure to end the confrontation quickly was driving him to take foolish risks, and Maul's blade found purchase in an exposed left arm. The sting of the blow had Kenobi stagger back, but his determination seemed to increase and Maul found himself pushed back, unexpectedly, by a series of spinning moves from Kenobi's glowing red blade. But Maul saw a new opening, he anticipated Kenobi's final strike and rolled under and behind the man with a force speed that left Kenobi's back exposed and Maul sliced across this new target.
The pain exploded through Kenobi's system and his scream of shock and horror echoed around the hangar. He fell to his knees and then forward into his face, coughing at the dust the move churned up and from the agony the blade had burned into him.
"Here we are again," said Maul calmly, although his breathing was fast and uncontrolled, "only this time it's your own master's blade that deals the strike to bring you down. You couldn't even hold onto this," he playfully tossed the hilt gently into the air several times, spinning it around in his hands, "you have so much to learn, my apprentice."
"Not….apprentice…Never!" hissed Kenobi, amazed anything in his body could move. The pain was paralyzing, but he did seem to be able to get small gasps of air into his lungs if he was very careful.
"Are you sure about that?" Maul came and knelt beside his head and Kenobi flinched to get away, but made it only a fraction of an inch before the white spike of pain from his back stilled his movements once again. Maul brushed the sweat soaked hair out of Kenobi's eye to see the iris swirling a deep purple, almost as purple as Ventress'. What a disappointment she had been. She had completely underestimated Kenobi's connection to Amidala, just how strong it was and she had let that glorious moment of Kenobi's awakening slip past her. This man at his feet would make a formidable replacement with the proper training and motivation.
"Yoda and Mace are almost here, mere moments away. And how will they feel when they learn of your actions here today? Do you think the great Obi-Wan Kenobi will be welcomed back into the fold? Or that the house of Naberrie will allow you to set foot on Naboo again? I am your only hope, Obi-Wan." Maul's last words were almost lilting with affection, Kenobi thought, but that was probably his mind descending into oblivion, playing tricks on him.
He whimpered at his current condition. He couldn't help himself because he knew Maul was right. The Jedi would cast him in a cell for sure, his anger always had been a problem and now it had so easily come to consume him, they would never believe he could reject it as he had been able to do in the shuttle. As for the Naboo, he had brought Amidala into such danger, he could never face those people again. He truly was alone and Maul offered a way out.
But that was the last thing he wanted. Better to die here, better to join Qui-Gon in the force, that had to be the only answer to this. But he couldn't abandon Boba, he had promised Jango. He couldn't leave Padme in the shuttle alone. They needed him and his very person could be the bargaining chip.
"For Padme….for Boba….live" it was almost impossible to speak now, but he had to hold on, just a few moments longer. He had to save them.
Maul sighed heavily. Kenobi really was so predictable, he would have to curb that if they were going to defeat Sidious.
"If you come willingly, then they live. I will leave them to your masters." Kenobi barely gave a nod in understanding.
"Good," said Maul and he placed his hand on Kenobi's forehead, "now, accept my power. I'm not carrying you anywhere."
Kenobi felt consumed by a heat that enveloped his limbs, deadening them to the pain of the wound to his back only to create a new, deeper driving ache that penetrated his bones. He gulped down several catches of air at the realization he could breathe deeply again, only it burned his lungs and he coughed violently.
"Get up!" said Maul and he hauled Kenobi up off the floor. The flames of Maul's energy seemed to haze over Kenobi's vision as though everything was smoldering slightly. Maul led the way, his torso ablaze through Kenobi's eyes and very easy to follow.
As they approached Maul's ship, the sith stumbled and grabbed the side wall. He was expending more of his energy to sustain Kenobi than he had thought. Something inside Kenobi seemed to be soaking it up and releasing it back out of his system. He looked back to the man who was hunched over, his body reaching its exhaustion point.
"How can this be?" hissed Maul and he released his hold to shut off the connection before he was bled dry. As soon as the connection was broken, Kenobi collapsed to the floor unable to sustain his own weight. Maul could see that dark energy continue to sweep through him and be released out, effectively cleansing the former Jedi's system of the dark power.
"Not possible!" hissed Maul and he moved to grab Kenobi to drag him onto the ship when he felt the powerful presence of Yoda and Windu finally arrive on the scene and they were heading down the path to him. Self preservation kicked in as there was no way he could take on 2 Jedi Masters of their caliber in his current condition, so he pulled himself onto his ship, once again cursing Kenobi for cheating him once again.