Chapter Thirteen:

Clash of The Dark Side

He rose to his feet, and his arm rotated upward, a glove-clad hand stretching out, and the ever-unseen energy field resonated it's way out of Maul's palm, his mind calling to the ancient Mandalorian blade that rested on the nearby table.

His old lightsaber had been lost during the battle on Mandalore, never even recovered, and thus, the Darksaber was his only weapon aside from the Force.

The inactive weapon flew into his hand, and Maul turned to leave the room. He strolled through the open doorway, into the open air of the abandoned Nightsister shrine itself as the Dark Side resonated in Maul's being once again, reminding him of the Imperial enemy who had traced his presence in the Force to Dathomir.

Maul stared into the shadows, his finger wavering over the activation button of the Darksaber, and his orange-red eyes narrowed. Even from meters away, he could sense the dark power of the Imperial enforcer.

A soft growl emanated from his vocal cords, and he moved forward, hearing the sound of footsteps. Maul slowed his movements, watching as his hunter appeared, followed by his specialized stormtrooper unit with their blasters trained. Their leader was armed, carrying a special-looking lightsaber with an open ring that surrounded the hilt.

'Perhaps that can be my new weapon...' Maul thought.

"I could sense you, even from a reasonable distance..." The Inquisitor sneered as he lay his eyes upon the former Sith, "...despite your lack of connection to the Jedi Order. I am the Eleventh Brother, a 'pleasure' to meet the legendary Darth Maul."

"Welcome to Dathomir, the planet that shall be your grave." Maul hissed, "And it's just Maul now. I can see that Palpatine didn't tell you much about me, especially as I was his apprentice once."

"You are foolish to patronize an Inquisitor." The Eleventh Brother sneered, "The Emperor will be amused when I bring you in. Perhaps your head can be mounted on the wall in Lord Vader's Castle on Mustafar. Drop your weapon, and surrender, or I can use any means necessary to subdue you. I've killed many Jedi, and you don't know what else I can do..."

Maul smirked, and ignited the Darksaber. "Coming to my home, and expecting me to comply with the Galactic Empire is motivated by delusion..." He retorted coldly, "You seethe with so much power, and you deceive yourself into believing you'll make your target answer to you, Sith Inquisitor."

The Eleventh Brother stared blankly at Maul for a second, then he gave the signal to his troops to begin attacking, and chaos erupted in the former Nightsister shrine as Purge Troopers fired on Maul with their blasters trained on him from every angle.

Well prepared, the former Sith swung the black blade, and deflected blaster shot after blaster shot back at the enemy. The first two Purge Troopers fell in a heap, and Maul leaped towards his foes, with the Darksaber in motion. The dark lightsaber blade cut through the neck of a trooper, and the head fell to the ground along with the body.

He raised his arm, summoning his strength in the force, and began to strangle a couple more Purge Troopers, then Maul forced them into a wall before incapacitating the troopers.

Maul locked eyes with the Eleventh Brother, and raised the Darksaber in a mock salute. The Inquisitor removed his cloak, and raised his weapon in a horizontal manner. A red blade emerged from the left side with a hiss, then another red blade emerged from the right, and the lightsaber began spinning like a whirl-blade.

The Imperial agent's mouth curled into a sneer, and he arched back. Maul made the first move, and launched himself towards the Eleventh Brother with an intimidating howl. The Darksaber's black blade swept through the air, directed towards it's wielder's enemy, and was met by the first of the two red blades.

Energy crackled, and blades locked. Maul snarled, calling on the Dark Side to strengthen him, and the Eleventh Brother stared back with a hiss, baring his teeth in an aggressive fashion.

It was time for Inquisitor and former Sith to put their training to the test.

A vortex of darkness grew within the Nightsisters' former domain, and black clashed against red. The highly-trained Inquisitor leaped over Maul's head, and slashed at the Zabrak with the aim to take his head, but the Crimson Dawn commander intercepted the incoming strike and pushed back.

Within the former home of Maul's mother, savagery precluded humanity and chivalry on Dathomir.

The highly-trained Zabrak cyborg, fueled by his rage and years of hatred towards Obi-Wan and Palpatine, attacked the Eleventh Brother with the rage of a thousand Rancors as black and red flashes illuminated the forgotten shrine of ancient magic.

"You have no hope of escaping, Sith traitor." The Eleventh Brother purred, "My troops have the area secured, and are ready at my command."

"I can sense your arrogance consuming you..." Maul hissed, "...just as it consumes the man known across the galaxy as Emperor Palpatine, and his dog, your mentor you know as Darth Vader, whose true name is Anakin Skywalker."

"Anakin Skywalker?!" The Inquisitor crooned, "He fell during Order 66, just like all the other Jedi at the temple. And you can't possibly know who the great Darth Vader is behind that iron mask."

"The Dark Side clouds your senses, Inquisitor."

"The Dark Side of The Force is the fuel of your insanity!" The Eleventh Brother cried, "The power has broken your mind! I will end your madness, and you will find peace in your destruction!"

Maul's enemy took flight, and more Purge Troopers began flooding the shrine. Maul raised his weapon once more, and blaster bolts streaked around the Zabrak. The phantom apprentice deflected the incoming rounds of lasers left and right, and cut through the Inquisitor's troops.

He ripped off a trooper's helmet with the Force, revealing the face of a Clone.

'So, Palpatine still uses them in his Empire's service, in the hunt for Jedi.'

Maul grinned, and locked eyes with the Purge Trooper as he raised a hand, "Execute Order 66!"

The Purge Trooper turned to face the Eleventh Brother with his blaster raised. Maul's tactic had an effect on some of the other Purge Troopers, who were Clones too, and the Inquisitor shrieked with rage as half of his men began firing on him.

The rest of the Purge Troopers shifted their focus from Maul, determined to assist their commander against the turncoats.

"TRAITORS! TRAITORS!" The Eleventh Brother roared, "I'M NOT A JEDI! I'M NOT A JEDI! I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE INHIBITOR CHIPS IN YOUR HEADS THAT COMPELL YOU TO ATTACK ANYONE WITH A LIGHTSABER! CEASE FIRING AT ONCE! SHOOT AT THE ZABRAK! I COMMAND YOU TO CEASE FI... ARGH!"

A blaster bolt passed through the Inquisitor's defenses, hitting him in the shoulders, and another instantly struck the Imperial agent in the back. And yet, Maul knew from experience, that pain could fuel one's rage and strength in the Dark Side.

Moments later, as the rogue Purge Trooper clones began to bear down on the Eleventh Brother, the Dark Side Adept let out a roar of rage and a shockwave rippled through the shrine, knocking the clones over before the Eleventh Brother proceeded to cut them down with the swiftest of lightsaber strokes.

Seeing that his foe's defenses were open, Maul ran in, kicked the Inquisitor in the leg, and slashed upward with the Darksaber. The black blade burned into the enemy's face, taking out one of his eyes in the process, and the Zabrak slashed at his opponent's arm.

In a millisecond, a gloved hand holding a lightsaber dropped. The Eleventh Brother shouted in pain, and Maul grinned with satisfaction. The end of the battle was near, even as the Zabrak sensed more Purge Troopers coming. He levitated the disarmed Inquisitor with the Force, and then...

The dark blade pierced through the enemy's chest, cutting into the Inquisitor's heart. Maul remembered a similar moment from Naboo, when he cut down Qui-Gon Jinn as Kenobi watched. He recalled when his brother, Savage Oppress, was cut down like that by Darth Sidious on Mandalore.

Within this moment, Maul could see the look on his master's face when he learned that his old apprentice had taken out one of his own agents.

And the Eleventh Brother's lightsaber was about to belong to Maul.

Glaring coldly at his beaten foe, the Zabrak retracted his weapon, and the Eleventh Brother collapsed to the ground, with the wound smoking intensely. The Inquisitor's eyes closed, and the defeated agent toppled over on his side in defeat. Maul picked up the fallen lightsaber, then he turned his focus to the rest of his enemy's troops...