Training - Part 2

It wasn't until a few weeks later until she was summoned. She heard her communicator beeping and she assumed it was Savage or Feral, she was still in sleepwear. To her shock, he stood there. Looking back at her, a brow raised in mild amusement as she stood there with a stunned expression.

"...I…" she managed, though her voice was more of a squeak.

"Meet me at the usual roof in one hour. Do not make me wait." He instructed. After a moment of silence she nodded, steeling her expression.

"Yes, my Lord." She affirmed. She heard silence, but when she looked up, the hologram was gone. She cursed under her breath. She was in a top and underwear for Goddess' sake! This was not the image she wanted to portray of herself! She stared at him like a child caught by their parent! Fool!

No, there wasn't time for this. She had to dress, and meet him out there. She dressed in her training clothes, donning the hooded jacket and tucking her weapons to her belt. She was eager to prove to him she was worth having around. She would show him the skills she had accumulated, that she was powerful! That she could get him out of here!


When she arrived at the location, she decided to pretend that the earlier call hadn't happened, though how he got the frequency of her comm, she didn't know. Perhaps he had scanned it when she wasn't paying attention. Luckily she arrived before he did, and his presence had her head snap up toward him, He said nothing, and she knew to follow. She jumped up to the ledge, but he was already walking away swiftly. The girl darted after him, was it some kind of test? She would not fail! She dropped low to keep balance, and followed him, anticipating his direction and taking leaps and shortcuts to keep pace. Though she was still a step behind. She had used to beat him in all their foot races back home. How was he suddenly so fast!? Still, she couldn't help but grin, despite the need to keep up and the anxiety of being left behind, there was something… fun about the moment. A little nostalgic.

After a while he led her to a warehouse, somewhere in the industrial area, very quiet and without much in the way of traffic. It made sense, he was clearly in hiding, and he had admitted he had been waiting. The sith as she had learned were a bedtime story or a monster in the closets of children. Foolish. Knowing that, meant he was forced to stay hidden. To wait. It seemed his lack of patience had not been tempered in the past few years. She was glad that some of him was still the same at least.

When they finally stopped both of them were a little breathless, and as he turned to look at her, she let out a little laugh.

"It's been a while since I've had a good run." She grinned. He scoffed lightly.

"You call that running?" He asked sardonically.

"I used to beat you in a race… you must have trained so hard!" She beamed… but her expression faltered as she caught a glimpse of his face. She had seen the brief flash of pain that had crossed his features. It hit her hard to think that he had grown so powerful out of a desperate need to survive. What had Sidious done?!

"You will not be laughing when you face the creatures." Was the only response. Zaiya couldn't bring herself to make light of the situation and merely nodded. With a swift movement he led her to a sleek looking ship, beautiful and high-tech. She may have stared a little too long, but at the sound of a deliberate tap of his foot, the Nightsister followed the sith up the ramp.

On board, her companion moved to the cockpit and she of course followed.

"May I?" She asked, gesturing to the console and pilot's seat.

"No." He replied with a decided twitch of his brow, sliding into the seat himself. Zaiya dropped into the seat beside him, and reached up to push off her hood, as well as releasing the magic that made her look human. Her tattoos and Nightsister origin was more obvious. She caught his hood turned towards her out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at him slowly.

"What?" She asked, confused, and he just looked away again.

"Nothing." The zabrak snapped, looking away again. There was something in the air, some tension that she could sense, but she did not know where it had come from.

"What is it, master?" She asked gently. He stilled, being called a master must be new to him. Did he not like it?

He spoke after a long silence. "Your hair suits the braid better than…" he left the rest unsaid, fading away as though he had not meant to speak. Better than..? She paused, had he meant to say it looked better than when she had it tied up in little buns as a child. Did he remember?!

"You didn't like it tied up… I remember." She muttered, lost in a memory. "You liked it when I left it out, right…?" He didn't respond, just turned back to the controls and manuvred them out of there, and beyond the eternal city. Still, the little comment warmed her hearts. There was hope.

There was little conversation as they travelled, and Zaiya felt on edge. It was frustrating, he was here, he was right here! Yet he seemed further away than ever. Why could he not remember her?! Her eyes scanned the space beyond, her curled fist in front of her mouth.

"You need to control your thoughts." The warrior beside her muttered, finally. Zaiya looked up in surprise.

"My thoughts…?" She blurted. With a sigh, he swiveled to face her.

"I am strong with the Dark Side, you however have weak training and cannot even conceal your emotions. I can feel your anger from here." He explained, though he did not sound too revolted at least. Zaiya saw the opportunity and took it.

"Will you teach me?" She asked suddenly, "I could be your apprentice-"

"Only two there are. A master, and an apprentice." He stated simply. "My master's Plagueis and Sidious have me as their apprentice and assassin, taking on an apprentice of my own would be forbidden."

"But there are two masters." Zaiya frowned, "is that rule not already broken?"

"Not for long," he replied.

"So you are a secret apprentice? Then do the same here, take me as a secret apprentice and we can destroy Sidious!"

"You know nothing of his power or of the power of the dark side." He scoffed dismissively. That was it. She stood and the flash of green covered her, her body changing into that of a cloaked man, hooded and far too familiar.

"I know more than you suspect." She hissed in a croaky voice. She spotted a flash of fear across his eyes and immediately regretted her choice, returning to her own skin. The Zabrak reacted viciously, raising a hand and before she could react, her body flew across the cockpit and was pinned to the wall by some unseen force. He closed in on her, the energy murderous. There was a sound and she felt the heat against her neck, the glow of red across her face as he held his ignited weapon near her face.

"What do you know of my master?!" He hissed, in a rage. She looked past the blade in shock and fear, and met those yellow eyes. Her expression softened and she had to remind herself why she was here. It was for him.

"I saw him once, a long time ago." She responded, her voice shaking slightly, she took a breath and calmed herself. "It was the worst day of my life." She admitted.

His eyes narrowed, looking at her with unconcealed contempt. "If it was the worst day then you must have seen the power he wields."

"It was my worst day when he stole you from me!" She snapped, her eyes full of pain and rage. She wanted to kill Sidious. Strangle him with her bare hands if she could… she wanted to destroy everything he cared about. The zabrak's expression seemed to relax, he even appeared surprised at the statement. The saber retracted and he stepped back, Zaiya dropping down, managing to land on her feet. She looked up at him, the sea of her eyes showing the depths of her anger and agony.

"Perhaps you do know something of the dark side…" he mused. After a moment of thought, he returned his gaze to her. "But you still need training. In your state you are wild and weak… potential is not enough." He spoke with an air of authority and Zaiya responded at once. She dropped to one knee and bowed her head.

"I am yours to command, my master. My loyalty lies with you and you alone." She swore to him, and hoped he knew how truthful she was.


He did know. He could see it. Not only that, but he had seen the rage in her eyes, rage that mirrored his own. He couldn't deny he had been struck by her words. Not only was her worst day the day she lost him, but his master… stole him? It made sense from what she had said of his family… but… his master had told him he and the other males were enslaved by the females. That he was destined to be killed because he was different. This Nightsister however… on her knees before him, almost pleading to be his subordinate. It was a heady mix of power and revelation that he felt.

This girl could show him the truth beyond the lies his master had told him. The Sith lie, he knew this… and yet the betrayal he felt was infuriating. His master had raised him since he was a child, the closest thing to a father that he had… and yet… this girl was more family than the old man.

He had a lot to think about, and at the same time, he knew that of all the choices, if he was to defy his master, there would be no better choice of an apprentice than her. She needed to be trained, but there was indeed potential. Not to mention, if she was already so loyal… then he need not worry about her betrayal.

He could not let his master know of this. His master had secrets, and so did he. Perhaps he would be able to do as she suggested… kill the old man. She hated Sidious as much as he feared him. He hated that he had to fear the man, that he had such a tight leash around his neck. This girl… she had no idea of the freedom she held… She could go as she wished, and was able to leave, she didn't have to hide in the shadows as he did. Yet she was on one knee before him, offering her freedom to him willingly. Knowing the dangers, having seen his master. She wanted to give it up, walk away from freedom… for him? Was she an idiot or did she recognise his power far better than his own master did? Did she truly know the power and strength his master possessed? How much was being kept from him?

He turned away, looking to the main window again. He felt the anger bubbling within him again and clenched a fist. So many secrets, nothing was simple. His master had taught him to give in to his passions and unease… and yet he had to wait, to be patient… this was not the way of the Sith! Anger burned his chest, he wanted answers, yet each one he got just led to more questions. He returned to his seat, the ship now out of autopilot as he rose beyond the atmosphere and into free space, soon he would be able to jump to hyperspace and begin the lesson proper.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" She asked, though it seemed to be half spoken to herself. "The stars…" He glanced over his shoulder and looked at her with one yellow eye. She leaned forward in her seat, her forearms resting on the console, and… a look of awe on her face. Again it struck a chord of familiarity in him, as though he had seen it before. The way she looked out at the vastness of space, lips parted, curved in a slight smile, her blue bejeweled eyes so bright with the stars reflected in them.

"They're just stars." He snorted, and the look dropped on her face so fast it almost hurt. She turned to look at him with that expression of sadness and pity he was growing to hate. "Don't look at me like that." He snapped, turning away again.

"Forgive me, my liege. I… was just surprised. It was you that showed me how beautiful they were to begin with." She explained in a small voice. His brow furrowed. He did? Since when had he cared for- for-

"Starlight…?" The word whispered from his lips unbidden as though it were unconscious.

"I always thought starlight was the most beautiful thing I had seen after that." She admitted and for the first time he could remember, his yellow eyes looked up. He looked at the stars.

"They are suns for other systems." He stated flatly.

"Exactly!" She stood up suddenly, a step closer to his chair, leaning forward, gesturing with one hand, the other leaning beside his hand on the console. His eyes flicked up to her, but she was looking ahead. "Each star is a new world, several worlds even and endless places beyond what we know. There's so much we don't know about it, so vast that one could get lost in it… and just be… free." She let out a sigh, finally looking down, though not at him. "It sounds childish-"

"Yes it does." He replied flatly. But his gaze lingered on her, there was so much passion in her when she spoke about it. Had he really… done that? Inspired her so strongly? It… was interesting. He looked back out to the stars. Starlight… was it so beautiful?

"Forgive me master, I got carried away in nostalgia." She shifted back, taking her seat again.

"Forgiveness is not the way of the Sith…" He muttered, his hand still on the console curled into a fist.

"Are you alright…?" She asked, there was… a warmth to her voice he has not heard in… so long. No one spoke to him this way. No one cared. It was success or failure. The look in those endless eyes was compassionate. It was not the Sith way.

"Do not concern yourself." He hissed. "If you are to be my apprentice, you must learn that there are ways of the sith to be adhered to. We have a code." He turned back to face his new apprentice.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

The Force shall free me." He recited, looking down at her. The nightsister listened intently, clearly eager to learn what he had learned. He looked back at the console, finishing up setting the coordinates. He looked over his shoulder, about to command her to activate the piloting droid docked against the wall, when he heard the whirring of it's activation. It seems she had pre-empted his command. Interesting.

Once they were in hyperspace, he instructed the droid to alert them when they reached their destination. They had some hours, so it seemed that they had plenty of time in which to train.


-+ Notes +-


Ohhhhhhh my god. OKAY SO! I have been writing almost non-stop and I am so thrilled! I have chapters backed up for weeks. This has been exciting!

Now, I know it's been a while since we had some solid Maul POV and content, I assure you that picks up from here on! There is going to be more Maul in this story and I want to capture his thoughts going forward. So I will do just that! I hope I am able to keep writing at the same pace I have been, because that means extra chapters for you!

I got some A-MA-ZING comments in the last week and nothing gives my little gremlin heart joy quite like waking up to comments! So Thank you thank you thank you! I love you all so much and for those who are enjoying this story, I am just so pleased. For so long I didn't think my writing was any good, but to see the likes and comments is just empowering.

Maul: Yes, yes, very touching. But this is about ME.

... yes we know, you're great.

Maul: *preens*

Thanks everybody!

EDIT: Added some more maul