Maul: Legacy of Shadows

Chapter 28: Defeat

***Year 4 BBY*** Coincide with Star Wars: Rebels - Twilight of the Apprentice

As he leaped towards the ensuing battle, Maul could sense Vader had nearly arrived and his new eager apprentice was moments away from activating the temple's weapons.  The Inquisitors felt the former Sith diving onto their positions and both broke off from their attacks to defend against the torrent of strikes.  As Maul's lightsaber came crashing down on both Inquisitors, the Eighth Brother allowed his personal fears to run rampant within his body.  Retreating quickly out of the fight, the Eighth Brother knew he had allowed his colleague to face against the brutal onslaught alone.

As Maul pressed his attacks against the Fifth Brother, the two Jedi hesitantly reentered the duel, taking advantage of the opening Maul had created.  Barely dodging the crimson lightsaber slashing at his head, the Fifth Brother saw he had made a mistake by not using his lightsaber to parry the former Sith Lord's.  Desperately trying to shift his lightsaber at an angle, the Inquisitor was too slow to react to Ahsoka's disarming strike, cleaving his lightsaber out of his hand.  The Dark Side raged through the air, as the Fifth Brother looked on in a panic, but was unable to protest his inevitable fate.  With blinding speed, Maul had sealed it as the blades slashed through his midsection, extinguishing the spark of life within the Fifth Brother.

The Eighth Brother was shocked at the brutality of Maul.  In a split moment his focus on his blade work faltered, allowing the Jedi Kanan to graze the edges of the final Inquisitor's lightsaber.  Sparking within his hand, the Eighth Brother looked into the eyes of Maul, who relished in his foe's state of fear.  Knowing his lightsaber's lifts were still barely functional, the Eighth Brother activated them and tried desperately to retreat from the battle.  Maul wouldn't give him the opportunity to flee and using the Force with the precision of a surgeon, Maul dissected the lightsaber mid-flight.

Confident in his escape, the Eighth Brother looked on in confusion as the weapon tore apart in his hand, causing him to plummet towards the surface below. Screaming in terror, the Inquisitor managed to look up and see the former Sith Lord looking down at him with a smile of satisfaction across his face.  Maul's thoughts quickly turned to Eldra, the only person he had truly loved.  The death of the Eighth Brother brought him some comfort.

"Where's Ezra?" Kanan asked, snapping Maul out of his quiet contemplation.

"You mean my apprentice?" Maul whispered back to the Jedi.

Quickly flourishing his lightsaber, Maul surprised the human with a quick slash across his eyes, burning them to their cores and blinding him.

"Kanan!" Ahsoka screamed as her comrade huddled over in pain and disorientation.

Maul knew time was of the essence, he needed to finish these two off quickly, ridding the young Ezra of any other option to follow then Maul himself.  Taking his signature Form VII stance, Maul prepared to end the boy's master with one fatal strike, only for Ahsoka to quickly come to his defense and block the crimson blades.  Pushing Maul back with her blades, Maul's excitement of his plan nearing fruition swelled within him.

"My apprentice is activating the temple, or more precisely, this battle-station, which I shall use to exact my revenge on ALL MY ENEMIES!" Maul roared, the Dark Side flowing through each word he spoke.

Knowing the true depths of Maul's revenge-obsessed madness, Ahsoka quickly rushed in with both of her lightsabers swinging, hoping to defeat Maul before an even greater threat arrived.  She felt it within her, Vader had arrived.  If anyone could defeat her former master, it was her. Maul's power increased with each strike, the Dark Side taking complete control of his body's actions.  Blades clashed with neither opponent gaining the upper hand, but for every moment she was delayed, Ahsoka knew her chances of confronting Vader grew slimmer.  Breaking off from the battle, Ahsoka leaped onto a small set of stairs above Maul, looking up towards the temple's peak.

"Running away again Lady Tano?" Maul spat at her, hoping to insult the former Jedi Knight into attacking him once more.

"If you want to finish our fight, you'll have to deal with him first," she quipped back with a small smile across her face.

Maul turned to see Kanan back on his feet, wearing an ancient Jedi Temple Guard mask.  Maul was confused at this turn of events, surprised that the wounded Jedi would dare to even face him in combat.

"Go get Ezra!" Kanan yelled to Ahsoka, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"I will make this quick," Maul explained, slowly walking towards the blind Jedi Knight.

Activating his lightsaber, Kanan took the stance of Form V, and memories of Eldra crept into Maul's subconscious once again.  As he circled his opponent, the excessive use of the Dark Side began to take its toll on Maul, who began to lose focus.  Kanan, though blinded, was completely attuned to the Force to make up for his sight.  He could feel Maul's resolve wavering slightly.  Maul couldn't see the Jedi in front of him anymore.  In his eyes it was Eldra standing before him, ready to spar as they had before.

Suddenly Maul pounced, his attacks no longer showing the bloodlust they had against the Inquisitors.  Kanan was unsure what to make of this discovery, and as he parried each attack, Maul seemed to get weaker in the Force.  An opening finally presented itself, as Maul attempted a half-hearted punch towards Kanan's face, only for the Jedi to grasp him by the arm.  Maul's senses finally came back to him, the image of Eldra disappearing and in its place was his opponent.  There was no time to react or dwell on the toll the Dark Side had taken on his senses, as Maul tried to disengage from his opponent, only to be tossed towards the edge of the pyramid.  Falling backwards and unable to stop his prosthetic legs from tumbling, one of the countless petrified bodies interfered with its very presence.

As he fell over the edge, Maul sensed that his apprentice had activated the temple, bringing a small sense of joy to the former Sith Lord as he awaited his death.

****

Ezra's eyes locked firmly onto the obelisks at the center of the pyramid's peak.  Screams and wailing filled the air, as countless souls seemed to beg for release.  As he approached cautiously, a sense of doubt began to overcome him, but he quickly pushed it out of his head.  Reaching into his pocket to pull out the Sith holocron, he could feel it begging to reunite with the temple.  Releasing his grip on the ancient device, it ascended into position, power raging from it as the crystal inside erupted with chaotic energies.

"Who comes forth?" a sinister female voice asked.

"Ezra.  Ezra Bridger.  I was told this holocron was the key to knowledge," the young Jedi replied back, not sure who or what he was even speaking to.

"Indeed Ezra Bridger. And do you know what knowledge is?" she asked of the naïve boy.

"Tell me," Ezra requested, confused by what was transpiring.

"Knowledge is power!" the holocron screamed in a raspy voice.

As the final word was spoken, a bright light flashed, consuming the young boy in its glow and radiating throughout the cavernous world of Malachor.  Energy erupted forth from the peak, punching a hole through the false surface and into the atmosphere surrounding the planet.

"I have been waiting," the ethereal voice said, as power began to flow throughout the temple.

"What's happening?" Ezra cried out.

"The power to destroy life, is at your command," the voice explained.

"What?  No, that's not what I wanted!" Ezra shot back, panic in his voice.

"Then perhaps the one who approaches, will claim it instead," the holocron said ominously.

"Maul," Ezra whispered as he ran back towards the stairwell leading down to his friends.

As he ran towards the edge, a cold chill within the Force tore into his body.  Looking up, Ezra saw a lone TIE Fighter approaching with a dark figure standing on it, lightsaber in hand.  The labored breathing echoed through the planet.  Vader had come.