"Ahsoka Tano, is it?" the Sith Lord asks, his gaze fixed on me where I stand unmoving in the center of the room. "But I can't say yours is a name familiar to me."
"Well, I know you," I retort, eyes narrowed as he steps down and walks towards us.
He pauses a distance away, his eyes flickering to Anakin. "And Anakin Skywalker."
"It was stupid of you to bring us here," Anakin snaps, eyes narrowed. "I haven't forgotten what you've done."
"This is indeed a surprise," Maul remarks, "But not an unwelcome one."
I blink. "You wanted us to come?" Why? What is he planning? Why does he have such a focus on Anakin? I don't like this. Not one bit.
"I was certain Kenobi would have come himself," Maul replies, continuing his pacing.
I turn to face him, crossing my hand as I do, and discreetly pushing a button on my comm to contact Rex. They need to get here. I'm not foolish enough to think I can fight both Maul and the warriors at once, and the fight is only a matter of time.
"Master Kenobi was otherwise occupied," I retort. In finding Sidious. And protecting Padme.
Maul faces his back to us for a moment, then turns around, yellows eyes glowing almost predatorily in the darkness. "Why you? Why did Kenobi send you?"
"Why don't you surrender and then we can both go and ask him?" I offer.
"My surrendering. Well, that would be pointless," chuckles the Sith, "For if I am correct, the Jedi and the Republic will no longer be the controlling interests in the galaxy. They will fall, and something new shalt take their place." He knows what's going to happen, not like it's a surprise. I'm sure Sidious told him some about his plans for the future.
Luckily, Anakin knows I contacted Rex. That's probably the only thing keeping him from jumping the Sith right then and there. The anger prickling through our bond is the strongest I've ever felt it since we fought Sidious. "And just who do you think that'll be?" he demands sharply, "You?" I can tell it's taking every last bit of my brother's self-will not to try killing him. It seems he may have learned a bit from the entire hassle on the Invisible Hand. Or maybe it's just everything I've taught him about being a Gray Jedi I've learned over the past half year.
"No," comes the reply. "Darth Sidious." I draw in a breath at the mention of the name. Not if I can help it.
"You're wrong!" Anakin snaps.
All at once, blaster shots ring out behind us, and we whirl around to see the clones shooting down the Mandalorian warriors in the doorway.
Maul snarls, igniting his lightsaber and swinging for Anakin. In a flash of blue and green, the end of his lightsaber meets three others. We shove him back with ease, striking out towards him a few more times. "Not yet!" he hisses, Force-shoving us back. Before I can move forwards again, the Force tightens around my neck, lifting me into the air. Anakin releases a cry of rage, lunging forwards, only for Maul to throw me at him. We're thrown across the room into the wall, landing on the floor next to each other.
"Come on!" Anakin shouts, scrambling to his feet and running for the doorway. Maul and the remaining warriors have already disappeared through it into the darkness. I dash after, the clones following. At least right now, I can hear them running further down the tunnel, but the distance between us is still increasing. No, they cannot get away. I use the Force to increase my speed as we go.
Anakin suddenly slams to a halt so fast I skid right into him, but he somehow manages to keep his balance. "Split up," he orders, taking the right. I take off down the left, the group of clones splitting equally between us. Rex takes off after Anakin, Fives after me.
I round another corner, seeing a second break. This tunnel goes all over the place, and there's no way we can split up anymore. Pausing for a moment to listen, I make out the sound of rapid footsteps on the left. Spinning around, I take off that way down the hall, igniting my lightsabers as I run.
I skid around another turn, slamming to a stop upon seeing Anakin and the clones. "We've lost them," I observe pointlessly.
***
The battle is over temporarily. Neither side has won, but it seems we're gaining ground on Maul. Both sides have retained captives, and now it's time for me to go question ours. Almec. I'm surprised we managed to get him. Anakin decided to let me go alone.
"I'm flattered that you could find the time to come," Alemec says with a smirk as we enter his cell.
"What's Maul's plan?" demands Bo Katan, stepping closer, "How is he going to escape?"
Alemc rises to his feet. "Maul is not trying to escape because he sees no purpose in doing so."
"So, he believes he can defeat us?" she demands as he walks over to the wall.
"No, that's not it. For weeks now, he has been consumed by a strange sense of dread." He glances over his shoulder at us.
"Has he mentioned Sidious?" I demand suspiciously.
He turns completely around this time. "Not that I can recall."
"He said he wanted Kenobi here. Why?" presses Bo Katan.
"Is it just Kenobi he wanted? No, there was someone else he was interested in."
"Who?" she pushes.
"It's... I don't remember the name," he shrugs. He's lying. You don't even have to be a trained Force sensitive to tell.
"We'll help him remember," I say, motioning for Bo-Katan. She moves forwards towards him menacingly.
"No, wait!" he protests backing against the wall, "It –" Suddenly, two shots ring out from behind us. I whirl around to see a Mandalorian warrior shooting down at us. Whatever it was he was going to say, clearly Maul didn't want anyone to know. The warrior instantly takes off as Bo-Katan races out of the cell. She pulls on her helmet to give pursuit.
Almec collapses on the floor as I dart over to him. "Rex, get a medic!" I command, crouching beside the dying man.
"He had a vision... a dream."
"What name?" I demand.
"Skywalker," he gasps out before collapsing. I feel the life force fade from the body.
What does Maul want with Anakin? I can only think of one thing. Perhaps he knows of Sidious' intention to turn him, and wants to kill him before that happens, or something. Maybe he's more concerned with something beyond his own gain than I realized. But then again, from what I understand, Maul and Sidious aren't exactly on good terms, and if he thought something was going to interfere with his crime world here on Mandalore... Well, that explains it.
***
Bo Katan, Rex, Anakin, and I stride into the palace of Mandalore, pausing in our tracks when we see Maul seated on the throne, leaning casually on one of its armrests. Jesse is sitting beside him on the steps up to the throne, his wrists in stun-cuffs.
Bo Katan glares at Maul, yanking out her blaster. She changes forwards, shooting. He calmly deflects the bolts into the nearby walls before picking her up with the Force. "My lady, is that any way to treat your rightful ruler?"
The three of us pause in our tracks as she glares murderously at him, not responding. We don't need to give him a reason to hurt her or something. He finally drops her on the floor again and Rex and I run to her side, helping her back to her feet.
Anakin moves forwards, standing defensively in front of us.
"As a show of good faith, I will release your comrade," Maul announces, waving a hand. The stuncuffs come off Jesse's wrists and he stands up, slowly making his way over to us. "Now go back to your brothers." I narrow my eyes as I regard Maul. Something about him feels off. It didn't feel like this the last time I met him. Whatever he's up to right now, he has some serious darker ulterior motives, but the question is what?
"Jesse, are you alright?" Rex asks worriedly.
"I'm sorry, General. I told them everything," he murmurs.
"It's okay," Anakin assures him. "Rex, get him out of here." The brothers make their way past me out of the room. My gaze follows them until they reach the door before I turn back to face the Sith Lord. I can only hope they get to safety before the battle soon to come breaks out again.
Just then, explosions ring out outside the palace. Turning to look through the glass windows covering the walls, I can see the flames in the distance from the nearby explosions.
"One of you might want to deal with that," Maul comments casually, waving a hand at the window. I'm beginning to think he's intentionally trying to get everyone out of here but Anakin and me. I'm not exactly liking the looks of this. Not that Maul could ever kill Anakin, not with the kind of fighting he showed earlier, but I still don't appreciate the thought of him causing all this chaos in the hopes of killing my brother.
"Go," I tell Bo Katan as the explosions increase intensity, lighting up the room. She pauses glancing back at Maul for a moment as he rises to his feet before she turns and heads out of the room.
"Don't stay on my account. We'll be fine," Maul remarks, before he begins pacing back and forth in front of the throne. I remain on high alert in case he tries anything. I don't at all like the darkness and danger I'm sensing in the Force for the near future right now.
"Something's off with him." Anakin's voice suddenly filters through our bond.
"I know. He's different, darker."
Maul slowly walks towards us, staring at us calculatingly. Whatever he's up to – Maul suddenly ignites his lightsaber, red blades hissing out of both ends as he lunges.
Our lightsabers ignite, raising to parry his blow. I spin a step back, hitting his with one, then the other. Maul spins his lightsaber, attacking us relentlessly, though through all the skill and time we've had together, we're far superior. All four blades lock together, one of mine on either side of Maul's and Anakin's interlocked with all the other three. We pause for a moment, them to come uncrossed when Maul pulls back, slashing towards us again.
I jerk back for a moment before unleashing my own series of attacks. In seconds, Maul is on the defensive, rapidly spinning his lightsaber to block any of our slashes from coming even close to him. He's already losing, and the fight has barely been started. That only serves to fuel my determination, and the fight continues in a never-ending dance of green, blue, and red.
Suddenly, with a well-aimed kick on Maul's part, Anakin is sent stumbling backwards. The Sith twists his arm to the side when our blades interlock again, elbowing me in the face and twisting the larger of my lightsabers out of my hand. It clatters to the floor a distance away.
Maul jumps at me again, throwing a wild series of attacks. I parry all of them, slowly backing up to avoid being hit and finally kicking him backwards.
Reaching out, I Force-pull my lightsaber back to my hand, nearly chopping off his legs in the process. He barely leaps out of the way in time, only to whirl around to parry a blow from Anakin who jumps back into the fight. The two fight in a blur, Maul on the defensive. Anakin's far better than he is, and it makes me more than a little surprised the Sith is even still living. But then again, we are trying not to kill him.
I lunge forwards, attacking Maul from behind. He spins sideways to block my blow. One of my lightsabers nicks the edge of his, sending sparks flying.
That's the moment I hear a sudden explosion nearby, and a group of Mandalorians – Maul's people – fly in and open fire on us. Anakin spins around to face them, giving Maul the opportunity to attack me furiously again. I barely manage to block his blow in time as he swings for me again. I flip backwards out of the way several times, my blades cutting through the floor in the process until I'm a sufficient distance away to regain my bearings before attacking again. Maul pursues me, trying to score a hit while my defenses are lowered and missing every time.
I duck around him, and he spins, slamming his lightsaber down onto mine. He pushes against it with enough force to knock me over before jumping out the window, blasting a hole straight through it with lightsaber slashes on the wall on either side where his blades cut through it.
"Ahsoka, wait! We'll take him together!" Anakin calls, deflecting the Mandalorian's blaster bolts.
"No time!" I call back. That could take a while. My brother is practically overwhelmed, though I know he'll be fine, and we can't let Maul escape again. I scramble to my feet before running for the window, leaping out after him. He cannot get away. I have to catch up with him. I've come too far to lose him now. As I fall, I land in the open air on the nearly vertical wall on the outside. Slamming one of my lightsabers into the wall and letting it cut through to slow my fall, I land on the ledge below. Speeders zip by, their occupants probably trying to avoid all the fighting and continue on their way.
I jump off the next ledge, landing on a lower part of the building. I spot the dark figure climbing up a towering ledge to the top of the building and run after. I ignite my green lightsabers again, jumping up behind him. The Sith Lord slowly turns around to face me, golden eyes glowing angrily.
Without wasting a moment, I take off across the pipes, leaping through the air to attack. He raises his blades to meet mine, after a moment shoving me backwards hard. He immediately swings for me again and I quickly parry the blow. Our lightsabers clash furiously, almost like a dance as we try to keep our balance on the pipes we're standing on.
As he forces me back several steps before I leap over his head, attacking him from behind. He whirls around just in time to block my slash, and we continue fighting, the battle slowly traveling up the slanted pipe behind me.
Maul continues attacking me furiously, and I retreat to avoid losing my balance. This is not the most ideal place for such a violent fight. I hope Anakin's alright. The sooner he gets here, the better. At least for now, I can hold off the Sith. He swings at me again and again. But using the advantage of being at a higher elevation, I shove back on his blades. Hard. He stumbles backwards, jumping back onto a different pipe for a moment to recollect himself before he charges again.
As I swing for him, he kicks me hard. I fly through the air, landing on another nearby pipe complex, lightsabers deactivating in my hands as I nearly fall. I clutch onto the edge of the beam, pulling myself back onto it as Maul glances around the skyline.
Then he whirls around, jumping to a much higher level of the pipe. No. He cannot get away like that. I quickly steady myself again, and then race after in hot pursuit, jumping from beam to beam. He whirls around to face me as I land a few feet away, his lightsaber striking a nearby pipe and sending sparks flying.
I leap at him, our blades clashing. He falls backwards, nearly going right off the edge of the building having not realized it was so close. I realize just in time, slamming to a stop and catching myself at the very edge, in time to avoid falling down after him. He pulls himself back up, reigniting his lightsaber and lunging for me again.
As I keep slashing at him, our blades crash into a saberlock. I struggle to push him, but he shoves back harder in return, sending one of my lightsabers flying. It falls down, down, down, out of sight to the ground far below.
Maul leaps over my head, landing on the pipe behind me. I lunge at him again and our blades clash furiously. It's harder to fight against him with only one lightsaber, but since he also has to maintain his balance, he can't fight me with the same ferocity he was back in the throne room.
He swings for me again and our blades lock together. Maul twists his to the side, sending my remaining lightsaber falling. Great. Just great. Time to face a Sith Lord when I'm unarmed. Just how I was hoping for the battle to go.
Maul doesn't give me time to think. He slashes at me again, leaving me with no choice but to leap backwards. His blade cuts through the pipes between us and they come apart, the one with me on it dropping slightly. I struggle to regain my balance as it slants dangerously towards the ground.
"Anakin!" I yell into the Force. He needs to come here, now. I don't see the clones nearby... where are they?
Warning suddenly screams through the Force and I duck as a stun bolt flies over my head. Oh, great. Now the Mandalorian warriors have arrived, and I don't even have my lightsabers anymore. More bolts fly towards me, and I back up along the pipe, having nowhere else to go.
"Anakin!" I try again.
"I'm working on it! Are you alright?"
"Well, I'm being ambushed by Mandalorians, attacked by Maul, and I lost my lightsabers. Does that sound alright to you?"
As I attempt to dodge another bolt, I nearly lose my balance and fall off the pipes. One of the bolts strikes me, and I lose my balance, falling off as the darkness consumes me. I vaguely register Anakin calling out to me through our bond, having felt it, but there is nothing I can do. The last thing I register is Maul catching me with the Force before I can fall to my death far below.