- 3958 BBY -
- Lehon -
Maul struck first. Using a single blade from his double-bladed lightsaber. He attacked at an unnatural angle, testing Revan's defences and cataloguing his skills and fighting style. Revan parried with Form VI, Niman, which he was a master in. As he does so, Maul switches to Form IV and mixes it with Juyo, a hybrid style of his own creation.
Revan managed to keep up with Maul, using the Dark Side to fuel his power and augment his body. He moved with precision and savagery. Each deflection carried the weight of both combatants' power. Every action and reaction dared the other to misstep. But Maul wasn't considered the strongest Sith Assassin for nothing during his time. He adapted to Darth Revan's impeccable use of Niman right away. Their lightsabers lock, each one pushing against the other.
Revan broke the lock and vanished, a ripple of Force Cloak enveloping him. Maul smiled seeing this and closed his eyes, spreading his senses and using the Force to sense the Dark Side emotions. He tracked Revan and used the Force to push forward, breaking Revan's invisibility and caught him mid-leap.
The Dark Lord reacted immediately and used telekinesis to launch entire stone statues towards Maul. The differently sized objects zoomed through the air, hurled like meteors. Maul dodged them, seeing the pattern and what Revan wanted to accomplish. He prepared for the attack before it arrived, not because of precognition, which he could tell Revan was very talented in, but through pure calculation.
Revan unleashed Force lightning.
Maul used magick to create a green protection bubble, capable of absorbing blaster fire and any energy-related attacks, for that matter, so Force Lightning as well. Maul has observed his own mother, Mother Talzin and other magick users while in the WBW, to learn more about it, since he saw real potential in it. And he was right. Maul now used what he knew and launched Force lightning at Darth Revan whilst maintaining the shield at the same time. Unlike other Force lightning users, this lightning appeared green in colour and was fired in concentrated beams that could home in on multiple targets from afar.
Both of them go at it and try to use more power, but Maul is the first to change the rhythm again. He did what he wanted to before and added his own Force Lightning on top of the magick. The lightning overpowered Revan's one and hit him squarely on the chest, shooting him through the air. The Dark Lord staggered. He dug deep into his hatred and attacks, using more power than he did before, augmenting his strength and speed.
The battle raged on. The temple walls cracked, and the statues were fractured and broken into pieces them. Maul switched from one technique to he other, using this as a chance to train himself and gain experience instead of simply beating or killing Darth Revan. Revan noticed, though, and snarled, actually snarled.
He used his strongest Force Push yet and slammed Maul into the wall behind them with a powerful burst of the Force. The wall didn't just crack, but was destroyed in the process. The forces both of them are using are starting to reach dangerous levels, and the structures can't handle it any longer. Maul absorbed the impact, flipped and landed on his feet.
"Heh, impressive. But you will not defeat me this way. I know your future, and that Revan might defeat me, but this... I'm afraid not."
Maul surged forward, using Force Speed like never before. Revan faltered, as Maul's saberstaff is split and Maul uses Form VI, Niman and Jar'Kai, attacking the Dark Lord. The speed and ferocity remind Revan of a Dark Lord, but the subtle use of Vaapad in combination makes this a one-sided fight and like Maul said, is bound to end in Maul's victory.
The tides changed.
Dozens of Mauls appeared in the room, and all of them started attacking Revan at the same time. Knowing this to be an illusion, Darth tried to push through it and find the real one, but he made a mistake, as this wasn't a simple illusion; these were products created through Sith sorcery and magick by Maul. They slashed at him, cutting off his arms and legs and piercing his body all over. But only sensationally, not physically.
The Dark Lord fell to his knees, breathing hard and feeling the pain in his head. Maul stood in front of him pensively. This wasn't what he was looking for, and while Darth Revan was indeed powerful, he wasn't as powerful as he would be later on, so this was enough for now.
"You are powerful, but like me, years ago, the Dark Side usually takes all that it gives at a terrible interest rate. The transformation you talked about is a parable and will lead to ruin, one way or the other. You need both, and until you understand that, you will be a slave. Farewell, Revan. Until we meet again."
Maul pressed the button on his waist and disappeared from that point in space-time, reappearing in the World Between Worlds.
"Ah, it worked. Good. Next stop."
.
- 16 ABY -
- Coruscant -
Above one of Coruscant's artificial seas floats the restored castle of Darth Vader. Inside this retreat, a single figure meditates, trying to balance power and meditation in the Force and his role as the Grandmaster of a new Jedi Order.
Luke Skywalker sat cross-legged, floating above the ground in the great hall, silent and breathing deeply. Suddenly, his cheek twitched as he detected a presence... a dark one, unlike anything he had sensed for years. But not purely dark. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at the Zabrak standing before him.
"Greetings. I hope I'm not interrupting."
"I think you know that you are. But maybe it's better that way. I was about to take a break anyway," Luke says and stands up.
Neither of them is in a combat position; both wear light robes and have their lightsabers at their waists, studying each other.
"The name's Maul."
"I know you. Kenobi talked about you once."
"Did he? I was certain he would have left me out of his tales. Was it how he split me in half?" Maul asks.
"Yes," Luke answers.
"Heh, I suppose that makes sense. His sassiness is unmatched in the galaxy."
"That's true. I heard about it. So, what are you doing here?" Luke asks.
"I'm here for you."
"Are you here to kill me?" Luke asks.
"No."
"Then what do you want?"
"I want to know what it means... to be a Jedi."
...
The silence that followed was deep and long. Luke used the Force to probe Maul and sensed that he was telling the truth, but one could never be certain with the Sith.
"Why would--"
"Words are ash and smoke, young Jedi. Show, don't tell," Maul says.
*VROOOOOMM*
Luke was confused. The situation is unlike anything he had experienced to date. He could feel the Dark Side from Maul, but it wasn't as biting and 'dark' or 'malicious', despite it having that potential. It was as if something was 'tempering' it in some way. But that wasn't the only strange aspect of Maul.
*VROOOOOMM*
Maul struck first, fast, and aggressively. His saberstaff carved red arcs through he space between them. He wasn't feral or deranged, but controlled and deadly. He used his hatred, but guided it and gave it form. Luke blocked the strikes, moving like water, fluidly and with tremendous potential for immense power. A hybrid of Forms III, IV and V was what he was using, and he was a talent like his father had been. He answered Maul's predatory attacks with instinct and grace. A seamless exchange of strikes.
"You're holding back. Don't!" Maul says, starting to press his attacks.
Luke's expression softened mid-duel. He had come to a realisation.
"As are you," he smiles.
Their blades crashed together. Maul flipped and spun mid-air, landing behind the Grandmaster. But Luke countered without turning around, flashing his lightsaber over his shoulder in a motion so fluid and with enough power to consider it impeccable.
"You are seeking something. What is it? Certainly not how to become a Jedi," Luke says.
Maul snorts and leaps again, this time fueled by a burst of Dark Side energy. But Luke's response surprises him. Luke mastered the strong style, a form of lightsaber combat that resembled Djem So, which was used by the New Jedi Order, a group he founded. He swings his lightsaber through the sky horizontally and sends Maul skidding back across the stone.
Maul stands up and feels his muscles tremble under the tremendous pressure. The force of the blow would have been enough to demolish half the castle they were in. He had to absorb the blow.
"That is tremendous skill and power you demonstrate, Grandmaster Skywalker. Yes, it was good that he was crippled... your father I mean."
...
"What was that?" Luke asks.
"Can you imagine what would have happened if he had been at the height of his potential? The galaxy would have burned... we were all better off for it."
"Don't talk about my father."
"Why? He chose his path and paid the price for it. In the end, he was weak and lost against one of the least talented Jedi in the Order."
"I remember you sharing that with my father," Luke says, growing displeased.
"Haha, but I'm not the Chosen One. I bit myself through the gutter, plunged through toxic waste and junk and came out on the other side stronger than before. I died twice, but didn't weep or turn into a pathetic slave dog, living in the past."
"Shut up."
"Does the truth hurt, Jedi? That is your weakness; you can't handle such things because you are incapable of allowing yourself to feel. It's a weakness for you, and that's pathetic."
Luke didn't answer and attacked. He swung his lightsaber through the air using more power than before. But not only that, he also used the Force. He pulled Maul towards him and swung his lightsaber through the air. However, Maul was ready and blocked the attack, sending out a pulse of green magick, creating dozens of copies of himself, adding power to them by using Sith sorcery. As he swung his lightsaber towards Luke, though, the Grandmaster proved his worth and created a wave of power, permeating the hall and causing everything to shatter.
The sheer power destroyed the illusions and caused Maul to vomit blood and parts of his intestines. But he wasn't done. Lightning could be seen coursing through his body as the Sith performed Dark Transfer and brought himself back from the brink to peak condition. Luke looked surprised, but not bothered. The castle was in shatters and the Grandmaster used each part as a means to attack. Maul was on the defensive now, slicing through the walls which came alive and the Electric Judgement, the light side version of Force Lightning.
He was pushed back further and further, and his force fields, which he created by using magick and the Force in tandem, were destroyed. Seeing no other option, despite his mind sending him all the information he needed, he chose to engage in close quarters. He used his own variation of Niman, which he perfected further during and after his fight with Darth Revan and clashed with Luke's incredible power and skill.
The speed between their strikes and the weight of their blows continued to increase as Maul felt himself getting close to understanding and witnessing what he came here for. It was never about winning; he knew he couldn't win. This was not an opponent he could beat. And then it happened. He saw the Jedi Grandmaster using his Form V mixed with III and IV and completely overwhelm him.
With one clean slash, Luke cut through Maul's body and ended the fight faster than Maul's precognition or other senses could have warned him of.
"Compassion... the key element you use to master your use of Form V... an impeccable demonstration," Maul says.
Without waiting another second, Maul's body disappears from space-time and reappears in the World Between Worlds, and not only that, he is healed. Despite the Grandmaster amusing him, Maul stood no chance at all, not even slightly, and only his beyond-genius mind and the immense amount of Force abilities he had mastered prolonged the fight slightly.