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Maul felt the moment the padawan snapped. He’d just plunged his lightsaber through the chest of the master when it happened. Several force fields separated him from the padawan, but Maul felt his pain and rage like he was standing right next to him. They locked eyes while the master crumpled to Maul’s feet. And Maul smiled. He’d never seen a Jedi fall before. He loved it.
Then the force fields opened and the padawan dashed forward, a yell on his lips and the lightsaber ready to strike.
The fight was brutal. Maul wasn’t fighting a Jedi anymore, he was fighting someone who drew on the dark side heavily, whose only goal was revenge. His saberstaff was hacked in two, left him with only one blade. His two hearts were hammering hard, exhilaration cursing through his veins. Part of him wished this fight would last forever, just him and his opponent caught in their deadly dance. This was what he’d trained for. This was what he’d waited for so long. But finally a force push sent the padawan tumbling down the reactor shaft.
He caught himself, though. A stubborn one.
Maul paced at the edge of the shaft. The padawan would tire soon, would have to let go eventually. He slashed his red blade along the edge, made sparks rain down on his opponent.
“Surrender, and I’ll take you to my master.” They might be able to use this former Jedi somehow, have him infiltrate the temple, slay even more Jedi.
But the padawan just stared up at him defiantly. “You’re only an apprentice?”
“I defeated you and your master. An apprentice was obviously enough.”
“You haven’t defeated me yet!”
Maul felt the way the dark side wrapped around the pawadwan before he pushed, jumped up, pulled his master’s lightsaber towards him. Maul lifted his own blade, but he was too slow. The hilt of his lightsaber fell to the ground, in pieces for good now, and a green blade pointed right at his chest.
“Kneel!”
Maul looked into blue eyes that were slowly turning yellow from the inside out. It was strangely beautiful to watch, like paint in water.
“If you’re not the one who decided on this attack, I don’t want to hurt you. But I will, if you don’t obey. I want to turn your master’s weapon against him. I want to use you to exact my revenge. Kneel and pledge allegiance to me!”
The audacity! He had turned five minutes ago and he thought he could become Maul’s new master? But Maul also had to admit that he was impressed. With the padawan’s fighting skills and with his ambition. It was every Sith’s fate to kill their master eventually. Maul hadn’t been ready to face Sidious. But together with this one? They might stand a chance. Afterwards they’d see who’d come up on top in their next fight.
So he held the padawan’s gaze while he dropped to his knees, the green lightsaber following his every move.
The padawan smiled. “Good,” he said. “My name is Obi-wan Kenobi. And you’re mine now.”