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Accidental Video; un: darkness

[CW: There is canon-style violence in the clips linked, which include a fight which ends in an implied beheading (not shown directly on-screen) and a character being impaled on a lightsaber.]

[The memory begins as Savage, Maul, and a purple-eyed man walk into a throne room. Maul, in all his dramatic glory, challenges the leader of Death Watch to a fight to the death, something he knows Pre Vizsla can't refuse. Maul is given his lightsaber, gives out an inhuman roar like a big cat would, and the fight begins.

For a while, it seems like Maul has bitten off more than he can chew. Vizsla is giving him a challenge and he's on the defense for a good portion of the fight. But Maul isn't stupid and this has all been planned out. He refrains from using his Force powers and even switches to his right hand, his non-dominant one several times in the fight, to make it a more even playing field. He's deliberately holding himself back. When the Death Watch leader shoots off tiny blades at hi, he laughs and it's clear Maul is enjoying himself. This fight is a lot of fun for him, and while Pre Vizsla may be a tough opponent, he's no match for the Sith Lord.

When Maul decides enough is enough, he grabs hold of the man's arm and brutally breaks it, making him drop his weapon. Then the Sith Lord brutally beats him down, kicking him so hard at one point that a tooth goes flying, until it's clear Maul is the winner. He calls the Darksaber to him. Vizsla, surprisingly, takes his impending death well. "Like you said, only the strongest shall rule," he says just before Maul slices his head cleanly off. He looks up and sees Savage smiling proudly at him, a rare expression to see from the younger Zabrak.

Half of Death Watch is quick to follow but the other half, lead by Vizsla's second-in-command Bo-Katan refuse. Maul orders them executed and the two sides begin to fight. As for Maul himself, he sits back on the throne. He is in command of Mandalore now, and by extension, his power in the galaxy has grown.

As the memory fades out, Maul's voice in the present can be heard as he talks to his Omen.]

Venge, what is that? What are you doi--

[And then it cuts out again as the second memory starts. Maul's in the same throne room but now it's night. He seems a little distracted. "Hmmm, I sense a presence. A presence I haven't felt since--" Then his eyes grow wide as he realizes who has arrived. "--Master!" There's more fear expressed in that one word than two years of living in Pthumerian-run towns could ever produce in Maul.

Then Darth Sidious strolls on in like he owns the place, casually strangling two Mandalorian guards as he does so. It's tempting for anyone who's heard about Sidious to be a little confused. This is the man who inspires such fear in Maul? This little old man wearing a dark robe who isn't even as tall as his adopted son? Maul immediately starts in about having done everything to make his way back to his master's side, hoping to buy time. Unfortunately, Sidious knows Maul far too well and can tell he's lying.

He starts in by using the Force to pin Maul and Savage to the windows before letting them go. Maul glances at Savage. This is going to be their toughest fight ever and they'll need to do their best if they want to have a hope of surviving it. When the three start dueling, it becomes apparent that Sidious has outclassed Maul and Savage just as much as Maul had outclassed Pre Vizsla in the last clip. He's enjoying this fight, smiling and laughing as he toys around with the brothers like they're a pair of novices.

At one point, Maul gets knocked out of the fight and he loses consciousness for about twenty seconds, the screen going dark before he staggers to his feet, his sight blurry and not quick to come back. Unfortunately, this costs him everything he holds dear. Sidious quickly gains the upper hand and impales Savage through the chest. Maul's face is one of devastation. "Brother...." He ignores Sidious and leaps to his brother's side.

Savage gasps out his last words. "Brother...I am an unworthy apprentice....I'm not like you....I never was...." Some people think Maul is a heartless bastard but that is proven incorrect as he looks like his hearts are breaking when his brother dies. All he can do is hold onto him as he slips away, knowing there's nothing he can do to stop it. He can't even bring himself to say how much his brother means to him, struck dumb by grief.

There's no time to mourn, however, for Sidious start taunting him. Maul turns back to his brother's killer and he's shaking with rage. This time when he goes after Sidious, the old man isn't smiling anymore. He's not just toying around as Maul fights him, he's actually having to put forth effort. He's pushed his former apprentice over the edge and this time Maul's determined to make him hurt. Those who know lightsaber forms will realize Maul's style of Jar'Kai, using two lightsabers at once, mirrors of that of Sidious' exactly. It was where he learned it, after all.

But his advantage doesn't last for long as Sidious overwhelms him once again. "Have mercy! Please! Please!" For those who know Maul, they might find it odd he's begging for mercy, his tone like that of a scared child. It's unlike the Sith Lord to ask an opponent to spare him. But that's not what he's asking. The mercy he wants is for Sidious to kill him, for he knows that anything the Sith Lord has planned for him is far worse than the sweet release of death would be. But he doesn't get it as Sidious tells him there is no mercy and continues to torture him with Force Lightning. The memory ends with Maul screaming in terror and pain.

Once again, Maul's voice in the present speaks up. This time, he's more aware of what has happened.]

What. Was. That?! Venge, how did that even happen? What did you do? Turn it off! Turn it--!

[And finally the feed cuts out.]

[OOC: An opening post to get the ball rolling for the player plot going on right now!]

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[The teenager nods, and says, simply-]

Ok.

Offer stands open.

'Cause I'll give you a hug, dude.

I saw you mention on the network that you like metal. I can recommend some other Earth bands you might like.

[Savage had lived two of those experiences with his brother, and it was interesting to see the first from his brother's perspective. It gave him an idea of the higher finesse for fighting the Mandalorian leader. He wished he had pushed to learn more from his brother back then.

Of course, that accidental show of memory paled in comparison to the one where he died. He, of course, hadn't realized Maul had called him 'brother' given the difference in their positions at the time. Had he really been that weak to be easily overcome by his brother's Master? Some of the motions seemed like he had lost much of the techniques he had practiced over and over....

He felt a wave of self-loathing, a deep anger at himself that he hadn't been better. The Spare.]

Brother. You should be careful of your memories.

[His voice was rough, strained with a brewing anger. Not at Maul, of course.]

How I failed you.

[ Sharon wants to say it's a relief to know that man does die eventually but that doesn't fix any of the sufferings he's caused. It doesn't feel right that he dies in some far-off future and not right now. ]

I'm glad he does. [ She's glad he has that future to cling to, whether or not he gets to witness it, but it doesn't make it any better, does it? It doesn't change anything now. ] Do you know how he goes out? Do you know if he suffers?

[About six hours later, Maul contacts Ezra. The background shows he's in his ship the Scimitar, the one parked in his front yard. He would deny it, but yes, he is hiding right now from any and all Sleepers. His Omen Venge and Malice the vornskr are curled up with one on either side of him in one of the sleeping bunks, the two large creatures barely able to fit but clearly unwilling to leave Maul alone right now.]

At least now everyone knows I'm not exaggerating about what growing up under him was like.

[No one's ever said it to his face, mainly because they probably know Maul would Force Choke them for it, but Maul's always gotten a certain feeling that some people think that Sidious couldn't have possibly been as bad as Maul made him out to be. No one could be that deliberately cruel to a child........could they?]

[Maul nods.]

Go on.

The apprentice he currently had at the time turned on him when Sidious tried to kill his son. His blindspot has always been love. He doesn't understand it as an emotion, but how could he when he's never felt it?

[Maul sounds both bitter and sad. He'd committed outright murder just in the hopes of gaining scraps of affection from the man. He would have taken over the entire galaxy if Sidious had been able to fake it the same way he had in his day-to-day persona as Senator Palpatine.]

Go away.

[Alright, the fact Maul isn't angrily threatening to cause Kyle bodily harm or at least seething with rage right now and is instead just caught up in his grief should definitely ping some worry.]

I don't know what happened. Venge doesn't know either.

[He'd questioned the maalraas repeatedly after the video had broadcast but they seemed to have no idea as to what had caused them to suddenly start showing Maul's memories.

His voice is choked with emotion when Savage mentioned he failed him. Even now, such words cause the old familiar pain to arise in Maul. The fact his brother had been brought back to him here only eased some of it, but the tangle of sorrow, grief, and guilt could never fully go away.]

You didn't-- You never failed me.

[His next words were so soft they could barely be heard.]

I should have protected you better.

Alright, I'm coming over. You're at home?

That's not usual. Perhaps this month's trial and tribulations?

[Normally it was a month-long or multi-month endeavour that exposed their past lives, but it seemed to him that these memories in particular were the ones where Maul was close to being at his worst. The only other memory he could think of might have been the years that his brother spent on Lotho Minor.

He growled when Maul contested his claim, aware that it was an old wound for the both of them. It definitely hadn't healed right on either of them. He slammed a closed fist against a wall, probably heard in another room in the house that they shared.]

I was tasked with protecting you, of finding you, of helping you obtain a life that had been stolen from you. I didn't always agree with the methods or the plan, but Mandalore was supposed to only be the beginning.

[He snorted softly from his nostrils like a bull.]

Even here where death has no permanence, I don't do enough to help you. Here there is no need to protect me because I can't die, and yet...

[Maul was going to be getting two messages from the ladies momentarily, because of course he was. For Vira-Lorr? These memories were both ... not ones she had seen, and also not ones that she was particularly surprised by. The image of Palpatine was clear enough to match the little that she'd gauged, especially with the way that he wielded force lightning. No, all of this, right down to the brutality that Maul was capable of? It sounded about right, and normal.]

Ngh, so our memories are being toyed with again? Good to know, I suppose.

[Lovely, and she didn't even realize that she'd just infected her own omni for the next month did she?]

Well, while it's nothing I've seen, I can't say that the sights are things I wouldn't expect from our conversations in the past. This world does seem to like making you relive these sights doesn't it?

[Her tone was a little cooler, more distant than it had been in the past. The issue with Annakin had tempered a few of her views. However, it had been months, and nobody had come out even harder in his condemnation. People had worked to deal with the situation and Annakin wasn't blowing up on the network. she was currently hoping her companion had truly learned his lesson.]

[Unlike Vira-Lorr, however, Neo was a bit more of the private sort. The only thing they had in common? She wasn't surprised by any of it. Then again, both of them had lived lives full of people whipping power back and forth and doing horrible things. She didn't expect this to be any different.

How she addressed stress, though...]

Need to blow off some steam?

[Yep, definitely different approach to some.]

[It's not that she doesn't know, she does, better than most. But being told about it and seeing it play out are two different things. She doesn't even hesitate as she packs a bag of things before slinging it over her shoulder.]

I'm coming over, don't you dare say no.

I'm not.

[And that's how Usagi will know this has affected Maul badly. A Maul who still has some fight left in him will be snarling and angry, lashing out because he's hurt. It's when he just curls up all sad and full of grief, only answering laconically that one knows something is wrong.]

[ That reminds her of Christabella and Rose. The head of the Brethren had underestimated the lengths a mother would go for her child, though Dahlia's prior choices certainly helped with that. ]

What did he care about, then? How does someone go through life without love? [ The dark part of Alessa had claimed she'd felt nothing but hatred but she was lying. She loved Sharon. She loved Rose. She loved Dahlia. She just wished she hadn't and lied to herself until she believed it. ]

[It doesn't take her long to get there, the lamp transportation is one of those things she's grateful for. She hurries into his home and calls out to him.]

Maul? Maul!

[Maul's curled up on his bed,
Venge laying to one side in an attempt to comfort him while his Shuppet hovers quite literally off in the corner. Even Cranky, sensing his master's despondent mood, has cut the shenanigans and is just patting Maul gently on the arm.

He doesn't even look up when Usagi comes in, only calling out.]

I'm in here.

Yes.

[He doesn't even try to protest and tell Kyle not to bother, far too full of gloom right now. All the fight has been completely knocked out of him.]

[She moves over to him and sits on the bed, resting one hand on his side.]

Do you want me to hold you? [She offered, not sure what Maul wanted physically but knowing she needed to be here.]

It would not surprise me.

[It was just like this place to strike at Maul where he was most vulnerable. Nothing physical could ever wound him as badly as being forced to relieve his memories could. ]

I thought I wanted power. I didn't know anything else that I had been taught to crave in life by my master. I was mistaken. What I really wanted was you. And Mother. I wanted my family.

[Deep pain that will not ever heal crosses his face.]

Just having you here is enough. It always has been. Where are you? I need you by my side.

Edited 2022-05-26 03:36 (UTC)

OK.

Uh. I look weird right now, but it'll be me. So. Hang tight, dude.

[Yeah. Yeah, Kyle still has that whole be not afraid angel look happening. But it means he can fly! So he can get to Maul's place pretty fast.

And he brings snacks! He knocks at the door, shifting from foot to foot.]

[This place was excellent at taking their memories. Perhaps it was some kind of blood trick. Or some other effect of the 'gods' of this place, pathetic and meddlesome as they could be occasionally.]

Your Master destroyed you over and over, but you survived. You always survived what he forced you to endure. [He made a soft growling noise in his throat that had no heat to it.] You were setting the pillars that Mother Talzin wanted, I think. And also revenge on your Master.

[Instead of answering about his location, he rose from where he had been exercising with stretches. He lumbered out of the room to find Maul, issuing a low chuffing sound when he saw his brother. He needed no other noise or word to announce himself.]

[He nods without saying anything, scooting over so she has room to get on the bed. Fortunately, it's large enough to hold both he and Savage, so Usagi hardly makes a dent in the vast space. When her arms close in around him, something seems to break inside of Maul and he just collapses in on himself, a strangled noise coming out of his throat like he's been stabbed through the hearts. Right now he doesn't have to be strong and he doesn't want to. All the grief and despair he hadn't been able to feel, hadn't allowed himself to feel after his brother's death all rise up and make their presence known.]

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Accidental Video; un: darkness

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Video: UN - Runeseeker

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