deernet | 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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[To have provoked such a response in his brother and that it kept going well beyond the surprise of it showed him how much his death had affected Maul. Maybe it shouldn't have been surprising with how close they had become over the course of their journey and especially here in Deerington and by extension Trench. While his death had clearly meant nothing to his brother's Master, he could now see the isolation that it forced upon his brother. When Talzin died as well, all the roots of blood had been ripped out.]

We had been through a lot by that point, survived so much compared to what anyone likely expected. Your Master was terrifyingly powerful.

[He could admit that to Maul. He wasn't afraid to go into a fight ever, but it had been a terrifying fight as soon as it began. Still, the adrenaline and emotion was something he could use back then... not that it availed him much. He still failed himself and his brother.]

I didn’t think we could defeat him but I knew we had to try.

[He had faint hope when his master had arrived that between the two of them they could at least last long enough to get Sidious to a draw. But as soon as the battle began, that hope had been dashed. Sidious out-classed him and Savage with as large a divide as the one between the two of them and the Mandalorians.]

After he killed you, I thought at least he would kill me too, allow us to be reunited. But he’s always been sadistically cruel.

[To leave Maul alive had been far worse than simply ending his life would have been. His hearts had been broken, and for a period of time, his spirit nearly so. But he wouldn’t give in no matter what Sidious did. He had no leverage against his former apprentice without Savage alive, making Maul stubborn enough to not let Sidious have his own way yet again, denying him one of the things he wanted.]

He came to make you suffer, and he clearly enjoyed it.

[Between the two of them, they had stood up against Sidious, but he had always been given the sense that Maul's Master had been playing with them. A shame he hadn't gored the Sith with his horns instead of just knocking him back.]

You were more useful to him alive. I was the spare, a tool to make you hurt until he could get to Mother Talzin.

[At least, that's how he had seemed to him after the telling that Maul had given him about what had happened after he had died.]

[He clutched Savage tightly to him again, unwilling to let his brother out of his sight for a moment right now. He needed his brother there to keep him from spiraling into despair and agony. Everything hurt right now in his mind and it was only the knowledge Savage was safe and secure right there that kept him from breaking down entirely again the way he had in the wake of his brother's death.]

Others have seen you as such but you've never been just a spare to me, to be used and discarded. You're irreplaceable to me, brother.

[He felt that needed to be said. Usagi had asked him once if he'd ever told Savage that he loved him. While Maul usually wasn't so blunt with his words, he'd showed his brother a hundred times over that he was the most important person in Maul's life.]

[He didn't resist the tight hold, and it was unfortunate that his brother was suffering in such a way. It also felt good as it meant that Maul was protective of him, something that he found that he enjoyed even in these tough situations. It eased the internal fright of dying again, even if he consciously knew that he would just come right back within a few days.]

I know. You and Feral were the only ones to see me as more.

[His arms tightened around Maul in a similar physical response. He knew that Maul cared for him without the need for words; often so much of their communication was non-verbal and it was moments like these that reinforced the deep bond that they had developed as brothers.]

[Maul's feelings towards his mother would forever be complicated. He loved her, it was true, but he also knew she had been a deeply-flawed woman. She'd made so many mistakes or choices in her life which had directly affected her sons and their own lives. One of them was her treatment of Savage, how he was little more to her than a means to an end, someone to be used or discarded as she so chose. That, of course, was the way of the Nightsisters but the stark difference between how she'd viewed Maul and her middle child were very clear.]

I know I don't tell you this enough brother but.....I love you dearly.

[Nothing but this raw state, finally forced to face his grief head-on, could have caused Maul to finally say those words. Some distant part of his mind knew Usagi would be very proud of him for finally being able to say that out loud.]

[He hugged Maul to him even more tightly if that was at all possible, refusing to let go the most important person in his life. His brothers would always be a massive part of how he lived his life, and he appreciated Maul's loyalty to him in return. It felt good, better than it had any right to, especially knowing that Maul would defend him as he would defend his brother.

Yet, his arms and shoulders gave a little jerk at the verbal expression of love, and he made a surprised noise in his throat. He had never expected to hear those words in his lifetime, and he never cared much about them until they fell from Maul's lips. What a surprise.]

Brother... I love you too, my brother.

[Only Maul saying it could jar such words in return out of him. After all, care and affection came as a physical manifestation for them, so he knew Maul cared for him long before such words were uttered. Still, it felt... good? Yes, definitely good in its own way.]

[Saying those words finally dislodged something that had been stuck in Maul's hearts for a long time now. It had felt for years like his hearts were being squeezed tight, constricted by grief, guilt, and loss. For the first time, he finally felt like he'd taken the first step in the process of healing from the trauma that had resulted from losing his family.

He'd had so many regrets after Savage had died, not telling him all that he should have. Now he finally had that chance. Being able to finally get past his own emotionally stunted nature and tell his little brother he loved him felt good. Despite the mourning process he'd just gone through, he now felt a weight lifted off his shoulders that had been weighing him down for years.

He audibly sniffled for one last moment, savoring the words as Savage said them back. He'd known, of course, for a long time that his brother loved him. But there really was a difference between knowing something implicitly and having it said out loud.]

Having my memories put on display like this was hard. But.....I think I can finally begin to move on from being stuck in that moment.

[Maul's grief had been in a complicated form, keeping him frozen in time and unable to begin the process to move past it. No longer.]

Accidental Video; un: darkness

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