deercountry | Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.

It was his worst nightmare come to life. Palpatine was here, in Trench, and worse than that he'd possessed one of Maul's dearest friends. Maul knew he couldn't face his master again, not after everything he'd gone through at the hands of the man both as a child and as an adult. He'd kill himself before he'd let that monster torture him again, this time just for fun and without end. He'd rather end up in the ocean as a squid again than be forced to endure that.

He fled to the one place he knew might be his only refuge of safety: Usagi's home. He knew very well the senshi was one of those who possessed powers that dwarfed those of Sidious' the way Sidious' had dwarfed his own. If Sidious tried to get at him there, he was going to be in for a very painful lesson. Still, Maul couldn't sleep and barely ate, his terror too great for him to stop stressing out. Just having his master this close kept bringing up

Anyone who looked for Maul at his home, either for lessons or just as a social call, would find his house deserted and the pets left to fend for themselves for the time being. Attempts to reach him on his Omni or by Omen would take some time to get through but eventually he would answer. "Do you know what has happened?" He would ask in a hushed voice full of pure terror. That in itself was unusual. There was only a few things that Maul was truly afraid of. But those who knew him well would be able to make an educated guess if they talked to him for a while.

The thing about the Pink Monstocity was that it had plenty of room, so having another guest wasn't much of a problem. But when Makoto had returned home to find Maul skulking about it had caught her off guard, and she immediately found herself checking on Usagi to ensure that she was alright. A house with three Senshi was the safest place in Trench, and Makoto would be just as vigilant in helping Maul.

She didn't know who Sideous was, but she knew that both Maul and Savage seemed to fear the man. as well as electricity. So she figured it might be best to keep a close eye on things, since Jupiter could shock the nightmare away.

She brought him a tray to the room he was staying in, a sandwich much like what he'd had her make before on it.

"So who's this guy again?"

Reaper could find Maul wherever Maul tried to hide, thanks to his bond but also knowing the Zabrak for so long. The bond that they shared was clogged with the kind of terror that immediately alerted him to the extent of the problem, but despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to track that source down. He was, of course, looking for an old man who matched Sidious' description, but that wasn't to be.

Frustrated and worried for his husband, he finally made the trek to Usagi's disgustingly pink home and snuck in a window to locate Maul. He made his movements slow but loud, making the kinds of noises of growls that would indicate to even a terrified mind that it was Reaper who had come and not the object of Maul's fear.

He clenched his left hand to feel the warmth of the ring around his finger even in his glove as he approached his husband. "I need more information," he murmured softly, far more loving to hide his concern. "I've searched high and low in Trench, but I haven't located him, so I'm going to need your help in describing what happened and how he washed up."

He moved closer, intent on being physically close to Maul and opening up his end of the bond so protective sensations would flow to Maul. He would do everything in his power to never let Maul experience Sidious' power again.

Terrified as Maul was, he knew for certain that there was a number of people in Trench who were both extremely powerful and would defend him to their last breath. It was the reason he'd fled to Usagi's in the first place, for the senshi could have obliterated the old Sith if he set so much as a toe onto the premise of the Pink Monstrosity. He also knew Reaper was another who wouldn't ever let anything happen to him. All of Palpatine's immense powers and near omniscient state still didn't count for much against a man who was nearly unkillable that he knew nothing about. Reaper could be the wildcard Maul needed right now.

Restless and still scared out of his mind, Maul immediately sought comfort in Reaper when his husband arrived. He hadn't been able to clamp down on the end of their bond, so Reaper would have been getting the full force of Maul's terror at being faced with his old master once again. He immediately wrapped his arms around Reaper and pulled him close, needing the physical closeness right now to calm some of the fear in his mind. He whispered 'Gabriel...' along their link as he did so.

Then he started to talk, trying to sort out everything in his own mind which had happened. "Luke told me that he thought there was a chance he was still alive even after most certainly being killed in his time.. We tried to view a memory to know for certain. But something....something went wrong. He should never have been able to know we were there, let alone interact with us. But somehow he did. His spirit latched onto our life force and used it to pull himself into Trench. He's been possessing Luke and doing who knows what. I didn't stay to find out his intentions for me, I fled here immediately."

Maul had barely eaten or slept since he'd arrived at the Pink Monstrosity. The only thing that kept him calm at all is that one of the senshi was there near constantly and he knew the two others besides Usagi will very powerful in their own right. Makoto had electrical powers and Maul knew Sidious' old standby of using Force Lightning on his victims to turn a battle in his favor weren't going to do much against Sailor Jupiter if he dared to try.

He accepted the sandwich, nibbling at it half-heartedly. He knew he needed to keep up his strength but it was still hard to do so knowing Sidious was out there somewhere in Trench possessing Luke and wreaking havoc on the populace. "My old master. Darth Sidious or Emperor Sheev Palpatine to the public. He was the one who raised me from the time I was a small child, who spent half my life breaking me down and turning me into nothing more than an unfeeling weapon to use at his disposal. He turned me into...this." Maul gestured around him, trying to encompass just how mentally screwed-up he still was from all of that. "I spent years trying to gain his love and then respect when I realized he was incapable of loving anyone. Then he abandoned me the moment I was no longer useful to him."

Reaper gathered Maul up against him protectively when the Zabrak came to him, and if anything, his protectiveness reached an obsessive level in their body now that he had Maul in his grip. The more terrified Maul was, the more he pressed his love and protectiveness in return. It wasn't normally natural for him to do as he kept some aspects of the bond at arm's length as much as possible.

He hummed at the mental call of his name, tugging Maul back to the most defensible corner of the room. He held his husband close as he listened to the tale of Sidious, and the missing clues fell into place. He hadn't seen Luke at all in his travels and now it made sense why he hadn't found a dramatic old man.

He sighed from his nose even as he allowed his mask to turn to smoke so that his face was revealed. "You two reckless idiots," he grumped with a small shake of his head, but he followed up the words with a kiss to the side of Maul's head. "So his spirit is here possessing Luke. Is there a method to banish a stray spirit in your world? Or am I going to have to start antagonizing Sidious in Luke?" It probably would go well for Luke. Reaper didn't mind being rough.

Makoto took a seat on the edge of a dresser nearby, nibbling at some of the chips that she'd brought along with the sandwich. This was the first time she'd actually heard anything personal about Maul's life, well other than a little about his relationship with Reaper but that was mainly the other trying to keep Makoto off balance and embarrassed. Listening to Maul's story, she determined that if she were to meet up with the jerk she was definately going to kick his butt. He was a manipulative that took advantage of others who were looking for praise and admiration, looking for approval, and that was unforgivable. Plus if he'd taken over someone else's body, then they'd have to save that person too.

"Sounds pretty rotten, so how do we get rid of him?"

Having Reaper there and being curled up protectively in his arms made Maul as calm as he could be in such dire circumstances. He knew Reaper wouldn't let anything happen to him. He'd leave a trail of bodies throughout Trench if it kept his lover safe. Through their bond, Maul's emotions began to climb back down from fever pitch they had been at.

He was glad Reaper didn't scold him too bad for how he and Luke had messed up. He couldn't have stood that while he was in such a vulnerable state and he already felt bad enough knowing agreeing to Luke's idea in the first place.

He shook his head when Reaper asked him if he knew how to banish Sidious' spirit. "No, I don't kn--" Then he stopped in midsentence as a sudden realization came over him. He wondered why he hadn't thought of this before. "I don't know how to. But I do know someone who might. Darth Imperius, the other Sith Lord here, he told me he has power over ghosts. Something that Sith were able to do long ago but a technique that was lost through the ages. If anyone would know how to get rid of my master's spirit, it will be him."

Makoto could join the other Sleepers who had heard Maul talk about Sidious for five minutes and decided to kick his ass after hearing that Sidious was The Absolute Worst. Really, Maul thought he might have been the most hated person in all of Trench. Well, maybe tied neck-in-neck with The Emperor. Still, Maul was thankful so many people were willing to fight on his behalf. This was one battle he couldn't hope to win alone.

"I'm still trying to figure that out. Ghosts aren't common in my world and I have very little experience with them. But there has to be a way to destroy him, even if it means killing the person who he's possessed." Maul knew Luke well enough to know he'd rather be dead than forced to serve as the Emperor's literal puppet.

He continued to exert his calm protectiveness even as Maul's emotions settled a bit, and he stroked one hand down the Zabrak's arm, even giving Maul's wrist a faint squeeze. He was able to think more clearly as Maul's emotions ebbed mildly, though he was keenly aware that his husband was still terrified. There was no way Sidious was getting at Maul unless it was over his dead body, and death was so temporary that it was basically pointless.

He was certain there was more to the story, but what was done was done. He couldn't exactly be upset when he had spent a lifetime taking risks that cost lives. He sensed that Maul meant well and the guilt was enough to teach a better lesson than any that he could gripe about.

"That's the red skinned one, yes?" Reaper knew of the Sith Lord from passive observation, but they had never formally met. "It seems we will need to contact him and see if he would lend his expertise on the matter. Still, we may have to consider extreme measures to not give Sidious a vessel to inhabit." Death wasn't permanent, but from what little he knew of Sidious, the old Sith was tenacious and wily. Expert planning would be necessary.

First things first: "How are you, mi sol? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No way. There's always someone else that's responsible or controlling them. Maybe it was some kind of cursed object, did they find something or did they have soemthing that seemed out of place?"

There was always a way to get the enemy or demon out without hurting the other person too much. The only one who ever had be completely taken out were the senshi themselves when they had turned and were reborn. But their friends, all those others who had been possessed by daemons or spirits, they'd all been rescued just fine.

"We'll find a way to get rid of the ghost for good."

Lance doesn't have any desire to ever check in with Maul of his own free will, so the only way he knows there's anything wrong is when he catches sight of him running to Usagi's. Normally, he'd probably just assume he was late to an evil convention or something, but the guy look so utterly terrified that it gives him pause as he comes within range of him.

"Dude, what happened?" He is not necessarily concerned for Maul, more like what the fuck makes Darth Maul look like that?

Talwyn meant to show Maul the holocron he'd gotten a few months back, thinking that he might find it interesting. That Maul wasn't answering him on the Omni troubled him. One missed comm was nothing, two was irksome, but three and it became troubling.

It's a relief when he finally gets through to Maul, though it quickly turns to concern. He swears he can sense Maul's fear over the Omni, it's so strong.

"I'm guessing it's something not good?"

Having Reaper right there and knowing there were two senshi in the house made Maul feel as safe and secure as he ever would in such circumstances. Between those three, Sidious would have his ass handed to him on a platter if he got the idea in his head to come after his former apprentice. Not that Maul thought he would. He likely had much bigger fish to fry than Maul. "Yes, that is the one. He told me of a power some time ago he has over ghosts. He is fortunately rather distinctive-looking, isn't he?" A Sith by both culture and species Maul knew now.

"You and I both know Luke would rather be dead than forced to be a puppet to that monster. But let's save that as a very last option." If nothing else worked, there were ways to completely obliterate Luke's body in about five seconds, but would that get rid of the spirit within him? Or would Sidious cling to him and still be in the Jedi once he was reborn.

Maul sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he rested his horned head gently on Reaper's shoulder, his fingers interlaced with his lover's. "No. As soon as I realized what had happened, I got out of there, and fortunately Luke was still unconscious when I did so." Maul had been in a state of pure panic, ready to do whatever it took to put as much distance between Sidious and himself.

"Well, we had just used the lightsaber of a notorious Sith right beforehand, trying to channel an old memory held within. Perhaps that had something to do with it." Though Maul had thought up until this point that the lightsaber was merely the conduit, not the source of the possession itself. But perhaps he'd been thinking about this all wrong and Darth Vader's lightsaber did have something to do with it after all.

"I hope we can. If not, he'll leave a trail of bodies in his wake by the time he's done. People think I'm capable of doing that but he's ten times-- no, a hundred times far worse at causing pain and suffering than anything I could do." The man would have reduced every planet in the galaxy to rubble if it mean he could have ruled over the remains.

Maul had finally stopped his mad dash to get as much distance between himself and Sidious as possible. He now had an actual destination in mind. Usagi could protect him, he knew Sailor Moon's power dwarfed that of Sidious as much as Sidious dwarfed his own. Yes, there would be a fortress of safety. He hoped his stark terror might abate a little once he was within the Pink Monstrosity.

"He is here," Maul said in a tone that radiated sheer terror in it. Everything about Maul looked really wretched right now as if he was going through the worst day of his life. Well, it was definitely one of them, a top ten contender if ever there was one.

It took Maul a few seconds to regain anything of his normal composure, the kind filled with courage, determination, and a little bit of arrogance that he always possessed. Right now he was a wreck instead. Once he could speak, he said in hushed words, "My master, Darth Sidious, --or rather his spirit-- has ended up here in Trench."

Talwyn knew enough about the sadistic Sith Lord to know how very bad this was. Sidious could have left a trail of bodies through the city and no one would have been able to stop him.

"Darth Sidious? Here?" There's a note of fear in Talwyn's voice, which he does his best to stifle. The mere fact that Maul, normally so cool and confident, is beside himself with fear is an unnerving thing to witness.

"You say it's his spirit though? If that's the case, then there's a chance that he'll sense me, and might seek me out." The wisest course of action would be to hide out in the woods for a while, until this blows over. But that would be abandoning his friends and everyone in the Trench.

"Here. Something went wrong when Luke and I attempted to use a Sith lightsaber to view an old memory. Somehow-- I don't know how it was even possible-- that memory escaped here to Trench. When last I saw, he was possessing Luke's body." As if Maul already doesn't feel wretched enough, there's also a large amount of guilt gnawing away at him for abandoning Luke to to his fate even though Maul knows there was nothing he could have done once Sidious had a hold of his friend's mind.

"Whatever you do, do not underestimate him. He is powerful in the Force, so much so that he claims to be the strongest Sith in a thousand years, and just as skilled at manipulation." For all of Maul's fears magnifying everything about Sidious, he's not exaggerating much. Sidious was just as dangerous an opponent when only using his words as when he was wielding his dual lightsabers.

"I don't suppose you would know of a way to banish a ghost from a body, would you?" He knows Imperius told him before about how he had the power to keep ghosts in his body but he wonders if he knows of a way to expel them as well.

When Maul is now within a close enough distance, the emotions vibrating off of him are… uncomfortably familiar. Painful and trigger, more like. It has Lance swallowing down nausea as he instinctively steps away from him with a conflicted and pinched expression.

"…He? He who?" It's the only thing he can think of to ask. Maybe the only thing there is to ask. But especially when he's trying to shut Maul's screaming emotions out of his head… and his own instinctive concern in response to feeling them. Ew, he doesn't give a shit about Maul, gross.

"My master. Darth Sidious. He is here in Trench!" The last part is hissed out as if Maul fears by talking about him that his master will suddenly appear as if by magic. He's not thinking clearly or he'd realize that even Sidious can't be everywhere at once.

All wrapped up inside Maul right now is stark fear. There's many kinds; the uncomplicated one of a child that fears the boogeyman under the bed, the more complicated kind of a son wanting to desperately avoid the punishment he fears coming from an abusive parent, and the adult fear of knowing that the cruel sadistic monster in their life will torture them for no other reason than because he can.

Lance swallows the lump in his throat that's forming as his empathic senses are assaulted with those fears. The adult fear is mingling with his own that he buries and ignores as best he can, and he hasn't felt like a child afraid of the bogeyman in a long time, but he's also personally familiar with that.

Okay, he just has to focus and think, just keep to the simple facts. Sidious, the name is familiar. He's seen Star Wars, but he wasn't deeply invested in it to the point where all the names immediately ring a bell. But the Darth part is clear, and there's only 3 that he knows from the movies, the one that makes the most sense to be Maul's old master…

"Wait, the wrinkled old ballsack in the hood who tried to turn Luke to the dark side?" Though the words could be humorous, he is dead serious in his tone.

Edited 2022-12-12 23:12 (UTC)

If Maul weren't panicking so bad right now, he might find Lance's words a bit funny. As it is, all he can feel is a deep sense of alarm and fear, knowing his master is free to roam Trench and ruin lives as he sees fit.

He can't remember if Lance is from a world where his universe is fiction or if he might have heard about what happened from someone else but he doesn't care. The fact Lance knows a bit about what's going on only makes him say one thing. "Then you know just how dangerous he can be," Maul says solemnly. "If you see him, blast him to pieces with your powers. Don't wait to let him do or say a single thing, just obliterate him."

"So you think the memory might have been what overtook him? Seems like a pretty bad idea to mess with something old and evil like that."

Why people always did in the movies never made any sense to her, you just toss stuff like down a cliff or smash under a giant boulder. Anything to do with ghosts or spirits was not something that she really wanted to get involved with even if she had plenty of ways to fight back against them.

"Yeah well he didn't have to worry about Sailor Moon or the rest of the Sailor Scouts, we'll protect the world from evil no mater which one it may be. Even from stuff old emperors or sinister ghosts."

Once again Lance has to swallow down the thick lump in his throat as Maul's fear threatens to twist up with his own. His jaw clenches and he regards Maul for a moment as he takes in what he said. Given what he knows about Maul and his history from media osmosis and guesswork… if he could kill Sideous himself, he likely would have already. So it kind of said a lot that he was telling him to blast the guy and just turn him to dust.

"…Do you want me to 'run into him'?" Yes, he's asking if Maul wants to put a nuclear hit out on Sideous. But it's not clear whether he is actually offering to do it, he's just trying to feel out the situation.

Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.

A) Palpatine Comes to Trench - OTA

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cw: mental and physical child abuse mention

cw: mental and physical child abuse mention

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