"Somehow....Palpatine Returned." (Player Plot)

[survivalthroughhate]

Who: survivalthroughhate and anyone who wants to join in!
What: Palpatine ends up in Trench and no one wants that, so it's time to give him the beatdown!
When: Throughout the month
Where: All over Trench.

Content Warnings: Physical child abuse mentions, mental manipulation mentions, gaslighting, exorcism, food deprivation mentions, weed mentions, will add as necessary.



Maul's followers had come to him with the worst news possible. They'd been tracking the signs and had come to one conclusion: Palpatine was back to full strength and here in Trench. The Sith Lord was now possessing people, monsters, animals, whatever that could hold his form for any length of time before it was destroyed or rotted away from the pure evil of his spirit being contained within the body.

Maul knew he had to do something. He'd been responsible for unleashing this menace and so it was his responsibility to stop it. But he was scared too. The fear of his (former, he had to remember that part) master was deeply entrenched into his mind, the simple fear of a child scared of their abusive father and wanting to avoid punishment by doing anything possible mixed in with the more complicated fear of an adult who had been broken down through brainwashing and physical abuse until he'd been turned into a weapon rather than a person. Even now, letting go of his anger and pain hadn't diminished the fear he had of Sidious.

He'd hide for a period of time after warning the other Sleepers, too afraid to go out and face his master for good. It was all well and good to let them try to deal with this. None of them had any personal connection to Sidious, so they could try whatever methods they saw fit in order to exorcise those he'd possessed.

But as the month wore on and his master's spirit still stubbornly clung to the realm of Trench, Maul began to realize he had to face his master even if it was the scariest thing he'd ever have to do in his life. If he didn't confront him, Sidious was never going to leave. Bolstered by the encouragement of his friends and family, plus with the motivation of knowing only he could end this, Maul would go out to face his master. It'd be the hardest thing he'd ever have to do in his life, but to protect the people he loved so deeply and the place he called home, he would find a way to banish Palpatine forever from his life.

[OOC: This is the log post for the Palpatine in Trench player plot! Feel free to start your own open top-levels, set up closed threads, or just head straight over to the network post if you want to interact with Maul or threadjack people there. As a reminder, Maul doesn't necessarily need to be involved in exorcising an NPC or character if you just want to do to something among two of you.]

Comments

[tempredmental]

Keith didn't have a lightsaber, and the two swords he did have were both not a form of weapon Sidious had used before. But that didn't matter. He had access to Keith's mind, his skills, his memories, his knowledge, his talents... he could learn, and quickly, how it was that Keith could fight with these blades.

Though, when the Black Bayard took shape in his hand, it wasn't Keith's normal blade. The bayard reacted to the quintessence of the person wielding it. And, while Keith's body hadn't changed, the presence of Palpatine's spirit and the fact that he was in control, reshaped the blade into another form.

This brought an even wider grin to the young man's face as Palpatine realized the blade was adapting to him, giving him the benefit of not having to use Keith's abilities to sword fight, but being able to instead use his own.

[survivalthroughhate]

Though Maul had rarely if ever seen Keith’s sword-like weapon, there was a sick, vile feeling that radiated out from it as Sidious held it. Apparently, his very presence had been enough to corrupt it. Maul straightened his spine. He wasn’t going to let himself be intimidated by the sight of Sidious wielding the corrupted bayard.

Instead, without missing a beat, he pulled his second lightsaber out. The Darksaber hadn’t seen much use in the past year or so given Maul’s slow change but now was the time for it to kill again. He lit one blade of his saberstaff and the Darksaber, the red and black blades glowing there. Then he charged at Sidious with all the swiftness he possessed, coming in with his two blades sweeping them high in an attempt to take off his head.

[tempredmental]

Oh, dear Maul. That was so predictable. Keith's face twisted in grotesque amusement as the corrupted blade was lifted quickly in defense, catching both attacking weapons at their crossing point. Planting one leg behind him, he pushed back and wrenched it to the side, twirling the three weapons in a wide arc to deflect them away and bring it around for a counterattack towards Maul's stomach.

He wasn't going to go for the instant kill here. Oh, no. He wanted to draw this out, to enjoy the athletic prowess of his current host, and to feel the rage and anger warring inside him, fueling his power. And to make someone suffer as he did it? Even better, because he could feel that, too. And it was... delicious.

[survivalthroughhate]

He swept one blade down horizontally in a defensive measure to keep his insides from being spilled out while holding the other up and a bit out from his body in a vertical stance in case Sidious switched up the blow at the last moment. Maul let pure rage course through his veins. One of the only good things his father had ever done was cultivate Maul's courage and determination so that he was able to keep going. He simply would not stop until he was dead when it came to attacking an opponent.

He swiped his saberstaff down towards Keith's feet. "Really? You possess a younger form and this is the best you can do? Where's all your great power now? I should kill you just to keep you from being shamed by being so weak and pathetic." The taunts were obvious and even a little childish but Maul knew what to say to get under Sidious' skin. He prided himself on the power he wielded and that arrogance could make him sloppy in battle.

[tempredmental]

That certainly did hit a nerve. It would have hit a nerve in Keith, too, but Keith was more likely to respond with physical violence than a verbal attack. But, Sidious couldn't leave well enough alone. He had to show how witty he was, too... how effective his words could be.

He leapt easily, avoiding the swipe at the boy's feet.

"I've only just begun, apprentice." Maul would never be a 'master'. Oh, no. Sidious would never give him that pleasure. "Why waste such potential by using it all at once?" And certainly, that was a strategy. Sidious could feel that this boy had great endurance, and he was going to use that to his advantage. Another twirl of his blade, another attack. Yes, his sword work might be a little rusty from decades of disuse and relying strictly on the Force, but he wasn't about to admit that.