Intro:

This story takes place immediately after Darth Maul is stricken down by 
Obi-Wan.  As before, all characters, scenes and props are the property of 
George Lucas and Lucasfilm, Inc.  Original material falls under my copyright.


"Darth Maul:  Ascension"
By Ray Van Horn, Jr.
Original Material Copyright 1999

     The unexpected, searing pain shredding Darth Maul's exposed innards was 
comparable to digesting fire.  His gored intestines vomited forth from the 
bisecting slash of the Jedi Padawan's lightsaber blade, dangling nauseatingly 
as Maul's bottom half separated itself from the remainder of his body.

     The offensive display of grue was nearly offset by the shocked, enraged 
facade of Darth Maul as he gagged and hacked blood from the spikes holding 
sentry in his mouth; his sharp incisors released sanguinary fluids like 
floodgates as he gurgled in protest at his sudden death.

     Still conscious as his cleaved halves tumbled down the airshaft in the 
Theed power generator, Maul's final thought was that of his master, Darth 
Sidious.  He prayed that his liege would somehow avenge him upon the young 
Padawan who had incredulously snuffed out Maul's lifeforce.  It was a 
fleeting death wish, as Darth Maul caught a last glimpse of the accursed 
Padawan extinguishing his lightsaber before succumbing to the ultimate 
darkness.

     But Maul, in essence, did not cease to exist.  Trapped in a limbo state 
of purgatory, Darth Maul's severed body sections were mere discarded, 
inanimate pieces of flesh, but the core blackness of Maul's soul freefalled 
in a pitch-black portal that offered no indication of its destination.  
Maul's soul floated and gyrated like a dead animal on a spit--only there was 
no flesh to roast.  If there was any sensation Maul felt at all--he was dead, 
after all--it was a possible frigid chill that numbed the astral form he 
maintained.

     His ghostly spirit spun backwards a few times, much like his flawlessly 
executed backflips that were an integral part of his repertoire of fighting 
maneuvers when he still lived.  What was uncomfortable was the lack of 
control to the tailspins.  There was nothing Maul could do to prevent himself 
from tumbling in reverse.  In this maddening existence, Darth Maul was as 
useless in agility as the day he broke free of his mother's womb.  Indeed, 
this annoyingly hellish plane of the dead made him feel like an infant 
struggling to balance itself on two feet.  The only problem was, there was 
nowhere to put one's feet in this deathscape.

     He tried to call out to Darth Sidious--in many ways, Darth Maul still 
denied that he was dead--but nothing released from his silenced mouth.  It 
was then, that for the first time since he was conceived, Darth Maul knew 
fear.

     He so desperately wanted to scream, to know that a true, tangible part 
of his former self still existed.  To make matters worse, he felt his 
weightlessness rebel against him--how horrifying it was to feel, but with no 
real feeling involved.  He twirled in a downward spiral that he was impotent 
to resist.  Whatever force controlled this nightmarish realm was toying with 
his soul like a sadistic parent cruelly demoralizing a defenseless child.  
That was how Darth Maul felt, having been slain by the Jedi 
Padawan--demoralized.

     Hints of rage fueling the driving mechanism of the embodied engine of 
destruction that was once Darth Maul swirled like transitory electricity 
throughout the wispy configuration of Maul's new, air-like existence.  He 
strongly desired the savory feel of the lightsaber in his transparent hand.  
He wanted to crush something--anything-- with his once powerful maw, but had 
neither the means nor the mass to do so.  The hate that had guided him in 
life was now an overbearing humiliator, taunting him to the brink of insanity.

     Just one scream, just to know I exist!  Maul pleaded to whatever entity 
held watch in this horrid domain.  Damn you with every ounce of anger left 
within me!

     As if in answer, a scene from Maul's mortal life mystically penetrated 
the abyss.  A deep, guttural feeling (though there were no guts to speak of) 
triggered within his current form, finally offering him solace.

     He witnessed a younger vision of himself, still a pupil in the eyes of 
Darth Sidious.  Wearing only a black, snug loincloth, the vivid 
representation of himself flooded the dead Maul with a sense of hope, where 
there was once despair.  In the vision, the younger Maul was sprinting 
barefooted through a forest on the planet Yavin.  The red and black marks 
adorning his face yielded no signs of perspiration as he moved stealthily 
through the lush foliage and gargantuan trees.  Darth Sidious monitored his 
movements from the Sith temple acres away by means of The Force as the 
protege executed somersaults, cartwheels and backsprings.  Maul seemed to 
float amidst the trees, as he leaped up and thrust a naked foot against the 
gnashing bark of a nearby tree.  The hard kick had left a trace of an imprint 
that amazed the young Sith.

     The upraised horns on his shaven head pulsated in time to his rhythmic 
heartbeat as he continued his exercise in the forest.  Appearing almost 
barbarously primitive, the youthful Darth Maul sprang forward like a lunging 
Wookie, extending his hands so that he planted them into the soft earth, and 
then propelled himself upwards, feet first.  He landed again gracefully, then 
jumped up and released a midair roundhouse kick.  He then twirled and 
launched another diagonal kick with one foot while keeping his other leg 
perpendicular to the ground.  To complete the exercise, Maul unraveled a 
series of quick-snapped jabs, then he leaned backwards, straining the sinews 
of his leg muscles, with an upraised, beckoning, Force-driven claw, he 
unearthed a large rock wedged at the base of an oak tree.  He guided the rock 
slowly through the air, demonstrating his mastery of  telekinesis, and bore a 
pleased, benevolent grin upon his tattooed face.  Finally, he exerted more of 
The Force and sent the rock careening into the same oak tree from whence it 
had been dislodged, where it crumbled against the resistance of the dense 
tree.

     "Excellent, my young apprentice," the voice of Darth Sidious echoed as 
the image dematerialized, plunging Darth Maul into darkness once again.

      NO!  Maul cried, to no avail.  So soon had he begun to feel alive 
again, then just as quickly was he reminded of his fate.

     Before he could dwell on the disturbing thought, however, a new image 
crystallized before him.

     If he could see himself right now, he fathomed that his mouth was 
drooped open in awe.

     Surrounded by a bluish aura, a female-like form floated toward him; at 
least, it appeared as if the essence was female.  There was no real dimension 
to the spirit approaching Maul, but the whispery, tenuous fibers that snaked 
and waved atop the perfectly ovalled head like thin strands of hair, and the 
deep, engaging eyes, coupled with the small, hallowish nose and full layered 
lips, made the form evidently female.  Below the head, the mysterious entity 
appeared hazy, as if camoflauging any trace of a body.

     A tendril extended from the female existence, reaching for Maul.  So 
bright was the radiation emanating from her aura, that Darth Maul was 
suddenly aware that he could see a blue shrouded version of his hand, which 
was unconsciously aiming towards the effeminate spirit's prolongation.  To 
his extreme pleasure, his hand merged with the tendril, and the apparition 
glided closer to him.  The two eidolons locked together in an embrace, their 
auras glowing incandescently.

     The phantasma's eyes beamed with expectation as Darth Maul allowed her 
to draw closer to where his lips should be.  Her eyes fluttered shut 
dreamily, and her mouth swam through their unification to meet his, forming 
what was undeniably a firm kiss.

     As they locked their lips, Darth Maul suddenly realized the significance 
of this union.  This umbra was The Force, the very same Force that had 
resided within his mortal frame, the same Force that demanded greatly from 
him, and nurtured him sweetly in return.  This dark kiss was Darth Maul's 
ascension into immortality....