Maul felt a shiver run down his back when his ship dropped out of hyperspace. His own screams filled his ears, screams from a day when cruelty was the only way he ever knew. Sideous may be dead, but the pain he inflicted was not. Scars always remained longer than wounds. 

And Tyrannus...Maul could sense the hypocrite even from outside of Dromund Kaas's atmosphere. It would be such bliss to finally kill him, to snuff out the man that had replaced him oh so long ago. The day was finally here, the chance to take back what should have belonged to him. 

He wondered if Tyrannus knew what he was about to endure. Had he expected it? Had he dreaded it, or did he welcome the challenge as Maul did? Was he afraid? It mattered not, but the thought of Tyrannus quivering before him did please Maul.

Barriss felt her heart rate pick up as the ship descended to the surface. She had been proud to be Maul's apprentice, but she knew that this was where it was official. There could only be two Sith. Maul had yet to teach her the history behind the Sith Rule of Two, but the knowledge that she was about to become a part of it was...freeing. Empowering. In no longer than an hour, she was going to be the apprentice of a Sith Lord, a Master of the Dark Side. What greater honor in the galaxy existed?

When the ship touched down on the ground, Tyrannus had yet to show his face. As Maul and Barriss disembarked from the ship, the master asked his apprentice, "Do you remember the conventions of the challenge?"

"Yes, Master," she responded, walking in his wake. "I know I must not interfere with the duel."

"Just make certain that you keep your distance," he warned her, looking around the front entrance of the ancient Sith temple. "Tyrannus will use you against me if we allow it. I dare not risk your life in this challenge."

He started along the familiar paths, his feet remembering which way to go more than his mind did. Maul knew where Tyrannus would be waiting for him: In the throne room, sitting atop the chair that ought not to be his as if it would assert dominance over Maul. If Tyrannus sensed him at all, which he ought to, that is where he would be. 

This side of the planet was unlit at this hour, so the hallways of chiseled stone were dark and still. When his eyes could no longer see into the shadows, he ignited one end of his lightsaber to show him the way. Barriss did likewise behind him, making sure to keep close to her master. This was unfamiliar territory for her, and of the three people on this planet she was the weakest, she knew. It would be very easy to be made a victim here. 

Finally, Maul found the doors to the throne room. He deactivated his lightsaber, knowing this particular hall was eternally illuminated with Sith Fire. With both hands, he pushed open the doors, not caring about the creaking echo it made. 

It was just as he remembered it. Giant stone pillars marking a path to the foot of the throne, with stairs leading up to the stone chair. Torches set in every side of the pillars, blazing with stark blue fire. The room expanded around the throne as if it was built to host an empire of disciples who bowed before it. One glorious day, millennia ago, it had, Maul was sure. 

Tyrannus was indeed sitting on his late master's throne, looking as ghastly as ever. He rested his arms patiently on the armrests of the chair, his gaze straight forward and burning into Maul's forehead. "I see you have decided to stop hiding in the shadows," he noted, unblinking as the Zabrak approached the throne. "I was wondering if I would be seeing you soon."

"Do you see me now, Count?" Maul asked, opening his arms to let him look if he wanted. As he did, he looked around at the architecture. His face was one torn between fondness and disgust. "Ohh...if walls could speak, I dare wonder what they would say."

"You shouldn't," Tyrannus snarled, his long fingers gripping the edge of the throne. "You failed my master when you were killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Your resurrection does not redeem your place among the Sith."

Barriss, who knew she ought to stay back, stood next to the door and hid in the shadows. She watched her master scoff and point the hilt of his lightsaber at Tyrannus. "And if I was here to redeem my place as an apprentice, I would agree, but I haven't come to be your apprentice! Oh, no, no, no! I've come to be the Master! The day has come, Darth Tyrannus! I, Maul, challenge you for the throne of the Sith!"

Dropping his cape, Tyrannus stood up and walked step by step down to the ground. "You think having an apprentice makes you more eligible to replace me? You are not the first to try and rise up to supplant me Maul, yet I invite you, challenge me. The last fool who tried to destroy me is dead."

"Yes, yes, the lowly little Inquisitor," Maul spat, beginning to circle with Tyrannus. "Yet I respect her, for at least she had the sense to destroy Sideous before she was killed. Even you with all your wisdom could not see that he meant ill for us all."

"I was loyal," Tyrannus growled, pulling his lightsaber from his belt but not igniting it. "That wretch only cared about Skywalker, and she received what she deserved for her treachery."

Maul's face scrunched quizzically, before realizing the truth and laughing. "You still don't see it? Even after all you have been made privy to, you still don't understand your dear master's true plan? Skywalker was his goal! The Chosen One was going to supplant you, not that silly little girl! She saved you from your destruction, she saved all of us!"

That was too far. Tyrannus ignited his blade, leveling it at Maul and ceasing to circle him. "I will not have such treacherous words spoken in my temple. The Inquisitor was a traitor and a liar, and if you dare honor her memory then you will join her beyond the grave!"

In turn, Maul ignited both ends of his weapon and held it out in front, grounding himself to the temple. The Dark Side was strong here, and his roots grew deep in this soil. He let the power flow into him, consuming all that he was and all that he would be. This was his path forward, he knew. He was exactly where he was supposed to be. This was his destiny, his purpose in the universe. 

As it was his challenge, Maul was the first to attack. He spun his saber and leaped forward, driving in towards Tyrannus. The old man sidestepped and deflected the strike, and from that moment there was no backing down. The challenge was active. For each man, this duel could either end in victory or death. That was the nature of the Sith. Only the best may reign. 

Try as she might, Barriss couldn't prevent her breath from being taken away as she watched her master fight his opponent. The red blades cut furiously through the air, and there was little to no honor in this battle. Unlike Jedi, no code held them back from making the fight personal. If anything, Barriss knew that the Sith code encouraged it. Being the academic she was, she couldn't help but analyze the fight as it progressed.

Maul's technique, she was more familiar with. Rage and strength fueled his strokes and he fed his soul into every movement of his body. Even his robotic legs seemed to be powered with the Dark Side, always pushing, pushing to fight forward, to overpower his enemy. Maul knew his abilities and his strengths and he owned them proudly. There was no fear in his face, no shame in his fight. This was everything he was, everything he had become. Barriss knew that if Maul was not enough to be the Lord of the Sith, then he didn't want to be anything. He wanted it all.

So instead she focused on Tyrannus's dueling style. It was a stark contrast to her master, and she grimaced as she saw some of herself in his strategy. Tyrannus's movements were poised and controlled, and Barriss could see remnants of a Jedi in him. His skill was prominent, but it couldn't completely erase or hide that he had been raised as a Jedi and taught by a Jedi. He didn't seem to try to abolish it like Barriss was, but he laced it with the Dark Side and broke the chains the Jedi had cast upon him. He didn't deny his past but used it against those who would seek to manipulate it. It had no control over him, Tyrannus had control over it. His chains had become the weapon he used on others.

This mindset seemed to encompass his entire technique. He didn't try to overpower Maul, as he knew that was his strength as well as Maul himself did. Tyrannus relied on experience and skill more than ruthlessness or rage, and his power came from knowledge, not strength. To him, dueling was an art form, one to be perfected and refined over time. Tyrannus had put in much more time than Maul had, that he knew for certain.

What he did not know was that his time had passed. His skill and form with a lightsaber were impeccable, but it was no more than that. As an art form, it was perfected. As a means of power, it was expired. Maul saw this, saw it easily, and grinned once he realized. This old man was trapped in the past, clinging to a reality where his master would not abandon him, one where tradition was something to treasure and protect.

Dropping low, Maul tripped up Tyrannus and pushed him up against the nearest pillar using the Force. He held him there for a time, squeezing his neck as the count squirmed in the air. Violently, he threw the Sith down, feeling no pity as he slammed into the stone beneath him.

Barriss smiled, feeling sure that her master had gained the upper hand. Tyrannus was weak, and he was breaking. Her master was strong and refused to fail. It was only a matter of time before the challenge was won. 

She was tempted to walk forward and join her master as he claimed victory, but a nagging feeling pulled at her gut, pointing to something outside. While she didn't want to leave now, Barriss recognized that this was something important, something dangerous. She had always trusted her instincts, and this was no time to doubt herself. Quietly, she slipped out of the throne room and followed the tug of the Force. Maul didn't need her to win anyway.

As Tyrannus coughed on the ground, trying to regain his breath, Maul sneered at him, pacing around him like a vulture. "The era you love so dearly has passed, Count. You are not fit to rule in this new world, and I do not intend to let you."

Blood trickled down his head as Tyrannus pressed himself to his feet. "And who are you to rise up from the depths of failure? You, who grovels in the background like a thief in the night? I think not."

"You would seek to reign on high, I know you do! Yet even Sideous saw that you were unworthy of that honor! You tried to steal it by killing the Inquisitor, but it was never meant to be yours! The power that rests in you is not yours to use! Even Skywalker would have been a better successor than you!!!" He accused him, preparing to strike again. Tyrannus was growing weary, and he would not last much longer.

"Skywalker?" Tyrannus yelled, reigniting his blade and launching forward, giving in to the anger burning inside of him. He brought his lightsaber crashing down on Maul, pressing down as hard as he could. "Skywalker was weak! He was a fool!!! Even he could not tell friend from foe, and now he has lost both!"

Instead of trying to overcome the weight of Tyrannus pressing down on him, Maul stepped to the side and spun around, bringing his lightsaber over Tyrannus's head. Once more he pushed him back, and away from the throne they coveted. The two met in a saber lock, low and in front of their chests.

"I can't imagine what turmoil seeing your precious master die put you through," Maul seethed, his bloodshot eyes staring into the eyes of his enemy. "What rage must have consumed you to kill the girl who saved you."

To his surprise, it was Tyrannus's turn to grin. "That was the best part! It was Skywalker who unknowingly killed his double-crossing ally! You ought to wonder what pain he felt when he realized what he had done!!!"

Confusion crossed Maul's face, and he was distracted long enough for Tyrannus to throw him backward. He rolled and set himself back on his feet, but Maul's face ceased to show his shock. 

Maul had been wrong. He had thought that in his anger, Tyrannus had killed the Inquisitor after she betrayed Sideous, but it was Skywalker, blind and foolish as he was, who delivered the fatal blow! "This isn't right," he murmured, actually turning off his saber. 

"What?" Tyrannus asked, brandishing his weapon once more. "What is the meaning of this???"

"The power of the Sith is not yours," Maul told him, wandering away. "It never was. It has passed to Skywalker himself." He laughed at himself for not realizing it sooner, then screamed into the hall as if he was alone. "It is SKYWALKER I must kill!!!"

Tyrannus would have asked, or at least killed him for the nonsense spouting out of his mouth, but the child from earlier ran back into the room, calling for Maul. "Master! Master!"

Both heads snapped in her direction and simultaneously saw the fear written across her face. Maul approached Barriss, no longer interested in Tyrannus. "What is it, my apprentice?"

"The Jedi! The Jedi are here!!!"