"He is the key to overthrowing Tyrannus," Maul answered her, his yellow eyes shifting.

Ahsoka didn't understand how. Did they need Anakin specifically to fight Tyrannus? "To defeating him?"

"To remove his right to the throne of the Sith," Maul explained, letting his arm relax at his side. "What do you know about the Sith Rule of Two?"

"Darth Bane made the Rule of Two after the Jedi-Sith War, over a thousand years ago," Ahsoka responded, remembering the history lessons Sideous had given the Sister. "Only one master and one apprentice may exist at a time."

Maul nodded, pleased that she was familiar with the story. "Yes, but do you know why it was made?" he asked, and Ahsoka gave no answer.

When she remained silent, he supplied her with the rest of the story. "It was made because the Sith Lords of old became too greedy for power, and it destroyed them. They competed for it and killed each other for it. Bane knew that lust for power would persist, so he created a system in which the power of the Master would pass to the apprentice. Down, the tradition carried, from generation to generation. The apprentice would become greedy, and they would strike down their master. As they did, the spirits of all the Sith before them would reside within, and the new Master would be declared."

Was that even possible? The Sith had never told the Sister that, and Ahsoka could sense that even her alter ego was shocked.

"I planned to kill Tyrannus the day he stole Barriss from me," he went on, disregarding Ahsoka's confusion. "I knew the Sith's new puppet, the Inquisitor, had killed Sideous, but I thought Tyrannus had exacted his revenge on her by killing her in turn. From what he claimed, though, it was Skywalker who killed the Inquisitor. Sideous's power, and all of the power that lived in him, has now passed through the girl into Skywalker."

Ahsoka's eyes widened because even that version of the story wasn't true. Anakin hadn't killed her, he had hidden her and protected her. As far as she knew, she was very much still alive. "The Master of the Sith is...."

Maul nodded, seeing that she understood. "Skywalker."

Me, Ahsoka realized fearfully. It's me.

That's not possible, the Sister insisted, talking as if the idea was absurd. If we were-If I was a Sith Master, we would have noticed something by now-

And notice something, they did. At that exact moment, a Dark flame woke up inside of Ahsoka, flowering and making itself known to both consciousnesses. This wasn't the Dark Side that they had come to know, but a deeper, dangerous power that came from outside of her. This wasn't the Sister, this was...this was the Sith.

Maul sensed it too. He seemed to recoil from her, just a step or two, but he recognized the power unveiling itself inside of her. "The Inquisitor...was a young teenage Togruta..." he remembered, and Ahsoka looked up at him. Recognition crossed his face, and he almost seemed to be in awe. "It was you. You killed Darth Sideous at the height of his power...and you're still alive."

He immediately changed tactics, gesturing wildly to her. "Tyrannus will not let you live if he finds that you have not fallen to Skywalker. He may not have known the true nature of the Rule of Two before, but I assure you he will find out, and he will stop at nothing to inherit his master's power."

"No," Ahsoka objected, standing her ground and keeping her distance. She pressed a hand to her chest, as if it could somehow smother the flame inside her. "I don't want this power, and I will not be what Sideous was. I was never a Sith, and I never will be."

"Don't you understand?!?" Maul asked incredulously, almost shouting at her. "Against the power of all of the Sith for the past one thousand years, Tyrannus doesn't stand a chance! You can destroy him, alone and without help, and you can end the abuse that has carried through the generations of Masters and apprentices! You could even bring it back to the Republic to defend them, or destroy it if that is what you wish! You have the greatest power this universe has ever seen!!!"

No, no, I won't do it! I don't want it! she screamed in her head, desperate for the Darkness in her to go away. Closing her eyes and doubling over, Ahsoka focused, concentrating on the Force, on the one thing she could count on. Is this my fate? she asked fearfully. Is this my future?

The Force opened up to her, and she felt it engulf her, taking everything she was into account. There were no accidents in the Force, Anakin had taught her that much. The will of the Force was more powerful than her and more powerful than Maul. It had put Ahsoka through a lot over the past four years, but it hadn't been wrong yet. She looked as far as she could, as far as she could see into the future, and looked at herself. Is this what I will be?

It took many agonizing, terrifying moments, but Ahsoka didn't see it. She didn't see herself as a Sith, nor with the magnitude of power that Maul claimed she had. She wasn't certain about what her future held, but her path was not the one he was anointing her with. Trying to calm down, she controlled her breathing and focused on the flame inside of her. I deny you, she told the power trying to invade her. I deny the power of the Sith.

It subsided, and it no longer felt like it was going to overpower her, but it didn't go away. Still, it was enough. She opened her eyes, her blue ones staring back at Maul's yellow ones. "You lie. I will not be what you say I am." Drawing her weapons, she ignited them and dropped into her stance. "Your vision is flawed."

That answer did not please Maul. "I see the Master needs one last lesson."

~

Going to skip this part, because there is no way I can do that duel justice with only words :)

~

Light from Maul's escape ship was shining down through the dome, blinding in the shadows that shrouded the beams. Ahsoka wanted to move, wanted to jump to another beam that was more stable, but Maul wasn't letting that happen.

It struck Maul that this was the challenge for the Throne of the Sith, not his duel against Tyrannus. This was his chance to seize power, and although he shivered at the idea of being pressed under the thumb of Sideous again, he knew he could use that power. If Tano would not, then he would. "I give you one last chance," he told Ahsoka, trying to catch his breath. "Rise up...or die."

"Never," she answered defiantly, and she prepared to make her final moves. Maul swung his saber at her, trying every angle to get her to fall off the beam if she wouldn't be sliced in half. Ahsoka dodged the red blade, ducking and jumping lightly in case the beam was about to snap under the stress. Maul went in for one last stroke, right as she was running out of space for her feet, but Ahsoka went forward too, grabbing his saber and stepping around him. She twisted it down and ripped it out of his grasp, sending Maul off the edge of the beam and down. Ahsoka didn't let him fall for long, though. With the Force, she held him in midair, a few meters below her.

"Let me go," he told her, his voice growing desperate. "Kill me, Inquisitor!"

Ahsoka did no such thing but held him still as gunships rose to surround him. The doors opened to reveal troops with cable guns, ready to detain Maul.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE IT!" he shouted at her, almost terrified. "YOU CANNOT DENY WHO YOU ARE!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!!"

Rex had no idea what Maul was screaming about, but it didn't matter to him. He stunned him, and Ahsoka finally released his body so it hung from the edge of the gunship. The body swung slightly, but did not fall and did not move.

"We'll take it from here, General," Rex assured her, waiting for Ahsoka to nod before signaling the pilot to leave. Ahsoka would jump to one of the other gunships, but they needed to lock Maul up before he recovered.

Ahsoka stood, ready to get back to Bo-Katan and report that Maul was captured, but she looked up and out of the dome before she moved. Maul's ship had fled once the occupants realized he wasn't going to escape her, so all that was left to see was the night sky.

She had given up her chance to go after Tyrannus and Barriss if what Maul said was true. There was no telling what he would do to her, but Ahsoka had a feeling it wasn't going to be pretty. Ahsoka doubted she would even survive. After the Sister and Ventress, she doubted Tyrannus was willing to trust another young female Force user.

Speaking of, she thought, looking down again, do you want to explain yourself?

I didn't know! The Sister defended herself, finally piping up. Neither Sideous nor Tyrannus ever told us this, they probably hid it from us. I wouldn't be surprised if not even Tyrannus knew, or he would have tried to kill us sooner.

Ahsoka jumped onto the gunship, instructing for the pilot to begin their descent. Are you sure? she asked, hanging onto one of the straps hanging from the roof of the compartment, or were you just waiting to tell me until it was too late?

You fought it down, the Sister reminded her, and I didn't interfere. I didn't even try to use that power. I'm not trying to overpower you.

"You all right, General?" one of the troopers asked, noticing her blank expression. Ahsoka blinked and nodded, telling the Sister, we'll talk about this later.

"I am," she answered, hoping it was true. "Don't worry about me."

~

"General," Rex called out, walking towards Bo-Katan and Ahsoka, who were talking after Ahsoka was back on the ground. "I have the Council waiting."

"And Master Skywalker," she added, "were you able to contact him?"

"He was at the meeting when I left to get you," Rex affirmed, hoping he was still there. He should have said something to the Jedi before he had left the room, he realized in retrospect.

Behind Ahsoka, Bo-Katan gestured away. "Go on. I can handle this," she assured her, and Ahsoka walked with Rex to meet with the Council. Doubtless, Mandalore had some method of binding Maul.

As they walked together, Ahsoka hoped she wasn't shaking. Despite the Sister's word that she did not plan to become a Sith, the fear was still smoldering in the back of her mind. She was sure that Rex noticed something was up, but he didn't say anything. Not yet.

When the two of them walked into the room where the call was happening, the Jedi Masters who were present turned to look at her. Ahsoka noticed that Anakin wasn't among them. "I understand your mission was a success," Mace Windu prompted her, and Ahsoka folded her hands behind her back.

"Yes, I have Maul in custody," Ahsoka reported, making sure her voice was even. "I will escort Commander Rex when he delivers him to Coruscant."

"A great service to the Republic, you have done," Yoda praised her, smiling up at her.

Instead of accepting it, though, she replied quite simply, "I did my duty as a citizen."

A look crossed Yoda's face that she didn't see often. "Not as a Jedi," he understood, and Ahsoka flashed back to their earlier conversation, after the mission on Lokori.

"No, not as a Jedi," she affirmed. "Actually, I was hoping to speak with General Skywalker."

"I sent him to inform the Chancellor that General Grevious has indeed been located on Utapau."

"Master Kenobi?" Ahsoka asked, hopeful for some kind of update.

Yoda complied. "Engaged the enemy, he has."

"Then the war could be over soon," she said softly, imagining if it could be true. "Grievous is a great asset to Dooku. Without his general, his forces are going to be hindered."

Ki-Adi Mundi nodded, folding his arms. "That is the hope, although we are still at a loss as to the whereabouts of Dooku himself."

Ahsoka made eye contact with Windu's hologram, who addressed Ki-Adi and Aayla Secura. "I would like to speak with Miss Tano and Master Yoda for a moment, if I may." The other two Jedi were confused, but nodded and disconnected.

Since he was standing off to the side, Rex wasn't at the center of attention, which meant that no one really noticed the look on his face when this happened. He was watching Ahsoka, and he noticed her body language shift a little bit. She went from a guarded, controlled expression to a more open one, as if the more personal communication was more comfortable.

When they were alone, Windu began to speak again. "We used those coordinates you provided for us. The coordinates for Dromund Kaas led us to Dooku, at least, momentarily. He managed to escape, but we made sure to do some damage to his base, and we got our hands on as much intel as we could. Normally, I wouldn't tell a citizen this, but because you provided the coordinates you should probably know."

"Was there anyone else on the planet?" Ahsoka asked, remembering Maul's claim from the throne room.

"Unfortunately, yes," he told her. "Miss Offee was also on the planet when we attacked. While we managed to destroy the Sith Temple there, we did not capture her, Dooku, or Maul, who was with them."

Across the holotable, Yoda smirked. "I suppose that should show what an accomplishment it is that you have succeeded to do so."

Windu folded his arms and went on. "We want to launch an attack on the other set of coordinates soon, most likely within the next week. If both that attack and Kenobi's attack on Utapau are successful, it may be enough to coerce the Separatists into surrender. Unfortunately, I can say no more on the matter," he told her, and Ahsoka nodded.

"I understand," she replied, nodding. Windu disconnected from the call, and Ahsoka would have too, if Yoda hadn't been looking at her.

"Ahsoka, more to say, have you? A message for Skywalker, perhaps?"

She hesitated, knowing that Anakin was the one to talk to about what Maul had told her. And yet, she wasn't sure she wanted Yoda to know, not now. She had no idea how the Grandmaster would react. "No, Master. Thank you. I'll tell him myself when I see him."

Yoda nodded, accepting her answer. "May the Force be with you." His hologram blinked, and Ahsoka and Rex were left standing in the dark.

Walking up beside her, Rex asked, "You didn't tell them what Maul said about Offee," he noted, not entirely sure what to make of the fact.

"No, I didn't," she affirmed, because she didn't know what to think either. All she did know what that something was up and she didn't understand what it was yet. The pit in her stomach hadn't gone away. She walked out of the room, knowing that the next step was to secure Maul and board him onto the cruiser waiting for them. She didn't know how that was going to be done, but she had a feeling Bo-Katan was already on it.