deercountry | Catch-All (OTA)

Maul had time to contemplate his future in Trench after many of his friends (and foes) had departed. He'd faced many of his demons here and become a better person. Coming to terms with his brother's death, going back to his own galaxy and coming back with more understanding of his own mind, and finally facing down Darth Sidious in order to banish him for good.

Now he felt it was time to rid himself of some of the pain he'd carried around with him for so long. He contacted Ezra and asked to meet at his home to talk about something on his mind, remaining decidedly vague on what that was. He set up some tea for when the young Jedi arrived and waited.

It's a mark of how far Maul has come, that Ezra doesn't press for specifics, and simply agrees to come over. He's not exactly a frequent visitor to Maul's house for casual social calls, but truly, his only assumption is Maul may have something fairly serious he wants to talk through.

Which Ezra generally happy to do, for nearly anyone.

So, he turns up in timely fashion and offers a small smile as he comes in.

"Do I rate the good tea?" he teases, lightly.

"By this point, yes." He said, serious as usual as he pulled out a few different boxes of tea, setting them down so that Ezra could pick which one he liked while Maul poured the water into some mugs.

Once he'd gotten his own ready, he stripped his gloves off so that he could feel the warmth run through his hands, the scars on them prominent if one looked close enough to see them blending in with his red and black skin. "I have something serious I need to ask you. Of those left here from the galaxy, I feel only you or perhaps Luke might have any idea of what needs to be done."

And if Ezra picks the blend he's certain Obi-Wan would have preferred? Well, he doesn't say anything out loud about it.

He settles into a chair, with his own mug. Something Maul doesn't believe he can accomplish using Darkside techniques, or at least not alone, he surmises. He nods. "Ok. I'm listening."

No promises beyond that, yet, but Maul has his full attention.

"I've been thinking a great deal about my kyber crystals. When I bled them, they helped shoulder some of the burden of pain, hate, anger, and misery that I was experiencing at the time. But as of late..." He paused, trying to word things correctly. "....I no longer need that. I've been able to let go of a lot of what had burdened me at that point in my life, especially after I was able to defeat my old master. And it no longer seems right to have them carry something that I no longer need."

He took a sip of tea, waiting to see what Ezra would have to say to that.

While he'd spoken to Ezra, Maul also wanted to get the opinion of another Sith. He could have spoken to Savage about purifying his crystals but his brother had the tendency to just go along with whatever Maul wanted most of the time, a habit he still hadn't quite broken the other Zabrak out of. No, another Sith Lord was the better option.

He asked Darth Imperius in for tea just as he had Ezra. He found it was easier to talk this over in a calmer setting instead of one that could end up hyping up his emotions and making him get passionate about a subject that was rather difficult for him to bring up. He nudged the boxes of tea across towards the Sith as he set the kettle on the stove to boil. "I need your opinion on something I have been considering."

Imperius arrived right on time, his saberstaff strapped his his belt as always. A Sith never went anywhere without their weapon. When Maul had invited him to tea, of course he'd said yes. He helped himself to a tea bag, waiting patiently for the water to boil.

"What sort of thing?"

Once the water had boiled, Maul filled up two mugs, setting one in front of Imperius. He told him the brief story of how he'd come to this point in the decision-making process.

"My saberstaff. There's four crystals within it. I didn't kill any Jedi to get them, my master thought I was too young for that when it came time to build my saber. So they called out and came to me when I went searching for them. I bled them all. At the time it's what I needed, for them to help carry some of my anger, pain, and hate. But lately....I don't need that anymore. Much of what I've carried around for so long I've been able to finally address head-on and put to rest."

He knew Imperius had been there for part of when he'd faced off against Sidious, how he'd overcome his fear of his monstrous former master. "I've been thinking of seeking out a way to purify them." He'd mostly been staring down and now looked up at this last part to gauge Imperius's reaction.

Talwyn bobbed his teabag in his cup once Maul added the water, listening to what the other Sith had to say. "Purify them? I must say, I'm not familiar with that process. But, I wasn't familiar with bleeding either, until Ezra explained it to me." Not unless it was just obscure in his time, something that some backwater Sith came up with.

"I made my crystals myself, when I made my lightsaber." Something that had fallen out of practice, also according to Ezra.

"I didn't even know that was a possibility," Maul remarked with a small bit of surprise. He had no idea if it was because his master had thought such a method was weak and pathetic or if because Sidious genuinely had no idea about it. Much knowledge had been lost between Imperius's time and Maul's after all.

"I'm not sure it even can be done. But purifying it would require taking out everything that was within the crystals that caused them to be bled in the first place." For Maul, that was going to be difficult. A lot of negative emotions had gone into them to turn them red in the first place. "But I think it is something I now need to do."

"Oh yes, it was quite common in my time. There's very few worlds where natural kyber crystals can be found, and the Jedi had a hold on Ilum, so many Sith either made crystals, bought them, or their masters handed them down during initial training." Zash had given him his first saberstaff, crystals included, and then he'd used his ancestor's saberstaff for a year, before he'd taken that next step and built a weapon of his own.

"I think I understand enough about bleeding by now to say that I recommend purifying them. Like you said, it's something you need to do. It's a matter of whether you think you can let go of your anger and hatred enough so that you can."

"By my time, the tradition was to kill a Jedi, take the crystal from their lightsaber, and bleed it to bind it as your own. But since I was so young, I don't think my master thought I'd be capable of killing one." He sighed in a resigned fashion. "He was probably right." Maul had barely been able to kill a Jedi padawan when he was twenty-one, albeit one who was pretty much done with her training and would have been knighted soon had he not snuffed out her life. "So just took me secretly to Ilum and had me find the crystals that spoke out to me there."

Maul nodded at hearing Imperius agree with him. It was heartening to hear a fellow Sith tell him that what he was doing was the right course of action. "I think I can do so. Much of what I was angry about have been things I can finally let go."

"I suppose that's one way to do it, if the knowledge of crystal forging truly has been lost to time." Talwyn had found that the crystals he made responded to him better than the ones Zash and Aloysius had given him. Perhaps if he'd gone looking for natural crystals, they would have worked even better, but he was content with that he had.

"Now that you've confronted Sidious, you mean?" He took a sip of tea.

"You and I both already know the amount of knowledge that the Sith possessed which has been lost from your time could fill up an entire library." Maul said the words with a dry tone to them. It really was a damn shame to have lost so much which could have been passed down thanks to all the in-fighting and backstabbing that their order always engaged in.

"That was part of it, yes. I needed to learn not to be afraid of him any longer. The other part..." He hesitated for a moment. "I blamed Obi-Wan for so long for his part in what happened to me. He was an easier target than focusing on my master. But once I actually got to know him in Deerington and here, I..." He was still a bit reluctant to discuss what had happened between them. But he trusted Imperius, at least to the extent he was able to trust any other Sith Lord. "...I fell in love with him. That caused much of the anger I'd held so long towards him to vanish."

"I know." There was so much the Sith of Maul's time could have learned from the mistakes of his own, plus all that lost knowledge. Talwyn himself was probably nothing more than a forgotten Sith Lord, in a barren tomb on Korriban, by Maul's time.

He paused before taking another sip of tea, processing that information. "You fell in love with a Jedi... I mean, I suppose I can't talk. I fell in love with a Republic spy who just happened to be the estranged son of the Jedi grandmaster."

"The line between hate and love is a thin one, especially when one becomes obsessed as I did with him. He just wouldn't fall to the temptation of the Dark Side no matter what I did. And even after all I did to him, he still found it within himself to have compassion for me and be kind to me." Obi-Wan had a personality that made him easy to love and so Maul had fallen hard for him, even if he managed to lie to himself for a long time about his feelings. "But he never was able to return my feelings, and besides, I was already happy with Reaper as my husband."

He chuckled when Talwyn mentioned who he'd fallen in love with. "Sounds like quite the tale. I wonder if any Sith anywhere has ever done anything like falling in love in less than dramatic fashion." He doubted it. Sith were drama queens by nature.

"Probably not," Talwyn chuckled. When Sith fell in love, they fell hard, giving in to their passions. "I know how you felt about Obi-wan though. I loved Theron, and I would have burned the galaxy down if it meant keeping him safe, or avenging him. I tore my way through our enemy's base when he was captured."

This is why they got along. The two of them could understand their intense emotions and how it had shaped their lives as Sith. "Now that truly does sound like a romantic tale. Like a knight coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress. Have I ever told you the story of how Reaper and I met in Deerington? It is very dramatic, just as the pair of us are. And romantic."

"I was like that, except that he'd already gotten free by the time I got there. We did escape together, though." Still, it was the thought that counted, and Theron was grateful that Imperius had come all the way to save him.

"I don't think you have, no." Imperious poured himself more water and got a fresh teabag. "I'd love to hear it."

"I'd been told not to trust the townspeople when I first arrived. They weren't real people, just figments of a half-Pthumerian's memories exaggerated and brought to life, but I didn't know that at the time. I also didn't listen for they were kind the first month I was there. I thought everyone else was mistaken. They got my guard down.

And once they did that, they drugged me. I woke up groggy, sewn to a dead deer, as the small building they'd put me in was lit on fire. I was still too drugged to get out of there on my own. I would have either suffocated from the smoke or burnt to death. That's when Reaper appeared." There was a soft look that came into Maul's eyes and it showed in his voice as well. "I thought I was dreaming at first. A masked man dressed all in black, holding a shotgun phasing through the wall? Impossible. But he rescued me, knocking down a wall and then dragging me through before the flames could reach me. Very romantic, wouldn't you say? He killed and injured a few of the townspeople as well and so did I once I was able to breathe again. We walked a little and talked after that, learning about one another. Imagine my surprise when he returned the flirtations I tried out on him. There was a spark between us even from that first meeting that simply grew and grew until it was undeniable. Everything that occurred between us since then can be traced back to that."

He smiled fondly at the thought of his husband. How different his life would have been had he not met Reaper his first month in Deerington.

"How romantic," Talwyn smiled sincerely. "Sounds like you really love him."

He wondered if that was what he sounded like when he spoke of Theron. Or Lord Cytharat, in the brief time that they'd known each other. He and the other Sith had liked each other, and had even kissed, but their paths had simply taken them in different directions.

Maul was pleased someone else besides himself found such a story romantic. Others sometimes found it a bit disconcerting when he told of their first meeting. "I do. It took a very long time to realize that and even longer to say the words but I do love him. I want to spend the rest of my life and grow old with him."

Preferably by then, Maul hoped they would have racked up many more piles of bodies through their usual shenanigans. He'd already shed pints of blood and left corpses in his wake when it came to protecting Reaper. He'd never lost a day's sleep about it when it was in defense of his mate.

"Seems like finding someone to grow old with is something the Sith of my time take for granted." Far too many Sith saw love as a hindrance, something to hold them back, something that could be used against them by their enemies. Or they tossed their lovers aside when it suited them. Talwyn didn't want that. He wanted something real.

"Theron and I met under rather... unusual circumstances. He, I, and another Sith uncovered a conspiracy involving a cult dedicated to a man we thought was dead, so we teamed up to put a stop to it. When he and I met in person for the first time, there was this immediate infatuation between the two of us. It was mostly playful flirting at first, but the more we got to know each other, the more real my feelings became."

"Mine as well. Most either die alone, bitter, and betrayed or are content to be alone on top." Sidious was that way and Maul now pitied the old man a little for being unable to ever know the feeling of loving another person. He was pathetic that way.

Maul smiled at the story. Of course they would have met that way. Of course. "That's how it was with Reaper and I at first. It was just meant to be flirting between us, something to pass the time to amuse ourselves with. Fortunately for us both, Pthumerians have a way of throwing people into intense circumstances that force them to bond quickly, so we soon became more than just friends." Being snowed in at a haunted hotel had certainly given them a lot of time to cuddle in their rooms together, happy as a pair of clams to spend most of their time having sex.

"Sounds like half the Dark Council." Some Sith had children, but they weren't exactly the product of loving unions. Rumor was that Malgus had a significant other once, but she was no longer around.

"Funny how that tends to happen, doesn't it? People brought together by weird or intense situations." He ran his finger along the rim of his teacup, careful to keep his fingernail away from the ceramic.

Maul sipped his tea slowly, eyes far away as he thought over the last three years he and Reaper and spent together. "It just kept going on with us. Intense situations that kept bringing us closer. It wasn't at all perfect and there was more than one confrontation between us. I even killed him once. But in the end, we have become all the stronger for it. Being married is certainly an experience I never expected to find myself in. But here I am, now with a husband and a last name both." Technically he was Maul Reyes now if he wanted to introduce himself as such.

"Love has been good to experience. I wouldn't be able to even think of purifying my lightsaber if I hadn't learned what I have by loving others and being loved in return." He felt like such a sap saying that but it was true. Going down that path of love had led him right where he was now, on the verge of doing something else he never thought would be possible.

"It's funny, because had Theron and I met under different circumstances, we may have been enemies. We may have fought each other." He couldn't imagine hurting Theron, let alone killing him. Still, he was glad they hadn't met earlier, and circumstance had allowed them to meet as allies and equals. It meant that he'd seen Theron, and not SIS Agent Shan, and Theron had seen him as Talwyn Kallig, and not just another Sith.

"I'd like to marry Theron one day. Sure, I'd get a Jedi and a Republic Commando for in-laws, but I could live with it." He could just imagine what Satele Shan and Jace Malcolm's reactions would be to their son falling for a Sith.

"I hope you do get to marry him someday. What a union that would be." Maul chuckled softly for a moment.

"Such a marriage I fear would be impossible in my time due to how few there are on the Dark Side." Even Ventress had picked a Nightbrother in the form of Savage for her mate rather than anyone on the Light Side. "Although I could imagine my master marrying the tiny old reptile that is the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order if it had somehow served his own purposes." Really, Sidious would have done absolutely anything if it got him what he wanted. "They would have had a lot in common, both old and senile as they both are."

June

A. Everything Old Is New Again

I. Simulacrum
[Taken from the March 2021 Deerington event.]

[Maul woke up in a bed that wasn’t his own and in an unfamiliar place. When he looked down at his hands, he found that they weren’t the red-and-black they should have been. They were now the skin tone of a human being. Cautiously reaching up, he found instead of horns that he had hair. His legs were still prosthetics, much less advanced ones than he was used to, but that was about the only consistent thing that remained.

He immediately freaked out and began to try to get out of the small room he was in. A bunch of nurses and doctors rushed in, trying to calm him down, telling him that nothing was wrong. From what they said, this was something that happened regularly for him. They asked him if he remembered the accident, tried to insist his words about being in a different world were merely his delusions at work again.

The doctors sedated him for a period of time until he proved he was calm enough to be let out around the other patients. When he finally was allowed out into the common area among them, he was stunned. He remembered some of these people from Deerington and Trench!

….But was that real? Or was this real? Was he just insane? After all, sanity for him had always been a very tenuous state and the idea that he’d made up an entire life wasn’t beyond the scope of possibility for him. But if the last three years had been pure fantasy conjured by his mind, why had it felt so real?

He approached one of the people that he thought he recognized, limping over on prosthetics that felt near useless with how primitive they were. He sat down across from them.]

You seem familiar

II. Rabid Love
[Taken from the February 2021 Deerington event.]

He’d already experienced this all-consuming passion that was brought on by the infection caused by the flower rats once. You’d think this place would have been content with having him experience that a single time but apparently now. For here he was, being bitten again and once more showing his obsessive version of love to his chosen target again.

Maul being Maul, he followed his chosen target around from afar at first. He’d watch from the rooftops or from around corners, obsessively keeping an eye to make sure they just stayed safe. He knew better than anyone how hard that was in a place like Trench. But eventually it began to evolve, from watching to possessiveness. He’d break into their homes and aggressively make sure that no one was allowed to leave.

“No. You must stay here. With me. You’ll be safe that way.” Trying to get him to stop this insanity merely by talking to him was no good. The rat bite on his shoulder would need to be cleaned out. The clue as to what to do lay in the purple flower-shaped bruises on his skin. They’d begin to bloom more and more as time went on, giving his colorful skin an even more mottled appearance than before.

July

A. A Time To Stay

[Maul had never intended to leave Trench, not ever. He knew what awaited him back in his own galaxy and he wanted no part of that life any longer. His future and place was here in this world. His family and friends were all here. While it had been bittersweet to see some of them off to their own worlds again, he would cherish the memory of those who had left and keep them close in his hearts.

As it became apparent that everyone could now travel beyond the barriers of Trench, Maul became eager to do so. He’d always found being continuously stuck in one place the most stifling part of being stuck in Deerington and then Trench. To be able to move and see what else lay out there helped to satisfy the part of him that missed the whirl of space travel where he constantly went from planet to planet.

He’d ask anyone who was willing if they wanted to go on some expeditions with him. He’d pack up a bag filled with whatever he felt was necessary, bring along one or two of his pets that he felt would be especially helpful for whatever might have come their way, and then set out with his traveling companion. He sounded excited as they set out past the barriers of the city.]

What do you think we’ll find out here in the unknown?

Midoriya jumps when someone speaks to him from the other side of his door. He was misbehaving? What is this? Where is he? He tries calling on his Quirk, but the power doesn't respond. He's in the dark with his wings clipped.

His questions and cautious politeness are innocent enough to get him let out on good behavior, and it is then he finds out he's in a place like that movie with Jack Nicolson. Midoriya doesn't consume the pills. Convinced he's been kidnapped and worried someone will try to steal his Quirk, he sets his quiet panic aside in favor of finding a way out of here.

"...Who are you?" he asks tentatively over a tray of a sad little lunch. This person does seem familiar, but Midoriya doesn't recognize Maul's transformation.

"I--" He'd meant to say 'Darth Maul' but he hesitated. Was that his real name? Or was it just one he'd come up with in the throes of madness? He knew human beings didn't have names like the ones that the Nightkin gave their children. So who was he? "--I'm not sure I know anymore," he confessed. About the only thing that had remained from his previous appearance was his voice. That smoky, low, velvety-smooth voice that held an accent made up of many different parts, it was still the same.

He looked Deku over, his tone tentative but hopeful. "Do you remember being in another place besides this one? A place called Trench?" He had to know which reality was real. If he was simply a madman who couldn't keep his grasp on what was real or if this was another test by the accursed place he called home.

This man looks confused. Is he in trouble? distress? Midoriya can't help but want to assist him. That's who he is. No matter the circumstances or his memories, that's who he is. He feels so strongly about this that he forgets to pick at his soggy mashed potatoes.

That voice... It's familiar... But no, it can't be...

"Y-Yes!" he pipes, then flinches as he remembers he should probably be quieter. He settles down. "I live there... I think... I'm a Hero. I save people. I... don't know why they're keeping me here. This isn't even Japan."

He resists the urge to say he needs to escape. Will he think he's crazy?

"You sound like someone I know, but you look very different," he tries instead.

Maul breathed a sigh of relief when Deku was able to remember them living in the Pthumerian-run city. "Good. I was beginning to think I was simply a madman. My mind is....not the strongest. There are fractures within it which can be exploited. I thought perhaps I had lost my grip on reality once again."

He sat down with a little difficulty due to his primitive prosthetics across from the boy. "My name is Darth Maul." This time he was more confident in what he said, now more certain this was some strange test by the Pthumerians, tossed at them in an attempt to confuse and disorient them. "They must have changed my appearance when they trapped us here."

Edited 2023-11-14 06:58 (UTC)

"Darth Maul-san!" he whispers, strained. Midoriya leans forward slightly in his seat. He remembers him. Tall, red, grumpy. He looks so different now. He tries not to stare.

He remembers when Maul was haunted by the memory of an old enemy. Fear had played a role then. Midoriya tries to remain calm for his sake. That goal helps cut through the panicked thoughts.

"It's me, Midoriya. Deku. I'm so sorry, we have to find a way to get you back to normal. They didn't transform me, but I can't use my Quirk... Who's 'they'?"

He knows what hospital doctors are. He's been in medical hospitals enough. That's not what he's asking. Who's really in charge?

Maul agreed he definitely looked different. He didn't like this change, not one bit. He enjoyed being his own striking self, not some boring human being. The sooner he could be changed back into a Zabrak, the better.

Maul explained the theory he had behind the reason they were stuck in the asylum. "The Pthumerians. Last time, in Deerington, this was caused by a half-Pthumerian. Julia Sodder." He paused. "Or perhaps Mother Superior. I'm not sure, it never was quite made clear which of them was behind the creation of this place. But I'm sure it is a Pthumerian who has done this again. Why, I don't know, but I believe we can still find a way out."

He swallows a little gasp as his eyes soften. Julia Sodder. Midoriya remembers the trapped little girl whose dreams became reality. He also remembers Sleepers who went to efforts to soothe her soul in Trench.

"It would really help if we knew which one," he mutters, tapping his chin in thought. "They're all so different... How did you all get out last time?"

Midoriya concentrating on a strategy is a good sign that he's calm enough to get analytical. Maul experienced this before. That knowledge is an advantage. He spoons up a sad glob of mashed potatoes.

He quickly adds, "...Is the food safe to eat?"

"We had to physically escape this place. To go through the ventilation system to end up on the outside." Even then, he still hadn't been sure if the place was more dream than physical reality.

Maul poked at the food dubiously on Deku's plate with his own spoon. "I think so." The doctors wouldn't allow him to have a fork or knife, afraid he might do something with the sharp objects. Idiots. As if he'd need something sharp to cause havoc with. The spoon alone would be enough for him.

Midoriya decides to eat at least some of his food. He'll need energy for his escape attempt. If it's laced with something, he'll only feel a little of the effects if he eats just part of his meal. He eats it, not with gusto exactly, but with the economical efficiency of a teenager.

"I'll pretend I didn't like the rest of my food, which isn't hard, and then we'll scout the vents. I'll follow you there in a minute."

He stands, scrapes off his tray, and leaves it with the other ones like a good boy. It pains him to waste food, but he must be careful.

Maul nodded at Deku. "Alright. I'll see what I can find." He got up and started limping off towards the edge of the room where the air vents were located at. It was slow going. These primitive prosthetics promised to make things difficult when crawling through the vents and he wished longingly for his own advanced prosthetic legs that were from his own galaxy. Well, he'd get them back (hopefully) soon enough.

Maul tried to keep from drawing any attention to himself while he scouted out the area, looking up at the vents to see how difficult it might be to get through them. With a little luck, they'd be able to manage just fine, even without their respective powers.

Midoriya knows of the discomfort that ordinary prosthetics can bring. People usually only wear them because the alternative is navigating inaccessible routes by wheelchair. It's not much of a choice. He resolves to be Maul's moving aide once he joins him in earnest, slipping into awkward corners and around obstructions when needed.

"This one looks promising. I'll test the weight first. It's not a screwdriver, but a nail file is the best I can do," he whispers. He stole it from an orderly's apron. He feels bad, but it is what it is; he did not hesitate.

He begins to undo the cover. "Cover me. Keep a lookout."

Maul is tall and large enough that he can literally cover Midoriya, obscuring him from the view down the hall. He tries to be quiet about it, barely clinking metal against metal, but clambering into the vent is a little louder. He winces apologetically. He's had training, but nothing beats experience. He's not at Aizawa's level in stealth.

Maul shifted to make sure that Deku would have plenty of room to work. Everyone else in the room was too apathetic to really care about what they were doing and the guards that had been watching Maul closely were positioned closer to the door than where they were now. He kept watch just in case.

When Deku climbed into the vent, Maul winced at the sound. He glanced over again at the guards. They started to look curiously in the direction, so Maul went over and quickly "accidentally" knocked a plastic cup full of water to the floor. It caused them to turn their attention to the distraction, going over to ask a custodian to clean it up. Maul limped back over and climbed in after Deku, turning back to prop up the vent so it looked as if it was still in place. If no one looked at it too closely, their escape wouldn't be discovered for hours.

Water on the floor is a big deal. It's a safety hazard. So is climbing into a vent which Midoriya isn't sure will support his weight, let alone the both of them, plus Maul's hardware. Vents usually don't, because they're made only for air circulation.

Even this wide commercial-style vent is dark and cramped. Midoriya listens to the faint whir of fans as he carefully tests his weight one hand and knee at a time. He wishes they were at liberty to talk, but there is nothing in the way of insulation or soundproofing. Each sound bounces off the metal walls terribly.

Instead, he occasionally looks back at Maul whenever they come to a fork and motions with his hand to ask him which way they should go. At one point, Midoriya has to spend more time than he'd like to disable and dismantle a large fan so that they can pass through. Though his hands are steady, he can feel himself breaking into a nervous sweat.

Being inside a vent meant the struggle with his prosthetic legs became all the greater. He was basically having to use his arms to drag along the useless weights behind him. He honestly would have preferred to just leave them behind but he knew that would leave him virtually helpless. Maul preferred having them around just for the purpose of mobility even if the legs he currently possessed were frustrating him to no end.

The slow, agonizing progress finally paid off as they drew near to the end of the maze of vents. "We're close now," Maul said softly, hoping that the sounds wouldn't echo too far from their present location. "Almost there. It's still not going to be easy once we get out." He remembered that clearly enough from the last time this had happened to him.

He winces at the noise, but it can't be helped. No one has raised the alarm, at least not yet.

"Try feeling for your power in intervals. When it returns, we have to be ready. I remember doing drills like that with Aizawa-sensei..."

Mr. Aizawa had the power to stop Quirks by looking at a person. Needless to say, exercises with him were intense. Midoriya is used to rolling with the punches. He was rigorously trained to, but even that training couldn't quite compare to the actual experience, first in his world and then in Trench. A Hero has to be ready for anything. He's worried about Maul though. If they don't get their powers back soon...

When Maul gives his update, Midoriya slows his crawl and cranes his neck to peer back at him.

"What should I expect?" he asks in a low, barely audible voice. He's used to speaking higher; there's a little roughness in his lower registers. "Should we make a plan now or scout outside first? How much do they know about us?"

Maul thought back to the last time he'd ended up in this asylum. What had come next...? After a few moments, it came to him. "Once we're outside, there should be a river. That will be our escape route." Maul hoped his Zabrak form didn't return too swiftly if they got caught up in the water, for he'd surely drown. At least with these lighter prosthetics on his human form, there'd be a better chance for survival.

"We'll still need to move quietly. This place isn't keen on letting go of its prisoners." At least it hadn't been last time. Then again, last time it had been Julia controlling it all. He wasn't sure how that had changed now that the girl's spirit was no longer the one in control....or was it? He knew time was a flexible concept for the Pthumerians. The presence of a version of Ramona Derwin who had never been corrupted and could still allow them to access their deer forms was clear enough of that.

Catch-All (OTA)

For Ezra

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For Imperius

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An Assortment of Prompts From Months Gone By (OTA!)

Simulacrum

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