Palpatine closed the door of his modest apartment on Naboo, carefully placing the pack with his Sith robes and a single flask on the table.

The last trip to Sojourn had gone, if not well, at least without major incident. Though Plagueis had insisted he didn't require his Apprentice's assistance in researching the reversal of the liquid's effects, which had only confirmed to Sidious that his Master might not be entirely devoted to the task at hand.

And so he had kept a flask for himself. He might not have his Master's skill or knowledge, but he had a library of his own Sith tomes, scrolls, and artifacts. And he thought he might keep a better eye on getting results, rather than losing himself in the process, as he felt his Master sometimes did.

Meanwhile, there was something he wanted to check on. Or someone, rather. Opening the pack, he placed the Sith robes back on over his Ambassador's garb. He walked into his room and lifted a particular bookend on his shelf. The shelf creaked as it moved to the side, revealing a hidden staircase descending into darkness. Sidious walked into the shadows, and the bookcase closed behind him. His vision adjusted with its typical unnatural ease to the gloom. He had had this secret staircase built between his apartment and the adjacent ones when he had moved here. It led to a larger area he had had built far below the apartments that would give him sufficient space and privacy to conduct his work as a Sith. The estate he had inherited would have had more than enough space, of course, but it had also been a source of unpleasant memories for him, prompting him to sell it. It would have killed his father to see him discard it all so casually. He grinned to himself. If Palpatine hadn't already killed him, that was.

When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he keyed the code in the keypad, and the stone in front of him moved aside. He blinked as light entered his eyes again. He noted the droids as they went about their tasks. Then he stopped in front of a large crib. Inside was Maul. The zabrak toddler looked up from the toy he was examining, his eyes suddenly wide. "Mas-ter?"

"Yes. Hello, my young Apprentice." He was pleased to note that the reprogramming he had given the droids during his previous visit had had an effect. The last time he had visited, Maul had tried to call him 'da-da'. That would not do.

The small zabrak extended his arms upward. Sidious hesitated. It was clear to him what the child wanted-he just didn't think he should oblige him. Sith needed to experience coldness and indifference, become inured to it. Use it to make themselves stronger. Nothing that was worth the mantle of Sith needed to be coddled. But that traitorous voice inside him seemed to compel him to lean over and pick the child up, holding him to his shoulder and whispering words of comfort to him.

"Someday, you'll be a magnificent Sith Lord, Maul," he said, rocking the child back and forth.

Maul cooed happily. "Mag-nif-cent."

"Hmmm, yes, very good, Maul," Sidious said, pleased. Perhaps he should devote more time to the child's training. There was only so much droids could accomplish, after all. Sidious felt an unfamiliar warmth bloom in his heart, then. Nothing could be allowed to harm Maul. He would be the future of the Sith, if Sidious could not be.

He would not be some mere brute, to be discarded at will, as Sidious and Plagueis had agreed upon before. He must be trained fully, to be the very best Sith that Sidious could possibly make him.

What was this? This sudden desire to devote himself to this small creature that couldn't even keep itself from drooling? Sidious, of course, knew exactly what it was. But what he found disorienting was just how much he wanted to keep it. If love could cause him agonizing pain from his denial of it, it could also try to chain him with this indescribably wonderful feeling. He was afraid now. Afraid he might stop fighting what Talzin had done to him. He should put Maul down now and leave him here, try to clear his head.

But he knew he wouldn't do that.

Sidious turned around to bring Maul up the stairs, but stopped at the sight of an intruder in his lair.

Talzin stood in the doorway, her expression one of delight.

"Oh, my little Maul has grown so much!"

Sidious stood there in shock and momentary panic before recovering enough of his equilibrium to respond.

"You!" he growled. "How did you get here?"

"I hid on your ship when you left, of course," Talzin responded.

Sidious narrowed his eyes. Obviously she had used some sort of Nightsister ability to conceal herself. It must be extremely effective if he hadn't noticed her for the entire return trip. A chill ran down his spine as he realized what this meant. She could have done anything to him during that time-poisoned him, stuck a knife in his chest while he slept. He would have to learn what she had done and how to circumvent it.

But he had a more pressing question at the moment.

"All right," he said. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here for Maul, of course." she said.

"You gave him to me, remember? There will be no-returns." He held the small zabrak more closely.

She smiled lazily. "Oh, I'm not going to take him from you. I only came here to see him."

Sidious gave her a disdainful look. "You've seen him now. I suggest you leave my domain before I make you do so."

Talzin crossed her arms. "And how do you propose to do that? Fight me one-handed with Maul slung over your shoulder like some kind of sack? Do you even know anything about child care?"

Sidious laughed. "That's what droids are for. Anyway, he likes it." He leaned his head over to the infant. "Isn't that right, Maul? You like being a little sack."

"Sack!" Maul said excitedly.

Talzin sighed, grimacing. "I can't say I expected anything else from you. And it's not as if I know much more about the matter. I never really had much time with my little prickly pear before I had to give him up."

"Why did you give him up, anyway, if you're so attached to him?"

A cool expression settled over her face. "I couldn't have him around when I went to murder my dear mother."

Sidious raised an eyebrow. "So that's what happened. I'd wondered why you seemed so-different from the last time. You took her power when she died?"

A look of immense satisfaction crossed her features. "Yes. My mother left me quite the legacy when I forced her from her mortal coil. It's the greatest, and only, generosity I've ever received from her."

Intriguing. It was the same with the Sith, of course. When the Apprentice killed the Master, the power of the Master was passed to them. Plagueis had described to Sidious how just such a thing had happened to him after he had killed his own master, Tenebrous.

And now he knew why Talzin had been able to ward off his attacks as if they were nothing during his recent trip to Dathomir, when just a little over a year and a half ago she had seemed like someone barely worthy of his notice excepting the Force-sensitive child she had to offer. She had been an exhausted, limp woman, so much so that the idea of killing her to ensure she wouldn't be a future threat had seemed ludicrous at the time. He could have blasted her into dust in an instant and that would have been the end of it, but he had dismissed her as unimportant and thought that nature would likely do the job itself in short order.

Of course he now knew he had been quite mistaken. An idea formed in his mind, then. "You probably want to hold your son," Sidious said.

"My, aren't you a master of deduction," she said, light sarcasm tinging her voice.

"I might be persuaded to allow it, if you'll tell me a bit about Nightsister magic."

She raised an eyebrow. "You truly are diabolical."

He smiled. "Why, thank you. Understand, though, that I don't accept compliments in lieu of compensation."