Darth Maul grunted and strained as he struggled with the Garbage Can From Hell. Slowly he lifted it, muscles straining with effort. The can fought back, resisting with every ounce of its weight. How did I get myself into this mess? Maul thought. The can gave itself a tremendous heave and slithered free of Maul's grasp. "You mock me with your resistance, foul trash!" Maul screamed, frothing. A restrained snicker from Obi-Wan didn't help his temper any. "You!" he cried, turning on the Padawan. "This is all your fault!"

"Now Maul. take it easy," Obi-Wan soothed. "You didn't have to take the bet, you know."

"And leave such an insult unanswered? Never!" Maul spat, then turned back to the Garbage Can From Hell. He used his rage and anger at the morning's events to fuel his efforts at lifting.

 


It's about damned time they emptied the dumpster, Maul thought, idly using the Dark Side to control the descent of his super-sized Triple Capacity Industrial Strength Trash Can down 42 stories to the waiting dumpster below. Ridiculous, really, to have only the one dumpster for thousands of beings, even though it was huge.

"Wimp," said a voice behind him. Maul halted the can's descent and spun around to face Obi-Wan. "I bet you couldn't dump that on your own."

"Are you saying I'm weak?" Maul growled, prepared to tie the insolently grinning Padawan into knots (just for the pleasure of unknotting him later.) He pinned Obi-Wan against the wall, still maintaining the position of the floating garbage.

"Not at all," Obi-Wan grinned. "I'm just saying you're taking the easy way out. I'll bet you anything you can't get that trash dumped without using the Force."

"Anything?" Maul asked, beginning to grin evilly.

"Yes, anything."

"You're on! But I will lower it the rest of the way down. I am NOT carrying that thing the whole way!"

 


Maul got a good grip on his nemesis. From inside came muffled wails and groans, hellish noises from the condemned pizza-box civilizations that had been thrown in with hundreds of pounds of used kitty litter. Satisfied with his grip on the slippery rubber, Maul began to lift, using his legs to take most of the strain. Sweat popped out on his forehead, and the can quivered alarmingly. Still it countinued to rise.

"You can do it, Maul!" a voice intruded on his consciousness. Maul ignored it. The can was now at shoulder height, and it rocked and twisted as he attemped to steady it against the edge of the tall dumpster.

"And what have we here?" came the smooth voice of Palpatine. The trashcan took advantage of his momentary distraction to hurl itself to the ground and scoot a few feet away, making a sound suspiciously like a snicker.

"Nooooo!" Maul cried in frustration. He whirled on his master. "You- you-" He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't reveal the nice Senator as a Sith Lord. Palpatine cackled, clearly reveling in his apprentice's anguish.

"I told you that you should have dumped that thing long ago," Palpatine said. "Why don't you do it the easy way?"

"Because of a stupid bet," Maul mumbled, looking at the ground.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you." Sid- uh, Palpatine smirked.

"I made a bet, okay? Now leave me alone." Maul ignored the dangerous glint in his master's eye and squatted down to take a new grip on the accursed garbage. By now a small crowd had gathered to watch his efforts. Maul blocked everything external from his mind, focusing instead on how Obi-Wan was going to pay his debt after Maul succeeded in winning this little bet...

Grunting and straining, Maul steadily lifted the squirming can yet again. Tired muscles shrieked, but he ignored them and struggled on. The trashcan was balanced against the dumpster now. He paused for a moment to wipe the sweat from his eyes. He caught the can before it could slide away. Ignoring the terrified sounds from within, he took a deep breath and heaved. It went up... it was going to make it... no, it was rolling sideways along the rim of the dumpster. He headed it off, heaving again. He could hear oohs and ahs from the crowd as they drooled over his pumped up muscles. He ignored them. You will not win, he thought, gasping for breath. No one mocks me and survives...With a final massive effort, Maul hurled the Garbage Can From Hell into the vast maw of the dumpster. As it fell, he could hear it screaming in protest.

"I," he panted, turning to face the crowd,"am HOT SHIT!"

The audience cheered wildly, then began to disperse.

"Uh, Maul?" said Obi-Wan, hesitantly. "Now you don't have a trash can."

"Who cares? " Maul replied. "Now, this is what you owe me...." He wrapped an arm around the Padawan's shoulders, whispering into his ear as they headed back inside.