I remained there on top of one of the taller buildings when the mist converged across half the city. Republic forces marched on just like I knew they would. Our forces and the Separatists were given orders to not interfere and to stay out of the combat zone.

Didn’t want unnecessary losses on my side or Dooku throwing a fit if he learned of the collateral damage of us destroying too many droids. Using several of my powers in tandem, like the bubbles that the mist corralled and kept on track, floated down below with a couple of them lightly charged with explosive power, courtesy of Detonate. 

The clones, upon seeing the first bubble, one of which cackled and laughed at his buddies who were wary of it. To be fair to him, I would be as well. It’s a bubble, what’s the worst it could do? But like me in some video games, thinking I was the best there was and had nothing to fear, he got a rude awakening.

Haki combined with my enhanced senses gave me plenty of range to work with while managing to control the battlefield. I’d rather be down there opening a fresh can of whoop ass on the Republic forces, but I’d rather see what Maul was currently capable of. I did get a little annoyed when Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka performed a three-way Force Push that popped all of the bubbles and revealed me to them as I gave a cheeky wave towards them.

Maul and Pitou both had already engaged the enemy forces by that point. Pitou prior to that had picked off the clones and created our agents amongst their ranks courtesy of one of her more dangerous and subtle abilities that would give us yet another advantage with the noose slowly closing around Palpatine and his plans. This was just the beginning.

I felt the surge of pure hate and anger that spiked from Maul, bubbling out like a volatile chemical concoction about to explode. Maul had risen out of the rubble, playing possum until his opportunity had come. Initially he had the upper hand once he got Obi-Wan separated from the others. But then he relied too much on the suit, realizing the adamantium was lightsaber resistant. Any form and style he had were tossed aside, and he was more akin to a caveman swinging one or two sharp metal sticks around. Something Obi-Wan took complete advantage of. Obi-Wan was not only being smart and remaining on the defensive, but through Haki, I could see what he was doing.

Besides using his environment to his complete advantage and conserving energy, every counterstrike he made wasn’t in the same spot and seemingly at random. He was testing the suit for weak points. If the suit had any, which I wouldn’t doubt, however minuscule they were. Maul needed to get his head in the game and not let his rage control him, or I would lose a powerful asset and ally.

Maul took a single step before a series of silken strings wrapped around the frame, slowing it just enough for him to notice. Maul could have easily broken through them, but he paused when my voice over the comlink to the suit greeted him. “You want more power? You want to be healed completely and made better than you were before? Then pass this test. Prove to me your mind is still intact. That includes not letting your obsession rule you when you should rule it. Don’t lose focus and don’t get arrogant, use the skills you were taught and don’t over rely on the suit.”

My words had the desired effect. He didn’t calm down so much as his anger and hate gave him focus, sharpening and changing shape into something resembling control, however thin it was. Whether Maul passed or not was up in the air. I knew I was playing with fire trying to keep him around, both from his time as a Sith and the treachery that comes with that title and also from his obsession with Obi-Wan.

If Maul continued down this path, if I couldn’t get him to at least ease up on it and see the bigger picture and not let it blind him to it, then he would be a lost cause. One that would have to be discreetly handled. I wasn’t about to risk the entirety of the galaxy for the sake of him getting his revenge when that loss that would forever haunt him was his own failure. Not Obi-Wan’s doing, for he had him dead to rights and got cocky and paid the price.

“I… understand, Tobi. Obi-Wan is mine, and I will beat him and pass your test. I have not lost my mind, you will see that Kenobi is a fool rather than a master.” He hissed Obi-Wan’s name like it was foul poison on the tip of his tongue. 

Pitou decided to chime in with every word laced with cruel amusement. “A fool… that defeated you.” Pitou chimed in before she engaged Anakin. 

I could sense the glee and smug satisfaction and the result of it when Maul's fury grew astronomically, as I could feel his emotions turn into a flaming tornado. Yet he didn’t necessarily keep it under control so much as he directed it towards the current target.

“Alright you two, enough playing around. As we planned, I’ll keep the clones busy and occupied, you two get to handle the Jedi. Kenobi is all yours, Maul. You have a time limit to defeat him, once it’s up, your test is over.”

The suit paused following a long silence before the suit began to move again. Maul was both pleased and angry. Carrot and the stick and all that. Show him what I can offer him and what the limitations and punishment are. Though, in this case, I don’t plan to punish him severely, if at all.

I am not Palpatine and take pleasure in punishing people like a Saturday morning cartoon villain. For example, if Maul had to fight Mace Windu or, heaven forbid, Yoda, and managed to escape with his life, he would not be punished for that.

If anything, I would commend him for getting away when faced with either of those two. I would have no expectation for him to fight currently, nor even think of him winning the fight now. So I wouldn’t punish him for something that he couldn’t possibly hope to win and the only option is to run away.

In comparison, if I simply tasked him with beating someone up mildly and he just crippled or outright killed them, then I would be punishing him. I commend taking initiative in things, but when you take things too far and are comic book levels of stupid evil, you’re a liability.

While he hunted Obi-Wan down now that he managed to get a grip and get his head in the game, the clones even got a few of the charged bubbles popped when I formed more of them and covered the area in more mist. A slight dip in my energy reserves, but it was manageable, the tide was nigh endless to them, the horde coming closer, and so the clones brought forward what was left of their walkers. The AT-TEs lumbered forward, the charged bubbles were not even denting the metal. 

They were dealt with accordingly. My silk strings made from my body in individual strands, even ones that could reach all the way where the clones were situated, didn’t cost much energy to make with what I had stored in the tank. They would, much like the bubbles back when I killed Gunray, cause a substantial drain if I made them in vast quantities and spammed it like there was no tomorrow in a short amount of time.

But with single strands, even with the length adding a bit more to the cost, were way below negligible. Using one of the slotted powers, I cupped my hands together as mist coalesced into them before sharpening each individual particle that, like the strands, didn’t require too much energy to do what I needed it to. Obi-Wan managed to disperse and somehow remove the sharpened element from them when he used the Force to disperse the initial razor mist I sent out the first time.

The mist soon left and floated down below the building, moving through the pilot, one of the few remaining walkers, who slumped over as the mist moved through him and the machine, like the hand of death. One moment there was life, and the next there was none.

The clones clued in that the mist moving through their ranks wasn’t normal and shot at it, their blasters merely evaporated some of it, but it was mist, and their blasters meant nothing. My heart had been hardened, and it helped knowing they knew what was coming for the Jedi. 

I let loose. One of the walkers had its head lean up and fired several shots at the top of the building. I remained on the exact spot I waved at them from. I didn’t bother moving as Haki told me where each shot was aimed at. The crimson lances blasted the edges far to my left and right and parts of the building below me as they fired blindly, trying to hit me.

My hand lazily rose into the air with a trio of strings flashing briefly amongst the mist and cleanly slicing through the walker with ease before it halted all movement, leaving its crew confused. The pilot smacked the control console in frustration when it wouldn’t respond before it groaned and it fell apart in three clean metal sections from front to back.

Taking one of my razor sharp silk threads and slicing a jet pack a clone was using to try and scout the tops of the buildings, sending him plummeting back down in a heap. He was injured but alive, like the crew of the walker. The other walkers were dealt with by having their guns and legs sliced off, with none of them even capable of seeing what had done it as the ground troops raised their blasters into the air, firing in the general direction of my building.

None of them got close.

Others began looking towards the rooftops amongst the few not popping the bubbles like five-year-olds presented a lifetime supply of bubble wrap. They moved with skill and grace that outstripped the others, which had my interest. With the lack of a biochip, it made me wonder what else this galaxy had that was different from the mainstream media that Star Wars became in both the time Lucas was still in control and after.

Feeling through Haki that Solution's sneak attack was successful and she wasn’t all too happy with Anakin. At the same time even I would admit she had it coming for being that creepy with Ahsoka.

Summoning Solution Epsilon before me was something I won’t ever forget. Not because the summoning had anything dramatic or theatrical to it, no portal or gateway was involved. Much like with Nemesis and Pitou, one moment there was empty space, the next, a beautiful woman stood before me. 

Her hair looked like it was made from gold, all curled up at the ends into drills, her eyes were a cool blue color, her body was voluptuous and curved in all the right places. Her outfit… a maid uniform designed around sex appeal but also combat with the armored leggings she had trailing up her legs, if that was any indication… which may as well just have been for looks, but considering where she came from and the series, from what I remembered, they were probably surprisingly effective in combat.

She had bowed deeply, giving me a generous view of her cleavage. It took a monumental amount of effort for me to not stare at the bountiful globes. It made it even harder with my new… demonic heritage, something I am pretty sure my mother would be smacking me on top of the head with the family Bible.

A quick explanation of what I needed her to do and a gift of an Akatsuki-styled outfit that, like her maid outfit, gave her plenty to show off her body as my artistic skills kicked in, telling me what she would find the most appealing. Once given to her, she practically hugged me to death, her bountiful chest smushed into me. Her preferring a revealing outfit did make sense considering what she is. Use her sex appeal and attractiveness to lure someone in, thinking they would be getting snu snu, only for her to gobble’em up. 

A few silk threads sliced through the air, cutting blasters into pieces, others grabbed clones by their arms and started bashing their own weapons into their heads or flinging them into nearby objects, to their confusion. Others were slammed into buildings or blown up by the charged bubbles, or even a few strings detonated, sending them to the ground in a heap.

Haki showed me their fear, aggression, and above all else the pain they were subjected to. It was nothing obscene but enough to keep them out of the fight. It was as much a means to force the Republic to use what resources they had to heal the wounded since not only they couldn’t keep fighting like that but they also would cost more resources as it was a way for me to avoid killing them.

I liked the clones. Always enjoyed them in the various media Star Wars showed of them. Enough that even knowing they knew what was coming on the horizon with Order 66 I hesitated every time a sharpened thread could have wrapped around one of their heads and just sent it flying like an old-school executioner or wrapped around one of their blasters aimed at one of them and pulled the trigger with a string, it all led to me hesitating. Even with the ones I had killed, I hesitated before following through.

So I compromised. I settled for injuring them enough so they can’t keep fighting and it costs the Republic more resources. Dumb and stupid, even if it maybe worked out in my favor. It was something I would have to overcome later on, for now I am focusing on maintaining the Quiet Hands reputation and showing that we are a threat to be taken seriously.

Two more walkers were sliced into pieces, the crews manning them quickly getting out of them before all of them with any unfortunate nearby clones were knocked off their feet from the resulting explosion when more fuel was ignited or I just decided to detonate the things.

One of the more elite troopers was talking to someone on their comms. Drawn from that when a feeling of intense pain had my attention drawn towards Pitou. My focus narrowed to her to see she had gotten a nasty burn on her arm after Anakin managed a glancing blow. Had he hit her with a direct strike that wasn’t at a bad angle with more force, he would have cut through her Ten and dare I say Ryu with ease.

Guns and blasters were one thing, but a lightsaber, I firmly believed and now see evidence to support it, would be one of the few things an individual could wield that would be a threat to Nen users like Pitou and me. I remember the weird-looking Chimera Ant king Pitou served fighting that old man and hearing people talk about how one of the attacks was supposed to be equivalent to the temperature of the sun or something like that.

I didn’t exactly know the exact temperature a lightsaber would be at, but if the king, who was far stronger than Pitou, was harmed by an attack like that, however mildly, then Pitou would definitely be in bad shape dealing with that or, in this case, a lightsaber when she was weaker than him.

Solution quickly entered the fray after she reformed, stabbing Anakin and injecting a nonlethal poison into him. The two worked in tandem with the outfit I had modified to be more durable with Sharpen and more energy pumped into the threads than normal to ensure it could be tested to see how much it would take to get it destroyed, since Solution's unique nature would make testing it far easier.

The clones were taken care of even if plenty were still fighting, they couldn’t do anything since I had them in a stalemate, keeping them occupied with the bubbles, creating chaos they couldn’t afford to ignore, mist obscuring everything, and my threads slicing through their weapons, and with a bubble getting through from above or flanks, sending more injured to the ground.

The clones were in full retreat, covering any openings for the bubbles with one clone wearing armor that designated them as different and likely higher rank. He used a knife and reacted faster than I had anticipated, and as my attention spread out over a wide area, he managed to cut a part of a thread that was not sharpened, severing it from my control. Interesting…

With the clones trying to evacuate, I could focus on the others and their respective fights. Pitou and Solution worked in tandem, and I even silently applauded Solution for managing to poison Anakin with a nonlethal poison. I had given her strict orders on that. The three Jedi were not to die, no matter what.

Clones were still being knocked around, some had their legs snagged by threads that slithered up them like invisible tentacles before picking them up or dragging them and smacking them around. Mist was shaped and controlled, making some parts denser and looking like shadows of droids were marching towards them.

They blasted the shapes only to have the mist part before the blaster shots, revealing nothing. They were doing an admirable job of keeping about as organized as they could without letting the chaos take over and just panic. They were still a disorganized mess, but it showed how well trained they were that this didn’t become a horror movie with them all splitting off from the main group.

More of the razor mist came towards them as my heart hardened knowing I have to do this and compromising on it wasn’t going to fix anything. I had already killed people and even some of the clones in this battle, I could do this. Some of the clones immediately noticed it beelining right for them. They fired at it with some of the razor mist lost to the blaster bolts but they weren’t getting all of it.

It passed through over a dozen clones who were too slow to react and stood frozen for a few seconds before buckets of blood gushed out of their armor through the millions of tiny micro holes in the armor and undersuit. I didn’t even want to see what was left of their bodies under that. They might be still intact but I didn’t want to risk the chance.

It was one thing to kill them, which was becoming… a little easier as I did it more often, but to butcher a body beyond recognition to the point it was minced meat was something I didn’t have the stomach for looking at, especially when it was my handiwork. 

Yet again my attention was drawn to the fight between Anakin and Pitou with Solution giving off some scary ass vibes through Haki. She was not happy with Anakin. I don’t know what he said to anger her, but hopefully she has enough self control to not-- oh shit!

My jaw dropped when she was about to stab his heart Pitou came in for the save. Letting out a sigh of relief at Solution being stopped from making a big mistake. Anakin I didn’t want to die, the whole Chosen One thing I’d rather keep him around in case the Force does in fact need him.

He just happened to have the misfortune to be on the one mission the Quiet Hand had been dispatched to cement our reputation. I couldn’t afford for us to lose this battle for this planet, however minuscule it is in the grand scheme of things. If I wanted to subvert the Separatists' army from under them, then I needed time. 

Time that can be bought when I prove alongside the others we are too valuable currently to lose when they have lost too many pieces on the board. Positions we could fill and worm our way into them taking control like a parasite that you couldn’t get rid of when it was one of the few if only things keeping you alive and in the fight.

By this point I left the clones alone besides the occasional shadow forming from condensed mist into the forms of droids that the clones all jumped at when they spotted them and shot at them. Maul had finally caught up to Obi-Wan, and the two were having an epic fight to the death on top of the building. 

Maul had regained the skill with a blade instead of relying too much on the armor to keep him safe. While I would agree you could relax when using a power armor made from Marvels adamantium, I also wouldn’t put it past Obi-Wan to find a weak point somewhere along with the Force being bullshit would help him if it favored him enough.

So I wasn’t taking any chances, and it defeated the purpose of the test and, if anything, showed me Maul still had his greatest weakness intact despite losing half his body… His arrogance. That was what cost him everything in his final battle with Obi-Wan on Naboo. 

Maul was now getting the better of Obi-Wan, no longer playing by Obi-Wan’s rules for his game like a griefer in GTA V online who blows you up and makes you chase them as they continue to kill you. Maul was now making him play by his rules, and he was slowly overcoming Obi-Wan.

Ahsoka had intervened and as the fight went on Maul had managed to pass my test. Though I had to activate the shutdown on the suit since he was about to kill Obi-Wan but not before using several threads wrapped gently around Ahsoka and even with her absurd weight because what the hell are they feeding this girl. She looks petite and tiny, but she certainly doesn’t weigh it. She was held aloft before being brought close enough to her confusion as she looked at the various threads that she could feel and see now with them so close.

I didn't need an upset Anakin right now. The same one who managed to rip and tear his way through that short and revealing kimono I had given Solution that withstood several Force Pushes until the last couple finally tore it to the point it was in tatters. 

It showed just how powerful he was when he managed that. The outfit I gave her fared better than I had expected it to, since I had believed it wouldn’t even survive the first Push. Instead, it withstood multiple, each one growing in power and intensity as I could feel his desperation and negative emotions growing before he released them in a final massive push. 

One that had me using far more energy than I had anticipated to use when the building began to fracture and had it not been for a steady supply of threads that were made strong similarly to the outfit given to Solution except instead of using Sharpness on them I just used more energy in creating each thread, using it as a means to reinforce them which seemed to do the trick.

Several threads wrapped around portions of the building Haki showed me were vulnerable and likely to fall apart. Then Maul decided to make things worse when he slammed his own blades down atop the building, further making it difficult to keep it standing up and even more threads were added.

The building by this point looked like a bandaged finger more than it did a building. It didn’t take long to use a thread and slice through the roof beneath him as he sat nice and snug inside of his suit with its life support keeping him alive as he smashed his fists against the controls trying to get it to work before it fell through the entirety of the building crashing through a few floors with others already damaged enough he didn’t hit anything on the way down.

Now here he sits before me with the LAAT gunships flying off having evacuated those remaining as they were mere dots in the distance. Some of the Republic forces were trying to occasionally attack us. I assume they were testing our defenses only to be repelled by the droid forces that had marched onwards after I gave the go ahead.

With the four of us now inside of another building away from prying eyes, Maul bowed before me, his head hung in shame as he was still inside of the suit, but the chest plate was opened up. 

“I… have failed your test.” He said quietly in dismay, yet it also held an angry undertone to it, not directed at me as I held a hand up to stop Solution from attacking him. She was frowning at Maul, displeased with her perception of him disrespecting me.

Pitou was sitting with her legs crossed using her En to keep aware of our surroundings and using her new agents within the Republic's forces. She didn’t mind what was happening and knew what was about to happen.

“You're wrong.” He froze before looking at me and not the floor. He was perplexed. “You passed the test.”

He opened and closed his mouth several times not understanding and he was constantly looking at my hands when he thought I wouldn’t notice… I guess Palpatine wasn’t merciful with him when it came to any kind of mistake if he was expecting me to hurt him. Solution even paused before looking between me and Maul confused as he was.

“I don’t understand. I didn’t kill Kenobi.” He said with that fixation on Obi-Wan. 

I kind of feel bad for him. He definitely got the worst luck of anyone considering how many Sith Lords obsessed over him and wanted him dead while hunting him down. You had Maul here, and then Darth pray the deal doesn’t change any further Vader on his ass 24/7. Guess the Force liked screwing with him. 

“Your objective wasn’t to kill him. It was to prove your tactical mind despite the insanity that clings to you was still there. Which you almost failed when you realized the suit you're using was lightsaber resistant. Thankfully you listened to me and removed your greatest weakness.”

Maul blinked slowly, curious as to where I was going with this. “… My greatest weakness? You mean my missing half?” His hand waved where his legs should be as the life support of the suit was hooked up to him and kept him alive without the need for him to continue using the Force to sustain himself. 

It freed up more of his focus, and took a lot of strain off of him letting him fight far more level headed… not that his initial showing helped when he got arrogant but that’s besides the point.

“That’s not your weakness Maul… alright let me ask you this first. Why are you so obsessed with Obi-Wan Kenobi?”

The room went silent with Solution watching with interest, and even Pitou opened her eyes and smiled as she enjoyed the show. Maul's eyes narrowed, anger consumed him before he funneled it into his words. Never in all my life had I felt such hate in mere words that made me realize what real hatred is. 

“He took everything from me!” His hand lashed out and some random objects in the room went flying smashing into a nearby wall. “He defeated me and took my place beside my former master. He did this!” His hands gestured to his missing lower half.

His teeth were bared like he was a dog ready to bite whoever had the misfortune to cross paths with it regardless of them doing anything to the dog. Time for me to try my luck and hopefully get him to let this go. Just needed to change how he thinks of who is truly to blame. Even if it wasn’t the truth I needed something to get him to stop obsessing over Obi-Wan.

“Your greatest weakness is your arrogance, Maul.” He went silent, head snapping towards me as his eyes narrowed. 

“My… arrogance?” He whispered quietly.

“It’s the same thing that was what caused you to lose everything.” 

His face went through a myriad of emotions. Anger, hatred, confusion, contemplation, on the list went. Had it not been for me having my Sharingan active I couldn’t hope to keep up with the emotions going by so fast.

Haki itself was going haywire trying to sort through them all. They all just seemed to blend together so fast because he was going through so many. Eventually he settled on anger and denial. His fist slammed into the side of the Silver Samurai armor with a metal ding echoing across the dark room. 

“That’s a lie! Kenobi… he caused all of this to happen to me. I missed out on almost ten years and all that could have been mine because of him. He is a weakling, to even think they granted him the title of master.” Maul spat, his eyes alight with fury.

“You are also correct that he is weak compared to you… so how did he defeat you?” My question drew him from his thoughts.

He remained silent, eyes moving across the room as if it would give him an answer. The silence stretched on before I broke it. “Maul… you can blame Obi-Wan all you like, it changes nothing. I take that back… it holds you back from becoming so much more.”

Maul's head snapped back as if he were struck by my words. He remained silent as I continued. “Obi-Wan is not the one to blame for your current situation and why you lost everything. Think, just think about it.” My fingertips jabbed at my temples for emphasis on him to think about what caused his downfall and who is to blame. 

“Obi-Wan had a part to play, but the one truly at fault is yourself.” Maul glared at me with an intensity but I knew he was still thinking about my words even if it angered him. “You had him dead to rights as he hung on for dear life. Instead of going for the kill, you taunted him and played with your food. What if you hadn’t?”

Maul just remained there before he said something so quiet I didn’t hear it. “Louder.” I commanded.

“… I caused my own downfall.” He said with a whisper just loud enough to be heard over the occasional blaster fire in the far distance.

“Maul… Obi-Wan did have a part to play, but he isn’t the one you should blame. I am not saying you can’t hate or not like the guy for what happened, but if you are truly to grow and surpass your past self, you need to accept what was your fault instead of blaming everyone else. Look at how well you did when you let your arrogance go.” 

An image appeared in my hand of a recording of his fight against Obi-Wan, it showed him when he was getting cocky and relying on the suit then when he registered my words and started using his head. Maul even noticed as his sullen expression shifted into one of pride when he started getting the better of Obi-Wan.

The device shut off as the room fell into silence. "Pitou, repairing and even making your body even better means nothing, Maul, if you cannot overcome your own shortcomings since the cycle will repeat itself of you losing everything. Your potential is astounding, but potential will only remain as potential unless it is acted upon.” 

Maul’s sullen expression shifted to one of determination as I felt acceptance within him at his past failings, the same thing that almost caused him to fail again. He bowed deeply. “I understand mas- Tobi. I will try to overcome it so it never happens again.” 

He said this with such determination I fully believed it. It helped that I also believed his arrogance was his own downfall on several occasions. His final clash against Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, then one of the last battles against Obi-Wan when he originally returned with Savage Opress, when he managed to get the better of the two when Maul thought it was a fluke how he beat him. That moment when he managed to cut off Savage's arm, then Maul would have realized Obi-Wan wasn’t weak.

“That is all I can ask of you. Now rest and do your best to better familiarize yourself with that suit. Just because you have mastered something doesn’t mean you can’t push it to new heights and use it in ways no one would expect.” Maul nodded while the other two watched on as I felt through Haki the surroundings.

This battle would get more interesting after that initial battle. Knowing Anakin, he wasn’t someone to take a loss like that sitting down. He will try to return it ten fold.

Drawn from my thoughts remembering to check my gains and see what I had accomplished. I had been so busy waging an almost one man war against the clones I had forgotten to check.

Most people when seeing something like this would scoff and bash their rotten gacha luck… I, on the other hand, see the usefulness in this. I could help feed starving planets with these little guys, heck probably make entire planets employed for breeding and distributing the chickens and their eggs. I know what I must do with my feathery friends. Make the Colonel proud!

I cannot complain about another option to further boost my training gains. Stuff like Nen was going to be much easier until I surpass Pitou’s master in it, which wouldn’t matter since she could just train herself up in a short time frame and the cycle begins anew.

Now that… that was going to be fun to use when the foot soldiers and their walkers come knocking on this city’s doorstep. Just the power to reduce the mobility of an army with its foot soldiers and anything that walks, combined with that manipulation of earth around me was going to be devastating.

… I think this is the best power by far. I doubt I could create a crap ton of adamantium as the knowledge of what the power could do hit me like a freight train, and the power that alone would give me. I could work with this and take it so far. But for now, I needed to survive to ensure it could be used and abused to its fullest potential.

The last one with the most valuable ticket felt like such a great thing to have had it not been for me getting my new body… but it also gave me some ideas. Devious ideas to further help explain my current appearance being different from what certain records might say about historical figures.

Now I just need to win this battle to begin the phase of creating an unstoppable army, making a metric crap ton of money, and coercing some people into becoming my allies.