The wait outside of Anakin's room was tense. Since the incident earlier today, no one had been allowed in. Ahsoka was surprised to see that there weren't more guards surrounding the halls, but given what had happened earlier, she wasn't exactly surprised.
She hadn't even thought twice about the guards before now. Their beige robes and masks made them all look the same, and they blended into the halls of the temple well. But when they had confronted that one guard that was standing over Anakin's bed, his mask was different.
She was pretty sure it was the same mask that they had found in the lower levels of Coruscant again, but she didn't know when a good time would be to bring it up.
But there was nothing else for the two of them to talk about, and the silence between her and Obi-Wan was growing heavier and heavier by the second.
"Master." Ahsoka began tentatively.
"Yes, padawan?" Obi-Wan asked, turning to look at her.
"The mask that the temple guard was wearing…" She trailed off. Obi-Wan ran a hand over his face.
"It was the same mask again, wasn't it?" He asked her. She nodded.
He sighed. "Perhaps we should visit the archives after this and learn more about this mysterious mask."
"I guess." Ahsoka said while shrugging. She wasn't exactly fond of doing research. It often left her frustrated and more confused than she had been when she first started. But if Master Kenobi didn't know anything about what they were up against, then they needed to get outside help.
And it wasn't like they could ask Anakin for more information about the mask either. Especially since almost twenty minutes had passed, and no one had let them in to see him yet.
Ahsoka looked around hesitantly, up and down the halls as doctors and healers walked past them. Finally, a familiar voice cried out.
"Obi-Wan!" Bant said, waving them down from the end of the hall. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka both turned to look as she approached.
"Bant!" Obi-Wan replied, clearly relived. "Is there anyway that we can get to see Anakin?"
She nodded. "I don't know if he's awake yet- whatever he was injected with was pretty strong. But let's go ahead and see." She waved the door opened and the three of them walked inside.
On the bed was Anakin, looking the same as before. Only now, there wasn't a fight happening in this room, and it was quiet. Obi-Wan watched as Bant approached his bed and frowned slightly.
"Is something wrong?" Ahsoka asked.
"Maybe not." She replied. "But I think he should have woken up by now, it's been several hours." Ahsoka tensed and looked back at Obi-Wan, who had one arm crossed over his chest, and one hand pressed over his mouth.
A weak groan startled the three of them, and Ahsoka quickly turned back to face Anakin.
"Master!" She cried, relief filling her voice. Anakin blinked up at them groggily, before sitting up quickly.
"Ow!" He and Obi-Wan exclaimed as their foreheads smacked together.
"Well, it's good to see that your head is still as hard as ever." Obi-Wan muttered, rubbing his forehead.
"How did I get here?" Anakin asked, looking around wildly. Ahsoka and Bant blinked.
"Do you not remember anything?" Ahsoka whispered. Anakin shook his head.
"Not really?" Anakin replied, and then winced, his hand coming to rest on his side. "What- what happened?"
Ahsoka turned back to look at Obi-Wan, who now had both of his arms tightly crossed over his chest.
"You stabbed yourself with your saber." Obi-Wan began slowly. "Whatever you and Ahsoka found underneath the temple has followed you up here, and it has tried to get you two separate times."
"Well… where is it? How do we stop it?" Anakin asked looking around at the three of them.
"We… we don't know." Bant said slowly. "We were unable to track whoever, or whatever this is down."
"So, they're still lose in the temple?" Anakin asked.
"It seems like it." Obi-Wan replied and sighed. "Ahsoka and I were going to head to the archives to try and learn more about what we're up against."
"Although, the fact that Skyguy doesn't remember anything doesn't help, masters.' Ahsoka pointed out.
"Maybe you could meditate on it and they'll come back to you?" Bant suggested. "I don't see anything that's wrong with you, and as long as you take it easy for the next few days, I could let you go now if you want."
"Really?" Anakin asked, his eyes twinkling.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Obi-Wan asked.
"There's nothing more that we can do for you here, Anakin." Bant said. "And you might be safer at your quarters anyway."
"But it was our quarters where this thing first sprung up." Ahsoka pointed out.
"Well, have you seen them again since then?" Bant asked. Ahsoka shook her head.
"And they've also been here as well, in fact, whoever this was knew the temple well enough that they were able to escape both of you when they were confronted." Bant pointed out.
"They won't have as many escape options if you head back to your quarters." She continued.
"Additionally, the temple has been placed on high alert, and there are fewer temple guards by the living quarters." Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Bant might be right. It might be better for us to head back." He continued.
"But what about the archives?" Ahsoka asked.
"I feel like it would be pretty easy to stage an attack in the archives." Anakin interjected. "You can get lost in there."
"Well, then again, not all of us wandered off as children in search of books about ancient droids." Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Hey!" Anakin exclaimed. "You know I'm right."
"I'm not saying that you're wrong, but we can't just sit here and do nothing." Obi-Wan pointed out.
"But I agree that going to the archives would be a bad idea, especially now that it's getting late."
"Wait, what time is it?" Anakin asked.
"It's a little past 1800." Ahsoka replied. Anakin's eyes widened.
"The whole day is gone?" He exclaimed.
"Anakin, you were drugged with a mild poison." Bant pointed out. "We weren't sure when you were going to wake up."
"Well, I'm awake now." He said looking at her. Suddenly, Obi-Wan's comlink beeped.
"Kenobi here." He replied, raising his hand to get the others in the room to quiet down.
"Kenobi." Mace's voice said through the comm. "There has been an attack at the temple archives."
Obi-Wan dropped his arm and looked around at the others in the room, their faces all a mix of shock and horror.
"We need you down here as soon as possible." Mace continued. "Can you do that?"
Obi-Wan cleared his throat and brought his wrist back up. "Yes, I can be there." He replied.
"Master-" Anakin began, but Obi-Wan held up his hand again.
"You and Ahsoka will head back to our quarters, and do not leave." He ordered. They looked at each other and nodded.
"I cannot let whatever this is get near either of you again." He continued and set his jaw. Anakin saw Ahsoka's shoulders slump slightly.
"Cheer up Snips, maybe we can get in contact with Korike and the duchess." Anakin suggested. "I'm sure they'd both love to hear from you."
"Yeah." Ahsoka mumbled, watching as Obi-Wan turned to leave. She continued to stare, her thoughts racing through her head until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I have a bad feeling about this, master." She mumbled. He gently squeezed her shoulder and sighed.
"So do I." He replied.