At some point, Anakin was thrown back into the cell that they had grabbed him from earlier. He came to this conclusion because the next time he woke up, he was laying on a cold stone floor. His whole body throbbed with pain. The room seemed to be spinning, even though he was pretty sure that he was laying on the floor, and doing his best not to move. That didn't seem to work very well, since seconds later he rolled on his side and threw up whatever food was left to throw up. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to control his breathing, and the vertigo that was threatening to make him either throw up or pass out again.
"Skywalker." Maul's voice growled from the darkness. The cell door slid open, and Anakin could hear Maul's metal legs hitting the stone floor with each step he took. They suddenly stopped, and Anakin raised his head to see Maul in all of his (former) glory.
"Get. Up" Maul snarled and grabbed the Jedi by his robes. Anakin tried his best to fight off the grip, but he wasn't even sure which direction he was facing, never mind where Maul was dragging him to. His head lolled back onto his shoulders, and he groaned in pain as Maul dragged him out of the cell.
Another set of footsteps approached the cell, only these were lighter and softer than Maul's. "Doctor, it seems that your experiments have gone… quite well it seems." Maul said while holding up a barely conscious Jedi knight.
"I'm glad that I could be of service, my lord." A female voice replied. A comm chirped on her watch.
"Doctor, it seems as though a republic ship is approaching Malachor." A male voice said. "Should we engage them?" She looked back up at Maul.
"If you leave now with Skywalker, the Jedi will never know that you were here." She whispered.
Maul nodded and picked Anakin up, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before moving quickly towards the hangar. The doctor stood and the end of the hallway, watching him go with a small smile on her face.
"Master, we are approaching Malachor, and should arrive at the surface within the next 10 minutes." Ahsoka said. The planets barren surface casted a soft light into the cabin of the ship.
"Careful, Ahsoka," The Duchess warned "If Maul is here, we cannot let him know that we are coming."
"He is still here, right?" Padme asked while turning to face Master Kenobi.
"I can sense his presence, he is close. I'm not sure how much longer it will stay that way." He muttered while stroking his beard.
"Well, at least let me do the talking- we don't want to raise any suspicion." The Duchess said.
A voice spoke over the comms, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "Identify yourselves, and the reason for entering the Malachor system." A male voice with a slight accent said.
"This is Duchess Krzye returning from a diplomatic mission." The Duchess said into the comm. A moment of tense silence filled the cabin of the small republic ship as the silence from the other side of the comm dragged out. Finally, the same voice spoke again "Welcome home Duchess, please proceed with standard landing procedures."
"Thank you." The Duchess said. Everyone in the cabin let go of a breath that they weren't fully aware they were holding, and Ahsoka steered the ship towards the landing platforms in the capital city.
"Something is wrong!" Master Kenobi said urgently.
"What is it?" Padme asked, worry laced in her voice.
"I can't sense Anakin's presence anymore." He said softly.
"Neither can I." Ahsoka said. "Master, what do we do? Is this some kind of trick, or…" Ahsoka trailed off, tears starting to form in her eyes, as she began to breathe faster out of fear.
"No Padawan, we would know if he had died. This feels different. It's almost like as if his presence has been muted. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this was due to Maul and his use of the dark side of the force."
"Can you still sense Maul?" Padme asked
"Yes, I think he is on Malachor st- "Ahsoka cut herself off. "Maul's presence is gone as well." She said softly.
"What?" The Duchess asked. "Where could they have gone? We would have noticed a ship taking off and flying away."
"Not… not necessarily." Master Kenobi said softly. Ahsoka was reaching out to him in the force, trying to find something to hold onto so that her emotions didn't overwhelm her. He was proud of her efforts, and knew that if Anakin was here, he would have bragged about her capabilities for the rest of the day. Just only when she wasn't around.
"There are several things that could have happened. If Maul is using a ship with a powerful cloaking device, we wouldn't have seen them take off and leave, and our sensors wouldn't have picked it up either. There is also the possibility that force inhibiting drugs are also at work, which I suspect is why we are having such a hard time sensing Anakin's presence."
"But why… why would Maul drug himself?" The Duchess asked.
"I don't think that he did." Master Kenobi responded. "There are legends, rumors that the sith are able to use the dark side of the force to alter their force presence."
"And you think that Maul is capable of doing this?" Padme asked.
"It wouldn't surprise me." Master Kenobi said while shrugging. "I cut him in half over 10 years ago and he survived. The dark side of the force is both powerful and deadly." He said softly.
"So how… how do we find them?" Ahsoka asked as she finished the landing procedure and the ship came to a halt.
"We'll have to ask around." The Duchess said. "I am positive that they were on Malachor at some point, or are still here. Maul has struck fear into many of my people's hearts, and has spies everywhere. Unfortunately for him, my sister and I have also set up a spy network to gain information about his whereabouts. She would have information about his movements and any sightings that may have occurred. I can contact her and arrange a meeting." The duchess leaned over to grab her comm, and began to speak to another woman.
The next time Anakin woke up, he laying on the ground. Not the stone floor from his prison cell, but this was sand, and he hated sand. He sat up slowly, and looked around. The landscape was barren, grey, and he couldn't sense any life for miles and miles. He turned his head, and behind him loomed a large, black building, the dark side of the force radiating out of it in intense waves that made him shiver, made something in him want to curl up in a ball and hide.
"Get up, Skywalker." Maul's voice barked from behind him.