Ahsoka paced back and forth in Padme's living quarters. She knew that she had to be patient, wait for orders, but she also couldn't help the unnerving feelings that something was seriously wrong here. She still couldn't sense her master at all. It wasn't as if he's dead, it was like as if he just vanished form the force entirely. Jedi could feel when creatures died, but with Anakin, he just vanished. Master Kenobi watched her go back and forth from the couch to the window and back to the couch again. He wanted to scold her for not managing her emotions better, but couldn't find it in himself to tell her anything that could be comforting at the moment. They sat in silence while they waited for Bo-Katan and the duchess to return with coordinates for Malachor, and any other kind of information that would be useful for them.

A door slid open, and Padme entered the room. Her hair was pulled back into a simple braid, and she had changed into civilian clothes. Ahsoka could feel her anxiety through the force, but she could also feel Padme's hope and determination as well. She stopped pacing to get a better look at the senator, and noticed that there were dark circles under her eyes, and her face looked paler than usual. Ahsoka thought it might have been the lack of makeup but she wasn't sure.

"Have Satine and Bo-Katan returned yet?" She asked while taking a seat on the couch next to Obi-Wan

"No" Master Kenobi said while sighing.

"I'm sure that they won't be much longer, Ahsoka." Padme said with a smile.

Anakin wasn't sure who was talking to him, or if anyone was even talking. He could hear someone breathing. It was slow and rhythmic, but sounded pained. Maybe it was the temple? Maybe it was himself. A cold feeling crept up on his shoulder- he turned around to see someone there, but there was no one. As he started to turn back around, a figure appeared out of the corner of his eye. It wore all black, and the hood of its cloak covered its face. He gasped- the cold air filling his lungs and making his limbs go heavy. He tried to focus on what was in front of him; someone was there, but he couldn't tell who. First it was a torguta woman, then the hooded figure, then maul. It approached him slowly, deliberately until Maul's face broke through the mist.

"Hurry up, Skywalker." He said with an urgent edge to his voice.

Anakin took another deep breath, and felt a warm, numbing sensation spread through his limbs. He looked Maul in the eyes and nodded. Anakin saw fear in his eyes and made a confused face. Why was Maul worried? It wasn't like anyone was going to find them here, wherever they were. He smiled; surely, they were safe here.

"Surly they were saved here." A woman's voice whispered from the mist. The voice seemed to wrap Anakin in a familiar hug.

"There's no need to worry, Ani." The voice said again. Anakin's eyes widened- that was his mother's voice.

"Mom?" Anakin whispered. Maul turned around in alarm. It seemed as if the poison was working faster than he though it was going to. Skywalker didn't seem to be registering the things that were going on in front of him anymore, but instead was responding to voices that weren't actually there. Maul growled in frustration and began to walk back towards Skywalker when he stopped. He wasn't sure how much of this was the poison or the dark side messing with the Jedi's head, and figured that maybe he should watch him for a little bit to find out.

The door to Padme's living quarters opened with a quiet swoosh. Satine and Bo-Katan entered the room, looking exhausted, but triumphant at the same time. In the duchess's hands were a data pad that she held close to her chest.

"We've collected as much information as we could about Malachor." Bo-Katan said while walking further into the living quarters.

"It's located deep in the outer rim, so it'll take you about 12 hours to reach there." Bo-Katan said.
"The planet doesn't have any notable life forms at the moment, but large temples have been spotted on the surface that seem to be thousands of years old." Satine added while scrolling through her data pad.

"The atmosphere is non-toxic for humans, with a gravitational constant close to Coruscant's. The climate is desert-like, but doesn't get very hot." Satine put the data pad down.

"And that's pretty much all we could find." Bo-Katan said while looking at Ahsoka.

"Our databases just didn't have a lot of information about this place."

"Well, it's not like the republic's database would have been any better." Padme said with a sigh.

"Thank you both for helping us out. We really appreciate it." She added afterwards.

"I think that you three should leave as quickly as you can." Bo-Katan said.

"We know that Maul has people here that are watching you, and we don't want them to know that you're about to make your next move."

"I agree." Master Kenobi said while standing up. "We should get moving as quickly as possible."
The duchess handed Padme the data pad. "You'll need this." She whispered to Padme, and then pulled her in for a hug.

"Good luck." The duchess said as she let go.

Anakin tried to look around to find the source of his mother's voice. He turned back to face towards Maul when it changed into Padme's voice. But instead of the soft and comforting nothings his mother was whispering, she was screaming in pain, begging him not to do something. Anakin looked around frantically, his heart pounding in his chest. He was trying to look for what was wrong, why she would be in such great pain when the voice shifted again. Instead he heard a different woman speaking, but was unable to recognize the voice. He could feel her anger, and her rage through the force. And it was directed at him. Her voice approached Anakin, growing louder and louder until it was quiet. All Anakin could hear was the same breathing from before. In the distance was another voice, calling out for him softly. It was deeper than the others, and it was begging him to get up, walk away, come with me. Anakin stepped back, he didn't want to go anywhere with anyone. He took another step back and fell backwards towards the ground.

Anakin sat up with a gasp. He sitting on a cold stone floor, and grey mist swirled around his feet. Infront of him was Maul, crouched next to him and looking ahead.

"You're awake." He said while looking down at Anakin.

"Open this door, Skywalker." Maul said while pointing to a black slab in the center of the wall ahead of them. Anakin reached out into the force, drawing something, but he wasn't sure what. The door opened and Maul walked ahead of him, his metal legs sounding just like a battle droid's when they hit the surface. Anakin got up and followed him into a large room. A breeze blew through the room, and sent a shiver down his spine. The floor was softly lit with lines full of power from the force. Anakin could feel the dark side of the fore swirling through the mist, flowing through the floor and centered on the podium at the center of the room.

Maul's laughter interrupted his thoughts.

"Finally." He rasped out "The holocron will be mine at last."