The cruiser touched down on the desolate surface of the planet, blowing grey sand and dust up into the air. Ahsoka felt wired- with all of the things she had just seen, she wanted nothing more than to just be able to put all of this behind her. While touching down, Ahsoka looked out at the surface of the planet. A scared surface, devoid of all life is what looked back at her. Padme had guided the ship towards the only structure that they could see around them; a black building, with no visible entrance. However, there was another ship located there. Assuming it was Maul's, she guided the ship down close by. Now, the three of them sat in the cockpit, feeling the hope that they had felt earlier being sucked away by something.
"The dark side of the force is strong here." Master Kenobi said while stroking his beard. "I'm sure that has something to do with why Maul brought Anakin here."
"But what could he want?" Padme asked, "And how do we rescue Anakin?" She said with an urgent tone.
"I can sense him better now", Ahsoka began while twisting her hands together. "So, he must be inside that building ahead of us."
"But something is still off." Master Kenobi replied while making eye contact with her. "I think it would be wise that we moved quickly." He added on while getting up from his seat. Padme also rose from her seat and began making her way towards the exit.
"Stay on the ship, Artoo" Ahsoka said as she followed them.
Maul took a deep breath in, and exhaled slowly. A frown began to form as he sensed the presence of The Negotiator. Looking back down at Skywalker, he cursed. The young knight was now rendered basically useless from the combination of the poison, and the holocron overpowering him. Maul kicked him in the side, looking for any kind of reaction. Anakin's body rolled over slightly, but showed no signs of being conscious. Through the force, he could sense that Skywalker didn't have much time left.
"But that doesn't matter." He whispered to himself. He was to be used as bait- to draw Kenobi out here so that he could finish him off. Maul's grip around the holocron grew tighter, the device humming with power as it fed off of his anger and hatred. The humming grew stronger, taking over the room, and drawing the mist over to Maul. It surrounded him- drew him further down into the dark side. He cried out as the mist began to swirl around his legs and his body. As it slowly crept up towards his heart, the temple faded out of view, but Kenobi's presence was still there.
Maul was back on Naboo, where he had cut down Kenobi's master, and where in return, Kenobi had left him to die. The voices from the mist encouraged the anger, feeding his fire like dried wood. The anger made his senses sharp; here in this vision he could sense the young Kenobi about to charge at him, and back on Malachor, he could sense Kenobi making his way through the temple with the young torgruta girl, and the senator. He growled, and yelled; releasing the rage that he was full of. The vision vanished, leaving him back in the temple with a dying jedi at his feet, and two more on the way that would meet the same fate.
"Why is the temple built like this?" Ahsoka asked while she used the force to lift open a door.
"Because of the rule of two." Master Kenobi said while lifting up another door.
"Rule of two?" Padme questioned as she looked around the dark and damp corridors.
"Unlike the jedi, there are only two sith; a master and an apprentice. The master has the power, and the apprentice craves it."
"So, Dooku would be the master and Ventress would be the apprentice?" Padme asked.
"Not exactly. Ventress is an assassin, Dooku is the apprentice. We don't know who the master is. But whoever he is, he is powerful." Master Kenobi replied. Padme nodded her head- not that anyone could really tell with how dark it was in the corridors. She had lost track of time as they continued to wander through the corridors- they all looked the same, and all that Padme could really gather is that they were slowly descending. As they progressed further through the temple, she could feel the weight on her chest growing heavier and heavier with each step that they took.
"It makes sense though." She said. "That also probably has something to do with why Maul took Anakin. He needed another person with him to get through… wherever we are." She said.
"You're probably right." Master Kenobi responded, "But I don't think he did it willingly either." He added on softly.
"Master Skywalker would never agree to work with someone like Maul unless he was being blackmailed into it." Ahsoka added in while thinking. She knew her master well enough to know that there was no way he would have done it, unless he was being threated with something serious. She shuddered at the thought, and tried to concentrate on opening the next door.
"That is too heavy for you to lift alone, Ahsoka." Master Kenobi said while coming to help her. "This place was designed so that you would not be able to get through it on your own."