When Ahsoka finally caught up to Maul she found him waiting in a large open chamber. Before him was a wide chasm, the darkness of the hole indicating that it could well be bottomless. A dead end.

"Now what?" Ahsoka questioned. She didn't come all this way through a sith temple to find nothing. At this point she was committed. Maul gestured with his hands across the chasm, towards an ominous looking platform suspended in the chamber. Ahsoka shifted her gaze. The central platform was inaccessible, at least as far as she could tell.

"What's over there that's so important?" Ahsoka inquired, clearly unsure of what Maul was intending.

"Listen Lady Tano. Listen to the force." Maul advised. It was almost like he was trying to teach her something. So she did listen. The force still sang with darkness. Clouded to her perspective. The darkside was stronger here, in the temple, than it had previously been outside. It had a strange effect on Ahsoka. It was neither welcoming nor excluding. Made her feel neither warm nor cold. Light or dark. She may have once been a Jedi, but here in a Sith temple of all places, the force seemed to be on her side.

A song could be heard, ever so slightly by Ahsoka. Not the sort of song that her montrals would pick up, but rather her force sensitivity. Something nearby was reaching out to her. An object of great power.

Strangely, it sounded familiar, like she had encountered it, or a variation of it before. But what was it? Ahsoka took another glance at the platform across the chasm.

There! A pulsating red light, contained within some kind of structure on the central platform. That was the source of the song. That was what they were after. An object of the force, containing information. Everything clicked in Ahsoka's head in that instant. Where else would one find a source of information on the sith.

Ahsoka turned to Maul, her eyes lighting up in understanding. "It's a holocron. A Sith Holocron."

Maul nodded in reply, a sense of satisfaction flowing through his presence in the force.

"Correct. That holocron contains all the knowledge of the Sith who constructed this temple. Sith from long ago, from a time when their power was at its height, as it is now. If we are fortunate, the knowledge within the holocron will allow us to determine the true purpose of this temple, and thus find a way to utilize it against our common foe."

"Do you know the purpose of this temple already then? It seemed awfully convenient that you knew where to find this holocron, and what may or may not be inside of it." Ahsoka questioned. She may be working with Maul, but he had yet to demonstrate why she should trust him.

She doubted he ever would.

"I did my research Lady Tano. Ancient texts lost many eons ago all point to this temple being the central focus of a long forgotten war. The damage you saw on arrival? The ash statues? They are all remnants of that conflict. If Sidious gains control of this weapon it would be catastrophic. We cannot allow that. Thus we must secure this holocron, and keep it safe from our adversaries."

Maul made a compelling argument. The damage she had seen with Kanan and Ezra had been horrifying. Any weapon that had the power to level entire areas in the scale of what had happened on Malachor was better as far away from Sidious and Vader as possible. But that did leave her with one more concern.

"How can I be sure you don't want to use this weapon for yourself? Turn it against me and my friends the second we get the holocron." Ahsoka had to be sure. If that was Maul's ultimate goal, she had to be prepared for his inevitable betrayal.

For a brief second Maul looked guilty. Then he looked Ahsoka directly in the eye, with renewed purpose. "I will admit to having entertained the idea of betraying you for my own gain. But as I keep saying. We need each other to survive, to succeed. You and I are one and the same. Rejects of those in power. Survivors. Because of that, I will honour our alliance. But only because I trust you Lady Tano."

What? Since when had Maul trusted her? Why would Maul trust her?

However, he was right. They were, despite their philosophical differences, more alike than they both would care to admit. Maul had been honest about his original intention. And he had seemed genuinely remorseful at considering it. For that reason, and that reason alone, she would trust him back.

"So how do we get across the chasm? We need that holocron." Ahsoka changed the subject, not wanting to acknowledge the moment of companionship she had shared with one of her mortal enemies.

"I am unsure." Maul replied, clearly disconcerted. "The texts spoke of the system of doors we have bypassed, but made no mention of this."

So it was a dead end. How could this day get any worse?

Ahsoka looked around the chamber, hoping, praying for an alternate route. None presented itself.

"Perhaps there is some mechanism we have yet to activate. A bridge perhaps?" She suggested.

Maul shook his head. "Possible. But a temple this old, designed by the Sith no less would not be so obvious. We are missing something."

Designed by the Sith. By the Sith.

A light went off in Ahsoka's head.

"The Rule of Two again. We have to work together to get across."

Maul turned to look at her. "What do you suggest?"

Ahsoka looked over the chasm. It was too far to jump, even with her force enhanced jump. Neither of them would make it. But if they combined theirs powers...

"I'll jump across, and you use the force to throw me the rest of the way." Ahsoka said, pleased with herself.

"That might work. But that requires a high level of trust Lady Tano." Maul responded, clearly understanding her intention.

Ahsoka smiled at the Zabrak. "Then it's a good thing I trust you with this."

Maul seemed surprised. Like it was the first time anyone had ever told him that. Perhaps it was, Ahsoka didn't know. But if Maul was willing to cooperate and trust her. Then she was back.

She only hoped her trust was well placed.

Ahsoka lined herself up to jump, taking several large steps back from the edge of the chasm in order to get a run up. Maul stood ready on the edge, waiting to use the force to assist.

Ahsoka counted in her head.

'3, 2, 1'

She ran, putting as much speed into her run as she could. As she reached the edge, she transferred her energy from her speed to her knees and legs, and pushed off. Using the force to amplify her power she sailed through the air towards the platform. Judging the distance travelled, she discovered she had only covered half of the chasm herself.

A strong force push impacted onto her back, pushing her further forward. Maul was upholding his promise. But still it was not enough. Ahsoka could see that she would just fall short of the platform on which the holocron resided. She would miss her goal by inches and plummet. She would...

Another strong force push hit her, Maul again. This time she would land safely. All thanks to Maul.

Ahsoka landed with a thump. Crashing onto the ground and rolling over several times, before coming to a halt. Shaking off any disorientation, Ahsoka stood and looked back across the chasm. Maul had a victorious smirk on his face, clearly pleased by the victory.

"Don't get cocky. I still have to get back across." She called over to him. Despite her scold, she too was smirking.

Rather than waste any more time, Ahsoka turned her attention to the holocron. It was shaped like a pyramid, unlike its Jedi equivalent, and not to dissimilar to the architecture of the Malachor temple itself. It radiated with energy. As Ahsoka reached out her hand to grasp it, she felt the darkness swirl around her, judging her. When it deemed her worthy of the holocrons possession, it simply fell out of its container into Ahsoka's hand, and the darkness around Ahsoka receded, as much as it could in a Sith temple.

She had acquired the holocron easily enough. Getting back across was the next issue. Across the way, Maul was waiting patiently, ready to pull her to safety.

As Ahsoka approached the edge, everything began to unravel. The walls, previously dark and black, began to light up. Red light pulsated at an alarming rate through them. The chamber itself came alive with sounds and light.

The chasm however, was still bottomless.

The platform Ahsoka stood upon began to rise. She had to bail. And she had to bail fast.

Sprinting to the edge of the platform she jumped, using the same techniques as last time, and hoped. Hoped she would make it. Hoped Kanan and Ezra would be ok, wherever they were.

Hoped Maul would catch her.

The force surrounded her again, this time manipulated by the Zabrak. He was using all his power, all his might to pull her towards him. She barely made it again. This time was closer than last time.

She slammed into the edge of the ledge where Maul waited, grasping the rim of the ledge with one hand, holocron in the other. She felt Maul reach down and grab her hand, pulling her up, slowly, but surely. Within seconds, her perilous situation was over. Maul had successfully pulled her up, and she collapsed onto her knees, Maul crouching beside her. Both panted in exhaustion. Both from the physical strain of events, and the mental ones.

"We did it." Ahsoka said triumphantly, despite being out of breath.

Maul's eyes flickered over her briefly as he caught his breath. "You are a lot heavier than you look Lady Tano."

Ahsoka chuckled. A joke from Maul. What a day this was. She decided to humour his statement.

"It's the armours fault."

Kanan Jarrus knew when a hopeless situation presented itself to him.

He'd seen it before, with the Grand Inquisitor on Lothal. And again, when Darth Vader had shown up.

But he was, he hoped, a patient man.

Sometimes.

Thus, Kanan Jarrus refused to undone by the trivial nonsense that his captive Inquisitor was currently spewing.

He'd ordered Chopper back to the Phantom, preferring him to be on guard for any more surprises, rather than deal with the incessant comments the droid so liked to produce.

That just left him with the Inquisitor before him. Kanan may have been a Jedi, but interrogation was not his speciality.

So far, all the Inquisitor had produced was sarcastic quips and insults at his predicament, whilst simultaneously finding new and devious ways to incite fear into Kanan's padawan. Ezra was clearly unsettled by the presence of the darkside user, as he should be.

But the fact that the Inquisitor was purposefully trying to get under Ezra's skin was beginning to annoy Kanan. Why couldn't they just all leave his apprentice alone?

Not that Kanan didn't trust Ezra to make the right choice in the end. Ezra may have been overt, but his mind was always in the right place.

What concerned Kanan currently was the mention of a 'shadow'. The Inquisitor had seemed afraid of whoever this was. What could Vader and Sidious fear so much that they sent an Inquisitor after? Clearly not a Jedi. Kanan was sure of that.

Before Kanan could continue his line of thought, the ground rumbled beneath him. All around him, the ruins of the Malachor Sith temple came to life. Bright red lights seemed to appear from nowhere, coating the various columns and pillars. The pyramid temple in the distance also lit up, darkside energy radiating from it. Kanan was sure that whatever was happening, it had something to do with this shadow.

Ezra seemed to have the same idea. "What if that was Ahsoka? Or this shadow thingy?"

Kanan too was concerned about their Togruta friend, but was confident in her abilities. If anyone could handle themselves, it was her.

"Come on." Kanan ordered, grabbing the Inquisitor by his collar and forcing him to move. Whatever was happening was happening inside the temple. And Kanan hadn't come this far to miss it. He pushed the Inquisitor into a run towards the temple, Ezra following suite.

In the Jedi's confusion, the Eighth Brother had enacted his plan. Whilst both stared slack jawed at the changes of the temple, he had covertly reached his hand around his restraints, and signalled for help.

'Soon Jedi.' He thought. 'Soon my Brother and Sister shall be here.'

'And it shall be and excellent days hunt.'

Author's Thoughts

So I've been trying to figure out a way of communicating at the end of chapters. I figured this is the best way.

I hope you are all enjoying this so far. It started as a simple idea in my head that exploded into a full blown fanfic.

Oops!

Anyway, please feel free to comment on the story, whether it be what you like or what you don't like.

I endeavour to reply to all comments, whether serious or just silly.

Starting from... now:

FossilQueen1984: What does Maul want? He's no longer dealing with Ezra. Ahsoka is not a fool, she knows what he's like, thus he will have to alter his gameplan. As for the tension, I toyed the with idea early on in this fic, but decided it doesn't really suit either of them. Their relationship will be complex though I promise.

Mysterious Guest that commented on chapter 4: You want an update... here you go! :)