Anakin couldn't remember the last time he had run as fast as this! Perhaps he did on the battlefield, when he was moving from cover to cover with the Clones, evading Separatist fire from all sides.

But even then it hadn't felt like he was running, not in the same way he was running now, vaulting over obstacles as he ran towards the beacon that was pulsating on his comm link, the one that acted as a locator for his Clone Captain.

Anakin knew the difference in that moment. He was running with a purpose…

He was running out of desperation! Desperation to prove Rex wrong. How could Ahsoka have been taken?! And why? And by whom?

Anakin had no answers… not yet… but when he did...

He would kill whoever took Ahsoka… Jedi Code be damned.

Vaulting over another pile of crates, Anakin turned in the abandoned street he was running down, reaching out with his senses in hope of finding Ahsoka.

But there was nothing to be found. Ahsoka's signature in the Force had vanished. All that he could sense was the constant drone of darkness that coated this underground ruin.

The sound of large thundering footsteps drew Anakin's attention back to the situation as Masana sprinted up next to him, pointing one of her large claws down another pathway.

"The beacon comes from there!" The Dowutin boomed, worry in her voice as she took off down the path she had identified, Anakin following suit without any further hesitation. Every single second they delayed was another second that Ahsoka was possibly held captive. He had to make that time as short as possible.

He owed it to her.

Turning another corner, Anakin followed the towering Dowutin Jedi as she entered into an open area, one that was surrounded by a series of run down buildings, one's that looked a lot like ancient residential housing.

And there, in the middle of the area, stood Rex, armour dented and helmet in his hands, a horrified look on his face.

Wasting no time, Anakin sprinted over to Rex, drawing the Clone's attention.

"Sorry Sir. I tried to help but…"

"It's ok Rex. Tell me what happened?"

"It's not ok Sir! You tasked me to protect her and… and…"

"Calm down Rex. No one is blaming you. Tell me everything."

The Clone nodded his head, taking a deep breath before he began to speak.

"Master Dibs sensed something in the Force, so we moved to investigate and found this." Rex began, gesturing over to Prosset Dibs, who was standing side by side with Masana observing what looked like an entrance to a tunnel. How Anakin had missed it to begin with was unknown to him, though he put it down to his stress worrying about Ahsoka.

Now that he had seen it however, it was unmissable, both physically and through the Force.

The tunnel reeked of the dark side, the droning darkness threatening to swallow him up whole and devour him.

"Master Dibs thought it might be the entrance to the Shrine that we are searching for, but just as we were about to contact General Windu and yourself we were attacked!"

"Attacked by what Rex? Or by who? You said a Sith in your first call!" Anakin asked, hoping that he wasn't asking too much by making the Clone relive the events.

"I think…. no…. I know what I saw General. A monster came from the shadows of the tunnel, a red lightsaber in his hands, spinning towards us with such ferocity. Master Dibs moved to engage, but he was brushed aside faster than a clanker by a Jedi! Ahsoka moved next and clashed with him, but he restrained and pushed her aside with ease as well. Next thing I know I'm flying backwards and everything goes dark. Dibs woke me up saying I'd been knocked unconscious, but we could find no trace of Ahsoka."

Anakin struggled to keep control over his emotions. His Padawan had most likely been taken deeper into the tunnel by some monster… some Lord of the Sith! Who knew what the monster was going to do to her!

"Master Dibs and I think the Sith took Ahsoka into the tunnel. Our best guess is that it leads to the Shrine itself." Rex finished, a sense of determination settling into his face, resolve to find Ahsoka and rescue her evident.

"Then that is where we are going Captain. We'll get her back!"

"Not without us, you're not!" Masana spoke, interrupting Anakin and Rex's conversation with an equally determined look on her face as she and Prosset approached. "If this Sith took one of your friends Skywalker, then he's made an enemy of us all today."

"Indeed. Let us venture forward." Prosset spoke next, agreeing with Masana's sentiment.

It was then that another voice interrupted the conversation as two more figures emerged from the shadows to join the ragtag group.

"Hope you're not gonna leave us behind too. Always wanted to find a Sith Shrine so I could desecrate it!" Bil Valen's voice was full of humour despite the severity of the situation. Whether or not he didn't care for Ahsoka's well-being or was just trying to lighten the mood Anakin didn't know, but part of him didn't appreciate the comment, not when Ahsoka's life was at stake.

There was a time for jokes, and then there was a time to be serious. This was the latter as far as Anakin was concerned.

"Whilst I would usually advocate calm and patience, I find myself agreeing with Knight Valen in this instant. Let us hasten and rescue Agent Tano." Windu finally spoke, his words surprising Anakin. He had half expected the Jedi Council member to willingly sacrifice Ahsoka for the sake of 'patience'. Instead, he seemed to be willing to charge in with next to no knowledge of what lay in wait for them.

Anakin almost asked if Windu was feeling ok! This did not seem in character for him at all, not that Anakin was complaining!

"Well I'm glad we are all in agreement. Shall we?" Masana spoke, turning to the tunnel entrance, her legs guiding her towards it, Bil following beside her. Anakin appreciated that, like him, Masana was not one to stand around doing nothing. She was a woman of action, just as he was a man of action.

Despite every warning the Force had been screaming at them, Anakin had quickly led the way into the dark tunnel that had been discovered. Masana might have taken point to begin with, her green blade illuminating the way, but Anakin had been quick to move up alongside her, Rex following in the process.

Behind them were Windu and Dibs, with Bil falling back to bring up the rear, his own blue blade clenched in his hand, cautiously watching the group's six.

"Anyone else get a really creepy vibe from this?" Bil asked aloud, earning a groan from Masana.

"He's not wrong. It reminds me of the catacombs of Geonosis in a way, minus the endless bug hordes" Rex answered back, cautiously moving alongside his Jedi General, hands on his blasters just in case. Anakin didn't need the Force to tell that his Captain was on edge, not that he blamed him. Even Anakin had to admit this situation was downright creepy. The desolate ruins above spoke of a very different time period in history, when the Sith had been as many in numbers as the Jedi.

Luckily for them, that time had passed, and now the Jedi held the reigns of power over the Force. Sure, there were still Sith Lords around, but what chance did two of them have against ten thousand Jedi?

"At least it doesn't smell as bad as those catacombs." Masana interrupted Anakin's train of thought, her expression morphing into one of disgust as she recalled the smell. Anakin knew all too well what smell she was referring to. The catacombs of Geonosis smelled like rotting flesh, even those that still possessed life within them.

He hoped he'd never have to go back there again!

"Did you take part during the first Battle of Geonosis?" Rex continued, inquiring to Masana about her personal history. Anakin saw the way Masana tensed briefly, no doubt remembering what her former Master had done to Rex in the past before continuing on.

"I did. I was there in the arena, though somehow I managed to sneak off before everyone else got their shebs captured. Managed to fight my way out of the arena to find the Clone army invading. That was an interesting day to say the least!" Masana answered, surprising Anakin yet again. He hadn't seen Masana during the battle that day, and she was hardly an easy person to miss. A towering Dowutin had a tendency to stand out in a crowd.

Then again, she had just said she managed to slip out. That likely explained her absence in his memory of that fateful day.

"Well at least you got out of there alive General." Rex responded, using the honorific in the process, once again causing Masana to flinch at the memory of the past.

Silence fell over the group as they continued down the long dark path before them, the silence only broken by the constant humming of the ignited lightsabers and sounds of boots on the ground. The Force continued to act distorted, the darkside pulsing from all around them, no doubt thanks to the Sith Shrine.

Taking another moment to himself, Anakin tried as best he could to reach through the darkness, trying to find any trace of Ahsoka's Force signature.

She had to be alive… she had to be! Why else would a Sith take her if not to keep her alive for some reason? She would be fine…. he knew she would!

But if she wasn't… if even a single cut maimed her body… well… Anakin would not hesitate to destroy whoever had put it there, Jedi code be damned.

Anakin didn't know how long they had wandered in the dark, guided only by the light emanated from their sabers, but it felt like a long long time.

Thus, when he finally saw an opening in front of them, one that led to a large chamber, Anakin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, one that was shared by Rex.

Finally feeling like they were making some progress, Anakin led the group into the large chamber, one that was already illuminated by what looked like ancient lanterns affixed to the walls. How they were still working after all these years Anakin didn't know, but he wasn't complaining, and neither was anyone else.

Surveying the room, Anakin saw the walls around them were covered with images carved into the stone that made up the surrounding architecture. Pictures of people and of creatures had been carefully cut into the walls, depicting various events, such as battles and conflicts, or even the simple life of a person.

Another image showed a being surrounded by others, two swords in his hands as he held them above those around him.

"Hey Skywalker, this look familiar to you?" Masana called Anakin over to where she was standing in front of an image of her own, one that resembled a large creature with long spindly limbs.

"Yeah. Kind of reminds me of that thing we saw up top." Anakin replied, remembering their earlier encounter, one that had ended in peace, for which Anakin was grateful.

Looking over the image of the creature again, Anakin spotted some major differences however. This one appeared to be adorned in what looked like armour, as if it had been used as some sort of war beast.

That likely meant that those creatures could be tamed and used as weapons. Anakin was really glad that they didn't have to fight the one they had encountered earlier. The image on the stone wall alone was enough to incite fear into even the bravest of Jedi.

"Glad we didn't see one of those things!" Bil spoke as he moved past them, heading towards something Anakin had yet to study.

Moving away from Masana, Anakin moved to join Windu, who stood at the base of what appeared to be a great stone door, one that hopefully led further inside and to their destination.

And hopefully to Ahsoka.

"It is a puzzle." Was all Windu spoke as he gestured to the door, and then to five plinths before it.

Each plinth held an image on it's base, and a pressure pad on the top. Clearly a combination of something was needed in order to enter.

"Any idea on what we do? Do we need to find something to place on them?" Anakin asked, looking around the chamber for anything that might give him a clue.

Luckily for them all, it appeared Windu had already figured it out.

The Jedi Council member gestured to the large stone door, specifically to what appeared to be scripture etched into the stone in a language Anakin didn't recognize.

"The writing is an ancient Sith language, and roughly translates to 'The wise will know the order of nature, the foolish will be devoured.' To put it simply, we must trigger each pressure plate in the correct order, or face the consequence."

"But what's the correct order? I get the feeling we are missing something here?" Dibs spoke for the first time in a while, his signature in the Force dampened by the darkside of the Shrine beneath them, but still recognizable as confused.

"That is the riddle we must solve." Windu spoke again, one of his hands coming up to scratch lightly at his chin, a gesture Anakin often associated with Obi-Wan's look of deep thought.

"I kriffing hate riddles!" Bil spoke with contempt in his tone, what sounded like a snarl coming from his throat in the process. "Best I don't help here."

"Ain't that the truth! You'd just get us 'devoured'."

"Oh like you could do any better Masana!"

"Better than you!"

"Oh go kriff a…"

Anakin paid no attention to the argument that was breaking out between Masana and Bil. He could tell that, much like many of their previous interactions, it was one built on jest and held no actual dislike for one another.

Rather than listen in, Anakin focused all his attention on the plinths before him, trying to solve the riddle they had been presented with.

The five plinths were identical, aside from the images that were etched into each of them.

One image was that of what looked like a plant, or a blade of grass.

Another showed what looked like a Convor soaring above the clouds.

Another was an insect, small, yet possessing many legs, as well as a pair of sharp looking mandibles.

The fourth image seemed to represent a human, or at least a human like individual.

And the final plinth sported an image of what looked like the beast he and Masana had encountered earlier, as well as the one that was etched onto the walls of the chamber they were currently in.

"I reckon those images mean something." Anakin said, voicing his own internal thoughts as his eyes ran over the plinths once more. As far as he could tell they were the only obvious difference between each plinth. Perhaps they were the key?

"I wonder what they mean? Some sort of code perhaps?" Rex inquired from beside him, head moving from plinth to another.

"Maybe. Some ancient cultures used images to convey text eons ago. Could be a language we aren't familiar with." Anakin replied, glancing at each image again, trying to piece it together.

A plant. A bird. A man. An insect. And a beast. What could it mean?

"I'm assuming it's a combination or something?" Dibs spoke next, "The correct order opens the door…"

"Whilst the wrong one gets us all killed. Good odds those are." Masana spoke next, finally finishing her 'argument' with Bil in the process.

Anakin was about to ask Master Windu about his opinion, or if he had any more advice when he suddenly found himself interrupted by Bil, who groaned aloud and moved towards the plinths.

"You guys talk too much. I'm gonna trust what the Force is telling me."

"Bil no!"

Masana's words did little to stop Bil however, not that it would have mattered in the first place. By the time Masana had spoken, Bil had already approached the first plinth, the one that possessed the image of the man, and placed his hand atop it.

Moments later, the plinth slowly sunk into the ground, a loud rumbling echoing throughout the chamber.

Bil however did not stop there. Moving on he approached a second plinth, and then a third, repeating the gesture from before, allowing both plinths to sink into the ground around them before he moved onto the fourth.

"Oh we are so going to die!" Masana spoke again, her tone evidently fed up with Bil's antics. Anakin had to say that he shared them.

"Have a little faith Masana!" Bil replied as he laid his hand upon the fifth and final plinth, the one that possessed the image of the plant on it.

As with the previous plinths, the fifth one sunk into the ground, a resounding rumble echoing throughout the chamber.

"There we go. See… you were worried about nothing Masana." Bil spoke after a few moments, hesitation a smirk on his face.

The smirk however, lasted mere seconds before his face contorted into confusion, and then terror.

"Oh poodoo."

At Bil's curse, coupled with the terrified look on his face, Anakin spun to look at what Bil was looking at.

Rather than open the large stone doors they needed to proceed, Bil's actions instead had a far more dire consequence.

To the side, on the wall that held the image of the large beast Anakin and Masana had encountered earlier, there was movement. The wall itself began to shift and move, as if opening a passageway to something…

No… that wasn't what was happening at all! The wall wasn't just moving! It was alive!

Or more specifically… the image of the creature was!

"Oh you have got to be kidding me! BIL! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"Heh heh… oops?"

Anakin had no time to pay attention to Masana and Bil, not as the 'wall' continued to shift, limbs emerging from within the stone architecture, pulling the creature's body out of it in the process until it was standing tall above them in the chamber, it's skull like face peering down at them with what looked like rage in it's eyes.

Unlike the earlier counterpart they had encountered, this one was armoured across its body, and possessed large sharp claws that could easily disembowel even Masana.

Without hesitation, Anakin reached down and grabbed his lightsaber, igniting the blade and bringing it up into a defensive position, bracing himself for what he suspected was coming next.

He doubted that they would get as lucky as they had been before.

Moments later, Anakin's prediction was proven accurate, as the creature released an ear shattering roar, and charged.

To say she had a headache would be a monumental understatement. If anything, the pain in her head, and the constant ringing in her montrals was more like a migraine if anything, one that pierced her very skull.

Groaning to herself, and trying to lift one of her hands up to rub her forehead, Ahsoka found herself unable to move her arms. Glancing down, she found her hands bound together, shackled to a stone pillar next to where she had been laid to rest. Not too far away from her was her helmet as well, the custom made Mandalorian design undamaged, as if it had been removed with care.

In a way, Ahsoka was glad it wasn't damaged. She really didn't want to have to buy a new one! Those things cost a fortune.

Shaking the pain out of her head as best she could, Ahsoka continued to survey her surroundings. The room she was in was small, one illuminated only by the pulsating red glow that seemed to rise up through the cracks in the stone around her.

Pulling at her shackled hands again, Ahsoka tried to wrench herself free, but found no success.

Sighing to herself, Ahsoka chose to continue surveying her surroundings. Aside from the pillar she was tied to however, there was little else in the room that was her current jail cell.

She had been captured, that much was clear. The last thing she remembered was bantering with Rex outside of a large tunnel, when suddenly something, or someone had emerged from the shadows, red saber ignited, eyes glowing a bright gold, a malicious smile on its face.

Ahsoka remembered Master Dibs being pushed aside with ease, as well as her own easy defeat by what she assumed was a Sith.

Rex had been knocked out quickly as well… and then she remembered… the thing… the person who had emerged from the shadows to assault them had turned to her, his face closing in on hers, golden eyes contrasting against his red and black visage.

The monster had spoken only one word to her at that moment.

'Sleep'.

And that was what she had done. The Force had been strong with the monster, and there was little she could do to resist it. She had succumbed to the power of the dark side of the Force with ease, slipping into a state of slumber, if only for a time.

It had been time enough for her to be captured however, and taken deeper into what Ahsoka assumed was the Sith Shrine they had been seeking an entrance for.

In a way, she had completed her mission. Still… she had been captured. That was never a good thing. No doubt Anakin would lose it when he found out.

The sounds of footsteps, ones that were heavy and metallic, caught her montrals, drawing her attention towards a figure as he strode towards her, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness around her.

"Excellent," The Sith spoke, his voice soft yet snide, seductive in a repulsive yet manipulative manner. "You awaken, little Jedi. Now, you are going to help me secure what is rightfully mine."

"And if I don't?" Ahsoka spat in response, not liking the idea of helping a Sith Lord achieve his heinous goals.

"If you don't, then I will have no choice but to increase the potency of this Shrine's weapon, and kill all of your friends above! Tell me, Jedi… is that a risk you are willing to take?"

Author's thoughts

Dun dun duuunnnnnnnnnnnnn... again! Yeah, another cliffhanger... I know I know. Expect a lot of those in the next few chapters. XD

So... it seems that a few people were pretty upset with the cliffhanger last time round. I mean... I got 'death threats', I got 'torture threats', hell... I even got Force choked! I assuming all of these were jokes by the way. I hope no one actually has any intention of killing me!
And if you do... well... then I guess you are welcome to try, just be aware you won't get any more chapters to solve the cliffhangers in that case. XD

Hopefully this chapter helps to lessen any fears from that last cliffhanger though. Ahsoka is a tough cookie after all. I'm sure she'll be fine in the company of her new 'best-friend'. XD

The same can not be said for Anakin and the gang though. They appear to have run across a bit of trouble, and it's all thanks to Bil Valen. (side note, the placeholder name for this chapter was originally 'Bil Valen kriffs everything up'.) He really should think before he acts. Alas, he did not.

As for how he kriffed up, well, I guess it is time for me to extend the riddle to you readers as well, and see if you can solve it yourself.

The key bits of info to solve it are the following:
1. The images on the plinths represent an order of some kind. The plinths need to be pushed in the correct order to open the door.
2. The images are that of an insect, a blade of grass, a person, the huge beast that just attacked the team, and a bird. I wonder what the correct order could be?
3. There is a theme to the order. I wonder what it come be?

Feel free to have a guess at what the order is. No pressure or anything, but my beta reader did get the theme in one go!

So yeah, that's about it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. There might be a bit of a wait for the next one as I'm feeling a tad bit burnt out at the moment, and writers block isn't helping at the moment. I might take a week off of writing to try refresh my mind a bit. Sorry about that. I'll still be around on Tumblr though. Might do a teaser or two to compensate. :)

Thanks to my beta reader 'ArrinSnyders' for all his hard work once again. I really appreciate it.

Next time round, Anakin and the team face off against the big monster, whilst Ahsoka and her new 'friend' get to know each other a bit.

As usual, comment and speculate at will, speaking of which:

Dream Plane: Well I'm glad you asked anyways. :)
I'm pleased the enjoyed the Masana and Anakin scene in the last chapter. That was my favourite bit to write out. It was nice to give Anakin a new friend outside of his usual circle for once. Expanding horizons and all.
Cute is not the word I would use to describe the creature, but hey, each to our own. I don't think the next one is gonna be peaceful though unfortunately. XD

Ghost14lebi: Um... how about neither please? XD
And thanks for the compliment once again. Character based stuff and their interactions with each other is my favourite thing to write, so expect plenty more of that to come, alongside some big actions scenes too.

Ascoobian: Yeah... just a small cliffhanger huh? Hopefully you weren't too mad at me for it.
That's an interesting theory you've got there. It certainly has some strong merit to it I'll give you that. All will be explained soon though. I guess you'll see how right or wrong you were then. XD

Mysterious Guest One: Do kill Rex? Ok then... I will. XD
Kidding... kidding... have some faith in him. If anyone could survive a trip to a Sith Temple... it's Rex. He's the most sane person in this team!

Mysterious Guest Two: Maybe he is? What would your reaction be if that was the truth? XD

60FPS: "Meesa time to rise. Meesa take revenge on bombad Jedi!"
Jokes aside... maybe he wants her as his new apprentice? XD

TragicFiction: No cliffhangers allowed? But where is the fun in that?
Hope you enjoyed this chapter as compensation, even if there was no Sith ass kicking just yet.

Mysterious Guest Three: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, minus the annoying cliffhanger. Gotta happen sometimes I'm afraid. :)
As for your questions, I can and will answer them for you. There will be more Thrawn in this story later on. He plays a role in the next arc, albeit a minor one. But he will get a chance to be his awesome self soon, I promise.
As for your other question, my Rebels AU main story is over and I've got no intention of continuing it on with another main story. I'm of the mind that 'To Take Down An Emperor' was a good place to end the central storyline. However, there is always a chance of more Maul in the ongoing 'One Shot Saga', so you never know. :)

DrCyrusBortel: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the future team of evil's (plus Rex and Windu) team building exercise. It was fun to write. XD

the Mandalorian terminator: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the reveal. It was fun to plan and it exists for the exact reason you stated. In an way Anakin and Masana are are older version of the Skyguy and Snips relationship. (minus the Master/Apprentice relationship). Lot's of fun to write, and expect more of it in the coming chapters. XD

Dressyone22: That's an interesting set of speculation you've got there. I guess you'll have to wait and see who the mystery darksider is. I hope you won't be disappointed.

tf330129: I'll try. Pace might slow a bit for a few weeks.

Cat-Gods-Of-The-Cat-People: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was quite proud of the previous chapter, and it is one of my favourites thus far.
I do like my cliffhangers I'll admit, for multiple reasons. They are a good place to get me to end a chapter, plus I love seeing reader reaction and speculation from it, even if I get death/torture threats. XD

1saaa: Heh heh... oops. Still, at least it gives you something to speculate about... right? Please don't kill me. :(
I don't know... who do you think the Sith Lord is? Be interesting to hear you opinion on it. XD
Still, glad you enjoyed the chapter, as well as Masana's development, even if you are angry at me. There are a few more cliffhangers coming up, so sorry about that. Hope you like them nonetheless.

RyanSquad: Hurrkkkhhhh... can't... breathe... going to... 'drops dead'.
Guess the story will never get finished now. Oops. XD