Rebuilding (COMPLETE)

Episode 21 (4)

The unfortunate part of separating from Maul was that they now had no idea where they were going. Anakin looked up. "Can you point us in the right direction?"

"Which way is the right direction?" Kanan asked, looking around. "What are we after?"

"We have to stand between the Inquisitors and the temple, which means we need to get close to it before they do," Anakin reasoned. With this in consideration, Ahsoka's wind blew past them down a nearby path. They walked silently together, keeping an eye out for movement that might signal that they weren't alone.

Ahsoka's guidance took them to a stone wall with a strange groove in it. It seemed like a dead end. "Now what?" Kanan wondered.

Responding, Ahsoka blew another gust straight at the wall. Anakin reached out to touch it. The stone was woven with the Force, although it was the Dark Side. He concentrated, fighting the stone. It didn't like that a Jedi was trying to use it, but it couldn't resist the power of the Chosen One. The stone glowed red, and the groove in the wall began to rush down. Above them, the others saw that the stone was actually a lift.

"Woah," Ezra said, impressed. When the lift reached the bottom, they stepped on board, but Anakin couldn't activate the lift.

"What's wrong?" Kanan asked, and Anakin pushed harder, digging into the stone. It wasn't a question of power, though.

He sighed, pulling his hand back. "This thing has a maximum capacity. It only wants two to ride at a time. You two go. I'll jump up after you."

Stepping off, Anakin sent the other two Jedi up. Unfortunately, when they were halfway up, he sensed an unwelcome visitor approaching behind him. Maul had followed the Jedi. 

Walking with his hands behind his back, Maul peered at Anakin. "I'm sensing that we got off on the wrong foot, Skywalker."

He didn't respond. Unless he had something he needed to say, Anakin didn't intend on speaking to Maul. No need to give him anything to use against him. 

Maul got the message. "I intend on going up. As long as you are as well, there's no reason why we can't ride together."

This, Anakin actually didn't mind. The closer he was to Maul, the quicker he could stop him if needed. Unfortunately, that meant Ezra would be closer to him as well, so he refused. Instead, when he sensed that the other Jedi were at the top, he crouched and jumped up, leaving Maul on the ground. Either he would jump too, or he would get left behind. As much as the second option appealed to Anakin, he doubted that would be the case. 

When he got to the top, though, things had already started to fall apart. The Eighth Brother had knocked down Kanan and was very close to chopping off Ezra's hand with... a saw? He had actual knives that he could spin with his lightsaber too? Ahsoka, why the spinning lightsaber? Why couldn't it have been anything else?

Maul, of course, was right behind Anakin. "Ezra!" he shouted, and he attacked the Inquisitor. Anakin, sensing that he couldn't help, instead went to check on Kanan. He was fine. He just needed a moment to recover. Maul pushed back the Eighth Brother, forcing him to retreat, and pulled the Padawan up. Kanan and Anakin exchanged glances before standing up.

After watching the Eighth Brother disappear, Kanan glared at Maul. "What do you want now?"

"I am insulted!" he claimed, but he didn't quite sell it. "I am only offering to help you. You are trying to get into the temple, aren't you?"

"To the front door, maybe," Kanan correcting, setting his jaw. "Inside is another story."

"If you continue to travel like this, the Inquisitors will counter your movements," he reasoned, looking at both of the older Jedi. "I recommend that we split up and scale the Pyramid from two sides. They will also have to divide their forces."