Obi-Wan had never known pain like it.
For what seemed like the thousandth time in the last five minutes his mind screamed in complete agony. It ripped through him; burning and searing like a red-hot flame. The heat radiated off his skin. And just when he thought he'd recovered sufficiently, dampening the residual needle-like sensation with the force, the torture would begin again.
He didn't know how much more he could take.
At twenty-one years of age, Obi-Wan was in good physical shape. He had perfect musculature and was extremely fit; every one at the temple had said so. Even his torturer seemed to eye him appraisingly. But now he felt he was nearing the end of his tether. And as for his master…
Qui-Gon was over thirty years older than his padawan, although he too was in excellent condition. But there were few occasions when he'd ever felt so tempted to give in to the darkside as he did now. The intensity and severity of the pain that lashed him was almost intolerable. He watched the well practiced hands descend upon his bare torso, and gritted his teeth.
"Sith!!!" He yelled.
Obi-Wan gulped, turning his head round to face his beleaguered master who lay next to him.
"I can't stand this." Qui-Gon whispered, his face ashen. "This is beyond agony."
"I..I know, master. But we have to be strong." Kenobi's resolve began to crumble when he saw that it was his turn once more.
"It's excruciating!"
Obi-Wan nodded. "I don't understand how any being should be subjected to this indignity."
He watched and waited for the torture to begin again. The hands came down upon his chest, and there was a sickening, tearing sound. Kenobi thought he saw black spots appearing before his eyes.
"Hang on, Obi-Wan. We'll get through this. We must." Qui-Gon reached his hand out and laid it on his padawans' shoulder. Obi-Wan flinched. His skin felt as if it were being flayed and stabbed all at the same time. It was bad enough that he should suffer this torment, but to have to watch Qui-Gon go through it too was unbearable.
"Whoever thought this up has a sick and depraved mind." Qui-Gon shouted, and then wished he hadn't.
His turn again.
The swift, wrenching sound was almost as bad as the pain that accompanied it. Jinn felt as if he were going to throw up. "You don't really need both of us," he said hoarsely, "If you must torture someone then let it be me, but don't make Obi-Wan suffer with me."
"No, master." Kenobi felt his strength bolstered by the courage of the man beside him. "If you can endure it, so can I. Let there be no more talk of this kind. I shall not leave you to suffer alone. I will not have it." Tears formed in his eyes.
"My brave padawan." Qui-Gon murmured proudly, before facing his captor once more. "Do you worst."
The torturer raised an eyebrow.
Oh, Sith. Qui-Gon watched as the hands returned to the stricken body of his apprentice. The familiar wrenching sound was this time accompanied by a shriek.
"I take it back!" Obi-Wan yelled. "Torture him instead, just leave me alone!"
"Padawan!"
"I'm sorry master," he whimpered. "Even a Jedi has his limits."
"Fine." Qui-Gon snapped. "But just remember that this is absolutely the LAST time I ever let Jemmiah give me an all-over body wax to raise funds for the Temple."
Jemmiah smiled as she reached for another strip.
"You think this is bad?" She grinned deviously. "I can assure you that it's downhill all the way from here!"