PART 3


Chillingham Castle
Great Hall
08:35hrs

Obi-Wan Kenobi slowly returned to consciousness. As the room and his thoughts became more clear, he remembered his Master's sacrifice.

"No" he moaned.

"Unfortunately, yes." Obi-Wan turned his head to see Jaim Marlin sitting next to him. "You have my deepest condolences for your loss."

Obi-Wan stared at the man for a moment, then exploded. "No. He is NOT DEAD! I would have felt him die !"

Jaim seemed to stagger at the Jedi Padawan's aggression. "I'm sorry Obi-Wan but you have to let him--"

"No I WILL NOT let him go!" hollered Obi-Wan. "He is STILL ALIVE!"

Jaim continued to look at him oddly and Obi-Wan began to take deep breaths. Yelling over and over would not solve anything.

"She's awake." called Sandretta from another part of the floor.

Obi-Wan and Jaim turned and saw Lex attempting to sit herself up against the wall.

"Right after Qui-Gon vanished and you lost consciousness," said the Sanderai woman, "Lex passed out and has remained that way for as long as you have."

The thirteen year old was leaning against the wall and taking deep, staggering breaths. She seemed to be muttering a few things to herself, the one thing that she made audible to the whole group was the only thing Obi-Wan cared about.

"Qui-Gon...not...dead."

Jaim looked at Obi-Wan, who gave a great sigh of relief. But the look of urgency did not leave his face.

Lex took several more breaths before she continued. "He is alive...but he's in their world now. And he's--"

Obi-Wan didn't know whether the thirteen year old had even finished her statement because a sudden pain washed over him and he fell to his knees, as his cry echoed through the hall.

Jaim and Sandretta helped him over to the wall beside Lex.

"They're killing him" he whispered. Then Obi-Wan doubled over again and kept screaming and clutching his chest. Suddenly, the pain vanished as quickly as it had come about.

Obi-Wan threw himself against the wall, trying to get a hold of himself. He looked over at Lex, whose eyes opened.

"They've stopped...for now." she said.

The young psychic began to tell her story. "While I was unconscious I was approached by John Sage." said Lex. "I tried to offer myself in exchange for Qui-Gon but he would have none of it. But, he did agree to give us a 'sporting' chance."

Obi-Wan, Jaim and Sandretta looked at each other. "What did he mean by that?" asked Obi-Wan.

Lex sighed. "We have until 24hrs tonight to find a way to save him. Otherwise, he dies."

The Sanderai girl looked at Obi-Wan. "He did not agree to allow Qui-Gon to block out his pain so I want you to go into one of your healing trances to try and get more of a grip over your pain."

Obi-Wan nodded and looked at the others. "Let's do this."

---------------
Chillingham Castle
Torture Chamber
10:45hrs.

Lex was three years younger than Obi-Wan, but her orders demanded no arguments. Lex had demanded that he keep under he trance for more time than he deemed necessary.

When he had finally been allowed to emerged from the healing trance, he had been bombarded by a strong sense from the Torture chamber.

The group now found themselves trudging up the decaying staircase to the chamber, when they opened the door a collective shudder ran through the group.

The room was filled with instruments of torture. Racks, thumbscrews, Iron Maidens and other atrocities.

Obi-Wan heard Sandretta take a deep breath from behind him. "I don't know about you," she said, "But I am staring at the gate of Hell."

Obi-Wan and the others nodded in agreement. And Qui-Gon was in that hell.
* * * * *
10:50hrs

Obi-Wan was a wreak. He couldn't comprehend how anyone could inflict this type of pain on another being. The Padawan wanted to throw up, he wanted to sit down and get control of his dizzy spells.

But the burning in his chest would not permit him to. Qui-Gon had thrown himself into Hell in order to save Obi-Wan from that experience.

For that Obi-Wan would not rest
* * * *
Chillingham Castle
Chapel
12:36hrs

Alexis Brélis made her way down to the Chapel area of the Castle. Sandretta and Jaim were off searching elsewhere and Obi-Wan was still upstairs.

Lex was not entirely sure about leaving the Jedi Padawan alone up there, she smiled. She didn't find a Jedi capable of looking after himself.

Then again, not every Jedi Padawan was facing the loss of his Master.

Lex looked at her wrist chrono and began to feel uneasy.

Something was coming...

--------------------
Chillingham Castle
Pink room
13:15hrs

Demoiselle Sandretta Latrey paced the Pink Room, he daja was out and she was very ready to use it.

Sanderai warriors did not like to show emotion of any kind, even so her heart went out to Obi-Wan Kenobi. A Jaim had plainly stated, she would not wish this grief on an enemy.

Cody was her life. They had met on a mission to the Sanderai world of Umbria to squash a band of slave traders there. After the mission, the rest had been history.

Sandretta pushed down her grief, she could not let her personal feelings get in the way.

She took a walk around the room and was drawn to a doll carriage with a doll inside. She felt a cold chill and touched the doll's cheek.

The doll was sweating.

Sandretta's mind would not let her understand what was going on. It was freezing cold in the room but the doll was sweating like it had been left in the Tatooine deserts.

Sandy...

Sandretta froze and her breath caught. Only one person had called her Sandy...

Sandy....be wary...Kenobi is in danger!

Sandretta felt the tears coming but she banished them. "Cody! Tell me what I must do!"

The Sanderai woman was not graced with a reply.

* * * *
Chillingham Castle
Second floor corridor
13:21hrs

Jaim Marlin stampeded down the stairs, he had to find Lex, only she could have an explanation...

He tried to keep his emotions in check but that was impossible for him. He had just been contacted by the ghost of his daughter.

It had been Juliet, he had seen her as clear as day. But she had vanished after saying one word: Obi-Wan.

As he made his way onto the first floor, he ran into the Sanderai woman. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him.

"You heard your child." It was not a question.

Jaim nodded then Sandretta told him of her experience. They gave each other a look of comfort then ran off in search of Lex.
* * * *
Chillingham Castle
Torture Chamber'
13:30hrs.

Obi-Wan had explored the whole top floor and had returned to the torture chamber, in hopes that he had missed something.

//Hold on Master, we're coming for you. I'm coming for you//

There was no reply, there hadn't been one since he's vanished.

Forgive me Those were Qui-Gon's last words to him. Obi-Wan would only forgive him if he didn't die.

As he reexamined the torture chamber, he was bombarded with a sense of nausea. He had to sit down or he just might hurl.

Obi-Wan found a small crate at the back of the room and took a seat. Almost immediately after he had sat down, he was on his knees as a new wave of pain washed over him.

His chest burned and all of his limbs felt like they were going to be torn from their sockets. As he rolled around on the floor in pain, the realization dawned on him.

They had Qui-Gon on the rack.

"LET HIM GO!" he screamed. "LEAVE HIM ALONE! IT"S ME YOU WANT!"

He had not expected it to actually work. All the pain he felt next was his own. Through the haze he could hear footsteps coming up the stairs and the sounds of rope snapping.

Then a voice. "Leave him alone!" The voice was full of desperation, as if it was helpless to stop the boy's torment.

His last conscious thought was a prayer that Qui-Gon would shut up, before the ghosts listened to him.