Chapter 3

            "Just deal with it. No one will believe him anyway. They'll lock him up so tight under surveillance that you'll have free reign. I want this problem taken care of now!" Syfo barked, then twisted off the communicator. Fuming, he stomped into the room Qui-Gon was being held in. "Your apprentice is more meddlesome than I thought," he complained.

            Qui-Gon would've smirked but the thought of moving his lips after they'd been sewn shut made him dizzy. Instead, he merely quirked a brow and let eyes do the talking for him.

            Syfo scowled. "I've had to direct the clone of you to have him institutionalized at the Temple. Evidently, he's well on his way to figuring out what's going on and I can't have that. He started yelling and causing a scene. If he can't be contained, I'm afraid I'll have to have your hatred forever, Qui-Gon, because I had to give the clone instructions to kill him if Obi-Wan did anything else."

            Qui-Gon glared at him and Force pushed him hard across the room to show his displeasure at the situation.

            Syfo flexed his fingers and blue Force lightening danced around them. "Don't toy with me, Qui-Gon, especially in your present...condition. You might find that it'll be very painful for you."

            Qui-Gon rolled his eyes then closed them, ignoring Syfo Dias, and started to try to meditate, indicating to the other that he had no intention of discussing the matter any further.

            Syfo growled and stomped out. Matters with the apprentice were getting out of hand. But he was sure that Obi-Wan would not be much of a problem to deal with because the clone of Qui-Gon was skilled in the dark side of the Force. The boy was in way over his head.

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~

            "Hello, Obi-Wan," A cheerful, smiling young healer came in as was the routine to ask him how his day had been. "How are you feeling this evening?" She walked over to him and fixed his sheets that had half fallen off the bed.

            Obi-Wan glared at her through his drugs. His mind was fuzzy and he had no idea how long he had been here. Once again, he tried to make someone see reason. "I'm not crazy! You've got to let me out of here! Master Qui-Gon is in serious danger!"

            "Obi-Wan, please calm down. Don't hurt yourself. I just asked you if you'd had a nice day. No reason to bite my head off. I've brought you dinner." She indicated a tray laden down with food.

            Obi-Wan glared at her still. "I don't want dinner!! I Want Out! I need to find Master Qui-Gon! Please, you've got to believe me!"

            The young healer rolled her eyes. That was all this boy could talk about. "What are you talking about, Kenobi? Your Master brought you here. He's not in any danger."

            "That's not my master! How many times do I have to say it!! I need help to get to him." His fuzzy head made talking difficult. "Please..." he whispered.

            "Shh. Just relax, Obi-Wan. Relax and eat." She held a bite of his favorite dish to entice him to eat.

            Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. "No. Not until you let me go."

            The healer apprentice lost her temper. "By the Force, Obi-Wan, you know I can't do that! Eat!"

            Obi-Wan did not respond, only turned his head to the side.

            The healer apprentice stomped out, taking the food with her. "You'll get hungry later. I'll check back."

~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~

            "Know this for certain, do you?" Master Yoda asked Kyran.

            "Yes, Master Yoda, I am certain. Obi-Wan is not insane and there is no reason for Qui-Gon to have locked him away. Qui-Gon is missing. I feel it from our bond."

            Master Yoda exchanged a look with the other Jedi Council members. "Need more before releasing Obi-Wan we can. Investigate this fully we will. Stay you will near the Temple for word."

            "What more do you need?" Kyran asked barely keeping his temper in check. "Qui-Gon would not have under any circumstances had Obi-Wan locked away were he thinking and acting like normal."

            Yoda stared at Kyran. "Normal acting Obi-Wan is not. Investigate his claims we will. Respect you will the decision by the Council."

            Kyran gritted his teeth but bowed to the Council and left.  In his preoccupation, he ran smack into someone as he turned a corner. "My apologies." He looked and saw he'd run into his former padawan. He grinned. "Knight Jayla."

            The blonde haired, blue-eyed young woman grinned. "Master Kyran! How wonderful to see you again!" She glanced deeply into his eyes and immediately sobered. "What's the matter?"

            He glanced over his shoulder to see who was listening. "Come to my apartment and I'll tell you. I don't want to discuss this in the hall."

            Jayla nodded, holding her tongue all the way into his quarters. Once they got there, she burst out, "Okay, rumors are flying in the Temple about Obi-Wan losing his mind. What is going on?"

            "That's just what I'm upset about. He's not losing his mind. Qui-Gon isn't himself. He's a clone. I felt it from our link. Something is off and that's the only way I can think to describe it."

            Jayla frowned in thought, her eyebrows bunching up. "Ok, so what did the Council say? Evidently nothing good from your expression when I saw you."

            "They said they need more information." Kyran rolled his eyes. "They intend to leave Qui-Gon wherever he may be hurting. Obi-Wan had to help him once into a healing trance."

            Jayla made a noise in her throat. "Hm, well, how do you want to bust Obi-Wan out of the Healers Mental Ward?"

            "I'm not sure but I have a few ideas." His eyes gleamed the way they did when he had an idea that might later get him in trouble.

            Jayla laughed. "Well, I haven't gotten into trouble with the Council since becoming a Knight so I'm game. Count me in."

            "You know me. I hang out with Qui-Gon too much. I'm always in trouble." Kyran smirked. "Lets go."

~~~   ~~~~~  ~~~~

            Lora and Dora entered the room in the dark. They had decided to have a little fun with the Jedi on their own time.

            Qui-Gon tensed as the two clones entered the room, wondering what they were going to do to him now. The last time they'd been here they'd sewn his lips shut and nearly strangled him. His throat was still sore but at least he could conserve his voice by being forced to keep his mouth shut.

            Dora whispered to Lora, "Let's have more than just a little fun with him. The creator will never know."

Lora hesitated. "I don't know, Dora. The creator said not to kill this one."

Dora scoffed. "We won't kill him...just have fun."

            Qui-Gon twisted in his chains, trying in vain for the millionth time to free himself. There was no possible way out. He'd run through every scenario he could think of but they all included him being freed first and that wasn't very likely to occur anytime soon.

            Dora grinned wickedly and showed Lora a new device she had made that was slender. "We can try this out."

            "What is that?" Lora asked curiously, ignoring Qui-Gon for the moment.

            "Watch and learn," Dora chortled. She held the end of the slender part at Qui-Gon's chest. Pressing a button, a little gripper shot out and sank deeply into Qui-Gon's flesh. She twisted it and then the gripper locked in place.

            Qui-Gon's face twisted in pain as the gripper sank in his flesh. Desperately, he reached out for the Force, drawing it around him, trying to prepare himself.

            Dora chuckled. While the Jedi was distracted with the grippers, a shot of acid squirted out of the middle of the grippers, burning through his flesh.

            Qui-Gon let out a muffled cry of pain as the acid began burning into his flesh. Force, how it hurt! He gritted his teeth as tears began again to flow down his cheeks. It was obvious Obi-Wan wasn't coming to help him. With all his strength, he desperately reached out to his best friend. //Kyran!!/

            Kyran jerked up from where he was crouched near the Healer's Mental Ward. //Qui-Gon?//

            //Please...where are you? I need you.//

            //Breaking out your padawan to come to you...Where are you?// Kyran asked.

            //I have no idea. I was knocked out a few blocks from the Temple.//

            Kyran thought for a moment. //Try to find out where you are and once I rescue Obi-Wan I'll make contact again to come get you.//

            Qui-Gon whimpered at the thought of trying to stay conscious, but he knew it was necessary. //Alright.// He paused as his brain caught up with him. //Rescue Obi-Wan?//

            Kyran pursed his lips. //Um, yes. Everyone thinks he's crazy. He's currently locked away in the Mental Ward.//

            //What?! Why!?//

            //No one believes him that you are not…well, you. I almost didn't until he had me check through our bond,// Kyran admitted. //He's heavily drugged but reaches out to me every once in a while to get him out of here. Once I have him, I'll get back to you.//

            Qui-Gon groaned through their link at the idea of his padawan being locked away in a mental institution. //Alright. Please be careful.//

            //We will. Hang tough for a little while longer and try to find out where you are. I have to get Obi-Wan before the nurse gets back.//

            //Alright. Check back when you have him.// Qui-Gon ordered.

            //I will.// Kyran cut the contact for the moment.

            Qui-Gon digested the new information. So everyone thought his padawan was insane? He smiled at that in spite of the pain in his lips. Sometimes, when Obi-Wan had had a little too much sugar, it was easy to believe that he was insane, however he doubted that was the case here.

            With the contact cut, Qui-Gon was no longer distracted and the pain from the various places that Dora had squirted acid on him slammed into him. While he had been talking to Kyran, she had moved the grippers to various places all over his body so now he had over twenty places that burned like living fire.

            Lora chuckled, watching the Jedi squirm in pain, tears flowing again from the acid her twin poured over him. "That's enough, don't you think? The creator said not to kill him, remember?"

            Dora rolled her eyes. "A little acid won't kill him!"

            Lora rolled her eyes in kind. "Well I'm getting bored and I'm hungry."

            Dora scowled. "You just don't have a stomach for true torture, Lora. I suppose we've done enough for tonight." She extracted the grippers and kissed Qui-Gon on the cheek...directly over a spot that had acid on it. "We'll be seeing you again soon, Jedi." She cackled as she left.

            Qui-Gon sobbed as they left. The acid still burned into him. What they had burned into his arms and legs had burned through showing the tissue and bone underneath. //Kyran....//

            All he got was a busy response from his friend. Qui-Gon was uncomfortable in his chains...and suddenly felt a spot of deep pain burning in his manly area. His eyes widened. Had he been so distracted by talking to Kyran that he hadn't even noticed the women burn him with acid there? He wept as that one spot of pain overrode all the others.

            Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Dimly he wondered when his friend would be able to get him out of this. It hurt and he couldn't help himself heal. Mercifully, after several minutes, he passed out.