Here it is! Finally! Please don't hurt me!
With a start, Anakin opened his eyes. Blinking away the haze of sleep, his vision focused onto the familiar furnishings of his and Padmé's small quarters aboard the Smuggler's Princess. Laying back against the pillow, he remembered the dream.
He remembered the parrying and striking, deflecting and attacking. He could still see Obi-Wan's pale eyes shining in the blue light of his lightsaber, reflecting the raw force of the dark side. The shadow's chilling laugh as he watched the two men fight, brother to brother, father to son. Anakin could still smell the metallic air, old and arid, as he brought his blade up against the greatest friend he had ever had...
Wait. This was it. This was what they had been looking for from the start. Somewhere within this dream was the answer to their quest: the hidden location of his former Master. The texture of the walls, the dank smell of the room, the absence of any natural light- somewhere in there was the clue that would lead them to Obi-Wan.
Anakin got out of bed and dressed quickly, putting on his tunic and clipping his lighsaber to his belt. The other side of the bed was empty; Padmé was most likely with the children. He crossed over to the adjacent sleep chamber, where his wife was singing softly to her son while she changed him. In a nearby crib, Leia slept soundly, her small face so calm and so innocent. Anakin's heart throbbed with a total and complete love for his two children. He finally knew exactly what Obi-Wan felt for him, the unconditional love of a father for his child. The pain in his chest returned. He needed to find him.
Padmé turned to him, smiling and glowing with maternal life, but then she noticed the tension in his features, and her smile faded away. "What is it, Anakin?"
His eyes burned with anticipation. "I know where to find him."
"Where?"
"I- I don't know." Frustration closed his eyes and scrunched up his features. "I mean, I know, but I don't know."
She touched his hand lightly. "Yoda and Bail will be able to help you; they wanted to meet with us anyways." Taking his hand completely, she led him from the room, with one look back to her children, now in the capable hands of the nanny droid.
They walked in silence, linked together through the union of their hands, and Anakin could feel her simple wedding band rub against his skin. Even in this simple moment, he felt so lucky, so blessed to be with her, with their children. He hoped, inside of him, that this happiness would not be at the cost of his best friend.
Yoda and Bail were waiting for them in the ship's small meeting room, the diminutive Jedi Master overshadowed by the tall Senator. Anakin and Padmé sat down across from them, their hands parting beneath the table.
"We've retrieved some footage from the Cha- the Emperor's office through one of our operatives in the Senate." started Bail, strong features showing the signs of sleeplessness and stress. "There was no location recorded, not even a full security clip. I think that it was left deliberately for us to find." The Prince Consort looked to Yoda, who nodded his agreement.
"Too easy, this was. Cunning, Palpatine is, and he would not make such a simple mistake. Deliberate, this was."
"Could we see the clip, Master?"
Bail pressed a key down by his right hand, and a holoprojector emerged from the table. This was not just a person to person projector; it was a small room type, and Anakin could see the background behind the two images on the screen.
"She's but a child! Don't you dare harm her!" The clipped Coruscanti accent, the conviction contained within the voice- it was Obi-Wan.
The second figure leant in close to his former Master. "If that is not attachment, my dear Kenobi, then what is it?"
Anakin's heart jumped in his chest. The deep, almost feral articulation, the restrained emotion contained within. Anakin knew this voice all too well. He heard it in his memory, and in his nightmares.
"Rise, Lord Vader."
Someone touched his shoulder, and he jumped, awoken from his painful trance. Padmé's gentle hand held him, and he turned to see the three other occupants in the room staring at him, concerned. The two figures from the holoprojector had disappeared.
"What is it, Anakin?" asked Bail.
The young Jedi looked past him. "I think I know where they are." A flash in his eyes, and he was concentrated on the Prince Consort and the Jedi Master once more. "I had a vision."
"What did you see?" Yoda's voice was calm and soothing to Anakin, whose mind was in turmoil.
"A- a room. Grand pillars, and an elevated stage. There are no windows, and the room is so dark. My lightsaber, I'm using it to light the room. Obi-Wan and Palpatine are there. The air is stagnant and metallic; it's hard to breathe."
A strange look overcame the ancient Jedi Master. "Is there a monument, young Anakin?"
His face is contorted; he is reliving the dream again. "Yes, oh- it's dark, I'm hiding behind it, but it won't help, it won't help…" Anakin gasped suddenly; looking down, he sees the wizened and aged face of the small, green Jedi.
"Thank you." he whispered, pulse still racing.
"Know where this is, I do."
The Alderaanian Senator rose to his feet. "You do?"
The ancient warrior nodded slightly. "Deep down in the darkness of Coruscant, this is. The very bottom of the Temple. Go there, we must, before it is too late."
Turning to the young man beside him, Yoda stared deep into his eyes. "Always in motion, the future is, young Skywalker."
"I know, Master."
Emerald orbs met blue ones . "Save Obi-Wan, we still can."