Anakin landed their ship on one of the many docking pads of the Jedi Temple. Both he and Ahsoka jumped out of the cock pit and took to the ground running at full speed. He got to the temple before her and called out as he threw it's doors open wide. "Masters," he yelled but then he paled in a way that Ahsoka had never seen before. He was taller than she was and the frame of his body kept her from seeing past him to what had caused her former to freeze up in terror.
"Master," she said, her voice a mixture of anxious fear, "what, what is it."
"Don't look," he said numbly in only a whisper and she couldn't tell if he had been talking to her or himself. "Don't look."
Ahsoka, tired of not being able to see past her former master to what had caused him to behave so strangely, sidestepped Anakin and was immediately sorry that she did. The floor of the Jedi Temple hall was covered with the bodies of Jedi Knights, their Padawans, and Temple Guards. "Who could have done this?"
Anakin said nothing but stood there, lightsaber in hand and eyes clinched shut. "Don't look," he whispered again. Ahsoka was about to say something else but the horrified screams of younglings caught both of their attentions, pulling Anakin out of his grief stricken haze. As one, they activated their lightsabers and ran at full speed to the children's quarters but Ahsoka wasn't prepared for what she saw there. Her voice and every ounce of air left in her lungs left her as she heard Anakin let out an anguish howl of pain in utter grief at what they both beheld in front of them. The little bodies of younglings were scattered about like useless things among the very guardians and toys that had made them feel safe. Ahsoka fell to her knees in disbelief. She didn't need to check any of the younglings for their vitals, it was very obvious that they were now all one with the force. All but one. The female Tholothian named Katooni and who was no more than fifteen years of age lay there, her lightsaber just out of reach, and choking on her own blood. Anakin ran over to her quickly and kneeling beside her, he raised her head and placed it gently on his lap.
"Master Skywalker," she gasped raggedly, "you were supposed to protect us, you, you were supposed to train us to..."
"I know," Anakin said desperately and he tried to keep his tears from falling, "I know and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"Why Master," she croaked brokenly, tears of her own falling freely, "why?"
Ahsoka watched as the youngling that she had personally escorted to Ilum and who she had watched grow when she once followed the path of the Jedi, die in her former Master's arms.
"Why would anyone want to kill younglings and in their own nursery? Who would want to do something so evil?"
"Isn't it obvious," Anakin said and moving his hand over the face of the young girl who lay dead in his arms, he closed her eyes one final time before he stood. "The clean cuts, the swift strikes, the calculated movements..."
"A Sith," Ahsoka said as she went to reach for the body of a youngling no older than a toddler but Anakin stopped her.
"No Sith could have navigated the Jedi Temple so quickly and efficiently. It was a Jedi."
"What?! How could you even say that?!"
"This Jedi has turned against the order or perhaps worse, a Jedi faction may have turned against the Republic. Which is true, I don't know but I do know that someone decided to get rid of every Jedi in the temple, not even sparing the younglings."
"A Jedi would never kill children Anakin," Ahsoka said vehemently as she stood, "you must be wrong."
"Oh really," he said ruefully, no longer able to look at the little lifeless bodies anymore, "you see how the younglings were cut down. One swift blow each, in an area that would hurt them the least but kill them the quickest. Whoever did this wanted them dead but didn't want them to suffer and the Sith aren't known for kindness towards their victims. No, this was someone that they knew and knew them and wanted to spare them too much pain."
"What Jedi would want to do this?" Anakin said nothing but walked swiftly past Ahsoka and she followed quickly behind him. "Anakin, Anakin, listen to me, where are we going?"
"To warn Padme," he said as he began to run and Ahsoka had to double her efforts to keep up with him.
"Why would we need to warn the senator? She's not a Jedi so she's not in any danger."
"She's a Jedi sympathizer and that puts her directly in danger. We have to warn her and then we have to find the Jedi that did this."
"We need to go back for Palpatine, he is the Sith Lord. We need to capture him"
"He's just the half of it but not muscle. The head is useless without a body to control and I'm going to the Jedi that became his body and personally make sure I feel it when he becomes one with the force."