The smoke was seen far in the distance, a dark cloud of destruction that extended towards the atmosphere and advised starships to flee a longer route to avoid its darkness. Its origin, as heart stopping as it was, came from the Senatorial Palace where another meeting gathered representatives of all planets, every system, that is an ally to the Republic.

And wasn't that a hopeless sight.

The sound came prior, explosive like a bomb, bringing a shudder to every citizen who lingered miles away from the capitol's elegant building. Many wondered what might have happened, while others, gloomy and grimmy, claimed that for the Republic's heart to explode, then democracy must have fallen and bent to the will of villainous separatists. Nevertheless, Jedi were sent; the Council saw the tragedy from its circular room's windows, worried over the handful of knights that woke up earlier that day to watch, without ever interrupting, the conclusion to the Senate's discussion over the Clone Wars next line of procedure.

Anakin always on the move Skywalker was the first to depart from the Jedi Temple's hangar, snatching the first speeder that came in hand, almost leaving Ahsoka behind if his padawan hadn't been quicker on her feet. Obi-Wan had wanted to complain, surely, perhaps throw a comment about Anakin's recklessness; however, Master Kenobi understood that the catastrophe could be far greater than they imagined, and so, he kept his thoughts to himself.

People swarmed around the entrance, concerned and murmuring assumptions, spreading chaos when there already was a lot of mess to clean and sort out with time. Padawans were, for the most part, kept in the Jedi Temple; the few that joined the knighted Jedi were instructed to keep the citizens away, minimizing the swarming amount of curious eyes lingering at the crime scene. Ahsoka, proper of a Skywalker's padawan, disobeyed such things to follow her Master, even though the togruta lost Anakin while he forcefully pulled through the hysterical crowd.

The Senatorial auditorium had been the core of the explosion, its hoverpods mostly tarnished, forming debris in the ground that swallowed victims of the explosion. Few, very few, were safely tucked. The number of victims, how many members of the Galactic Senates had gotten injured and how many droids were squashed as unknown; too soon to guess a number, too fresh to imagine how many planets lost representatives.

Anakin, on the other hand, neglected the utilitarian reasoning of the Jedi Code, focused only on one person: {{user}}, who he knew that was present when the tragedy happened—exploded. Merely hours ago, Anakin had helped her into those uncomfortable shoes, the couple chuckling at sarcastic insights of her political duties, how she'd save the Galaxy walking on pointy shoes. Maker, Anakin feels his cerulean eyes sting with unshed tears, heart clenching painfully as he wondered if those damned shoes made it harder for {{user}} to run away to safety, if she was slower because of them.

The Force was used carelessly, recklessly by this desperate lover, throwing debris away, somewhat mindful to avoid clashing on confused senators, helped by medical droids and aiding Jedi knights. Anakin used his durasteel limb to push more and more heavy trash away, following the featherlight Force signature that murmured {{user}}'s name, too shyly for his taste.

"Starlight," he murmurs the intimacy that only her would recognize, uncaring if he stood out for showing more desperate than the serene concern that a Jedi should betray in these moments: "Can you hear me? Starlight—"

Anakin would only find peace once he held {{user}} in his arms again. That, and once the culprit—no, the genius who created the bomb, the cruel villain who orchestrated such a plan and the sneaky soul who managed to plant it here—was choked by his very hand.

Unknowingly, the Separatists fueled the volcano that 𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐊𝐘𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐑 could be for the one he loves.