Chapter Text
Unspecified location
Anakin awoke to whispers. Lifting his head, he saw he was on the ground. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were in front of him, also lying on the ground.
“Snips! Ahsoka!” Anakin shouted as he rushed to her side, trying to wake her.
“Master?” Ahsoka said sleepily as she opened her eyes, to Anakin’s relief. “Where are we?”
As he saw Obi-Wan coming to as well, Anakin took a moment to look around. And what he saw stunned him.
They stood on some kind of pathway that seemed to be made of light. They were surrounded by darkness, save the pathway and gate ways all around them, similar to the portal the trio had entered through.
“I…don’t know,” Anakin said once he found his voice.
“Do you hear that?” Obi-Wan asked as he and Ahsoka sat up.
At first, the other two didn’t know what he was taking about then, then, they heard it. A voice of an old man.
“The Force is what gives a Jedi his powers. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together.”
“What is this place?” Ahsoka wondered out loud.
“It appears to be some sort of…world between worlds,” Obi-Wan said after a moment.
“Why would Master Qui-Gon send us here? What are we looking for?” Anakin asked as the three Jedi got to their feet.
“I believe we will know once we find it. For now, let us explore this place. Perhaps The Force will make things clear to us,” Obi-Wan suggested.
Anakin and Ahsoka exchanged an exasperated look but, not having any better ideas, they nodded, beginning to make their way down the pathway.
Earth-63, London
Morning
It had been hours since Martha had called The Doctor. She and Jack were in the sitting room, waiting. Martha was convinced that The Doctor wasn’t going to show when they heard the sound of the TARDIS before it materialized in front of them. The pair got to their feet before the door opened and The Doctor stepped out.
“Martha, Jack,” The Doctor said in relief as the two of them stared at him for a moment.
“Doctor. I knew you’d look different, but…well,” Jack said with a gesture at The Doctor.
“It’s different, I know,” The Doctor said with a slight smile before noticing something. “Mickey?”
It took only one look at Martha who looked like she’d been gutted for The Doctor to understand. Without a word, he walked over to Martha and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m so sorry,” The Doctor said softly as she lifelessly returned the hug.
“What’s happened, Doctor?” Jack asked.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out,” Jack and Martha looked over as Rory walked out of the TARDIS.
“Mickey, Jack, this is Rory Williams,” The Doctor said as he pulled back and Rory noted how serious the situation was when The Doctor didn’t even try to call him ‘Pond’. “Rory, this is Martha and Jack. They-”
“Used to travel with you,” Rory interrupted and The Doctor nodded.
“You must be the new guy, then,” Jack noted and Rory shrugged.
“I guess you could say that.”
“What do you know?” Martha asked as she turned to The Doctor, hoping he had some sort of answer.
“Not much, I’m afraid. Half the population in the entire universe turned to dust for no apparent reason. I don’t know what caused it yet, but I will find out. And then I will bring them all back,” The Doctor promised.
Earth-904, Japan
Same time
“Spirit Gun!”
“Rose Whip!”
Yusuke and Kurama’s attacks obliterated the demons in front of them. The two boys stood silently as they observed the spot where the demons had been vaporized.
“I see you’ve been busy, Yusuke.”
The two looked over to see what looked like a young girl in a frilly dress hovering in the air.
“Sakaya,” Yusuke said in surprise.
“Hello, Yusuke. And you must be Kurama,” Sakaya said, turning to regard the half demon for a moment before turning back to Yusuke. “Koenma has summoned you both back to Spirit World.”
“Does he have news on what may have caused this?” Kurama asked as he and Yusuke gave her their attention.
“He didn’t say, just to bring you both to Spirit World,” Sakaya said matter of fact.
Yusuke and Kurama exchanged a look but didn’t say another. Silently, the two knew the other was thinking the same thing: hoping that Koenma had found a reason for all this and a way to bring everyone back.
Earth-1999999, Avengers Compound
Not long after
The Quinjet touched down in the hanger, the ramp lowering before the remaining Avengers (plus Rocket) walked down.
“Nice place,” Rocket said after a moment, more to fill the silence than anything else.
No one responded to Rocket. No one had really said much of anything since Thanos disappeared. Not that Steve could blame them; he could barely muster any words himself.
“Cap, what do we do now?” Rhodey asked and Steve was silent for a long moment.
“We try to get in touch with anyone who might still be out there. Nat, see if you can get Clint at his Farm. Rocket, do you have a way to contact your ship?” Steve asked as he turned to their newest ally.
“I know the numbers. Just depends on if the ship is still working or…” Rocket trailed off.
But they all understood what he meant. It would be useless to contact the Benatar if no one was left to get their message. But they would cross that bridge when they came to it.
“Rhodey, show Rocket to the communications system. You should be able to find what you’re looking there.”
Rhodey led Rocket inside, leaving only the Original Avengers in the hanger, each of them silently wishing for a miracle that could help them undo this.
Earth-8096, Avengers Compound
Not long after
“So, let me get this straight. Some other Avengers from some other world tried and failed to stop some guy named Thanos who used something called the Infinity Stones to half all life in the universe and that’s what caused this?”
The question was asked by Kitty as Thor returned to the Mansion, explaining the situation.
“Aye, Lady Kitty. The Infinity Stones have been legend for eons, they are a source of tremendous power,” Thor explained.
“What exactly are they?” Iron Man asked.
“No one knows for sure. Wars have been fought over them, people desperate to possess even one. All anyone knows for sure is they are six powerful gems, each with a different power. Soul, Space, Time, Power, Reality and Mind. They exist in every universe, and it was said that if one were to possess all six, they could accomplish anything,” Thor explained and it was silent for a long moment.
“Okay, so we know how. What can we do about it?” Logan demanded.
“Stupid man asks a good question,” Hulk said and Logan gave him an annoyed look.
But didn’t respond. He remembered how the last bout with Hulk ended. He had no desire to repeat the experience.
“Heimdall can send us to this other universe. We must depart for Asgard,” Thor explained.
“So wait, not only is the multiverse real, but this Heimdall guy can send us somewhere else, just like that?” Spider-Man asked, sounding torn between surprise, excitement and disbelief.
“Thor’s a literal God, yet this surprises you?” Carol pointed out and Spider-Man paused, realizing she was right.
“We leave for Asgard in an hour. Gather whatever supplies you may need, then we head out,” Cap ordered, taking command.
Universe-63, the TARDIS
Same time
The Doctor was at the console, examining something as Rory showed Jack and Martha around the TARDIS, the two examining the changes.
“I see you finally grew out of your grunge phase,” Jack noted, trying to joke but it just fell flat.
“Grunge phase?” Rory repeated.
“When we traveled with him, the console room looks a lot more…well…” Martha trailed off.
“Like the bedroom of an edgy, emo teenage boy,” Jack supplied.
“OI!” The Doctor shouted, offended.
“Are we wrong?” Jack asked with a cheeky grin, almost laughing when The Doctor pouted.
“If you’re done making fun of me, I think I’ve found something,” The Doctor said and all laughter vanished.
“What is it?” Rory asked as they came up behind him.
“I looked at everything from scientific anomalies to Dalek actives, nothing. Then, there’s this,” The Doctor said, pointing to the scanner as he brought up a map of the universe. “This is our universe. And this is what happened to it the day half the population mysteriously turned to dust.”
His three Companions watched, mystified as some sort of energy spread across the universe before vanishing, gone as quickly as it came.
“What was that?” Martha asked.
“That, Martha Jones is an energy that came from outside our universe,” The Doctor explained.
“Like from where House lived?” Rory asked and The Doctor shook his head.
“No. House was just a different part of our universe, a sort of pocket dimension of this universe. This, this came from a completely different universe.”
“Like the multiverse,” Rory said and The Doctor nodded.
“Not again,” Martha sighed, confusing Rory.
“Again?”
“Long story, we’ll tell you some other time,” Jack assured him before turning back to The Doctor. “Doctor, if the cause of this is from another universe-”
“I should be able to track down the source,” The Doctor agreed, bringing up the image of the energy again. “This energy can act as a beacon. I can use it to get the TARDIS there.”
“Doctor, whoever caused this, it has to be very powerful,” Martha pointed out.
“I know. Which is why I need you to do something, Rory,” The Doctor as he turned to his friend and father in law. “I have no idea what we may face in this other universe, but I know it will stand in the way of bringing Amy, River and everyone else back. Rory…I need you to open the door.”
Jack and Martha didn’t know what The Doctor was talking about, but Rory seemed to. Rory let out a deep breath, seeming like the weight of the world was on his shoulder. He looked The Doctor in the eyes for a moment, the two seeming to have a conversation for several moments. Then, Rory nodded, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
When he opened them again, he almost seemed a different man. He held himself differently, like a warrior prepared to do battle. His eyes had hardened, like he had seen a thousand lifetimes of pain and suffering. And when he spoke, his voice was cold and hard, like a soldier who had seen more battles and death than he could count.
“Let’s get to work. We don’t have a moment to waste.”
Universe-904, Spirit World
Later
“As you both know, I’ve consulted my father on the matter of half of all life disappearing,” Koenma said as he sat at his desk, Yusuke and Kurama standing in front of him. “He’s had some of his best people investigating this. And it’s yielded results.”
“Your old man knows what caused this?” Yusuke asked hopefully.
“Not exactly. He doesn’t know why everyone has disappeared. What he knows for sure, an unexplained burst of energy came in through to our universe just before people began turning into dust. We believe this energy was the cause of it,” Koenma explained.
“So another demon attacked and did this?” Yusuke asked and Koenma was silent for a moment. “Okay, it’s never good when you’re quiet, Pacifier Breath.”
“The thing that none of can figure out, the burst of energy was neither Spirit nor Demon energy,” Koenma said carefully.
“What kind of energy is it then? Please tell me it’s not the Netherworld again,” Yusuke almost pleaded.
“At the moment, unknown. We believe it came from another universe,” Koenma explained.
“Another universe. You mean the multiverse,” Kurama realized and Koenma explained.
“Multi what?” Yusuke asked confused.
“Multiverse, the theory that there are multiple versions of the same world,” Kurama explained and realized he needed to get more specific when he saw Yusuke’s blank look. “Think of it as a street. It exists next to multiple other streets, all identical but different, each unique in their own way. Never intersecting but all occupying the same place.”
“Until now, apparently,” Yusuke muttered.
“My father and his people are working on locating the exact universe this energy burst came from. Once they do, the two of you will head there, find out what caused this and attempt to reverse it,” Koenma explained.
“How will get to this other universe?” Kurama asked.
“This is not the first time Spirit World has needed to cross over to another section of the multiverse. A portal will be opened once we determine which universe the energy burst came from. But once we do that, the two of you will be on your own,” Koenma said regretfully.
“Don’t worry about it, Koenma. We’ll be fine. And we’ll figure out who did this and how to bring everyone back,” Yusuke said, fire entering his eyes as he imagined everything he would do to the monster than did this.
Universe-199999, Titan
Same time
Thanos didn’t know what happened. One moment, he was attempting to relax and recover from using the Infinity Stones. Then, suddenly, he found himself in a giant red palm that seemed to be on fire.
“Thanos of Titan, we have business to discuss,” an ominous voice said.
Thanos was not a being who felt fear. He had lived too long and seen too much to do so. Yet this voice caused fear to enter his heart, as though all his nightmares had suddenly come to life.
“We have nothing to say to each other. I have accomplished my life’s work. Kill me or not, it doesn’t matter,” Thanos said with no sign of his inner fear.
The voice then laughed evilly and Thanos felt his blood run cold as he looked up, finally seeing his captor. It seemed to be a demon, firing coming off his very being. The demon looked down at him and Thanos felt smaller than he ever had in his life. Not just physically, but in terms of power. Thanos had a feeling even with the stones; he was no more than a spec to this creature.
“So arrogant are you that you think you can do what you have done without consequences? Your actions have affected not just your universe, but every universe. Warriors from various universes are preparing to come to your own in order to undo what you have done. Alone, maybe you would stand a chance of defeating them. But once they join together, you will be no match for them.”
“Why would you tell me this?” Thanos asked suspiciously and the demon gave an unpleasant smile.
“The halving of all life serves my interests. It would be…prudent to make sure it stays that way. For that reason, you shall serve me now!”
Thanos was then surrounded by flames, crying in agony as they consumed him. This went on for several minutes before the flames suddenly extinguished, revealing a radically different Thanos.
He now wore armor similar in size to the one he usually wore, but this one was completely different in design. It was fire red, the armor seeming to be modeled after flames. The Infinity Gauntlet was now blood red, the stones glinting in their slots. Thanos stared up at the demon, his eyes flashing with fire before he bowed.
“How may I serve you, Lord Surtur?”
Surtur of Earth-8096 merely laughed evilly, his plans beginning to come to fruition.